Visualized: Carina Nebula captured with a 268-megapixel camera

Combine a state-of-the-art telescope with a 268-megapixel camera, point it at the sky, add in a bit of calculation and you could end up with a gorgeous photo of the Carina Nebula. That's exactly what the ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile did recently with its brand new VLT Survey Telescope -- just a portion of the resulting inaugural image is shown above. This isn't the first time the ESO has shown a love for large captures: it managed to stitch together a massive 9-gigapixel image of the Milky Way out of thousands of photographs taken with its VISTA telescope earlier this fall. However, with the 2.6-meter VLT and 268-megapixel OmegaCAM camera, the observatory is able to capture huge swaths of sky at a time -- no need for stitching here. The ESO says that it's the "largest telescope in the world exclusively dedicated to surveying the sky at visible wavelengths." As for the Carina Nebula, the star formation region is a popular choice among astronomers trying out new telescopes, and seeing how mesmerizing it is, we can't fault them for it. Click the source link below to see the whole image in all its zoomable glory.

[Source: Engadget]

Engineer builds gingerbread house using CAD and lasers, aging droids approve

It's not that often we see the worlds of baking and technology mix, but when Johan von Konow went about making a traditional gingerbread house for the holidays, he added a laser to the recipe. The engineer and tinkerer first went about designing an accurate, miniature 3D representation of his summer house in a CAD program, with the help of his wife. He then printed outlines of the necessary building blocks onto sheets of baked gingerbread, and used a 50-watt laser engraver to cut them out and score icing guides for the final touches later on. Burnt edges rendered the confectionary inedible, but as its final destination was no longer stomachs, raw lasagna sheets were added for structural support, and hot glue used to bind it all together. If you've got all the kit and are feeling inspired by the picture above, the design layout and project walkthrough are available at the source link below. Hansel and Gretel needn't be worried this time around -- the tech used creating this particular gingerbread house has attracted a different kind of aged tenant.

[Source: Engadget]

Instagram officially kills photo integration within Twitter, leaves no trace behind

If you've taken to Twitter today, it's likely that you noticed all your Instagram photos that were stored as gallery Cards are gone. Unfortunately, this isn't a temporary glitch: as of today, the photo-sharing service has officially killed all photo integration on Twitter. So, although links to your photos will function like normal, there is no way to preview them within Twitter anymore. If you'll recall, it was merely a few days ago that Instagram pulled Card support from Twitter, which made any filtered snapshots display in wonky fashions within the micro-blogging network. While today's move by Instagram isn't totally shocking -- it would rather you view pictures on its new browser-accesible profiles, after all -- it's a shame that the contents of many Twitter galleries have vanished in a flash.

[Source: Engadget]

ROCCAT ISKU FX keyboard ships worldwide, lights up gaming for $100

ROCCAT's ISKU FX keyboard intrigued us back in the summer by adding some synchronicity to the usual gaming keyboard formula. We're glad to hear, then, that it's shipping just as much of its audience will get the games that should be its match. Players in multiple countries can pick up the ISKU FX this week at prices of either $100 for Americans or €100 in European countries like ROCCAT's native Germany. For the money, they're getting both 16.8 million hues to choose from as well as Philips Ambilight-style flashes in supporting games -- and the familiar control over a ROCCAT mouse if they're not always in the mood for an elaborate show. The ISKU FX might not lure in those who already have serious input at hand, but it could be the right complement to a new PC.

[Source: Engadget]

Final Fantasy IV headed to iOS on December 20, Android version to follow in 2013

That Nintendo DS re-make of Final Fantasy IV may add 3D graphics, a variety of bug fixes, and a fresh localization, but who wants to lug around their old Nintendo DS? Thankfully, it won't be much longer before the same version of FFIV ends up on iOS, as spotted by the folks at gaming forum NeoGAF. The game arrives on the iOS App Store for both iPhone and iPad starting on December 20, and is headed to Android sometime next year. As of now, it's only got a Japanese pricing of ¥1800 ($21.77), but we expect it'll cost about $17.99 when it launches Stateside. In anticipation of the pending release, Square's marking down prices of its other iOS FF games (which are usually priced absurdly high), so now's a good time to snap them up on the cheap. If you'd like to take a gander at the first images of the iOS port, Japanese publication Gamer has a first-look.

[Source: Engadget]

Putting the cassette to bed: Sony to discontinue handheld tape recorders in 2013

The Walkman's retirement wasn't quite the death of the cassette tape, but the format's final days aren't far off: Sony's calling it quits on the tape recorder. Final shipments for the company's TCM-400, TCM-410 and TCM-450 cassette recorders are due early next year, marking the end of the product line. Despite the shunning of magnetic tape from Sony's portable line up, the company still has a slot in its heart for the old cassette, and will continue to sell boomboxes with CD / tape deck combos. Even so, rewindable media seems to be on its way out the door -- maybe its time to build a better mixtape.

[Source: Engadget]

Netflix 1080p streams no longer called X-High, company credits improved encodes

While Netflix Watch Instantly movie streams are mostly useful for casual viewing, if you're interested in the actual quality of the video provided you may have noticed a few changes recently. Chronicled in a thread on AVS Forum and reported to us by several tipsters, more than a few users have noticed their streams on 1080p-capable hardware (PlayStation 3, WDTV Live) no longer rock the "X-High" notification (on PS3, hit select to view more information bout your streaming details) that had previously let them know they were getting the highest quality possible. We checked with Netflix, and according to the company, it's rolling out better encoding that improves picture quality despite using a lower bitrate. That means 1080p works even for people with slower connections, and increases detail on "textures, shadows, skies, and particularly faces." As a result, what was previously called "X-High HD" is now being labeled a tier lower.

[Source: Engadget]

Lovefilm now available for UK Wii U owners

Nintendo recently committed to bringing Lovefilm to Wii U consoles soon in the UK and the company has made good on its word. Pictured above is a dimly lit shot of the new app in action, which features HD content and optional video playback via the system's GamePad. If you'd like to give it a spin, head on over to Nintendo's eShop to claim your prize.

[Source: Engadget]

YouTube takes to the skies with Virgin America content deal

Admittedly, we're more likely to hit up YouTube for its hilarious and bizarre amateur content than to pop in on one of those well-funded Original Channels, but that won't necessarily be the case going forward. Several of the site's original programming venues will soon be available through Virgin America's in-flight entertainment system -- "H+ The Digital Series," "Blue," "Written by a Kid," "Crash Course" and "The Key of Awesome" are expected to hit aircraft beginning December 15th, according to Variety.

[Source: Engadget]

Valve updating select Steam games with system requirements for Linux users

Linux for Steam might not be ready for mass consumption just yet, but we're now able to get an idea of what system requirements will be for some of the platform's games. Valve has updated select titles with Tux-friendly specifications. While some games don't appear to require a specific distro, Ubuntu appears to be the most supported thus far. If you plan on heading over to Steam's site to see if your setup cuts the mustard, double dippers be warned -- it seems that non-Linux machines will not display system requirements. We're guessing the masses will see something like the screengrab above as time marches on, though.

[Source: Engadget]

Sony and Box extend BFF status, offer 50GB free storage to Xperia owners through 2013

When Sony and Box came together last year to offer Xperia owners a tantalizing deal of 50GB of free storage for life, the promotion was only set to run for a year. Now that shopping season is upon us once more, however, the holiday spirit must've moved them to extend the partnership for yet another year -- that, or Sony needs any edge it can to move those Xperia devices to consumer hands. Just as with the prior promo, Xperia and Sony tablet users can snag 50 gigs of cloud storage completely gratis just by signing up or tapping into existing Box accounts on their devices before December 31st 2013. However, do note that the offer doesn't extend to the Xperia X10 mini, the X10 mini pro and anything that has firmware older than Android 2.1. Now that Sony has this going for two years straight, maybe they should extend this to a lifetime scenario, or as long as Box sticks around to offer up that sweet storage in the sky.

[Source: Engadget]

Western Digital offers 8TB version of its My Book Live Duo NAS

Western Digital is mightily proud of its new 4TB hard drives, so it shouldn't be a surprise to see them winding up in the company's range of external storage products. The latest to get the spec bump is the My Book Live Duo, the dual-drive RAID box that promises to keep your memories safe should the worst happen. The range-topping 8TB edition will set you back $660, but if your credit card isn't that elastic, you can snag a 6TB unit for $440 and a 4TB box for $375.

[Source: Engadget]