toys

It's understandable that many people who buy a digital SLR would not want imperfect photos. Why spend all that money just to get out-of-focus, soft shots? Well, sometimes, it's just fun to think about your photography in a different way. And that's where the Digital Holga lens comes in.

The base Holga lens is just a simple plastic lens with an effective aperture of f8 and a focal length roughly equivalent to 60mm with a manual zone focus. (It's based on the lens design from the plastic Holga film cameras.) The Kitchen Sink kit I tested--available for Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax, and Olympus digital SLRs--included this base lens, three close-up, two macro, fish-eye, 2.5x telephoto, and wide-angle lenses. All of these additional lenses just slide onto the front of the base lens. … Read more

There's never been a movie studio with an unbroken streak of hit movies like Pixar. From the original "Toy Story" to "Finding Nemo" to "Cars," "Ratatouille," and "Toy Story 3," the animation wizards at Pixar have won over the industry, forcing Hollywood to change how it makes films, and it's made billions in the process.

And it never would have happened without Steve Jobs.

Pixar began as a division of George Lucas' LucasFilm, working on the development of imaging technology and its own imaging computer. But inside, some … Read more

Disney is doubling down on 3D with a mix of big-screen 3D rereleases and a big "Toy Story" rollout on Blu-ray 3D.

While analysts across the board are wondering if the general public wants movies in 3D at home or at the multiplex, a chorus of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" resounded from Burbank as Disney dominated the box office the last couple of weeks with the 3D theater release of "The Lion King."

So, forever an entity eager to make hay while the cartoon sun shines, Disney has announced more 3D rereleases of animated classics. The limited theatrical engagements will include "Beauty and the Beast" on January 13, 2012; Pixar's "Finding Nemo" on September 14, 2012; Pixar's "Monsters, Inc." on January 18, 2013; and "The Little Mermaid" on September 13, 2013.

On the home front, the "Toy Story" trilogy will hit on Blu-ray 3D on November 1. … Read more

It was only a matter of time before the Crave podcast was invaded by robots. Fortunately, this week's robot overlord is the insanely adorable, soon-to-be-available My Keepon robot by BeatBots. The pint-sized dance bot is joined by its co-creator Marek Michalowski, who explains the robot's origins and its road to commercial viability.

… Read more

The typical $40 remote-control helicopter comes with a tiny, imprecise controller. Griffin's just-announced Helo TC turns your iPhone into the flight stick , with your choice of onscreen or accelerometer controls. Price: $49.99.

The kit consists of a dual-rotor 'copter and the Flight Deck, a case/sled that cradles your iPhone and controls the flyer via line-of-sight infrared. It also plugs into your iPhone's headphone jack, thus allowing the Helo TC app to communicate with the helicopter.

Want to see it in action? Check out Griffin's promo vid, which is not only surprisingly polished, but also pretty … Read more

Shark Week is over, but the Discovery Channel seems to have forgotten about a new species at the top of the underwater food chain: Air Swimmers. Unlike RC blimps and other flying mechanical toys, these Mylar balloons add realism and movement with moving fins that swish back and forth to propel the fish through the air.

How does it work? It's simple, kind-of: a 1.5-volt AAA-powered motor attaches to a small plastic pod on the bottom of the balloon, and the accompanying controller uses infrared reception to control the tail rudder's speed and navigation.

The set-up requires … Read more

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

BILLUND, Denmark--Though it's hard to imagine a time without Lego, the world-famous plastic bricks didn't exist until 1949. And today's brick, with its three little tubes that ensure a snug fit with other bricks, didn't come on the scene until 1957.

But the Lego company has been around much longer than that. It may be something most people have never even heard about; Ole Kirk Kristiansen's little outfit began in this small Danish town as a one-man operation turning out wooden toys. Being a world-famous brand was surely not on Kristiansen's mind at the … Read more

Before I had an iPhone, I did not experience iPhone envy. I liked my beat-up, old cell phone and its inability to text, take pictures, or access the Internet. It wasn't until these cool, retro-looking photos started popping up on my friends' Facebook pages that I started to think the iPhone might have some features worth the price of admission. Now, I didn't end up buying an iPhone because of Hipstamatic, but it was the one app that started to break down my antismartphone defenses. And it was among my first purchases in the App Store.

Feeling Hipstamatic envy? Fear not, I have a cure. Two, actually. Two desktop apps, ToyCamera Analogcolor and CameraBag Desktop, can give your photos Hipstamatic-like effects. They work with either a PC or a Mac and offer free trials.… Read more