Geeks are Sexy Technology News

The Cryoscope: A Haptic Weather Forecasting Device [Video]

Geeks are Sexy — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:00:16 +0000

The Cryoscope shows the user exactly what to expect outside by haptically exhibiting exactly how cold or warm it is to be outside. The user simply touches an aluminum cube that has been heated or cooled to the appropriate temperature. The unit fetches weather data from the internet, and translates it to the cube physically, pumping heat in or out of the cube.

[Robb Godshaw]

Mattel to release a Real Back to the Future Hoverboard

Rodney Brazeau — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:00:34 +0000

Back to the Future has offered us a peek into time to come, but most impressive is the technology that we are likely to encounter – according to the film.

The future was already predicted when Marty McFly tries his hands at a classic arcade game from the 80s in a retro-styled diner. The kids observing, instead of being in awe of his impressive quickdraw skills, ask incredulously, “You use your hands??” and walk away in disgust. And here we are playing with our Xbox Kinects. This is the future!

Flying cars were obvious, but we also get a peek at self-lacing shoes, size-adjusting jackets that dry you off, and of course, the hovering skateboard.

This year’s ToyFair has revealed that a limited edition, movie replica, WORKING HOVERBOARD will be available for pre-order this year.

Via “Working” might be a bit of an exaggeration. Yes, it does hover. The board will glide across surfaces, but the company warns it will not work on water. It also cannot support the weight of a human. Any human.

Still, it is a neat collectable item that will make you the talk of any party. Well, any party of geeks in their 30s.

And of course, with Back to the Future being all prophetic with technology trends, we know the Mayans were wrong.

The Date Night Rube Goldberg Machine [Video]

Geeks are Sexy — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:00:14 +0000

The Date Night Rube Goldberg Machine: A perfect companion to an ideal Valentine’s Day date.

[2dphotography]

Sony’s PS Vita could be heading to tablets

JLister — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:00:25 +0000

Sony has confirmed it’s at least theoretically possible that the PS Vita system could come to smartphones and tablets. That note comes as the company admits it needs to establish Vita as a long-lasting brand rather than a one-off gadget.

Speaking in preparation for the US launch of the portable console, Sony’s chief executive Kazuo Hirai told AV Watch that “We’ve made it in a way that’s expandable, so that it’s possible to apply to smartphones and tablets on top of achieving the high responsiveness we need for gaming devices–it is possible.” However, he noted that this was simply a case of being prepared and that there’s no such transfer underway at the moment.

There is of course already a phone running Playstation games, namely the Sony Ericcson Xperia Play, which runs on the Android platform. That could leave Sony to decide whether to continue down the Android route, or to work on creating new devices that run the dedicated software that powers the Vita. As the console already includes a web browser and various social networking apps, the software could well be enough to produce a smartphone or tablet aimed at gamers.

If the company did go ahead with such a move, it would put to the test its argument that its recent buyout of Ericsson’s part in a joint smartphone project would remove unnecessary bureaucracy and make it easier to produce and market new devices.

Meanwhile Hirai has argued that the Vita may be more successful in the United States than in Japan, where it launched late last year (with a few serious teething troubles.) His logic is that the US market is more interested in the type of games that make best use of the Vita format (specifically high-quality graphics and dual-stick control), naming Call of Duty and NFL Madden as examples. He argued that Sony intentionally worked on getting games with worldwide popularity onto the Vita, even though many of these weren’t particularly appealing to the specific Japanese market.

Hirai also told Venturebeat that the company had intentionally allowed a much wider range of prices for games on the Vita, with physical releases (on a memory card) going from $30 to $50, and download-only titles dropping as low as $5.

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter Movie Trailer [Video]

Geeks are Sexy — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:00:21 +0000

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is a 2012 American 3D supernatural horror film based on the 2010 mashup novel Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. The film is directed by Timur Bekmambetov and is produced by Bekmambetov and Tim Burton. The novel’s author, Seth Grahame-Smith, wrote the adapted screenplay. The real-life figure Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States (1861–1865), is fictionally portrayed in the novel and the film as having a secret identity as a vampire hunter. Benjamin Walker stars as Lincoln. Filming began in Louisiana in March 2011, and the film is being produced in 3D. It is scheduled to be released on June 22, 2012.

[TrailersAddicted]

Multi-Billion Dollar Geeks Don’t Always Have Good Grades

Daljeet — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:00:23 +0000

Photo Credit: DonkeyHotey

Steve Jobs has always been hailed as the geek who wasn’t that smart kid practically kneeling in front of the lecturer to get even more work than that was already set. I recall it going around that he didn’t go to college – it was around the time a lot of people I knew were considering University and he was often held as an example that the education system isn’t for everyone.

Well apparently, even in high school our “Think Different” genius was not a shining star. From his recently released FBI file (I had no idea there was a public vault of FBI files!) it’s been revealed that he got an average of 2.65 on the standard 4.0 scale at Homestead High School (page 79 of the file). For those of us not familiar with the system, this translates to getting mostly Bs and Cs.

So hey, if you’re not doing so well in school and people try to tell you that you aren’t a sexy geek – tell em to stuff it up their Macbook!

[Via The Atlantic]

Mass Effect 3: 40 First Minutes of Gameplay [Video]

Geeks are Sexy — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:00:15 +0000

The 40 first minutes of Mass Effect 3, including the character creation process and the opening Cinematic. Enjoy!

[Pre-order Mass Effect 3 on Amazon.com - Release Date: March 6]

How Lasers Work (In Theory) [Video]

Geeks are Sexy — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:00:14 +0000

How does a laser really work? It’s Bose – Einstein statistics! (photons are bosons)

[MinutePhysics]

Geektastic Star Trek Pillows

Geeks are Sexy — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:00:57 +0000

Is there a better way to engage in Old School geeking out than with this set of Star Trek TOS pillows? Just looking at these makes us want to exclaim the worlds best-known split infinitive at the top of our lungs.

$100 for a set of 3 @ the YellowBugBoutique.

[Via Technabob]

Puppy Conan

JDO — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 01:59:14 +0000

Happy Sunday. Stay warm!

R2D2 Still Life

JDO — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 20:00:50 +0000

Most of the art on my walls come from the thrift store. You can find some pretty badass unicorn paintings over at the Goodwill. But I might spring for this. You know you want it, too. Giclee print over on Etsy, $15 well spent.

via technabob

Introducing DarwinBot: The Pet Companion Robot [Video]

Geeks are Sexy — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 20:00:42 +0000

Jordan’s a developer on the Microsoft Robotics Team and recently built a remotely operated robot for interacting and playing with his pet over the internet. It has two way audio and video through Skype, a ball launcher, treat dispenser, ball recovery arm and a pan & tilt camera.
It is built on the Parallax EDDIE hardware platform with the Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 4 development tool.

[Via tdwg]