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Shake While You Quake for $20?
Bill Houlehan, the same dude who has a million unopened atari 2600 games for sale from his cave warehouse is now selling Aura VR Units which are essentially a vibrating vest you hook up to any audio source (read:pc playing quake, although I suppose it has pr0n potential as well if you swing that way). No big deal, except at $20 I figured this is might be worth mentioning on a quiet sunday afternoon. here's another review of the thing.
You can get more info at the website which is a strange mix of oddball old widgets (Atari T-Shirts? Tetris Keychains? 14 Acres of Colorado Land?) that amuses the hell out of me.
Aura, as a company, was in the linear motor business. They made things that looked and worked like hydraulic cylinders, but were entirely electrical. Aura units could typically lift about 10x their own weight, which was better than most other linear motors. I came across their products at a motion control expo some years back, where they had their biggest actuator on display: 10,000 pounds of force, water cooled, and about 4' long. It was used for active vibration damping of bridges. Smaller units, down to about 4 inches, were available. They were pricy, starting around $1000, which is a lot more than a rotating motor costs. That was the basic problem.
The Interactor was one of Aura's last attempts to find an application for their linear motor technology. They've since given up on linear machinery, and are now making engine-driven generators, which are useful, but boring.
I remember seeing TV ads for these things. Basically, it's a vest that reacts to low-frequency sound like bass from firing a rocket in Quake... you get shaken pretty good. It works with any audio source, so pr0n is definately an option.
:D
From the site:
"It requires no software or drivers, and simply plugs into your soundcard audio out jack. "
An interesting use for this, for people with two sound outs (back and front), like the SB Live!, would be to use this in the back plug... it could almost be a surround-sound experience!
To quote from another review, found at this page near the bottom,
"Wearing a jetpack-like contraption on your back while playing video games might sound a bit silly, but even though the Aura Interactor is designed to be worn like a backpack or a vest, it also works very well when strapped to the back of your desk chair. This is how I've been using mine, and it works very nicely. The bottom line is that if you're a speed freak who loves sim racing and you've already invested big bucks in video cards, driving wheels, and other computer-related paraphernalia in the pursuit of performance and realism, then you owe it to yourself to spend a measly $20 on an Aura Interactor. You'll definitely feel like you're getting your money's worth, and the return on investment in terms of grins per dollar just can't be beat. "
Now I have to go beg my parents to let me use the credit card
I was at E3 in '98, and I remember trying out some subwoofer-equipped gaming chairs. I believe they were from the same company that is producing these subwoofer-equipped vests, but I'm not sure... anyway, the funny thing about the chairs was that the subwoofer was located directly under your 'nads!
:)
:)
It was not pleasant experience. Sort of a gentle vibration might be kinda cool but this chair delivered a rather jolting effect... when I fired the machine gun in the demo game they had hooked up, I instantly regretted it.
I couldn't help but think that spending more than a few minutes in them without seriously damaging your reproductive system. It was one of those products where I was like, "umm... someone actually thought this was a good idea, and was able to convince enough investors as well in order to actually get this thing MADE?".
Usually, before purchasing any product, one of the little checks I run through in the back of my mind is, "will this damage my reproductive capabilities?". I think a good rule for potential product manufacturers to follow might be, "will this damage the reproductive capabilities of others?"
Might have felt nice if you were a girl though, I dunno.
http://www.bootyproject.org
OtakuBooty.com: Smart, funny, sexy nerds.
I'm interesting in selling some stuff, I would like to know how much it costs to get a front page 'news' story on slashdot?
Do I need to pay per click, or can I pay a flat rate for the story?
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
Slashdot - News for nerds, stuff that matters.
Nope, I'm still not with you there. Explain just one more time?
When I read the headline I suddenly thought of a gamer's charity benefit for Parkinson's disease.
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--hongpong.com
Several other types of large planes for sale there too.
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I hope this story amuses you all as much as it did me.
-from last story
that amuses the hell out of me.
Either someone seeded the TacoBot with the word "amuse" today (normally it is the word "interesting") or he's just really easily amused.
"Order by 2:00, and our team of child cave zombies will ensure your merchandise ships today!"
That's some creepy shit.
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I'm more worried about the pr0n potential of a Mr. Potato Head Massager.