Mionix unveils Zibal 60 backlit mechanical gaming keyboard

Mionix has officially entered the mechanical keyboard market today, unveiling its gaming-oriented "Zibal 60." The 'board is outfitted with Cherry MX Black switches, which have a linear (non-tactile) travel, require about 60 grams of force to actuate and are typically favored among FPS gamers.

Considering that demographic, the company humorously says that the Zibal 60 has "rage-proof durability," pointing to its 1.6mm-thick steel frame. We assume the "frame" bit is referring to the use of a plate-mounted switch, and not the keyboard's exterior body, which is presumably plastic.

Plate-mounted switches are secured by a sheet of metal as opposed to being mounted solely to the PCB. Naturally, this is more durable, but you probably don't want to challenge Mionix's rage-proof claim as the company's warranty only covers manufacturing defects and not user-sustained damage.

The Zibal 60 features green multi-level backlighting that can illuminate the entire board or just the WASD gaming cluster. It's worth noting that the image above has been enhanced a bit by the company, so the backlighting might not be entirely accurate. The lighting looks too clean if you ask us.

The spec sheet mentions support for up to six simultaneous key presses (6KRO) via USB, but it doesn't say anything about NKRO via PS/2. Nonetheless, 6KRO should be sufficient for FPS players. The top right side sports an I/O hub with two full-speed USB 2.0 ports along with audio and mic jacks.

You'll also find media keys which are operated by a modifier that has replaced the left Windows key, a removable wrist rest, and it looks like the company might throw in a plastic keycap remover. Pricing starts at $150/€150 and although preorders open today, the board won't ship until June.

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IE10 will only work on Windows 7 and up, no Vista support

When Microsoft released the first platform preview of Internet Explorer 10 earlier this week, our readers pointed out that it only appeared to work on Windows 7. A quick check in the release notes showed that IE10 would indeed not support Windows Vista.

Microsoft has now confirmed that this is by design, and not just limited to the platform preview. "Windows Vista customers have a great browsing experience with IE9, but in building IE10 we are focused on continuing to drive the kind of innovation that only happens when you take advantage of the ongoing improvements in modern operating systems and modern hardware," a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement.

Redmond dropped support of Windows XP with the release of IE9. Now the company is dropping support of Windows Vista with the release of IE10.

On the one hand, this is a good trend because it means Microsoft is not limited to older technologies when it works on the next version of its browser. It also helps push users to upgrade their browser version. On the other hand, the company is the first major browser vendor to drop support for Windows XP and Windows Vista. Furthermore, users who aren't upgrading Windows are less likely to upgrade their browsers anyway.

In short, most Windows XP and Windows Vista users will have to stick with versions of IE that are becoming more and more outdated. Alternatively, they will use browsers like Chrome or Firefox if they want to keep up with the ever evolving World Wide Web.

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Intel, Micron announce 20nm 8GB NAND flash chips

It feels like just yesterday that Intel and Micron unveiled the industry's first 25nm NAND flash memory chip, but it's actually been more than a year. Needless to say, the companies have been toiling away at the next advancement and they've just announced the fruits of their labor: a 20nm 8GB (64Gb) MLC NAND Flash memory chip. Moving from 25nm to 20nm will allow device-makers to squeeze more storage in less space, an increasingly relevant prospect for the booming smartphone and tablet market.

The new 20nm 8GB part is manufactured by Intel and Micron's joint semiconductor company IM Flash Technologies. It measures 118mm2 and depending on the package type, it's 30 to 40% more compact than the companies' existing 25nm 8GB chip. Furthermore, the denser lithography allows IMFT to produce "50% more gigabyte capacity" from their factories over the current technology. All the while, the 20nm part supposedly maintains a similar performance and endurance as its 25nm predecessor.


Intel and Micron are gearing up for operations, with mass production of the new 8GB chip set to commence sometime in the latter half of this year. During the same period, the companies also expect to introduce samples of a 16GB part that will allow for 128GB solid-state storage solutions in a package smaller than a US postage stamp. IMFT's 25nm flash has only recently appeared with Intel's 320 Series consumer SSDs, so we wouldn't expect to see drives with the 20nm NAND chips until sometime next year.

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Intel to support USB 3.0 in 2012, despite Thunderbolt

Intel has confirmed that it will support USB 3.0 starting next year. Intel's latest 32nm Sandy Bridge processors only support USB 2.0, but Ivy Bridge, which will be manufactured using a 22nm process, will come with USB 3.0.

"Intel is going to support USB 3.0 in the 2012 client platform. We're going to support Thunderbolt capability. We believe they're complementary," Kirk Skaugen, a vice president at the Intel Architecture Group said at Intel's developer conference in Beijing today, according to CNET. "We encourage all of you working on peripherals around the PC to engage on both USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt."

The fact Intel is urging developers to target both USB 3.0 and its new Thunderbolt technology is important. There is speculation the company delayed supporting USB 3.0 in order to push Thunderbolt, its own high-speed connection standard capable of transferring data at 10Gbps.

Currently, Intel has support for USB 3.0 only in select desktop motherboards that use a separate part from NEC to implement the functionality. Ivy Bridge will put USB 3.0 directly into Intel chipsets. Advanced Micro Devices is also on board: the chipsets that come with its Fusion processors will support USB 3.0.

Intel has made a similar promise for DirectX. Although they feature integrated graphics, current Sandy Bridge chips only support DirectX 10.1, but Ivy Bridge will add support for DirectX 11.

Details regarding Ivy Bridge leaked earlier this week. The new processors, which are slated for the first half of 2012, will feature a new dual-channel DDR3 memory controller with official support for DRAM speeds of up to DDR3-1600 MHz, the usual PCI-Express 2.0 x16 hub, Turbo 2.0 support, a new graphics core with DirectX 11 support, and TDP ratings ranging between 35W and 95W.

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Rumor: Nokia’s first Windows Phones will be W7, W8

Eldar Murtazin, an expert on Nokia, claims to know more about Nokia's current Windows Phone plans than anyone else outside the company. He's supposedly gotten an early hands-on with a prototype and tells us that there are two models currently in the works, according to the Russian website Habrahabr.

The first is dubbed W7 (based on the Nokia X7 hardware) and the second is W8 (based on the Nokia N8 hardware). This is quite exciting given that both the X7 and N8 sport excellent hardware and should provide an excellent base for Microsoft's mobile operating system.

Images of these devices (as well as specifications, price point, and release date) have yet to leak. There are already mockups of the W7 and the W8 being posted all over the Web, but don't be fooled: they're just the X7 and N8 with a WP7 screen photoshopped on top.

The W7 model supposedly features an 8 megapixel autofocus camera plus flash, and is currently being used at Nokia for testing and development purposes. It will likely be the first to market. Murtazin says that the W7 reminded him of the HTC Mozart without any noticeable customizations to the OS. This is good news because WP7 really should not require any customization: it's excellent software already.

All of Nokia's Windows Phone prototypes are powered by Qualcomm chipsets per Microsoft's requirements for Windows Phone 7. The W7 and W8 are the first of many in a long series of devices: Murtazin says that Nokia has a dozen Windows phones planed for 2012.

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Leaked: Windows 8 build 7955 video

The most recent Windows 8 screenshots we've posted so far were from build 7910, but now there appear to be users who have managed to acquire build 7955. Although build 7955 has not leaked to the public, there's now a video that shows a little taste of Microsoft is working on to include in Windows 7's successor. As always, we must emphasize that this is still very early in Windows 8's development, so try not to start forming your opinion on the OS just yet.

The video, courtesy of the German website WinFuture, shows many features we have already seen in leaked screenshots: a new logon screen and a new user icon menu in the taskbar. The leaked video of Windows 8 may be short (less than three minutes), but it's the first of many to come.

We reported on the first leaked Windows 8 build earlier this week but we warned our readers that it was very old and from Milestone 1. The build string is purposefully hidden in this video, but it's clear (not just from the higher number) that this is a significantly later build. Sit tight as the leaks will definitely keep coming – after all partners now have access to Windows 8 builds on Microsoft Connect – and we'll make sure to keep you in the loop.

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Microsoft adds Kinect support for Netflix

The Netflix app on the Xbox 360 has been updated with Kinect support. The next time you start up Netflix, you'll be prompted to accept the update (43MB download).

The update means that Kinect owners now have the ability to flick through their video content by using just their hands or their voice. In other words, they'll get controller-free navigation of thousands of movies and TV shows on Netflix.

The update allows users to select movies and TV shows recommended by Netflix, as well as play, pause, fast forward, and rewind using gestures or voice. Kinect support also adds a new exclusive recommendation channel which provides suggestions for movies or TV shows based on past viewing habits.

Unfortunately, it appears that Kinect cannot be used for accessing the Netflix instant queue: for that the user will have to go back to their controller. This is rather disappointing because it means the Netflix app cannot be used exclusively with Kinect, and rather defeats the purpose. We think Microsoft and Netflix should have worked a bit harder on the update before pushing it out: it would be much better if every menu could be accessed using gestures and voice, making the Xbox 360 controller completely optional.

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Spotify sets 10 hour per month limit on free music streaming

Spotify has announced it is cutting back on its free music streaming service in its latest attempt to lure consumers to upgrade to one of the paid options. Starting on May 1, anyone who signed up before November 1, 2010 will be restricted to 10 hours of listening time per month, half of what's currently offered, and will only be able to play each track five times. Those who signed up after November 1 will see these limits go into place six months after their sign up date.

The company announced the move in a blog post today while touting the service's popularity in Europe: "People are listening to more music and from a wider range of artists than ever before, and are giving up on piracy, which is exactly what we hoped would happen. So it's vital that we continue offering an on-demand free service to you and millions more like you, but to make that possible we have to put some limits in place going forward."


The company's ad-free Unlimited and Premium services will remain unaffected and throughout May the Spotify Premium free trial will be extended from seven days to 30. Unsurprisingly, some users were taken aback by the news and have threatened to switch to competing services like Grooveshark or simply go back to piracy. A lot of them are also supportive of the move, though, claiming Spotify is well worth the $5 or $10 monthly fee.

Spotify is working hard to make its way to the U.S. and has reportedly already signed deals with EMI Music and Sony Music Entertainment already. Some speculate that the decision might have come as a condition from U.S. music labels to launch in that territory, but of course the company is not commenting on such claims.

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White iPhone 4 coming by end of April

The white iPhone 4 has been much-reported about, but I bet you've never heard this before: a date for its release. The quite evasive white iPhone 4 will finally make its grand debut by the end of this month. The device, which was first announced in summer of 2010, has suffered delays, rumors and speculations about its delay—like light-bleeding problems and troubles with the white paint, being the brunt of the joke, and ultimately efficacy of consumers. Back in October, Apple was quoted as saying that the white iPhone 4 was actually "more challenging to manufacture" than previously expected. They said that it would be available in spring 2011.

That it is, and as such Bloomberg is reporting that Apple is ramping up to release the white iPhone 4 by month's end. People familiar with the matter, who asked to remain anonymous as Apple has yet to publicize its plans, said that the white version of the iPhone 4 would be available on both AT&T and Verizon. One person confirmed that the delay was caused by white paint that would chip and peel under heat. Certainly, this won't go over well with consumers when Apple releases a new iPhone this summer as per usual.

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First BlackBerry PlayBook reviews hit the web

After several months of anticipation Research In Motion's debut tablet, the BlackBerry PlayBook, is almost here. The company began seeding the device to the press in anticipation to next week's launch and now the first reviews are starting to trickle in. For the most part it seems reviewers came out pleased with the PlayBook's look and feel, and agree that the QNX-based operating system -- which borrows heavily from Apple's iOS and HP's webOS -- works smoother than anything RIM has produced recently. But as expected the bad news is that, at launch, there's still a lot missing.

Among the strong points mentioned are its responsive performance, great multitasking, sharp, beautiful screen, smooth 1080p playback over HDMI and solid battery life. Adobe Flash support was spotty but apparently RIM kept pushing out updates to improve its stability, which is both encouraging and worrying, as they are working on ironing out all the kinks but it's also clear they are rushing out some last minute tweaks to be able to launch this thing.


That's not really surprising as we recently learned that the BlackBerry PlayBook would launch without several key features: no native email client, calendar, address book or instant messaging unless tethered to a BlackBerry smartphone, which at least is free but people with other smartphones are out of luck. There are also no Android apps yet, there's a front-face camera but no video chat app, no universal search, and a few software bugs to take care of.

Overall, reviewers seem impressed with what RIM has accomplished so far and feel optimist or at least curious about the PlayBook's future. But until many of the things on RIM's "coming soon" list arrive none of them seem too comfortable recommending anyone to buy it right now. That seems like a fair appraisal unless you are already a dedicated BlackBerry owner willing to live with the tablet's shortcoming for a few months.

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Comcast launches 105Mb/s Internet tier for $105

Comcast has finally announced the initial availability of its Extreme 105 Xfinity Internet service, which is currently available to 40 million homes in major markets such as Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Indianapolis, Miami, Philadelphia, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Washington DC.

First introduced last May, the service delivers download speeds of up to 105Mb/s (10Mb/s upstream), which is a substantial boost over the company's previous 50Mb/s service. According to the company's figures, you can download an HD movie in five minutes and a standard-def TV show in 20 seconds.

That speed comes at a premium, of course, as pricing is currently set at $105 per month when customers add it to their "Triple Play" bundle (TV, phone and Internet). That's an introductory rate which expires in 12 months, and then you're looking at $130 a month on top of your cable and phone.


Although that probably sounds like a lot, it's far less than the $200 per month Comcast originally intended to charge when it first announced its 105Mb/s tier. It's also relatively competitive with Verizon's flagship FiOS offering of 150Mb/s download and 35Mb/s upload for about $200 per month.

Considering Extreme 105 Xfinity requires DOCSIS 3.0, you'll probably have to upgrade your modem unless you intend to lease one from Comcast. Also, despite its blistering speeds, the new tier still has a data cap of 250GB per month for residential accounts. Business accounts are unlimited but cost more.

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Kinect SDK sign up available, public beta coming this spring

At its MIX11 conference, Microsoft Research announced that the Kinect for Windows SDK beta is coming this spring. Developers can sign up to be notified of the release at research.microsoft.com/kinectsdk.

The company also detailed three main features:

• Robust Skeletal Tracking for high-performance capabilities that track the skeleton image of one or two persons moving within the Kinect field of view
• Advanced Audio Capabilities, including four-element microphone array with sophisticated acoustic noise and echo cancellation for great audio; beam formation to identify the current sound source and integration with the Windows speech recognition API also included
• XYZ depth camera for standard color camera stream access and depth data that indicates the distance of the object from the Kinect camera

You'll be able to take advantage of the following with the SDK, which is intended for non-commercial use when connect to a Windows 7 PC:

• The latest advances in audio processing, which include a four-element microphone array with sophisticated acoustic noise and echo cancellation for crystal clear audio.
• Sound source localization for beamforming, which enables the determination of a sound’s spatial location, enhancing reliability when integrated with the Microsoft speech recognition API.
• Depth data, which provides the distance of an object from the Kinect camera, as well as the raw audio and image data, which together open up opportunities for creating richer natural user interface experiences.
• Highly performant and robust skeletal tracking capabilities for determining the body positions of one or two persons moving within the Kinect field of view.
• Documentation for the APIs and a description of the SDK architecture.
• Sample code that demonstrates how to use the functionality in the SDK.

When the Kinect first launched back in November, the hacking community embraced it like no other device. At first, Redmond was not amused by the unofficial PC drivers and various hacks that were developed as a result. Microsoft quickly realized that Kinect hacking was a good thing and promised not to take legal action against those who use it for more than just basic motion gaming. Two months ago, the software giant announced plans for an official Kinect SDK. Now we've got a timeframe to look forward to for the beta, as well as a list of promised features.

Five months ago, Microsoft shared that the Kinect had sold 1 million units in 10 days. Later, the company revealed it had sold 2.5 million units in 25 days. Then it announced that it had sold 8 million units in 60 days. Last month, Microsoft confirmed it had sold 10 million units and that Guinness World Records had officially named Kinect the "fastest-selling consumer electronics device."

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Garry's Mod developer exposes pirates with fake error

If you're among the many Garry's Mod users experiencing the startup error "Unable to shade polygon normals," you should probably keep that information to yourself. According to GMod creator Garry Newman, he introduced the error this week and it's designed to only appear on illegal copies of the game as a means of flushing out pirates.

Upon receiving the error, unsuspecting pirates posted on the Steam forum looking for assistance. Those individuals are being banned from the message board. Making the situation even more interesting, the polygon error message is followed by a number in parenthesis that most folks would associate with an error code. See the example below:

"Engine Error:Unable to shade polygon normals(#################)"

The kicker is, that's actually a SteamID, so pirates are unknowingly revealing their Steam identity. Speaking with Bit-Gamer, the developer claimed that 2,500 pirates were identified 15 hours after rolling out the error. Newman doesn't have the power to ban Steam IDs and it's unclear if any accounts have been banned outside of the forum.


Instead, he wants this to serves as a point of humiliation for people running illegitimate copies of the game. "I did this for the people that did buy Garry’s Mod. They get to point and laugh at pirates. If we leave it easy for people to pirate we're betraying the people that paid," Newman said. "I'm just having fun at the pirates expense."

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AMD announces Fusion chipsets with USB 3.0 support

Although plenty of USB 3.0 devices have launched since the specification was finalized in late 2008, Intel and AMD have been slow to deliver embedded support. To date, neither chipmaker provides native USB 3.0 support, forcing motherboard manufacturers to purchase third-party controllers.

Fortunately, this shouldn't be the case for much longer as both camps ready their USB 3.0 parts. Yesterday we learned that Intel plans to include USB 3.0 support in its 7-Series Panther Point chipset, due sometime during the first half of 2012 alongside its 22nm Ivy Bridge processors.


Not to be outdone by its counterparts in Santa Clara, AMD revealed this week that its upcoming A75 and A70M FCH Fusion chipsets will have an integrated USB 3.0 controller. What's more, AMD spokesman Phil Hughes told PCWorld those chips are already shipping to system builders.

It's unclear what APUs the A75 and A70M will be paired with, but we imagine AMD would cover its existing Ontario and Zacate APUs. Both parts are typically used in compact, budget-oriented notebooks and nettops, which would directly benefit from the savings of an embedded controller.

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Toshiba intros self-encrypting, auto-erasing hard drives

Toshiba has introduced a new line of self-encrypting hard drives that offer another layer of security to professionals. The company's MKxx61GSYG 2.5-inch drives are aimed at computers and related devices used by government, medical as well as financial institutions and will "invalidate" their data when connected to an unknown host. When powered on, the drive and host initiate an authentication process. Users can predefine various actions based on the failure of that authentication.

If desired, the drive can be configured to simply deny access when unauthorized entry is detected. It can also perform a data wipe on the entire drive or specific blocks of information. Other options allow users to delete certain data ranges every power cycle or if the drive receives multiple invalid "Unlock" commands. Based on the press release, it sounds as if the drive performs a cryptographic wipe, deleting the keys required to decrypt protected data and not necessarily scrapping the data itself.


There might be options for both but the effect is the same regardless: nobody's accessing your information. The drive uses AES 256-bit encryption, which the US government has deemed worthy of protecting top secret data. Toshiba hasn't revealed the full specifications of its MKxx61GSYG line, but models will come in capacities of 160GB to 640GB with a 16MB buffer and a 7200RPM spindle speed. Mass production will begin this spring and Toshiba hasn't named any customers or prices.

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Flock browser has been killed off

Flock, the browser that specialized in providing social networking directly in its user interface, has been discontinued. An "Official End of Support Notice" has been posted to the company's website:

Support for Flock browsers will be discontinued as of April 26th, 2011. We would like to thank our loyal users around the world for their support, and we encourage the Flock community to migrate in the coming weeks to one of the recommended web browsers listed below.

Frankly, Flock never stood a chance at gaining significant market share, but it was quite the interesting piece of software, especially for those interested in using multiple social networks. Five years ago, we even interviewed Flock co-founder Geoffrey Arone about his initiative.

Flock was first released on April 11, 2005. Early versions of Flock used the Gecko HTML rendering engine by Mozilla, but version 2.6.2, released in July 2010, was the last of its kind. As of version 3, Flock was based on Chromium and so used the WebKit rendering engine. Flock was available as a free download for Windows and Mac OS X (at one point there was also a Linux flavor).

Given its roots, we're not too surprised that Flock is recommending its users to switch to either Chrome or Firefox. Both are updated much more regularly, with new versions released just last month: Chrome 10 and Firefox 4. Will you miss Flock?

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Amazon crowned the most reputable company in the US

Amazon has been named the most reputable company in the US this year (up from 21st place last year), according to the sixth annual list of the 150 Most Reputable Companies from advisory firm Reputation Institute (RI), in partnership with Forbes Media. The list is based on RI's US RepTrak Pulse Study, which measures trust, esteem, admiration, and good feelings consumers have towards the largest 150 companies based on revenue in the US. The ratings are analyzed from nearly 33,000 online consumer responses taken in January and February.
Amazon had a pulse score of 82.70, which was 5.76 points higher than last year and 1.30 points higher than Kraft Foods, the second most reputable company. The Seattle-based company earned first place ranking by providing value to users, staying ahead of the curve in technology and innovation and responding quickly and ethically to scandals. Here are the top 10 companies for this year, and their corresponding categories (if you want to see the full list of 150 companies, head over to Forbes):

1. Amazon.com (Retail – General)
2. Kraft Foods (Food – Manufacturing)
3. Johnson & Johnson (Consumer Products)
4. 3M (Industrial Products)
5. Kellogg's (Food – Manufacturing)
6. UPS (Transport & Logistics)
7. FedEx (Transport & Logistics)
8. Sara Lee (Food – Manufacturing)
9. Google (Information & Media)
10. Walt Disney Company (Information & Media)

In addition to Amazon and Google in the top 10, here are some other notable rankings for technology companies: Texas Instruments was number 11, Staples was number 19, and Intel was number 22. Then there are many of them in the 40s. Hewlett-Packard was in 40th and Cisco Systems took 42nd. IBM, Apple, Microsoft, and Oracle were all very close: 44th, 46th, 47th, and 49th, respectively.
"People can understand their business model, which is a little unusual in today's world," Anthony Johndrow, RI's managing partner, said in a statement. "And Amazon really takes pains to establish solid governance rules so the free-for-all, Wild West the Internet has become in some arenas, feels like a place where you can conduct transactions and get fair value in a safe environment."

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Seagate ships pencil-thick GoFlex Slim external hard drive

Although it may be handy to have your data with you throughout the day, most external hard drives are too encumbering to haul around. Hoping to lighten the burden, Seagate has launched its new GoFlex Slim Performance Drive, which offers 320GB of storage space in a form factor that is roughly as thick as a pencil.

The GoFlex Slim weighs 0.356lbs (160g) and measures 4.91 x 3.07 x 0.354in (124 x 78 x 9mm). That's pretty impressive when you consider most 2.5-inch notebook hard drives are 9.5mm thick without an enclosure. Being only a bit larger than today's smartphones, the drive should be easy enough to slip into a jacket pocket.


Seagate has opted for a spindle speed of 7200RPM instead of 5400RPM and the GoFlex Slim uses USB 3.0 for both data and power. We haven't seen any official throughput figures, but Engadget reports that the drive reached upwards of 40MB/s during an in-house transfer test, which isn't too bad all things considered.

The GoFlex Slim is currently available online for $100 and comes with backup and encryption software as well as a three-year warranty. Although it's preloaded with an NTFS driver for Macs, you'll have to reformat the drive to HFS+ to use it with Time Machine. An HFS+ version will hit Apple stores sometime next month.

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Alienware M14x packs quad-core Sandy Bridge, GT 555M

More details on Dell's upcoming 14-inch Alienware gaming notebook have surfaced courtesy of a Chinese tech site. Zol has confirmed that at least one iteration of the M14x will be equipped with an 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor and Nvidia GeForce GT 555M graphics, which should offer a respectable gaming experience. Displays will include a 1366x768 or 1920x1080 panel.

Dell also plans to ship the systems with a Klipsch audio system, 8GB of RAM, a 750GB 7200RPM hard drive, and an eight-cell battery. Judging by the current M11x and M15x specifications, we assume that will represent the top configuration while less memory storage will be available at a savings. Other CPU and GPU options are also likely, and we wouldn't be surprised if an SSD was offered.


Aesthetically, you can expect the aggressive looks seen on previous Alienware notebooks. There's also word of a blue backlit keyboard, an Alienware skin for Windows 7, as well as a stainless steel nameplate that can be engraved. Connectivity includes VGA, HDMI and Mini DisplayPort outputs, a multi-card reader, three USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and embedded WiMAX or LTE.

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RFID-enabled vending machine ditches coinage, gets Mario Bros. tone

A Twitter-enabled kitty door it is not, but this RFID-equipped soda machine is by far one of the most practical DIY projects we've seen in sometime. A Canadian tinkerer picked up this pop pusher a few years back, and has been using it to sling drinks in his building ever since. Unfortunately, finding the right change to feed the machine proved an issue for his neighbors, so he did what any logical hacker would do, and built in a contactless payment system. Using an Arduino, an Ethernet shield, an LCD screen, and an RFID reader, he created a system that allows customers to swipe a card and easily add funds from an online account. Best of all, every time you press that little blue button you get a Mario Bros. sample. Big ups, PopCARD. Video after the break.

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