Edit the properties of any MSI. Change the title, and text within the installer. Look at how and where the files are delivered. Enables you to right click any MSI and open with Orca.
Download: ORCA MSI Editor | Technipages
MindwireV5 Shocking Game Accessory: Rumble is for the Weak
mindwirev5.jpgYou know what would make gaming even more fun? Pain. Or at least that is what the folks at Mindwire would like you to think. Their new MindwireV5 unit helps you get into the action with sensations ranging from a “crashing car to the blast of a machine gun’s multiple bullets hitting you; a sharp zap all the way through to a soft massaging feeling.” Five self-adhesive pads are connected to the arms, legs and stomach that administer a range of electric shocks to create sensations that mimic in-game action.
The system works with most PS2, Gamecube, and XBox games as well as PC games that support force feedback. Next gen consoles are also supported%u2014in certain configurations (a full list of compatible games is available on the website). So, I’m not sure about all of this electric shock business, but tell me more about this “soft massaging feeling?” The Mindwire is available for £99.99 (or $200). [Mindwire via PocketLint via Geeky Gadgets]
MindwireV5 Shocking Game Accessory: Rumble is for the Weak
Schimmel Pegasus Grand Piano Could Probably Travel Through Time and Space
pegasus.jpgLooking like it belongs in Jeff Vader’s Coruscant bachelor pad, the hand-made Schimmel Pegasus has an ergonomically curved keyboard, over 200 strings under a total tension of 176,520 newtons, and a key assembly composed of 10,000 pieces. Only 14 were made ten years ago for people like Eddie Murphy, Lenny Kravitz, and granfunkmeister Prince. Now you can get into this exclusive club because there’s one for sale until March 15th. More pics and technical details after the jump. Updated with price and other information
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Professor Luigi Colani reimagined the traditional 88 keys and gave the classic grand piano a futuristic organic shape with some virtuoso upgrades. The Pegasus features a ergonomic curved keyboard ( i. e. the keys exhibit a slight curvature ) that encompasses 7 1/4 octaves, a electrically operated hydraulic lid that allows you to control the specific amount of projection desired, a fallboard “soft close” system, the original Schimmel Triplex Scale “CAPE” precision soundboard tri-dimensionally curved and formed with a “high performance” back assembly with tension collector, a Sostenuto pedal (middle pedal), a fully-adjustable integrated black leather upholstered stool extendible in width, height, and distance to the keyboard, and a hard-wearing professional lacquer finish resulting in a grand piano of breathtaking elegance.
The Schimmel Pegasus comes with all this and the guarantee that your skills won’t get any closer to Prince’s than when you played with your Casiotone.
Update: According to the Mr. Koveleski, they are asking only $110,000, and their highest bit is currently at $100,000. The piano is now located in Northern California. The original owner is not any famous person, however, but “the CEO of a famous San Francisco Bay Area music store.” [Automorrow and Autoworldmobilia]
Retromodo: Schimmel Pegasus Grand Piano Could Probably Travel Through Time and Space
Researchers tout progress with maglev joystick, aim to bring it to market
Posted Mar 5th 2008 1:57PM by Donald Melanson
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Peripherals
Maglev technology may be best know for its use in trains (and the odd wind turbine), but a group of researchers led by Carnegie Mellon University’s Ralph Hollis have some ideas of their own for it, with them now touting a so-called “maglev joystick” that they hope to bring to market. That, they say, can provide increased feedback compared to a standard joystick, and offer an alternative to complicated gloves and robotic interfaces. Key to that, obviously, is a whole bunch of electromagnets, which are concealed in the bowl pictured above and allow the “joystick” to levitate, while also providing resistance when it’s moved in any direction. Needless to say, there’s no indication as to when the joystick might actually be available, but Hollis has recently formed a company, Butterfly Haptics, with just that as its goal, and it’ll apparently soon be shipping six of the joysticks to a consortium of US and Canadian universities for testing.
Researchers tout progress with maglev joystick, aim to bring it to market – Engadget
Simtrix trots out radically designed Swiftpoint mice
Posted Mar 5th 2008 2:26PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Peripherals
Sure, we’ve seen input peripherals stretch the core meaning of the word “mouse,” but few have done it better than Simtrix. First up in the Swiftpoint series is the TriPed (on left), which was designed to be held much like a pen if needed and is aimed primarily at tablet PC / tabletop computer users; according to the firm, it “provides seamless transitioning between mouse, pen, and text entry.” Moving on, we’ve got the equally zany Slider, which looks to grab more attention by being able to operate when sliding over a keyboard. Granted, folks with ergonomic / split boards are probably out of luck there, but that’s not to say your thumb still wouldn’t love this critter on a traditional mouse pad. Mum’s the word on pricing and availability at the moment, but we’ll keep an ear to the ground for whispers of either.
Simtrix trots out radically designed Swiftpoint mice – Engadget
Mobile Digital Scribe is the first device ever to capture natural handwriting from any surface, and store it in the receiver for future use. Based on a revolutionary electronic pen that uses ordinary ink refill to write on any paper, the Mobile Digital Scribe stores handwritten notes, memos or drawings for easy upload to any computer at your convenience. No special digital notepad is required.
Additionally, if the Mobile Digital Scribe is connected to a computer, handwritten text and drawings are displayed directly on the computer screen.
IOGEAR – GPEN200N – Mobile Digital Scribe
The main point here is the ‘from any surface’ thing: all the other pens need special (and expensive, you have to order them from internet and it’s difficult to find etc) papers to write on for them to work.
Yup, you can pass current through USB. So… you can light them up!
This goes for $ 22.99 per 6 feet
These Cable to Go ones go for between $ 2.38 – $ 9.59 depending on colour and length (look around a bit for different lengths than 2m
These green, blue and red gold plated connectors aren’t too expensive either.
These go for around $12.99
This pack of 7 port aluminium hub and 5 cables goes for $51.99
There are more possibilities with flashing heads when data is transmitted through them, with different colours at either ends, etc etc…
But you may have realised: the cable itself isn’t illuminated! AFAIK there is only one manufacturer for cables like that:
The Soundtech Lightsnakes
They can be found for around $20,- – $30,-
Just like some people can fix computers just by being near them, there are also people – SLIders – who can destroy them just by being near them. SLI stands for Street Light Interference, as they tend to turn off street lights as they pass by.
I first found out in the followin article, an anecdote that caught my imagination:
Meet Mavis, the super-charged grandmother whose touch BLOWS UP kettles | the Daily Mail
Allthough people are sceptical, there is enough anecdotal evidence around. NB All the pages warn people that it’s perfectly possible they’re imagining it!
some guy with his story Loads of these pages around.
Unfortunately there’s little in the way of scientific experiments confirming it, as wiki notes
About.com does have some links to ongoing research in this area, with some interesting results coming from Princeton.
Anyway, leaked documents can be published on this site with pretty much bulletproof anonymity. The documents are then analysed, so you can read both the analysis and the documents on it. There are some pretty interesting things on this site dishing out the dirt on many countries and their political and commercial dealings.
NTT is launching a card which when you’re wearing it makes you communicate data by touching stuff.
It uses technology to turn the surface of the human body itself into a means of data transmission.
As data travels through the user’s clothing, handbag or shoes, anyone carrying a special card can unlock the door simply by touching the knob or standing on a particular spot without taking the card out.
“In everyday life, you’re always touching things. Even if you are standing, you are stepping on something,” research engineer Mitsuru Shinagawa told AFP.
“These simple touches can result in communication,” said Shinagawa, senior research engineer at the company’s NTT Microsystem Integration Laboratories.
He said future applications could include a walk-through ticket gate, a cabinet that opens only to authorised people and a television control that automatically chooses favourite programs.
The system also improves security. It ensures that only drivers can open their cars by touching the doors if the keys are in their pockets, not people around them.
NTT has already developed technology that allows swapping data as heavy as motion pictures through a handshake, although it has not been put into commercial use.
Now I have an idea that this might be RedTacton technology – That’s been hanging around since 2005 without me having seen any practical application of it…
Back in May 2007 I had a look at brain controllers, one of which was promising to launch in October 2007. They are now accepting developers to use and program for their unit, but still not on the commercial market.
Of course China has not only proven that they can shoot them down, they can blind the US satellites too – so I’m wondering when the US is going to confirm they can do that too?
because the doubletwist desktop basically exchanges files between devices so that you don’t have to worry about the codecs, bitrates, etc etc etc
They allready give them speed, but now Viagra?
The active ingredient in the drugs was found to make climbers perform better in an environment with less oxygen, which causes fatigue and dizziness.
Microsoft, Google, Verisign and IBM have just jumped onto this bandwagon making it a winning contender.
This is the second time I’ve seen one of these calculations, and they’ve always made sense to me:
according to the Netherlands’ National Institute for Public Health and Environment, which found that while “a person of normal weight costs on average £210,000 over their lifetime”, a smoker clocks up just £165,000 and the obese run up an average £187,000 bill.
Note, this is all about costs to the state, nothing is mentioned about revenues to the state: of which a smoker will donate a healthy chunk every time they buy a packet.
So, instead of this anti-smoking witch hunt, we should encourage it!
