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We Review: Parrot AR.Drone

By prawn1 Monday December 5, 2011

9 Comments

The French company Parrot SA is perhaps more known in South Africa for its hands-free car kit. With car telephony not very high on my list of fun things to invest in, I have not paid much interest to Parrot SA, even when it ventured to new grounds with its remote-controlled quadricopter. Dubbed the AR.Drone, the toy debuted in 2010 with a novel control scheme. Instead of the finicky, often complex transmitters used with normal remote controlled helicopters, the AR.Drone can be controlled using a device that was already in the hands of tens of millions of people: smartphones.

While owners of iOS devices have been able to fly AR.Drones for some time now, there hasn’t been much love for Android. Until now. Parrot SA has finally paid cognisance to the fastest-growing smartphone operating system in the world. Not all Android devices are supported, but since September 1st this year, users of Samsung Galaxy S (and S II), HTC Desire, LG Optimus, and smartphones running at least Android v2.2 having been experiencing the flying fun previously unavailable to them. As a Samsung Galaxy S user, I had a chance to take the AR.Drone for a spin. Has the experience been worth the wait or it is just a fleeting one? Find out after the jump.

We Review: Nintendo 3DS

By SgtFiddler Friday April 8, 2011

5 Comments

So it’s finally here. The Nintendo 3DS is at last available for purchase locally, and with Nintendo already boasting about initial launch sales figures exceeding all their previous efforts, it seems the 3DS is off to a rollicking good start. Further to my very limited hands-on impressions at a recent pre-launch event, I decided to give in to my slightly frivolous and impatient nature to bite the bullet and shell out the recommended retail price for a shiny new Nintendo handheld. I have no idea why I always give in to purchasing new gaming consoles on launch day, but part of it is certainly the wonder and excitement of where gaming may be headed next, what are the innovations being brought to the table, and what place in gaming-history said console will take once the eventual successors are released. So having had the console for about a week now, my impressions of the hardware after the jump.

Opinion: Nintendo 3DS vs Sony NGP—FIGHT!

By Fayyaad Wednesday February 9, 2011

5 Comments

Opinion: Nintendo 3DS vs Sony NGP—FIGHT!

There is nothing quite like a good, comfy war. It is what makes the world an interesting place, and there’s nothing better than a war between two competing formats. Think of all the great format wars past: VHS vs Betamax; CD vs vinyl; 8-track vs cassette; Genesis vs Super Nintendo; Playstation 2 vs Xbox vs Gamecube; HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray. We’re all naturally fascinated by battles between giants. We’ve seen this battle play out over and over, placing our bets to try and figure out in advance who the winner is going to be. Sometimes there is no clear winner. Either way, the fun is in the speculating, so we’ll dive right into the fun of the next great war of portable gaming: Nintendo 3DS vs the Sony Next Generation Portable (which currently has no official name). I swear I’ll try to keep this as civil—and unbiased—as possible. The fisticuffs follow after the jump.

How to Turn a Lighter Into a Tiny Motorcycle

By prawn1 Friday January 14, 2011

3 Comments

How to Turn a Lighter Into a Tiny Motorcycle

We’re embracing the lighter side of life here at Onelargeprawn. Our mate Abe from The Given Collective posted this on a local gaming forum I peruse every day. It is so singularly awesome and I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t post it here. If you are like me and have recently stopped smoking (I’m four months clean), you no doubt have countless cheap lighters lying around the house. You’ll need two of them and some nimble fingers if you want to create a tiny motorcycle that can shoots sparks out as it moves!

The instructions are in Chinese and if you speak the language, have a gander here. However, if you can’t tell your pictographs from your ideographs then YouTuber Tysteriskians has posted a step-by-step video of the creation process in English. Check it out below.

[via PS3ZA]

Use An Entire Wall As a Trackpad

By Ett Tuesday August 11, 2009

3 Comments

I love following new technologies. I’m especially excited about the future of our personal computers, and how we interact with them. Microsoft’s video about the future of personal computing was amazing, and Asus’ incarnation of that technology was a great attempt.

Scratch input is the ability to transform any surface that is remotely textured into a sort of trackpad. Your desk, a wall, your door, the shower, whatever. You can even use your clothes. Using this, you could scratch your finger in a clockwise circle to increase volume, for example, or double-tap to pause your music. You’d be able to apply the gestures to your browser if you wanted, and opening and closing tabs could be a matter or one or two taps. What’s even more fantastic is that since it works on vibration, you can scratch the wall far away from the sensor and it’ll still work perfectly.

I don’t want to spoil this for you, so just watch the video, and once you’ve picked your jaw up off the floor, post a comment and tell us what you think.

[via Gizmodo]

Digital Camo: Custom Vinyls For Your Gadgets

By prawn1 Wednesday August 5, 2009

2 Comments

Digital Camo: Custom Vinyls For Your Gadgets

Abe over at The Given Collective has started up a new venture, Digital Camo, that brings some sweet custom skins for all your precious gadgets, be it a PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, iPhone, iPod, or laptop. All the artwork is done by Abe himself on high quality, low tac vinyls that are easily applied and just as easily removed.

If you’d like a more customized skin, you can send your image to them and they’ll turn it into a one-of-a-kind creation for you.

There’s a small selection of skins available at the moment, but Abe informs me that new ones will be added on a daily basis. Prices start at R50 for an iPhone skin, R120 for a PS3 skin, and R215 for a full Xbox 360 skin.

This is one skin I’d definitely like to have on my PS3 <hint hint>. Bears are so hot right now.

Check out Digital Camo for more locally-produced skins.

These Carnivorous Robots are Powered by Bugs

By prawn1 Tuesday June 30, 2009

5 Comments

These Carnivorous Robots are Powered by Bugs

The day you thought would never come has, erm, come. No it’s not free Internet for Africa, or nekkid Megan Fox photos, rather a series of robots that can consume flesh and live off it.

UK-based designers James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau have created a series of robots that ensnare hapless insects and digest their remains to power themselves.

In this flycatcher/timepiece, the device possesses a sticky roller to trap insects and transports them to the microbial fuel cell. Bacteria within the sell digests the insects and produces energy to run the clock and keep the roller moving.

See two more robots after the jump.

Dog ‘O’ Matic: Washes Your Pooch

By prawn1 Tuesday May 12, 2009

4 Comments

Doing the laundry is a drag and thus washing machines were invented. It appears that washing one’s household pet has become a chore as well, so a French Entrepreneur Romain Jerry has created the Dog ‘O’ Matic, an automated dog-washing machine. The wash takes 30 minutes in total – 5 minutes for the wash, and 25 minutes for drying the animal. Apparently it is rare for dogs to get agitated during the wash, but if this becomes the case, the door can easily be opened at any time during the wash.

I foresee a whole bunch of dog-washing launderettes opening up. I also imagine certain tweaks that can be applied – for our “dog-as-food” cousins across the seas, it can be renamed to the Dog ‘O’ Roast – 5 minutes to de-hair the dog, and 25 minutes to roast it to perfection ;-)

[via iBored]

Aussie Artist Has Ear Grafted Onto Left Arm

By prawn1 Friday April 17, 2009

5 Comments

Aussie Artist Has Ear Grafted Onto Left Arm

It appears this Cypriot-born Australian man isn’t your average performance artist. The Telegraph reports that the unconventional Mr Stelios Arcadiou, going under the stage name Stelarc, believes that the human body has become obsolete, and his latest work aims to make physical enhancements to the body through technology.

And if the title didn’t give it away, the 62-year old has an ear implanted in his left forearm. Apparently the appendage was grown in a laboratory from stem cells and considering plastic surgeons do not perform clinically unnecessary surgeries, it took him 10 years to find one willing to perform the procedure.

That extra ear is not merely for decoration. Once it has fully developed he wants a install to install a microphone and a bluetooth transmitter in the ear so that people can go online and listen to what it is hearing.

“If you telephone me on your mobile phone I could speak to you through my ear,” he explains, “But I would hear your voice ‘inside’ my head. If I keep my mouth closed only I will be able to hear your voice.”

He adds: “This additional and enabled EAR ON ARM effectively becomes an internet organ for the body.”

Crazy shit. If you wanted to graft a part of your body onto your arm, what would it be? Drop us a comment.

Squirrel-Blasting Device Ignites Controversy

By prawn1 Thursday April 16, 2009

1 Comment

Squirrel-Blasting Device Ignites Controversy

If you have a rodent problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find it, maybe you can buy… The Rodenator Pro.

The Rodenator Pro is the solution to your rodent problem. Described as safe for the environment and “humane”, it works by pumping a controlled mixture of propane and oxygen into the tunnels of unassuming squirrels, and then sending an electric spark that causes an explosion. Apparently the shock waves kill the squirrels and collapse their tunnels.

The local Humane Society of Spokane, Washington are not so thrilled about the idea, calling the explosions unethical and cruel. I bet the homeless are pretty happy though, roasted squirrel must taste great after a day of dumpster-diving.

See the Rodenator Pro in action below. Warning: Squirrels were harmed during the making of this video.

The full story is at The Huffington Post.