Hemp-mote is a Wiimote with a Hemp exterior. Wait, what?

That is hemp string. Around a Wiimote.
That is hemp string. Around a Wiimote.

People love modifying things. A google will show you the plethora of inventive PC case mods that have been churned out by human hands. But I can bet you’ve seen nothing like this.

This man named DHRECK,whose blog feed I’ve added to my Google Reader just now, is the inventor of the Hemp-mote. Alright, just a catchy name. What it is, is a a standard Wiimote with a hemp exterior.

As the creator describes it, “In stark contrast with the original Wii-mote set, what was once sleek, cold, white and hard plastic has now become a slightly fuzzy, natural, warm and textured concoction. No more bland, branded and boring but mottled, flawfull, rough and a tad sweat absorbing.”

He also describes the creation procedure in detail at his blog here. While the remote itself works perfectly, the exterior isn’t exactly as durable as good ol’ Nintendo plastic. That makes the Hemp-mote a rather unsatisfactory controller for daily use.

Still, I think it’ll more than just impress your friends. DHRECK is going to create some more Wiimote mods soon, so I’m interested in what can come out of that brain.

Get Stuff’d Episode 1

Matt Rod talks about the Guitar Hero Action figures
Matt Rod talks about the Guitar Hero Action figures

We’re testing out a new format for our review show. This new series is called Get Stuff’d. On this episode we review Wii NERF Sports Pack, Wii NERF Wheel, Wii Energizers Power and Play Recharge Station, Snowflake, and Guitar Hero Action Figures.

Please let us know your thoughts on this first episode. We can’t improve the show unless we get feedback. Thanks! Continue reading “Get Stuff’d Episode 1”

Facebook Video now HD and Embed

One of the best social networking websites out there Facebook.com now allows for HD 720p video content to be uploaded and streamed to users. Facebook Video also now allows for videos to be embedded on other sites. The embedded videos will not be played back in HD format. In order to see those videos you have to be on the website.

From what it looks like, Facebook Video continues to be for the public and isn’t directly competing against YouTube.com. Facebook Video is for sharing favorite video moments with real friends while YouTube is for releasing videos to the world-wide web.

It is pretty amazing amoungst my friends how many more comment on my videos uploaded onto Facebook as opposed to my videos uploaded onto YouTube. It would be great if Facebook introduced a program like YouTube Partners where it allowed more serious content producers to generate revenue off of their videos, but for now that doesn’t seem like it’s the direction Facebook plans on taking its video service.

Here’s my first ever Facebook HD video!

Check out the picture below and see how the HD video looks on Facebook. There’s an option to view the video in regular quality. The video itself has the ‘HD’ written on the thumbnail and even ‘HD’ by its title.

This is how HD videos on Facebook look along with their listed features.

Overall I’m happy with Facebook going HD. It’s just as simple to upload videos and tag friends. If anything that is still what sets it apart from other online video services.

YouTube High Definition

It’s an even more joyous day with what appears to HD enabled content on YouTube! Late last night YouTube revamped its website and enabled widescreen video embeds. Now it looks like they’ve gone a step further.

Look at the picture below. Click on it. What do you see? Hint: it’s in the bottom right corner of every video. Look at the watch in normal quality, high quality, HD??? Is that HIGH DEFINITION?

YouTube Widescreen Embeds

[Update 12/4/08: YouTube has now enabled HD streaming]

YouTube has revamped their website. One of its major new features is widescreen embedding. When you find a video that you want to embed simply click on the customize button and choose a size that you want the player to be in. It really couldn’t be simpler.

As you may notice YouTube has enabled its search bar to display on top of the video before it has been activated. It’s pretty darn ugly.

Now all we need is allowing these embeds to play in YouTube HD stream quality. Oh the joy.

TiVo Guilt?

Bad TiVo, bad. Apparently by now everyone knows what a TiVo is. They might not know what a DVR is, but they sure by golly know what a TiVo is. Sadly, there still needs to be some education on TiVo. It’s a pandemic.

With over 3 million subscribers TiVo is causing its valued costumers many heartwrenching moments. Does this sound like you: I’m running out of harddrive space, should I watch and then delete House or American Idol?

The truth is that you shouldn’t have to do either. What TiVo needs to do is sell a separate external harddrive storage unit. Then users could gracefully save their favorite shows for later viewing without feeling obligated to watch them. This is the new term that people are called the ‘TiVo Guilt.’

Sure there are plenty of third party modifications that one can install on their TiVo. Mostly all will obliterate your warranty.

Thanks TiVo for bringing joy to my life and others, but I know that you can do better. I don’t want to order pizza from you. I simply want a better viewing experience than what my cable operator provides. Don’t lose focus on your potential. Be all that you can be.