If you rock your PS3 with a side of smoke and filth, then Hori's got you covered with its new Dust and Nicotine Guard 3. We definitely don't advocate you sucking down cancer sticks in your nicotine-stained apartment swarming with dust bunnies, but if you're gonna do it, there's no sense in your PS3 suffering with you. The $17 filter accessory won't be available to grimy gamers 'til April 26th (plenty of time for them to save the cash and kick the habit).

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

If you're looking to get in touch with your artsy side, check out Instructables' DIY infrared filter project, which not only involves crafting the hack, but also adds some new flavor to your digital photography routine. With some cardboard tubes, old negatives, electrical tape, and a few other minor tools, you can whip up one of these in a jiffy. You're good to go as long as your camera's sensitive to infrared light -- something you can test using an IR remote. We suggest experimenting with subject matter like nature scenes or architecture, but if you decide to perv it up, good luck trying to peep those Japanese Olympic swimmers.

Just in case you hadn't already caught wind, our pals over at Joystiq shed some light on Europe's backwards compatibility crux and the 20GB PS3 "shortage" here in the States -- two bubbles of drama that have now been popped by Dave Karraker, Senior Director of Communications at SCEA. Let's start with the Engadget readers' of the woods: screw you Sony, for holding out on those 20GBs, right? Karraker deflates that accusation, pointing the finger at retailers who have requested more 60GB stock -- averaging at 80 percent 60GB and 20 percent 20GB, to be exact. And you can't really argue with that, can you? Now let's hop across the ocean where PS3s will make their (fashionably?) late first appearance in Europe come next Friday. Despite all the setbacks, backwards compatibility might not be a disaster after all. Karraker says that Euro PS3s just need a launch firmware upgrade, which will arrive on March 23rd, along with a legit compatibility list -- essentially what we thought would be the case. Simple as that (we hope).

We love all things glow-in-the-dark, and for good reason: they help us find the bathroom at night, they freak out our cats, and raves wouldn't be the same without a ton of kids who don't care how ridiculous they look spinning glowsticks. Lucky for us, Japanese researchers have developed new materials that glow in a full range of colors with the potential to provide a real-world solution. The research team from Ryukoku University in Kyoto suggests using the materials to create clear, attractive emergency signage that doesn't depend on electricity to operate. Until now, phosphorescent colors were limited to bluish and greenish tones, which lack visibility through smoke or dust, and supposedly invoke anxiety. The new materials' rainbow of colors (including white light) should offer a more natural illumination, and may strike the fancy of the International Commission on Illumination (CIE), "the international authority on lighting" that's already suggested finding an electricity-free emergency lighting / signage system for buildings. Using this new technology for constructive purposes is all well and good, but we were most relieved to hear that the team isn't snoozing on "less serious" applications for these materials -- i.e. a lampshade nightlight that stays on all night. C'mon, you didn't think they'd leave the out the good stuff (view image), did ya?

[Thanks, Matthew]

Young gamers in Korea have turned from national phenomena to national concern -- some have actually managed to "game" themselves to death, while blank stares and friendlessness are more common occurrences among the obsessed. Attempting to flip the switch on this unfortunate outcome of pwning, Venture start-up Xtive proposes to subliminally convince these kids to kick the habit by exposing them to an inaudible repetitive message. "We incorporated messages into an acoustic sound wave telling gamers to stop playing. The messages are told 10,000 to 20,000 times per second," explains Yun Yun-hae, president of Xtive. (Isn't that a little, um, fast?) The company has applied for a domestic patent and plans to commercialize the phonogram in cahoots with the government and game companies, which he hopes will incorporate triggers for the phonograms after games are played for a certain amount of time. Xtive also hopes to move beyond this application, applying their technology to other areas; Yun creepily tops it all off by adding, "We can easily change the messages. In this sense, the potential for this technology is exponential." You want to talk about video game zombies? Here we go.

[Via Joystiq]

Thanko's already rattled our skulls with its Vonia bone conducting earphones, but they couldn't leave well enough alone. The Vonia BCT SportsHeadband kicks out the jams using two waterproof bone conduction speakers near the temples, and also has a compartment conveniently located smack on the forehead to hold a small MP3 player. It's too bad the compartment isn't waterproof, since that'd be necessary to use this thing underwater -- so without a waterproof player we're not really sure how these will play out with the swimmer crowd, who Thanko is also marketing the headband to. On the other hand, runners, joggers, sprinters, skippers, and speed-walkers should be a-ok to blast some bone-rocking beats while keeping their ears open for oncoming traffic and catcalls.

[Via Crave]

This streaming media receiver was unveiled at CES earlier this year, but Netgear's officially made it available for your living room. To refresh your memory, the Digital Entertainer HD (EVA8000) basically promises to do everything to amuse you short of growing limbs and break dancing on your coffee table. It's got an HDMI port with resolutions up to 1080p, connects to 802.11 b / g WiFi networks, and controls PC-PVR recordings remotely (with a not-included TV tuner card). It streams nearly anything, including HD movies, BitTorrent downloads, internet radio, RSS feeds, music, videos, and Flickr photos, from nearly any device, like your networked PCs, flash drives, iPods, or digital cameras. Netgear's right on point with their projected first quarter release -- units went on sale today on select e-commerce sites at around $399 a pop. The Digital Entertainer HD will be available at e-commerce sites, retailers, and resellers worldwide sometime in Q2 2007.

Read - Digital Entertainer HD press release
Read - Netgear product page

The Walkman phone's sporty orange trim gets switched out for a classy attempt in gold on Sony Ericsson's newest rendition, the W660. At a svelte 0.57-inches, the UMTS 2100 and GPRS 900/1800/1900 phone really packs in the goods with Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity, FM radio support, a 2 megapixel camera, web browsing, RSS feeds, and a 512 MB Memory Stick Micro (upgradeable). It has a 2-inch color TFT display and totes random extras like TrackID, a music identification service, and a Picture Blogging function that allows you to send snapshots directly to your personal blog. To top off the lifestyle angle on this phone, Sony Ericsson has embellished the pants offa this one, with the aforementioned gold trim on both glossy color options, Record Black and Rose Red. The Rose Red (geez, what's up with the cranberry hype?) model jazzes it up a bit more with its floral-themed relief pattern on the backside. For those of you who are more concerned with performance, you'll get up to 6 hours of talk time on GSM, up to 2.5 hours with 3G, or a max of 25 hours of music listening. Expect to peep these newbies in select markets by Q2 of this year.

[Via PhoneArena]

What's a northeastern driver to do when wintry roads spell danger for everyday tires, while normal conditions hamper breaking ability for the studded variety? Well, Q's Celsius tires have traction studs that protrude and retract on your command -- practical and 007 slick, like something Q would install for use in rescuing Halle Berry from a gigantic ice palace. How it works: when you're ready to enter extreme weather mode, the tires use their own air supply to fill a secondary chamber that pushes the studs through the surface, past the tread. Then when conditions clear up, the studs retract back below the tread and the surplus air is released. We're not sure how much this upgrade will cost to add little cool to your lemon, but some extra cash might be worth the added safety, not to mention ditching the hassle of seasonal tire switching.

[Via Autoblog]