Gadgets Blog News

Posted Feb 3rd 2008 4:03PM by Joshua TopolskyFiled under: Misc. gadgets Apparently, water is all the rage these days if you want to get a message seen. In Tokyo Bay Monster-fashion (sans holographic video monster), a designer named Julius Popp has created a system of displaying moving text and images using falling drops of water, thus creating a kind of virtual billboard that appears to be hovering in mid-air. The system — called AquaScript — works by utilizing magnet-valves which expel single drops of water on demand; proprietary software syncs the valves into a “freely definable bitmap-muster” which produces blocks of images with the falling liquid. Check the video after the break and see the wetworks in action. (Read the full post about ‘AquaScript paints words onto water’…)

Share This

Hitachi have announced the new Hitachi W61H clamshell phone, the main claim to fame of which is a body that can display 95 different patterns on the back at the touch of a button. Similar in concept to Nokia’s old xPress On covers, where you could snap on a new cover to customize your phone, Hitachi’s new design, called “Silhouette Screen” is a little more sophisticated. Rather than using physical bits of plastic that have to snapped on and snapped off, the W61H uses e-Ink technology, similar to that used in e-Book readers such Amazon’s Kindle. The whole back of the phone therefore acts as a separate display, but rather than displaying info, it simply displays a pattern. More details after the jump. (Read the full post about ‘Hitachi W61H with customizable e-Ink covers’…)

Share This

Hmm. Unless you want Child Protective Services knocking on your door, don’t hang a picture of your kids sleeping on these Livingstones floor cushions in your office. Few will believe that these realistic-looking stones are actually made of 100% virgin wool and are filled with hypoallergenic polysilicone fiber. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors and are available directly from smarindesign, where you can also obtain a price list. If you can keep CPS at bay until then, the Livingstones should be delivered within about four weeks of placing your order. Via GEARFUSE. (Read the full post about ‘Livingstones rock cushions’…)

Share This

In case you’ve been looking for a simple way to mix some music, the Micro Mixer DJ-4 can get the job done, but keep in mind this is a very simple system… Basically, the Mixer DJ-4 consists on a device that has 2 input jacks so you can connect two audio sources, which can be a mp3 player, laptop, etc. There are also 2 volume knobs to control each device, that make all the mixing possible. There are no special effects, but at least there is the possibility to start a low-budget DJing career for $134, right? (Read the full post about ‘Micro Mixer DJ-4: The Simple Mix’…)

Share This

Posted Feb 3rd 2008 1:55PM by Darren MurphFiled under: Digital Cameras We already witnessed the overseas announcement of JVC’s palm-friendly GR-D850, but now it looks as if the firm is making it official here in the US of A along with a slightly (and we stress “slightly”) more advanced sibling. The GR-D870 High-Band Digital Video Camera features the same 1/6-inch 680k pixel CCD, 35x optical zoom, 2.7-inch lcd monitor, DV in / out and 3D Noise Reducer, but steps it up ever so slightly by tossing in a SD / MMC card slot for snapping digital stills (up to 640 x 480) while recording footage to miniDV. So yeah, nothing to get too antsy about or anything, but the GR-D870 can be snapped up immediately (Read the full post about ‘JVC intros GR-D870 miniDV camcorder with 35x zoom’…)

Share This

For the latest info on the coolest gadgets, emerging technology and wired madness, subscribe to our full news feed or have it delivered to your inbox. Always free. Always unique. Thanks for visiting! This Jedi Ginsu Knife cuts through everything. After watching the video below, you will want to purchase one for everyone on your Christmas list for next year. My only concern is that the price seems to be on the cheap side. Can’t see the video? Click here. (Read the full post about ‘Jedi Ginsu Knife Works like A Dream’…)

Share This

Posted Feb 3rd 2008 11:52AM by Joshua TopolskyFiled under: Laptops During the recent Greener gadgets Conference in New York, former OLPC CTO (and XO challenger) Mary Lou Jepsen discussed the real-world difficulties with using the kid-friendly laptops, including the creation of an XO “hospital” used to repair broken computers. Apparently, in the crowded conditions of schools in places like Nigeria, the little green laptops have a tendency to be jostled around and even knocked on the floor from time to time. As there’s typically no repair shops nearby, the kids have learned to fix the systems themselves, setting up a “laptop hospital” where they can repair what’s broken using simple tools and cheap replacement parts. (Read the full post about ‘5-year-olds repair OLPC laptops at Nigerian “hospital”’…)

Share This

Posted Feb 3rd 2008 9:53AM by Darren MurphFiled under: Robots C’mon, be honest — the unofficial cutoff age for playing with Legos sans kids is sometime way before puberty, but thanks to a new development from Carnegie Mellon University, we adults may soon be able to unashamedly indulge in those desires once more. Posey, hailed as a “hands-on way of interacting with computers,” features a plethora of snap-together, sensor-laden parts that can communicate with PCs through ZigBee. When a user attaches a leg to a body, for instance, an on-screen representation immediately mimics the movement, providing hours of fun and some real promise for future applications. (Read the full post about ‘Posey makes playing with snap-together blocks okay for adults’…)

Share This

What kind of chair do you sit in? I’ve got a pretty decent chair that I’ve had for around five years. It’s nothing fancy, just a black high-back computer chair. If you like to sit in something that differs from the norm, and happen to be an aviation enthusiast, this B-52 Stratofortress Ejector Seat Chair should be right up your alley. This rather eccentric-looking chair is modeled quite accurately to the ejector seats found in B-52 bombers. I’m going to guess that when you pull on the straps, the seat will still remain firmly planted on the ground. I’m going to venture a guess that only the most dedicated of aviation enthusiasts will want to pick one of these up. (Read the full post about ‘B-52 Ejector seat won’t launch you from your cubicle’…)

Share This

Posted Feb 3rd 2008 7:41AM by Darren MurphFiled under: Misc. gadgets Unfortunately, Dr. Chunlei Guo of the University of Rochester hasn’t yet figured out how to turn scrap metals into gold, but he, along with Dr. Anatoliy Y. Vorobyev, has discovered how to colorize a variety of metals. By utilizing a “femtosecond laser processing technique,” the duo has crafted a method for turning even aluminum into aluminum with an impeccable gold finish. Furthermore, they’ve also been successful in turning tungsten dark blue, leaving reason to believe that nearly any metal could be altered to appear as a different color. Ah, just imagine what these folks could do with your MacBook Pro.[Via The New York Times, thanks J (Read the full post about ‘Researchers devise method for colorizing metals, alchemists swoon’…)

Share This