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DVICE ARCHIVE FOR June 2007
Way back in my high school days, long before Al Gore claimed he helped invent the Internet, I helped build a robotic insect out of R/C car parts, a light sensor, and a circuit board from the local electronic...
POSTED Saturday, June 30, 2007
Although the iPhone threatened to swallow all other gadget news that crossed its event horizon, the technology world kept turning this week, and we caught sight of plenty of other gadgets cool enough to steal the iPhone's spotlight —...
POSTED Friday, June 29, 2007
It is done. I have descended into the bowels of the Apple Store and, fighting my way through preternaturally joyous black T-shirted Apple drones lining the store's entry like the Munchkins lining the yellow brick road high-fiving incoming and...
POSTED Friday, June 29, 2007
If you're going to be one of the first people to get an iPhone, you're automatically resigning yourself to a nonstop cavalcade of attention, with friends, colleagues and complete strangers coming up to you and asking excitedly — and probably...
POSTED Friday, June 29, 2007
Who takes an entire day and dedicates it to standing in the summer sun on a NYC sidewalk in the name of getting a fancy new phone? That's the question I set out to answer, picking an Apple fan at...
POSTED Friday, June 29, 2007
Bzzzzzz! No, that's not the buzz of all us nuts on line waiting to buy a $600 cell phone (yes, the 4-GB iPhone is $500, but a quick poll reveals that everyone is willing to spend the extra $100...
POSTED Friday, June 29, 2007
This Krups stainless steel toaster looks like a cross between a flying saucer and a robot's head, and we're getting stoked about that LCD screen up front, counting down to that glorious moment when your toast is ready to...
POSTED Friday, June 29, 2007
Think you know your iPhone? Or did you just think that giant lineup was for John Mayer tickets? While you wait for the seconds to tick by until this year's It gadget goes on sale at 6 p.m., you...
POSTED Friday, June 29, 2007
Dan Bishop's Vitals monitoring system takes the medical bracelet to a new level. Designed to ease up on the tedious workload that taking vital signs involves, the concept medical wristband can monitor the wearer's temperature, pulse and blood pressure....
POSTED Friday, June 29, 2007
Maybe you're waiting in line right now. Maybe you're there, outside an Apple or AT&T store, psyching yourself up for that fine piece of touchscreen goodness that you're going to hold in your hands sometime a little after 6...
POSTED Friday, June 29, 2007
What do you get when you combine a robotic vacuum cleaner and a taser? You get automated pain, that's what. Roomba-maker iRobot, Inc. and Taser have been hard at work on a less family-friendly robot for police and the...
POSTED Friday, June 29, 2007
Good 'ol American capitalism. A sharpie a couple seats down from me sold his spot in line for $250. He had come with his cousins to keep them company with no intention of buying an iPhone. Sensing an opportunity,...
POSTED Friday, June 29, 2007
Oh, hyped up product launches. Nothing brings out the strangest geeks around better than you. And the iPhone is no exception to the trend started by next-gen gaming consoles. I was up at the 5th ave Apple store both...
POSTED Friday, June 29, 2007
Were you worried that you might have to dilute the Appleness of your iPhone be pairing it with a Bluetooth headset from Jabra or Sony Ericsson or some other heathen third-party manufacturer? You can chill out, because Apple has unveiled...
POSTED Friday, June 29, 2007
Snoring is a curse. Sure, if you snore it isn't that bad, as you won't wake yourself up with your own snoring, but think about whoever is sharing a bed with you. You're providing them with sleepless nights, and...
POSTED Friday, June 29, 2007
Just as scripture… er, Steve Jobs' Macworld keynote predicted, the iPhone is about to go on sale, pretty much right on time. Which is really a story in and of itself — how many product launches this major actually...
POSTED Friday, June 29, 2007
I'm an idiot. It's about 5:15am and I have a nearly 13-hour wait before the iPhone goes on sale at the Apple Store beneath the crystal cube at Grand Army Plaza in New York City. The sky is a...
POSTED Friday, June 29, 2007
I'm convinced that most reporters who write about Second Life have never explored the world themselves. Maybe they read blogs about it or get press releases with screenshots from Linden Labs, but if they had actually "been" to the...
POSTED Thursday, June 28, 2007
I've got a big pile of business cards on my desk that's built up over the last six months, which I really should to transcribe into the contact list on my computer. But it's time I admitted it: I'll...
POSTED Thursday, June 28, 2007
Once all the gasoline is gone, we might be back to using muscle power, and that's when this 4cycle ZEM (Zero Emissions Machine) can help transport you and your three closest friends from here to there. With everybody peddling...
POSTED Thursday, June 28, 2007
Do you like very nice speakers? Do you have $100,000 lying around? Are you a famous person in the entertainment industry? Great! You'll be happy to know that there are some new speakers made with you in mind. Yes,...
POSTED Thursday, June 28, 2007
If you've ever tried to take a photo of something moving really quickly with a digital camera, you know that you're likely to just end up with a blurry, useless picture rather than the still-captured masterpiece that you were going...
POSTED Thursday, June 28, 2007
Have you picked up your mouse and looked at its underside lately? Getting that filthy mouse wet could spell disaster for those trying to get actual work done, which is why Belkin has announced a waterproof, washable mouse. With...
POSTED Thursday, June 28, 2007
A new device developed in Japan, called the EQGuard Home Earthquake Alarm System, gives you a warning 20 seconds before an earthquake hits. That should give you plenty of time to hide under your desk, say some prayers, and...
POSTED Thursday, June 28, 2007
Webcams are great for taking low-quality, quick pictures of yourself while you sit at your computer. But as digital imaging and videoconferencing get to be more and more prevalent in the mainstream, people want a webcam that can take...
POSTED Thursday, June 28, 2007
They guys at Parrot, God bless 'em, are still tossing unusual Bluetooth products into the market in the hopes that something will stick. Their latest shot is the Parrot Party, a small portable Bluetooth speaker that can receive audio...
POSTED Thursday, June 28, 2007
It's amazing, the things people can't do without when there's no power. People insist on bringing any matter of gadgets with them out into the wild wilderness when they go camping or merely out to the backyard away from power...
POSTED Thursday, June 28, 2007
I'm a Windows user who loves skinny laptops. My Lenovo-IBM ThinkPad X60 is the Apple of my eye and only willpower keeps me from adding the teeniest Vaio and maybe one of those cheap Asuteks just for the hell...
POSTED Wednesday, June 27, 2007
California architect Gregg Fleishman knows how to put together a house in a hurry, and that's just what he's done with this DH1 Disaster House. Unlike the Fab Tree Hab house we showed you here that needs to be...
POSTED Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Sometimes, you just want some peace and quiet. That can be tough, especially if you live in a big city or with kids. If you have a headache, what do you do in these situations? Putting a pillow over your...
POSTED Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Until we can shrink a submarine full of scientists in skin-tight jumpsuits down to the size of blood vessels, robots will have to do our medical bidding. Dr. Nir Schwalb and Oded Salomon of the College of Judea and...
POSTED Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Cleaning the house is one of those things that isn't near the top of anyone's "fun stuff" list. It's a chore, plain and simple, and not too many people look forward to doing it. That's probably why your place...
POSTED Wednesday, June 27, 2007
We've just discovered out new favorite time killer: Wikimapia. Launched in spring 2006, the site uses Google's satellite maps as a basis for a clickable map of the globe. Any visitors can add descriptions of places — which can...
POSTED Wednesday, June 27, 2007
If you're fortunate enough to have some beachfront property, you should go out of your way to make it a unique and badass stretch of sand. You could do that with some lame old tiki torches or something, but...
POSTED Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Now that you're using tons of minutes at home, are you regretting getting rid of that landline? Don't reverse course and start looking for that painted-over wall jack — at least if you have T-Mobile service — since the...
POSTED Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Don't you hate it when you miss refeeding the parking meter by mere minutes only to discover a parking ticket stuck to your windshield? You can't always make it back exactly on time, but does that mean you should get...
POSTED Wednesday, June 27, 2007
You've got to hand it to Japan: they know how to make a unique gadget. You'd never see something like this USB Engine Hub coming out of America. It's just too nonsensical. But hey, things don't need to always...
POSTED Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Ever chopped part of your finger off in a bagel slicer? I'm more of a waffle man myself, but if you've ever sacrificed a chunk of skin to the bagel gods, you know that getting skin grafted on is...
POSTED Tuesday, June 26, 2007
This is about the most extreme sport anyone's ever dreamed up: space diving. A group of space scientists who aren't actually insane aim to give it a try by 2009, jumping from 120,000 feet in a specially designed space...
POSTED Tuesday, June 26, 2007
If you're gonna get a yacht, there's no point in skimping, You might as well blow as much money as possible and get the sweetest vessel in the port. If you have $50 million to spend, it doesn't get...
POSTED Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Look out, compact fluorescent. There's a new kid on the block, and compared to him, you're a dim bulb. Ceravision, a British company, has developed a lamp that uses no filaments or electrodes. Instead, the Continuum 2.4 generates a...
POSTED Tuesday, June 26, 2007
For those wanting to make Flickr or Google image surfing fun and easy, PicLens has released a plug-in for Firefox and Safari that let's you flip through photos full-screen instead of the awful tiny postage stamp size, which makes...
POSTED Tuesday, June 26, 2007
We're always on the look out for unique, conversation-starting furniture here at Sci Fi Tech, which is why we're kind of smitten with this Meltdown Chair. Created by pressing a hot, seat-shaped piece of metal onto a ball of...
POSTED Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Putting a solar panel on a car isn't all that tough, as there's plenty of surface area that the sun hits on a car just waiting for panels. But what about a motorcycle? There's not much in the way...
POSTED Tuesday, June 26, 2007
What kind of shoddy craftsmanship earns a measly one star crash rating? And what would the deathmobile look like hitting a wall at a mere 40 mph? These are questions best answered by the above video, one that shows...
POSTED Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Casting against type, Dell just added a slim laptop to its XPS line of PCs, generally known for its power and heft. The anorexically thin XPS M1330 has some serious cutting-edge equipment onboard, including a 120-GB hard disk, connectivity...
POSTED Tuesday, June 26, 2007
If you'd like to carve some intricate patterns into wood but were born without the crucial skills that would make such an endeavor necessary, put the noose away. Life is still worth living, thanks to Craftsman. They're releasing the...
POSTED Tuesday, June 26, 2007
There's something so satisfying about popping bubblewrap that makes any shipment that arrives with it an excuse for some loud playtime. But what if you have the urge to do some cathartic popping and there's no bubblewrap to be...
POSTED Monday, June 25, 2007
If you're looking for the house of the future you just found it: the Wired magazine LivingHome is not just some design concept, its construction has already begun. There's an old structure on the house's building site that will...
POSTED Monday, June 25, 2007
Are you really paranoid? Do you fear data theft as well as germs? Do you wish there was some way to protect both your precious computer from hackers and your delicate immune system from disease all in one compact...
POSTED Monday, June 25, 2007
High on a hill beside a neighboring city, a tower rises high above the dense woods below, its apex resembling a finely cut diamond. Sunlight reflects off it such that the tower glistens in the sky, twinkling like a...
POSTED Monday, June 25, 2007
You think your ultraportable laptop is small? It's gigantic compared to the new Linux PC created in France. It's crammed into a USB key, measuring a mere 1.40-inches by 3.3-inches. At that size, it's not going to be loading up...
POSTED Monday, June 25, 2007
Look out, Chumby's coming. No, it's not your portly brother-in-law coming to clear out your fridge — Chumby is a portable Internet gadget that first made itself known to the world about a year ago. The handheld device has...
POSTED Monday, June 25, 2007
Tearing down the mountain on your dirt bike gets even better if you have your own personal soundtrack. iHome's iH85 Cycler is a portable mountable iPod speaker for your bike, exercise equipment or even Mommy's stroller. There are times...
POSTED Monday, June 25, 2007
You know how in the classic piece of cinema Independence Day the alien spacecraft have that sweet laser than can blow up and building beneath it? Such as, most famously, the White House? Well, it looks like the government wants...
POSTED Monday, June 25, 2007
Even today, there are millions of people who own and listen to records (you know, LPs? Vinyl?). Did you know that there's music on Ls that was never released on CD? Enter the ELP Declicker, whose sole purpose in...
POSTED Sunday, June 24, 2007
When it comes to high-end gaming PCs, the sky's the limit to how crazy manufacturers will go to create the ultimate fragging machine. A new entry in the field is looking to establish a secure stop at the top...
POSTED Saturday, June 23, 2007
We had some pretty sweet views of the future this week, from the first real-life jetpack being up for sale (with video!) to robots that will soon be taking our jobs. There was also a steam-powered car that could...
POSTED Friday, June 22, 2007
Let's just get technology to take care of every task for us, no matter how easy it already is. Case in point: The Towel-Matic Touchless Paper Towel Dispenser, which springs into action as soon as your hand gets near....
POSTED Friday, June 22, 2007
Internet radio, which for years has played the role of disorganized slacker in the radio family, abruptly hogged the spotlight for a few minutes today when Tivoli unveiled its NetWorks Internet radios. Modeled like most of Tivoli's table radios,...
POSTED Friday, June 22, 2007
You could get speakers that are shaped like traditional speakers. You know, rectangular, perhaps with a wood or black finish. Kind of boring, but they'll go with your furniture. Or, if you want to buck trends and make waves,...
POSTED Friday, June 22, 2007
If you wanted a super-slick, futuristic vehicle that could propel you at speeds of 150MPH, what do you think you'd power it with? Rocket fuel? Regular gas, perhaps? How about steam? Yeah, steam This crazy vehicle is an entry...
POSTED Friday, June 22, 2007
Swimming is great exercise, but it's tough to do laps if you don't have a big, Olympic sized pool. Well, screw laps. You don't need no stinking laps. Just get a Pool Treadmill. It's a big ol' device that...
POSTED Friday, June 22, 2007
As phones move further away from traditional button-pushing and toward touch-screen technology, it's nice to know there are minds out there devoted to preserving the tactile experience those passé dial-pad buttons provide. In the case of the Quartz Telephone,...
POSTED Friday, June 22, 2007
You're doing your bit to save the planet: driving around town with solar panels installed on your hybrid car, and keeping your D-cell batteries out of landfills — because you recharge all of yours via that gassy ball in...
POSTED Friday, June 22, 2007
Attention business owners: Do you find when customers get trapped in the fifth circle of your voicemail hell, they're just not as irate as they used to be? Do you long for a new way to make your company impersonal...
POSTED Friday, June 22, 2007
Creative's answer to the iPod Shuffle, the Zen Stone Plus, has got itself its own set of speakers, and boy are they adorable. Fitting right on top of the tiny player, they turn it into its own little K5-esque...
POSTED Friday, June 22, 2007
In the open plains of the United States of America the wind blows, and it blows a lot. As pioneers crossed and settled the Great American Desert, they kept diaries and journals that tell tales of people going crazy...
POSTED Thursday, June 21, 2007
Picking fruit is backbreaking, time-intensive labor, so why not get the robots to do it? Good idea, says Vision Robotics, a California company that's figuring out the best way to accomplish a variety of farming tasks, starting with the...
POSTED Thursday, June 21, 2007
If you're a VIP traveling in a dangerous place, such as when VP Cheney goes to Iraq to see how great everything is going, you're going to want a car that doesn't explode. That's the idea behind the SERVANT (SEnse...
POSTED Thursday, June 21, 2007
Nothing says "the future" quite like jetpacks. Well, guess what, bub? The future is now. Don't believe me? Just check out that video above! No, that isn't from a movie, it's a real test of Jetpack International's new product....
POSTED Thursday, June 21, 2007
It seems that everyone wants to get into the high-end phone market these days. From Prada to Porche, releasing an overpriced phone with your logo on it seems to be the latest way to make your brand seem "luxurious." The...
POSTED Thursday, June 21, 2007
Photo by Guy Plante/Laval University Pretty soon, to see back to the early days of the universe, we'd only need to look up at the moon. Astrophysicists at Laval University in Quebec have proposed a new way to create...
POSTED Thursday, June 21, 2007
Saving money isn't easy. Every time you put some away, it seems, a new thing that you've just gotta buy comes along and cleans your savings right out. What you need, my friend, are some goals. Goals that you...
POSTED Thursday, June 21, 2007
It's been a while since we heard form our dinosaur-robot pal Pleo, last seeing him back in January at CES. At the time, Pleo manufacturer Ugobe said he'd be available in the summer, which was already a postponement from...
POSTED Thursday, June 21, 2007
I know what you're thinking: I love my Wii, I just wish I could play it in the backseat of a car. I know, I know, I hear that all the time. "Adam, the Wii is so fun, but...
POSTED Thursday, June 21, 2007
My head is spinning with all the new GPS products hitting the market. GPS systems have been very popular all over the world and now they're catching on in the U.S.A. Why? In other countries, (Asia, Europe) the way...
POSTED Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Sometimes you've just got to give props to a product that's designed beautifully. Look at this Plug & Play wireless speaker system, designed by Per Brickstad. In a world where there's every wacky speaker design under the sun out...
POSTED Wednesday, June 20, 2007
What, you didn't get a chance to fly on the Concorde? Well, neither did we, and that's why we're looking forward to the big auction coming up in France on September 28th. There will be thousands of spare parts...
POSTED Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Green, green, green. While hybrid vehicles have captured all the headlines, the most interesting new way to go green is Bluetec, a diesel technology currently available in the new Mercedes-Benz E-320. Unlike other diesel-powered vehicles, the Bluetec engine doesn't...
POSTED Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Technology these days is all about convergence. It's about combining devices that work in harmony with each other, making your life easier in the process. Like a camera in a phone or GPS in a car, combining new technologies makes...
POSTED Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Boiling water is the bane of my existence. I want my tea now, I don't want to wait minute after endless minute for a kettle to whistle. I'm a big and important man with places to go and people to...
POSTED Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Ever have that feeling that you're being watched? Maybe you are, and maybe you can do something about it. Check that — you can definitely do something about it with this 3-GHz wireless camera detector. About the size of...
POSTED Wednesday, June 20, 2007
As more universities make the move from brick and mortar to virtual classrooms, keeping a close eye on those that might take advantage of the situation is a big concern. Troy University in Alabama thinks it has found a...
POSTED Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Apple is working its way up to the iPhone launch by dropping little nuggets of updates on the super-hyped device. First it was a new screen and increased battery life, now it's YouTube functionality. Pretty sweet, right? Well, sort...
POSTED Wednesday, June 20, 2007
It might seem a little silly, seeing that WiMax is on its way, but Ermanno Pietrosemoli in Venezuala got a WiFi signal to transmit a whopping 238 miles. That's a lot farther than from my living room into my...
POSTED Wednesday, June 20, 2007
As if widespread addiction to online communities like MySpace and EverQuest aren't resulting in enough antisocial misfits in the world, soon children will have the chance to become bereft of real-life friends at a much younger age with the help...
POSTED Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Boeing just tested their latest marvel, a robotic helicopter that can fly around all by itself. The test flight was a mere 12 minutes, but in the future ol' helibot will be able to scoot along at 140 knots...
POSTED Tuesday, June 19, 2007
No more facing into the blazing sun this summer with this Lane Hanley Wells Capsule Turntable Room. It's the perfect patio furniture, with its two benches and table constructed of fine teakwood with a stainless steel frame. It has...
POSTED Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Sometimes, you just need a chair. After you've been walking or standing for a long time, your dogs get tired, and they just need a rest. Unfortunately, a chair isn't something that's all that easy to tote around with...
POSTED Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Samsung, ever the reserved company, is expanding their line a teeny bit this week in Korea. They say they'll be unveiling a few new phones. A few? Well, 53 new phones to be exact. Yes, 53 new phones. It's...
POSTED Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Apple TV, while not exactly a runaway hit, is still probably the first truly mainstream media receiver — a component that lets you access all your PC music, photos and video on your home theater equipment. With more people...
POSTED Tuesday, June 19, 2007
The ceiling fan is one of those products that hasn't been updated in a few decades, but that's about to change. The Sycamore Ceiling Fan is a radical departure from previous, boring designs. It's shaped like the seed of...
POSTED Tuesday, June 19, 2007
If you're like me, and you're desperate for anything that'll help you break your snooze-pressing habit in the morning, the Carpet Alarm Clock will pique your interest. Conceived by Sofie Collin & Gustav Lanberg at Lund University in Sweden,...
POSTED Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Image by Matt Krueger Blockbuster just finished a test of both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs in their stores, trying to decide on which format to choose in the asinine horserace that is the current high-def format war. They put...
POSTED Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Space travel for the rest of us just got a bit closer to reality when Astrium showed off plans for its spiffy space plane, a four-passenger jet that can take off from a conventional runway and blast 62 miles...
POSTED Monday, June 18, 2007
There are loads of state laws out there prohibiting cell phone use while driving, at least without a hands-free device, but how many people actually follow them? It's not like cops can really see if you've got a phone...
POSTED Monday, June 18, 2007
In our drive to bring you all of the best hot-dog-related gadgets so you can make an informed choice as to how you'll be cooking hot dogs this summer, we came across this dog-shaped hot dog cooker. It's called the...
POSTED Monday, June 18, 2007
Speaker manufacturers love to put their products in wacky cases to differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace. Sometimes that can result in cool design, but most of the time it results in speakers that are neat to look at...
POSTED Monday, June 18, 2007
Pairing your phone with a Bluetooth headset is all well and good, and manufacturers have done a decent job so far at serving up innovative twists on the wireless headgear — from practical upgrades to stylish designs. But this...
POSTED Monday, June 18, 2007
Getting stuck in an airport while waiting for your next flight is no fun, yet with more airports installing Wi-Fi, that downtime can be put to better use. Now if only you had a better place to set the...
POSTED Monday, June 18, 2007
Want to know where you are at all times? You need a portable GPS. Want to show off your geek chic while doing it? Then you need iriver's NV, a GPS that moonlights as a portable media player, and...
POSTED Monday, June 18, 2007
With the launch a mere 11 days away, iPhone fever is reaching frenzied levels. Adding fuel to the fire is Apple, who just announced that the iPhone will be getting a nice glass screen as opposed to the plastic...
POSTED Monday, June 18, 2007
I always thought drumming just noisy pastime, but I am so wrong. According to Yamaha, it's a way to express yourself while reliving stress. The Yamaha YDD-60 Digital Electronic Drum Machine makes this form of self-expression high-tech, with a...
POSTED Monday, June 18, 2007
The Wi-Fi robots are coming! The Wi-Fi robots are coming! Yes, those wacky cats at DARPA, the U.S. military's technology R&D center, are at it again. This time, though, the idea is a little more plausible than some of...
POSTED Sunday, June 17, 2007
When a guy sells his Rolex, Porsche 911 and a villa in Florida to spend three years sitting on floor of a one-bedroom apartment and using a milk crate as a makeshift desk, he'd better be working on something...
POSTED Saturday, June 16, 2007
Why should you bow down to the man and pay some energy company to charge your cell phone? Hey, there's plenty of energy out there just waiting to be snatched up, don't be a sucker who's too lazy to grab...
POSTED Saturday, June 16, 2007
Smaller and smaller was this week's de facto theme, with more than a few gadgets shrinking down to unprecedented levels. The smallest full-HD (that's 1080p, yo) projector impressed us much, while the camera world saw the remarkable genesis of...
POSTED Friday, June 15, 2007
If you're really into driving games and want the ultimate setup at home, look no further than VRX Triple Screen Limited Edition 001. It includes everything you need to turn your living room into a slick racing simulator, including...
POSTED Friday, June 15, 2007
Our steampunk obsession continues with this cleverly crafted scanner that's been transformed from the clunky form factor companies are spewing out, to a sleek design that looks like a book. Created by "Doc Datamancer", the leather bound scanner looks...
POSTED Friday, June 15, 2007
Last night in New York Archos showed off its Gen 5 line of portable media players. Not all the players were there so some of them had to be talked about behind their backs. These gadgets have options such...
POSTED Friday, June 15, 2007
In a move that's set to surpise, well, pretty much no one, Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer says his company is looking into lowering the price of the much-maligned PS3. With sales lagging behind those of the Wii, Xbox...
POSTED Friday, June 15, 2007
The cameras crammed inside phones are about to get a whole lot smaller. A company called Tessera has developed the first wafer-level camera for phones, and it's a fraction of the size of current cameras. What does this mean...
POSTED Friday, June 15, 2007
Ever wonder what the inside of your esophagus looks like? Yeah, me either, but now that I've got you thinking about it, aren't you at least a little curious? Well, so are doctors, and they have better reasons to...
POSTED Friday, June 15, 2007
Since most paperwork these days involves at least some mucking around on a PC, it makes sense to assume that any shredding you need to do would be going on at the same time. That seems to be the...
POSTED Friday, June 15, 2007
Look, I know that technology is supposed to make our lives easier and everything, but some things are already so easy that we need no assistance. I'm all for having my work day made easier via e-mail and Wi-Fi and...
POSTED Friday, June 15, 2007
Image by Matt Krueger Asked if he had done market research before he invented the Model T, Henry Ford reportedly said, "If I had asked people what they wanted, I would have built a faster horse." Cars, of course, changed...
POSTED Thursday, June 14, 2007
I've cheerfully used DOS and every version of Windows: 3.1, 95, 98, ME (briefly), NT, 2000, XP, and (briefly and with mounting horror) Vista. Yesterday I took a walk on the wild side and tried Safari for Windows XP....
POSTED Thursday, June 14, 2007
Kodak claims to have developed a new camera sensor that will make the flash a thing of the past. By hopping up the sensor's sensitivity to light, cameras will be able to pick up much more detail in low-light...
POSTED Thursday, June 14, 2007
Segway, your days are numbered. Well, they're more numbered now than they were before, which isn't saying a lot. Whatever, just try to stay with me here. The Easy-Glider is a sweet new form of human transport, pulling you...
POSTED Thursday, June 14, 2007
Sure, you've seen home theaters in boxes before. They're the cheaper, lower-quality solutions for people who just want everything together in one place so they don't need to put much effort into getting their home theater setups together. You,...
POSTED Thursday, June 14, 2007
It must be electric-toothbrush week in the gadget world, since we just saw Sonicare's all-new radioactive FlexCare brush, and now Oral-B is upgrading its Triumph model. The new Oral-B brush includes a "SmartGuide" — an LCD screen that you...
POSTED Thursday, June 14, 2007
Today Fossil, in conjunction with Sony Ericsson, announced three new Bluetooth watches. The product line is called the MBW-150, with three watches that let you control your phone via Bluetooth. The three "Editions" are the Music, the Executive and...
POSTED Thursday, June 14, 2007
The Compenion is a sleek concept laptop designed by Felix Schmidberger. It certainly looks like the kind of portable PC we might be carrying around in 2015, made more futuristic by its OLED touchscreen, which serves as both monitor...
POSTED Thursday, June 14, 2007
Samsung is dropping a new 70-inch, full-HD LCD TV on Korea, and it's got a new feature called Local Dimming Technology. What is that, you ask? Well, it's an LED-backlit TV, much like the new MacBook Pros, and in...
POSTED Thursday, June 14, 2007
OK, what the hell? Seriously. Why are you doing this to me, Thanko? Sure, your butt cooler was weird, but it was harmless. It didn't keep me up at night. But this? This is too much. It's a USB-powered...
POSTED Thursday, June 14, 2007
There's a hell of a lot to be said for ease of use. The iPod, e-mail, and Facebook all owe a good chunk of their immense popularity to simple and intuitive interfaces. But Albert Einstein himself imposed a limit...
POSTED Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Norwegian projector manufacturers Projection Design have just unveiled what they claim is the world's smallest full-HD projector, the Action m25. Measuring a mere 3.7" (h) x 9.2" (d) x 10.8" (w), it's seriously tiny, yet it still manages to...
POSTED Wednesday, June 13, 2007
You like to keep a tidy home, right? Of course you do. But you never think to sweep up because a broom is never in plain sight. Man, life is so hard. If only someone would hide a broom...
POSTED Wednesday, June 13, 2007
The Transporter from Logitech is an elegant digital audio streamer. This contraption does and will stream butt-kicking music throughout your house. There's no hard drive on board, instead receiving music streams via W-Fi from your PC, some other device,...
POSTED Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Bluetooth, best know for draining your cell phone's battery when paired with a wireless earpiece, is slowly getting built into more and more audio gear. Although Bluetooth headphones may still need some work, the wireless tech may do better...
POSTED Wednesday, June 13, 2007
If you want to see what the weather is outside, you could always open a window, but that's kind of boring. I suggest investing in a fancy gadget to do that work for you, a fancy gadget such as this...
POSTED Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Is Fido putting on a few pounds? Is his belly rubbing the ground when he walks? According to the Toda animal hospital of Japan, 30% of domestic animals are overweight, but now, thanks to Kao Soap Co., Ltd., you...
POSTED Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Working in a big office building forces you to submit to the climate-controlling desires of people who don't have to actually sit in your cubicle right under the AC vent. It can be a frustrating experience, especially on those...
POSTED Wednesday, June 13, 2007
As effective as Philips' Sonicare electric toothbrushes may be, one thing I've always felt they lacked was radiation. Well, my dream has come true now that Philips has developed the FlexCare toothbrush, which includes a UV sanitizer built into...
POSTED Wednesday, June 13, 2007
With summer comes the zany summer outdoor activities, and nothing says fun in the sun like a gigantic inflatable water park complete with built-in aqua turrets. Why would you ever want to have to drive to some urinie-stanked water...
POSTED Wednesday, June 13, 2007
The latest addition to the growing lineup of womb-replicating comfort items for babies is Hammacher Schlemmer's Authentic Prenatal Sound Teddy Bear. For just $50, stressed-out young parents can hope for some elusive shuteye by placing this furry friend in...
POSTED Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Summer is here, and you know what that means: your can getting all sweaty when you sit at your desk all day. Don't worry, Thanko, everyone's favorite Japanese insanity factory, has got your (lower, lower) back covered. The USB...
POSTED Tuesday, June 12, 2007
The UK has unveiled their model zero-emission home, a 2-bedroom abode that releases nothing harmful into the atmosphere. It does this by having enough insulation to keep in 60% more heat than the average home as well as by...
POSTED Tuesday, June 12, 2007
This Boynq Blox desktop computer speaker array's unusual design is as functional as it is eye-catching. The two cubes, trimmed in Colorado Red, are cantilevered on their inverted T-shaped stand as if they were some architectural marvel designed by...
POSTED Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Always wanted to get tested for some genetic disease, but too lazy to go to a lab? Now you can test your genes right in your own home with the Spartan DX personal DNA analyzer. The desktop machine can...
POSTED Tuesday, June 12, 2007
This slick tablet design by Intel is dubbed Montevallo, and what makes it unique is how it turns from a mere tablet into both a laptop and TV with just a couple of innovative docks. Stick it on top...
POSTED Tuesday, June 12, 2007
The Gravity Bookshelf is a piece of furniture with a design that you'll love or hate, but either way you can't deny its inherent practicality. By bending the plywood shelves so they appear to be coming out of the...
POSTED Tuesday, June 12, 2007
YouTube is reportedly testing new software that can automatically detect copyrighted material uploaded to its servers. When detected, YouTube will then contact the copyright owner and give them the option of removing it or leaving it up as part of...
POSTED Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Apple just had its big fancy keynote at their Worldwide Developers Conference, where they went over their upcoming OS, Leopard, in detail. There wasn't a ton that we didn't already know about, but some highlights include a better document...
POSTED Tuesday, June 12, 2007
A few of the heavyweight electronics manufacturers flirted with wireless speaker systems a while back — most notably Panasonic, Sony and Samsung. A few have even stayed in the game, though the systems didn't generate much enthusiasm from the...
POSTED Monday, June 11, 2007
Attention workaholics and stressmeisters of every stripe: AlphaSphere is a piece of relaxation furniture that might just be able to calm you down, if only for a few minutes. It's a concept by award-winning designer named Sha, who picked...
POSTED Monday, June 11, 2007
Wireless charging, a way of juicing up your gadgets and devices that involves no plugs or cords, is one of those things that people breathlessly talk about when discussing the future of technology. It's seen as a far-off, pie-in-the-sky...
POSTED Monday, June 11, 2007
If you're still hiding your cigarette smoking habit from mom and dad every time you go home for the holidays, you might need to work at being a bit more covert so you don't get the third degree when mom...
POSTED Monday, June 11, 2007
You might think that a gadget called the "Pen Phone" would be both a pen and a phone. In the case of the Haier P7, you'd be wrong. It appears that the common writing instrument was just an inspiration for...
POSTED Monday, June 11, 2007
An umbrella might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of connected devices, but I guess that's why you aren't a futurist or product developer, eh? This Internet Umbrella projects images from the web...
POSTED Monday, June 11, 2007
Who says speakers have to be boring? Make them float, make them look like something from outer space, or you could stick them in the belly of a Tiki god. Designer Marka27 is finally releasing his mini gods line...
POSTED Monday, June 11, 2007
Sitting at a desk all day makes you restless. I mean, man ain't meant to be chained to a desk! He yearns to be free, to roam the rolling hills breathing in fresh country air! Unfortunately, none of that...
POSTED Monday, June 11, 2007
Meet Bear. He's a new robot designed for military use. Since sending medics out in the line of fire to rescue wounded soldiers oftentimes results in two downed soldiers rather than just one, Bear is designed to go out...
POSTED Monday, June 11, 2007
A few weeks ago everyone was wondering whether Helio's Ocean would be an iPhone killer. This week, reporters are asking the same question about the HTC Touch, which was released in Europe on June 5. The verdict? As with...
POSTED Sunday, June 10, 2007
The worst aspect of having a Blackberry is using the small keyboard when you have big, awkward thumbs. Anycom's Universal stowaway keyboard solves that problem for all but the smallest fingers. I'm a Blackberry user and when I travel...
POSTED Saturday, June 9, 2007
We saw a bunch of robots this week that were really diverse in their usefulness. There was the beer-pouring robot, which, while very useful for one task, really couldn't do much else. Then there's the B9 robot from Lost...
POSTED Friday, June 8, 2007
LEDs are changing the world, and this Koncept Z-Bar lamp makes it immediately obvious how useful they can be. The $130 lamp packs 66 tiny LEDs into a neat little row, and that rank of electronic marvels can crank...
POSTED Friday, June 8, 2007
Want to teach your kids about money? Is the lesson you want to teach them one of fear and intimidation? Well then, you should enlist the help of this Face Bank, which is sure to give your kids money-related...
POSTED Friday, June 8, 2007
There's not much a mousepad needs to do to be considered successful. Basically, it needs to have a flat surface that a mouse can run over. That's basically it. Anything above and beyond that is just overboard. And overboard...
POSTED Friday, June 8, 2007
We're big fans of the steampunk craze, where normal everyday gadgets are retrofitted to look like something from long ago, so when we found out Jake von Slatt created a steampunk monitor to go along with the other steampunk...
POSTED Friday, June 8, 2007
What is it about wood that makes whatever its encasing seem just a bit classier? Perhaps its that plastic-covered electronics are just so ubiquitous, any update or difference seems like a pretty big deal. In any case, if you're...
POSTED Friday, June 8, 2007
Akira is one of those classic films for geeks that's become an icon. Its bleak vision of the Tokyo of the near future, it's crazy story line, its disturbing visuals, all made it one of the most popular anime...
POSTED Friday, June 8, 2007
Red states and blue states. With the presidential primary season in full pander mode, red states and blue states are currently a big political story. But in the world of technology, red states and blue states refer to the...
POSTED Thursday, June 7, 2007
Do you feel groggy, in need of some pep? Do you also have either enough self-esteem to call yourself a nerd or enough self-hatred to call yourself a nerd? Well, there's a new energy drink with your name on it....
POSTED Thursday, June 7, 2007
NASA isn't screwing around with its next Mars mission. They're sending a new rover, the Mars Science Laoratory (MSL), and it's a big one. Weighing nearly 1,800 pounds and nearly the size of a small car, it packs so...
POSTED Thursday, June 7, 2007
If you grew up in the '60s, Robot B9 from the series Lost in Space might have provided your first impression of exactly how a robot is supposed to look. Now you can have a licensed replica of that...
POSTED Thursday, June 7, 2007
Porsche, maker of fast cars and designer of, well, pretty much anything, also wants to make emergency radios for the rich and famous. The P'9111 radio tunes into AM/FM or shortwave broadcasts and includes an LED flashlight. Its rechargeable...
POSTED Thursday, June 7, 2007
Look, you're not a neat and tidy person. Organization isn't your strong suit, and that's OK. You are who you are, and you shouldn't feel like you need to change. You should just look for products that embrace your...
POSTED Thursday, June 7, 2007
While robots certainly come in many shapes and sizes, they tend to be, by and large, masculine. Seeing the lack of representation of the fairer sex, Tomotaka Takahashi took on the task of creating a robot that didn't just...
POSTED Thursday, June 7, 2007
Too lazy to pour your own beers? Well then, moneybags, why don't you spend a few hundred bucks on a robot with a very limited set of functions. This Asahi Bobocco Beerbot will store, bust out, and pour a...
POSTED Thursday, June 7, 2007
Which would you rather have, six iPod nanos, or one really well-protected iPod nano? It's not an easy decision, I know. Take some time to think about it. Because if you do want your nano to be really cosseted,...
POSTED Thursday, June 7, 2007
If you're in the market for a new ultraportable laptop, Sony's new Vaio TZ11 might be just what you're looking for. The wee lappie features an 11.1-inch screen and weighs a mere 2.6 pounds. Inside, however, it doesn't skimp,...
POSTED Thursday, June 7, 2007
The iPhone still hasn't hit stores, but there are plenty of crummy-looking imitations out there already. The HTC Touch isn't one of them. Sure, it's a touchscreen phone that the company managed to release (in Europe only) before the iPhone...
POSTED Wednesday, June 6, 2007
OK, here's a public service announcement. If you're a socially awkward person who would like to make new friends, that's great. In order to do so, you need to avoid certain things. Things like the Shade Blade. The Shade...
POSTED Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Remind yourself of those lost couple of days you spent aboard an alien spacecraft with this Alien Abduction Lamp, a design concept by Lasse Klein. If it's ever actually brought to market, it'll be made of metal and glass,...
POSTED Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Forget about all those whacked-out computers covered in diamonds, flames, and car manufacturer logos that tell the world how much money you have to spend. Instead, impress the design-school girl sitting next to you by whipping out a wooden...
POSTED Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Do you carry around stuff that's way too valuable to trust to a standard luggage lock? Like piles of gold, nuclear access codes, or compromising photos of members of the Bush administration? If so, you'll need an intense lock....
POSTED Wednesday, June 6, 2007
The problem with putting stuff in space is that it's just so damn expensive; otherwise everybody would be doing it (apart from just governments and eccentric billionaires). Sending a mere pound of material into space these days costs over...
POSTED Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Mosquitoes are the worst. The scourge of the summer, the flying pests can ruin an otherwise perfectly lovely barbecue or picnic with their biting and swarming and general nastiness. You can always wear mosquito repellent, but it's gross and stinky....
POSTED Wednesday, June 6, 2007
The iPod nano is great and all, but it's so small and portable — what if you want to carry your music with you in a form that won't fit easily in your pocket? And that scroll wheel, it's...
POSTED Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Sometimes I worry that I take life too seriously. Should I lighten up? Perhaps there's some way I could make my working environment more lighthearted and fun. Oh, what's that, Japan? You have something to solve my problem of...
POSTED Wednesday, June 6, 2007
You can be the hero of the neighborhood with this Meraki Solar Powered Outdoor Wi-Fi Access Kit, spreading a broadband wireless signal up to 700 feet in all directions. Simply mount this $99 weatherproof unit to a high outside...
POSTED Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Sure, you've got a laptop, but don't you sometimes feel like it's a bit too big and usable? Perhaps it could be more gimmicky? At least it could prove to everyone that you have way too much time on...
POSTED Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Cultural icon or not, boomboxes were annoying when their owners used them to subject the rest of us to their questionable musical tastes back in the '80s, and it's highly unlikely they'll be any less irritating today. Still, that...
POSTED Tuesday, June 5, 2007
If you have trouble out on the links with a persistent slice but are too cheap to hire a pro to show you how to fix your swing, perhaps you should at least invest in a club that can point...
POSTED Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Think Swatches are minimalist? Check out the M60M wristwatch, designed by Roger Kellenberger. A watch can't get much more austere than not having a face at all. With no hands, the M60M tells time via a colored marker within...
POSTED Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Since it isn't unknown for some people to sue restaurants when they spill hot coffee on themselves, and it isn't unknown for some juries to award them insane amounts of money, some ass-covering inventors got themselves working on a...
POSTED Tuesday, June 5, 2007
The guys at Porche must be getting bored with making sports cars, as they're diversifying and trying their hand at cell-phone design now. The Porsche Design Mobile Phone P'9521 is a fancy-looking clamshell phone, although there's not much info...
POSTED Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Apple's MacBook Pros got an upgrade today, getting a bump to Intel's Santa Rosa chipset. The faster Core 2 Duo processors are coupled with LED-backlit LCD screens, more memory, 802.11n Wi-Fi cards, and better Nvidia 8600M GT graphics. They...
POSTED Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Today, TomTom announced the new GO 720 GPS. It features a map-improvement technology that lets you change and improve the GPS maps. Crazy! Let's say there is construction slated to start next Monday on your normal route to work....
POSTED Tuesday, June 5, 2007
At this point, you've got to think that Japan is just trying to creep us out with their robots. Don't believe me? Take a look at this, the CB2. It's designed to be an infant robot, squirming around, looking around...
POSTED Tuesday, June 5, 2007
What do you think — meat grows on trees? Maybe not, but how about in Petri dishes? Scientists in the Netherlands and the United States are working (separately) to create edible meat in the lab from animal stem cells. The...
POSTED Monday, June 4, 2007
If you spent most of your time in school pretending your various pens and pencils were actually spacecraft on their way to Jupiter, have we got a trio of writing utensils for you! These ballpoint pens are available in...
POSTED Monday, June 4, 2007
Samsung has announced a new cameraphone, the SGH-E590. Featuring a 3-megapixel camera, it even comes with a strange rubberized beanbag that acts as a super-portable mini-tripod for it. Well, that's a first. It'll allow you to perch your phone...
POSTED Monday, June 4, 2007
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags are being embedded in everything from the family pet to surgical sponges and staples to U.S. passports. While "they" claim RFID data can't be stolen by a passing identity thief, experiments have been conducted that...
POSTED Monday, June 4, 2007
The iPhone is coming! The iPhone is coming! Yes, the phone that everyone's been awaiting anxiously since January is imminent, and the release date was just made official. Mark your calendars: June 29th is the day the phone hits....
POSTED Monday, June 4, 2007
Sometimes you just need a knife and fork. Like that time you found a perfectly good pot roast in the trash outside your office, or that time your dishwasher exploded. What did you do in those situations? Your options were...
POSTED Monday, June 4, 2007
Do you like wine? Do you also like… danger? Well, I have the wine opener for you. It's the Air Pressure Wine Opener, and rather than using a corkscrew, it uses high pressure to pop the cork right out of...
POSTED Monday, June 4, 2007
Yes, we know that you're a black belt in karate, ex-Green Beret, with no concern about personal safety. You park your Hummer in the toughest neighborhoods without a second thought about someone entering your car with malicious intent. But...
POSTED Monday, June 4, 2007
Gotta love concept phones: Even though the Domino phone doesn't really bring some eye-poppingly cool new feature like a flexible screen or "4G" technology to the table, we still like it. About as slim and sexy as a bar...
POSTED Sunday, June 3, 2007
Money doesn't grow on trees, but this house does. It's not really built, it's grown over five years, with its supporting trees trained to grow in the right direction with scaffolding holding it in place. Its creators, architects Mitchell...
POSTED Saturday, June 2, 2007
We caught up with more than out share of cool vehicle technology this week. If you have allergies, you may be very interested in Ford's plan for an allergy-free car. And if you have kids who drive (or are...
POSTED Friday, June 1, 2007
The iPod lovers down in the iLounge yesterday released the third edition of their iPod book, with 116 pages of Apple-accessory goodness. Most notable are the multiple pages of iPhone accessories. They're the first of their kind, and they...
POSTED Friday, June 1, 2007
Load up PawSense software on your PC, and you can't blame the cat for your missing files and computer crashes any more. The software is always monitoring whatever is typed on your keyboard, sensing when sudden gibberish takes over....
POSTED Friday, June 1, 2007
New parents are going to love the Soban digital photo album as the new method of slow torture for friends and family. This super small photo viewer connects to a computer via USB and has the ability to store...
POSTED Friday, June 1, 2007
When disaster hits, keeping lines of communication open is essential. With that in mind, Paul Gierow developed the GATR-Com: a beach ball-shaped balloon that's actually a floating satellite dish. Tested during in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the GATR-Com...
POSTED Friday, June 1, 2007
The umbrella: one of the most useful inventions ever, but also one of the most notoriously inconvenient when you don't need it. What other object that you carry around demands its own bucket when you put it down? The...
POSTED Friday, June 1, 2007
For whatever reason, we all seem to be obsessed with time; whether a timepiece on the wrist, or alarm clock by the side of the bed, timepieces ensure we measure our lives one second at a time. But who...
POSTED Friday, June 1, 2007
Either you're the kind person who is constantly annoyed by others at movie theaters, or you're the kind who is constantly annoying others. If you fall into the former category, you have reason to rejoice today. Regal Cinemas has announced...
POSTED Friday, June 1, 2007