Technology & Pop Culture

The Best of CES Tech and Some Infrared Prankery

Posted by Bradley under Personal, Technology

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas has come and gone. Here are my picks for the best of this year’s emerging technologies.

Panasonic’s 150″ Plasma TV. Nuff said.

Mitsubishi’s Laser TV. Three colored lasers generate the DLP picture on these TVs. Current Old school DLP TVs need a bright white lamp and a color wheel to achieve the same effect. And unlike traditional DLP the lasers shut off entirely when displaying blacks — yielding insane contrast ratio and black levels. All this plus you get twice the color spectrum of current HDTVs and 3D picture capability.

LG’s Watch Phone. Phone calls, text messaging and Bluetooth on your wrist. Calling Dick Tracy…

Casio’s 60 Frames Per Second Digital Camera.This 6 megapixel digital wonder can snap 60 pictures in one second flat! In movie mode you get 1,200 frames per second — which is how big Hollywood creates super slow motion video.

Ion Audio’s LP to CD Ripper. Have a bunch of vinyl, CDRs and free time? Archive without a computer.

Belkin’s Podcast Studio. This little beauty sports a built in speaker, mic, two XLR inputs and a 1/4 incher. Plug in your iPod and record anytime, anywhere. Self-contained and wonderful all running off of two AAA batteries for two hours.

Azentek’s Atlas In-Dash PC. As is driving isn’t enough of a distraction. Windows Vista, Dual Core, 1 Gig RAM, 120 Gig Hard Drive, DVD/CD Burner, FM tuner and satellite radio. Done and done.

Yoggie’s Firestick Pico USB Firewall. Everyone needs a firewall. This makes the process brainless and easy for everyone.

Alienware’s Curved DLP Monitor. Woah!

Belkin’s FlyWire Wireless HD Transmitter/Receiver. Send up to 6 full HD 1080p signals across the living room to your HDTV. Look ma, no wires!

Gizmodo’s TV-B-Gone Infrared Prank. My favorite part of CES this year was not a new piece of technology at all but a prank that technology blog Gizmodo pulled. It pissed a lot of people off and they are banned from CES in the future but it’s oh-so-entertaining. Watch this video!
http://gizmodo.com/343348/confessions-the-meanest-thing-gizmodo-did-at-ces

WARNING: Huge Load o’ Spoilers… One Week to Cloverfield!

Posted by Bradley under Entertainment, Pop Culture

With Cloverfield one week away it’s time for some spoilers. Strategically leaked most definitely!

1. Interwoven storyline of Rob and Beth’s relationship prior to invasion Monstertown
2. Rob’s friend is unknowingly taping over the evidence of said prior relationship
3. Taped evidence is of intimate moments
4. Film begins with footage from the tape
5. Footage is interspersed throughout the rest of the film
6. Monster known as “Clover”
7. Monster has “spooked” sensibility, disorientated and agitated
8. Monster has been living under the water for “thousands and thousands” of years
9. Monster first seen scratching back against building
10. Monster’s scratching destroys said building
11. Monster’s scratching releases parasites stuck to Monster’s back
12. Parasites are “dog-sized” creatures
13. Parasites can stick to things and climb walls
14. Parasites have a “voracious, rabid, bounding nature, but they also have a crab-like crawl”
15. Parasites have the “viciousness of a dog”
16. Parasites move more rapidly than the Monster
17. Parasites are “like little whirling dervishes that just destroy anything in their path”
18. Parasites are “totally deadly”

Awesome! These tidbits make me want to see Cloverfield that much more now!

http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/01/09/cloverfield-building-a-better-monster/

Tags: Cloverfield, Monster, Parasites, Spoilers

Dexter + CBS = February 17th

Posted by Bradley under Entertainment, Personal

WOAH! Birthday surprise for my sister and I. Showtime’s sadistically addictive cult phenomenon Dexter will air it’s entire first season beginning February, 17 on CBS. (A great day for a premiere!)
In a nutshell Dexter is a serial killer who also works for Miami homocide as a blood splatter analyst — or vice versa.

This show comes with my personal recommendation. Brilliant cinematography, colors, locations, art direction and psychological screen writing. If you need something new to watch this show will captivate.

Dexter is Michael C. Hall of HBO’s Six Feet Under fame where he played a homosexual mortician/funeral director.

http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2008/01/dexter-to-bow-o.html

Tags: Birthday, CBS, Dexter, Showtime, Twins

Is this the Cloverfield Monster?

Posted by Bradley under Entertainment

Some hilarity for your Sunday. This is NOT the Cloverfield monster!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22116941@N06/2169050955/

However this might be…

http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/real-cloverfield-monster-concept-art-revealed-maybe.php

Tags: Cloverfiled, Monster, WTF

16 Projectors 1 Screen

Posted by Bradley under Technology

Mitsubishi is showing off how to display live 3D video without the need for those bulky, oh-so-non-fashionable glasses. 16 cameras hooked up via firewire to 8 computers transmit the captured video over Ethernet to 8 more computers which decode and feed the 16 projectors. Practical for home use? No. Awesome. Yes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dvn1e343Clo

Tags: 3D, Mitsubishi, Projectors, Video