Our comrades over at Engadget are running a Halloween Costume Contest. Be the biggest geek in your clan and you could win some awesome prizes, such as a 30GB video iPod, a Moto RAZR V3, or a Tokyo Flash watch.
Auto-Lyrics Lookup in iTunes
We don’t do many software reviews here on Street Tech, but I’ve really been enjoying a little app I downloaded a few weeks ago called pearLyrics. Available as a Widget for Tiger or a stand-alone app for Panther (yes, unfortunately, it’s Mac-only), pearLyrics runs in tandem with iTunes (5.0 or higher). As you play a track, it looks up the lyrics using a number of lyrics databases. It presents the lyrics in the pearl app (or Widget), and you can also tell it to automatically paste them into the new Lyrics tab in iTunes. Nifty. Of course, you’re still at the mercy of the many misheard lyrics found on these sites, but it’s a start, anyway.
High-Def Defs
If you’re as confused as the rest of us about all the flavors of digital television and the acroymn salad served alongside it, this glossary of terms (on the equally recommended HD Beat) should help clear things up (at least until there’s a new wave of standards introduced along with new unpronounceables to tumble around inside your mouth).
Latest Bot Kit From Solarbotics
Our buds over at Solarbotics have released a nifty new kit, called the Turbot (US$60). As BEAM enthusiasts know, a turbot is a relatively primitive, (often) tetrahedron-shaped bot that lumbers around on (usually) two long, twisting arms. While many turbots are rather brutish, persistently “attacking” other bots (or your foot), the Solarbotics Turbot has added a motor stall detector circuit, so the bot will back off and go on about its stone-age business after a few seconds of flailing against your Chuck Taylors.
Dave at Solarbotics was kind enough to send Street Tech a review copy of the Turbot and we plan on a full review as soon as we have the critter built. I’m excited about this kit after having built the Solarbotics Sumovore for a review in the latest issue of Make (No. 4). That kit was first rate and really fun to put together, so I expect the same from this one.
TiVo HME Subscription Manager
This is nifty: apps.tv is an application for TiVo’s Home Media Engine which allows you to point TiVo to a remote server to grab HME applications without having to go through your home network. The app offers a Subscription Manager in “Music, Photos, & More,” where you can subscribe/unsubscribe to HME apps.
[Via PVRblog]
Live to Geek, Geek to Live
The latest installment of Gina Trapani’s Lifehacker column, Geek to Live, is a decent set of tips on how to set up your house for greater personal productivity.
Kills Bird Flu on Contact!
From the makers of Ebola Happy Fun Ball, SARS Chew, and Influenza Sticks comes NanoMask, the nanoparticle-coated filter mask designed to “arrest and eradicate…undesirable agents.” Send before midnight tonight, and they’ll also toss in a free ebook (“H5N1 Virus: How to Protect Your Family Against the Coming Pandemic”), AND if you buy the family pack of 5-color-coded masks, they’ll throw in a free bottle of snake oi…er… ImmunAssure, the “amazing virus-fighting tablet.” Wait, I thought the mask had already killed the virus dead on contact. Oh well, best not to think too hard here.
[Thanks, Alberto!]
[BTW: We made up those other products (Ebola Happy Fun Ball, et al.) We kid the NanoMask people. We kid because we love.]
Prepaid Wireless? Buh-bye
Clueless court and patent office goons strike again. According to a piece on TechDirt:
Last month a judge upheld a patent ruling against BCGI for helping mobile operators offer prepaid wireless solutions. Yes, that’s right. Having someone pay you before you give them mobile phone service is patented. Now, the judge has increased the fine and issued an injunction that means many carriers offering BCGI’s prepaid wireless offerings will have to stop.
New Robot Mag
This new magazine, Robot, from Maplegate Media, known for their R/C hobby mags, looks promising. The premier issue features the guys from Mythbusters, principally Grant Imahara, using the Vex System to create a simplified version of iRobot’s military PackBot. The article detailing the project, and some short videos, are available online. Subscriptions to the magazine are US$20/4 issues.
Is that an iTune I hear in your bra, or are you just happy to see me?
This is allegedly not a joke (tho we have our suspicions): According to a short piece on the U.K.’s The Register, BT Laboratories is researching the idea of implanting MP3 players into…well implants, ya know, as in fake boobies. The piece asks:
God alone knows how you select tracks, but breasts do come equipped with a pleasing alternative to the iPod’s selector wheel. We can imagine the scenario: Girlfriend: “Oi, what the bloody hell are you doing?” Boyfriend: “Hold on, I’m just scrolling down to Stairway to Heaven.”
Doesn’t British Telecom have anything better to do with their research time and money? A decade or so ago, they got a lot of press for talking about research into downloading brains onto silicon and for chips that could record and backup all of your experiences for later retrieval. Maybe they should get back to that. Let me guess, they found out that these concepts, while great for press attention, are really, really hard (even impossible), but silicon in silicone? Not so much (and no less press-grubby).
[Thanks, Jay!]