tech (Page 5)

Honda’s cool new “Hands” video just made our day

It may be just a bit of clever PR, but this video released by Japan’s Honda Motor Company earlier this week, simply titled “Hands”, is one of the coolest shorts we’ve seen in a long time.

Beginning with the line “Let’s see what curiosity can do,” the video treats us to a look at some of the company’s creations past, present and future, all in the form of sleight of hand tricks, topped off with a generous helping of computer-generated magic. Check out the full video after the jump.

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Mario Kart Arcade Grand Prix DX screeching into game centres across Japan this month

Start your engines, boys and girls! Long-running racing series Mario Kart is making its third entry into the arcade scene, with Mario Kart Arcade Grand Prix DX launching this July in Japanese video arcades!

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Sony announces mammoth 6.5-inch smart phone: the Xperia Z Ultra

They may be a little cumbersome compared to the average mobile, but ultra-large smart phones — or ‘phablets’ as many are calling them — are most definitely on the rise in Asia, whether trendsetter Apple is on board or not. Samsung’s stylus-toting Galaxy Note II has already become a firm favourite with those who require a device offering greater ease of use than a regular smart phone but with more portability than a tablet, and competitors from Huawei and Asus aren’t far behind. And now it looks like Sony is set to come out all guns blazing with its giant Xperia Z Ultra, the latest in the Japanese electronics giant’s line of mobile devices and its first foray into the phablet scene. Oh and did we mention that it’s completely waterproof?

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Google Japan adds four more prefectures to Streetview service, expands special photo gallery

This may look like a location from the original Star Wars, but what you’re actually looking at here is none other than the Tottori Sakyuu sand dunes, the only ones of their kind in the whole of Japan.

Tottori, Japan’s least populous prefecture, has finally joined the vast majority of the country in being featured on Google Maps’ Streetview service, which takes ground-level images of the areas surrounding major roads. Of course, this being Tottori, there weren’t always roads to drive on…

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Xbox One delayed in Asia until late 2014, no release date for Japan

Microsoft’s forthcoming Xbox One console will not be released in Asia until late 2014, despite the fact that it will launch in the West in November this year, it was revealed last night.

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Sony promises no restrictions on used games for PlayStation 4 – releases cheeky video to rub it in

Jack Tretton, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America, thrilled gamers today when he declared that the company will not impose any restrictions whatsoever on used games. Suffice it to say, the crowd at E3 went wild.

Seconds after the announcement had been made, a video appeared on Sony’s YouTube channel that simultaneously shows how easy it is to trade games with friends while poking fun at competitor Microsoft. Check it out after the break.

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New ultrasonic foam device ensures Japanese continue to give their beer far too much head

When it comes to food and drink, there really is no “right” way to enjoy it. Just as some will cringe at the very idea of munching on raw fish dipped in a little soy sauce, others will stare in horror and disbelief as their housemate smothers a baked potato in peanut butter (you know who you are). But when it comes to beer, as many foreigners visiting or living in Japan will no doubt attest, the fondness Japanese have for topping their drink off with an enormous amount of foam sometimes borders on the absurd. “It’s delicious!” Japanese colleagues tell me when I ask why a third of my beer is head. It may well be tasty, but when it takes three gulps of naught but white froth to reach the beer itself, you have to wonder if this is all some kind of hilarious practical joke that the entire country is in on.

But what about when drinking at home? Without a bartender to ensure that beer arrives with a thick head, how can the thirsty foam lover achieve the same results? Enter the Koku Awa beer pourer from Green House.

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This US$21,000 future chair will increase productivity, bankrupt your company

We can see why this futuristic pod… chair… thing is called “The Emperor,” because there’s no way you wouldn’t feel like some powerful sci-fi movie villain hunting the rebels from your battle cruiser’s control station when sitting in it. But if you can actually keep your power fantasies from distracting you, this chair guarantees increased productivity and maximal office comfort.

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These abstract Street Fighter motion sculptures will melt your mind 【Video】

We’ve seen some pretty quirky artistic interpretations of arcade fist-and-fireball fest Street Fighter in our time, but this one quite took our breath away.

Before you say it, yes we know the above image looks like little more than a mass of triangles suspended in midair, but we’re absolutely positive that once you’ve seen the following video in motion, you’ll swear you’re watching the characters from everyone’s favourite arcade fighter performing their signature moves before your very eyes.

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Rumour: PlayStation 4 camera to be sold separately

A telltale sign in a promotional video for Sony’s PlayStation 4 controller has led video game fans to believe that the camera peripheral for the company’s upcoming console will be sold separately from the PlayStation 4 itself, contrary to initial expectations.

While this may seem like little more than a minor inconvenience at first, if found to be true the rumour may point to a key difference between Sony and Microsoft’s console strategies, as well as potentially having ramifications for how developers approach either platform.

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Galapagos Syndrome: Is Nintendo’s decision to skip this year’s E3 trade show cause for concern?

Despite being something that few in-house PR teams would ever hope for the general public to associate with their brand, following CEO Satoru Iwata’s announcement that his company would not be giving its usual presentation at next month’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, the term “Galapagos syndrome” has been cropping up with alarming frequency online alongside Nintendo’s name.

The video game giant has long been known for its quirky sense of individuality and for forging paths into uncharted territories, but at a time when its flagship console is largely being ignored by consumers and both Microsoft and Sony are poised to flaunt new, technically far superior hardware at the upcoming trade fair, some are concerned that the house that made Mario is becoming something of a recluse.

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Xbox Live hacked? Rumours flood the internet after ominous tweet left by hacker 【Updated】

The internet is abuzz this morning after an individual going by the name of Reckz0r claimed to have broken Microsoft’s security and gained access to as many as 48 million Xbox Live accounts.

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‘He Ain’t Ugly, He’s My Robot’ – Creative Use of Garbage in China Results in One Man’s Robo Pal

“Johnny Five… is alive!” Despite both betraying my age and likely alienating half of my audience by using a quote from an obscure 80s robot movie, I can’t help but think that if this young man’s robot could speak, he’d immediately thank his lucky stars that his master breathed life into what was once little more than a pile of junk. You see, the two-metre-tall robot standing with his arm around ingenious inventor Tao Xiangli here was built at home using nothing more than parts salvaged from scrap.

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Toys for Grown-Ups – Tokyo Marui Comes to Play with ‘Gun-Sound’ Replica Sniper Rifles, Pistols and Grenade Launchers

Despite being a country where firearms are incredibly rare and licences to own them notoriously difficult to obtain, there nevertheless remain thousands of gun nuts in Japan. Thankfully, the majority of firearm fans here are content to spend hours poring over photos and technical diagrams of weapons, occasionally visiting shooting ranges or watching videos of pretty girls squeezing off a few rounds while dressed as French maids.

For those who prefer to have something to play with at home, there are airsoft guns from makers such as Tokyo Marui, which feature a shockingly high level of detail and come with all manner of bells and whistles in an attempt to recreate the experience of firing the real thing without the risk of death, serious injury or being arrested. But as aesthetically pleasing as these firing replicas are, one key element was always missing: sound.

Enter: Bakuon Gun-Sound replicas.

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My Smell-o-phone! Japanese Company Set to Make Your Smartphone Stink

Remember Google Nose? No, we don’t either, because it was just an April Fool’s joke. But, naturally, a Japanese company has taken the idea way too seriously, and is set to release a bizarre new plug-in device for your smartphone.  Read More

Adobe and the Case of the Missing Chill Pill

It wouldn’t be going too far to say that Photoshop is the best friend of many creators. As such, it’s understandable that there’s a lot of interest in the most recent announcement from Adobe, the software’s creator. The company announced on May 7 that they would be changing all of their products to cloud services with monthly fees.

As such, the company has set up a public blog for Japan, where they answer questions submitted by users concerned about how the changes will affect them. And that’s how the trouble began! After the same question was submitted over and over and OVER, the following exchange appeared on the site, brimming with unrestrained frustration. Read More

In the Future Your Own Hand Will be Your Smartphone (With the Help of 5,000 Pounds of Terrifying Machinery)

Minority Report it is not, but Masatoshi Ishikawa – namesake of Tokyo University’s renowned Ishikawa Lab – brought us one step closer to the future when he recently invited Japanese press to witness the lab’s newest creation: a projection system that can track and display an image on a moving object.

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Buzzard Breath? Funky Feet? Odor-Detecting Robots Rate Your Pungency

A team from Kitakyushu National College of Technology (Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka) and CrazyLabo (Koga City, Fukuoka) has developed two robots capable of detecting degrees of offensiveness in foot odor and breath.

Blow into the face of lovely Kaori, a female mannequin-headed robot, for a quick reading on whether or not you are ready to interact with others. After a brief analysis, Kaori will assign one of four ratings to the (un)pleasantness of your breath…
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Tokyo Robot Can Think, Learn, and Apply Knowledge: Nothing to Fear Here!

It seems every time a news story about robots appears, someone inevitably freaks out, screaming about Skynet or the Matrix. Well, this time, they might be right!

While it lacks the dexterity and sweetness of other robots, this one can not only assess and comprehend its surroundings but also learn through the Internet! (Oh, please keep it away from Wikipedia. It’ll conquer the world in a month.) Read More

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