snakes

Huge mechanical snake brings Burning Man vibe to CES

LAS VEGAS--When you come to CES here, you expect to see computers and TVs galore. Mobile phones, sure. Printer and speakers? Check. But a 50-foot-long mechanical snake?

Though we're in an arid, desert-like Nevada environment (never mind all the cement and golf courses), this isn't Burning Man. But sure enough, just behind the CNET trailer here, Titanoboa is strutting its stuff. And indeed, Titanoboa is a 50-foot mechanical snake.

Created by EatArt, the Vancouver arts collective, Titanoboa seeks to invoke the promise -- or the threat -- of global climate change, and the kinds of things we might start to see happen on this wonderful planet of ours. According to the Titanoboa project page: … Read more

Girl looks for cell signal, steps on rattlesnake nest

Sometimes, the little bars on your cell phone just aren't there.

It could be because you're somewhere remote and it doesn't pay for phone companies to put a tower there. It could be because you're somewhere remote and the locals believe a cell tower would blight their aesthetic pleasures.

Or you could be in the middle of San Francisco and have AT&T.

My guess is 16-year-old Vera Oliphant was probably in category one when she reportedly wandered around, trying to find a cell signal. She wanted to call her mom and text her boyfriend. … Read more

Play the Snake

With the era of the Gameboy over, Screen Snake is a game that brings that feeling back in a modern and original remake, right on the screen of a Mac computer running Snow Leopard or higher. While it won't help you with your productivity, its clean, intuitive interface will surely fill your time while you're waiting for an important email or the like.

Playing Screen Snake couldn't be easier: right after you launch the app, the snake will be available on the screen, as will its target, and it will crawl across until you press the Enter … Read more

The 404 1,121: Where we rock out with the pop out (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- The POTUS did an AMA on Reddit yesterday, and here are the Web site's stats.

- Metal Gear Solid movie heads into production, will be produced by Avi Arad.

- Google begins reminding users of friends' birthdays.… Read more

For Shelby, 50 years of blowing other cars' doors off

LAS VEGAS, Nev.--It may be the most valuable American car ever made. Sitting inside what looks from the outside mostly like a non-descript suburban warehouse, the vehicle fills a lot of people with lust.

Still a striking and shiny blue, the 1962 Shelby Cobra 427 is the very first of its kind. And it is such an important entry in the pantheon of American muscle cars that someone recently offered $25 million for it.

Welcome to Shelby American, a company whose rare cars are built to blow by just about any competition, yet are designed to be everyday drivable … Read more

The 404 987: Where we get nailed for intentional grounding (podcast)

Twitter reports that football fans sent roughly 10,000 tweets in the final 3 minutes of last night's game, but that wasn't enough to overthrow the all-time record for tweets per second.

Guess which film roped in 25,088 tweets per second last December? Hint: it wasn't made in America.… Read more

Gadgettes Podcast 86: The Body Episode (a FLASHBACK episode!)

There will be no episode of Gadgettes this week due to the Thanksgiving Holiday here in the US. So, have a listen to a classic episode from the Gadgettes archive. Remember to read this entire blog post in your own "hot breath" voice for the full effect. Go ahead. You know you want to. Enjoy!

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 86

Robotic snake surgeon tinkers with your heart via your mouth

Power Shirt charges gadgets as you walk

Ergoskin: Underwear that makes you sit up straight

Remember Ring (Thanks, David!)

The Body-laptop interface is knitted from Thneed which nobody, Nobody, NOBODY needs

3D Tattoo is like a secret between you and people with funny glasses

Giant mouth exhibit is just one stop on a gross, informative journey… Read more

Challenging puzzle game

RatMaster is a fun and challenging puzzle game in which users reconfigure mazes to allow their rat to reach the cheese at the end, all while avoiding snakes and other potential dangers. The simple premise and sometimes difficult puzzles make this game easy to get hooked on.

The program's graphics and interface didn't totally blow us away, but they are definitely above average. The music and sound effects were appropriate and added to the game's experience, but they can be turned off if desired. Game play is intuitive, and a Help file explains the basic rules of … Read more

Slithering in 3D

Snake Galaxy puts a new spin on classic "snake" games--a game-type that's been around almost as long as personal computers, and which has become near-ubiquitous on mobile devices. The core gameplay is what you'd expect: you control a snake that grows as it eats, and the snake dies when it finally runs into its own tail. But the Snake Galaxy interface adds some fun and innovative twists: instead of a 2D game board, you travel around spherical, 3D "planets," and the snake travels towards wherever you touch your finger--which will probably have you switching … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 905: Buzz off malaria

We were really thinking about calling this episode something to do with prehistoric snake. Because Natali is very into the prehistoric snakes. Although she can't kill them. Instead we discuss Bill Gates releasing mosquitoes at TED, the Congress sort of delaying the DTV transition, and Google trying to steal your health information.

Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 905

Bill Gates Unleashes Mosquitoes On Rich TED Conference Crowd http://www.alleyinsider.com/2009/2/bill-gates-unleashes-mosquitoes-on-rich-ted-crowd http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7871210.stm

DTV delay passes, 264-158 http://arstechnica.com/telecom/news/2009/02/dtv-delay-passes-264-158.ars… Read more