hamsters

Free Zip Archiver

Even with the increasing capacity of today's hard drives and faster Internet connections, file compression tools continue to be popular. Especially those that handle more than just ZIP files. Hamster Free Zip Archiver from Hamstersoft is one such simple tool. This free program will compress files in the ZIP and 7z formats, but it is fully capable of decompressing RAR files, as well.

It's easy enough to install and use. The interface is clean and modern, and compressing files is as simple as drag and drop. If you happen to be a newbie, have no fear, clicking the … Read more

Kia hamsters roll into a new ad campaign

Those hip hamsters of soul are back in a new ad campaign featuring "Party Rock Anthem," by the electro-pop group LMFAO.

The Kia hamsters have rolled through suburban neighborhoods and urban streets and are now in a dark, video game-inspired world to "Share Some Soul," in a new ad campaign.

The new campaign will feature 30- and 60-second TV spots as well as in-cinema, digital, and social media elements, Kia said in a statement.

The 60-second spot, available now on YouTube (check it out after the jump), will make its television debut on August 28 during … Read more

Friendly zip tool

We've been big fans of WinZip utilities for years, and that didn't change when Microsoft bundled a zip tool in Windows. They generally share some characteristics: they're free, for instance, and they integrate with context menus in Windows. They not only zip and unzip files but also handle other archive types, and they often have extra features such as the ability to split and merge files. We've tried them all, or thought we had until we encountered Hamster Free ZIP Archiver. It has an attractive, up-to-date look, and it can pack and unpack ZIP, 7Zip, GZIP, … Read more

For eBay sellers, a holiday hamster hangover

With toy store shelves and television commercials chock full of eye-popping video games and fancy tech playthings, it came as a surprise to many that some of the hottest toys this holiday season were inexpensive, relatively low-tech battery-powered hamsters imported from China called Zhu Zhu Pets. The fuzzy toy rodents manufactured by Cepia LLC, which came in models with names like "Num Nums" and "Mr. Squiggles," could barely stay on shelves for most of the end of 2009, and nobody really saw it coming.

For avid eBay sellers, it was the perfect recipe for profits--if they … Read more

Roller coaster meets the hamster wheel

This may be the closest thing we've seen to the "Bus Ball" coming to life. Even its name is similar: The "Buzzball."

Evento, a New Zealand company with a passion for the absurd, is living up to its reputation once again with this spherical contraption. "At the heart of the Buzzball is a dual motor configuration, enabling the pilot to control the motion and direction of travel via left and right control triggers, which provides power to the driving wheels," its Web site says. The result, according to Slippery Brick, is a "… Read more

Ultimate 3D gaming in a 400-pound steel sphere

If you really want to immerse yourself in the gaming experience, what better way to do it than in a 10-foot-tall, 400-pound steel sphere?

The "Vitusphere" is a futuristic apparatus that's right out of a sci-fi movie, kind of a cross between Rollerball and Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. Those who dare to enter the giant steel ball, according to Newlaunches, "can run, jump, roll, or crawl over virtually unlimited distances without encountering real-world obstacles."

Under development for more than a decade, the Russian-made Vitusphere works with a headmounted display and handheld controller for the ultimate … Read more

Get that lazy hamster in tip-top shape

There's a great line in The Truth About Cats & Dogs, when Janeane Garofalo's character--a veterinarian radio talk-show host--dispenses this advice to a caller: "You can love your cats and not love your cats." That scene came to mind upon viewing this hamster pedometer that actually keeps track of wheel rotations to ensure your pet furball is in peak physical condition.

Sadly, it's not the first such product. As Tokyomango notes, a dog pedometer has been on the market for some time. (And don't get us started on those pet translators.)

If people were … Read more

5 absurd Facebook apps

Just two months after the launch of Facebook's f8 developer platform, there are nearly 2,000 applications. While a good portion of them are useful and work well as social tools, there are also a handful that are simply absurd. In no apparent order, I've rounded up five of my favorites below.

Vibrating Hamster. The vibrating hamster is a simple picture of a lovable rodent you can put on your profile. As the name suggests, every time you click the picture, the hamster vibrates violently while playing the Web meme-famous hamster dance song. To keep anonymous hamster vibrations … Read more

Shredding documents with a hamster, the difficult way

As a former hamster owner, I can tell you that this concept for a hamster-powered paper shredder is really, really inefficient. Sure, it's not a mass-market product, but rather a design concept by artist Tom Ballhatchet that will be on display in Milan next week. The device works like this: the hamster runs on the wheel, which powers the shredder, which shreds the paper into hamster bedding. Clever, right?

Um, here's another idea. Just put the paper in the hamster's cage. Hamsters' teeth never stop growing, which is why they constantly need to chew on things. Consequently, … Read more