Crave

Nintendo has held fast to the idea that when gamers try out the Wii U, they will "get it." The Mario maker is giving gamers just that opportunity prelaunch, as the company is now beginning to roll out interactive Wii U kiosks in more than 5,000 retailers across the United States.

Gamers can find a Wii U demo station at a handful of retailers, including Target, Best Buy, GameStop, Walmart, and Toys 'R' Us. Kiosk content will vary by location; some will allow gamers to pick up a GamePad and play titles, while others will only feature … Read more

It can be hard to distinguish one portable speaker from the next. They usually come in some uninspiring variation of black, white, or silver. There is a more colorful way to go, however: turn a group of artists loose and reap the rewards.

The Boombots Artist Series takes the small Boombot speaker and turns it into a graffiti- and street art-inspired canvas. Artists UberPup, DGPH, and Sket One give the little guys a bright makeover.… Read more

I think I might need a support group -- I seem to be hooked on gadget snuff films.

The latest one from my hookup, the device warranty outfit SquareTrade, sees a third-generation iPad, the iPad Mini, and the Google Nexus 7 being methodically abused to see which holds up best.

The real development in this latest in a long series of face-off videos is the use of a new "drop-bot" that helps ensure a more fair drop of each device. In the past, the fate of each tortured device seemed to depend on a randomly determined point of … Read more

The iPad Mini has been in consumers' hands for only a few days, but we already have a better idea of what's in Apple's new tablet and how much it costs to make.

A teardown of the device conducted by IHS concluded that the base 16GB Wi-Fi model, which Apple sells for $329, costs about $188 to build, according to an All Things Digital report. The 32GB and 64GB models cost an additional $90 and $162 to build, respectively, the firm found.

In addition to the cost of materials, the teardown also revealed the identities of some of the device's component suppliers. LG Display and AU Optronics supplied the 7.9-inch touch-sensitive display components, which cost about $80, or about 43 percent of the device's total bill of materials. … Read more

Whenever I attend a professional sporting event, two things seem certain: high prices and T-shirt cannons.

This basketball season, the chances of catching a flying T-shirt improved greatly for Philadelphia 76ers fans, with the debut of the world's largest T-shirt cannon.

The weapon of mass comfort, officially known as "Big Bella," weighs 600 pounds and can fire up to 100 shirts per minute. Judging by the startling straight-down-the-double-barrel picture supplied by the Sixers, the device appears somewhat similar to a jumbo Gatling gun. … Read more

It's as if you've just strolled up to Curiosity on the surface of Mars and surprised the rover as -- convinced that everyone at Mission Control is on a coffee break -- it's decided to ditch the scientific research for a bit and build a martian sand castle instead.

One of the latest Curiosity images posted by NASA is a stunning self-portrait made up of 55 high-rez images taken by the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager. The base of Mount Sharp serves as a dramatic backdrop, swooping up toward the right, and in front of the rover, you can see four hand-size holes in the ground where Curiosity had just started building its sand castle gathered scoops of martian dirt for analysis. The scoop site is poetically named "Rocknest."… Read more

If you're an average online American, you're worth about $22 to the U.S. presidential campaigns, at least in terms of ad cost per vote. That's according to a new vote calculator produced by online privacy startup Abine, which asks seven multiple choice questions to gauge what you cost per ad. … Read more

Now that Barnes & Noble's new $199 Nook HD tablet is starting to ship to customers, the company has lowered the prices on last year's Nook Tablet models to $179 (16GB) and $159 (8GB), and reduced the price of its entry-level Nook Color to $139.

It's unclear how long Barnes & Noble will keep these models on the market, but it appears they will be sold through the holiday buying season.

In the past you could get refurbished versions of these same models for similar prices. When it was originally launched in late 2011, the 16GB Nook Tablet … Read more

Too busy lamenting the demise of Buckyballs this week to keep up with Crave? Don't despair; these stories should renew your hope:

- "Sandy CrisisCamp": Helpful "hurricane hackers" are on the case.

- Amputee set for epic climb with thought-controlled bionic leg.

- Samsung's solar-powered school lights up African village.

- Get your kicks on tomorrow's Route 66. … Read more