Geek culture

30-foot Hot Wheels playset is every kid's dream come true

Metropolis II is a four-year project by performance artist and sculptor Chris Burden that uses more than 1,100 Matchbox-style toy cars curved around 19 roadways to show the last days of what he calls the "free car"--in other words, the independent ability to simply jump in an automobile and travel.

In advance of a Metropolis II exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art this fall, directors Henry Joost and Ariel Shulman of "Catfish" fame just released this short documentary that shows the 20-foot by 30-foot art installation in action.

More pictures of Metropolis II after the jump.… Read more

Swede busted for home-brew nuclear reactor

Some people like to tend to their garden, play video games, or tackle woodworking projects as a pastime. A 31-year-old Swedish man, according to the Associated Press, had a rather unusual hobby. Richard Handl was working on a homemade nuclear reactor.

In Angelholm, a municipality in southwest Sweden with a long sandy beach right outside of the main town, Handl was busy experimenting in his kitchen with radioactive elements radium, americium, and uranium. He opened up fire alarms, which contain small amounts of americium and ordered other elements from companies overseas, according to Swedish news site The Local.

His work … Read more

The 404 874: Where two sticks make a fire (podcast)

Joey guest hosts The 404 Podcast today again; not because of all the Joey-related fan mail we've received, but because nobody else in the office knows how to operate the camera switcher. Just joking. Joey brings his refreshingly positive sense of humor while Jeff cools off.

Today's stories include a quick review of Spotify and the new Sonos small network speaker, a California ruling that makes Facebook trolling a crime, and a Web site that reveals previously deleted tweets of any Twitter user.

The 404 Digest for Episode 874

Sonos ships new smaller Play: 3 speaker. That story about the IQ of Internet Explorer browser users was fake! Undetweetable collects tweets you thought you deleted. California judge: trolling with someone else's Facebook is identity theft. My fake Facebook birthdays. A video voicemail from Kokesh on top of a mountain!

Episode 874 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Mysterious UFO-like object spotted on sea floor

Paging Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, we need you at the Baltic Sea as soon as possible. In what sounds like an opening for the next X-Files movie, an ocean salvage exploration company found an object on the floor of the Baltic Sea that looks an awful lot like a UFO.

The sonar images are vague at best, but the object still bears an uncanny resemblance to the outline of the Millennium Falcon. Has George Lucas been spotted anywhere in the vicinity?

The images come courtesy of the Ocean Explorer team, an experienced group of Swedish salvagers that already raised an impressive collection of rare and very expensive champagne from the watery depths.

Expedition leader Peter Lindberg notes that the mystery object is 60 meters across. Lines in the ocean floor next to it almost look like a skidded landing area.

Chances are that the discovery has a much less titillating explanation than coming from another planet. It could be a sunken vessel or a flooded archeological site. There will be no answers until the team goes in for a closer look.… Read more

Stroke of genius: South African artist's keycap sculptures

Check out these keycap sculptures made by South African visual artist and cultural activist Maurice Mbikayi. Trained in graphic design and visual communication at the Academie des Beaux-Arts in France, Mbikayi's unique mixed-media collages and the keycap skulls represent the artist's thoughts on the impact of technology on Africa and the Earth's dependence on natural resources.

Mbikayi sourced the keycaps from piles of discarded technological remnants left around the streets of South Africa and are used in his works to question their original destination and intent.

Click through the break for more pictures of Maurice Mbikayi's works of art.… Read more

Logitech K750 Solar Keyboard review: Eco-conscious innovation, low-profile design

Logitech calls its $79 Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 an innovation in typing technology, and after using our evaluation model for a week, we certainly agree. The dual solar panels mounted on top of the superthin keyboard require zero user effort to keep the device charged and ready to type, and its low-profile keycaps and glossy black mirrored finish make it appear more like a laptop keyboard than its desktop counterparts.

Logitech's effort to push the K750's eco-consciousness also shows up at every … Read more

The 404 873: Where we raise the debt roof (podcast)

Happy Wi-Fi Day, everyone! We're celebrating 8.02.11 with the return of Joseph Kaminski, and he's giving away free Wi-Fi refills all day to celebrate.

Joey's also teaching us how to tweet like men, even though he doesn't have a Twitter account, and telling us about Apple's new iCloud media-syncing service that rolled out to testers in the Apple Developer Programs today.

The 404 Digest for Episode 873

Learn how to tweet like a man. iCloud gets tested and priced. It's the first (and only) Wi-Fi Day! How will you celebrate 8.02.11?

Episode 873 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

It's the first (and only) Wi-Fi Day! How will you celebrate 8.02.11?

Happy Wi-Fi day, nerds! Today's date comes around only once, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) just announced a new 802.22TM standard of data network technology that enables high-speed data transfers at 22 megabits per second (Mbps) at a range of up to 60 miles. What we're saying is, there's not much time to celebrate!

Take our poll and let us know how you plan to spend the first and only 8.02.11.… Read more

Wampa shoes perfect for wannabe Skywalkers

Unable to visit the ice world of Hoth in the Outer Rim Territories? Check out these Wampa-inspired shoes by Adidas Originals.

During the first few scenes of "The Empire Strikes Back," Luke Skywalker checks out an asteroid, but gets more than he bargains for after an 8-foot-tall Wampa slaps him across the face.

After gaining consciousness in the ice creature's lair, Luke uses the Force to regain his lost lightsaber and pulls a Ponda Baba on the Wampa's arm. Now you can sport some fresh kicks representing the albino monster, which will surely be a hit with the ladies.

Adidas describes the shoes--officially known as Campus 80s Wampa--as made with horsehair, with contrast red stitching, a Wampa tongue badge, and a laser cut Wampa logo. So fly.

The shoes aren't on sale yet on the official Adidas Originals Web site, but they should appear there soon. Other notable pieces in the Adidas Star Wars Fall/Winter 2011 collection include the Hoth shoes, Forum Low RS AT-AT shoes, and other hideous but incredible items.

(Via Sneaker Freaker and My Wampa) … Read more

The 404 872: Where we hold hands and jump (podcast)

Today, CNET Labs editor Joseph Kaminksi is filling in for Jeff, who's on staycation all week in New Jersey. As usual, Joseph, aka Ozone, brings us a handful of stories from the tech world to discuss, including a study showing Internet Explorer users have a lower IQ, a CPR site that lets you touch hot girls' chests with no legal repercussions, and a Web app that calculates exactly how much time you'll spend in jail for your crime!

The 404 Digest for Episode 871

Internet Explorer users have a lower IQ, study shows. CPR site lets you choose and touch hot girls' chests, guilt-free. How much prison time? There's an app for that. Logitech drops Revue price to just $100.

Episode 871 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more