Photographed by geek extraordinaire and lego fan Chris McVeigh, here’s a picture of what Santa might look like if he’d exist in the Star Wars universe.
Many thanks to Chris for giving us permission to post this pic on Geeks are Sexy!
[Source: Flickr]
What gadgets are you pawing after this season? Which technical wonders make your heart skip beats, and give you the shivers?
If you’re anything like me, you’ve likely spent hours—maybe even days, weeks, and months—of your year drooling over gadgets. And with the holiday season going in to full swing, there’s no end to the gadget temptations around every holly bedecked bend.
Here are a handful of the gadgets I’ve been fawning over that I’m hoping, just hoping, that Santa might carry down the chimney for me (if he’s feeling generous this year).
Netbook. Yes, yes. I’ve posted about this before. However, I’ve recently been infatuated (yes, that is the word) with the Samsung Go in Mint Blue. Though a Mac user through and through, I still often daydream cute montages of myself and the Samsung Go–who I would lovingly name Euripides–going to the park, sitting in coffee shops, watching Pride and Prejudice and going on and on about how adorable Colin Firth is and… what, sorry? Right… The specifications are beyond sexy, with the sleek 10″ widescreen, gorgeous keyboard, and interesting performance.
eReader. Whether you belong to the cult of Kindle or the network of the Nook or, perhaps, are one of the scions of the Sony eReader, there’s no denying that digital readers are changing the face of content. You might not agree with the formats, the rights–and you might not even like the screen or the lack of “new book smell”. But I can’t help but shirk the idea that having an eReader would simply encourage me to read more. That’s one little piece of technology I’d love to slink up next to in bed. Rwar.
Droid/iPhone. No, I’m not implying that the Droid will be an iPhone killer. For one thing: just like the Loch Ness Monster and Sasquatch, I don’t believe in iPhone Killers. Not yet, anyway. While I enjoy my iPhone Jr. (my iPod Touch) I can’t help but wish it did more. Though, with the service at AT&T and the many issues with call clarity, I’m certainly willing to give the Droid a chance. It looks sexy, seems to have some great reviews already, and certainly has the apps (and openness) many iPhone users are pining for. Even if the advertisement makes it look a bit like the Eye of Sauron.
Digital Camera. When our son was born a few years ago, we decided to use it as an excuse to get a beautiful Nikon D50. However, it’s become more and more clear as time has gone on that we’re just not using all the bells and whistles for such a great camera. Yeah, we’re thinking of downgrading. Considering all the options in more affordable point-and-click offerings, however, it’s kind of exciting to be on the lookout for a new camera. Particular models we’re considering are the Elph line as well as some of Nikon’s sleeker models.
How about you? Any gearheads and gadget geeks out there with particularly drool worthy wishlists? Go ahead and tell us what makes you go “OMG WANT!” You have full license to go on at length.
Tags: Gadgets, gagdet guide, geek gift guides, geeky gifts
Inspired by Poker Face by Lady GaGa, Neutra Face was composed by a bunch of bearded guys to pay homage to the Neutra typeface.
Acer has announced that it plans to be the first manufacturer to produce hardware running Google’s Chrome operating system.
Chrome is a Linux-based system which is centered on the existing Google-made browser. It’s aimed primarily at users who want a low-cost machine for internet use and a few basic applications. The system is really just a souped-up browser which contains hardware drivers and links to on-line applications. One of the main selling points is that the system allows ultra-fast start-ups, meaning it can be used in devices which allow you to start using a website almost as quickly as you can turn on a TV and watch a show.
Though there are tentative plans to offer Chrome on machines with solid-state drives, the recently-released source code is designed for use on machines with no storage, the idea being that all data is kept online through services such as Gmail and Google Docs.
According to Asian tech business newspaper Digitimes, Acer says it expects to be the first firm to release a Chrome-based netbook, probably some time in the second half of 2010. Acer had already been the first company to sell a computer running Android, Google’s operating system better known for its use in smartphones.
It looks likely that Acer won’t be alone in developing Chrome-based products. One person working for Dell has already used the source code to produce a customized version of the system for the firm’s Mini 10v netbook, complete with the relevant drivers. It’s pretty much proof-of-concept at the moment and, though Dell has made it available for download, the creator freely admits it is “highly experimental and completely unstable.” Still, it does show firms are interested in creating versions of Chrome customized for their machines, which makes it much more likely that consumers will be able to simply buy a computer, turn it on and use it without needing any technical knowledge.
If you really do want to try out Chrome, there is a version that’s already been created to run from a USB stick. It’s available as a compressed 300MB torrent which unzips to a 3GB 1GB disk image file, so you’ll need a 4GB 2GB key to be on the safe side.
Given that there’s no guarantee of driver compatibility with your hardware, and that it doesn’t really offer anything in practical terms that you can’t already get from simply using a browser, it’s really only of interest if you want to nose at some new technology just for the fun of it. (And there’s nothing wrong with that…)
I.M.P.S.: The Relentless is a short fan-made series created by fans of the Star Wars universe. The first installment of the series made its debut on the net in 2005, aiming to show “the best damn job in the galaxy”, that of serving on the Revenge-class Star Destroyer Relentless as it goes on patrols and missions. The series is divided into chapters, with only chapter 1 and 2 (just released!) being available right now.
I.M.P.S. The Relentless – Chapter 1: Davenport Gateway (2005)
I.M.P.S. The Relentless – Chapter 2: Norca System (11/2009)
Using just a few household items and some basic science, here’s a simple way to create a cool perpetual spinner.
Yep folks, what you’re admiring right now is Iron Man 2’s first official poster. It looks positively awesome, doesn’t it?
[Via firstshowing.net]
If you were hoping to get a Barnes & Noble Nook e-Reader as a way to survive Christmas, there’s bad news: you might have to talk to your relatives after all.
The device has already officially “sold out” for Christmas delivery, but the firm had said anyone who ordered it before November 20th would get it in time for the big day. However, in an e-mail to Information Week, the firm backtracked a little from that certainty: “We are starting to ship this week and are committed to doing everything we can to ensure everyone who ordered a Nook before November 20th will receive it in time for the holidays.”
Rather strangely the firm also noted that because of high-demand it was prioritizing pre-orders. Presuming that simply means sending devices out in the order they were purchased, you have to wonder what the firm’s normal policy is.
Anyone who ordered since November 20th will now be getting the device from the week of January 5th at the earliest. As a way to mitigate the problems, the firm is offering the option to buy a gift certificate for the device (which can be delivered for Christmas), and will have a limited supply in stores from next week.
This might not turn out to be the public relations disaster it seems on the surface however. As Barnes & Noble had already had a cut-off date for orders to arrive before Christmas, there’s no danger of people who would have gone on to order them as gifts deciding to give it a miss.
As for those who have already ordered and will now be disappointed, Barnes & Noble already has their money. The only real danger would come if the device proves a disappointment and leaves people angrily declaring that it wasn’t worth the wait.
However strong the demand for the Nook really is (as usual, conspiracy theories have it that supply has been intentionally limited to make it appear more desirable), it’s clear the device faces a harsh struggle to overtake the Kindle. Amazon has just reported that its own electronic reader was not only the most popular product on wishlists, but also the best-selling product on the entire site last month.
There are certainly strong arguments that the Nook may be a better device technically than the Kindle, but the momentum of being the first product to gain a foothold in a new market can be very difficult to overturn.
A while ago, Microsoft announced that they would team up with Seth MacFarlane to do some Windows 7 / family guy promotional spots. Then a few weeks back, they decided that the family guys characters might not be the best fit for the Windows 7 brand and just axed the whole project. But it seems that Microsoft changed its mind again, because today, the clips appeared on the company’s youtube channel. Check them out:
Computer
Windows Stewie
State of Windows 7
Spelling Bee
[Via The Huffington Post]
In the following video, Robin Williams talks about his addiction to gaming and how he named some of his children after video game characters.