tables

Even roulette tables may get touch screens

If Microsoft's "Surface" becomes a casino fixture next to the slot machines, the touch-screen table computer will find plenty of company. Not only are digital poker tables being developed--complete with "peel up" card corners so players can read their hands discreetly--but even touch-sensitive roulette games are on the way.

The "MultiPlay Roulette" system is the latest from Sweden's TouchTable, featuring a 56-inch touch LCD with 3,840 ? 2,160 resolution. The table can accommodate up to seven players and, thanks to the company's proprietary technology, it can identify each person's … Read more

Tablefy turns boring data into interactive charts

Are you a stats junkie? If you're like me and could make comparison charts all day long you should check out Tablefy, a simple service that lets you quickly put together large and complex tables of data. You can compare whatever you want, and there's already a handful of user-created data tables like superhero stats, sports car specifications, and even a well-done chart of several popular blogging tools going head-to-head.

The tool is set up just like any old spreadsheet, except that you can predefine any row by what you're planning to put in it. You can drop in text and numbers or insert media like a YouTube video or hosted photo. In the chart embedded below I managed to throw in two videos with just a copy and paste. You can also increase your fill-out speed using simple keyboard shortcuts that let you skip ahead either by row or column. Some of the auto-formatting is especially well done. For example, writing yes or no automatically turns the cell green or red respectively. Trying to do that in Google Spreadsheets can be a pain unless you've got a template set up or take the time to format the cells.

What makes the tool really neat is that you can grab any bit of data from another chart and add it to your "comparison basket." It will automatically link up any related data like height, weight, age, etc., and put it in the right row across all the tables you've added. This lets you come up with crazy combinations. For example, I compared the XBox 360 to Iron Man (both awesome). More beneficial creations include a presidential nominee comparison, popular water filters going sink-to-sink, and a listing of poisonous plants to avoid.

Chart creators can also declare a winner between each column of data. Likewise anyone who reads that chart can agree or disagree through the comments or with a simple radio button.

Tablefy reminds me a lot of data comparison and tracking service Swivel. The big difference between the two being Tablefy's focus on just charts, whereas Swivel branches out into scatter plots, bar graphs, and pie charts. Swivel also has a huge head start on user- and service-generated data. For use in things like term papers or business reports, users are likely to see Swivel if only for this richer mass of searchable data.

To see an introductory video of Tablefy, hit the break below.

go to the table!

… Read more

How to put a computer in your coffee table

Despite their functionality, not all built-in computer desks need to have a minimalist or futuristic design. In fact, if Vanity PC has its way, computing will blend almost seamlessly into furniture of the most traditional origins.

At first glance its offerings look like a throwback to the faux armoires used to conceal ridiculously bulky tube TVs in the living room, but Vanity PC goes beyond that. Not only does it integrate the computer into all manner of furniture--including a coffee table, as pictured here--but it also builds the technology directly into the pieces, such as an LCD underneath a folding desktop … Read more

Digital poker table makes dealers obsolete

If inventors of high-tech gaming tables would only apply their formidable skills in other areas, the world would surely be a better place. Recently there have been some ingenious creations to automate parlor games, whether they deal cards or shuffle mahjong tiles.

Now there's a fully digital poker table that makes the deck of cards (as well as their dealers) obsolete. The "X10 Ten Player Automated Table" can accommodate up to 10 players in the tournament staple of Texas Hold 'Em, each with his or her own 12-inch touch screen and a 27-inch LCD in the center … Read more

Gadgettes 92: The Summer Weekend Entertainment Extravaganza Episode

Summer happens but once a year. Enjoy it. Here...we'll get you started on your path to summer fulfillment. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 92

A TV phone that Spongebob would appreciate http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9954140-1.html

Take to the seas, it’s barbecue time! http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9954596-1.html

Baja BBQ http://www.core77.com/blog/events/baja_bbq_9953.asp

Always be ready for battle with a squirt-gun coffee table http://dvice.com/archives/2008/05/always_be_ready.php

Dutch claim world’s first solar speedboat http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9951260-1.html

The Dough-nu-matic: Homer Simpson … Read more

Google spotlights data center inner workings

SAN FRANCISCO--The inner workings of Google just became a little less secret.

The search colossus has shed only occasional light on its data center operations, but on Wednesday, Google fellow Jeff Dean turned a spotlight on some parts of the operation. Speaking to an overflowing crowd at the Google I/O conference here on Wednesday, Dean managed simultaneously to demystify Google a little while also showing just how exotic the company's infrastructure really is.

On the one hand, Google uses more-or-less ordinary servers. Processors, hard drives, memory--you know the drill.

On the other hand, Dean seemingly thinks clusters of … Read more

WiiWare and Virtual Console releases for this week

Both WiiWare and the Virtual Console get a pair of additions this week. Virtual Console

City Connection (1985, NES, 500 Wii points): City Connection is one of the first "chase" games to have you running from the law. Use your arsenal of various road-weapons to throw them off track in this unique action game based on the arcade classic. Metal Slug (1996, NeoGeo, 900 Wii points): Metal Slug is the classic side-scrolling shooter where you take control of either Marco or Tarma and destroy everything in your way. Battle through a vast amount of levels as you try … Read more

Giant NES controller as coffee table, storage

20-year-old Australian Kyle Downes just finished building his most recent Ultra Awesome project: A massive working Nintendo controller that doubles as a coffee table and triples as a storage chest.

Built from a desire to improve G4TV's similar design, Kyle printed out a picture of an NES controller on A4 sized paper for the measurements and cut the whole thing out of 4mm Medium Density Fiberboard.

The result is every gamer's dream. It's another tribute to retro tech and the perfect piece of furniture to match your race car bed and sofa cushion forts.

'Automated Mahjong': Never shuffle tiles again

Poker may be considered the "game of champions" here in the States, but in other parts of the world mahjong holds that title. So it comes as little surprise to learn that it has its own version of the "iDealer" we mentioned earlier.

The "Automatic Mahjong Table" shuffles tiles that are funneled into a center unit and then miraculously elevates them in perfectly stacked rows before each player. (See video below.) There's even a dice tumbler that remains flush with the table's surface until a button is pushed, springing into action like … Read more