Archive for April, 2004
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Friday, April 23rd, 2004
Goldfish Aquarium
Some things should be kept a secret and I thought about keeping this one close to me, but decided that there must be others that are looking for a replacement to the played out Marine Aquarium by Prolific Publishing. Goldfish Aquarium is their latest release and you can tell they took what they know about 3D programming and applied it to this application. It looks more realistic than the Marine Aquarium, I would even venture to say almost lifelike. You can choose from 12 different types of Goldfish and cycle thru different tanks and views… one of my favorites is the top view, which reminds me of the old flying toaster screensaver by Berkleysoft. Did I already mention the graphics are unbelievable; the fish really act and look real. This is a great screensaver for your home theater or to just have displayed on your DIY inwall touchscreen. The best part is you don’t need to feed or maintain anything making the $20 price tag a non-issue. It’s currently only available on the PC, a OSX version will be released soon.
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Friday, April 23rd, 2004
A iTunes Clone for Lindows
I really don’t know how Lindows is allowed to release a clone of iTunes. But now users of Lindows can enjoy some of the features that makes iTunes the best music organizer and playback program in the world on their very own system. Named LSongs, it not only shares a similar look, it lets you import, organize using playlists, and listen to streaming audio. Sorry, no Lsongs Music Store. I personally don’t think it’s worth the $19.95 or switching over to Lindows for it, but there must be some that would… anyone?
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Thursday, April 22nd, 2004
The Perfect Toaster
The first electric toaster was invented in 1893 in Great Britain by Crompton and Co and re-invented in 1909 in the United States. Since then we have had to deal with burnt and over done toast… why? Paul Brown, the inventor of the Perfect Toaster may put and end to this saga. The Perfect Toaster is the world’s first toaster technology to be able to sense the browness of toast by monitoring caramelisation effects, guaranteeing perfect toast every time without burning. And you ask how this is all done… with a ionising particle sensor. If you work for a major appliance or toaster manufacturer, please contact Paul over at Magnetic Design so we all can enjoy perfect toast. [via Gizmo]
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Thursday, April 22nd, 2004
Leisure Suit Larry Is Back!
WOW, this brings back memories… I remember playing Leisure Suit Larry, The Land of the Lounge Lizards back in 1987 on my IBM XT in 16 color CGA graphics (here are some screen shots). Vivendi Universal Games announced today that Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude is scheduled for release this Fall on PC, PlayStation 2 and the Xbox. Don’t expect to see our friend Larry Laffer, the series’ original lovable loser, in this installment we’ll be rooting for Larry Lovage, his nephew. In Magna Cum Laude, Lovage starts as a
sixth-year-senior enrolled at the local community college, and spends most of
his time in his dorm room or on campus striking out with women. After hearing
about a reality TV dating show visiting his college campus, Larry resolves to
revitalize his life and get on the show. Over the course of the game, Larry
sets out on an epic search for love (or its equivalent) and finds that things
don’t always go as planned. This game will be packed with mini-games like Tapper, Trampoline, and Wet T-shirt Contents. I don’t know if the reason why I liked the original was because I was younger or if it really was an entertaining game… guess I’ll just have to wait and see.
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Wednesday, April 21st, 2004
Carnegie Mellon offers eSuds Service
This confirms that we are living in a connected society… a society that feels the need to monitor the washing and drying of their clothing. I think this is a great service for the college student, gone are the days of arriving to the laundrymat and all machines are being used, or trying to find enough change to feed the machine. Carnegie Mellon will be the first university to go live with eSuds, giving its 4,000 campus residents the ability to use the eSuds online laundry services to do their laundry. Check out the eSuds.net website for realtime status on washer/dryer availablity and how much time is remaining. Very cool… I wonder if I can rig my washer/dry to do this.
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Wednesday, April 21st, 2004
The HandyMark
If you have ever hung drywall you know how much of a pain it is to mark and cut outlet and switch boxes. I stumbled across the HandyMark and thought to myself, why didn’t I think of that. The HandyMark is a very simple jig that is made out of ABS plastic with six stainless steel pins. When placed on top of a standard single gang box it makes marking drywall a piece of cake. This $9.95 item can save you hundreds in the long run.
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Tuesday, April 20th, 2004
Meridian 861
No, that’s not the address to the finest club in town, it’s the latest preamp model from Meridian. I’ve always loved Meridian’s slick and clean looking components, but have never had the pleasure of owning one. To give you an idea as to why, the Meridian 861 preamp retails for $16k and can cost up to $20k fully loaded (fruit not included). So, if you love to dream or you can actually afford one of the finest audio-video components in the world, then point your browser over to Revolution Home Theater where they have a full review. After reading the review, I’ve decided to start a Meridian 861 fund. I’ve got $5.00 allocated already… wish me luck.
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Tuesday, April 20th, 2004
EyeHome Digital Media Player
I’ve been looking for something like this for a while, a home digital media player that uses Apple’s Rendezvous technology to find media stored on my Mac. Elgato has released the EyeHome digital media player that puts your iLife on TV. EyeHome accesses your existing iPhoto, iTunes, Movies and even EyeTV content (FYI: EyeTV is a TiVo like PVR for your Mac). I was starting to wonder when I’d see this kind of technology for my Mac… phew! It’s a steal at $249.
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Tuesday, April 20th, 2004
My Favorite Home Automation Controller
If you are looking for the ultimate home automation solution, you need to check out what HAI has to offer. I’m currently installing a OmniPro II in my new home and there is nothing my house won’t be able to do. Imagine coming home at 10 o’clock at night, the system knows the time, when you open the garage door the system turns on certain lights to guide you to your bedroom. After the system notices no movement in the home, via motion sensors, the lights turn off. This is just one example of how a properly designed and integrated home automation system can work. The OmniPro can control your HVAC, Lighting, Security, and almost anything else you throw at it. If you are in the market for a home automation system, you need to look at HAI very seriously. Contact me directly if you have any questions, since I am a user and a big fan.
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Tuesday, April 20th, 2004
Gucci iPod
If you own Gucci socks, shoes, underwear, pants, shirts, hats, and a custom Ferrari with Gucci interior (as seen on MTV Cribs), then you must complete your Gucci wardrobe with this styling Gucci iPod case. It only costs $195… I’ll take two! Riiiiiight… I’d wait for the Swapmeet Gucci.
About the archives
Welcome to the archives here at MAVROMATIC.
These are a collection of our previous posts. If you'd like to read about the latest and greatest, click here.
Welcome to mavromatic! My goal is to bring to your attention the latest DIY projects, the greatest home automation and home theater products. As well as, the occasional offbeat entry, to spice things up a bit.
