kickstarter

The 404 1,296: Where we take our filters to the grave (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Help Kickstart a documentary on the cultural impact of "Back to the Future."

- How movie theaters keep cool through summer's scorching months.

- A Web site that exposes Instagram frauds that use #nofilter.

- Kanye, the new Steve Jobs, gets Jobs-signed Apple mouse.

- How Xbox fans in Japan earned the nickname "Gropers."

- Pebble smartwatch coming to Best Buy starting July 7.… Read more

Pebble smartwatch coming to Best Buy starting July 7

Starting this Sunday, you can have any Pebble you want at Best Buy...as long as it's black.

True to rumors that leaked out yesterday, the Pebble-to-Best-Buy news is true. The Kickstarter-born Pebble Watch receives notifications from Android or iOS devices via Bluetooth and has a growing collection of watch faces and supported apps, including Runkeeper, but it hasn't been easily available to many of those who pre-ordered. Today's announcement that the Pebble will be at Best Buy will hopefully help with supply.

The Pebble will also get new retail packaging, a white box as opposed to … Read more

World's first public space telescope gets Kickstarter goal

The tale of the Arkyd telescope is like that of the "little engine that could."

What seemed like a difficult task -- raising $1 million from a Kickstarter campaign to launch the world's first public space telescope -- was overcome on Monday as the crowdfunding goal was met with more than $1.5 million in pledges.

Not only did asteroid mining company Planetary Resources achieve its goal, it surpassed it, which means that the extra money can be used to add even more features to the telescope.

More than 17,600 people backed the Kickstarter campaign -- … Read more

Pocket Spacecraft hopes to launch personalized moon missions

Chances are, most of us will never have the opportunity to walk on the moon, but we might have the opportunity to send a tiny spacecraft in our stead. A Kickstarter project from Pocket Spacecraft wants to launch a moon mission full of personalized space gadgets that would report back to their Earth-bound owners.

Pocket Spacecraft is attempting to raise $440,000 to build out a whole fleet of its tiny spacecraft (called Scouts) and invest in an Interplanetary CubeSat Mothership to transport the little tykes to the lunar surface.… Read more

Friday Poll: After Ouya, how likely are you to invest in crowdfunding?

There's always an element of gambling when it comes to crowdfunding projects. You hand over your money, sometimes on just a wing and a prayer and a prototype, and hope your reward gets delivered as promised, when promised. It doesn't always work out.

Many backers of the Ouya gaming device on Kickstarter got their Android consoles on time, before they reached retail. Some backers didn't. There are an unknown number of unhappy early adopters with no hardware in their possession and vague answers as to what happened.… Read more

MIT startup offers highly engineered dress socks

It sounds like the start of a joke: "A group of MIT people walk into a sock factory..." But the punch line is a pair of socks that have been so thoroughly engineered, they make tube socks look like something a triceratops would have worn back in the Cretaceous Period.

MIT startup Ministry of Supply has turned its plentiful resource of engineering and high-tech minds to the problem of dress socks. The result is the Atlas performance dress socks Kickstarter project, which has already more than doubled its $30,000 funding goal. There is good reason for this outpouring of sock support.… Read more

Dark truth about Ouya debut: Retail wins, Kickstarter loses

It should be a great day for Ouya, the tiny Android-powered gaming console that netted $8.5 million in Kickstarter funding and quickly sold out during its debut appearance at U.S. retailers Tuesday. But not all Ouya enthusiasts are smiling.

Some early adopters who donated to Ouya on Kickstarter months ago are still waiting for their console after being told they would get it before it hit retail. While some did receive their Ouya as promised (albeit perhaps a bit late), a "small subset" (according to Ouya's PR) did not.

Thousands of comments regarding Ouya on Kickstarter and other colloqui indicate that the number of people who didn't get their Ouya might be larger than a "small subset."

Read more

iFetch: Ball launcher keeps dog drool off you

Dog ownership is full of delight and responsibiltiy. Dogs require a long-term commitment to love and play with them. For those days when you don't feel like tossing a drool-slathered ball, there will soon be a machine to do it for you.

The iFetch on Kickstarter has already more than doubled its funding goal.

Automatic ball-tossing machines aren't new. Intrepid dog-loving makers have been crafting their own devices and sharing them on YouTube for some time. For those who don't have the inclination or skills to DIY it, the iFetch could fill a need.… Read more

Flying bicycle with built-in tent cruises at 4,000 feet up

First, flying food became a trend. Now, the hot new flying creations are flying bicycles. The latest entry in the wheeled-air-machine category comes from British company XploreAir. It's a bicycle, flying machine, and camping tent all built into one device.

The Paravelo can be taken apart and used as just a bike, or it can docked to its trailer with a flexible wing and biofuel-powered fan. Up in the air, it can go at speeds up to 25 mph for up to 3 hours and reach heights up to 4,000 feet up.… Read more

PIP biosensor makes you relax to win games

I don't generally consider gaming to be a relaxing activity. If I'm taking out zombies in Resident Evil, I'm on the edge of my seat. But it doesn't have to be that way. The PIP biosensor on Kickstarter wants gaming to be the road to relaxation.

There are two parts to this system. The first is the bionsensor that you hold between your thumb and forefinger. It communicates via Bluetooth to your Android or iOS device. A suite of game apps is available that works with the bionsensor.

Relax & Race, for example, lets you control … Read more