Half of the links on Reddit go to Imgur, a photo-sharing site created by a Redditor. Digg’s top destination is YouTube. A quarter of the top links on Reddit point to Reddit itself. This means that Reddit users are creating self-referential posts. Digg is focused more on traditional news sites, like the Huff Post and the UK Guardian.

I stopped using Reddit a few years ago. But, I always preferred Reddit over Digg. Whichever site you choose, these social bookmarking sites can be controversial, since a tiny percentage of users seem to create and promote most of the content. Digg and Reddit have tried to makes things more balanced over the years, but the jury is still out on who will be victorious.

[Rate Rush vis Wired]

Yosion’s Apple Peel 520 claims to be able to let you use your iPod Touch as a phone. The adapter is supposed to let you to make voice calls and send text messages using a jailbroken iPod Touch and a mobile SIM of your choice. Unfortunately, there’s no data support, but you can always use Wi-Fi for that anyway. The Peel includes a secondary battery, which will add 4.5 hours of call time or 120 hours in standby mode.

This hack device is supposed to come out sometime next week for somewhere between ¥300 ($44 USD) and ¥500 ($74 USD). I’ll believe it when I see it.

[Yosion via Engadget]

The new Magic Trackpad works wirelessly with your desktop Mac via Bluetooth, adding multitouch gestures for interacting with objects on screen, scrolling through long web pages, flipping pages in electronic books, and more.

The trackpad is about the same height as the Mac aluminum keyboards, making it 80 percent larger than trackpads on MacBook Pros, and giving you plenty of real-estate for multiple fingers.

You can get your hands on the Magic Trackpad over at the Apple Store today for $69 (USD).

As a guy who won't wear pink and thinks bears are imagery best left to a football team the Cowboys hopefully destroy, I didn't see the target market. I do now see the market, it’s guys unlucky enough to run across these with a female in the room who can make puppy dog eyes. I will end up having to buy these damn things. I really need a lock for the office door.

If you are being forced to buy your own set, or happen to be a 5-year-old looking for something to hook to your “big iPhone” these might do it for you too. The things can be pre-ordered for $68 and will ship on August 20. The bears each have their own speaker inside and ship with a black cable for plugging in your stuff.

This replica, dubbed the PS-Pod, for Pankaj Shah, the current owner, was commissioned by Chopper City USA and uses an all metal bodywork. Inside the custom frame, you’ll find the drive train from an Aprilia Mana 850. In order to make this version street-legal, the seating position has been altered to one similar to a chopper bike.

It probably cost a bunch of money to make and stands out like a sore thumb, but if you love the Batpod, this is the only way to go, unless you decide to DIY your own – or you’re lucky enough to win one in a raffle.

[via Diseno-Art via Born Rich]

A group of design types going by The Way We See The World have designed a cup made from Jell-O for the annual Jell-O Mold Contest held in Brooklyn, New York. The design looks like those plastic cups we always use at picnics.

The main difference is that these cups are made from Jell-O and when you are done drinking from it, you can eat it. I’m not sure you would want to eat the cups though. The flavors are lemon-basil, ginger-mint, and rosemary-beet. I guess the flavor could have been worse, at least they didn't choose lime Jell-O.

[via Treehugger]

Instead of pushing buttons like the old games, LOOPZ uses a set of infrared beam sensors to detect when you place your hand through four semi-circular rings. The game comes with 7 gameplay modes, and lets you play with 1 to 4 players. Game modes include Music Studio, Freestyle DJ, Musicology, Reflex Master, Versus mode, Rhythm and Flow, and Repeat the Beat. The multi-player mode even lets players  create their own patterns to try and outsmart their rivals. While most of the modes are just variants on the old “Simon Says,” there’s a bit more variety with the rhythm-matching games which test not only your memory, but your timing too. Here’s a fun little video showing off how you can even use LOOPZ Music Studio mode to make your own tunes.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I got to play with a LOOPZ unit for a little while, and have to say it really is a fun diversion from today’s crowded market of casual video games. I can only imagine if I were a kid, I’d enjoy it even more. The only thing I’d like to see is the addition of tracks from popular artists. The built-in generic techno loops did nothing for me. Heck, if Mattel made add-on memory sticks with additional artists, they could extend the replay value of this thing quite a bit.

LOOPZ is available now over at Amazon for $29.99 (USD).

Captured in the aisles of Comic-Con 2010 by Reuters photog Mike Blake.

[National Post via Geekolinks]

It might have taken Harrison Krix of Volpin Props over 17 months to build this Daft Punk helmet, but it was clearly worth the wait. Sit back, peruse the gallery, and bask in the shiny golden glow of this work of a master craftsman.

Here’s a short video showing a little bit of how the incredible build came together over all those months:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

And check out the light show:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The complete build log can be found here, and more hi-res pics over at Volpin’s flickr photostream.

Harrison, we are in awe.

[via Super Punch via The Awesomer]

Orchestrated by Dr. Petar Kormushev and Dr. Sylvain Calinon at the Italian Institute of Technology (I didn’t think they even know what pancakes were in Italy), the Barrett WAM 7 DOFs manipulator robot arm, or as I like to call him – “Flippy” – could someday be fixing my flapjacks. At this point, Flippy is just learning the basics of maneuvering the pan and doesn’t know how to work with anything other than a fake pancake, but he means well.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

As you can see from the video, Flippy is still working out the kinks, but after about 50 attempts to get it right, he’s now able to flip his artificial pancake disc reliably. Now all he needs to do is pour batter into the pan, put it over a flame, and come over to my house for breakfast this weekend.

[via WIRED]

This dock is finished in cedar wood and includes integrated Altec Lansing speakers. It has two USB cables as well as headphone jack. It’s compatible with all iPhones and iPods, except the iPod Shuffle.

This dock is available on Etsy for the low, low price of $238 (USD). It’s just a hunk of wood and a couple of cheap speakers – something you could probably do for yourself for a lot less money. Still, it looks good – I just don’t think it’s worth that much money.

[via Design Blog]

The remote control is built using an Arduino controller wired to a methane sensor as the main components. You can even enclose the remote in a case of some sort if you want to hide it in the cushions.

I can just imagine this thing in action. Dad lets one rip. The channel changes from the Jets game to the Real Housewives of New Jersey. He says, “What the hell.” He farts again. The channel switches back just in time for the big play. I love technology.

[via Instructables]

I don’t know if they really achieve this goal, but I do like the retro look of the maps. 8-Bit Cities works similar to Google Maps. You can type in an address and the software will locate it on a map. One thing that I’ve found, is that these maps are a lot easier to remember than normal maps, because they blur out the details that you don’t actually need while you’re navigating.

For now, Amsterdam, Austin, Berlin, Detroit, London, Paris, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC, and NYC are currently available with more cities coming soon. I wonder if Google Maps will have their own 8-bit option soon.

[via Make:]

The catch is that there isn’t typically a source of hydrogen that we can use to refill the fuel cell and we end up having to buy expensive replacement cartridges from the maker of most fuel cell chargers. A new device called the HydroFill has surfaced on pre-order for $499.99 (USD) and it will ship on August 9.

The device plugs into your wall outlet or can be hooked to an optional solar panel. The HydroFill uses water to create hydrogen and then puts that hydrogen into the $9.99 HydroStik container for use inside the $99.99 MiniPak fuel cell charger. This is certainly not cheap but if you are the outdoorsy type or are seriously green, this might be a great thing.

Those aren’t fighters; they’re hawk food with glass bowls over their head.

Slippy’s much more adorable in that form though. You can order the Do A Barrel Roll! T-shirt at Threadless for $18 (USD).

This lightsaber duel was made by Brian Curtin, Mat Powell, and Matt Hall. It’s good enough to make your forget the two pudgy dudes in it. Some of the action is really good. Granted, it’s not as fast as it should be, but hey, this was made for not a lot of money using DIY green screens in some parking lot. Heck, the lightsaber hilts were made from sink faucets!

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

And if you’re not into Star Wars, their latest project is called Beyond Black Mesa and is based in the Half-Life universe. I just watched it and it looks a lot better than the Star Wars duel! Check it out below.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via Ufunk]

The Kame Robotto is the first robot in Kondo’s animal robot series, and he’s a cute little bugger. A set of nine servos power along the mechanical reptile, who manages to scurry along much faster than most real turtles I know.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

He also has a few tricks up his turtle sleeves, as you can see from the video clip. Want one? You’ll have to pony up ¥39,900 (about $460 bucks) – and get someone the guys at Japan’s RT Shop to ship you one.

[via Botropolis]

The Kame Robotto is the first robot in Kondo’s animal robot series, and he’s a cute little bugger. A set of nine servos power along the mechanical reptile, who manages to scurry along much faster than most real turtles I know.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

He also has a few tricks up his turtle sleeves, as you can see from the video clip. Want one? You’ll have to pony up ¥39,900 (about $460 bucks) – and get someone the guys at Japan’s RT Shop to ship you one.

[via Botropolis]

For this stand, the smallest Gorillapod for cellphones and cameras was used. The Gorillapod is sturdy enough to hold the iPad in a variety of directions. It even works in bed. Since the Gorillapod can be folded up very tightly, it makes it easy to carry one of these around wherever you go.

I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before, but using a Gorillapod as an iPad stand is a great idea, and a use for a gadget you’re probably not using all the time. If you’ve already got one, you’re all set. And if you don’t, a Gorillapod costs $30 and you’ll not only get a nifty tripod for your camera, you’ll get one of these.

[via Wired]

Naturally, it’s called the iTree, and was created by the Austrian design studio KMKG. They hollowed out the middle of the log, turning the inside of it into an acoustic chamber to help improve frequency response.

Customers can choose what kind of wood they want and the length they desire. I’m pretty sure that this will cost a bunch of money if you want one. Honestly, even though it looks interesting, I’d rather have something a little more portable.

[via TUAW]

Standing 32-feet tall, and residing just North of the Bird’s Nest at Beijing’s Olympic Park, the giant Transformer might not be as tall as giant Gundam, but you have to hand it to the Chinese for their ingenuity. You see, Optimus Prime was entirely recycled. He was built from 10,108 junk parts.

[People Daily via Topless Robot]

In an interview with Siliconera, Hindman explains, “I hacked into old-school video game consoles and re-configured their commands to respond to MIDI and/or Audio (the information from our guitars)”. Then he and his friends experimented with all kinds of control mappings in different fighting games. They mapped strings, chords and even scales to commands. Here’s Modal Kombat in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Obviously the video was made as a proof-of-concept. I’d like to see a good-looking and good-sounding match, like Crossroads meets EVO. Better yet, Hindman should come up with something like The Legend of Black Heaven. Now that would be awesome.

[via Siliconera via GoNintendo]

This The Walet Mount was designed by Jonathan Danforth from North Carolina. On back, you’ll find keyhole slots for any direct-to-wall mounts, as well as VESA-compliant standard holes for articulating monitor arms. On the side, you’ll find a hole for a headphone cord.

If you want to make your own, you can download the blueprints from Thingiverse for free. If you’d rather buy one than make one yourself, you can order one for $64.95 (USD) here.

[via Make:]

This Boba Fett bust bank is perfect for keeping all of your change in check, and should defintely keep your money safe from Jedi or Rebel scum who might want to steal your money. It’s designed based on digital files direct from the Lucasfilm Archives, and measures in at about 8-inches tall. I’m not sure how many Galactic Credits it will hold, or if Galactic Credits even come in coin or paper form, but it’ll definitely hold plenty of Pennies, Rupees, Yen or Pesos.

The only bad news about the Boba Fett bank is that it’s not shipping until this December. But if you pre-order one for just $18.99 (USD) now, you can have a nice surprise in your mailbox just in time to start saving for your 2011 New Years resolution.

If you want a case that it a bit more usable than the Apple bumper case, the Quirky Tilt might be perfect for you. The Tilt is a bumper case open on the front and back.

The cool feature of the case is that the bottom part flips down to allow you to stand the iPhone up in landscape or portrait mode. Plus, the sides are indented to give you a place to wrap the headphone cord. The body of the case is plastic and the face is rubber.

The Tilt is on pre-order now over at Quirky for $28, assuming they can get 990 order.

The Sensgard ZEM headphones come with a simple amplifier. The noise-canceling technology comes courtesy of Dr. Josef Zwislocki and cancels background noise without requiring any electricity. It’s based on a physics-based sound filter, which reduces noise in the low and high frequency ranges by 37 dB.

While they don’t look all that stylish, I have to say that I’m intrigued by this technology, but I’m not yet ready to get rid of my Shure earphones. Nevertheless, they will be available soon and cost $90 (USD) for a pair.

[via Ubergizmo]

The video took over 1,500 hours to complete, since each LEGO-constructed character needed to be moved around individually, then photographed. While the music video has been around for a little while now, this is the first time I’ve seen these behind-the-scenes pics:

And for those of you who never saw the completed video, here it is. I have to say it’s very impressive indeed:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

You can find Super Mario, Yoshi, Pac-Man and a cast of many others in this great little video.

[via Designboom]

The flexible-armed robot on the BeerBot T-shirt actually makes me think of Bender from Futurama, which just started its sixth season on Comedy Central, and does not have its own beer-bottle opener t-shirt (yet.) The t-shirt costs $20 over at ThinkGeek, and who knows, maybe with this t-shirt, you’ll become the life of the party. Or maybe you’ll just be a loser with a bottle opener on your shirt.

Honestly, I have a feeling that this  gimmick won’t last long. After a few parties, I bet that it will rip off. What do you think? Is it worth it as a novelty item, or would you prefer to just spend your $20 bucks on 1600 Microsoft Points for your Xbox 360?

[via CrunchGear]

Unlike big chunky phones like the HTC EVO, the Galaxy S is about the same size as the iPhone 4, and aimed directly at stepping into Apple’s territory. When I first unboxedthe Galaxy S, its sleek, thin design is what immediately caught my eye.  Officially, it measures 9.9mm thick, and the iPhone 4 measures 9.3mm, but I certainly couldn’t tell the 0.6mm difference. As a matter of fact, it looks like it’s exactly the same thickness as my iPhone 4 – and actually seems a little thinner due to the curved edges.

It’s a little hard to tell from these pictures, but the Galaxy S features three primary controls on the front, a push button for selecting menu options and two backlit touch-sensitive locations – on the left, a context menu, and on the right, a back button. This navigational mechanism worked well for me in my tests and took virtually no time to get used to coming from my iPhone. The power/standby button is on the top right side of the phone, while the

While I’m not thrilled with the plastic case design, it does mean the phone is very lightweight (119g), and feels good in your hand. One thing you’ll definitely have to get used to quickly is having to wipe its shiny screen off all the time – it’s a massive fingerprint magnet – but so are most touchscreen smartphones these days, right? The back is equally as fingerprinty.

At the heart of the Galaxy S is a bright Super AMOLED display, measuring 4-inches diagonal – besting Apple’s 3.5-inch display in terms of real-estate, while still fitting in almost the same package size. Samsung also claims the display has “80% less reflection”, but I really don’t have anything to compare that to. Under most conditions, contrast and color saturation levels were visibly better than my iPhone 4, but unlike Apple’s Retina display, you can definitely see pixels on Sammy’s 800×480 screen, and browsing tiny type on the web requires that you zoom in if you really want to read it. For what it’s worth, I give a slight edge to Apple in this respect, but this is very much a personal preference. Trust me, won’t be disappointed with the Galaxy S’ screen.

The touchscreen is as nice as any I’ve tried, and offers haptic feedback you can feel when you type on screen, which is nice, but doesn’t really add that much. I did test out the multi-touch display’s addressable area, and was pleased to see that it detected finger touches as close to each corner as I could test.

What I did notice immediately when I switched on the Galaxy S was how zippy it was compared to some of the earlier Android phones I tested out. Running a speedy 1GHz Samsung CPU, it was immediately apparent that this phone is one of the faster smartphones currently out there. As a matter of fact, it felt just a little more responsive than my iPhone 4 for most operations. And it seems to actually handle 3D games with aplomb. I had a chance to test drive Gameloft’s Asphalt 5 on the phone and it ran at a silky-smooth framerate.

You’ll be able to find models of the Galaxy S with either 8GB or 16GB of internal memory, and can expand storage up to 32GB extra with a microSD card. From a connectivity perspective, you get tri-band HSDPA/HSUPA 3G data and voice, as well as Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0 wireless. The phone also sports GPS, an accelerometer, proximity/light sensors and a digital compass. About the only bell or whistle this doesn’t have that the iPhone 4 does is the gyroscope.

In my tests, phone reception was solid – although I had difficulty getting a 3G connection from my home, and kept falling back to 2G. I’m reasonably certain that’s more of an issue with AT&T’s network than the phone itself though. That said, at the same time that I had no 3G connection on the Galaxy, I had one on my iPhone 4 (albeit just 1 to 2 bars). Voice quality through the earpiece is very good, but on speakerphone, it does distort a bit at high volumes. That said, it’s nothing you can’t live with.

The Galaxy S runs Google’s Android OS, and I won’t spend a whole lot of time going into Android itself. The phone ships with Android 2.1, which certainly is better than early versions of the OS, but only supports Flash Lite 3.1. Samsung has already revealed plans to bring Android 2.2 to the Galaxy S, along with full Flash 10.1 support, so it’s only a matter of time before that upgrade hits. In the mean time, you get a wealth of apps out of the box including a calendar, e-mail, web browser, contact manager, memo pad, and the Aidiko eBook reader, which looks an awful lot like Apple’s iBooks app. And of course, you’ve got easy access to the Android Market, which currently offers over 60,000 apps.

As has been the case for a while, Android includes the excellent Google Map Navigation, which provides turn-by-turn directions using Google Maps data, and can speak directions when you install the free, optional Text-to-Speech capability from the Android Market.

One thing to keep in mind is that Samsung conceals much of the standard Android UI behind their own “TouchWiz 3.0″ menu system, which includes Samsung’s much-better-than-Android’s media player. I found TouchWiz to be a more natural transition coming from an iPhone, but if you’re a die-hard Android user already, you might find the menu system a little disorienting at first. There’s also no way to disable TouchWiz, so if you want Android’s standard UI, you’re out of luck. There have been some reports of TouchWiz adding mysterious lag to the user experience, but fortunately, I didn’t encounter any of this in my testing.

So, back to the hardware. The Galaxy S can shoot 720p HD video at 30fps, and there’s also a low-res front-facing camera for video chats, which work reasonably well on Wi-Fi or a solid 3G connection. While the HD cam performs admirably in daylight situations, I found the grain levels to be exceptionally high in all but the brightest lighting conditions. When shooting still images with the 5-megapixel digital camera, I had better luck, but still a decent amount of grain in most images. Here’s a sample still image for reference – taken under typical room lighting conditions.

Keep in mind that the Galaxy S is loaded with real camera-like adjustments for exposure and a plethora of photo enhancement modes, so with a little practice, I bet you can get much better image quality than I managed to muster in my brief tests in the out-of-the-box image modes. That said, they left out two small, but useful features which really should be standard on phone cameras these days – there’s no LED flash, and no dedicated camera shutter button. I can live without the shutter button, but for indoor photos, I really missed the flash.

An added bonus over the iPhone, the Galaxy S has a built-in FM tuner, which does a nice job grabbing over-the-air radio, along with information display for stations that support RDS title and track information. And when I was scanning around the dial, I lucked out and got me some Foreigner. Carl would be so proud.

Probably my favorite feature on the Galaxy S is AllShare, which provides DLNA media sharing, so you can share your pictures, videos and audio either to or from other DLNA devices over your wireless network. I managed to stream a 720p video that I shot on the Galaxy to my 58″ Samsung plasma TV’s media player without a hitch. There’s something immensely satisfying about shooting a video, and then having it up on your big screen in seconds without wires or transferring files. You can also send files from your desktop computer to your phone’s screen.

One area I didn’t really get to test thoroughly was battery life. Since I didn’t use the Galaxy S as my primary phone during this review, it’s hard for me to get a grasp on real-wold battery performance. I will tell you that the phone ships with a 1500mAh battery pack, and Samsung rates the phone at 393 minutes talk time on 3G and 803 minutes on a 2G network, which is comparable to the iPhone 4’s battery claims.

Overall, I’m pretty pleased with the Galaxy S. It’s definitely one of the nicer Android OS phones I’ve used, and it was zippy in performing all of the operations I tested. It’s got all of the features you’ve come to expect from a well-equipped phone these days, including a hi-res and front-facing cameras, HD video, 802.11 b/g/n support, GPS, Bluetooth, and even an FM radio. And I love that they didn’t dumb down the camera – including exposure controls and adjustments I’m used to seeing only on dedicated digicams.

My complaints are generally minor: the grainy low-light images – and no flash to help with that situation. Plus, I’d prefer a metal body instead of a plastic one, and the AT&T version is limited to 3G connectivity. I’ll be really curious to see Sprint’s 4G variant when it comes out. Also, if you’re into the standard Android UI, you’ll want to look elsewhere. On the other hand, if you’re thinking about moving over from an iPhone, your transition will be easier to this phone than some of the other Android phones out there.

4.0" WVGA SUPER AMOLED (800×480) with mDNIe

1GHz CPU Speed

16GB / 8GB, external memory microSD slot (up to 32GB)

64.2 x 122.4 x 9.9mm, 118g

Android 2.1

• 2.5G (GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE) : 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz


• 3G (HSDPA 7.2Mbps, HSUPA 5.76Mbps) : 900 / 1900 / 2100 MHz

• 5.0 mega-pixel Camera + VGA Video Telephony Camera, Auto Focus.


• Self shot, Action shot, Add me, Stop motion, Cartoon shot, Smile shot, Panorama shot

• HD(720p@30fps) video playing & recording


• Codec: mpeg4, H.264, H.263, H263Sorenson, DivX HD/ XviD, VC-1


• Format: 3gp (mp4), WMV (asf), AVI (divx), MKV, FLV

• Music Player with SoundAlive


• 3.5mm Ear Jack


• MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/OGG/WMA/AMR-NB/AMR-WB/WAV/


• MID/AC3/IMY/FLAC/XMF

• Bluetooth technology v 3.0


• USB v2.0 (High-Speed)


• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n

• Talk time: 2G/803 min, 3G/393 min.


• Standby time: 2G/750 hrs, 3G/576 hrs.

Flash Lite 3.1, RSS reader

Accelerometer sensor, Proximity Sensor, Digital Compass

• Integrated Messaging ‘Social Hub'


• Android Market for more applications and contents


• A-GPS


• Augmented Reality with Layar Reality Browser powered by Tele Atlas


• SMS/ MMS/ Email/ Video Messaging/ Exchange ActiveSync


• Sensor: Accelerometer, Digital compass, Proximity, Light


• Offline & No SIM Mode, Voice Command,


• RSS Reader, Mobile Widgets, Smart Security


• Swype, Write & Go


• ThinkFree


• Aldiko e-book

For more info on the Galaxy S, and where you can get one, head on over to Samsung’s website.

It’s called the iRetrofone Steampunk Copper iPhone 4 dock, and it looks pretty sweet since it allows you to use the retro handset to use the phone while it’s docked. I think that this is a great idea.

The dock is made out of copper, so it’s quite heavy. But it’s not its weight that is the only substantial thing. It’ll weigh heaviliy on your bank account too. Each one is sculpted, cast, and polished by hand artist Scott Freeland, which is why it sells for $450 (USD). Wow, talk about pricey! Heck, that’s more than two iPhone 4s. At least there’s no 2-year contract required with it.

[via DVice]

This great little video by Mike Benson pits snowboarding and skateboarding against old school video games, like Space Invaders, Super Mario Bros., Frogger, among others. While these games are great, where’s Contra and some classic space-shooters like R-Type? Replaced by the anachronistic appearance of Portal, I suppose.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

This video features music from Ground Up and skateboarding as well as snowboarding from Scott Stevens, Micah Hollinger, Chris Beresford, Tim Eddy, Ben Bogart, and Casey Wrightsman juxtaposed with some great voxel animations of characters from old school video games.

[via Ufunk]

This supercomputer system is called the Grape-DR and is composed of 64 pairs of Intel’s Core i7-920 processors and a board mounted with 4 Grape-DR accelerator chips. This accelerator board diminishes the power consumption of the supercomputer five fold! In terms of specs, each Grape-DR accelerator chip kicks out 200 GFLOPS of throughput, while using just 50-watts. That’s less than a lightbulb for you science majors out there.

The system belongs to a Japanese university and research institute, and was ranked first in a list of 500 green supercomputers, beating by 5% IBM’s green supercomputer. For those of you keeping score, the system’s performance per unit power consumption is 815.43 MFLOPS/W – vs. IBM’s 773.38 MFLOPS/W. Take that, IBM!

I don’t know much about supercomputing, but from what I see, it can get quite messy, cable-wise. With all of its intelligence, you’d think it could devise some kind of cable management system.

[Tech-On via Ubergizmo]

I never had luck finding cool stuff, but a dude in south-west England has found serious treasure with his metal detector. The guy was detecting in the field and ended up finding a pot filled with over 52,000 Roman coins that had been buried since AD253 to AD293.The mass of coins are Roman era and are estimated to be worth about a million bucks today. The finder says he will have to split the treasure with the guy who owns the field. If Brits are anything like Americans, a suit will break out soon as one of them attempts to get the whole treasure.

[via CNN]

Now, thanks to the ingenuity of one Robert Oschler, you’ll soon be able to control the YouTube Leanback experience from the comfort of your easy chair. Robert has managed to put together an application which allows him to use his Wii-mote control and Bluetooth on your PC to allow him to control Leanback wirelessly. Here’s a short video clip showing off his WiiLeanback app in action…

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The cool thing is that Robert plans on releasing WiiLeanback as a downloadable app in “a week or two”, so you’ll be able to do this for yourself without much more than a few keystrokes – which I’m guessing is something you’ll really like, assuming you’re too lazy to get up from the couch to flip to the next video.

Now, thanks to the ingenuity of one Robert Oschler, you’ll soon be able to control the YouTube Leanback experience from the comfort of your easy chair. Robert has managed to put together an application which allows him to use his Wii-mote control and Bluetooth on your PC to allow him to control Leanback wirelessly. Here’s a short video clip showing off his WiiLeanback app in action…

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The cool thing is that Robert plans on releasing WiiLeanback as a downloadable app in “a week or two”, so you’ll be able to do this for yourself without much more than a few keystrokes – which I’m guessing is something you’ll really like, assuming you’re too lazy to get up from the couch to flip to the next video.

In order to make your own, you’ll need six pencils and four rubber bands. If you’re worried about scratching up your fancy new iPad, don’t be! The rubber erasers on the end of the pencils serve as a cushion to protect the case of your iPad.

This great little hack comes courtesy of Julian Horsey of Geeky Gadgets. You can check out how exactly to create this shape here. It might be a good idea to use even more rubber so that the metal of the eraser ends of the pencils doesn’t scratch your iPad, but ultimately, this is a very portable and handy dock that can be tucked away into a pencil box when not in use.

[via Make:]

In order to make your own, you’ll need six pencils and four rubber bands. If you’re worried about scratching up your fancy new iPad, don’t be! The rubber erasers on the end of the pencils serve as a cushion to protect the case of your iPad.

This great little hack comes courtesy of Julian Horsey of Geeky Gadgets. You can check out how exactly to create this shape here. It might be a good idea to use even more rubber so that the metal of the eraser ends of the pencils doesn’t scratch your iPad, but ultimately, this is a very portable and handy dock that can be tucked away into a pencil box when not in use.

[via Make:]

Trashbear Labs built this Nixie Soduku board using 81 individual tubes, arranged into a grid, and controlled by a couple of dials and a keypad. There’s even a built-in solver algorithm, in case he gets stuck trying to solve a particularly challenging puzzle.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Want one just like it? Trashbear has been kind enough to share all of the schematics, source code, and design files in one handy .ZIP archive here.

[via Hack A Day via Adafruit Industries]

Created by custom figure builder uuser, this awesomely awesome 18 inch-tall custom Omega Supreme figure is so intricately detailed, I might just weep.

I also might cry about the $3,000 price tag.

[via Topless Robot via Great White Snark]

I’m actually not sure how he achieved the effect, but the illusion makes it look like the game was painted on a concrete wall and sidewalk. I suspect that it was actually done with some computer post-production trickery, but it’s still impressive.

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I like how he managed to show entire levels on one continuous image – that sure would have made it easier to anticipate what was coming up if the real game played that way.

[via Fubiz]