David Lee Roth Asteroids

"You got Asteroids?...No, but my dad does. He can’t even sit on the toilet some days."

From that obscure sound bite from "National Lampoon's Vacation", to the even more obscure guitar playing hamburger from John Cusack's 1985 teen film "Better Off Dead", this remake of the 1980's classic arcade game Asteroids has all the bases covered. Not since "Desktop Tower Defense" has a low tech game been this much fun.

Diamond Dave Edition Assteroidz v1.0 features Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth shooting unsuspecting asteroids, Eddie Van Halen (or is it Gene Simmons?), and even the Red Rocker Sammy Hagar, as he races across the universe whilst singing the classic Van Halen hit, "Runnin' with the Devil."

Only thing that could make it better is if you could also blow up former annoying frontman Gary Cherrone as well.

Props to Zornfett for the link.

Click here to play it now.

Pros: Diamond Dave Blowing S*%# Up!

Cons: Alex Van Halen & Michael Anthony are MIA.

List Price: FREE!

Livescribe Pulse Smartpen

It's 2009, and even though we still don't have flying cars, we do have a modern replacement for traditional note taking.

Livescribe has created an igneous notational system comprised of the "Pulse Smartpen" and their proprietary dot paper. The pen features an infrared camera, OLED display, microphone, speaker, and USB connector. The paper contains microdots in order to track the pen's infrared camera.

What does all this techno babble mean? As you write down your notes during a lecture, the pen and paper track what you are writing and and ties in the audio of the lecturer to the moment in time that you made a particular note. Later on when you are reviewing your notes, you click on a particular word or phrase, and the audio from that exact time that you made your note is played back through the built in speaker or via headphones.

Not quite a flying car, but close.

Pros: Audio Playback of Lecture in Sync with Notes.

Cons: Your Handwriting Still Sucks.

List Price: $149.95 - $199.95

Click here to buy from Pixelphile's Amazon Stop & Shop.

Gunnar Optiks Eyewear

If you are like me and spend the better part of your day staring at a computer screen, you might want to consider a fashionable accessory that also protects your vision.

Gunnar Optiks are the purveyors of stylish protective eyewear for those of us who spend more time in front of a computer, rather than riding a mountain bike. Gunnar's i-Amp technology relaxes the occular muscle responsible for focusing one's eyes at close distances. This helps to prevent Digital Eye Fatigue (DEF) or Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). Featuring i-Amp lens technology - an optical platform that incorporates proprietary lens materials, lens tints, lens coatings and lens geometry.

This means that you can look at a computer monitor for a longer period of time with less eye fatigue and fewer headaches. Thereby increasing your productivity and making you much more attractive to the opposite sex. That's a win-win scenario.

Pros: Makes you look like Bono.

Cons: You are not Bono.

List Price: $119.00 - $189.00

Tape Deck - Old School Audio Recording

I am gearing up for the recording of the first Pixelphile Podcast. The big question is what software to use for the recording. Logic, Garage Band, Audacity? While they are all great pieces of kit, I decided to keep it old school and record it on a cassette tape. Well, not really a cassette tape in the traditional sense, but it's funky digital cousin.

TapeDeck brings back the analog love of the portable cassette recorder without all the noise and hum. By utilizing the tape deck metaphor, SuperMegaUltraGroovy have created a visually retro piece of software with all the features of a digital recorder. With it's idiot proof interface, there is never any danger of erasing or overwriting an audio file. Every time you click on the record button a new tape is created that you can label, annotate, and color code for further reference. It keeps all your recordings in the tape box that is collapsible and hides inside the recorder. The interface is familiar and fun to use, complete with all the analog sound effects that a tape recorder provides.

It's no slouch in regards to audio formats. It can export your audio file in pretty much any style you desire, including the ever popular AIFF, MP3, and MPEG-4 audio formats. Super cool extra features such as Email Tape, Copy Tape to iTunes, and Send to YouTube make TapeDeck a must have for your mac software library.

TapeDeck requires a Macintosh with Mac OS X version 10.5 or later.

Pros: Old School Analog Interface.

Cons: Chronological Listing Only.

List Price: $25.00

Vixy Online Flash Converter

One of the questions I receive most often is, "How can I save flash videos from Youtube and covert them to Quicktime?" There are many ways to do it, some requiring special software and a Ph.D. from MIT. For the rest of us without a MENSA membership, there is the free online flash video converter, Vixy.

It's as simple as copying the URL of the video that you want to download, pasting it's address into Vixy, picking what format you want to convert it to (AVI, MOV, MP4, 3GP, MP3) and hitting the start button. Once Vixy resolves the video address, it will convert the flash video from Youtube to the downloadable format that you picked. Then all you have to do is download it to your desktop.

Piece of proverbial pixel pie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HhMX9qTXqA

"I got myself a brand new Oakland scarf right here."

Pros: Easy, Fast, Convenient.

Cons: Server Often Overloaded.

Price: FREE!

Dash Express Internet GPS

If you live in a major metropolitian area, such as Los Angeles, you already know that traffic sucks. What you need is some insider information that will help you bypass the traffic jams, and pick a faster alternate route.

Dash approaches traffic in an entirely new way - by collecting it from other people driving real commute routes, during real commute times. Each Dash Express anonymously and automatically sends its position and speed back to servers at the Dash Network Operations Center. The Dash servers then update all other Dash devices in the area with current road speeds. That way, members of the Dash Driver Network always have the best, most up-to-date traffic information available.

Dash Express is also the only Internet Connected GPS. Using Dash, you can connect to Yahoo!® Local search and find unlimited, up-to-date information about businesses, products and services—all in real-time, and all rated by real users.

Whether you're at home, the office, or out of town, you can log into your MyDash account from any Internet-connected computer to easily manage and send information wirelessly to your device.

DashApps such as "Trapster", which warns you when there is a live speed trap, photo enforcement camera, or typical enforcement location nearby, add even more functionality to an already robust device.

It looks like Dash has taken an entirely new approach to automotive GPS with the needs of the busy commuter in mind.

Pros: Real Time Traffic, Wifi Connected, DashApps.

Cons: Slightly Funky Design, Not For Rural Areas.

List Price: $299.99

Click here to buy from Pixelphile's Amazon Stop & Shop.

Belkin BreakFree Guitar Connector

Apple hit a home run with their now famous MagSafe power cable connector. A power cable that is held in place magnetically.  This helped prevent your precious laptop from crashing to the ground in case a dog or human tripped on it.  

Seems that Belkin must have had that same problem while playing guitar.  They have now come up with the "BreakFree" 1/4 inch cable connector.  Giving musicians the same break away technology that Mac Addicts have been enjoying for the past 2 years.

Scheduled for release sometime in October.

$19.99 for the cable connector, and $9.99 per pair of extra tips.

Zenith DTT900 Converter Box

As the February 17, 2009 digital television transition draws nearer, it might be a good idea to think about getting a converter box for your older analog televisions. If you are watching your favorite shows through satellite or cable, you will not need one of these boxes. But if you have an older style television lying around, after February 17, you will have one very large and heavy paperweight. Unless you get a converter box.

If you live in a major metropolitan area, such as Los Angeles, chances are that your local stations are already broadcasting a digital signal. Rural locations will probably have to wait until February before seeing the digital transition. The amount of stations you will receive will depend on how close you are to the broadcast antennas and how strong of a signal your rabbit ears, or roof mounted antenna is capable of pulling in.

The great thing about using one of these boxes, besides the large amount of free stations, is the crystal clear quality of the picture. Gone forever is the static and snow. It is now replaced with a vibrant, standard definition signal that looks about as good as a DVD.

I recently tested the Zenith DTT900 and it proved more than capable at converting the OTA (over the air) digital transmission to an analog signal. With this little box I was able to pick up 60 stations that are broadcasting in the L.A. and Orange County area.

3 Easy Steps to Digital TV with the Zenith Digital TV Tuner

1. Request a $40 coupon for the purchase of a digital-to-analog converter box. Go to www.dtv.gov to learn more, request coupons here or call 1-888-DTV-2009 for details.
2. Take the coupon to a participating retailer and purchase the Zenith Digital TV Tuner. Radio Shack, Circuit City and many other fine retailers carry the DTT900/DTT901.
3. Connect the Zenith Digital TV Tuner to an existing or new TV antenna and connect the Zenith Digital TV Tuner to your existing TV with the supplied cables. Go to www.antennaweb.org for more information about receiving TV signals from an antenna in your area.

Pros: Clear Reception, Abundant Channels.

Cons: Limited Video Outputs.

Price: $20.00 (after coupon).

Large Hadron Collider Rap Video

Alpinekat, better known as Kate McAlpine from Michigan State University, raps about the groundbreaking collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland.

The first beam in the Large Hadron Collider at CERN was successfully steered around the full 27 kilometres of the world’s most powerful particle accelerator at 10:28 a.m. this morning. This historic event marks a key moment in the transition from over two decades of preparation to a new era of scientific discovery.

By creating hundreds of thousands of head-on collisions each second, physicists hope to understand the fiery conditions of the universe a trillionth of a second after the big bang.

The findings could also help resolve some of the biggest mysteries in physics, such as the existence of one long-hypothesized particle called the Higgs boson—or the "God particle"—thought to be responsible for giving all other particles their mass.

All right guys, try not to screw this one up. Seriously.

Text Messaging

Okay, I will admit it, I am one of the few people remaining in the world who doesn't like to text message from a cell phone.  This could be do to the fact that my cell phone is either too small, or my thumbs are too big.  Or maybe a little bit of both.  Thankfully there is hope for people like me who are TMC (text messaging challenged).   

You can easily send a text message from your computer using your favorite email account.  The secret is knowing how to address the message.  I have compiled a little list of the most common cell phone carriers and how you need to format the address to insure that your text message reaches your intended recipient.  

AT&T- phonenumber@txt.att.net

Sprint - phonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com

T-Mobile - phonenumber@tmomail.com

Verizon - phonenumber@vtext.com

e.g.  3105551212@txt.att.net

Now put down that phone and get text messaging!

All Around The World

"All around the world, you've got to spread the word. Tell them what you've heard. We're gonna make a better day." - Oasis

Okay, so it's not exactly Shakespeare, but it does rhyme. Nice going Noel.

I wanted to say thanks to everyone who has been visiting my blog over the last eight months. You guys are the best. If you look close you might even see your city represented by a nice little red push pin. I hope by this time next year to have the map covered in a sea of red.

If anyone out there is a friend of Bjork, please tell her about Pixelphile. Iceland looks so lonely without a pin.