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Asteroids heading towards the big screen?



According to The Hollywood Reporter, Universal has won an all-out "bidding war" over the film rights to Atari's classic Asteroids video game. We're not entirely sure who all was involved in this "war," but the conflict couldn't possibly be prompted over the universal themes tackled by the story of the plucky little triangular spaceship and the asteroid field it inhabits. As the Reporter, um, reports: "As opposed to today's games, there is no story line or fancy world-building mythology." Michael Bay is rumored to be very interested in directing.

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Japanese Creating "Super Tuna"

motherpusbucket writes "The Telegraph reports that Japanese scientists hope to be breeding a so-called 'Super Tuna' within the next decade or so. They have about 60% of the genome mapped and expect to finish it in the next couple months. The new breed will grow faster, taste good, have resistance to disease and will totally kick your ass if you cross them."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

David Cathro renders 1971 like nobody's business

0davidcathro.jpg

As Carl is our resident CAD/3D expert, it takes a lot to make the guy say "These are the most photorealistic renderings I've ever seen in my life." But that casual honor's now been conferred on Studio Sweden founder David Cathro, whose rendering of a 1971 Plymouth Satellite (and others) is so absurdly real, it makes real life look fake.

Check out the rest of Cathro's stuff on Coroflot.

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What Are the Best First Steps For Becoming a Game Designer?

todd10k writes "I've recently decided to go back to college. I have a lot of experience with games, having played them for most of my adult life, and have always toyed with the idea of making them one day. I've finally decided to give it my best. What I'd like to know is: what are the best languages to study? What are the minimum diploma or degree requirements that most games companies will accept? Finally, is C++ the way to go? ASP? LUA?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Wind powered knitting machine takes the tedium out of your heirloom production


Knitting is one of those acquired crafting skills we just never fully warmed up to. We'll embroider, crochet, or quilt until the sun sets for the last time on the day of the apocalypse, but knitting is just so... boring sometimes. Luckily, ingenious artist Merel Karhof has a solution for the monotony of the knit - purl - knit - purl routine. She's designed and invented a machine that knits all on its own, harnessing the ever-present power of the wind.

SUPERTENDO portable SNES hack elevates an artform to something impressively commercial



Yeah, we're all been-there-done-that with portable SNESs these days, but we've never seen it done like this. Marshall posted his creation, dubbed the "SUPERTENDO," to Ben Heck's forums, which seems to imply (along with the looks) that he took some queues from similar designs already floating around those parts. What really sets this one apart, however, is the vacuum-formed chassis and the instant "make me an offer" move to a sale -- being owned by a major faceless media conglomerate ourselves, we like to see a guy who's out for a buck. A quick hands-on Video is after the break.

Microsoft chucks vomit ad

The rather colorful ad--in which a wife pukes after seeing what her husband has been viewing online--has been removed from the Microsoft IE 8 "Browse Better'' campaign.

What Is This? [Image Cache]

I thought this was some kind of bird hunting device sitting on top of a massive forest. In reality it may be your next vacation destination. And you will need the largest thermal airship to get it up there.

This is a canopy raft, an enormous set of nets held together with inflatable tubes that act as an structural frame. It can be placed on top of forests so people can camp, accessing the ground below using a hole and ropes. Apparently, the are so light that the trees don't get harmed at all.

Illustrated Chart Makes Coffee Drinks Easy [Coffee]

Whether you've got a fancy new espresso machine at home or you just want to get a better idea of how drinks are prepared at your local coffee shop, this handy chart can help.

Designer Lokesh Dhakar wanted a visual way to represent the composition of different styles of espresso preparations:

I‘m new to the world of fancy coffee drinks. With the vast number of ordering options and new words with accented characters to pronounce the coffee shop ordering experience can be intimidating. I've created a few small illustrations to help myself and others wrap their head around some of the small differences.

Media player meets Netbook in the Archos 9PCtablet

(Credit: Archos)

The line between portable media devices and traditional Netbooks just got a little more blurred, thanks to this morning's announcement of the Archos 9PCtablet. According to the company, this is a 9-inch touchscreen Atom-powered PC, in a form factor much closer to Archos' line of portable media players (or older UMPCs) than, say, an Eee PC.

Court: MySpace not liable for offline assaults

Consistent with other federal rulings, court rules that a Web service can't be held responsible if a minor is assaulted offline by someone whom he or she meets online.

gdgt Tracks Discussions Around Your Gadgets [Webapps]

New data-geeky gadget site gdgt (pronounced either G-D-G-T or just "gadget") doesn't deliver giant pictures with the latest news on brand-new devices. It tracks what gadgets you had, have, and want, and filters tips, gripes, and discussions around them.

After signing up, you'll want to dig around the gadget finder or text search for the computers, digital cameras, gaming systems, cellphones, and other devices that you own. Hit "Add to list" below the main gadget pic, say whether you had, have, or want it, then read on to find general discussions, tips and hacks for using it, and see price comparisons if you're looking to buy or sell.

Thanko's Spy Button video camera, because you've already failed


So what if Thanko's ¥5,980 (about $62) Spy Button Camera doesn't look exactly like the other buttons on your shirt. Anyone inclined to wear such a device to covertly record VGA video at 15fps (or 1280x1024 stills) to 4GB of internal memory isn't likely to get noticed in a crowd anyway. At least the magnetic on/off switch gives renewed purpose to your wedding ring while offering evidence of your continued poor decision making skills. Just be sure to bring your inhaler to keep your breathless excitement in check.

[Via Akihabara News]

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Name Win




fail owned pwned pictures

Picture by: dunno source. Submitted by: Marcus F via Fail Uploader

T3 Motion goes third wheelin' with its CT3 personal commuter EV


Don't get too excited, the above picture's only a render, but T3 Motion -- the company that brought you the security-focused electric stand-up vehicle -- is planning to bring this whip to life as the CT3 personal commuter / EV. As Autoblog points out, the lack of a fourth wheel should help this get classified as a motorcycle, meaning it won't be relegated to zipping around the neighborhood but still will be kept to a 45MPH top speed. However, a 80MPH CT-S version is in the works and will be entered into the Auto X Prize that'll get an envious 100 miles per gallon.

DIY HD projector hits the right note, sub-€500 price range


It's really hard to say how much of a value this DIY HD projector is, given we're missing some crucial specs like resolution (gotta be at least 720p, right?), contrast ratio, and luminosity. Still, at €500 (about $708 US) for the whole kit, it's not a bad deal if you planned on spending your weekend doing projects anyway. All the pieces come in four separate bundles -- HD optic, light, housing, and electronics -- and if you need some handholding (it's okay, so do we), there's a German-language instruction manual that's thankfully full of pictures and diagrams, and even more entertaining, we've got a video / picture slideshow of the process done to a playful techno ditty.

Comets Probably Seeded Earth's Nitrogen Atmosphere

KentuckyFC writes "One of the biggest puzzles of astrobiology is the origin of the Earth's oceans and atmosphere. One favored theory is that our water is the leftovers from a bombardment of comets early in Earth's history. But the ratio of hydrogen and deuterium in the oceans doesn't match the ratio in the four comets measured so far (Halley's, Hyakutake, Hale-Bopp and C/2002 T7 LINEAR). Now a new analysis of the ratio of nitrogen-14 and 15 isotopes in these comets and on Earth places new limits on how much of our environment could have come from comets. On the one hand, the astronomers who did the work say that no more than a few percent of Earth's water could have come from comets. But on the other, they say that the ratio of nitrogen isotopes in these comets almost exactly matches the ratio in Earth's atmosphere.

Google Voice Is Cool, But Do You Need It? [Phones]

You've read about the features, you saw the invites going out, but you might be wondering what, exactly, Google Voice could do for you. Here's our guide for the curious and uninvited on whether your phones need some Google juice.

Blizzard prepares for 'cataclysm'

It's safe to assume game developer Blizzard has some big deals on its slate of unannounced projects, but new filings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office suggest one of them is particularly dire. Game industry sleuthing site superannuation on Wednesday unearthed a trio of Blizzard applications filed ...

Bing brings out the tweets

Microsoft is adding Twitter feeds of a select group of prominent users to Bing search results for those individuals, embracing the microblogging service more directly than rivals.

Sony launches two feature-packed iPod speakers in Europe

Sony NAS-Z200iR with remote

Sony NAS-Z200iR with its unique iPod-style remote

(Credit: Sony)

Sony on Tuesday announced the European-only NAS-Z200iR and CMT-Z100iR all-in-one iPod speakers, which feature a built-in iPod dock, slot-loading CD player, AM/FM radio, analog audio input port and USB port compatible with a Sony Walkman or any other MP3 player--no ...

Twilight Umbrella lets you sparkle in the rain

Twilight Umbrella(Credit: Firebox)

Rainy days are good for only one activity: sleeping in.

Unfortunately for those who still have to earn their keep, there's the weather to deal with. Which is why we're big fans of high-tech brollies here at Crave. They keep us (relatively) dry and make the ...

Olympus E-P1 hands-on, test shots, and mini-review


It goes without saying that we've been pretty excited about the Olympus E-P1 (or "digital Pen") since we first laid eyes on the prototype the company was showing off. The Micro Four Thirds camera just seems to breed gadget lust amongst the staff, combining the best of modern tech with a throwback retro style that is somewhat irresistible. Of course, no one wants to drop $800 on a digicam unless it's actually capable of taking a decent shot -- so we thought we'd put the E-P1 through some basic paces to see if this guy is worth unloading nearly a grand on. Read on for some of our first impressions and observations.

Gallery: Olympus E-P1 hands-on

BMWs show gas prices, weather

BMW weather forecast

BMW's weather data shows up as a graphically rich three-day forecast for the current location of the car.

(Credit: BMW)

Keeping up with the trend of offering external data connections in cars, BMW announced the addition of gas prices, weather forecasts, and stock indices to its existing Google ...

Originally posted at The Car Tech blog

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