COMPETE FOR THE GRAND PRIZE!

During the Winter Olympics, we've seen more than our share of athletic action sequences—complex motions broken into stills. For this week's Shooting Challenge, you'll be recreating the effect in the real world (or anywhere else you like).

The Challenge

Shoot an action sequence of any sort.

The Method

You'll want to set your camera on a tripod and shoot in burst mode with a minimum of 3-5FPS. Then you'll combine these images in photo editing software.

The Rules

1. Submissions need to be your own.
2. Photos need to be taken the week of the contest. (No portfolio linking or it spoils the "challenge" part.)
3. Explain, briefly, the equipment, settings and technique used to snag the shot.
4. Email submissions to contests@gizmodo.com.
5. Include 800px wide image AND 2560x1600 sized in email. (The 800px image is the one judged, so feel free to crop/alter the image for wallpaper-sized dimensions.)

Send your best entries by Sunday, February 28th at 11PM Eastern to contests@gizmodo.com with "Action Sequence" in the subject line. Save your files as JPGs or GIFs, and use a FirstnameLastnameAction.jpg (800px) and FirstnameLastnameActionWALLPAPER.jpg (2560px) naming conventions. Include your shooting summary (camera, lens, ISO, etc) in the body of the email.

WARHAMMER SUCKS AGAINST WORLD OF WARCRAFT!

February 24, 2010 - THQ isn't looking to take down Blizzard's mighty World of Warcraft with its upcoming Warhammer 40K MMO. During yesterday's Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference, THQ president and CEO Brian Farrell said he believes there's room for another major title in the crowded, massively multiplayer gaming space.

"World of Warcraft is a great game, but as you know in entertainment, there's always the juggernaut and that means there's opportunities out there for the right MMO, said Farrell. " What we love about the Warhammer 40K MMO is that it's different in that it's a sci-fi, futuristic-based world. We're not competing directly in the orcs and elves fantasy environment that World of Warcraft is in. We can differentiate ourselves."

"We have an experienced team building it. On the PC alone, the Warhammer 40K series has sold over five million units, so there's an audience there that likes that universe," he added. "We think there's always competition in every market, but you got to have an x-factor, a point of differentiation, and we think we've got that."

Farrell also revealed the 40K project will have different pricing structures depending on which part of the globe the game is played.

"The way we're building the 40K MMO, and we think it's the right way, is with a flexible business model in mind. We think the subscription model still works in North American and Europe, It's more challenging in Asia, so we're building it in a way that we can either use time-based sessions or microtransactions as the business model in different markets," Farrell said.

"I think going forward in the MMO market you're going to have to be flexible in business models based on geography, and that's how we're building the 40K project."

THQ revealed during its last fiscal quarter conference call the publisher is set to reveal the Warhammer 40K MMO at this year's E3 in June. "Take a look at E3 and I think people will like what they see," Farrell added.

EUROPEAN VACUUM!

Roomba has ruled the roost when it comes to domestic chores for a long time -- too long. It's getting some serious competition from Samsung, which is finally going to unleash one of its robovacs onto the rest of the world. Well, to Europe anyway. The Navibot is set to spread its wings across the EU in March, having been apparently warmly received in limited Italian tests last year. The bot captures 30fps video of your abode, documenting your feng shui and charting the most efficient course around your coffee table and the display case that houses your TMNT collection. It's even sophisticated enough to pick up where it left off should it run out of juice mid-stride, after returning home for a recharge, but that kind of smarts will cost you: €399 for the basic model with a single virtual wall, and €499 for a slightly posher version with touch-sensitive buttons and a second virtual wall. There's no word on an American release just yet, meaning Roomba's home turf is safe -- for now.

Ctrl Z Apology Card

Haha this a great and funny card!

SCHOOL SPIES ON ITS STUDENTS!

High School students have sued the Lower Merion School District in Philadelphia for spying on them using their laptops' built-in cameras. School administrator activated the webcams remotely and recorded students' activities at home. Way to go, KGB-wannabe assclowns. Updated

The situation was discovered by the Robbins, when their kid was disciplined for "improper behavior in his home." How could that be possible? The Vice Principal showed a photo as the evidence. A photo taken with the school-provided laptop webcam.

That school is so weird. Why violate laws like that? They are just dumb thinking they were never going to get caught or something.

VACUUMM SPIDERMAN!

We've all got at least one vacuum cleaner lying around the house (gathering dust, in some cases), but hopefully no-one will be inspired by BBC presenter Jem Stansfield who scales buildings using sucking force from the machines.

I don't want to be receiving any photos of your bruises after you fall flat on your face 2ft up the side of your garage, but this is how Stansfield cobbled together his "Spiderman gloves," which he's used to climb up to 120ft previously.

THIS I WANNA BE THE NEXT SPIDERMAN

ROBOTLAND!!!

COOL CONCEPT THEME PARK ! ROBOTLAND !

Microsoft refuses to sell to the military WOW

The military currently trains its soldiers using PCs, but they were interested in switching to the Xbox 360 for a number of reasons. Unfortunately, Microsoft was not too interested in helping them out.

According to Danger Room, Microsoft refused to sell consoles to Roger Smith, chief technology officer for PEO STRI, the Army command responsible for purchasing training equipment. Why wouldn't Microsoft sell them consoles? Well, according to Smith, three reasons:

* Microsoft was afraid that the military would buy up lots of Xbox 360s, but would buy only one game for each of them, so MS wouldn't make much money off of the games.
* that a big military purchase would create a shortage of Xbox 360s.
* that if the Xbox became an Army training device, it would taint its reputation. Microsoft was concerned that "do we want the Xbox 360 to be seen as having the flavor of a weapon? Do we want Mom and Dad knowing that their kid is buying the same game console as the military trains the SEALs and Rangers on?" Smith told me during an interview for Training & Simulation Journal.

Microsoft are the greediest people ever in my opinion. They don't want to sell it to them because they will only buy about thousands of the same game. That is so dumb.

NEW DROID!

Why hello there, slightly smaller Droid! I have so many questions for you. Like, why do you have Motoblur? How much do you cost? When can people buy you? Why aren't you officially part of the "Droid" line?

Apparently nobody's awake in Motorola land right now, so I'll hazard a guess at answer these questions myself, in order: Because Motorola is inexplicably obsessed with Motoblur, which can make any Android phone feel like a feature phone; less than the Droid, and probably about the same as the Droid Eris ($100 or less); the beginning of next month; and I have no idea, because this phone has more in common with the Droid than the Droid Eris does. But anyway, here's what Motorola does tell us the Devour comes with, much of which we were fully expecting:

• A touch-sensitive navigation pad
• A 3.1" capacitive touch screen (to the Droid's 3.7-inch screen)
• Pre-loaded applications such as Gmail, Google Talk, YouTube, Google Search and Google Maps with Google Maps Navigation, which implies that the software is at least Android 1.6, though hopefully 2.0 or 2.1.
• MOTOBLUR, and all the social network-y business that entails.
• An 8 GB microSD card

THIS PHONE IS AWESOME!!! I LOVE IT!

LEGOS!!!!

This is a cool lego sculpture. IT IS AWESOME!

Tokyoflash Escape C Bluetooth Power Core

OK, so it's not really a power core. The Escape C is really just a necklace with some LEDs and Bluetooth controls, but this Tokyoflash product is still neat in its own right.

Pairing with pretty much any Bluetooth device—from an iPhone to a Skype-wielding PC—the Escape C can accommodate a pair of headphones (with mic) while streaming A2DP audio. Plus, typical volume, track advance and call controls offer you a means to control your music and communications without reaching into your pocket.

Of course, Tokyoflash couldn't create a product without some sort of cryptic time cipher, which is where those blue LEDs come into play. But we won't understand how that part works until the Escape C is released later this year for $150-$180.

The Tester( A GAMER REALITY SHOW)

Check out the trailer and information here at
http://www.thetester.com/
This series looks so dumb. As much as I love games this is just not entertaining. Idk maybe it will be better, if I actually watch it but it looks dumb to me from the trailer. I think they would get better ratings if it was just a video game tournament of Modern Warfare 2. LOL

My MAG Review

256 Players online at once playing at the same time on a console is amazing. The graphics are pretty good. The gameplay modes are great. There is a couple of things they need to workout in the game like connecting to the network a little better. MAG is a great multi-player game .

GOD OF WAR 3 COMING TO YOU IN MARCH!

Archipod Is Pine Cone On the Outside, Apple Store On the Inside

Created in the UK, the Archipod was conceived out of "frustration at the commuting lifestyle, with its attendant road congestion, air and noise pollution, road rage, running costs and time loss." Indeed, if you're looking for a home office that will make you feel like you're several light-years away from modern society and its discontents, head over to Archipod's website and prepare to open the pod bay doors. It looks cool but when I look at it , it feels like it's tree house not an office. Not doubting that I would not want to get one though.

Latest Crop of Lumix Point-and-Shoots Arrives Next Month

Lumix will flood the market with a new series of F-line point and shoot cameras next month. Officially revealed at CES, the line already had its specs spelled out, but not pricing or release window. Its a cool camera for portable photography and don't worry about lugging your big and more hefty cameras.

Mu Space Music Player Transforms Into a Bed

You just have to open it, unfold the bed, turn the speakers inside, and get to sleep listening to slumbering songs. Simple. Even while the Bondi iMac color scheme is a bit passé for my taste, I wish I had one of these while I was waiting at the—horrible—Goa airport to get back to NYC from my—lovely—hunnymoon. This is the most amazing thing for listening to music. I want one for myself. It would be so cool to have.

Zune Phone to Debut at MWC, Will Use Nvidia Tegra

Spanish blog MuyComputer claims that Microsoft will present the Zune Phone this February, at the MWC in Barcelona. According to them, it's 100% confirmed. Since the Zune Phone will use Tegra, Nvidia will team with Microsoft for the anti-JesusPhone debut.

Talking to the blog editorial director Javier Pérez Cortijo, he told me that "the Zune Phone presentation at Barcelona's Mobile World Congress 2010 is 100% confirmed." I've been a close friend of Javier for a couple of decades—he was my first editor—and I completely trust his sources and his judgement, so this is a good one. The presentation of the Zune Phone at MWC 2010 seems to be inline with the mention of three phones in the Zune software last week, and previous rumors about its introduction.

MuyComputer says that the Zune Phone will have a 480 x 272 screen, HDMI video out, weigh around 2.45 ounces (70 grams), and use Windows Mobile 7.
This is cool concept phone. But who knows the release date of it?

Hershey Kiss inspired CD stands

Note: these are Hershey's-Kiss-inspired CD/DVD stands—not actual Hershey's Kisses—that are being used to prop up optical media. The latter might work, but the former will crack that coworker's tooth who keeps stealing your desk candy.

This is pretty cool. I think it is very creative.