For all you Devil May Cry fanatics out there (wait — are there Devil May Cry fanatics out there?) you’re about to get a super-special, unicorn explosion from Microsoft. That’s right, babies, it’s the Devil May Cry special edition Xbox 360. Actually, it’s more like a bundle of the boring, old, non-special (though HDMI equipped) Xbox 360, coupled with the brand-spaking-new Devil May Cry 4, where the Devil, crying, and the possibility of crying meet for a fourth — but probably not final — time. Right now it’s looking like a Japanese-only deal, but you never know when something this gooey will drip over to these shores. Available January 31st for ¥37,800 (or about $330).

[Via Engadget]

Apparently, the Luddite tradition of machine breaking is alive and well in its country of origin. According to a report, a group calling itself MAD — or Motorists Against Detection — have taken to setting autonomous traffic cameras ablaze across the United Kingdom, and are detailing their exploits on a website (of course). The group’s “PR” claims they have been active since 2000, and have destroyed over 1000 roadside cameras. Says the group’s leader, Capt. Gatso, “The vigilante anti-speed camera group have announced a summer of MADness which will see them target for destruction all speed cameras in the UK. It’s now going to be a period of zero tolerance against all speed cameras.” The gang of disgruntled drivers also plans a day of action called “National Cover-Up Your Number Plates Day.” Guy Fawkes would be proud.

[Via Engadget]

Those who saw Disney’s National Treasure: Book Of Secrets this weekend and help bring in the estimated $65 million total for the holiday weekend were also treated to the start of a new trend at Disney — the return of the animated short film. The Goofy short “‘How To Hook Up Your Home Theatre” also heralds a commitment from Walt Disney Animation Studios to return to hand-drawn animation.

Leave it to John Lasseter to tell it like it really is:

“The whole notion that the audience didn’t want to watch hand-drawn animation any more was ridiculous,” Lasseter says. “It would be like saying the audience didn’t want to watch something made with a particular camera. Give me a break!”

Lasseter has also approved production of a new hand-drawn film at WDAS. “The Princess and the Frog” will be a ‘modern’ fairy tale about a young girl, Princess Tiana, from the French Quarter of New Orleans set during the jazz age. It will also feature Disney’s first African-American Princess. Ron Clements and John Musker have returned to Disney to direct the film.

(Frog Princess concept art copyright Disney)

[Via The Disney Blog]

It may be the world’s fastest, a maglev bullet train capable of exceeding 500 kph (310 mph), but it feels like the world’s slowest to arrive. JR Central announced today that it would deploy its maglev system in 2025 to carry commuters between Tokyo and central Japan (despite one test of the technology resulting in a crash, and the death of 23 people, last year). The cost will not be minimal either—$44.7 billion—which is why the company’s stock fell nearly 9% after it made the announcement. And the Japanese government can’t/won’t bankroll it. In the meantime, the maglev train in Shanghai may get longer and faster, and proposed projects in Germany and even the US could take off too.

[Via Gizmodo]

If you’ve been astounding friends and family with your thousands-of-words-per-minute typing skills on your Blackberry, RIM’s latest patent may come as a bit of a heart-stopper. According to “recent” filings from the smartphone manufacturer, a new style of keyboard is on the table which may move your familiar key placement into a slightly more angular position. The purpose of the proposed pad is ostensibly to improve accuracy by creating a more “natural” placement for your thumbs — though this concept might be a little more effort than required. Of course, since all kinds of crazy designs get filed with the patent office, we wouldn’t put too much faith in this seeing the light of day, though it is an intriguing look into RIM’s design process.

[Via Engadget]

DisplayPort is the most fun when you snag it on the cheap, and according to some leaked specs over on Madbox PC, AMD has a $50 Radeon in the works that’ll have you running that 30-incher off of USB for a pittance. The Radeon HD 3450 card is based on the RV620 core, running at 525MHz, with 256MB of RAM and just a VGA plug to accompany the DisplayPort. The HD 3470 ($60) hits 600MHz and 512MB of RAM, and does DVI, while the HD 3650 ($100) maxes out the trio at 800MHz, with 512MB of RAM as well and the RV635 core to back it up. You might not be thrashing around in Crysis, but HD video and perhaps some last-gen shooters should be totally within your grasp whenever AMD gets these to market.

[Via Engadget]

I promised I wouldn’t post, but this is awesome and want to share it with the world. As most people know already, I own a 2007 Toyota FJ Cruser, well today Santa brought me a few gifts today: FJ Cruiser Yellow Leather Seat Covers, an awesome Laptop Cooling Gaming Pad with three fans and a 5.1 sound system installed on it and a nice Citizen Eco-Drive watch. Pictured below is my FJ and the seat covers Merry Christmas, post what you got in the comments below.

From all of us here at The Kryptonlogic Studios, we  would like to wish you and your love ones a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We will be taking the 25th off from blogging, but we want to make sure to let you know that we will be back on the 26th reporting everything. So again, we leave you with this wonderful video that has resurfaced on the internet once again. Merry Christmas!!!

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=rmgf60CI_ks[/youtube]

If you work under Windows and have been waiting for a pre-built compiler chain to debut, your ship just came in. Over at the iPhoneGameOver Wiki, David Supuran has put together a binary installer plus installation instructions.

To make this all happen, you will need a jailbroken iPhone (so you can get at and copy the file system) and a free Apple Online Developer account (so you can download certain sdk files). The development environment appears to run via the Cygwin Bash shell, so some level of Unix experience seems to be a prerequisite as well.

[Image Courtesy of Apple Inc.]

[Via TUAW]

We’ve heard all sorts of myths when it comes to fixing a stuck pixel on an LCD, and while the following methods shouldn’t be expected to bring completely dead pixels back from the grave, commenters seem to think the methods are at least somewhat successful in getting pixels out of their single-colored funk. Up first is the flashing colors approach, which points you in the direction of a free java applet that rapidly flashes different hues on the screen to try to get the affected pixel to change. If that fails, you can try applying pressure to the stuck pixel, and if you’re still left with the annoyance, you can resort to tapping the monitor with an eraser nub (or similar). So if you find yourself sick of staring at that non-conforming pixel, hit the read link and give the trio of methods a go — just don’t go in expecting any miracles, alright?

[Via Engadget]