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T-shirt: "Know Your Spock"

September 8, 2008 9:48am

As I recall, 'evil' Spock wasn't really evil, he was essentially the same (goatee not withstanding) logical Spock who happened to be living in the essentially 'evil' mirror universe.

-Adam

HOWTO build a 1958, oscilloscope-based proto-Pong game

July 16, 2008 5:56am

The original Tennis for Two run on an analog computer anyhow, but this too is incredibly cool.

-Adam

Owner of Japanese "Diggbot" supposedly arrested

July 4, 2008 9:34am

Aside from the fact that the video is obviously a joke, the robot arm in the video is an OWI 007 Robotic Arm Trainer with other bits hot-glued on.

The arm is a great toy, but it is open-loop controlled with no position feedback (i.e. you press a switch and a joint bends, but there is no "return to home position" type control). It doesn't look like any feedback sensors were hacked onto it, and while the video suggests the arm is doing some sort of visual servoing with feedback from the camera, that one camera wouldn't give you depth perception. During the key-strike motions, the camera isn't even pointed at the keys anyway.

So yeah, totally fake. It looks like someone took apart a printer and a web-cam, hot-glued the various bits to a toy robot arm, and is controlling it manually from off screen. Hilarious! And the fact that so many people are buying it just makes it funnier!

Device for germophobes who don't want to touch things in public

April 10, 2008 6:02pm

"Allows you to open all types of doors"

Uhh, except ones with knobs!

I like how the video also shows someone opening a bathroom stall door, but not how they plan on turning the little bolt crank.

Mall cops flag juicy cars for thieves

December 12, 2007 10:33am

It could be worse.

In college I once found a bright orange tag on the handlebars of my bike, courtesy of the University Police, notifying me that I had neglected to lock it to the bike rack, and informing me that it could easily be stolen. THANKS!

The program was discontinued very quickly.

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