You never know which zoned out person today could just snatch your kid away at a busy mall, so it is always better to prevent something from happening than to look for a cure. The Link Child Locator concept device ought to be manufactured soonest possible, as it is capable of letting you track down your kid within a 100 foot radius - perfect for moms who already have a hard enough time trying to get the week’s groceries while managing her bunch of little ones at a local store. The child will wear one of the bracelets, while the parent will wear the other in order to view the direction and distance of the child at a glance. Definitely not something to wear when you’re playing hide and seek. Other than pixie magic, I guess this will rely on some sort of GPS signal if it were to be developed.

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Filed under: Audio/Video, iPod, iPhone

In case you’re not swimming in Apple gear just yet (wait ’til the kids come…), Griffin Technology has just released a more modest solution to charging “just” a pair of iPhones / iPods or one of each. The two-port PowerDock 2 features a pair of universal docks and a collection of dock inserts to ensure that almost every iPod (and the iPhone) can get a seat at the table. It’s available as we speak for $49.95.

[Source: Apple Store via PopGadget]

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I know it is Friday and all, but somehow this Massive Digital Ceiling Clock is one way your boss pressurizes you to finish up your work before the weekend rolls around. Definitely a bane to clock watchers, but for those who go about their duties with a joyful heart won’t matter - after all, the more lighting in the room, the better! I would think that the shifting light every minute can end up being pretty distracting though.

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Filed under: Audio/Video

Filmgoers in the U.S. are complaining that sound drops out completely at several points during the new Indiana Jones film, ‘Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.’ Many conspiracy-prone attendees suspect that the sound issues are an attempt to track pirated copies of films. One filmgoer claims that the Regal Cinema at Hacienda Crossing in Dublin, California posted a notice outside the theater confirming this, claiming the situation was out of their control.

Insiders say that the likelihood of it being an anti-piracy measure is slim. Most studios use sophisticated watermarks to track copies of films so they can identify which theaters films were pirated from. Projectionists theorize that the silence might be due to compatibility issues between film reels and the readers used in some theaters.

The exact cause is still not known, but one thing is for sure — moviegoers are not very happy about paying $10.50 for a film where the sound inexplicably drops out for several seconds at a time. [Source: Boing Boing and the Telegraph]

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Now this is definitely one vehicle that I would love to try out, although I suspect I’ll need some sort of logging license before Greenpeace activists and tree huggers come running after me. Dubbed the Plustech Oy Walking Machine, this logging machine was specially designed to minimize damage to the forest during logging activities (sounds like an oxymoron, eh), featuring the ability to move around in a more agile manner compared to wheeled and tracked logging machines. Obstacles (as well as tiny animals) can simply be stepped over in order to preserve as much of the forest as possible, taking only what loggers are after and not more than that.

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Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming

Finally, the ultimate dream of all iPhone owners has come to pass: TurboGrafx-16 emulation. Thanks once again to the massive talents at ZodTTD, Apple’s phone has gotten another piece of the emulator puzzle in the form of Temper4iphone, a fully functioning recreation of everyone’s favorite under-performing game console. The app can play both TurboGrafx and PC-Engine games, as well as CD-based ROMs. Right now the software is only available to beta testers (and donation-makers), though it’s expected to hit wide release soon. Check the video after the break and see for yourself.

[Via Joystiq]

Continue reading TurboGrafx-16 emulation hits the iPhone

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Filed under: Audio/Video

Fans of high-def audio rejoice: The first Blu-ray recording has been released. Fans of anything other than Divertimento, hold your horses: The first release is from Trondheimsolistene, an orchestra from Norway. ‘Divertimenti,’ as it is called, will be released by the 2L label in full HD audio glory along with a SACD track for those not on the Blu-ray bandwagon just yet.

Formats include 2.0 LPCM, 5.1 LPCM, 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio, 5.1 Dolby True HD, 5.1 Dolby Digital at 48KHz, and it has been confirmed to work just fine on the PS3.

[Source: 2L via MiC]

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Focal from Japan announced its new iBoom HiFi iPod Dock that functions with a wide range of iPods, ranging from the obsolete mini to the touch. Japan is a pretty huge consumer of the iPod after all, so it makes sense for this to be released there in the first place. Other than playing back your favorite tunes, this iBoom iPod dock also doubles up as a charger when your iPod is docked within. Features include a couple of speakers, a single 3″ woofer and one tweeter. The Apple remote works just fine with this 2kg unit, and it won’t take up too much space in your tiny Tokyo apartment, measuring 300mm × 190mm × 240mm. Expect to fork out a pretty pricey $300 for this.

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Filed under: Cellphones

It’s looking like Google will do what it can to provide an application store on Android-based handsets (see that “Market” icon above?). As project lead Andy Rubin mentioned at the Google I/O developer conference, “It would be a great benefit to the Android community to provide a place where people can go to safely and securely download content and where a billing system would allow developers to get paid for their effort”. So, two things of note here: 1) He wants to avoid malware and untested apps bricking people’s phones, and 2) Google would like a little side action on your transaction. Given the open nature of Android, we fully expect many people to find all sorts of random apps online in the dark alleys of the Intertrons, but a sanctioned store like this seems like a no-brainer for those on the straight-and-narrow.

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Filed under: Audio/Video, Computers, Celebrities

Weezer’s ‘Pork and Beans’ video debuted on YouTube last week, and it has since scored over four million views. Its popularity on the site may in large part be due to its aggregation of a seemingly endless string of the most popular memes , which were themselves YouTube hits, ranging from the Daft Dancers to Tay Zonday and the South Carolina contestant for Miss Teen USA. Now, one of the creative minds behind the video, director Mathew Cullen, is talking about what it was like working with the whole crew of Internet superstars.

It was very surreal. Everyone was talking about the effect that YouTube has had on their life and the differences between celebrity and web celebrity. I witnessed very intelligent conversations about what their place is in the fold, and pop culture entertainment, and what the rippling effects of what they’ve done and what their future holds…. They were all really fascinated with each other.

The idea came from the theme of the song, which is being happy with who you are even if people think you’re a bit odd. That fits perfectly with the idea of Internet memes, where people becoming fleetingly famous often for embarrassing videos, like that of Mark Hicks, whose video of a failed audition scored millions of hits. Cullen says he didn’t learn of the recent ‘South Park‘ episode featuring many of the same Internet celebs until after coming up with the concept. He explains that the Weezer video takes a more positive approach by celebrating the creativity of the Internet. [Source: Wired]

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