Gearfuse

The time has finally come – Dr. Pepper owes me a drink. Wait, what’s this? Vince is telling me that I’m not getting my Dr. Pepper until Chinese Democracy is actually released. This pirated copy you see before you doesn’t count. Man, that sucks!

At least it’s got every every track from the album, so we won’t miss out on any of the long-awaited attempts from Axl Rose to regain the sound he had back in ‘87. This V0 retail rip of the album is making its way around the popular BitTorrent sites like What.cd and Waffles.fm. Today is a good day to be a GNR fan. After the jump, .log files galore.

I noticed the .log file shows the ripper’s name in it. David. Axl is coming for you, David.

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When you can’t use a mouse because of too much Guitar Hero, don’t fret; alternative means of controlling your computer’s cursor are just over the horizon. The University of Washington is developing a vocally controlled mouse interface that’s completely hands free!

Similar to speech recognition that aids in typing, the vocal joystick makes using a mouse as simple as humming mantras in front of your computer. Using different vowels and sounds, the vocal joystick is able to create cursor motion and clicking functions as if you were using an ordinary mouse. However, playing Minesweeper is still a pain in the ass.

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Tonight, MySpace kicked off its new commercial free music service which doesn’t include any of that bullshit DRM business.  Using its ever popular Flash player, users can purchase songs or add them to a playlist. It’s now possible to create a streaming playlist of as many as 100 songs each that can be shared and ranked.  MySpace music will also offer on-demand, ad-subsidized playback of full tracks in addition to allowing users to purchase unprotected MP3s of songs through Amazon.

Could MySpace music be another competitor for iTunes? It’s certainly looking that way. Just wait until Facebook joins with iTunes commercially. The “Great Social Networking” war is upon us.

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Family night in my home usually meant a pizza dinner and a board game, but I’m sure other families would have more extravagant festivities, which possibly included nudity and chanting to Satan. While my family was never much for rituals, it would have been nice to have something like the Talent Show Kit.

It’s a karaoke machine, a mic, and an amplifier all built into one mic stand-esque gadget. A removable mic allows the performer some roaming space as they croon to the moon like a werewolf. Or at least that’s what it probably sounds like. Just hand them a fake and cheer when they stop moving. They’ll never know the difference. Get yours for $80. — Andrew Dobrow

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Do you love the song “Freebirdâ€? by Lynyrd Skynyrd when it’s live, like the CD version? Would you still like it if an animatronics bird were to sing it to you? Didn’t think so. Well Decoy Roy, a singing duck, will sing that or “(I Just want to) Flyâ€? by Sugar Ray for you with just the simple press of a red button. Just think of a Billy the Bass-like performance, except with a dancing duck instead of a flopping fish. Just think about the bragging you can do when you go to a friends house that has a Billy the Bass; “well I have a duck at home that sings a song that doesn’t get annoying the first time you play it.â€? Plus, who actually hangs fish up on their wall; ducks are much more common, so you won’t look like such a freak when you have a duck up on your wall. If you’re really lucky, your little friend Roy will even say some wisequacks (haha that’s funny) between great songs. If you must have the latest technology in singing and dancing animals, then you should fork out $29.95 for Decoy Roy to float your boat. — Nick Rice

Decoy Roy [via Gearlog]