Given that we’ve covered the topic of real-time 3D animation in 2D video signals before, we must be fairly obsessed with the topic. But placing a 3D CG image into a video signal and manipulating said signal is still, in our book, pretty freakin’ cool. Here’s a tech demo of ‘Installation’ by MIT Media Labs. After you are done drooling over their hot camera/display, watch as they place 3D objects into the image and pan around the room. We can’t wait until the technology serves its ultimate purpose and Madden places a leaner version of himself on the football field to show “what he would have done” during that last play. [MIT]

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For this week’s retromodo installation, we’re looking at the Death Ray Machine, (awesome name). Apparently, the device was put together by a Cleveland scientist, and its abilities were only showcased in a one time display to members of the National Inventors’ Congress at Omaha, Nebraska. The Death Ray Machine was witnessed to instantly kill dogs, cats and rabbits once its beam shone on them.

Blood was reported to spill from the deceased, unfortunate test animals, but it was instantly turned to water. Blood to water—not even Jesus could do that. The officials that attended were so in awe of the dazzling power, they prevented any further development until the Death Ray Machine could be put to a useful, defensive purpose by the government. No one knows what became of the Death Ray Machine, but we think it just may be the scariest vaporware ever. [Modern Mechanix via Boing Boing]

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A young man in Ghana answered his cellphone that was charging from a wall jack and was met with the full electrical current of his home’s wiring. He was knocked out but still had a weak heartbeat. His parents rushed him to the emergency room where he was proclaimed dead on arrival. The remains of the phone look to have been from a Nokia, but the good news is that we know such incidents aren’t the norm or, like, everyone in the whole world would be dead right now. [modernghana]

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In honor of the year of the rat and Chinese New Year (Feb. 7), iRiver’s coating their rat/mouse-shaped Mplayer in gold. This seems like it’s real gold, seeing as each one is individually numbered and comes in a limited edition box. However, it’s only available in China, which means you’re going to have to get your Disney-inspired rat MP3 player imported if you want in on the rat action. [iRiver Fans via the mp3 players]

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We tricked you, and if you just clicked on that link the sore memory is probably even fresher than for those who knew better. We are very sorry, and to make it up to you, here’s Elise Frappier stripped half-nekkid and posing with a Macbook. Who is Elise? Macenstein’s Mac Chick of the Month, of course. Jump for her Mac-y outy gallery shots.

The 24-year old Canadian may look like she has nothing in common with you, but that stops at aesthetics. She loves Apple products, her dearest and most loved Apple possession is her Titanium G4, but she still twiddles her long locks, chews bubblegum and reminisces about the old skool SE/30 Macintosh her father owned. She may like the Pussycat Dolls to rock to, but we’ll forgive her because she wears a black bra better than any of us ever could, (even if Eric claims otherwise.) [Macenstein]

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Podravka, a European food company, recently received their annual report from the folks at Bruketa & Zinic, but all the pages were blank—until the book was baked. Yes, those clever fellows at Bruketa & Zinić put together an annual report that was laced with thermo-reactive ink. The initially blank pages displayed text once the book had been covered in foil and baked for 25 minutes at 100°C. The report was titled, Well Done, and we could not have thought of a better pun if you held us upside down over an alligator pit and tickled us with a fluffy feather, but it wasn’t done for just humor’s sake.

An included recipe sections received the same treatment. When quizzed about the strange collaboration between book and oven, the creators said the recipes were works that required diligence and precision; to get to those very recipes the potential chefs require due precision—a Darwinian selection mechanism, if you will. Well, nothing says, “Suck it, Steve, people will bake books they are so eager to read them,” more than a bake-me-to-read cookbook. [dezeen]

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While we’ve already been impressed by Lexus’ self-parking car, we’re even more intrigued by a good omni directional wheel design. We’re not certain of the source behind this video, but whoever worked on this project really needs to get in touch with Ford, Honda and our insurance adjuster ASAP. Just imaging the perfectly round donuts you could create with a full-sized version…or how much more fulfilling cutting off that jackass in the other lane at a 90-degree angle would be. [uberreview]

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We all knew that Sony Ericsson would be expanding their PlayNow over the air music service and dub it PlayNow arena (and no, for whatever reason “arena” is not capitalized). Today it’s official, and as expected, Sony Ericsson has added TrackID to the service, allowing users to ID and snag songs off of radio broadcasts.

But in addition, PlayNow arena will have 5 million new songs added to their old library through agreements with Sony BMG (of course), Warner Music Group, EMI, The Orchard, IODA, The PocketGroup, Hungama, X5 Music, Bonnier Amigo and VidZone. That’s a lot of music to add for a day’s work…especially when you consider iTunes’ library is just 6 million songs or so.

For all the details, we’ve posted the full press release after the jump.

Sony Ericsson expands PlayNow(TM) arena with 5 million new tracks

Signs deals with 10 major record labels to broaden content offer and bring enhanced PlayNow(TM) service to consumers

Cannes, France - 27th January - Sony Ericsson today unveiled the next stage in the evolution of PlayNow(TM) arena, its popular over-the-air (OTA) download service. At the MIDEM conference in Cannes, Sony Ericsson announced deals with 10 major record labels, adding over 5 million new tracks to its extensive catalogue. Sony Ericsson also unveiled the design and URL for PlayNow(TM) arena and launched PlayNow(TM) Uncut, (formerly M-Buzz(TM)) a music promotional space for new, unsigned and developing artists.

Record label partnerships

Today Sony Ericsson announced partnerships with 10 of the largest international and regional music labels including: Sony BMG, Warner Music Group, EMI, The Orchard, IODA, The PocketGroup, Hungama, X5 Music, Bonnier Amigo and VidZone, adding over 5 million new tracks to PlayNow(TM) arena. Sony Ericsson is currently negotiating further deals with a host of regional labels to further broaden the variety of music available and bring a wealth of localised content direct to the consumer.

Sony Ericsson introduced PlayNow(TM) in February 2004 as the easiest way to pre-listen and then purchase polyphonic ringtones directly to your phone. The service has proved a hit with consumers and is now available in 32 countries around the world, with annual free and premium downloads through both PlayNow and Fun & Downloads having reached more than 200 million. Since launch, the scope of the service has expanded to mirror the functionality of Sony Ericsson’s phones to include mastertones (MP3 ringtones), games, full music tracks, themes and wallpapers. In November 2007 Sony Ericsson announced its intention to further develop its PlayNow(TM) service with PlayNow(TM) arena, offering access to a greatly expanded range of content and combining the power of the PlayNow(TM) catalogue with unique applications like TrackID(TM), which identifies songs and allows them to be downloaded directly to your phone or PC.

Speaking at the Sony Ericsson event at MIDEM in Cannes, Sony Ericsson’s Executive Vice President, Anders Runevad, presented the enhanced PlayNow(TM) arena service and emphasised the importance of industry partnerships delivering digital content and an unparalleled multimedia experience:

“We are delighted to announce deals with such high calibre record labels. This will help realise our vision for PlayNow(TM) arena as a service that will be developed in collaboration with our partners. Our commitment is to work with the industry to ensure we are building an experience-based and intuitive content delivery platform, enabling the development of an ecosystem that provides a unique experience for the consumer and a business model where everybody prospers.”

With mobile games remaining a key focus, Sony Ericsson has also added 250 new games through existing deals with leading games manufactures such as EA Games, Gameloft, THQ, Glu, Digital Chocolate and I-Play. Sony Ericsson users download more games to their phones than users of any other mobile phone brand*. These deals take another step in cementing its number one position in the mobile games market.

PlayNow(TM) Uncut

PlayNow(TM) Uncut (previously know as M-BUZZ(TM)) is a pro motional space for breaking new and emerging artists via Sony Ericsson’s product, content and marketing channels. PlayNow(TM) Uncut showcases selected, pre viously unreleased tracks, videos, artwork, interviews, tour dates and other artist information on Sony Ericsson mobile phones and the web at www.playnow-uncut.com.

The rebranding and alignment with PlayNow(TM) opens up new channel opportunities for artists and enables the site to target consumers worldwide, including the United States of America for the first time. With an international reach, the service has always been about presenting the best new talents from around the world, whatever their style or native language. Apart from the current streaming possibilities, the highest rated and most listened to tracks will be made available for sale in the music section of PlayNow(TM) arena. For artists, this will add revenue possibilities to the already extensive promotional benefits of appearing there.

One Arena. Unlimited experiences

“The PlayNow(TM) arena is an open environment that offers something for everyone. We see PlayNow(TM) Uncut as the edgy version, whilst the PlayNow(TM) music section is more a case of familiarity, giving consumers something they know and are already comfortable with. Consumer experience is our absolute priority and we will continue to develop PlayNow(TM) arena as a service that appeals to all consumer segments and lifestyle trends,” said Martin Blomkvist, Head of Content Acquisition & Management at Sony Ericsson.

The PlayNow(TM) arena will be brought directly to the consumer at: www.playnow-arena.com

The PlayNow(TM) arena will launch in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland in May 2008 with more European markets to come at the end of Q2 2008 and further expansion in Europe, Americas and Asia during Q3 and Q4. Sony Ericsson predicts that the PlayNow(TM) arena will be active in close to 30 markets by the end of 2008.

TrackID(TM)

The growth in popularity of the TrackID(TM) application has rocketed around the globe, presently recording more than 200,000 hits per day equal to more than two each second, a figure that has doubled in the last three months. TrackID(TM) will be an integral part of the PlayNow(TM) arena experience, offering an instant way to first hear a track - for example, in a coffee shop or on the radio - and then get it to your phone and PC. The PlayNow(TM) arena itself will feature TrackID(TM) Charts, created by consumers in real time using TrackID(TM) around the world. This will allow consumers to see what songs other users are searching for and wanting to hear the most, both globally and in their own market.

Sony Ericsson at Midem 2008

Sony Ericsson will be showcasing its PlayNow(TM) arena music store as well as demonstrating its latest handsets and accessories at booth R31.01 at Midem 2008 in Cannes, France.

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Who would’ve thunk? A month after Christmas, retail-priced Wiis are still pretty much sold out everywhere. And while ours sits in our entertainment center gathering dust, many others still only own Wiis in their hearts, hopes and dreams.

The moral of the story? Apparently those who scored a Wii in Gamestop’s Wii Raincheck offer weren’t so foolish for plunking down $250 upfront to receive their console one month later. Just as Alanis Morissette warned us back in the 90’s: you live, you learn. [i4u]

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If the MacBook Air were to include a built-in Super Drive, floppy drive, iPod Shuffle, 3 USB ports, Ethernet, and Firewire 400/800 ports, this is what it might look like.

The Macbook Air sure is a fine piece of Cupertino craftsmanship, but the lack of useful input ports is a complete downer on the slinky sexy soiree. Fret not, Flickr user Nybras.Rodrigo has conjured up a fantastic solution

[via Gizmodo]

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