Planet CNET: Tech surprises from around the world Video

Planet CNET: Tech surprises from around the world Video Transcript

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>> Hi there. I'm Molly Wood reporting from CNET headquarters in San Francisco. Here's something you might now know about CNET; we are worldwide, San Francisco, New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, China, Australia, everywhere. So we've created Planet CNET where we bring you reports from our CNET editors around the globe. And there are amazing things happening out there, whether it's the latest in London robotics, video game politics in Australia, or dragon encrusted cell phones in China. Let's begin in London.

>> I'm Rory Reed, reporting from cnet.co.uk's London offices. Now, for those of you who don't know, let me tell you something, London isn't all about crumpets and cups of tea. No. We're all about the gadgets. And more specifically, we're all about the crazy, badass robots. Allow me to introduce RoboNova. He's got this lightweight metal exoskeleton crammed full of servos, or electronic motors that allow him to move just like you or me. Only problem is he's very expensive, 650 pounds or 1,200 US dollars. Now, that's fine for the rich people, but for people like you and me, that's a bit too much. That's why I'm gonna take him outside to the streets of London to find out whether he can earn his keep. ^M00:01:15 [ Music ] ^M00:01:22 You can control RoboNova's basic movements using this PlayStation 2-style game controller, which operates over infrared. But the beauty of the system is that it's fully customizable. It has its own software, its own programming language, and its own interface cable. So you can tell it to move whatever limb you want in whatever direction you want. ^M00:01:38 [ Music ] ^M00:01:42 All right. One of the first things we're gonna try and do is get him to dance. We're gonna make it old school with some beatboxing. Let's try that out.

>> That's right. I got Bob Israel [assumed spelling] and Yacko [assumed spelling] in the house. 440.

>> Yeah. Yeah. ^M00:01:50 [ Beatboxing ] ^M00:01:56

>> As you can see, we've amassed the princely some of one pound, forty-six pence. That's barely enough for a pint. I'm starting to think that RoboNova is about as useless as an ashtray on a motorbike when it comes to making money. This is Rory Reed, reporting from London for Planet CNET.

>> See, that's why I'd like to live in London. I never run into excellent beatboxers on the street like that. Well, almost never. Okay, next up, a little something you didn't know about Australia.

>> Hi. I'm Ellen Morton [assumed spelling] giving you the dispatch from Down Under. Reckless drivers were out in force on April 29, when the long awaited "Grand Theft Auto 4" was released. But the game that we're playing is not the same as the one that you'll find on international shelves. Game publisher Rockstar was forced to censor the Australian version to ensure that it passed through this country's strict classification laws. See, Australia is the only country in the developed world that doesn't have an "Adult" rating for our games. Our highest rating is MA, and to fit into that category, games have to be deemed suitable for people age 15 and over. Now, this means that game that are too explicit for 15-year olds are either censored or banned all together. But there could be a better solution in sight. The government will soon ask for public opinion on establishing an 18 plus rating for games. Now, this would make our games ratings identical to our movie ratings, which does make a whole lot of sense. In the meantime, it's back to playing Mario Kart.

>> See, I did not know that. I mean I was thinking if you have adults, you would have adult games, you know? Anyway, time for some international gadgets. Let's head to Singapore where the Rolexes are cheap and the cell phones are lucky.

>> Hi. I'm Damian Cole [assumed spelling]

>> And I'm John Chan, and we are from CNET Asia.

>> This is a Washterhair Only B [phonetic] from China. And it's called an All Cur [phonetic] 08. And if you look closer, it is also something else.

>> This is a legit watch phone that has tri-band, voice support, GPRS, S advance, and even MMS. There are even [inaudible] built-in [inaudible] converter, and games.

>> Even more amazing is the tiny 1.5-inch touch screen with stylus attach. To top it off, it plays MP4 videos and MP3 tunes, which you can listen to on a bundled Bluetooth stereo earpiece.

>> Now, ready for the cost? This watch goes for as little as 150 US dollars from some online sources. [ Music ] Well, what do you have there, John?

>> Well, I'm just trying out the ringtones on the Lillian Too Lucky Dragon phone. Designed by the famous Fung Shui practitioner, this mobile phone has a silver dragon tacked on to its back, complete with zirconia gems and a [inaudible]. It even has a lanyard with a number eight ornament because eight sounds like wealth in Chinese. As a phone, this one has 3G, a microSD card slot, and let's you make video calls. But honestly, who needs features. The important thing is that this talisman gives you positive chi every time you make a phone call. On that lucky note, I'm John Chan.

>> And I'm Damien Cole.

>> Uh huh. Yeah, that's a Rolex like that dragon's made out of diamonds. But I'd probably still buy one. And now the latest from CNET France, where the government is working to provide wireless broadband Internet access to everyone in France by 2012.

>> Hi. I'm Luis Geggan [assumed spelling] for CNET TV France. [Inaudible] couldn't choose a better place than the head office of the most successful French video hosting service website to make a press conference. France's recently named Secretary of State in charge of the development of digital economy symbolically used the webcams of Daily Motion -- by the way, sorry about that ridiculous name -- to make an announcement. He will reach the target set by the Prime Minister, which is to present a strategic plan before July 31 so as to ensure that France's whole population can get fixed and mobile broadband before 2012. The [inaudible] Digital Terrestrial TV and Mobile TV developments are also part of this overall plan. Besides measures will be prepared to fight illicit downloading content and cyber criminals in general, and protect copy write and children. In order to fulfill all these goals, a digital colloquium will take place next May.

>> Dude, I'm moving to France. I love colloquiums. And finally, April Fool's jokes and camera shy monks coming out of Japan.

>> Hi. I'm Kyri Yamoto [assumed spelling] from CNET Networks, Japan. Today I'm here at the office of Six Apart, Japan, and they are hosting this event to conduct a job interview with a Buddhist monk in public. The purpose of this public job interview was to decide whether or not to hire a Buddhist monk as their board member. Six Apart, Japan carried out a prank on April Fool's Day, posting a fake job opening information saying that they were looking for a Buddhist monk who can help the employees maintain their piece of mind. And surprisingly, a monk really applied as joke. So Six Apart planned to meet up and host a public interview on April 11 as a punch line to this prank. Did you really think that someone would apply for the occupation?

>> Well, honestly, I didn't expect this, but I'm very happy when I got the kind of email.

>> After the open job interview, all the participants enjoyed chatting with the monk, along with food and drinks. Most of the participants seemed to be businessmen and women, and this was a great way to relax and retrieve piece of mind on Friday night after a week of hard working.

>> See, the think I wanted to know about that is, are you not allowed to show monks on video in Japan? So I asked our Japan editors -- and this is all part of our global cultural education -- apparently monks are very concerned about their ranking and how they behave in public. And Japan has very strict laws about whether you can show people on camera without their permission. Maybe we could learn a little something about that here in the Us, Google Street View. See you next time on Planet CNET. ^M00:07:47 [ Music ]