Crave

Link makes like a train-car-riding hobo in Spirit Tracks.

(Credit: GameSpot)

While plenty of people are still readily awaiting a sequel to Mario Kart DS or New Super Mario Bros., it didn't take Nintendo much time at all to shoot off a follow-up to its 2007 Nintendo DS Zelda adventure, The Phantom Hourglass.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, set 100 years after Phantom Hourglass and set in a very similar cell-shaded cartoonish universe, at first looks like it might be a pale shadow of the first touch-screen DS game, swapping out train travel for long boat voyages. We were a little surprised and skeptical when the game was first announced, especially since train travel sounds a lot more passive than sailing. After riding around with Link for a weekend, did our opinion change?

Scott:
I admit, I was originally dubious about Zelda: Spirit Tracks' ability to be as good as its predecessor, Phantom Hourglass. However, to my pleasant surprise, Spirit Tracks is not only a true sequel to Phantom Hourglass, it's also equally good. In fact, in some ways it's even better.

To address first: the trains in this game are set on tracks that traverse a series of small towns and other locations, and pulling up at destinations is essentially the same as docking your boat in Phantom Hourglass. Actually, the train controls are a bit simpler to operate on the go. The rest of the game, including its focus on a central mega-dungeon that unlocks secrets throughout, is very reminiscent of the first DS Zelda. That's not so bad, though--we'd take more of Phantom Hourglass and less of many other crappy DS games any day of the week.

The storyline, which features evil trains, floating towers, and a floating Zelda spirit that helps haunt statues to do your bidding in co-op puzzle solving, is both bizarre and clever, and is closest to the N64 cult classic Majora's Mask in terms of how it feels thematically. Nintendo's greatest achievement is how it adopts charming dialogue and characters to sell us this absurd tale and not have it feel stale or stilted--it's what makes the Zelda games more approachable to a newcomer than some of Square Enix's numerous RPGs.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

After a few hours of play, the train riding aspect fades into the background, and Spirit Tracks is about the things all Zelda games are about: finding small towns, unlocking side quests, getting weapons, conquering dungeon puzzles. It's as classic as any Zelda game before it. ... Read More

Remember that crazy little thing called 8-track? We didn't know you could still order albums in the format, but apparently you still can--at least when it comes to Cheap Trick's latest, which also happens to be called The Latest.

Going retro will cost you, however. The 8-track tape version costs $30 (it's available for pre-order) while the CD is going for $12.99 on Amazon. The record is $20 and the digital download is $8.99.

According to the site 8-Track Heaven, the 8-track tape is mostly dead--but not totally. The site says major labels quit producing 8-track tapes in about 1988, but "a number of entrepreneurial souls have kept the 8-track tradition alive in the form of small production runs of independently released carts." (Link: new releases on 8-track)

Anybody still own an 8-track tape player or have fond memories of using one?

(Via kottke.org)

This dog looks seriously bummed.

(Credit: GeekAlerts)

I don't have a dog right now, but if I did, I totally wouldn't trust it to roam around my apartment while I'm not there. Who knows what kind of mischief it'll get into or what it'll find lurking in my sock drawer. This Pet's Eye View Camera makes it easy to keep track of your dog, but $55 is too expensive for what appears to be a glorified Webcam.

There's not a lot going on here in terms of technology: the little USB still camera attaches to your pet's collar and can automatically take pictures at 1-, 5-, or 15-minute intervals. The camera can hold a total of 40 shots in 640x480 resolution. It seems like the camera would be more efficient if it could automatically upload pictures via Wi-Fi to an online account like Flickr or Snapfish so you can monitor your animals on the fly, but as it stands you can only check out the pictures after the damage has been done.

The next time you find yourself combing through the refrigerator trying to find that missing steak, consult the camera--all signs point to Beethoven.

The Pet's Eye View camera is available on I Want One of Those for $55.

Just recently, Softbank Mobile, Japan's biggest cell phone carrier, signed a deal with Aoyama Gakuin University to provide iPhone 3Gs to 1,000 students to keep tabs of their attendance via the phone's Global Positioning System. The company now has a plan to equip the same amount of elementary-school students with GPS phones.

The iPhone 3G is one of the most popular GPS-enabled cell phones.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)

However, the purpose this time is much more serious than nabbing truants. As reported by the Associated Press, this is to test how GPS-enabled cell phones can help track the spreading of an infectious disease and stop it from becoming a pandemic. This is part of the Japanese government's effort to promote Japan's Internet and cellular infrastructure to new users.

This government-backed experiment uses a virtual sickness that is highly contagious. A few months from now, a few students will be chosen to be "infected" with this sickness. Their movements will then be tracked via their cell phones and compared with other students. Stored GPS data can then be used to determine which children have crossed paths with the infected students and are at risk of having contracted the disease.

The families of exposed students will be notified via cell phone messages with instructions on how to get them checked out by doctors. In a real-world outbreak, this could help better control the rate of new infections.

The significance of this level of control is demonstrated via Softbank's calculation: If an infected person spreads the illness to another three people per day, and each newly infected person then makes another three people sick, on the 10th day about 60,000 people would catch the disease. However, if each sick person only infected two people a day, after 10 days, then only about 1,500 people would get sick.

The 404 studio starts its transition from toxic-waste dump site into a full-on video production system with the help of Buzz Out Loud star Jason Howell. Seriously, there are about six cameras in here pointed at things I don't even want to mention.

(Credit: Print Screen/CNET/Tricaster)

Lots on today's show. First, the Interwebs have tracked down the location of the suspected Domino's Pizza where a few employees rolled dough down their backs and stuck cheese up their nose. Speaking of douche bags, there's a new book coming out highlighting the antics of "that guy." You know, the one that strikes up a conversation at the urinal or, like Justin, who sends you pictures that leave you having nightmares. Rounding out the first half of the show, a 6-year-old boy can't return a brand-new PSP to Wal-Mart after he discovers pr0n on it.

On the second half, we've got some great voice mails, including a call from a special someone in Hawaii who wants to have Justin's babies. Stephen Colbert gets a treadmill named after him aboard the International Space Station. If you're addicted to the Internet, there's an application on the Mac that will help. And finally, AT&T allows parents and jealous boyfriends and girlfriends to track the location of their loved ones. Call it a social network and it's not big brother; it's awesometown.

Again, please RSVP for tomorrow night's BOL and 404 meetup at the Delancey in New York City at 7:30 p.m. Right now, only age 21 and up can come. We're working on trying to get 18+ to get in, but no guarantees. It is a bar, after all. If you can't make it though, please call in at 1-866-404-CNET (2638) to leave a callback or message about something asinine one of us said.

Wednesday's Nintendo press conference at this year's GDC 2009 shed some light on various details about the company's ambitions. We now know about the Wii storage solution and the pricing structure and details surrounding DSiWare. While we would have liked to see a new Wii title announced, instead we were treated to a taste of a brand-new Zelda title for the Nintendo DS.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks will be the latest adventure in the Zelda franchise exclusively for the Nintendo DS. There's not much information on the title, but it seems this adventure will have Link as the conductor of a train, traveling from dungeon to dungeon. The game's art style is very similar to 2007's portable hit, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.

Nintendo says we can expect Spirit Tracks to release by year's end, but for now you can enjoy this fresh new trailer of the game in action.

Spark Nano: A tiny GPS device

You've seen them in movies: tracking devices so small they can be put inside a tooth or embedded under the skin. In reality, tracking devices--for the general public at least--are not that tiny, but they can be pretty diminutive.

Lightning GPS introduced a small tracking device on Wednesday called the Spark Nano. Of course, you'll need to take the "Nano" notion with a big grain of salt. The device is actually about the size of a 9-Volt battery--you know, the big one that's used in a smoke detector. The Spark Nano is, however, rugged and waterproof.

The new Spark Nano GPS tracking device.

(Credit: sfs)

Its size means you can easily install the Spark Nano on the object that needs tracking; you can clip it on a person's belt or put it inside your kids' backpack to keep tab of their whereabouts. The Spark Nano also features a panic button that the wearer can use to alert people if he or she is in danger. The alert would show exactly where the person wearing the tracking device was located.

For people at home, the Spark Nano can be tracked in real time via a Web site, either with a computer or via a smartphone. It can also be set to periodically send e-mails and text messages indicating the location of the tracked object.

The Spark Nano has a built-in rechargeable battery that can power the device for five continuous days with a full charge. It sports "Safety Zone" Technology that alerts you when the tracked object arrives at a target or exits a predefined area.

The new GPS tracking device is available now and costs $299.95. It also requires a service plan that starts at another $45 a month.

Google on Thursday released an application called My Tracks that turns the T-Mobile G1 Android phone into a full-fledged GPS receiver.

The free software can record tracks showing where you've been, display them on a map, show elevation gains and losses, and share data with various online services.

As a geography buff, I have to confess that this one of the first applications that actually got me excited. I carry a Garmin standalone GPS device so I can geotag my photos and keep track of my trips, but My Tracks one-ups it in several ways.

For one thing, it's a phone and therefore much more likely to be toted at all times, not just on dedicated occasions. But more important, it's an Internet-enabled device, which means it shows my position on Google Maps--either map mode or satellite image mode, not just the feeble and expensive Garmin Maps--as long as it can find the Internet. Track data can be saved not just as a GPX file, but also uploaded and shared with Google Maps. And statistics can be uploaded into Google Docs spreadsheets or even Twittered (for example using the Twidroid application).

While I love going to large events like Giants games or the circus, I hate dealing with the traffic afterward. Finally though, some good has now come out of the frustration of after-event traffic.

Engineering students at Purdue University have come up with a new method to track traffic: Bluetooth. The students tracked Bluetooth signals from cell phones and other devices carried by football fans as they drove home from a recent Penn State game.

The method uses each signal to constantly update how long it takes vehicles and pedestrians to travel from one point to another. Darcy Bullock, professor of civil engineering at Purdue believes that "Harnessing the wireless signals represents a potentially low-cost leap in technology to provide information for everything from the speed of the morning commute to the sluggishness of airport security lines."

Since each Bluetooth signal is unique, each device can be tracked by its travel time using detectors installed at intersections or along highways. In the most recent study, the students used a special antenna to identify 1,520 Bluetooth addresses in the crowd of more than 57,000.

The students then used 13 tracking stations to monitor the Bluetooth signals as fans drove home from the game at Purdue's Ross-Ade Stadium along two routes leading to Interstate 65: a 4.2-mile southern route and a 5.2-mile northern route. They then determined which routes from the stadium had the fastest times.

Graduate student Mary Martchouk said "We found that the postgame travel time along the southern route was up to 28 minutes, but the travel time along the northern route was only 12 to 14 minutes, even though the northern route is one mile longer".

The researchers came to the conclusion that using the Bluetooth was far more effective than alternative methods. Typically traffic trackers employed the use of camcorders and spotters to record individual license plate numbers on cars as a means of tracking.

Seems the Bluetooth method is about 200% less invasive, since license plate tacking identifies the person being tracked.

The students will be hosting a national webinar, scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Dec. 3, that's open to the public.