Author: Ty Dunitz

Courtesy of information designer Robin Richards, check this out: a visual map of all 264 companies Microsoft has acquired in its endless quest to dominate the market. Of course, Microsoft hasn’t always played by the rules of acquisition (not to be confused with the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition), but whatever – considering the company’s history of (mostly) decent software offerings, I’m willing to look the other way. Makes you wish we could see one of these for Apple to compare and contrast, huh? Click to make it big! …

I dream of a world wherein we’ve built everything out of Lego, simply because we can. A post-apocalyptic future after which we’ve rebuilt humanity from the ground up with naught but our wits and Lego. I have yet to see a task that can’t be handled with a few cogs of Lego Technic and a pair of capable hands, and this Super 8 camera built by Friedemann Wachsmuth does nothing to contradict this claim. Of course, the lens and lamp aren’t Lego, but whatever. Still counts. …

According to British gadget mag T3,  the iPhone 5 (or 4S, depending on which rumours you’re believing) could be on its way to the UK on November 21st – which would in all likelihood indicate at the very least a November 21st release for those of us on this side of the lake, as well. It should be noted that the 21st is a Monday – which isn’t exactly in keeping with Apple’s Friday-centric release history – but on the other hand, it would also seem to give credence to the general assumption that the device will be unveiled in September. So take this sweet, sweet sugar with a wholesome helping of salt….

It’s a camera mount! It’s a smartphone stand! It’s a dashboard GPS adapter! It’s a chunk of aluminum with a suction cup stuck to it! Following the time-honoured tradition of giving one’s tech product or service a bizarre, silly-sounding name, the Oona (pronounced ‘Oona’) makes resoundingly clear the fact that sometimes, the simplest idea really is the best. You’re totally jelz you didn’t think of this first….

Just a little something to brighten your day. Lucas meets Sartre. …

In the market for a new computer? How does 25 bucks fetch ya? Cooked up by game developer David Braben, ‘Raspberry Pi’ is a PC he’s hoping to market to teaching children the joys (or horrors, depending on which camp you’re in) of programming. So, what do you get for $25? Well, howsabout a 700MHz ARM11 processor, 128MB of RAM, HDMI Out, and a single USB port, running Ubuntu 9.0.4? Yeah, that’s not much. But it’s pretty impressive once you’re told that this computer IS A USB STICK. No foolin’. Here, watch Braben wax lyrical about it for a few minutes. No, he doesn’t rap. But as mad fly as this device is, he really…

In a head-scratchingly bass-ackwards marketing decision, you can now send recorded videos to friends and family (and enemies, I guess – who are we to judge) via snail mail in the form of TV in a Card. Apparently born of a mind stuck in the late 90s, TV in a Card is what can only be summed up as the logical progression of musical birthday cards – and a logical regression of just recording and emailing a private YouTube video. Each card contains a lithium battery that lasts 90 minutes, and can play up to 30 continuous minutes of video on its 3.4″ LCD screen. Personally, I’m not up for reading a birthday card…

YouTubist EdsJunk wants to build you an Xbox Slim laptop – and he’s not above charging you hard-earned sweetcoin to do it. For $1600, Ed will build you a rough-n-tumble unit, perfect for playing Streeet Fighter 4 on the road. That might seem pretty expensive, but just look at this thing. A thing of beauty, it is. A 17-inch HD screen (720p), 4 USB ports, and a built-in power brick make this one styling unit. But check it: for the much more affordable price of $200, Ed will take YOUR Xbox and mod it into one of these. If that isn’t the coolest, you don’t know what’s up. Just watch this video and tell me you couldn’t…

Good luck, guys. Two Michigan residents are filing a class-action suit against Google over the sudden location-tracking brouhaha that’s been going down in the past week with first iOS, and now Android. According to them, Google’s location tracking of its HTC Inspire 4G’s is to a level that would normally require a warrant – and as such are demanding that the tracking immediately cease… and $50 million in damages for their trouble. Before you sympathetically take the plaintiff’s side, though, consider that while Google has had its share of privacy fiascoes, Android’s location tracking functionality…

Well, it’s certainly about time. Nintendo has confirmed that the rumoured ‘Project Café’ – the whispered-of successor to the rapidly-aging Wii – will be playable at E3, and on shelves in 2012. Sporting a 6-inch touchscreen on each controller, Project Café’s aim is allegedly to bring more freedom to the concept of the home console, and to take the gamer’s focus off the idea of a console as a plastic box tethered to a television set. There are no plans for 3D, because 3DTVs haven’t caught on yet (smart move), but beyond that, there are still very few details. What details there are, though, can be viewed…