buffawhat.com

Star Wars Mimobots Series 2 Pre-order

It’s really all about the Mimobots when it comes to cutesy custom flash drives. Essentially the Dunny of portable storage, The Star Wars collection has been the most popular series ever. What better way to triumph a triumph than to add on to the series? Genius move.

$49.95 gets you 1GB of decapitable storage. The only hitch is this is a preorder; shipping is expected “January/February,” which means the beginning of February. This would be, like uh, the perfect gift for, like,  your favorite buffalo geeky blogger, who ever that may be (*bats meal ticket eyes).

• 1GB: 49.95, 2GB: $69.95, 4GB:109.95
• Preorder: Princess Leia, Han Solo, Boba Fett, Luke Skywalker
• Available: Darth Vader, Chewbacca, R2-D2, Stormtrooper
• Mimoco via Gizmodo

Canada’s First Android has self respect; gets abused anyway.

Despite claims that Aiko, would make a great receptionist, this sassy fembot is anything but easy. First off, she complains too much, and gets all offended when you grab her arm to hard. Try to cop a feel of those perky silicon boobehs and get a rigid, but spot on, poke in the nose.

“I do not like it when you touch my breasts!”

Created by Le Trung and hailed claimed as Canada’s first android, Aiko’s functions, speech, and sensors are controlled by B.R.A.I.N.S (Bio Robot Artificial Intelligence Neural System) which Trung also developed.

Why anyone would create a robot with the face of a lovedoll and the attitude of an old hen is beyond me. Oh, yea, she has no fashion sense either. I think you should go back to the drawing board Trung.

• http://www.projectaiko.com/
  
• Via - Gizmodo, Via the Raw Feed

deCODEme: Give the gift of Genomic Sequencing.

Here’s the ultimate gift for the ultimate geek: your own personal DNA unraveled and sequenced.

$985 gets you

• Scan of over one million variants in your genome
• Calculation of genetic risk for 17 diseases based on current literature
• Find out where your ancestors came from
• Show off your genome to you friends, get laid
• Get updates on future genetic discoveries like diseases and traits

Create and account and send them $985, the send you a kit with two buccal DNA extractors which you brush against the inside of your cheek 8 times. send that off and in two weeks you can check your genetic profile online, show your friends and family, and even compare profiles with people you have invited to get their DNA genotyped as well.

• www.decodeme.com
  
• via Slashdot

Marvel puts old comics online, mylar and gloves not neccesary.

Just yesterday, Marvel began putting their comics online, even the old ones that you would normally have to pony up top dollar for at a trade show or comic shop. The move was partly to gather more fans, since the younger population spends less time reading paper materials and more time browsing Myspace.

Some of the older die-hard fans will be able to check out the origins of their favorite runs, with the original issues of Wolverine, Fantastic Four, Spiderman, and others being posted for viewing.

Price of admission into the digital comic store is 59.88 yearly, or 9.99 a month, and the catch is you can only view the issues online. Right now they have 2500 comics up with 20 more added each week.

The financial impact on comic shops is unknown, but my guess is that people will still buy the real issues, but will appreciate getting to read the stories online.

•  via - Yahoo! News
• Marvel Comics

Polaroid And Zink create a Digital Instant Mobile Photo Printer

Zink is coming just in time for Christmas, neatly packaged in the form of the first Digital Instant Mobile Photo Printer from Polaroid. The title is appropriate because thats what it does: snap a picture with your camera phone or digicam, and send it over to the printer to get a quick but high quality borderless 2×3 inch photo printout. Developed by Polaroid, Zink (Zero-Ink), works with no ink and no toner. Instead, the paper holds tiny micro pigment crystals, that release their colors when heat is applied. This makes for a quick printout and the only refill is the paper.

Here’s a closer look at how Zink works:

No official word yet on a release, but clues point to an of 2007 drop (read: christmas). Zink mentions the printer could also come with an embedded camera, too, thus reestablishing Polaroid as the instant photo kings they one were.

• Via - Engadet
• Zink

There is no Gphone, but are there Android T-shirts?

Google’s being officially “no” at the moment about an actual Gphone, instead insisting that all the hubbub is really about Android, the open source mobile platform that the’ve put together.

Today was the release of an early look of the SDK, which when released in full in 2008, will allow anyone to develop complete full functioning programs for the Android platform. Along with this, google dropped a few more videos, highlighting a first look at the software in the works.

Those Android guys are really smart cookies, however video presenters they aren’t. No matter, because a few coders were seen wearing Android T-shirts, which forgave them any faults. That shirt is going to be the ultimate geek gift for Christmas (besides the XO, of course) if anyone can get their hands on this.

• Android @Google Code
• Open handset Alliance

OLPC XO Finally in Production, Give 1 Get 1 Nov 12

With the long awaited, price bumped, revolutionary XO laptop finally in production by manufacturer Quanta, now’s the time to start thinking with a big heart about your Christmas shopping.

In 2002, the idea was launched by Nicholas Negroponte to create a low cost ($100) computer that could be distributed across the world and aid in the education of children across the globe. Cause believe it or not, not everyone is on Myspace because not everyone has a computer.

After a few setbacks in hardware and design and costs, they settled in November 2006 with the designed they called the XO (”xo” looks like a poor kid who needs a laptop when you look at it sideways, doesn’t it?). Dustproof, sustainable, and solar-powerable, the XO can withstand the elements and less than technologically blessed areas around the world where the will be distributed. Distributed, yea… that part. lets get to that.

Countries are required to purchase these laptops in the thousands, with Uruguay being the first official orderer for 10,000. and thought the goal was and will eventually be to sell the XO for $100, the price is currently at around $200 (US). Geeks all over were thinking of ways to pose as a little third world kid to get one, so OLPC decided to leverage the power of a geek’s wallet: enter Give 1 Get 1.

On November 12, you can purchase one XO to go into your grubby little ungrateful hands, and one to the grubby little GRATEFUL hands of someone who needs it. Total cost: $399. T-Mobile has stepped in to sweeten the deal will offer a year’s worth of T-Mobile Hot Spot wifi service (get it in: Starbucks, Kinko’s, Hotels,) to all G1G1 buyers for a limited time.

I’m going to G1G1 this year for christmas. will you?

• via - news.bbc.co.uk
• OLPC and Laptop Giving
• T-Mobile Offer
• David Pogue Reviews the XO w/video

Half-Life in 60 seconds

I passed this link over a few days ago from digg. I had assumed that “Half-Life in 60 seconds” would be some obsessed gamer exploiting a bug and getting all hack happy.” Or, Whatever. Then I saw it. If you never played Half-Life, its a pretty awesome FPS series for the PC. And after you shell out the 2k getting your rig all uberleet, lose 4 weeks of your life, your girlfriend, and maybe even your job, you can understand the hillarity of this video.

Introducing Android from Google, your new mobile overlords, err, saviors

For the record, this isn’t ALL from Google, thirty-four companies have come together to help develop the first globally open, comprehensible mobile OS platform. They are the Open Handset Alliance, and the project is called Android.

Stay tuned for the breakdown after this introduction from a few of the co-creators. Notice the abundance of handsome bears collaborating in this video, this has to be a good thing, eh?

More »

Popping my Woot! Cherry

I’ve learned one thing now.. If you are trying not to make a very tempting technology purchase, and you seek out someone for empathy and support, make sure that person is not a geek… he will only send you over the edge.

I’ve been eying woot.com for a while now, waiting for that perfect item wooted just for me, at the price just for me. For those lucky enough to be unawares, woot.com is a site that focuses on selling one product per day (or in a woot-off, one at a time for 24-48 hours) until that item is sold out or time expires. The price on this item is insanely cheap, sometimes over 50% off.

Today’s woot was the Roomba Discovery SE. One of the higher end models, the SE sells for $299; woot had it at $149.99. The deal was great, and I always wanted one… To be honest, there is not reason for me not to buy it. Of course, and extra 150 in my pocket would be nice, but now I’ll be extra pimp with my robot maid-slave….

cross-posted for sympathy at WNYM