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Computers, Video Games

'Half-Life 2' Mod Replaces All Sound Effects With Dude's Voice


Remember when you were a kid, and you'd use your mouth to make sound effects for toy guns and cars? Well, one intrepid gamer has taken that idea to the next level. He has replaced all the sound effects in 'Half-Life 2' with soundbites of his own voice, creating a totally useless yet highly entertaining mod (see video above).

It's really well done, too. For example, fire a weapon, and you hear the initial firing sound (sometimes spot on and sometimes laughable), and then, the sound of the ammunition hitting the target. You'd swear the guy from the 'Police Academy' movies was behind this. Of course, modders aren't new arrivals to the 'Half-Life' universe. They've created mods that reward gamers for 'raising' the disgusting headcrabs, and others that mimic a survival-horror game. These devoted gamers (who must have too much time on their hands) keep the gameplay fresh for fans, and provide vicarious entertainment for the rest of us. [From: Geekologie]

Cell Phones

Fingernail Scratching Could Be Newest Way to Answer Your Phone


A new device, developed by a team of researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's Human-Computer Interaction Institute, might wind up scratching an itch that cell phone users didn't even know they had. Or, at the least, it'll have them scratching a lot more often.

The 'Scratch Input' uses the sound produced by scratching your fingernail across a surface -- wood, fabric, what have you -- to answer your phone, silence it, or adjust the volume. According to Wired, the research team attached a modified stethoscope to a microphone in order to isolate the sound of a scratching fingernail, which produces a frequency between 6000 Hz and 13,000 Hz. The microphone converts the noise into an electrical signal, which is then amplified and transferred to a computer using an audio input jack. Researcher Chris Harrison told Wired this sensor could be mass produced for less than a dollar, potentially spurring a significant change in the way folks interact with everyday devices -- from cell phones to MP3 players.

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Audio/Video

Why Do We Sound Different Through a Microphone?

You've spent hours writing quality comedic YouTube material and perfecting your delivery, but when you finally watch your masterpiece, your voice doesn't sound deep and smooth like you'd expected. Instead, you sound like a whiny, pubescent goob. What's the deal?

PopSci.com recently asked Vanderbilt University audiology professor why a person's recorded voice sounds different than what they hear when they speak. He attributes the perceived sound of a person's voice to throat, skin, and skull vibrations. Those vibrations mixed with sound waves (called bone conduction) create a "deeper, more dignified," lower frequency pitch than what others hear. Microphones and recorders don't convey those vibrations either, because they only register sound through air conduction.

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Audio/Video, Visionaries

Israeli Scientists Create Sonic Black Hole


If you find yourself constantly inundated with background noise, be it office chatter, cars driving by, or obnoxious birds in your yard, you may have looked for solutions to escape. Sure, you could buy noise-canceling headphones, but thanks to some new research by a team of Israeli scientists, you might someday be able to buy yourself a black hole -- of sound.

According to Discovery News, scientists led by Jeff Steinhauer at the Israel Institute of Technology used what's called a Bose-Einstein condensate -- a cloud of atoms chilled to nearly absolute-zero, the coldest temperature there is -- to create a sonic black hole. Essentially, the scientists created two clouds of atoms, separated by a small gap. Between that gap, particles moved so quickly that sound waves could not get through, effectively blocking all sound.

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Audio/Video

Kids Prefer the Tinny Sound of MP3s, Survey Shows


We can already envision the flame fest on this one, so we'll just cut to the chase. Jonathan Berger, professor of music at Stanford, has been conducting some pretty interesting tests on incoming students, and he's been recording results that'll surely make audiophiles cringe. He has been asking his students to listen to tracks in MP3 format as well as in formats of much higher quality, all while asking them to select the one they like best; increasingly, youngsters have been choosing the sizzling, tinny sounds of MP3 over more pure representations. The reasoning may have more to do with psychology that audiology, as many conclude that generations simply prefer what they're used to. Ever known someone to swear that vinyl sounds best, pops and all? So yeah, what we've really learned is that MP3 is more of an "acquired taste," but those still attempting to build their SACD collection should be genuinely afraid of the future. [Via techdirt, image courtesy of iasos]

Audio/Video

Compact Disc Turns 30


We're not quite sure how much related celebrating went on this past weekend, but the iconic Compact Disc managed to hit the big three-oh. The IEEE was credited with presenting its prestigious IEEE Milestone Award to Royal Philips Electronics for its contribution to the development of the CD, and as the story goes, the award coincides with the 30th anniversary of the "historic demonstration of the first CD prototype codenamed 'Pinkeltje' on March 8th, 1979." While many would argue that the CD is on its way out in favor of smaller, highly portable MP3 files, the disc has definitely left a lasting mark on the industry. To date, over 3.5 billion audio CD players have been sold alongside 240 billion discs. Oh, and not to be a Debbie Downer or anything, but what are the chances that we won't be throwing an "over the hill" party for this here format?

[Thanks, Sylva]

Audio/Video, Computers

Wearable Toy Piano Turns You Into a Music-Playing Machine

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Now here's a concept. A musical shirt with enough transistors to make even the hardest of hardcore nerd blush, and a long-sleeve garment fashionable enough to make even the world-class design student stop and admire. Mashed into one. The Musical toy piano shirt is that very piece, which was constructed to wow onlookers at the Electronic Textile workshop held this month in Switzerland. Packing removable batteries, speakers and circuitry, the shirt enables the wearer to emit eight different notes from Do to Do, and we hear there's nothing quite as cute as playing a song on yourself. See what we mean in the vid hosted just after the break.

[Via Coolest-Gadgets]

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Cell Phones

Musical Condoms Right Around the Corner



For those couples whose sex lives are on life support, here's the Dr. Kevorkian to put them out of their misery: Paul Lyons, U.S. patent holder of the "Force-Sensitive, Sound-Playing Condom," has figured out how to bring those monophonic cell phone ringtones to your favorite prophylactic.

The invention will allow the user to record a song, message, or sound effect to a tiny chip contained in the base of the condom. This sound will then be played on a loop when the contacts of the circuit are closed. In other words, they are "activated by forceful movements." In yet other words, they are activated by "doing it."

If you don't mind, we'd like to suggest 'Taps.' [From: Textually]

Audio/Video, Advice

Drilling Holes in Your Wall Could Improve Soundproofing



Researchers at the Polytechnic University of Valencia in Spain have found that -- remarkably -- drilling holes into a wall yields better soundproofing, Unplggd and New Scientist report.

Researchers discovered that holes with a three-millimeter diameter trapped and canceled out sound waves, which without the holes, would have penetrated the wall. Because the offending sound waves were larger than the holes, the holes effectively caught the sounds, preventing them from penetrating the wall. As a result of this sound barrage's reverberation through the holes, the wall wound up resonating so as to nullify interfering sound waves.

Unless this unusual design is full of holes (sorry, had to say it), it could be a great boon to apartment dwellers, particularly those who don't want to shell out a hundred bucks to silence their neighbors' yappy dogs. A quick cautionary note: This experiment was conducted underwater and not yet on dry land, so don't bust out your three millimeter drill bit quite yet. [From: New Scientist via Unplggd]

Audio/Video

Yamaha's Tenori-on Music Maker Goes on Sale in America



Thanks for keeping your promise, Yamaha. The almost unicorn-like Tenori-on music maker has at long last gone on sale here in America, offering USers willing to part with $1,200 the chance to get lost inside a cacophonic wilderness. Good luck finding one in stock. [Source: Tenori-On via CNET]

Audio/Video, Green Tech

Man Claims to Boil Water With Sound

Man Claims to Boil Water with Sound
Every so often, someone comes along with an invention that confounds the experts. Peter Davey, a 92 year-old inventor and saxophonist, has a created device that looks like a small bent desk lamp, but can boil water in a matter of seconds, no matter the amount, using sound waves.

Experts have yet to confirm how the device works, but apparently it does indeed work. Many doubt the man's claims that the small orb is actually using sound waves.

Davey says he got the idea when he realized everything around him resonated at different frequencies: "The glasses will tinkle on one note. Knives and forks in the drawer will tinkle on another note and I realized that everything has its point of vibration." He then went about finding the point at which water would resonate. The sound waves cause the water molecules to vibrate and produce heat, which we assume is similar to how a microwave works, but much more efficiently.

It's an interesting idea, and seems possible in theory, if highly unlikely... though we're not engineers or physicists. We'll just have to wait for the device to get some closer scrutiny and see if it's good enough to replace our microwave oven.

From Boing Boing

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Gadget Silences Noisy Neighborhood Dogs

Does your neighbor's dog bark incessantly all day and night, or worse, tell you to kill? Put down the arsenic-laced Scooby snacks and instead pick up Bark Free, a nifty little gadget that silences the sound of a dog barking from 30, 50 or 60 feet away depending on the model. When Fido barks, Bark Free flips on and emits ultrasonic sound waves, which are undetectable to the human ear. When the barking stops, the sound is switched off. Though not harmful to the perpetrating pooch, the ultrasonic sound is rather unpleasant for him and he quickly learns not to bark in the vicinity of your yard. Prices range from $70 to $120.

Man, cats are gonna have a field day with this one.

From GizmoWatch

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