2008 August 27 | tech gadget update

Aug 27 2008

Free tetris clone Tris removed from App Store

Posted by: admin in Mobile Gadget

EA Games pushes out an iPhone port Tetris, and sells it for $9.99. An independent developer goes and makes his own Tetris clone (as has been done on just about each single electronic device ever created since the dawn of man) called Tris and offers it for the world for free. This is all going to go perfectly smooth, right?

Of course not. Tris’ developer Noah Witherspoon has received word from Apple legal that owners of the Tetris trademark, The TetrisÂ® Company, have started to throw around legal jargon. As a result, Noah has pulled Tris from the App Store while figuring out where he stands legally.

Screw it, Noah. It’s Tetris. It’s the most heavily cloned game in the history of ever, and one with a long history of legal controversy. If you’re able to make a free alternative for something which would otherwise cost a Hamilton, more power to you. Rename it as “LOL FALLING SHAPES!”, and you’re good to go.

Via Mobilecrunch

Aug 27 2008

Immersion and Microsoft Settle It Once and For All [Rumble]

Posted by: admin in General Gadgets News

For those keeping up with Immersion’s many legal battles over their patented rumble technology being used in console controllers, the company has finally settled with Microsoft…again. You see, Microsoft used Immersion’s rumble in their 360 controllers without paying. Immersion sued, and Microsoft paid up. But then Sony used the rumble tech as well to make the Dual Shock 3, which activated a contingency that Microsoft negotiated earlier forcing Immersion to pay them if other companies licensed the tech. But Immersion wouldn’t pay. (Now they did.)

Immersion forked over $20.75 million to Microsoft to settle the suit and become part of the Microsoft Certified Partner Program. Other terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but there’s a good chance that money is flowing in both directions.

So not that it matters to your next Halo 3 deathmatch, but Immesion and Microsoft have…once again…settled their legal battle. Hooray! [Kotaku]

Aug 27 2008

New, easier technique for capturing high-res textures

Posted by: admin in Life Gadgets

I’m no asset creation specialist, but from what I’ve heard it’s not that difficult to get textures, even though making a decent normal map that actually corresponds to a texture’s source is tricky. Some boffins at Dolby thought there had to be an easier way than what was available, so they got to thinking. What they came […]

I’m no asset creation specialist, but from what I’ve heard it’s not that difficult to get textures, although making a decent normal map that actually corresponds to a texture’s source is tricky. Some boffins at Dolby thought there had to be an easier way than what was available, so they got to thinking.

What they came up with is essentially taking a surface’s picture twice: once with ambient lighting that highlights bumps and cracks, and once with a direct flash that grants the camera to see all the color. A system then compares the two, determines whether a light or dark area signifies a bump, divot, crack, or just color gradient. It’s pretty smart, and hopefully it works.

Via [crunchgear]

Aug 27 2008

DLO’s Homedock Pro Adds 1080i HD Output to Your iPod [Docks]

Posted by: admin in General Gadgets News

It was way back in February when we first alerted you to DLO’s upcoming Homedock, but now there’s more info available. The Homedock HD Pro is an upscaler dock that can add 1080i or 720p output to your iPod through an HDMI cable to your Television, and it’s going to be demoed at the upcoming CEDIA Expo show. It’s got “industry standard connectivity” over RS-232 and I.P., with digital optical audio and an IR receiver so you can bolt it into your media setup and control it with universal IR remotes. Better still the dock has an “enhanced on-TV interface” which “features album art in an icon-based format,” which makes it sound like a mini AppleTV. There’s no pricing info as yet. [CEPro]

Aug 27 2008

A $15,000 Gran Turismo Pod: Still Cheaper Than Ferrari, Lamborghini or Porsche [

Posted by: admin in General Gadgets News

We’re not sure where each dollar went in this $15,000 Gran Turismo Prologue Pod, but we have the ability to appreciate the integrated PS3, 40″ screen, surround sound, racing seat, Logitech G25 wheel (which includes those fancy pedals) and stylish Plexiglas window. It’s just a shame that the full version of Gran Turismo 5 isn’t actually out yet, making this ubercabinet the world’s most advanced demo kiosk. Still, here’s another shot from the tech-fantastical cockpit:

It’s easy to forget that dudes who are into racing games are really into racing games. [GTPlanet via BornRich]

Aug 27 2008

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Posted by: admin in Video

high tech gadgets

Aug 27 2008

Crayola EZ Type Keyboard: When Normal Keyboards Are Just Too Confusing [Keyboard

Posted by: admin in General Gadgets News

There are only four acceptable reasons I can think of for buying this $30 dollar Crayola EZ Type keyboard: 1) You’re a tiny slow. 2) You’re under the age of five (and still maybe a little slow). 3) You’ve a kid under the age of five (and you’re both a tiny slow). 4) You really, reeeeally hate the offset alignment of standard keyboards. If you’re not buying for any of the above reasons, you’re probably a pedophile who knows no child can resist a bunch of bright colors and the Comic Sans font. Shame on you, and might God have mercy on your soul. [Crayola via Red Ferret via BB Gadgets]