Curtains for Sony Aibo
When Sony mentioned that they would kill off the Aibo platform, many sad voices were heard all round. This year’s RoboCup would be the electronic dog’s swansong, since the RoboCup Federation has already called for tenders for a replacement robot platform where the Aibo is concerned. With the Aibo unwanted and jobless, hopefully it doesn’t develop a case of digital rabies and sink into depression. Well, everything comes to an end eventually, and I feel rather sorry for the poor little thing. Perhaps there is some form of Digital SPCA that is willing to nurse older electronics, transforming them into useful members of the society eventually? I think there is a name for it, and it’s called the recycling center.
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Add comment August 20th, 2007
Well, maybe not a bomb but definitely a car. This 18k gold Shuffle comes studded with tons of glittery diamonds and a pair of matching earbuds - costing enough for you to use that kind of money to purchase a spanking new ride. Just how much exactly, you ask? $20,000 to be exact. At that price, this is one Shuffle that you would have locked up in a safe deposit box somewhere and not meant to be paraded in the open. After all, you never know just when disaster might strike, so why take the gamble with your part of your “retirement fund”?
Chinavasion has a new portable media player in the market that seems to be able to do everything under the sun, ranging from audio and video playback of the most popular formats currently available to built-in game emulators that let you enjoy great classics from the past including the NES, Gameboy, Gameboy Color and Sega Genesis platforms. Strange that everything 8-bit remains under the domain of Nintendo, but Sega took over in the 16-bit era, so you can forget about Mario Kart with this PMP. Other features include a 3″ TFT widescreen display, a snap-on gaming accessory, 2GB of internal memory, and an SD memory card slot. English. There is no word on pricing or availability as at press time.
The GrooveToons Alarm Clock are guaranteed to thrill anyone receiving it as a present, unless the recipient does not own a 2G iPod nano of course. It matches any 2G iPod nano in terms of color, coming in green, pink, blue, black, and silver. It looks pretty much like a traditional alarm clock, waking you up to the loudest track found on your nano while keeping it juiced up throughout the night. As with any self-respecting alarm clock, the inclusion of a snooze button is important to help wake you up in multiple attempts. The GrooveToons Alarm Clock will be available later this week for £29.99. Just don’t expect to experience high end audio quality from it and you won’t be disappointed.
Looks lke the Patriot systems in the US, Patriot and HAWK systems in Germany, and the Nike Hercules Systems in Italy will be phased out with the introduction of the highly versatile battle management tactical operations center (TOC) that is actually a mobile air defense system from MEADS International. This highly advanced air and missile defense system includes a lightweight launcher, 360 degree fire control and surveillance radars, and plug-and-fight battle management and control abilities that are unavailable in current systems. With the threat of a missile (nuclear or otherwise) flying into any country’s airspace these days, it would be better to be safe than sorry. Too bad the whole world can’t seem to get along with each other in the long run.
Looks like a sultry sex symbol just won’t do it these days, as Philips has resorted to promote their new Moisturizing Shaving System for men with sexy female robots. I’ve always thought that robots were asexual, but I suppose you wouldn’t buy such a revolutionary shaving system from a monster like Megatron, would you? This new advertising campaign features a robotic woman giving her master a shave in the shower. Guess the single and the rich prefer the cold touch of steel instead of picking up a wife. Do the models in an advertisement actually influence your purchase decision, or have you made that decision based on your current needs?
The Yamaha EC-02 electric bike roars into action, bringing along glow-in-the-dark capability and an iPod dock to keep you entertained as you travel within the city. The styling cues are definitely retro as evident by the huge, round headlight, a seat that looks like a banana, as well as chromed teardrop front and back turn signal pods. The huge central “tank” doesn’t store any gas, but actually stores the electric-powered engine. The Yamaha EC-02 has a maximum range of 40 miles and a top speed of 18mph, which should be more than sufficient for intra-city use. It retails for approximately $2,000 and is currently a Japan-only product with no word on whether it will be released elsewhere around the world or not at press time. Definitely a tempting proposition considering how fuel prices have no where to go but up.