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DVICE ARCHIVE FOR October 2008
It's been all treats this week at DVICE — well, with maybe one trick — and we went a little costume crazy. Check out 10 of the coolest iPhone costumes you're likely to see, as well as 10 robot...
POSTED Friday, October 31, 2008
Capping off our day of Halloween costume roundups is everyone's favorite droid, R2-D2. Artoo joins the iPhone, the folks at BioWare, and fellow robots on this haunted day at DVICE. Click through for 10 Halloween outings featuring the beeping...
POSTED Friday, October 31, 2008
Hot diggity. It looks like every costume at BioWare's office this year was a hit. The crew nailed the scout, demo man, spy, pyro and engineer from Team Fortress 2's pantheon, a game by fellow developer Valve. The good...
POSTED Friday, October 31, 2008
Who says cooks can't be geeks, too? There's apparently one geek with cooking expertise, and his/her design of this Digital Thermometer Pan proves it. As every ace chef knows, getting precise control of cooking temperature is the key to...
POSTED Friday, October 31, 2008
If you have a Wii, you know it's fun. But you probably aren't using it to its fullest potential. In order to do that, you need to hack it. Scary, I know! But it's not that tough a process, and...
POSTED Friday, October 31, 2008
In the snowball fighting arms race, this is getting close to a nuclear weapon. The Snowball Blaster combines slingshot technology with a trio of special forming chambers, and the result is a snowball weapon that might upset the balance...
POSTED Friday, October 31, 2008
Cold weather walkers and runners, rejoice! Behind-the-head ear muff headphones have been improved, made more colorful, and modernized in the form of Stereo Toasters, keeping those ears warm while blasting your tunes from your music player. We're into coldy-walks,...
POSTED Friday, October 31, 2008
With all the serious news that's surrounded the iPhone over the past year, it's good to remind ourselves that it's actually a damn fun gadget. Halloween represents an opportunity to celebrate the iPhone in a unique way: in costume...
POSTED Friday, October 31, 2008
Nothing quite says "rich children" like an indoor, child-sized train set that can move monied young lads around to their heart's content. Regular kids have to settle for tiny, toy train sets that they move around with their hands, but...
POSTED Friday, October 31, 2008
If you're trying to get yourself to exercise more, you need the proper motivation. Sure, losing weight and living a healthier lifestyle are OK motivations I guess, but I prefer a more tangible incentive: beer. Frosty, cold beer. That's why...
POSTED Friday, October 31, 2008
Computer programmers at UC San Diego have whipped up software that poses a serious threat. Called "Sneakey," it can use an image of a key from almost any angle to create an exact replica. It doesn't have to be...
POSTED Friday, October 31, 2008
So you want to be a robot for Halloween? If you want to make yourself look truly scary, you have your work cut out for you. To construct an outfit that makes you appear to be fully mechanized, you...
POSTED Friday, October 31, 2008
Have you ever noticed something online that you couldn't explain and was more than a little creepy? You're not alone. Whether it's sites that seem to looking back at you or Facebook profiles that update themselves, the Internet has...
POSTED Friday, October 31, 2008
One of the chief criticisms of the iPhone rollout in Japan was the device's lack of 1-seg television service that comes standard on many of Japan's newest cell phones. Today television addicts in Japan can safely purchase the iPhone now...
POSTED Friday, October 31, 2008
At my poker game last week, I was showing off the T-Mobile G1 Android phone. While fondling it, one of my opponent friends asked me, "Are all cellphones going to be touchscreen?" Without hesitating (or thinking) I said, "Yes,"...
POSTED Thursday, October 30, 2008
It's easy to scare kids, but when you're older it's hard to think of a Halloween gag that could actually give you chills. Well, it was. This pumpkin is making the scariest face imaginable this Halloween: one that displays...
POSTED Thursday, October 30, 2008
Nothing assures you of a healthy, well-balanced kid like toting them around in a gigantic bomb stroller when they're a baby. I mean, just look at this thing. What baby would not get a great outlook on life from rolling...
POSTED Thursday, October 30, 2008
If you're really into Halloween gimmicks and wasting money, the Illusionator VideoArt was designed with you in mind. It's a painting of a ship on canvas, but as you watch it the ship is suddenly struck by lightning, sinks, and...
POSTED Thursday, October 30, 2008
Meet Recon Scout, a tough little throwable surveillance robot on its way to a prison near you. The barbell-sized bot, battle tested in Iraq, will soon be ready to spy on any prisoner uprisings that may happen in California...
POSTED Thursday, October 30, 2008
In a rush to build the maximum number of gigantic and magnificent skyscrapers before the oil runs out, Dubai is at it again. Just look at this 2150-foot monster, the Anara Tower, scheduled to be built next year. The...
POSTED Thursday, October 30, 2008
Becoming a sushi chef takes years of training under a sushi master in Japan. You need a delicate touch and you need to know how to handle every type of fish. It's not like flipping burgers, it's an art form....
POSTED Thursday, October 30, 2008
Netflix has a dance card that's almost full. The day after we find out the video rental-by-mail company's Watch Instantly service will be showing up on the Xbox 360 in HD trim, we hear it's also going to make...
POSTED Thursday, October 30, 2008
The Phoenix lander's mission on Mars is coming to a close. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is going to shut down the robotic explorer's survival heaters and essentially let the Phoenix "freeze to death." It's a sad end for the...
POSTED Thursday, October 30, 2008
In this day and age when dogs and cats regularly eat and dress better than many humans, yet another new device has been designed to serve our furry masters. Freelance industrial designer Andrew Au offers the Maitre D'og concept device...
POSTED Thursday, October 30, 2008
The "Second China Project" is a federally-funded initiative by a team at the University of Florida to create a virtual training ground for American diplomats who will work in China. It'll be a virtual city in Linden Lab's Second...
POSTED Wednesday, October 29, 2008
How do you like to relax? If you like to relax by curling up on the couch, wrapped in a blanket wearing sweatpants, you're clearly poor and stupid. That's not how to relax! You need to relax by strapping yourself...
POSTED Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The bug zapper isn't what you'd call a high brow gadget. No, it's entertainment for the easily entertained, a bug murdering device that emits a horrible glow and makes a somewhat-satisfying "zzzzap" sound every time an unfortunate insect is...
POSTED Wednesday, October 29, 2008
If the Ford Motor Company still exists by 2010, its Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids will roll out with some pretty snazzy instrument panels. In the middle, you see the conventional speedometer, but on either side, there are...
POSTED Wednesday, October 29, 2008
If the above screenshot evokes any nostalgia in you, then you simply must click here to see the video posted by Prince of Persia developer Jordan Mechner, whose been blogging with a 23 year delay. The 1985 entry for...
POSTED Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Medical technology is advancing by leaps and bounds, bringing with it futuristic devices that were but dreams until only recently. One such advancement is the fully artificial heart, a fake ticker that can be placed inside the body to replace...
POSTED Wednesday, October 29, 2008
What time is it? Let me ask you: why do you want to know? Is there something you should be doing right now? You really don't want to know some arbitrary number that corresponds to this moment — you...
POSTED Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Here's a video of an ES&S voting machine in West Virginia that's not exactly reassuring. Notice how the guy says it's "out of calibration," inserts a dongle, and then declares, "this machine is now calibrated." He then shows us...
POSTED Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Video rental-by-mail company Netflix decided to do the only thing needed to make its "watch instantly" service perfect: stream the video in HD. First up is the Xbox 360, where the Netflix HD streaming service will begin in three...
POSTED Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The last time airships symbolized chic travel was about 10 seconds before the Hindenburg blew up in 1937. But Airship Ventures' new airship cruises in the San Francisco Bay Area want to bring retro-cool to new heights — around...
POSTED Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Curiously dubbed "YO," this attractive iPod and MP3 stereo speaker dock is a concept by American-born designer Victor Vetterlein. The speakers are detachable and wireless (as well as waterproof), and charge at the dock just like an MP3 player...
POSTED Wednesday, October 29, 2008
HauntedProps.com's Vortex Tunnel is designed to jazz up a hallway in a haunted house, but really you could just use it as a wacky walkway in any abode. If you don't mind shelling out quite a bit, that is....
POSTED Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The newspaper business may be going down the tubes but if those ever-emergent thin displays get to market soon enough there might still be hope for those technology-challenged old school publishers. The latest entry in the thin display race comes...
POSTED Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Computing in the cloud: it rocks. Instead of working with programs and documents on your PC or Mac, you move the whole experience (along with the app and all your data) online. That means there's no more syncing, no...
POSTED Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Even the brightest cell phone screens can be tough to see in bright sunlight, getting washed out and impossible to read. You end up having to shade the screen with your hand, which is annoying and makes it tough to...
POSTED Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Amazon just rolled out Windowshop, giving us a peek at the web shopping environment of the future. It looks simply gorgeous, similar to the iTunes Cover Flow where album covers float by in graceful 3D. Amazon populates its Windowshop...
POSTED Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Department stores don't want you bringing your wet umbrella inside, accidentally getting their fancy merchandise all wet. That's why, at least in Japan, many department stores have machines set up at the entrances to either put a plastic bag...
POSTED Tuesday, October 28, 2008
How can a T-shirt link to a website? Simple: you put a logo on the shirt that a cellphone camera can recognize. Then, when someone snaps a picture of the logo, the phone automatically calls up the site that...
POSTED Tuesday, October 28, 2008
If you're a 3D modeler, a video game developer, or just a nerd who likes to scan 3D objects into your computer for whatever reason, you probably would like a 3D scanner. The problem? They're expensive, and you are not...
POSTED Tuesday, October 28, 2008
We're at the dawn of a new computing age, where data resides on a server somewhere and it's accessed from your Web browser — they're calling it "cloud computing." You know this concept is starting to catch on when giant...
POSTED Tuesday, October 28, 2008
We all went nuts over that hardcore computer submerged in mineral oil last week, but recoiled at its $11K price tag. Now you can get your own favorite components together and submerge them in an attractive aquarium-like enclosure from...
POSTED Tuesday, October 28, 2008
As the icecaps melt, polar bears are having problems. They've now got to swim further than they ever have to hunt for food, which can tire out the suckers long before they find an ice sheet to rest on....
POSTED Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Adding to our dreams of having a home full of retro-sci-fi view screens, Sanyo has introduced a sleek new viewer called the ALBO. The 7-inch LCD frame is primarily designed to display photos, but it also boasts the ability to...
POSTED Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Did somebody say "Interplanetary Internet?" I'm sold already. Internet co-creator and Google vice president Vint Cerf is working with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to create an Internet for space, a standardized and upgradable form of communication for astronauts and...
POSTED Monday, October 27, 2008
We took a look at the Quake Catcher Network back in its infancy and now it's making a real impact. QCN takes advantage of the accelerometers most modern laptops have built-in for protection, and puts them to use measuring...
POSTED Monday, October 27, 2008
Looking for a watch that's a bit more unique than your old digital Casio? Well, the Harvest Moonphase certainly fits the bill: it's unlike any watch we've ever seen. It's got a really fancy design, with a webbed face hiding...
POSTED Monday, October 27, 2008
Regular emergency exit signs might work and make sense during an annoying fire drill, but what about when there's, you know, a real fire? When you've got to crawl out of a smoke-filled hallway, it might be a bit more...
POSTED Monday, October 27, 2008
It takes a lot for us to get worked up about a mere cell phone, but this Casio Exilim W63CA does the trick. You might recognize that Exilim moniker from Casio's camera line; it translates well to cell phonage,...
POSTED Monday, October 27, 2008
This, my friends, is what you call nerd catnip: a homemade LEGO contraption that, when controlled by an iPhone, pours a beer automatically. Yes, it contains so many elements of geek culture that it's almost a parody of itself:...
POSTED Monday, October 27, 2008
The visionaries at Armadillo Aerospace have some big ideas. The most outrageous is this "Fishbowl Spaceship," giving two passengers a spectacular 360-degree view of suborbital space. The company, founded by iD software (Doom, Quake) chief John Carmack, plans to...
POSTED Monday, October 27, 2008
We're crazy about the all-electric Tesla Roadster, and now here's a first look at Tesla's second act, the four-door, 5-passenger Tesla Model S. Its specs are similar to the Roadster, where its range is about the same at 240...
POSTED Monday, October 27, 2008
Hawaii resident Won Park's origami first got our attention with his One Dollar Camera. Then we started browsing through his work online, and we discovered a treasure trove of pictures of his origami projects, including paper versions of the...
POSTED Monday, October 27, 2008
Lever Voting Machines (or LVMs), which are still in use only in New York, are about as old as voting technology gets here in the United States. (Learn all about them — and every other voting machine used in...
POSTED Monday, October 27, 2008
British Airways Executive Club members are now able to try their own hand at flying a plane on one of the air carrier's $14 million CAE 7000 Series full-flight simulators. It offers wannabe pilots a fleet of Boeing aircraft...
POSTED Monday, October 27, 2008
Japan's rapidly declining population due to low birth rates and a graying majority has the country in a panic, but Toyota plans to save the day with a new category of server robots. Unveiled last week the new robot is...
POSTED Monday, October 27, 2008
With Lewis Hamilton hoping to capture the Formula One driver's championship next weekend in a McLaren-Mercedes, the German car maker has given us a glimpse of how they see the future of racing. Formula Zero racing will combine elements...
POSTED Sunday, October 26, 2008
One of the problems with dieting, is juggling all of those fat, calorie, and portion size numbers. Sure, you could walk around with a calculator strapped to your wrist, but you would still have to measure everything and then...
POSTED Saturday, October 25, 2008
Everything you need to know about the equipment behind the upcoming election is right here at DVICE. Our interactive election map, pictured above, is a quick and easy way to find out what America is and will be voting...
POSTED Friday, October 24, 2008
In the run-up to the election, DVICE has been investigating the technology behind voting machines, and some of the weaknesses and problems with it. But I'm sure many of you still feel that there are bound to be small...
POSTED Friday, October 24, 2008
The Lancer (modeled above by Epic Games' Gears of War 2 design lead Cliff "Don't Call Me Cliffy B" Bleszinski) is a Cog soldier's most trusted weapon when fighting off swarms of the brutal Locust troopers. Now it can...
POSTED Friday, October 24, 2008
Cameras are getting so small, they could be hidden just about anywhere. Case in point: this new spy camera that's nestled snugly inside a trade show badge. The $174 tinycam shoots video at a low-rez 352x288, and snags stills...
POSTED Friday, October 24, 2008
When a gun or Taser is overkill and a pocket knife won't get the job done, here's a self-defense device that can put a stinging stream of hot pepper balls right where it hurts. FlashLauncher looks like a big...
POSTED Friday, October 24, 2008
When you send a robot to Mars, you've got to make sure it can handle the terrain without getting itself stuck. That requires a pretty robust vehicle. But you also want to be able to collect samples, and those...
POSTED Friday, October 24, 2008
See how nicely multitouch works with an election map, demonstrated by the goofy Fred Armisen on last night's Thursday edition of Saturday Night Live. While you'd never see the touchscreen interface used quite like this on a newscast, the...
POSTED Friday, October 24, 2008
This is the most polled presidential election ever. What's the pulse of the nation? Before you cast your ballot on one of a variety of voting machines (find out which ones will be in your state on our Map...
POSTED Friday, October 24, 2008
Our sister site SCI FI Wire has some exclusive concept art from the new SCI FI Channel show Stargate Universe (the same SCI FI Channel that, um, happens to own DVICE). This "Ancient Console" concept really stands out, with...
POSTED Friday, October 24, 2008
Most concept cars are relatively unrealistic. Heck, they're just concepts, they don't have to be realistic. But this Audi Calamaro concept really takes things to the next level. For one, it's a flying car. No wheels here. Yeah, you...
POSTED Friday, October 24, 2008
Dyson makes a mighty fine vacuum, but an even finer defender of humanity. The amateur (but by no means unskilled) artists contributing to Worth1000.com's "Rejected Transformers 6" contest have cobbled together Transformer-like creations out of unlikely bits, including shopping...
POSTED Friday, October 24, 2008
Sure your iPhone can wow friends and family with its variety of programs and futuristic touchscreen technology, but it still fails when it comes to one basic function—writing long documents. The new Pomera DM10 excels at this function, and only...
POSTED Friday, October 24, 2008
You've probably noticed the term "clean coal" bandied about a lot lately. It's a great-sounding phrase, evoking images of plentiful, cheap energy generated by squeaky-clean power plants emitting a thin wisp of smoke that smells like a cross between...
POSTED Thursday, October 23, 2008
Japanese weight loss site Metaboinfo.com has an interesting way to help you stay on target — a virtual wife that'll nag you to death. The free service of the site offers you one of four wives to choose from...
POSTED Thursday, October 23, 2008
The Oracle Watch is a very fancy, expensive-looking digital watch with a gimmick: it mixes telling time with the Chinese philosophy of I Ching. I'm not quite sure how it does this, but it involves inserting a hexagram generator into...
POSTED Thursday, October 23, 2008
As the weather is getting colder, margaritas probably aren't the first thing that come to mind when you think of a beverage you'd like to consume. But think about those warm summer months and how delicious a frozen adult...
POSTED Thursday, October 23, 2008
When video rental-by-mail mofo Netflix started streaming thousands of its videos online, there were hints of other hardware involvement beyond the dedicated box from Roku. LG was the next to jump in with its BD300 Netflix-streaming Blu-ray player, and...
POSTED Thursday, October 23, 2008
How desperate are you to fly into space? Copenhagen Suborbitals has a crazy plan to cram you into the nosecone of this minuscule missile, blasting you into space and returning you safely to Earth, all by your lonesome self....
POSTED Thursday, October 23, 2008
Get out of the way, everybody, because here comes Bloodhound, the world's fastest car. The British-designed Bloodhound SSC (supersonic car) was unveiled in London today, with plans for a record-breaking supersonic run in 2011. The 42-foot land rocket will...
POSTED Thursday, October 23, 2008
When you set designers loose with a theme like "the world of motorsport in the year 2025" you're bound to get some absolutely insane designs. Looking at the sleek, versatile Honda Great Racer, that's exactly what came out of...
POSTED Thursday, October 23, 2008
The grand prize winners of the recent Seoul Design Competition, Kim Woo-sik and Jun Yoo-ho of Korea's Konkuk University, inadvertently brought firefighting into the realm of sci-fi. Their creation is called the Life Pebble, a device that straps to...
POSTED Thursday, October 23, 2008
We all know about halogen light bulbs and how much more efficient they are than regular light bulbs, but they aren't the end-all be-all of lighting solutions. In fact, there's a new bulb out there that make halogens look downright...
POSTED Wednesday, October 22, 2008
For it's latest trick, Microsoft's engineers have given the multi-touch Surface PC table a bartender's sixth sense. If you set your drink down on top of it, the Surface will be able to detect just how full it is....
POSTED Wednesday, October 22, 2008
You change your clothes every day to suit your mood, so why not your glasses? Sure, glasses are pretty expensive, so you're not going to own a bunch of different pairs, but that's not what I'm advocating. Why not have...
POSTED Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Electronic voting machines have gained a major foothold in the U.S. this election season (see exactly where on our exclusive map), but Internet voting has not. Starting this Friday, a pilot program will allow about 700 U.S. citizens to...
POSTED Wednesday, October 22, 2008
I love it when companies that cater to rich audiophiles make iPod-compatible devices. I mean, we're talking about customers willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars for speakers, and you're going to tell them the best way to...
POSTED Wednesday, October 22, 2008
There's power in them thar waves! That's why Portugal built Agucadoura, the world's first wave farm off its coast, consisting of three Wave Energy Converters generating a total of 2.25MW. The elongated metal contraptions bob up and down with...
POSTED Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Motorola is going upscale. Check out Aura, a $2000 jewel of a cell phone aimed at the luxury market. It's the first to have a circular display. Notice how that 1.55-inch sapphire crystal-protected screen is positioned as the hub...
POSTED Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Okay folks, this is about as extravagant as it gets. Behold 1010, a limited edition 18k gold pen from Swiss baublemaker Caran d'Ache that's built to "celebrate the special genius of watchmakers." Called 1010 because of the balanced look...
POSTED Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Sony released a new revision of the PSP last week, which features "a new, more vibrant LCD screen". Yeah, sure it does. So when it showed up today, I figured I'd have a look and bring you a tale...
POSTED Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Among the myriad concept phones shown off recently by AU KDDI at CEATEC, one particularly beautiful model was the Voyager. Displayed on a moon-like surface at the event in homage to real life astronauts, the phone unfolds from the back...
POSTED Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Election Day is exactly two weeks away, and reports of voter machine problems are already beginning to surface. Will this upcoming election be a disaster, tripped up by faulty technology, or will things go smoothly, unhampered by pre-election hype...
POSTED Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The Self-Balancing Unicycle (or SBU) by Focus Designs incorporates the same kind of technology that keeps the goofy Segway upright. It uses accelerometers and gyroscopes that allow the SBU to know which way is up and which way you're leaning....
POSTED Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Elephants looking to make a break for it from Kenyan wildlife conservatories will actually just be giving themselves up. That's because whenever the animals try to leave an area cordoned off by a virtual fence, they'll send a text...
POSTED Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Who says typewriters are obsolete gadgets? Sure, you probably don't type on a typewriter anymore, instead preferring the modern conveniences of a computer, but that doesn't mean that a typewriter can't be repurposed into some completely awesome new device....
POSTED Tuesday, October 21, 2008
If you were a kid who had an interest in science, the chances are good that you had a microscope that you used to look at stuff like dirt and fingernail clippings up close. And it was awesome! But, sadly,...
POSTED Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Even though consumer fireworks are illegal in many states, home fireworks are getting bigger and better anyway. But who wants to blow off a hand while igniting all those high explosives? Now your rockets can make a hellacious racket...
POSTED Tuesday, October 21, 2008
November 4th might turn out to be a very long day. That's when polls open across the U.S., but the early voting has already begun. First we heard about electronic voting machines switching votes in West Virginia, now there's...
POSTED Tuesday, October 21, 2008
There's nothing quite like a beautiful sunrise or sunset. It completely changes the way the world looks, if but for a few minutes, and is one of those things that just makes you take pause and appreciate everything around you....
POSTED Tuesday, October 21, 2008
It might take a few years (or decades) for this iBangle design concept to end up on your wrist, but for the time being, we can stare in astonishment at its ambitious design. You see that blue inner band?...
POSTED Tuesday, October 21, 2008
This Halloween you'll probably carve up a pumpkin with a goofy face. So did Alan Penner from Goleta, California, but his is geeky enough to join us here at the DVICE Tower with its instant-messenger-style smiley charm. Penner's other...
POSTED Tuesday, October 21, 2008
India is getting ready to launch it's Chandrayaan-1 lunar spacecraft on Wednesday (guarded by that menacing fellow above), which will be the third lunar orbiter to pay a visit to Earth's natural satellite after China and Japan. The two-year-long,...
POSTED Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Just in time for Halloween, Japan's Solid Alliance has unveiled the USB Key Skull Ring. Available in black, silver, pink, gold, purple and blue, the tiny storage device is perfect for the geek who also fancies himself as a dark...
POSTED Tuesday, October 21, 2008
On Election Day, millions of people in the U.S. will go to the polls to cast ballots. That's a lot of votes to count, and to make sure we get results in a reasonable amount of time, almost all...
POSTED Monday, October 20, 2008
Too lazy to make yourself a cup of coffee? Way too lazy to hoof it to your local Starbucks to buy a cup of coffee? Man, you're lazy. Luckily for you, we live in an increasingly robot-serviced culture. Just take...
POSTED Monday, October 20, 2008
If your poor, mistreated plant had legs, it would walk itself in front of the sun and out from the dank corner that it sits, slowly drying up and dying. Unfortunately for your plant, evolution hasn't decided that legs are...
POSTED Monday, October 20, 2008
Looking to set up a bar in your home? Also looking to make the interior of your house look more like a spaceship? Well, who better to turn to than famed architect Zaha Hadid, who designed this insanely futuristic bar...
POSTED Monday, October 20, 2008
The squabbling about electronic voting machines has already begun with early voters in West Virginia. While the county clerk of Jackson County says 400 voters cast their electronic ballots without a hitch, a total of six voters say the...
POSTED Monday, October 20, 2008
We're still in awe of that fantastic Battlestar Galactica PC we showed you last week, but take a look at this: Unlike that custom-built Battlestar, this one's a commercially-available PC. It looks like it has glowing nuclear fuel rods...
POSTED Monday, October 20, 2008
Going to vote in this year's election? If you're like most of the country, your vote will never be read by a human. According to Election Data Services, a bipartisan election research firm, for 99.8% of the U.S. population,...
POSTED Monday, October 20, 2008
The threat of a serious robot uprising is ever-present. Well, in books and movies and all of that, anyway. But one British company will help you not only detect and monitor robotic threats, but destroy them, too. Hmm. Called...
POSTED Monday, October 20, 2008
Moving one step towards a greener future, literally, Japanese telecom giant NTT Docomo has unveiled a prototype shoe that generates enough energy to perpetually power a portable music player. The shoe has a small generator attached to water filled soles...
POSTED Monday, October 20, 2008
If you yearn for the days before PlayStation and Xbox, when you had to haul you butt down to the local bar and slip in a couple of quarters to get your video game fix, then the Optime Strategies...
POSTED Sunday, October 19, 2008
If you forked over $50,000 for a fancy Swiss watch, it would be pretty annoying to see your neighbor Vinny flashing around a knock off version that he bought at the flea market for $50. Here in New York...
POSTED Saturday, October 18, 2008
This week we opened with the 10 biggest rumors circulating 'round the Internets about the new MacBooks. And what did we find out? Apple's new notebooks will feature a two-tone scheme not unlike the first generation iPhones, use a...
POSTED Friday, October 17, 2008
The conceptual City Rack by designers Ilya Tkach and Nikita Gutsalenko has a lock built-in so your can secure your bike — rather than having to chain it up to whatever fence or post you find. It looks like...
POSTED Friday, October 17, 2008
An iPhone that can plug into a special laptop is pretty sweet, but how about one that could walk around on its own? (Thankfully it can't chase you around — yet.) Kazu Terasaki, a Silicon Valley-base software engineer, was...
POSTED Friday, October 17, 2008
Jeez, look how small this video camera is. Inside a package smaller than a ping pong ball, there's a complete video recording system. It's not exactly HDTV — at 320x240 it's not winning any high-rez prizes, but stick a...
POSTED Friday, October 17, 2008
With Halloween coming up two weeks from today, I thought you might want a little bit of inspiration if you haven't yet settled on the perfect costume. This is a homemade spacesuit, made by a Flickr user for a short...
POSTED Friday, October 17, 2008
Watching your weight? Now you can keep an eye on that magic number without even putting your glasses on with this Easy-to-Read Digital Scale. Its 4-inch high-contrast LCD readout is so big, if you can't see it, you need...
POSTED Friday, October 17, 2008
Toyota has been coy about the appearance and features of its upcoming 2010 Prius hybrid vehicle, but somehow these pics leaked out. The photos show a Prius that's about the same shape as its predecessor, with wedgier-looking headlights and...
POSTED Friday, October 17, 2008
If you've got a long commute on a train, you've probably nodded off a few times. And if you've fallen asleep on a train, you've probably missed your stop, which makes you late for work. Not good! That's why Pyocotan...
POSTED Friday, October 17, 2008
Do you enjoy camping? Do you also enjoy preparing for the apocalypse? Well, you might as well get a camper that's designed to handle both of your passions. The Action Mobil Globecruiser Expedition Vehicle is one tough camper, one that...
POSTED Friday, October 17, 2008
So you're in a room at 2:30 AM with 15 computers. What do you do? Well, these guys developed a screensaver that could be synchronized across every monitor and simulate a Formula 1 race car riding around the ring...
POSTED Friday, October 17, 2008
Bearing a funny Japanese name and a UK origin the Minoru is designed to deliver the Internet experience in 3D. The webcam, cleverly molded to look like a cutesy alien robot, uses two lenses to form one image that appears...
POSTED Friday, October 17, 2008
Next year could be a very bad time for television. And I'm not talking about the people who make Heroes or CSI. No, I'm referring to the manufacturers. No doubt the various TV makers have been eagerly awaiting the...
POSTED Thursday, October 16, 2008
If you look at the front of the Brionvega RR226, pictured above, you can make out what looks like a robotic face with the dials and displays and speaker layout. That's how both the RR226 and its '65 predecessor,...
POSTED Thursday, October 16, 2008
Leave it to an awesome country such as Japan to celebrate robots, and Robo Japan 2008 is the place to do it. That's where this robotic spider chair — or is it more like a horse? — was spotted,...
POSTED Thursday, October 16, 2008
Sometimes, it's just easier to communicate using hand gestures. I mean, what good are words when you can just give someone a hearty thumbs up to show your approval? And why waste your breath with someone you aren't pleased with...
POSTED Thursday, October 16, 2008
Looking for thrills? I've never seen anything quite like the Buzzball, which looks to be both completely terrifying and amazingly exciting at the same time. Essentially, it's a big ball with a seat inside. You strap yourself to the seat...
POSTED Thursday, October 16, 2008
The programmable thermostat just got smarter. The Ecobee Smart Thermostat lets you apply heat and cool right when you need it, and even lets you fiddle with its settings from afar. It links up with your home Wi-Fi network,...
POSTED Thursday, October 16, 2008
Plug one of these 7-inch Mimo displays into a USB port, and you have instant convenience. The Mimo UM-710 shows up in your Display Settings control panel just like any other monitor, and you can drag any window or...
POSTED Thursday, October 16, 2008
Here's how you know you've done pretty well for yourself in life: you can afford to hire famed industrial designer Ross Lovegrove to design you a futuristic capsule bed. That you then place on top of your private mountain in...
POSTED Thursday, October 16, 2008
Is it us, or isn't it a bit ironic that the same week Sony's newest Playstation Portable (PSP-3000) becomes available, a fantastic design for a future model bursts on the scene? While the PSP-3000 has scant few innovations, this...
POSTED Thursday, October 16, 2008
Esther Dyson, an investor interested in spaceflight who has more gusto than the rest of us, actually has a chance to visit the International Space Station. Similarly, the mastermind behind the Ultima series is there right now — Richard...
POSTED Thursday, October 16, 2008
Despite the vote of no confidence displayed yesterday by Apple's new Blu-ray-less laptops, the format continues to gain steam. Sharp has just unveiled the AQUOS DX Series billed as the world's first LCD television with built-in Blu-ray disc recorders. The...
POSTED Thursday, October 16, 2008
Here's an unorthodox way to help slow down the effects of cancer: a nice tall glass of shark's blood. Sound gross? It is! But it also might just be effective. The reason that shark's blood might be the next hot...
POSTED Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Singapore's upcoming EDITT Tower, or the "Ecological Design In The Tropics" Tower, is green inside and out. Designed by the architects at TR Hamzah & Yeang and sponsored by the National University of Singapore, the 26-story structure features a...
POSTED Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The Playstation 3 makes it pretty easy to swap out the hard drive it comes with with a larger one. You simply slide out the old hard drive, slide in the new one, format it, and you're good to go....
POSTED Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Now that Sirius and XM have merged, there's a new crop of satellite radios emerging. Here's one from Pioneer, the XMp3 that can act like a TiVo, snagging recordings of five of your favorite stations at the same time....
POSTED Wednesday, October 15, 2008
It's starting to get cold outside, time to start thinking about warmth, heating, and radiators. So you need to either hide that ugly radiator or somehow fit it into your chic décor. Add this LEGO-style number, called Brick, to...
POSTED Wednesday, October 15, 2008
It's been 100 years since Ford's first Model T hit the road, and to commemorate the occasion, Ford commissioned a design contest to create Model T 2.0. Of the two winners of $25,000 in scholarship money, the Model T2...
POSTED Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Toilets use a lot of water, you know. And it seems kind of strange to have a sink right next to your toilet, pouring all that water down the drain, when your toilet would work just as well with your...
POSTED Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Carnegie Mellon University loves robots and, more than that, a challenge: How do you get at possible minerals around the Moon's crater-studded south pole where there's no light for energy, or to see what you're doing? The CMU team's...
POSTED Wednesday, October 15, 2008
It wouldn't be a convention without people in costumes, most of which are some variation of cleavage and bare midriffs. Here's a video of some of the contestants for the BlizzCon 2008 Costume Contest, and below is the winner,...
POSTED Wednesday, October 15, 2008
A gas-powered bike? We've got those. They're called motorcycles. Start slapping combustion engines onto your average pedal bicycle and you're taking one step backward for nature, and one giant backflip for mankind. It can reportedly hit speeds of up...
POSTED Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Japan has upped the ante in the CCTV department with the debut of the Help Vending Machine from Coca Cola recently unveiled in Aichi prefecture. The fully beverage stocked vending machine is also equipped with a siren, a video camera...
POSTED Wednesday, October 15, 2008
When you get a call while you're driving, what do you do? Do you pick it up, or let it go to your voicemail? Of course there's always a temptation to grab it, especially if you think it may...
POSTED Tuesday, October 14, 2008
The Xbox 360 Arcade system is the lowest-end version of Microsoft's console, and because of that it comes without a few essential elements, such as a hard drive. And now, with a new version of the Xbox 360 firmware coming...
POSTED Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Even tough guys get nicks and cuts sometimes, and those nicks and cuts need to be bandaged up, no matter how rugged and manly you are. That doesn't mean, however, that you need to mar your body with some sissy...
POSTED Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Video game developer Richard "Lord British" Garriott, best known for the classic Ultima series and his love of all things spacey and futuristic, is indulging in that love in a major way. He's shelled out around $30 million for...
POSTED Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Steve Jobs introduced a new line of MacBooks today, saying that the $1299 flagship of the lower-priced laptop line is the same as the MacBook Pro, but smaller (well, almost, Steve — except for those faster processors and graphics...
POSTED Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Apple introduced a new line of Macbook Pro laptops today. Taking a cue from the MacBook Air, at .95 inches, the new 5.5-lb MacBook Pro is much thinner than its predecessors, and as expected, it's carved out of a...
POSTED Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Hey, all you non-musicians! The video game Rock Band has just been launched into the next level of poseur-dom. Pretend like a pro with this smoke and light effects kit from Performance Designed Products. It'll belch up enough smoke...
POSTED Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Taken aback by giant robots, we like our mechanized androids tiny. Just when we thought there was no robot overlord small enough for our taste, along comes Tomy with Robo-Q, the thumb-sized microbot that's a mere 1.3 inches tall....
POSTED Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Sure, you could hang your HDTV on your wall or use the stand that it came with to prop it up, but what fun is that? You're an artist. You may be an artist with a huge, kickass TV that...
POSTED Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Motorola's presents The Next Big Thing in Cellphones with its new Krave ZN4 touchscreen phone, available starting today from Verizon for $150 (with a two-year deal plus rebate, of course). Krave's claim to fame: a clear flip front cover...
POSTED Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Straight out of Weta Workshop, the New Zealand prop-and-costumer Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson depends on, comes a steampunk rifle so well crafted and awesome that we can't help but wonder if a steampunk movie isn't in...
POSTED Tuesday, October 14, 2008
The military wants to develop better headgear that will help us better understand head wounds and traumatic brain injury (or TBI), a condition that's effecting more and more of America's troops deployed overseas. It should come as no surprise that...
POSTED Tuesday, October 14, 2008
The robot masters at KIST (Korea Institute of Science and Technology) have updated their Mahru II robot with the new Mahru Humanoid Robot that is now a dead ringer for Sony's tiny dancing QRIO robot. Scheduled to make its first...
POSTED Monday, October 13, 2008
It's time for the Mac notebooks to go through their annual renewal, and we're hearing rumors right and left. Tomorrow at 1pm EDT is when the big rollout begins, and there's a plethora of guesswork about what we'll be...
POSTED Monday, October 13, 2008
You go through your day half-heartedly doing your work, trudging through what you've gotta do to get paid, waiting for some pleasant distraction to pull you away from your spreadsheet data entry. That distraction is called email, and as soon...
POSTED Monday, October 13, 2008
The iPhone, when you think about it, is really more of a handheld computer than a phone. Sure, it can make phone calls, but any phone can do that. What makes the iPhone unique is its web-surfing abilities and...
POSTED Monday, October 13, 2008
Now even the lowly adjustable wrench needs a battery. Black & Decker may be onto something here, though, creating an 8-inch Automatic Adjustable Wrench that quickly clamps down on any size nut or bolt up to 1.25-inches when you...
POSTED Monday, October 13, 2008
Take a glimpse into the future: This is the World Trade Center's transportation hub, revealed a few days ago after numerous redesigns. Created by one of our favorite architects, Santiago Calatrava, the soaring organic architecture features a glass and...
POSTED Monday, October 13, 2008
Today we celebrate Columbus Day, commemorating the trans-Atlantic voyage of three ships that represented the pinnacle of technology circa 1492. On board were scores of courageous sailors, many of whom believed they might end up fighting for their lives...
POSTED Monday, October 13, 2008
If you've got a sweet tooth, I've got some news for you that will probably make you pretty excited: there's a new contraption available that'll let you turn Jolly Ranchers into cotton candy. Yes, you can make cotton candy out...
POSTED Monday, October 13, 2008
Here's a PC case mod that's worthy of the name Battlestar Galactica. This liquid-cooled work of art has a numerous video screens, a side window hidden by a servo-controlled door, and a slot-loading DVD drive that lets you see...
POSTED Monday, October 13, 2008
The Robo Japan 2008 conference kicked off this weekend where Bandai unveiled an update to its NetTansor robot with the new NetTansorWeb robot. The robot can be controlled remotely via WiFi and uses a set of sensors to avoid obstacles...
POSTED Monday, October 13, 2008
Audiophiles will tell you that if a CD has even the slightest wobble as it spins in your player, it can introduce jitter in the digital stream that negatively affects the sound. In the exotic audio world, wherever there's...
POSTED Sunday, October 12, 2008
While it might look like some new model for advanced DJ scratching, this ultra high-end turntable rig is kind of like the vinyl equivalent of having a Lamborghini,a Ferrari,a Porsche, and a Hummer parked in your garage. Truth is,...
POSTED Sunday, October 12, 2008
We know that some audiophiles are willing to pay way too much for the AC cords that power up their gear, but all of that super pure power might go to waste if the final inch went through a...
POSTED Saturday, October 11, 2008
This week brought some new ways to watch media across the board. For television junkies, a breakthrough has holographic TVs seemingly closer than ever before, and YouTube addicts can now watch their favorite videos in simulated HD. If you've...
POSTED Friday, October 10, 2008
Alabama-based designer Peter Azzouni has a futuristic truck concept called the Atropos that will certainly make a few long-haul truckers feel better: the front seat spreads out flat like a bed. It's got plenty of room to unfurl thanks...
POSTED Friday, October 10, 2008
That battery you're throwing away may not have enough energy left to power your gadgetry, but it does have enough juice to light up a low-energy LED. That's the driving idea behind South Korean designer Sung Woo Park's conceptual...
POSTED Friday, October 10, 2008
This might look like a regular old fleece sweater, but it's got a bit more technology on board than your average warmth-providing garment. It actually has two LED screens, one on each sleeve, and built in thermometers to tell the...
POSTED Friday, October 10, 2008
You remember the floppy disk, I'm sure. A once-useful storage device with a drive built into every computer, it could hold just over 1MB of data, which is basically nothing nowadays. That's why you never see them anymore. But come...
POSTED Friday, October 10, 2008
It had to happen. Now there's an electric Porsche, made by German Porsche modifier/carmaker RUF Automobile GmbH. The company dropped a 204hp electric motor into a Porsche 911 chassis, powered it with 96 lithium ion batteries from California battery...
POSTED Friday, October 10, 2008
You sit at your desk all day, typing away for the man without any encouragement at all. Wouldn't it be nice if you had something that made you want to type faster other than your general fear of getting laid...
POSTED Friday, October 10, 2008
Either Aussie singer/guitarist Josh Pyke shrunk to a tenth his size, or somebody built a scaled-up replica of his Maton acoustic guitar. Indie rocker Pyke takes a ride on the seaworthy mega-guitar in an upcoming music video of his...
POSTED Friday, October 10, 2008
YouTube not high-def enough for you? Just synchronize four YouTube videos for quadruple the resolution! If you don't mind those YouTube logos and the transport controls splitting the frame in half, it's not too bad. To play it, go...
POSTED Friday, October 10, 2008
You may remember the Life Bank, a quirky Japanese toy that displayed a digital family getting wealthier the more money you put away. Well, here's the Life Clock, or Jinsei Tokei, and it's little avatar will mimic your life...
POSTED Friday, October 10, 2008
The world of anime is once again invading the real world with the debut of the FST (flexible sensor tube). The FST is a controller suit developed by Kyokko Inc. designed to control the Wakamaru robot. Using the FST, a...
POSTED Friday, October 10, 2008
A company recently sent me a DVD called Living Earth. It's a disc full of high-resolution pictures of spectacular nature scenes that you play as a slideshow. The idea is that you'd have it on while throwing a party,...
POSTED Thursday, October 9, 2008
Industrial designers Christopher Bauder and Christian Perstl have designed a kinetic façade called FLARE that dynamically controls how much light a building lets in — and how much heat. Architects frequently design their buildings around these principles, but suffer...
POSTED Thursday, October 9, 2008
When a company buys ad space on a billboard, it wants as many people to see its product as possible. A good billboard for that? The 'Podium' ad wall in Dubai: a 33-story-high LED display that can be seen...
POSTED Thursday, October 9, 2008
Speaking of not being able to use a computer mouse because you don't have working arms, how much would it suck to not have any arms? That's what happened to Karl Merk, a German farmer who had a really unfortunate...
POSTED Thursday, October 9, 2008
Using a mouse to navigate a computer is certainly convenient, at least it is if you have working arms and hands. For the disabled, however, it's much harder. That's why researchers from the University of Washington have developed a mouse...
POSTED Thursday, October 9, 2008
Now you can network your water faucets together. The Elettronico Faucet by Carlo Frattini lets you control the water's temperature and flow rate on its touchscreen, which can also control other faucets you hook up together in a special...
POSTED Thursday, October 9, 2008
Flying cars are all hat, no cattle. But wait. What's this? A flying car that will actually exist, roll on real streets and highways and then take off into the wild blue? You betcha. Pony up your $194,000, and...
POSTED Thursday, October 9, 2008
Why are we spending all this money on telescopes on the surface of the earth when they have to be able to see up through our atmosphere to get to the good stuff: space? What we need to be doing...
POSTED Thursday, October 9, 2008
There are rumblings of cheaper Mac notebooks on the horizon, with one Apple fan site asserting that we might see an unprecedented $800 MacBook rolling out at an Apple event next Tuesday. That's $300 cheaper than the least-expensive MacBook...
POSTED Thursday, October 9, 2008
Now you can pop your collar and survive all the bullets you're likely to take for being so ridiculous fashionable. Straight out of London's famous Harrod's department store is Colombian Miguel Caballero's polo shirt made from bulletproof fabric, and its...
POSTED Thursday, October 9, 2008
More proof that the obsession in America with all things Japan has infiltrated the design field comes in the form of this new concept vehicle by industrial designer Seyhan Sitti. The three-wheeled Dune Buggy is called the Kawaii ("cute" in...
POSTED Thursday, October 9, 2008
Would you want to live in a house with no privacy whatsoever? Because this stack of window-walled blocks is exactly that. Its designers over at Julien De Smedt Architects worked with a guiding concept that would give George Orwell...
POSTED Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Here's a DIY project for you this Halloween — a pumpkin with glowing LED eyes that will light up automatically when it gets dark. The idea of rigging some circuit board inside of a pumpkin may be a little...
POSTED Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Snooping just took a giant leap with the R/C ATV-360, whose Borg-like LCD display and audio-monitoring earpiece let spies see and hear everything from its remote vantage point. The 10-inch vehicle's tank tracks let it traverse rough terrain, spinning...
POSTED Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Shacknews has a look at four Wii games your grandparents won't be interested in playing. Based on demos at a recent Nintendo media event, the writer was unimpressed with the ports of Dead Rising ("controls with all the intuitiveness of...
POSTED Wednesday, October 8, 2008
When those Russians have a bathroom design contest, they hold nothing back. This toilet, affectionately named "Mrs. Hudson" for some reason, was one of the big winners. This must be what Sarah Palin was talking about when she said...
POSTED Wednesday, October 8, 2008
For those of us hooked on weather stations and