Gizmodo UK

The Wii has a lot to answer for, apart from broken TVs and injured relatives. Not to mention healthy and fit gamers - who ever heard of such an outrage!

BT has started trialling motion sensing technology in the shape of a small adaptor that connects to a mobile device ? laptop, tablet, handheld etc. ? that will allow you to interact with menus and applications by just tilting or moving the device.

Dubbed BT Balance, it is based around an accelerometer chip like that found in the Wiimote. The idea is to allow people in the field or in difficult conditions to use a mobile device without having to use a keyboard. It?s in testing now but don?t expect to see it out on the streets for at least three years.

You?ll know it?s arrived when all new laptops and handhelds come with wrist straps.-Martin Lynch

[Silicon]

Wii laptops technology BT

It's one thing to be rescued by a robot like this, but it's a completely different ballgame to see one of these creepy bots crawling your way when you're in need of help. Designed by Marcos Nolan, the Elios is a spider-like robot with 10 arms (carried in its belly) designed to lift people from harm's way and into safety. Optical and biometric sensors ensure Elios keeps on target whereas its rugged shell keeps it from being damaged. I admit, it looks cool as hell, but I'd probably faint if I saw one of these crawling my way. ? Louis Ramirez

A Giant Insect Robot Could Save Your Life [Electro Plankton via Gearfuse]

If you just can't seem to get enough Lego, now you can pack your lunch in one, available in your choice of pink, brown or blue. Unfortunately, that Lego cheeseburger isn't included in the box, and there's no word whether the lunchboxes interlock with each other.

Get yourself some Lego furniture to go along with this lunch carrier, and then all you need to do is build a Lego house and drive a Lego car, and the entire Lego illusion will be complete. ? Charlie White

Product Page [Lego Store]

Former PlayStation Big Kahuna Ken Kutaragi has finally left the company. However, instead of going home to fish, play Wii or pinch bonsais, he plans to keep contact with Sony, helping them to cut costs on the PS3 after making it so expensive himself. He says he also will advise them on the next versions, while at the same time working "with a much wider world."

"As a matter of course, I have the vision of PlayStation 4, 5 and 6, which will merge into the network."

I also have a vision about Kutaragi-san. It involves rubber chickens, a bathtub full of tar, five bags of marshmallows and a Blu-ray laser on overdrive. Must be the same LSD on my cornflakes. ? Jesus Diaz

Kutaragi hints PlayStation 4 plans [CVG]

I?m not the biggest fan of computer mice. I?m an average gamer who accepts that not all the DPI sensitivity in the world is going to improve my kill rate or reduce the speed at which my ass gets fried in online Halo 2.

Still, I?d have this mouse in a heart-beat, if only to look at all day long. This is The Bug, a cracking Steampunk mouse by the talented Jake. Other Steampunk inventions I?ve enjoyed recently are the Steampunk Laptop and Steampunk keyboard. Check out this clever ?Ye Olde Worlde? description of The Bug.

?One holds the device in a manner similar to the way a wood-worker holds a sanding block. The palm rests upon the ?ball? in the foreground, with the fingers extending forward. The middle digit is placed upon the spiked cog, while the pointing-finger and the ring-bearing finger sit on the studded levers on either side. The thumb and small-finger rest comfortably on the side of the cylinder, helping to grip the contraption. The ?Bug?, as the Professor calls it, is slid about upon a table top?thusly controlling a mobile indicator upon the Telecalculograph?s display. Push the device away from one?s self, and the arrow ?moves? towards the top of the viewing window. When the arrow has been positioned appropriately so that it is pointing at the desired ?item? on the glass, the user pushes down upon the various levers to elicit his desired effect. Turning the wheel in the center produces an action similar to turning a page in a book, or cranking a kinetoscope.?

Cute. Jump now for some more shots.?Martin Lynch

PC mouse peripherals steampunk

BBC overlord, the BBC Trust, has given the green light for the Beeb?s planned on-demand TV service. The proposed iPlayer service will allow us viewers to catch up on top BBC shows online for up to seven days after they were originally shown on the TV. It launches later this year.

You?ll be able to watch shows streamed over the Net ? depending on the speed of your link ? while others will be downloadable and can be stored on your PC for up to 30 days. The iPlayer service has been designed to run on Windows-based PCs with a big fat snub to Apple Mac users ? even after stealing the ?i? for the service name.

The Trust has asked the BBC to rectify the matter within a ?reasonable time frame?, but don't hold your breath. It?s not only Apple users getting the brush-off though, but arty-types too, since the Trust is not allowing classical recordings or book readings to be downloaded via iPlayer.

The iPlayer service is certainly going to be useful but, for me, the most important aspect was that this was the first proposed service to go through a public evaluation process, or Public Value Test (PVT), to test public response. In iPlayer?s case, a massive 10,500 people and organisations responded, most of them favourably.

It just goes to show that sometimes, just sometimes, that if enough of us want something we can get it.-Comrade Martin ?Lenin? Lynch

HDTV BBC TV internet

Bang & Olufsen, purveyor of high-class home entertainment porn, has added another sleek model to its stable of high-def tellys. And, with a price tag of just £1,800 [excluding stand ? this is B&O, after all] this 26in HDTV is considered to be the ?affordable? model.

That sleek black and silver finish surrounds a display with a 1366x768 pixel resolution, contrast ratio of 1200:1, a 6ms response time and brightness of 500cd/m2. There?s only one HDMI input though, which I think is just plain stingy for a luxury TV these days. Hell, most other makers offer two now, and some, even three. There?s also no digital TV tuner.

You can expect the BeoVision 8 to sound great though, thanks to two, 2in midrange/tweeter drivers and one 4in center bass loudspeaker driver. The company says that it can even be used as a dedicated PC monitor ? jump now for a photo.

Still, you don?t go for B&O for a bargain, and this is a pretty smart looking HDTV from a company with a pedigree in design and quality. You can even get that funky stand if you shell out an extra £200.-Martin Lynch

[B&O]

TV movies HDTV

With so many rubbish Web-cams out there, Creative thinks there?s a few quid to be made at the quality end of the spectrum.

The Live! Cam Optia AF is an auto-focusing cam which sports a 2-megapixel CMOS sensor that the company claims is a world?s first ? don?t they all? It?s certainly a looker with that glossy piano-black finish and will take photos up to 8Mp, albeit interpolated. The automatic focusing technology promises to track any movement so that your ugly mug stays in sharp focus all of the time.

It comes with dual-microphones to improve sound by reducing ambient noise. There?s also a handy password control feature to let parents ensure that their kids don?t become naked Web-cam hotties - at least at home. There?s no UK price or availability on this yet but it is coming, probably this summer.

The Asian price is around £56 but we all know that that?s about as much use as a third nipple. Full feature list after the jump. -Martin Lynch

Creative Live! Cam Optia AF also comes with the following features:

* Certified Hi-Speed USB 2.0 high bandwidth allows the transfer of raw data from the webcam to the PC without compression, achieving superior video quality at 30 frames per second.
* Creative Live! View technology encompasses all the video and imaging technologies and features that will deliver realistic or enhanced viewing experience, providing optimised light exposure, colour balance, and frame rates.
* High quality, multi-element Precision Lens offer increased video clarity and sharper images, ensuring the best image quality.
* Creative Smart Face Tracking technology automatically tracks face movements to keep the face constantly in the video frame.
* Privacy control function switches the webcam off when it is twisted 90° downwards, preventing any video feed from accidentally flowing out.
* The bundled handsfree stereo headset offers users an alternative for private conversation and can even be used for music listening.
* Multi-axis swivel lets the webcam swivel horizontally up to 270° with forward and backward tilt, giving the maximum flexibility to achieve the best possible angle for videos and photos. If rotated backwards, the webcam automatically flips the image to the correct orientation.
* Multi-usage base attaches easily to CRT monitors, LCD panels and notebook LCDs and sits comfortably on tables or other flat surfaces.
* Creative Live! Cam Suite comprising of Creative Live! Cam Center, Creative Live! Cam Manager, Creative Live! Cam Console, Creative Photo Manager and Creative Photo Calender for performing advanced video tasks such as motion detection, remote capturing, organising and managing of photos and videos and more.

digital camera photo web-cam

You may be able to lop heads off with gusto in the new online RPG, Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, but getting all Brokeback with the Hobbits is just not cricket.

Turbine, makers of the latest World of Warcraft contender, decided early on that taking male bonding beyond the realms of a bit of extreme violence was just not on. Gay marriages and inter-species mingling were therefore nipped in the bud, according to Turbine game designer Nik Davidson, speaking to Salon.com.

They felt that giving Middle Earth a kind of, liberal Second Life marital feature would have detracted from the game and ran afoul of millions of Tolkien booklovers ? not to mention old J.R.R. himself who would have dragged his desiccated corpse back out of his grave at such blasphemy. Andersen explains:

?The rule that we tried to follow across the board was: if there's an example of it in the book, the door is open to explore it. Very rarely will you see an elf and a human hook up, but it does happen; the door is open. Dwarves don't intermarry with hobbits; that door is shut. Did two male hobbits ever hook up in the shire and have little hobbit civil unions? No. The door is shut.?

?Tolkien was a conservative Catholic. He went out drinking with C.S. Lewis every night, and the two of them had a worldview that was - well, let's just say it clashes a little bit with the sensibilities of East Coast liberals who make up the largest population of Turbine.?

If you think the fans wouldn?t have over-reacted then check this out. Fans noticed a grey squirrel in some early forest screenshots and promptly complained to Turbine that Tolkien once wrote in a letter that he hated grey squirrels. It was changed.

Just imagine the reaction to Gimli and Frodo skipping up the aisle?-Martin Lynch

games lord of the rings online

Sony is hoping to out-do the entertainment value of the original EyeToy by announcing the PlayStation Eye for the PS3, which will arrive here this summer. Newer games [Eye Of Judgment] and some online services are coming to make full use of the tech. In the meantime it?s a decently specified motion-sensing Web-cam with some ?advanced? audio tech crammed in.

It can record video at an impressive 120fps [320 x 240] or 60fps [640 x 480]. No HD support but then this is hardly surprising in a Web-cam. There?s a two-position zoom lens for close-up and full body options and the Eye has been designed to cope well in low-light conditions.

It sports four in-built microphones which Sony claims greatly reduces echo and background noise, meaning audio chat remains clear even in noisy environments.

Playstation Eye will come bundled with free EyeCreate editing software, that allows you save, edit and add visual effects. These videos can be captured directly to the PS3?s hard disk drive and capture modes include slow motion and time-lapse. No price yet.-Martin Lynch

PS3 sony console technology games

Just what kind of chair do you need for comfortable computing becuse it seems sitting upright is just so yesterday's news. We now have gaming chairs for social lepers and computer beds designed to ensure that you might never leave the house again.

Today, we have a stylish new sci-fi addition to the wacky computer desk/chair club. The forthcoming [hopefully] G-Tech Neber chair is currently on show in Korea. It?s very sleek and probably very expensive but just look at all the chrome and clock-like structure with more than a passing nod to the Matrix movies - just without the 8-inch spike in the base of the skull.

The curved spine allows for different seating positions and the company claims it?s ergonomically sound by providing plenty of support for your back, wrists, head, arms and feet. In fact, one of the company?s selling points is it can help ?reduce fatigue?. But then, that?s probably because you?re lying down to start with.-Martin Lynch

PC home furniture geek

I realise there?s a lot of acronyms in that headline but bear with me. The BBC has just gotten permission from its overlords ? the BBC Trust ? to do a deal with a minor demon (ITV) in an effort to claw back some of the fledgling high-def TV market (HDTV) market from the Lord of Darkness itself (Sky).

The service, called Freesat, will launch next Spring and will offer consumers 200 channels of standard and high-def material with no subscription fees. Woo-hoo! Consumers will have a choice of equipment including both SD and HD receivers, a HD personal video recorder and an integrated digital television. This is good news and provides at least some form of future-proofing for Freeview. The Freesat service promises to fill any current Freeview coverage gaps and, as mentioned, will have no subscription charges.

Since I?m just about to pop my HD cherry with pricey Sky HD, I just wish they could have moved a bit quicker. How much the Freesat dish and installation will cost though, is still a mite fuzzy.-Martin Lynch

HDTV BBC TV Sky ITV

Following on from last week?s scare into Wi-Fi being potentially harmful for kids, today we have another one, with a leading government advisor claiming that kids should not place laptops on their laps when using Wi-Fi.

This stuff has more than a whiff of similarity to the ?mobile phone/radiation? scares. This time, Professor Lawrie Challis, who heads the committee on mobile phone safety research, told the Daily Telegraph that laptops on kid?s laps put them too close to the transmitter and exposes them to mobile phone levels of radiation. He said:

?With a desktop computer, the transmitter will be in the tower. This might be perhaps 20cms from your leg and the exposure would then be around one per cent of that from a mobile phone. However if you put a laptop straight on your lap and are using Wi-Fi, you could be around 2cms from the transmitter, and receiving comparable exposure to that from a mobile phone.?

Half of UK schools are currently equipped with Wi-Fi networks and teachers are now weighing in on the subject. The Professional Association of Teachers is writing to the education secretary for confirmation that Wi-Fi is not harmful.

That means you can expect to see yet another Wi-Fi safety report commissioned for a few million quid and, in about two years and after numerous delays, it will deliver either contradictory or inconclusive results, leading to - yes, you guessed it - another pricey report. Expect this hot potato to run and run.-Martin Lynch

wi-fi laptop broadband school

It?s all champagne and caviar at Nintendo this week, following astronomical results. Hard to believe they could actually have been better, but they could if only there had been a little more Wii to go around. .

In five months Nintendo has managed to ship 5.84 million Wiis [just short of its 6m goal but still mental]. Even despite the fact that it?s half the price of the PS3, it shows that Sony?s sales of under 2 million PS3s in roughly the same timeframe points to some trouble. Check the latest console sales stats - at least for the US - here.

Still, Nintendo could have sold a lot more if its production set-up had been better. Nintendo has even predicted that it will hit 20 million Wiis sold by this time in 2008. That?s a phenomenal number, if it manages to pull it off. In fact, it really needs to sort out that chronic supply problem.

The company has been producing one million units a months but admitted that it?s along way off fulfilling demand. Even with new plans to produce 14 million units this year, it?s warning that it will not be enough.-Martin Lynch

wii console PS3 xbox

If having buff action figures on your desk reminds you of your own flaccid muscular structure, then this Geek Man figure will make you feel like Dolph Lundgren. Complete with a BlackBerry, a Windows (Acer? Lenovo?) PC, an analog watch, coffee mug and gigantic spectacles, the Geek Man really does remind us to get out, exercise and play with some real-life people once in a while.

Maybe if you put him in a drawer with that slut Malibu Stacy, you'll have some Geek kids soon as well. ? Jason Chen

Product Page [Gifts for Engineers via Chip Chick]