Back in 1969 RCA made an attempt at a high-end TV that was a vision of the sets of the year 2000. The Two Thousand was even made in a limited run of 2,000 and cost $2,000. That's around $12,000 in today's money, but for that price you got a 23-inch Hi-Lite tube that had "such a vivid, detailed picture" you could "even watch it in a brightly-lit room." There were even "computer-like "memory circuits" that stored your fave channels, and preserved settings for volume and picture control. That must've seemed like the future indeed in an era of dial-twiddle-tuning to find the right VHF channel. The full advert page makes fascinating reading.
"No motors, no noise and no moving parts to wear out," just computer-designed "electronic memories"... fabulous, especially since I remember hunkering down before our old TV to swirl the dial. My Dad used to get me to change the channels, as a kind of intelligent remote control. Nowadays my cat brushes past the touch-controls on my flat-screen LCD TV and does that job for me. [Paleofuture via Boing Boing Gadgets]
The FCC's test report—found by I Started Something—for an upcoming "Portable Media Device with 120GB Hard Drive" by Microsoft is the 120GB Zune, and was first tested June 19 of this year. What's this mean to you? Not a whole lot, since this Zune is the exact same size and shape as the old one, except with increased storage. It's likely that the 120GB Zune will be the new 80GB Zune later this year, assuming that Microsoft is going to push out another yearly update to their players and software suites. Or, it could just be a new size to go along with the old sizes. [I Started Something]
Yes, my friends, someone has made a bikini that vaguely resembles a classic NES controller. And suddenly that topless beach sounds a whole lot less appealing. Of course, one day women will go nude except for a pair of gloves. And in that era, we'll be obsessed with thumb to index cleavage (making the Power Glove the de facto sexy accessory). Bonus pic:
Make sure to hit the comments for all of the inevitable Konami code jokes. [Complex via Kotaku]
In Brazilian industrial designer Fabio Dabori's world, we won't brush our teeth with bristles, synthetic reminders of a barbaric time we cleaned our teeth with animal hair. No, we are enlightened beings, and we will make our pearly whites beam eerily with...a sponge. Electric toothsponges.
Dabori says that his patent-pending Giro Sponge holds water, massages gums and polishes teeth all at the same time. He hopes to have it to market soon, with versions for adults and kids. Besides the fact that I think it would feel totally creepy, like brushing your teeth with a wet rag, the real spoiler here is that you would have to floss all the time since it doesn't go between your teeth at all—I hate flossing, and I'm not going to do it more than once a day. [Crave]
As revealed in that leaked Sprint roadmap from last month, Sanyo's Katana Eclipse and the RAZR VE20 become real phones today. The Eclipse is replacing the DLX, and it's headline gimmick feature is that the sides light up, rave style. And the VE20 is an, um, RAZR, but slightly less loathsome than usual.
They've both got 3G, Sprint's usual lineup of GPS Navigation, TV, Music Store, Email (which is inexplicably light years ahead of Verizon or AT&T's clients and fairly usable if you can do the T9 thing), etc. The VE20's big feature is the NFL Live package, which has live streaming audio of every game, and in November, video of eight NFL network games. Of the two, the VE20 wins because the UI and screen are much nicer, and they're both $99 with two-year contract and rebates. But overall these are pretty standard consumer-y flip phones, nothing that'll surprise you.
Accelerate your mobile world with MOTORAZR VE20, a high-performing, high-value device that runs on the blazing-fast nationwide Sprint Mobile Broadband Network. MOTORAZR VE20 offers one-touch access to its music player, text inbox and menu controls from its vivid external display to create a dynamic multimedia experience. MOTORAZR VE20 provides easy access to Sprint-exclusive content, including NFL Mobile Live, a new application that brings the excitement of the game right to your wireless phone. Offered free to Sprint customers with a data plan, NFL Mobile Live features live audio broadcast of all NFL regular season games, live audio/video stream of eight NFL Network games (beginning in November 2008,) exclusive team content and exclusive video highlights*. Additional features of MOTORAZR VE20 include Sprint Music Store for quick and easy over-the-air song downloads*,**, Sprint TV with extensive live and on demand programming*, stereo Bluetooth® wireless technology***, a microSD™ card slot and a 2.0 MP camera.
ENTERTAINMENT AND PERSONALIZATION • NFL Mobile Live providing live audio broadcasts of all NFL regular season games, live audio/video stream of 8 NFL Network games (starting in November 2008,) live 24/7 stream of the NFL Network, exclusive team content, exclusive video highlights from all games and fantasy tools* • Sprint TV® with an extensive selection of live and on-demand programming* • Sprint Music StoreSM offering over-the-air downloads of full-length songs*,** • Sprint Radio with more than 150 channels * • Built-in media player with microSD card slot • Integrated 2.0 megapixel camera and video camcorder • Sprint Picture MailSM and Video Mail* • Picture caller ID on the internal color display* • Downloadable Java® applications, games, ringtones and wallpaper*
PRODUCTIVITY • Sprint Navigation with GPS-enabled audio and visual turn-by-turn driving directions, one-click traffic rerouting and more than 10 million local listings* • Live Search for Sprint, powered by Microsoft®, provides easy access to directory information, interactive maps and one-touch click to call access* • Integrated stereo Bluetooth wireless technology*** • Sprint Mobile Email for access to POP3 email including AOL®, Yahoo!®, Gmail® and corporate email* • Text messaging, Instant Messaging and Voice SMS* • Wireless Backup to manage the contacts list in the event that the phone is lost, stolen or damaged • High quality speakerphone • Productivity Tools: Alarm clock, Calendar, Calculator, World Clock and more
SPECIFICATIONS • Dimensions: 2.0” x 3.9” x 0.6”; 3.5 oz • Internal Display: 2.2” 262K-color TFT (240 x 320 pixels) • External Display: 1.6” 65K-color CSTN (120 x 60 pixels) • Standard battery: Lithium ion battery provides up to approximately 4.0 hours of talk time****
Katana Eclipse by SANYO is Sprint’s first multimedia phone to combine unique lighting effects with the advanced speeds and features of the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network. The innovative and fun illumination capability allows the user to assign lighting effects to specific callers as well as alerts and messages. Katana Eclipse offers a host of advanced features including live and on-demand TV, over-the-air song downloads, integrated GPS navigation, web browsing, and gaming. The microSDHC Memory card slot supports cards up to 8GB to hold songs, pictures, video, and contact back-up. Additional features include a built-in speakerphone, stereo Bluetooth® technology, external music navigation controls and an internal antenna. The attractive and slim phone easily slips into a pocket or purse.
ENTERTAINMENT AND PERSONALIZATION • 40 different lighting effects that can be assigned to callers, messages, alerts, and playing music including blink, pulse, echo, and multi-color patterns • Built-in MP3 player with MicroSDHC card slot supporting up to 8GB (256MB card included) • 1.3MP camera with 12x zoom and video camcorder • Sprint TV® with an extensive selection of live and on-demand programming • Sprint Music StoreSM offering over-the-air downloads of full-length songs • Sprint Radio with more than 150 channels • Downloadable screen savers, ring tones, applications and games
PRODUCTIVITY • Sprint Navigation with GPS-enabled audio and visual turn-by-turn driving directions, one-click traffic rerouting and more than 10 million local listings • Sprint Mobile Email for access to POP3 email including AOL, Yahoo!, Gmail as well as corporate email • Integrated Stereo Bluetooth
This Olympics Village model made by an expert card-stacker makes the Lego Olympics look just naff in comparison. I mean, that model's just a lot of plastic parts snapped together: This guy had to avoid shaky hands, sneezing and stepping incautiously for a whole 20 days while he put the card model together, detailing even the woven-girder shapes of the Bird's Nest. Yup— that's 20 days, 140,000 cards and 100% craziness. [Random Good Stuff]
Have you been looking for an ultraportable with a bit more oomph? Have you always wanted to try a tablet/convertible laptop? Here's a nice deal from HP to score the Pavilion tx2500z for $700 and free shipping. While it's a hefty 4.5lbs, the system features a 12.1" touchscreen, AMD Turion 64 X2 RM-70 2GHz dual-core processor, 160GB hard drive, 3GB RAM, ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics (not a powerhouse by any means), Bluetooth, integrated webcam and Vista Home Premium.
Steps to buy as explained by Dealnews:
1. Click here to start (at $899.99) 2. Select "FREE Upgrade to 3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 1GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)" 3. Apply coupon code "NB9970" during checkout for $200 off 4. Of note, add the HP DeskJet D1560 for $0 after rebate
For those of you keeping score at home, HTC's Dream, due to hit T-Mobile in October as the first Android phone, just got tapped by the FCC's rubber stamp. Unfortunately there aren't any of those h-o-t product shots that the FCC is usually known for to give us a better look at the device, just a lot of black and white. But it does confirm the Dream moniker, that it's got a jog ball, Wi-Fi and it's running on the 850/1700/1900MHz bands. Very exciting! [FCC via Engadget]
Before Gizmodo, I worked in the bowels of the broadcast industry for a number of years. I was either shooting video or cutting video every day, all day. And while Final Cut Pro and Adobe After Effects were both tools I used with some proficiency on a daily basis, I've never seen a post production demo as incredible as this clip from the University of Washington.
Essentially, you shoot some crappy, low-rez video of a still scene. You then reshoot the same scene with a digital camera (with higher resolution). Software can automagically combine these images to upconvert the video AND fix problems in the image— all while compensating for 3D space. Make sense? The remarkable demo will clarify things a bit:
What's especially notable is that the software can fill in the nasty bits of the scene despite the videographer/photographer rotating their view (you see this as they shoot around the tree) and despite any lens differences (the software can compensate for these differences.
Also, note that many details from the source video are retained (the glass reflections in the statue shot may be the best example), which means that the photograph's information isn't the only information we see in the composite image.
I'm not quite convinced that the entire process is quite as automatic as the students would make it, but the technology is extremely promising all the same. And at this point, it should only be a matter of time before we see the idea work its way into our favorite post production products. [Project Page via bbGadgets]
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Back in 1969 RCA made an attempt at a high-end 
"No motors, no noise and no moving parts to wear out," just computer-designed "electronic memories"... fabulous, especially since I remember hunkering down before our old TV to swirl the dial. My Dad used to get me to change the channels, as a kind of intelligent remote control. Nowadays my cat brushes past the touch-controls on my flat-screen LCD TV and does that job for me. [
The FCC's test report—found by 
Yes, my friends, someone has made a bikini that vaguely resembles a classic NES controller. And suddenly that topless beach sounds a whole lot less appealing. Of course, one day women will go nude except for a pair of gloves. And in that era, we'll be obsessed with thumb to index cleavage (making the Power Glove the de facto sexy accessory). Bonus pic:
Make sure to hit the comments for all of the inevitable Konami code jokes. [
In Brazilian industrial designer 
As revealed in that leaked Sprint roadmap from last month, Sanyo's Katana Eclipse and the 
Give it a second. [
Have you been looking for an 
For those of you keeping score at home, 
Before Gizmodo, I worked in the bowels of the broadcast industry for a number of years. I was either shooting video or cutting video every day, all day. And while Final Cut Pro and Adobe After Effects were both tools I used with some proficiency on a daily basis, I've never seen a post production demo as incredible as this clip from the University of Washington.