Exploring Stuff That Makes Life Great
While we love our gadgets we hate wires. They are the bane of technology; always getting tangled up as if by magic. So it’s a good thing Nyko has unveiled a wireless Nunchuk for the Wii.
There’s just one little problem. After stories of Wiimote related accidents in the home doesn’t this make the Wii’s controls even more deadly?
Much like the iPod and its many, many incarnations we can now expect to see hordes of accessories for Apple’s latest tool of world domination. The iPhone, which is possibly more famous for being an iPod with a phone than the other way around now has its own audio system.
The Altec Lansing T612 universal dock will happily play any music stored on the iPhone and even stops playing should you receive an incoming call. When you’ve finished chatting away, simply dock it back in to resume listening pleasure.
According to the manufacturer, the system promises excellent bass reproduction and rich sounds thanks to powerful neodymium speakers and bass enhancement technology. Good news for Hip Hop heads then.
Of course it’s not only iPhone compatible. It will also play and charge all new generation iPods as well as older models thanks to an auxillary-in jack for not-so early adopters. Also in the box is a remote with the standard features such as pause, play, track back, track forward and volume controls.
The Altec Lansing T612 will available next month for $199.95.
Even after CES we’re sure this is not the last we’ve heard of iPhone docks. We’ve seen iPod docks in a range of different places from beds, coffee tables and even toilet roll holders. So expect iPhone docks to pop up everywhere too.
Out in the gadget wilderness there are all sorts of energy saving solar-powered concoctions designed to save the Earth like some kind of inanimate superhero, with each claiming to be more super than the last. It’s no surprise then that CES 2008 brings with it its own contenders for the next batch of gadgets to appease the likes of Al Gore.
The Voltaic Generator bag (pictured) promises to produce 14.7 watts of energy from the giant solar panel on the front of the bag, that’s enough to charge a laptop from a whole days worth of sunlight. According to Voltaic, no other bag can do this.
Every wannabe superhero comes equipped with accessories, where would Batman and James Bond be without theirs? The bag includes adaptors for phones as well as a car charger and is compatible with USB devices.
And just in case you find yourself in one of the less sunnier climes like this London-based blogger there is a battery inside should you run out of solar energy.
Of course not everyone can be superhero. Priced at a whopping $599 that’s still the case. Why are environmentally-friendly gadgets always so expensive?
Here at StuffWeLike, we like a lot of things when it comes to video games. But there are also some things we don’t. Here’s a list of stuff we’d like to see. And some things we hope never see the light in 2008.
Some good Wii games please
After Wii Sports, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Super Mario Galaxy there was not much else to get gamers truly excited in 2007. A new Donkey Kong game would be nice. And we mean a proper DK game like Donkey Kong Country on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), not some silly spin-off crap involving a pair of Bongo’s.
It doesn’t have to be all about the motion-sensing powers of the Wiimote either. Games can still be good using just the classic controller too. Observe the superb collection of titles on the SNES. Did they need motion-sensors to make them some of the best games ever? No!
The emergence of a new gaming mascot
It’s time for some new faces in the gaming world. We love Mario but he’s getting overworked these days appearing in such titles as Mario Kart, Mario Galaxy, Mario and Sonic at the Olympics and Super Smash Bros and the many more Nintendo will have planned for the mustachioed plumber. We’re not saying to get rid of him, just don’t abuse the poor guy.
The same goes for others too. The less said of Lara Croft, the better. Besides, Heavenly Sword’s Nariko is so much sexier. But even she hasn’t been the phenomenon Lara was in her day, though she has time on her side.
We’ll forgive Ratchet and Clank because Tools of Destruction is one of the best games around, just like Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune was. Speaking of which, we wouldn’t mind seeing more of Nathan Drake, actually. It’s a start.
Proper motion-sensing controls
This applies to both the Wii and Playstation 3. It’s all well and good having new-fangled motion-sensing technology, but it’s how developers use it that counts. Take a look at how wonderfully these controls were implemented in Heavenly Sword and Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction for the PS3.
Rather than being forced on gamers throughout they are used only when neccessary to enhance the experience at key moments. Now take a look at the woeful Lair and you’ll see what we mean.
Equally, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess has some of the most intuitive controls of any title, ever. It’s games such as Link’s first Wii outing that fully justify Nintendo’s Wiimote. But it’s a shame when other titles don’t get it quite so right, Scarface I’m looking in your direction.
Exciting new accessories
Forget all this cheap attachment baloney. What happened to all the great guns and accessories? Back in the day I used to have a R.O.B. The NES Robot. How cool was that! How about something exciting and innovative like that Ninty? The Crossbow doesn’t quite cut it.
Even the Dreamcast had some sexy red Maracas that came packed with Samba De Amigo. Rather than fishing rods and golf club attachments we want something different, please.
Delayed titles
Metal Gear Solid, Grand Theft Auto 4, Little Big Planet and even Sony’s Playstation Home concept; we could go on. We don’t mean to be picking on the PS3 as it’s had enough bad press but it’s been the main victim in all of this.
We would like to see titles out on time as promised. Publishers teasing us with trailers and screenshots only to be told we have to wait another four months to play them is not good enough.
No more ‘Red Ring of Death’
It came, it saw and it bitch-slapped a lot of us, including yours truly. Of all the injustices to hit gamers this one took the biscuit and then proceeded to spit out the soggy-crumbled remains in our shocked little faces.
Ok, so reports of this stain on gaming humanity has subsided a little, but with rumors of a new Xbox 360 with built-in HD DVD coming don’t let it happen again, Microsoft.
An end to lazy updates
Electronic Arts are probably the biggest culprits here, but its not just them guilty of dressing up titles masquerading as something totally new. With the current/next-gen console war entering its first calendar year with all the major contenders in place we’d like to see some originality. We know developers are bustling with ideas, but we want to see them.
What would you like to see in 2008? What do you NOT want to see? Is there anything we missed? Let us know.
Remember those watches that taught you how to read the time by speaking it. Well here’s a Japanese version.Learning to read the time in another language, especially Japanese can be extremely confusing, so something like this is perfect for anyone heading out there.
While they may not be the most stylish watches around they certainly have their own retro charm, and neon’s mixed with dark colors is in fashion too. If your eyes can stand the brightness you can get one for $24 right here.
The iPhone has been hailed as the ‘Jesus phone’ by many, while that may be taking things too far it seems to be doing pretty well because Rumors suggest around five million Apple-loving customers already have one. Apple hoped to sell 10 million units by the end of 2008 and it certainly looks like they will, maybe more. Christmas sales have been good to Apple too, and with a 3G version coming out in 2008 things are certainly looking up for Steve Jobs and co. Next step, world domination. Mwhahahaha, and so on.
