Wired.com is taking submissions for a redesign of their logo in the style of Dungeons & Dragons maps (or riffs thereon). The winner will replace the Wired.com logo for a day on the main site. An awesome gesture, guys.

Redesign the Wired.com Logo, Dungeons & Dragons-Style [Underwire]

Apple announced details of the iPhone/iPod Touch SDK today. Some highlights:

• 70/30 revenue split from the iTunes Apps Store, the exclusive distribution method for iPhone applications.

• Free applications distributed at no charge (minus the $99 entry fee to iTunes Apps sellers).

• VoIP Apps will be allowed, but only over Wi-Fi connections.

• "Malicious" and "bandwidth hog" applications will not be allowed.

• Full Microsoft Exchange support coming.

• SDK looks robust, uses Xcode including an iPhone emulator.

• The first-shown apps included AOL Instant Messenger, Super Monkey Ball (!), a version of Spore, a dedicated SalesForce application, a pill and medical information identifier, and more.

• Apple and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (a VC firm) have created the "iFund," a $100 million seed fund for small iPhone developers.

• "iPhone 2.0" software platform—not new hardware, but the firmware update that allows these applications—available in June.

In short, the inability to load your own applications outside of the iTunes chute is disappointing, but the upcoming software really does look fabulous. Apple is not only taking a big swing at RIM's Blackberry and other smartphones but the portable gaming market as well.

Today on Modern Mechanix we have this beautifully illustrated 1938 Popular Mechanics piece about the early days of international broadcasting or as PM calls it, Ether Jumping. We also look at arctic houses with windows made of ice, Chicago's now defunct freight subway system, a very early example of the classic table-top telephone, a rather bizarre machine that is supposed to help teach piano and an advertisement for Zenith televisions which touts the fact that they are all handmade, with no printed circuit boards.

This is totally not a gadget, but it's been sitting in my feed reader for a couple of days and I keep revisiting it thinking about it in the context of reusing technology, so perhaps you'll find it quietly inspiring, as well. Brazilian/Israeli designer Joana Meroz takes old, cracked china, paints it with lovely gold-stemmed flowers, and reglazes the cups and plates to "celebrate their imperfections." She then sells them on her website as "Crackery Tableware."

Crackery Tableware [Cool Hunting]

• Earbuds – Philips USA SHN2500 Active Noise Canceling Earbud Headphones for $17, shipped. [Dealhack]

• HD Camcorder – The new Canon VIXIA HV30 MiniDV 1080p Camcorder for $850, shipped, if you're a Costco member. (Non-members pay $42.50 more.) I've got the HV20 and it's about as fine of a camera as you could ask for. [Dealnews]

• Shoulder Bag – Victorinox Nth packs for $14 - $30 plus $6 shipping. [Dealnews]

• Portable TV/DVD Player – Today's Woot! is the Haier Portable 7” LCD TV with DVD Player and AM/FM Stereo for $95, shipped.

In the pursuit of a passively cooled PC with no fans, Ville "Willek" Kyrö happened upon a solution ingenious in its simplicity: make the entire case a giant heat sink. A whole bunch of custom rigging later, his Opteron-powered machine was a success—ignoring that the case weighed over 44 pounds.

Project: Passive [Metku.net]

Charles & Marie are taking pre-orders for the successor to their heat-sensitive "On/Off" mug—this one goes from "Cold" to "Hot" when you add something, you know, hot. Still very pricey at $25, but apparently they sold out of the last ones, so I may not know the going rate for a fancy mug.

They do say that this mug is dishwasher safe, which is good. (I had related my previous experience with heat-sensitive mugs being somewhat fragile in the wash.)

Catalog Page [CharlesAndMarie.com]

Previously • Heat-Sensitive ON/OFF Coffee Mug [BBG]

Rob Beschizza got a hands-on with a prototype maglev haptic interface being developed at Carnegie Mellon which uses a pair of wildly expensive donut-shaped electromagnets to produce physical feedback and texture with a fidelity of up to 2 microns.

On the texture board's hard surface, the haptic feedback was so sharp and resolute that the metal grip clanged against it, much as it might on a solid surface. On the board's virtual vinyl record, each groove of the LP was individually distinguishable.

Based on this report, I predict the Nintendo Wii 2 will cost $24,900 dollars.

Hands-On With Maglev Haptic Control Technology [Gadget Lab]

Today on Modern Mechanix we look at the thrilling sport of balloon jumping which actually looks like a hell of a lot of fun. This 1933 article details the U.S. Navy's ongoing battle with Chinese Pirates. No, not music or software pirates, actual pirates. Also, a flying wing speed boat, an early fax machine called the Radio Pen that looks like it's printing out an early version of the Mac vs. PC ads, a very odd looking bus used to give tours of the Paramount movie lot and a 1934 Popular Science article about making dangerous acids in your home laboratory.

Renault's "Megane" coupe concept, currently being feted at the Geneva Auto Show, eschews gullwing doors for the far-more-futuristic dragonfly doors. Don't expect them to make it into the production cars, but they're certainly beautiful.

Geneva: Renault Megane Coupe Concept – Production Version Following Shortly! [Carscoop via Oh Gizmo]

Silverlit, a manufacturer perhaps best known for its tiny R/C helicopters, has released the "V-Beat Air Drums" to accompany its Air Guitar. Motion sensors in the sticks let you make noises without actually hitting anything, which might be a good idea depending on how well they are calibrated.

Oh, who I am fooling? Just watch the video, try not to vomit from the kerrraaazeeee zooming camera, and enjoy the soulless simulacrum of the Pops Musax. There's apparently some sort of foot pedal involved, too, although unless it can be attached to a shoe so one could walk down the street playing drums at the pace of your stride...Hey! That sounds rad, actually! Just the thing to lure out a cadre of flamboyantly coiffed breakdancers for an impromptu dance hustle.

You know, the longer I go without putting my hands on these Air Drums, the better they get. They're £30. Let me know if you get a chance to play with them.

Catalog Page [ThumpsUpUK.com via Coolest Gadget]

The "LINC" is a mobile phone concept has one particularly novel idea at heart: the device is built with a one-year lifecycle in mind, designed to be easily recycled every year as upgraded versions become available. This mythical device would be leased, not owned, with yearly upgrades built into the rate.

I admire the pragmatism of the idea. We tend to toss out our phones every couple of years already. Why not account for our slavering neophilia right up front? And if a yearly upgrade cycle is too much, perhaps a slightly less expensive plan could be offered on a two-year replacement schedule?

Two trends in the mobile market portend the possibility of a LINC-like concept becoming feasible: the iPhone and its simple rate plan; the recent outpouring of all-you-can-eat plans from the big four American carriers. The iPhone is showing that the general user base is happy with a smartphone/media player hybrid with middling text input capability and clearly all the other phone manufacturers are chasing that idea at least in part.

The LINC's got a beat and you can dance to it. Too bad Kaleidoscope, the development consultancy that came up with the concept, isn't in the sort of business that will make it simple to develop the idea any further.

Linc - The Lifecycle Concept Phone [TheGreenerGrass.org]

Trademork is reporting that Twentieth Century Fox, rights-holders to the Futurama brand, has trademarked "Slurm," the once-fictional monstrously addictive beverage made from the secretions of a giant worm Slurm Queen harvested by singing Grunka-Lunkas. The trademark covers, "carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks; fruit drinks; fruit juices; mineral and aerated water; bottled drinking water; energy drinks; syrups and powders for making soft drinks and other beverages, namely soft drinks, fruit drinks and tea; coffee-flavored soft drinks; Ramune (Japanese soda pops); powders used in the preparation of isotonic sports drinks and sports beverages."

I'm waiting on New Slurm, myself.

Slurm [Trademork.com]

The Nike + iPod platform has been an odd duck from the beginning, one of the few partnerships into which Apple has entered that seems beneficial to another brand besides Apple. And I've had it on good word from people who run that the Nike Plus system can add quite a bit to those interested in statistics showing their progress. It was an easy and relatively inexpensive way to add stats tracking to something many runners were already using.

Buying gym-quality cardio equipment, however, is expensive, which is exactly what Nike and Apple are suggesting gym operators do to take part in the next phase of the partnership. New machines from Life Fitness, Precor, Star Trac, and Technogym will allow users to plug in their iPod nano into the console to record their workout data, all of which will be integrated onto the NikePlus.com web site.

Adding the technology to the machines shouldn't cost that much—just a slot for the iPod, a dock connector, and an interface to dump the data in a compatible format (something Apple is surely providing to the equipment manufacturers). Unfortunately, these sorts of machines are extraordinarily expensive, often several thousand dollars per unit, and gym operators are loathe to replace them before they have to.

Which is to say, in my typical authoritative style: maybe. Maybe eventually. But it'll be a couple of years, I suspect, before the Nike + iPod platform sees any real penetration anywhere but newly opened gyms. (And I say that as someone who might actually use the platform now, as I can't run without destroying my knees and shins, but will use cardio machines.)

Nike + iPod Experience Coming To A Gym Near You [NikeBiz.com]

• Watches – Inexpensive, basic Casio watches, analog and digital, for $8 to $15. Normal Amazon shipping applies. [Slickdeals]

• Laptop – Get $250 off the popular Dell XPS M1330 laptop. [Dealhack]

• Toast Stamper – Imprint your toast with the image of the Virgin Mother for just $8, shipped. [Dealnews]

• TiVo HD – Today's Woot! is a refurbished TiVo HD for $185, shipped. TiVo subscription not included.

From the first-edition Dungeon Master's Guide. I've been trying to roll 66-75 my whole life. (Thanks, Bald Face Liar!)

If ever I start complaining about what a rough job I have or how it's difficult to maintain a high output in the face of an onslaught of new products and the demands of a public job and dealing with PR pressure and blah blah blah...remind me of today. The day that a disinterested man pulled up his SUV to my front steps and unloaded—just for me—free beer.

Now granted, it's Heineken. And I sort of loathe Heineken. (They can brew better! I've had it!) But the point is this: 10 liters of free beer have been delivered to me; lo, to me this beer was delivered free.

So since I have to wait for the thing to cool down to actually drink the beer and the manual says that'll take several hours, you get a lovely set of photographs and initial, not-even-drunken commentary.

Kippis and l'chaim!

Here's how big the kegs are compared to a 12-ounce bottle of beer. The other keg is Heineken Light. I know—how could it get more light? I guess I'll find out when the first keg is finished.

Here is the top of the device. It is black like you know who and chrome like you know who's messiah robot counterpart.

I would call it attractive.

These are the plastic, disposable plugs that snap into the tops of the kegs. The other end is the spout. More on that soon, but basically, all that chrome is an illusion.

Here's the spout assembly open.

And here's the plastic plug laid in. Notice how the whole assembly is basically a ruse to make the disposable plastic bits seem fancy.

At the top, the two sensor readouts that make the BeerTender cost three-hundred dollars: a scale to determine how full the keg is (that has to be how they do it, since the keg doesn't actually hook up to anything and is pre-pressurized) and a temperature readout.

Finally, that attractive badge on the front of the tap? Just a vinyl sticker. (So you can replace it when you replace the beer with another variety besides Heineken, of course.)

I'll wait to pass final judgement until I actually use the thing—tomorrow, at least—but I'm almost certain I'll already give it a big, fat negatory on the whole buying thing. I mean, it's a refrigerator for god's sake. I'm getting ahead of myself!

Anyway, the point is: I should probably review this on camera and I should probably be very drunk.

According to a post on Troll Lord Games who had published his work, Gary Gygax, creator of Dungeons & Dragons, has passed away. In 2003, on the now defunct kcgeek.com, we ran an interview with Gygax. I have republished it after the jump. Tiamat consume you fully, Gary. You brought untold amount of fun and joy into my life. – Joel

An excerpt:

Q. As far as you know, what was the basic evolution of polyhedral dice? If they existed prior to the creation of Dungeons & Dragons, what were they used for?

To the best of my knowledge I introduced them to gaming, en masse, with D&D; in 1974. I found sets of the five platonic solids for sale in a school supply catalog back in 1972, and of course ordered them, used them in creating the D&D; game.

Image: Alan De Smet

Update 2: I'm proud to present the exclusive first look at the cover and sample page from the LEGO Collector catalog, issued by the company in honor of the 50th anniversary of the LEGO brick. Click the images for full-sized versions.

Fantasia Verlag, a German publisher that specializes in collectors catalogs, will be releasing "LEGO Collector," an 800-page guide of every single LEGO set ever produced since 1958 through 2008, all in glorious color. It's going to be €23 in Germany, but there are currently no announced plans for releasing the guide in the US, despite the catalog including all sets unique to the US, Asia, or Australia.

From the press release:

50 years of play, fun and joy – around 8.000 LEGO® sets in one book
Key data LEGO® Collector:
· Expected date of publication: May 2008
· Around 800 pages
· Bilingual: English / German
· Around 8.000 sets printed in colour
· One chapter for every year: 1958 - 2008
· Additional information: number of components; available from/until
· Rating (1-6 LEGO® Bricks) to establish the rareness of sets
· Extra: Chapter with key rings
· Extra: List of all published Service-Sets
· Index to quickly find the desired sets
· MSRP 22,90€ (Germany); the price may vary in other EU countries due to different
tax regulations

I must have this catalog. I've reached out to my LEGO contacts to see if we can expect it here.

Press Release [Eurobricks via Bros. Brick]

Update: LEGO has confirmed to me that this will be released in the US at some point in the future. (This year, I suspect.) More details to come!

Previously • Interview: Bjarne P. Tveskov, Classic LEGO Space Designer [BBG]
• 50 Years of LEGO: Ultimate Collector's Millennium Falcon Time-Lapse Video [BBG]
• 50 Years of LEGO: Nine Sets I Have Known and Loved [BBG]

Today on Modern Mechanix we explore some DIY projects that may leave you gasping for air, a scheme to use balloons to float mail up to passing mail planes, the perfect secretary, strange devices used to water crops, and a radio that's disguised as a pair of books. Also check out this guy who made a crazy bet to drive his car across a ravine, riding on a nothing but a pair of cables and this 1933 article about the thrilling Los Angeles Air Races.

The more I think about the "work from the woods" idea I mentioned before, the more I like it. I'm going to start putting together an equipment list, buy the stuff I need, and request test units for the items that will be useful for a review. I expect I'll be able to take the trip sometime in May, which should give me plenty of time to assemble my gear, carve out a good week to do, and have a fair chance of avoiding a week of stormy weather. (Although who knows? Working in the rain would be horrible for connectivity and solar power, but it might be sort of hilarious.)

I hope to get your input on good locations to spend a week, the equipment that is practical to bring, and what is the least expensive search & rescue choplifter operating in the Hudson Valley.

The basics seem fairly easy: a good backpack, a warm sleeping bag, and a small, light tent. (I have also considered one of those nifty Hennessy hammocks in lieu of a tent.) I already have a set of indispensable silk thermal underwear, which is both warm and easy to pack.

I have a good multitool and a small camp hatchet with a fiberglass handle that should take care of any tool needs. I don't intend to build a shelter or anything, which would probably be illegal in most of the area wilderness anyway. I'll probably need to grab a length of strong cord for hanging up food and securing my tent or hammock.

Food and water is a concern. The last overnight trip I did in October was through a notoriously dry section of New York; the only water was standing and stale. There's no way I can pack in enough water to last a solid week, so I'll have to filter water from local sources. Surely in May the creeks will still be running in most areas. I've never been on a trip of sufficient duration to require locating and purifying water, so any advice you guys can offer there is welcome.

As for food, I'll probably stick to the standard fare: light, dry beans; high-calorie, low-volume snacks like chocolate and whisky; and other generally bland but edible foods. I absolutely adore food, so I'll probably end up packing in some unnecessarily varied treats just to keep myself entertained. Except for hiking in and out to the campsite, however, I don't plan on expending a ton of energy throughout the week. My caloric deficit will be that of the average blogger.

It's my intention to work while I'm out there, which for means I'll need a computer with a decent keyboard, a web browser with connectivity, an RSS reader and a way to format and upload images. It's that last requirement that tends to be a tricky one. I could do almost everything I needed with a decent smartphone and an external keyboard, but image editing is usually right out. And I'd prefer a proper laptop, frankly.

I could take my Macbook Pro, but it is heavy and relatively power hungry. It has the advantage of being my home computer, so I'd have everything I normally use close at hand. Still, I don't think it's a very good option.

I have considered one of the Fujitsu Windows laptops with the ridiculous battery life—many models get up into the eight-to-nine-hour range using Wi-Fi. I would expect that using an EVDO or UMTS modem will cut into that fairly heavily, as well. I could also use something like the Eee, I suspect, although the battery life on the Eee isn't all that spectacular, frankly.

Finally, I could try to use a smartphone with an external keyboard. It would be light and relatively power-sipping (although perhaps not so power-sipping when used for hours at a time over 3G).

Of those options, the standard laptop with a long battery life seems the best option, although I'm totally open to debate on that point. Perhaps the most important requirement will be the ability to charge a second battery outside of the computer itself.

See, my plan is to charge everything with a solar roll. Something like the SolarRoll from Brunton, in fact. But since even the largest roll they sell can only trickle charge a battery, I'll need to keep one battery charging while I use the laptop. That may take a little fancy jiggering to make it work, especially if there is no proper charger available and I have to figure out how to charge the batteries directly from the panels. That's beyond my current ability as a tinkerer, but I'm sure there are loads of people who could tell me how to rig the whole thing up. Perhaps even safely!

Connectivity will have to be 3G. I don't see any other way around it. (Even if I could afford a satellite data box, I doubt I could afford the data rates.) The last time I was up in the Valley on a trail I was pulling down five bars on my phone, as was my hiking buddy. As long as those towers have a 3G cell—very probable on the CDMA carriers—I should be fine. This will be a deciding factor in my choice of location, of course, and I'll be sure to check with the carriers before I go traipsing off for a week. I'd like to avoid renting a car, too, so I'll likely be sticking to one of the mountains that can be reached by the trains of the Metro North line. There are tons of good trails around New York City, although I'm open to other location suggestions.

The final question will be what odds and ends products to take out to be reviewed. I'll have to be pretty limited in my selection, since the laptop, solar roll, extra batteries, shelter, clothing, food and water will already make for a heavy pack. (Not to mention the space I'll have to make for a whole carton of cigarettes and a few sheets of Pork Roll Ups.) But I'll have a lot of free time on my hands, too, especially since I'll need to save the laptop's battery power for working, not entertainment. I'll be packing the Kindle and doing a bit of reading, I'm sure, so there's that. Maybe I could try to set up snares are capture some food.

Also, before it gets said in the comments: Yes, I know the point of camping is usually to get away from all the tech. I agree! But this isn't a normal camping trip, so the normal rules don't apply. Spare me the sermon this once knowing that I am normally of the same persuasion.

Image Source: Kruggg6

"Heita3" makes musical instruments from vegetables. He's made a lovely ocarina from a rather large carrot and played one of the short themes from The Ocarina of Time.

Kotaku has some more videos from Heita3, who also has made a pan flute from carrots, a radish slide whistle, and more ocarinas from broccoli and mushrooms.

Zelda Song Played ON A FRIGGIN' CARROT [Kotaku]

Previously • Vegetable orchestra [BB]

Here's your taste of future war this morning: iRobot, of Roomba and military PackBot renown, has gotten approval from military R&D; agency DARPA to construct prototype robots they're calling "LANdroids." Each tiny, tank-treaded robot will act as a node in a wireless network, capable of positioning themselves intelligently to fill holes in coverage areas in urban environments. The hope is to make them small and inexpensive enough to be essentially disposable.

Except for the limitation of being battery powered, I could almost see these working for homes, too. It'd be great to toss out a little robot who would wander around the house until it discovered where I most needed additional Wi-Fi coverage.

As for the pitiful people who have to fight our increasingly autonomous armies, they'll have dozens of tiny new targets to try and snipe. Time to work on EMP grenades, insurgents!

Press Release [Robot Stock News via BotJunkie]

MSI is showing off a dubiously named "Green Design" laptop computer concept that vents invisible negative ions into the air as it's operating. Of course breathing in high levels of negative ions may be bad for your lungs, but don't let that stop you from purchasing the PR620 notebook if you live in a smokey den of iniquity. If they actually make the laptop at all, that is.

MSI develops world's first anion notebook PR620 [PCLaunches.com]

Previously • Stirling Engine Motherboard Fans Powered by Waste Chip Heat [BBG]

• Universal Remote – Logitech Harmony 659 Remote, refurbished, for $40, shipped. [Slickdeals]

• Macbooks – Refurbished Macbooks on the Apple Store starting at $749. [Dealnews]

• Camcorder – The Sanyo Xacti VPC-CG6 solid-state camcorder is back on sale at Wal-Mart.com for $206, shipped. I've been considering this one for a while but I think I may go ahead and buy it and see if I like it better than my HV20. [Dealnews]

• Tape Measure – Today's Woot! is a Strait-Line Rolling Tape Measure two-pack for $10, shipped.

A BBtv exclusive sneak peek inside an Alternate Reality Game (or 'ARG') revolving around the storyline of the Fox tv series Sarah Connor Chronicles (and the Terminator movie trilogy). The footage describes the development of a camera from Enitech Labs that can take pictures of a future event by capturing faster-than-light "tachyon" particles. When pictures of ordinary scenery foretell post-apocalyptic outcomes, the developers find themselves in a race against time to publicize their findings and warn the public of the horrors to come...

More exclusive installments to come on BBtv. (Thanks, Bart Cheever / millionsofus!)

• The Man with the Plan – Dan's Atomic I/O Letters #79 [Dan's Data]

• Great Moments in Punditry – "Automated killer robots 'threat to humanity': expert" [BreitBart.com]

• Divine Sucking Wind – Mitsubishi announces they're leaving the cellphone handset market after 25 years. [Engadget]

• Back in Bhat – Gina shares some travel tips from her jaunt to Thailand. In short, leave the laptop home. [Lifehacker]

• Omar's Back! – Listening test between Monster Cable and a unwound coat hanger. Guess who won? [Audioholics]

I don't think I'm the only person who, upon seeing that six-limbed furry creation known as the "foxtaur," thinks: I bet that motherfucker can drive. Obviously I'm not, as someone has documented their plans to upgrade a Honda Civic Si to be driven by one of those undeniably sexy hybrids between a fox and a taur.

Larger Version [Gamespot.com]

The "Green Cell" proposal by the design clique "Rich, Brilliant, and Willing" is almost a great idea, and fortunately its main sin is an easily remedied one of omission. Their concept is a a vending machine full of rechargeable batteries of uniform size. All gadgets would use this single battery profile, making it possible to toss an old, worn out battery into the hopper for recycling while easily picking up replacements on the go.

The glaring flaw, of course, is that for their Green Cell idea to work, all gadget manufacturers would have to adopt a standardized rechargeable battery size. It'll never happen, not just for the typical reasons attempts to align corporate manufacturers of disparate interests into a monolithic platform rarely work, but because we as gadgets owners don't actually want one large battery to become a default size.

The designers of the iPhone and Macbook Air, for example, gain a lot of leeway in flattening device chassis by not having to account for a removable battery. Leaving aside whether all products even need a replaceable battery, one relatively large battery like the Green Cell really limits the shape and sizes of future gear.

So let's take it a step out if possible and crib from the disposable batteries of yore, offering a few standard battery sizes. One of the Green Cell concepts show two cells placed in sequence to power a laptop. By offering a few smaller sizes, gadget manufacturers might be afforded sufficient flexibility to create the thinner and smaller devices we all crave while still realizing the convenience offered by the Green Cell vending machines.

Even through it's likely that batteries will shrink some as they increase efficiency over the next few years, there will be a realistic minimum size for a while. That smallest size can be the most tiny modular cell offered.

In short, we just need a new set of standard battery sizes that are flat and rectangular, not cylindrical.

Or we could just not worry about it until supercapacitors prove themselves as a viable power storage system.

GREEN CELL Universal Battery Sold in Vending Machines [Inhabitat]