Before Sony made the PlayStation, they tried to team up with Nintendo. Together the companies would release an SNES CD add-on to compete with companies like Sega who were releasing CD-ROM upgrades of their own.

Needless to say, the system never existed...to the public. But gamers can still capture a price of history through an eBay auction is going on now for this SNES CD developer unit controller. Even if you don't plan on plunking down $3,000 to have this as your own, you can still appreciate it as a precursor to the modern PlayStation controller. Luckily Sony ditched the idea of six buttons and flipped this upside down design, because I can't imagine reaching those bottom buttons without dislocating my thumbs. Here's another shot:

If you bricked your iPhone with a previous firmware upgrade and you haven't been able to bring it back from limbo, you may be wondering what to do with it. Since it seems that there are people trying to help Dev Team with privileged information to keep Installer.app and the unlocking working with the next update, we were wondering what to do to help the iPhone Dev Team other than donations. Brian came up with a great idea: donate your dead iPhone to them, so they can use them as test units to do weird things to them. So if you have a bricked iPhone, or know anyone who has:

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We're not usually the types to keep up with the latest trends in the fashion world—OK, Project Runway is a pretty good show—but we dig the work of Nicolas Ghesquière. He imagines what the future of fashion will look like and still manages to be respected by the NYT. You'll see some plastic dresses and pants that look like they're straight out of Mass Effect (hot). But our favorites were these golden C-3PO leggings, Star Wars come to life (without the annoying robot attached). Unfortunately, at $159,000, we'll have to wait until Ghesquière sells out to Target before we can score our wife a pair. And until that day comes, at least you can enjoy the video. (hit the jump for the full fashion show).

Here's a video of the iPhone Firmware 1.1.3, with confirmation that the leak is real from Natetrue, famed iPhone hacker. Like before, the update breaks unlocks and third-party apps, patching previous vulnerabilities at the same time. The video shows how to move icons around in the Springboard, wobbling to indicate they can be dragged and dropped around, which is kind of an Apple-meets-Nintendo touch:

Well played, Mr. Blu-ray fanboy. Well played.

*Image taken in the Virgin Music section of Myer Sydney City store on 26 December 2007. [phlog] Thanks Derek!

The LG Xcanvas HDTV has got wood—or faux wood—we're not really sure. But the TV sure looks like it's got wood, and that's enough for us. Sacrificing the illusion of colors that pop by ditching a conventional black frame, the LCD display still holds its own with full 1080p resolution at 120Hz (cutting down on motion artifacts greatly when compared to older, 60Hz sets). Aside from the unique design, the only other detail of merit is a USB port that allows the playback of MP3s and photos. Otherwise these are pretty standard, higher-end LCDs coming in 42", 47" and 52" sizes. The sets are Korea only for now, and we're hoping they display images other than mimes. [akihabaranews via ubergizmo]