cubes

Think you're a Rubik's Cube master? Unless you are a robot, think again.

The Zonhoven Open 2012 is a Rubik's Cube competition held annually in Belgium. One insane aspect of the competition is a blindfolded Rubik's Cube challenge. After a few brief moments of examining the cube, participants must solve the 3D mechanical puzzle without looking. A moderator also holds a piece of paper over the cube to avoid peeking.

One would think this feat would take several minutes at best, but a record, caught on video, shows Marcell Endrey of Hungary solving the cube in an astonishing 28.80 seconds. Keep an eye out for the kid sitting behind Endrey, who flashes a priceless reaction. … Read more

With all the new phones being announced from LG, we're wondering if the company is going to have any surprises left to show at Mobile World Congress.

We already heard about the LG 4X HD and the Optimus Vu. But recently, the manufacturer unveiled two more new phones for the South Korean market: the Optimus LTE Tag and the Optimus 3D Cube.

The LTE Tag will sport a 4.3-inch WVGA display, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, and a 5-megapixel rear camera with flash. It will also have a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. The device will run on a … Read more

MakerBot's Bre Pettis says his 3D printers are for everyone. 3D Systems' Cathy Lewis begs to differ.

Each spokesperson made a strong pitch during our 3D printing roundtable at this year's Consumer Electronic Show. Who's right?

3D Systems: Old guard expertise 3D Systems announced its Cube 3D printer at CES this year, but the company has been involved with additive manufacturing and rapid prototyping since 1986. It developed the STL file format, the industry standard for 3D printed object plans. Without 3D Systems, along with the work of other old-guard commercial printer manufacturers like Stratasys, Israel's … Read more

We awarded MakerBot Industries' Replicator a Best of CES award in the emerging tech category.

It's an exciting product. That doesn't mean you should go out and buy one.

Are you a product designer, or a mechanical engineer? Do you see yourself starting a small business selling some doo-dad? Maybe you're a passionate hobbyist, a crafter, or an artist. If any of those things describe your interests, the Replicator may be a good fit.

A more generalized consumer certainly could use a 3D printer like the Replicator, or 3D Systems' more affordable Cube. You could make holiday … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Kids can be rough on electronics, and yet they can't keep their hands off of them. Even the roughest toddler will have a hard time busting up your iPad once it's strapped into CTA Digital's Inflatable Cube.

This product should win a prize for accurate product naming. It's simply an inflatable cube with a built-in case on one side for your iPad or Kindle Fire.

Your tender tablet is recessed into the cube, so your enthusiastic little angel will have to work extra hard to damage it.

Granted, you'll have to be a little … Read more

LAS VEGAS--The showroom floor at CES 2012 is still in progress and we're kicking it off with the start of a four-day block of live shows from the CNET stage here at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

We'll find out why a kangaroo hopped onstage during the Dish Network keynote speech, how Lenovo and Vizio managed to swap product lines, and why I couldn't resist snapping a photo of Brian (Brianne?) Tong in a pair of women's shoes.… Read more

LAS VEGAS--The profile of 3D printing will rise after this year's CES, and 3D Systems' Cube is partly responsible.

MakerBot's build-it-yourself Thing-O-Matic has claimed most of the consumer attention for 3D printing this past year, and MakerBot's own CES announcement, whatever and whenever that will be, will only spur more coverage. In the meantime, the Cube underscores the idea that 3D printing can be consumer-friendly, and that a growing number of vendors see it as a viable business.

The design of the Cube printer is a contrast to the garage workshop aesthetic of the MakerBot product. Instead of the Thing-O-Matic's exposed circuity and wooden housing, the Cube with its friendly-looking plastic chassis looks more like a sewing machine.

Other than in appearance, the two printers are not that different. Each relies on an attached spool of plastic: ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), the same material from which Legos are made, in the Cube, or ABS and PLA (polylactic acid, like that used for keg cups) in the case of the Thing-O-Matic. The plastic for each is available in assorted colors, and as the video above shows, it offers all kind of output possibilities.… Read more

Logitech tries to reinvent the mouse with the Cube, the next Xbox may have built-in DVR functionality, and venerable Kodak lays plans for bankruptcy protection if it can't sell its patents.

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded:

Logitech cast aside all of our expectations for traditional mice with its new Cube design.

Gone are contoured molding and mechanical buttons, replaced in the Cube with a rectangular design and touch-sensitivity. The touch panel acts as the main mousing interface, enabled by what Logitech calls its Flow Scroll software.

Lift the mouse off your work surface and the Cube becomes a presentation device. Logitech doesn't mention a laser pointer in the Cube (perhaps in the Cube 2?), but it will at least let you click to advance through a slide deck.

If it doesn't have a laser … Read more