Crusher

Google Glass spurs battle for eyeballs

Friday's news roundup will have you eyeing Google's competition:

We've sung this tune before: Amazon is tinkering with creating its own smartphone. A recent Bloomberg report has the media buzzing again about the possibility, but we first heard this last year from an analyst. If true, would Amazon knock Windows from the No. 3 spot? I think we're just hungry for more choice.

Google wasn't the first company to tinker with a computerized headset for augmented-reality vision. With all the buzz on Google Glass, Olympus felt confident about sharing news on its Glass-like prototype. And … Read more

African Bullfrog owns Ant Crusher

Impressed by a bearded dragon playing Ant Crusher? Check out how intense an African Bullfrog gets during the game.

As the ants climb down the touch screen, it becomes quickly obvious that the tired phrase "there's an app for that" is now becoming relevant to keeping exotic amphibian pets entertained. After successfully lunging and darting its tongue at the Android smartphone, the frog easily passes to the next level. … Read more

Pet dragon slays at smartphone game

We already know that cats have a penchant for iPads, but the gadget of choice for lizards? A smartphone loaded with games.

We can thank YouTube user ThatSpecialGuy for this revelation. You see, he posted a video of his pet bearded dragon playing a game of Ant Crusher on his Android device (looks to be an HTC phone), and the scaly yet adorable creature absolutely kills it.

As you'll see in the video below, she zaps those ants with her tongue like a pro and often looks up at her owner--perhaps looking for a little praise for her mad skills. Or maybe she's wondering why she isn't being fed real food. … Read more

10 Evite alternatives: The good and the bad

I recently used Evite to send invitations for a party at my house. Overall, I was pleased with the experience. The selection of invitation styles was huge. The invitee tracking tool was informative. But the site's user interface made it too complicated to send an invitation. Worse, Evite hasn't really embraced the social networking space--there's no Evite app on Facebook nor Twitter integration. And the closest it comes to going mobile is sending SMS invites and offering a mobile site.

So I set out to find some alternatives to Evite to see if they could provide a better service.

CircleUp Though it's not specifically designed to provide invitations and tracking, CircleUp does let you invite others to an event and track their attendance. The page detailing whether or not invitees will be attending the event is especially good. But CircleUp simply isn't as useful as Evite, nor as convenient.

Crusher I like Crusher. It's simple and clean. Creating invitations can take less than a minute. But if you're the type who wants to tweak an invitation to fit your needs, the site also has a CSS editor. You can add video, chat, photos, and much more. It's great for the Web geek and the Web novice alike. And it's better than Evite.

Enclude Unlike Evite, Enclude lets you send e-cards. But its invitation creation tool doesn't provide as many planning options as Evite's. And if you really care about the design of the invite, you'll find fewer cards on Enclude. I also wasn't impressed with its invitee tracking tool. Simply put, it's no Evite.

Facebook Most of the people who I would invite to a party are my friends on Facebook anyway, so creating an event and sending out an invitation through the social network is quite convenient. Creating an invitation in Facebook takes less than a minute. Everyone can see who will be attending the party. Attendance tallies are updated as soon as the invitee responds. If you don't need to invite too many people outside of your Facebook friends list, Facebook is a fine invitation tool. It's much simpler than Evite.

Invitastic Invitastic is ugly, too simple, and unable to compete on any level with Evite. That said, it might come in handy when you want to quickly send out an invite to a couple friends and you don't want all the extras Evite provides. But even in those circumstances, I'm hard-pressed to find a reason to use Invitastic instead of other simple services, like Zoji.… Read more

Timeless ice crusher looks nice at any time

The other day, I wrote about another manually operated hand-cranked appliance, the Whirley-Pop Stovetop Popcorn Popper. Considering popcorn and pop go together so well, I think there is room enough to explore another old-timey gadget.

The Crystal Clear Ice Crusher (in Gift Box, no less) is simple to use, but might be the best way to get the job done. Imagine a hot summer day filled with the sounds of icemen of yore hawking their quickly deteriorating product. Suddenly, the prospect of having to grind your own seems downright modern. Simply open up the icebox freezer, take out a few … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 716: Hope for old people (like Tom)

There's still time for us to strike entrepreneurial gold, we talk "malicious circuits," and Microsoft blah blah blah blah. Also, Popcorn Hour starts shipping its magical streaming box of wonder and it looks like we're in store for some wiener whistles. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 716

Microsoft leans toward a hostile bid http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120966628366460063.html

Xbox 360 Blu-ray console shipping by September? http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/02/ xbox-360-blu-ray-console-by-september/

Researchers design “malicious circuits,” warn of potential risk http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/ researchers-design-malicious-circuits-warn-of-potential-risk/

Popcorn Hour’s … Read more

The 'Hard Disk Crusher' doesn't mess around

Oliver North found out the hard way that erasing e-mail doesn't mean it's gone forever. And in more than two decades since, countless others have shown that they still hadn't learned that lesson.

But there is one foolproof way of confounding even the best IT sleuths: the "Hard Disk Crusher."

This no-nonsense machine from EDR Solutions does exactly what its name says, destroying a hard disk in as little as 10 seconds. "It basically 'drills' through the hard drive's spindles which physically creates ripples in the platters making it impossible to recover any … Read more

Army's 'Crusher' gets $14 million makeover

Carnegie Mellon University will upgrade its 6.5-ton robot mobile, the "Crusher," by adding advanced suspension and hybrid-electric innards as part of a $14.4 million Army grant meant to push the envelope for unmanned ground vehicles.

The project, a result of more than two decades of robotics research by the university's National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC), will demonstrate how advanced vehicle and navigation technology can solve transportation challenges like those encountered by supply convoys in Iraq, according to the university (PDF).

Onboard sensors and a program called PerceptOR allow the vehicle to perceive and autonomously navigate … Read more

Car-crushing, fire-breathing robot for sale

The annual Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., is usually a place where car collectors and enthusiasts gather to admire scores of vintage Jaguars, Mercedes, Cadillacs and other fine specimens of automobiles made in years past.

Those types of cars will still be there when the event rolls around again in January, but there will be one rather disturbing lot that's bound to steal the show: a 40-foot-high, 31-ton mechanical dinosaur that throws 20-foot flames from its nostrils.

The Robosaurus, created 17 years ago by Monster Robots in Southern California, will be sold with no minimum price during the auction, … Read more