VIDEO: Tilt-shifted monster trucks look like toys

This remarkable video is the work of Australian Keith Loutit, who specialises in tilt-shift photography. This technique involves manipulating the focus of an image so that it appears toylike. There’s a great Photoshop how-to here, and a gallery of other tilt-shift pics here. Post your favourites in the comments below.

(via the Telegraph)

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Samsung announces 64GB SSD H-Series HD camcorder, and some others too

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Not to be outdone by Canon, Samsung has also released info about a range of new camcorders that it’ll be bringing to market later in the year. They all come under the banner of H-Series, which seems to mean nothing except that their meaningless product numbers all begin with H.

In full, there’s the HMX-H106, HMX-H105, HMX-H104, and HMX-H100. They’ve got HD sensors, and lenses from Schneider Kreuznach that have a 10X zoom and “Optical Image Stabilisation”. One of the models in particular – the top-of-the-line HMX-H106 – comes with a 64GB SSD, which I believe is the first camcorder with a drive that big.

Next-gen Vuzix VR glasses will be unveiled at CES

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You might remember Vuzix from the VR920s that I reviewed back in October. They were bulky, unresponsive, and difficult to configure. These, however, look like a different kettle of fish. Specifically, a kettle of fish shaped like a pair of really nice sunglasses.

As well as the design getting a massive kick up the arse, the new glasses should also feature improved screens with considerably better immersiveness than the older model. The glasses unveiled at CES will be the non-interactive ‘watch-videos-on-your-ipod’ version, but here’s hoping that an interactive gaming model like the VR920 will be released shortly after with the necessary built-in accelerometers.

(via Gadget Lab)

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YouTube Video of the Week: Die! Santa! Die!

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We’ve all been there. It’s Christmas Eve, and you’ve managed to accidentally kill Santa. What on earth do you do with the body? With all the blood, vomit, axes and knives you’ll need over the festive season, this trailer (sadly not for a real film) puts the “ho ho ho” back in “homicide”.

Oh, and for added hilarity, run it through the Bennyhillifier.

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Universal Music: We're getting heaps of cash from YouTube

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For a long time, Google has struggled to monetise its video-sharing site, YouTube. Experiments with advertising have been coldly received by the community but perhaps things are starting to perk up – the executive vice president of Universal Music Group’s eLabs, Rio Caraeff, has said that his company is getting “tens of millions of dollars” from YouTube.

Universal is one of a handful of companies who have a deal with YouTube where ad revenue from Universal’s content is split between the parties. As Universal has a hell of a lot of back-catalogue content, that’s a decent chunk of revenue, but “tens of millions” is far more than I would have expected.

YouTube Video of the Week: 2008 Roundup

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2008’s been an awesome year for silly internet videos, as the compilation from Videogum above proves. There are some crackers missing, but you can rest assured that most of your favourites are present and correct. Now sit back, and let the year flash before your eyes.

(via Videogum)

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eBay Nutcase of the Week: Turkey-slaughterer selling "famous" turkey killed during Sarah Palin interview

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Lots of things get killed whenever Sarah Palin opens her mouth – the English language, common sense, hope and dreams – but the most famous was this poor turkey, butchered in the background of a news report as Sarah ‘Gee, Mom!’ Palin rambled incoherently about America for ages and ages.

The famous deceased turkey is now available on eBay , with the seller promising “the official turkey from the video which comes with a letter of authenticity…

VIDEO: Lock and unlock your door with a Nintendo controller

Got an Arduino, a spare CD-ROM drive and an old NES lying around? How do you feel about making yourself a nifty security system out of it?

It’s not as ridiculous as it sounds, and Instructables has the ‘how-to’ guide. You’ll also need a webcam, small speaker, and a bunch of random wiring. Soon, you’ll be foiling would-be intruders with your geek skillz.

Nintendo Keyless Entry System (via CrunchGear)

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