Oh CollegeHumor, where would I be without you?

A writer over there has put together a set of 5 status updates you might see on Facebook from some of our most beloved videogame characters. Most of them fall into the “it’s funny cause it’s true” category, like the above: Sonic and Knuckles are apparently out having a great time and well…then there’s Tails. Poor tails.

I won’t spoil them all for you, head over and have a look! The person I found them through seemed to prefer Cloud’s status update to this one. Which one is your favorite?

[ CollegeHumor :: 5 Video Game Status Updates ]

Over at MaximumPC there are some exclusive unboxing photos of Thermaltake’s new Level 10 computer chassis, recently released and ready to go! The Level 10 is absolutely stunning in the design direction it takes – it’s anything but a boring black box to house computer components.

The Level 10 makes use of a central pillar off of which all of the components are connected, including the motherboard, the physical and optical drives, and power supply, and other components. Each section of the chassis opens in its own way to allow for installation and removal of internal components. The whole thing is incredibly elegant and definitely the type of machine you’d want on top of your desk, not underneath it.

That being said, the Level 10 will be anything but a budget case: only enthusiasts and people with tons of cash to blow on a computer case will want to drop the estimated $700 that it’ll cost to get one when they come available next month.

Tons more photos, both promo and actual unboxing shots, over at MaximumPC, click the link below.

[ MaximumPC :: Exclusive: Thermaltake's Jaw-Dropping Level 10 Chassis Unboxed! ]

This hands-on test with Dell’s new Latitude Z wouldn’t really be notable if it weren’t for the fact that the Latitude Z is one of the first completely wireless laptops. That is, the Z has support for wireless USB, UWB, wireless internet, and even takes a page out of the Palm Pre’s book and doesn’t need a charging cable plugged directly into the laptop in order to recharge the battery: you can rest it on top of its docking station and it charges. When you’re ready to go, just lift it back off and you’re ready to go.

Naturally, the docking station will likely have a cable that runs to the wall so it gets power, and any other connected cables for peripherals that still require a physical connection to the docking station, but aside from that, the Z is completely and utterly wireless.

The “Z” stands for the z-height of the laptop, implying that the Latitude Z is incredibly thin and very portable. The Latitude line has always been directed at business users who need portability, but the wealth of features and wireless goodies under the hood of this model are impressive.

Best of all, the Z600 model is available now, so if you need that kind of portability, you can get it! Check out PC Mag’s full hands-on review under the jump.

[ PC Mag :: Hands On with the Dell Latitude Z ]

The thing I love about the PC Mag “Build It” series of articles is that they always do an excellent job of walking you through the entire process from start to finish. This particular Build It is close to my heart, because it’s all about building a desktop based on Intel’s new Core i7 processor technology, which was initially released late last year (the Nehalem chips), and new revisions (the Lynnfield chips) of the chips were recently introduced just a few weeks ago.

Now that the i7 is fully Intel’s primary desktop processor platform, it’s time to go ahead and build the computer you’ve been waiting to build with an i7 under the hood. The Nehalem chips are still the high-end enthusiast chips, and the new Lynnfield chips are designed for more everyday consumer use. Now that you have a good array to choose from, PC Mag has the rundown on how to put together your shiny new computer using some of Intel’s hottest technology.

There’s a good run-down of suggest components there, but one thing’s for sure: follow their instructions and you’ll have a pretty awesome rig when you’re all finished.

[ PC Mag :: Build It: A Core i7 Desktop ]

The video really does speak for itself, as hilarious as it is. I mean, the way he’s in-time with the audio and the voices is fantastic, but this is what happens when you give us geeks some toys, a bread-board, and some free time. Here’s the description from the video, written by the poster, user steveravet:

MBED is a low cost, low barrier to entry ARM based microcontroller development platform. No software, no dongles, no licenses, no ICE. All you need is a USB cable and an internet browser. The C++ development environment is hosted online. To test your firmware you drag and drop the .bin file onto the MBED device and it’s installed and ready to go.

In this video I’ve used MBED to give my Big Mouth Billy Bass (BMBB) a brain transplant. He used to sing and dance along to Bobby McFerrin (“Don’t worry be happy”) and a cover of the Talking Heads (“Take me to the river”). Pretty entertaining, but what if you could download new audio clips and new movements? What if BMBB could get his new songs and choreography from a microSD card?

MBED provides C++ libraries to interface to all of the microcontroller features (A/D, D/A, timers, digital I/O, PWM, etc.) and made it a snap to write a .wav file player to play the sound and use the PWM outputs to control the motion.

Enjoy the video, and go to http://mbed.org to learn more about MBED.

Seriously, if anyone needed inspiration to get them into soldering and circuits? Here you go!

[ YouTube :: Fun with MBED ]

(image courtesy of Lifehacker!)

I love using Wordpress – all of my blogs are built on Wordpress, and even though I’ve been blogging for years, I wouldn’t claim to know everything there is to know about building a better Wordpress blog. For example, I’ve even been considering changing the layout of this one recently, and to help guide me towards better Wordpress use, Lifehacker popped up with a fabulous article featuring some beginner’s tips on making the best of your Wordpress installation.

From some must-have plug-ins to customizing your Wordpress theme so it’s really yours and not too generic, all of the tips are good for anyone using Wordpress as the CMS for their blog. There’s even some advanced tips at the end of the feature for those of us who have been using it for a while and don’t mind getting our hands a little dirtier than others.

[ Lifehacker :: The Beginner's Guide to Tricking Out Your WordPress Blog ]

Google has taken a few lumps over privacy concerns and Google Street View, especially in Japan where some members of the legislature have even taken steps to try and ban Google from mapping the streets and taking photos as they pass through. Google, of course, has stressed that they take very deliberate measures to protect the privacy of the people who are in those photographs as the Google cars drive by, and have put together the adorable video above to target their response to the Japanese market.

Whether the video will serve to allay the fears in Japan over Google simply knowing too much about you, the car you drive, and the place you live remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain: the video is ridiculously cute, incredibly heart-warming (you can’t help but empathize with the little camera-headed guy working long hours to protect your privacy), and targeted perfectly for the Japanese.

[ YouTube :: Google Street View Privacy Video ]

David Pogue took some heat on last week’s This Week in Tech (TWiT) with Leo Laporte and John C. Dvorak (the generally out-of-touch-but-entertaining-anyway crankmaster himself) over being actually bubbly and happy about some of the good products he’s reviewed. When he finds a good product, he’ll laud it with praise, and when he finds a bad one he actually offers constructive criticism about the product. Pogue makes no secret of the fact that he has a fondness for Apple products, but sees flaws in them like anyone else would, and lives a cross-platform life – much like yours truly, on all of those counts.

Maybe that’s why I can relate to him to a certain extent. I also do product write-ups and reviews for a number of online publications and pride myself on being as impartial as I can be and honest about my opinions about a product. If Apple releases a stinker, I like to think that I’m able to call them out for doing so instead of sweeping it under the rug, for example. Similarly, if I’m reviewing a new gadget or product and it’s just horrible to configure and use, I’ll call that out in my review. By the same token, if I get my hands on something and it’s absolutely fabulous and I love it, I’m going to be bubbly and happy about it and suggest that other people try it as well.

I don’t have nearly the clout that David Pogue does, but after the crankiness and general jadedness I heard from some of the other panelists on that episode of TWiT, I had to stop and say to myself: what’s wrong with being happy when you find a good product? What’s wrong with championing good services as well as calling out the bad ones? Have we as an industry of technology writers and geeks and people passionate about tech become so incredibly jaded that we can’t even enjoy the good products and services when they’re available to us?

Let’s dive into that a little bit more after the jump.

Continue reading Spinning Gears :: What’s Wrong with Good Reviews? (or, Why Snark is the Mind-Killer)…

(image courtesy of Lifehacker!)

This week is “Supercharge Your Workspace” week at Lifehacker, and I’m in love. I love office photos and suggestions to make your office more comfortable and a more fun, comfy, and personal place to work – one of their first posts that really piqued my interest is this one, where the LH editors runs down a number of really great ways to rejuvenate your dull boring cubicle with some really near office gear that’s both functional and useful.

Whether it’s a Belkin 4-port USB hub that fits into that cable management circle that’s carved out of your desk surface or a surge protector that clamps onto the edge of your desk (shown above), or even a little plastic card that hangs off the back of your desk that you can run your charging cables through, there’s plenty of gear in here to get you started with tidying up your desk and making your workspace a less cluttered and more zen-like place to get things done.

There are some other great suggestions in the article, like the Belkin 3-port surge protector with USB charger – I loved that one so much I bought one and take it with me when I travel. The multi-compartment lunch carrier proves that brown-bagging it doesn’t mean you have to bring an ugly old nylon sack with a tuna sandwich in the bottom.

Thinking of making your office or desk more of a joy to come to in the morning? Head over to Lifehacker this week to see more tips, and check out this article at the link below:

[ Lifehacker: Rejuvenate Your Workspace with These Office Supply Favorites ]

The lovely folks at Gelaskins unveiled a number of new designs for their iPhone and iPod Touch cases, and our friends at The Cult of Mac has a gallery of some of their new ones. They’re all, as all of Gelaskins designs, gorgeous and all made by real artists and not just marketing folks looking to put something new and hip on the backs of their iPhones – it’s what makes Gelaskins so special.

Gelaskins also has a number of really stunning Macbook and Macbook Pro cases as well, and they all adhere directly to the surface of the device – when you’re ready for a new look, they’re easy to peel away as well. All you have to do is pull them off and they don’t leave residue. They may be a little pricey for some people’s budgets, but it’s more than worth it when it comes to having a laptop, music player, or phone that stands out from the rest.

Check out the new designs in a gallery (with apologies for having to click next a dozen times) at the link below.

[ Cult of Mac :: Gallery: Gelaskins’ Coolest New Designs ]