Front projection is the way to go for maximum screen size, if you have the space for it. MSRP on the HD20 is $1299.99 and Amazon sells them new for $834.20, so this is a pretty good deal for a Full HD projector.

The HDHomeRun Prime is a remote tuner, you connect it to your cable and your network and the tuners are then available for Windows 7 Windows Media Center PCs on the network to use for watching live TV or recording. You can get the full product details from the SiliconDust website. Today the HDHomeRun Prime officially requires a Windows 7 Windows Media Center PC, but I did just talk to SiliconDust at The Cable Show this week. They’re working on adding DLNA/DTCP-IP support which would allow any DLNA/DTCP-IP-enabled device to access the tuners over the network. I’ll get around to writing a post on that.

It is a simple device. There is a coax connection for the cable, a slot for the M-Card CableCARD, Ethernet for the network, USB to support a Tuning Adapter if required, and a power connection. The $129.99 price is lower than Amazon’s $149.99 new price, and nearly half off the full $249.99 MSRP.

The MSRP is $359.99 and Amazon sells these new for $217.95, so this more than half off Amazon’s price, and less than a third of MSRP. It is still a little pricey for a table fan – but it is the world’s coolest table fan! And how many table fans can do this?

We’ve seen a few real work examples of augmented reality, with varying degrees of success. The most common are smartphone applications, such as Layar, which can overlay information onto the world as seen through the phone’s camera. So you can hold up the phone and call up different information – like icons for restaurants around you, or information culled from various social media sites, etc. But you don’t want to walk around holding your cell phone up in front of you, awkwardly looking at the world through its screen.

Well, Google has unveiled one of their pie in the sky projects aimed at making augmented reality practical – Project Glass. And it isn’t just a concept, Google co-founder Sergey Brin has been spotted in public wearing an early working prototype. The initial concept appears to be a monocular display that is worn like a pair of glasses. A combiner optic sits in front of the eye with most of the hardware contained in the frames. The basic information is displayed such that is appears in the user’s field of view, but when not displaying anything the combiner should appear transparent. They’ve also talked about a version for those who wear prescription glasses, so they’re not left out.

It is very early days and who knows when or even if Google commercializes the technology. But it does seem like just a matter of time until we have something like this available. The real problem has been the size of the technology. Past efforts to create something similar have relied on bulky LCD displays, and generally required the glasses to be cabled into a separate battery and processing unit. Google is hoping to create something self-contained within Project Glass.

The promotional video they released with the announcement of the project gives us a, somewhat cheesy, look at what they’re hoping to accomplish:

Remember, not all devices that use SD cards may support the later SDHC, or especially the SDXC, specifications. So before you buy a card to use in your device, make sure it will be supported.

The Cheetah is funded through DARPA’s Maximum Mobility and Manipulation program, and while this unit is a tethered lab prototype testing of an untethered, free-running version is planned for later this year. They’ve also developed various robots for specialized tasks, such as battlefield reconnaissance or looking for survivors in the rubble after a disaster. One of those is the RHex, funded by the US Army’s Rapid Equipping Force:

It is a pretty funky design, but clearly functional as it clambers all over rough terrain. It handles it better than standard wheeled or tracked designs, without the complexity of legs. But one of the funkiest is the Sand Flea, also funded by the US Army’s Rapid Equipping Force. It is a wheeled robot, with a special trick up its sleeve. Check out the video to see for yourself:

Boston Dynamics has done some amazing work in robotics, I look forward to seeing what they come up with next.

Let’s compare the Roku HD from Sellout.Woot! to the Roku 2 XS and see what the extra $30 gets you:

The Roku 2 XS includes the Bluetooth motion sensing remote to support casual gaming – and it comes with a full copy of Angry Birds. And it runs all of the latest software with full support for the latest Roku channel features. I’d grab the Roku 2 XS for the extra features and current platform.

By way of comparison I’ve included the current Roku LT in the table below, as it lists for the same $49.99 price. Both of the Roku HD models give you wired Ethernet, which is better than WiFi for streaming video and which the LT lacks. The N1000/N1100 also give you Component Video, S-Video, and Optical Audio output, which are absent on the other two units.

Personally, of these three I’d opt for the original Roku HD N1000/N1100. Sure it is a little bit bigger, but it offers more flexibility for connections. If you’re positive you don’t need the extra outputs, the 2000C is perfect for wired Ethernet. Checkout the deal before it is gone.

EDIT: If you want to go a little bit upmarket, Amazon’s Gold Box Deal of the Day is the Roku 2 XS for $79.99 – 20% off the $99.99 MSRP.

And if you don’t have any devices that use SDXC? Well, coincidentally I’m sure, today Woot! is selling a JVC Everio HD Camcorder which happens to use SDXC cards.

If 32GB is more than you need, you can pick up the same card in 16GB for $13.99. But I’d really take the Gold Box deal and snag a 32GB card for cheap.

The different brands of toys just don’t go together. Unless you can just stack them and let gravity hold things together there really isn’t a good way to combine different sets. Sure, there are some building block brands that are ‘compatible’ with Lego, but really, that’s just more Lego. It isn’t the same. What if you could really connect Lego to K’Nex, or K’Nex to Tinkertoy, and make functioning structures. That could really open up possibilities.

And that’s where 3D Printing comes in. F.A.T. Lab and Sy-Lab have created the The Free Universal Construction Kit, which provides connector pieces to bridge ten popular construction toys with each other. The toys covered are Duplo, Fischertechnik, Gears!Gears!Gears!, K’nex, Krinkles (aka Bristle Blocks), Lego, Lincoln Logs, Tinkertoy, ZomeTool, and Zoob. Well, technically it is currently eight. Zoob and ZomeTool are still covered under patents and the adapters for those won’t actually be released until December 2016 and November 2022, respectively.

So you can go out and buy these now, right? Well, no – for two reasons. First, you can’t buy them because they are free. Second, you can’t buy them because they aren’t physical objects – until you make them so. They’ve been released as STL files through Thingiverse.com. You provide the 3D printer, like a Makerbot, download the files and print the part(s) you need. Check out the parts in action in this video:

I think this is exciting because it shows the potential for 3D printing. Today 3D printing is still a fringe thing, far from the mainstream, but at one time so were printers in general. Printing has evolved from fuzzy dot matrix printers to photo quality ink jets that are so cheap they’re basically disposable. The next jump is 3D printing. There are already a couple of commercial 3D printers on the market and they’ll only continue to improve. Just as we can download books, music, movies, and games today, in the near future we’ll be downloading ‘things’ the same way.

Small items to start, certainly, but we’ll have larger printers before too long. Need some extra chairs for the cook out? Print them. Plates & cups too. Then when it is done toss them into the chipper to be converted back into feedstock. Now that’s recycling. Want a truly custom case for your phone? Modify a design and print one. 3D printers continue to evolve and we’ll have multiple materials, colors, etc., to choose from.

You can even ‘print’ metal using powered metals and a temporary binder, then fusing the part in a sintering oven. Or directly building up a part in powdered metal by using a laser to solidify it layer my layer. A lot of complex metal parts are made this way today using presses and dies to shape the part then sintering to make it solid. (I had a factory temp job in college working in such a place. One of the dirtiest jobs I’ve had, but really interesting seeing how it was done.)

Maybe it seems far out, but much of what we have today seemed pretty far out just a decade or two ago. And maybe thinking about the toys has my imagination going. For now – go print out some toys and have fun.

Via The Verge.

Today’s Sellout.Woot! deal is a refurbished Panasonic Lumix 14.1MP Digital Camera with Leica 16x Optical Zoom, GPS & 1080p HD Video recording for only $159.99 + $5 S&H. And, as a bonus, you get an accessory pack with a 4GB SD card, leather carrying case, and a stylus. All together you get the Lumix DMC-ZS10 camera, a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, battery charger, carrying case, USB cable, AV cable, 4GB SD card, hand strap, and stylus pen.

MSRP is $349.99, and Amazon sells them new for $239.00, both without the accessory pack, so this looks like a decent deal.

It isn’t the biggest, baddest router on the market, that’s for sure, but for $30 it is a solid product.

The Sellout.Woot! deal is a refurbished Panasonic Lumix 14.1MP Digital Camera with Leica 16x Optical Zoom, GPS & 1080p HD Video recording for only $169.99 + $5 S&H. And, as a bonus, you get an accessory pack with a 4GB SD card, leather carrying case, and a stylus. All together you get the Lumix DMC-ZS10 camera, a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, battery charger, carrying case, USB cable, AV cable, 4GB SD card, hand strap, and stylus pen.

MSRP is $349.99, and Amazon sells them new for $239.00, both without the accessory pack, so this looks like a decent deal.

You can get deals on computers, digital storage, printers, digital cameras, software, GPS products, computer accessories, office technology, office supplies, office furniture, assorted gift items, and more. Act now!

And there is still time to donate $5 to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation and have it matched for a total $10 donation. It’s just $5 and it can make a big difference for some child’s holiday.

First up, Special Holiday Deals on Select LG Home Entertainment Products. Save on 25 different HDTVs, three different Blu-ray Disc players, and three different Home Audio Systems.

Or maybe you’d prefer a Free Family Pack of 3D Glasses with Select LG Cinema 3D LED HDTVs with Smart TV. Five LG 3D HDTV models to choose from.

Or a free LG AN-MR200 Magic Motion Remote when you buy an LG Infinia 42LV5400 42″ 1080p HDTV with Smart TV.

Next up, Save Big on Select Sony HDTVs. Seventeen different models to choose from.

Of perhaps Great Savings on Select Panasonic HDTVs. Sixteen models to choose from!

Next, Save up to 45% on Select HDTVs. HDTVs from LG, Panasonic, Samsung, and Sony – 102 different models to choose from!

Maybe Big-Screen HDTVs for $999 or Less. LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony, TCL, Toshiba, VIZIO and Westinghouse, 42 models all together.

And to feed those HDTVs content, Blu-ray Disc Players and Digital-Media Devices Under $100. The Apple TV and TiVo Premiere are in there along with the Roku 2 family and Roku LT. Blu-ray Disc players from LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony, VIZIO, and Toshiba, and streaming devices from Iomega, Western Digital, Patriot, Netgear, and the aforementioned Apple, TiVo, and Roku boxes.

And for those Blu-ray Players, save on thousands of TV shows and movies on Blu-ray and DVD.

Now, if you want to create your own content, there is this special: Instant Savings on Select Sony Camcorders. Eighteen different models to choose from – from the $89.99 Bloggie to the $399.99 HDR-XR160.

If still photography is more your thing, get a Free DSLR Backpack, Memory Card, and Tiffen Filter with Select Canon Rebel DSLR Cameras. Thirteen different camera models to choose from.

Or perhaps you prefer to Save Big When You Bundle Select Canon DSLRs with Qualifying Canon Lenses and/or Printers. With seven different cameras to choose from.

Amazon certainly has your entertainment electronics needs covered.

The headphones alone have a $149.99 MSRP and Amazon sells them for $49.99 (at best), while the microphone carries a $49.99 MSRP and sells for $39.99. So this deal is like getting the microphone for free, a $40 value.

And hey, it looks like The Joker likes them. Well, maybe that’s Harley Quinn. Or some random Smilex victim.

Android tablet users aren’t left out – MAME4droid supports the iCade.