Saké Puppets

| Nov 6, 2012

Saké Puppets

by Sofia Elghazzali

When Minnesota-native Angela Salisbury moved to Tokyo, she ditched the guidebooks and explored the city by crafting. She had always enjoyed sewing, and quickly developed an affinity for a traditional Japanese form of embroidery called sashiko. To display her work, she began posting her ...

Untangling smartphone tethering plans

| Oct 24, 2012

Untangling smartphone tethering plans

by Kazuaki Nagata

With the spread of smartphones and high-speed communication networks, so-called Internet-tethering services are now a possibility in Japan. But what is actually involved in such services can be confusing — such as what phones are tethering-ready, how much the service costs and if there ...

Three new toys look back to the analog days

| Oct 10, 2012

Three new toys look back to the analog days

by Jess Mantell

Remember when all the cool tech was lightning-fast and fit-in-your-pocket small? These days, our gadgets have become so impressive that the novelty of power and size has somehow lost its shine. Which is perhaps why the appeal of clunky, single-purpose retro gadgets is growing. ...

Get ready to broadcast video live online

| Sep 26, 2012

Get ready to broadcast video live online

by Rick Martin

Japan-based Cerevo has carved out an interesting business niche for itself as a provider of live-video-streaming hardware, most notably its Live Shell device released last year. That device enabled aspiring Internet broadcasters to stream live video directly from a camera to the Web without ...

Gunslinging the Japanese way

| Sep 5, 2012

Gunslinging the Japanese way

by Brian Ashcraft

It’s hot. Though this summer, Japanese gamers have been piling into arcades across the country not only to take refuge from the heat, but to also check out one of the most interesting games released this year — and it may surprise you to ...