Dork

WETA’s Fully-Functioning Life-Size Warthog

By Andrew Liszewski

While Halo or its sequel probably wouldn’t make my list of top ten games (Bungie please see Valve about unique level design) I still find driving the Warthog ridiculously fun. So now that I see the WETA Workshop has constructed a fully-functioning life-size version of the Warthog complete with four-wheel steering and and a machine gun I’ve already started packing my bags with the intent of traveling to New Zealand to steal or in some way commandeer this vehicle. I’ll worry about sneaking it through customs later.

The Warthog was actually built for a series of upcoming Halo themed short films that WETA is involved with but you can pretty much guarantee it will also be hitting the publicity circuit once the Halo 3 marketing machine goes into full gear.

For a 2000×1278 pixel version of that photo suitable for desktop wallpaper or hanging over the fireplace click here.

Volkswagen Golf GTI W12 Concept

By Andrew Liszewski

I find it pretty funny when I see an ‘affordable’ car that has been completely retrofitted with after-market accessories designed to improve the vehicle’s performance. But I guarantee no one has gone as far as Volkswagen did with one of their own. “The Golf GTI W12 concept has a mid-mounted 6.0 litre twin-turbocharged Bentley engine, rear wheel drive and 642 bhp. That translates into a claimed 202 mph top speed and a 3.7 second 0-62 mph time: and that’s with the engine restricted to just half its full torque output in first gear.” (Quoted from Fifth Gear’s first drive article.)

And while the car is referred to as a ‘concept’ Volkswagen prefers to think of it as a “design study” since the vehicle is fully driveable. (With ‘driveable’ being the understatement of the week.) On the outside of the Golf the only thing that would make someone think there’s something unique about the car is the custom body work which not only looks cool but also provides vital air intakes all over the vehicle which feed the impressive engine.

Of course there are probably a few Golf drivers reading this right now who are a little envious of VW’s special toy. But if you’re willing to fork out the whopping €1,000,000 (or about $1,350,000) for the conversion you too can conduct your own “design study.” Otherwise you’ll have to just be content with reading Fifth Gear’s account of the time they spent with the car.

Darth Vader Transformer Kicks Megatron’s Butt

By Shane McGlaun

This just goes to prove that Star Wars toys can be used to promote anything. Witness this new, and oh so cool toy that combines two of my childhood loves, robot toys that transform into stuff and giant planet blasting space stations.

More than meets the eye for sure here. The name of this toy is the Hasbro Star Wars Transformer Deluxe Death Star. That is a long name for what boils down to a Transformer that looks like the Death Star on the outside and transforms into Darth Vader complete with his light saber. In Death Star mode the toy has a launching projectile and electronic lights. A blaster is also included that makes sound effects.

Additional items included are a Darth Vader mini figure, two TIE Fighter mini vehicles and three Stormtrooper mini figures. The Death Star Transformer is priced at $49.99 and is currently out of stock at Amazon. I don’t know about you but in a brawl between Darth Vader and Megatron, my money is on Darth Vader.

Cuckoo Clock Is A Little Too Crazy

By Evan Ackerman

From the Artist Taking Things Too Literally department comes this cuckoo clock, which consists of a real (dead) cuckoo crucified to a wall with a digital clock hung around its neck on a chain, by Michael Sans. Okay, statement made. This piece of art (or whatever) isn’t for sale, and if you’re thinking that this would make some sort of darkly interesting DIY project, I would like to draw your attention to the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which protects birds like the cuckoo. Under the act, killing (or even possessing a piece of) a migratory bird can get you six months in jail and a $15,000 fine (this particular cuckoo died from natural causes in 1958).

$1256 Microwulf Supercomputer Smaller Than Bread Box, Runs At 26.25 Gigaflops

By Evan Ackerman

Do you ever suffer from computer-related performance anxiety? If so, you’re definitely not alone, and Calvin College student Tim Brom has the cure: a built-from-scratch 26.25 gigaflops supercomputer that runs off one standard wall outlet, will fit on your desk, and cost less than $2500 to build in 2006 (building a copy today would cost only $1256). The supercomputer, called Microwulf, consists of four microATX motherboards, each with a dual core CPU and 2 gigs of ram, all connected with an 8-port Gigabit Ethernet switch. The whole shebang also includes a CD/DVD drive and a 250 gb HD, and runs Ubuntu Linux. Microwulf’s price to performance ratio, as well as its performance to power ratio, is thought to be among the best on the planet, and it’s certainly more portable than any other supercomputer out there.

Microwulf isn’t for sale, but if you want to try to build your own, there’s a complete hardware manifest on the Microwulf website, and ClusterMonkey has a fairly comprehensive article on the design and construction process. Good luck; if you can make it work I’ll buy one from you

Life Before the Computer

LEGO Decepticon Blackout Transforms Into Helicopter

Designed by Adrian Drake, this nifty LEGO Transformers creation actually transforms. First picture in gallery.

World's Largest Helicopter Eats Jets for Breakfast

Called the "Homer", this Mil Mi-12 is touted as the world's largest helicopter, having the capability "to lift 88,636 pounds to 7,398 feet." Video after the jump.

Called the "Homer", this Mil Mi-12 is touted as the world's largest helicopter, having the capability "to lift 88,636 pounds to 7,398 feet." Video after the jump.

Skate PlayStation 3 vs. Xbox 360 Graphics Comparison

GV pits the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Skate against each other in a graphics comparison. Similar to other clips, you'll have to actually play the game in real-life for an accurate comparison