Cool toys and Gadgets

Section: Peripherals, Storage

With the advances in technology meaning things are smaller and more valuable people are always looking for new ways to stop things from getting lost, and stop them from getting nicked.  Memory sticks certainly fall into this category: it is now far too easy to lose your new tiny memory stick, and if you are that sort of slimy person, it is also very easy to take them off your desk and copy all your valuable documents.  Bring in the CurrentKey: the height of USB stick disguise and poor puns.

The main idea behind these USB sticks is “acts” like coins, sitting nice and safe in the coin section of your wallet out of harms way and unlikely to get lost (as you always know where it is).  But if you were to twist it the snazzy rotation system brings out a USB stick capable of holding up to 8GB of work, music or whatever else you keep on your memory stick.

Originally a European company LaCie are now one of the world market leaders for computer peripherals who specialize in practical solutions for both the general public and professionals.  This is obviously aimed more at the public market (no where near geeky enough for a computer technician) along with many of their brightly colored not-easily-lost USB “solutions”.

This really is a neat product: designed to look like Euro coins (as the image suggests) they will fit in very well in any purse with the bronze (4GB) and silver (8GB) versions. T he only problem?  If you are in a rush you may end up giving someone one of these instead of a coin, which will be a fairly expensive mistake (admittedly not one your are likely to make in America) but the nice little USB logo and number indicating capacity is a bit of a give-away.

It is also not the sort of thing that a passing opportunist is going to take; I know that USB thefts are not very common, but I have heard of them and if you store valuable data (such as credit card details) there is definitely a motive for people to steal them.  However I doubt that anyone will steal a small foreign coin that is on your desk, so perhaps this is an advantage.

The only problem is the price, in a day where you can get 4Gb for around $8 the $20 and $30 price tags seem a little high, but I suppose that is the price for style and practicality, something that this little number has in buckets.  The pun (CurrentKey - Currency) isn’t that bad either so overall this is a solid piece of consumer orientated design, something we all want to see.

Source [UberGizmo]

Full Story » | Written by Christian Milsom for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Email / IM, Smartphones, Mobile, Originals, Columns, Who's On Crack, Features

This is where we call out the tech moves that seem odd, out of touch or just plain straight up smokin’ crack.  This week sees posturing, positioning and flat out insanity. 

Here’s what I am calling out this week as whack:

• AT&T wants Symbian on every phone?
• Sprint points out Instincts weaknesses for us
• Verizon gets all paranoid about Omnia’s pricing
• Nokia’s nutty new entry

AT&T’s one OS world

Sure, supporting all these OSes isn’t easy.  Your tech’s knowledge has to be limited by all the myriad of OSes they’re supposed to know. News came today that you blue-sky-guy says Symbian would be good choice for a company-wide one OS to offer and support.  But consolidating down to one OS?  And you think Symbian is that OS?  Really?

Whispering sweet nothings into Symbian’s ear isn’t going to get you anywhere.  Stop worrying about a Nokia take over of the US market, that train isn’t leaving the station.  A much better idea, at least in my mind, is to convince Apple to license its software onto other devices.  Hitch your train to that engine, crackheads. 

Sprint says, “Hey, did you know the instinct couldn’t support your work calendar?“

Sometimes, all that is needed is an email to customers.  Something quiet in the night that says, “hey boys, go here and download this and you get Outlook Calendar support, sweet huh?“.  But no, you had to go and issue a press release telling everyone our out-of-the-box expectation of calendar syncing was off.  Thanks for pointing this out, as I’ve not made fun of the Instinct in a while.  I feel better now.  iPhone killer? LOL.

Get the Verizon Omnia price ticker gadget on your desktop?

I watch the stock market.  I watch the price of light sweet crude.  And now, I am watching the daily price of Verizon’s Samsung Omnia.  This thing is more volatile than a barrel full of gasoline next to a Sony laptop.

Jump beside me in the way back machine, we travel back to 2008, a cloudy November day, the 25th if you are taking notes.  The shiny Omnia is introduced at $249.99 after a lame $70 mail in rebate.  Now, as we are chased by the bizarre inhabitants of November 25,  we land on Dec 2nd of the same year.  Here we find the same Omnia, now priced at $199 after the same lame mail in rebate.  Nervous much?

Did you wake up, presumably strung out, in December and say to yourself, “Holy cow!  Have you heard about this economy stuff?  And this Apple phone, who knew about that?  Quick, slash the price before these phones end up at Odd Lot!“  Lay off the dope.

Nokia disappointments with the N97

I believe we all keep expecting someone else to “get it” with phone software and it clouds are judgment and/or enjoyment of an otherwise snazzy phone.  The new Nokia entry is beautiful, well-built with lovely screen resolution.  But.  And then things start flowing.  The biggest “but” is Nokia refuses to update its OS for the touchscreen times. 

HTC gets it.  Their Windows Mobile skins walk the line of needed Active Sync support mated with something actually functional and close to fun to use.  But not Nokia.  And the N97 is a bit brickish.  Keep at though, your getting warmer.  Appletell’s Josh Holat, while espousing his love for Apple’s device sums up his look at the N97 with:

“Although companies like RIM and Nokia can try to beat out Apple, I don’t see it happening anytime soon, that’s for sure.“

That’s my list for this week.  Let me know in the comments what crazy things I missed and stay off the crack kids.

Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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You’ve heard the rave reviews about the Logitech Harmony line’s computer-programmable remote controls. Some consumers, however, are understandably turned off by using a computer interface to do anything—especially if it requires downloading software. On a bad day, it can be a real pain. Thankfully, Universal Remote Control offers a remote with similar functionality to Logitech’s models with their new URC Digital R50. The major difference is that all the codes you need to ensure compatibility with the various components in your system are already programmed into the device, obviating the need for computer as middleman. In a word: Woo-hoo!

Read | Permalink | User Reviews | Linking Blogs

The Sanyo R227 Internet Radio was announced in October for release in Canada, but we just learned the device will be available for US customers very soon. This is great news for those looking for more ways to access their favorite Internet radio stations while not hunkered over their computers.

The R227 connects to the Internet by means of a Wi-Fi module or an Ethernet connection. It can also access wireless networks that are secure by entering in a passkey. You can search for radio stations online from all over the world to pinpoint the tunes you want to hear.

Since there are no fees, this device makes for a comparable alternative to satellite radio stations. It supports all sorts of formats including AIFF, MP3, AAC, WMA and WAV. Plus, with 8 pre-set stations, you can keep track of your favorites. And for those times a Wi-Fi signal or an Internet connection in general is not available, the device includes a digital FM stereo receiver and you can connect an MP3 player to it for output over a home theater system. Other features include the ability to share music over a network, an alarm clock, a web interface, and two speakers with 2W RMS. You will be able to get your hands on Sanyo R227 Internet Radio in January for $169.99.

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Relevant Entries on SlashGear

• Pure Evoke Flow puts Internet radio stations in your pocket
• Sanyo M1 in the wild
• PSP getting Internet radio from SHOUTcast
• iLuv iNT170 Internet Radio Alarm Clock
• Roberts Radio launches WiFi Internet Radio/Media Player

Section: Gadgets / Other, GPS/Navigation

This is the best story of the holiday season.  One outfit, Lightning GPS and their distributor, Brickhouse Security, are offering churches free GPS tracking devices for use during the holiday season when they have valuable nativity scenes placed outside their buildings.  For some, the temptation to boost (steal) these figures is too great and many congregations are left to mourn the financial and emotional loss.

But not now.  Lightning GPS will guide police, much like the North Star guided wise men across a desert (sorry, couldn’t resist) to their figures.  While the tech isn’t new - we’ve seen commercial devices track down motorcycles and boats - giving them away as a way to help churches and garner some free publicity is new.

A GPS Tracking Device can track objects virtually anywhere in the world and is small enough to covertly fit inside most everyday objects. If that object is moved or tampered with, a silent alarm is triggered, alerting the owner that the object is on-the-move.  At the same time, an individual or police can go online and instantly track the item on a map anywhere it goes.

Putting the churches on the offensive is an interesting move.  I imagine there is very little street cred in responding to the, “What are you in for?“ question in jail with, “I stole baby Jesus.“  You’ve been warned.

Press release: [pr web] company site: [Lightening GPS]

Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

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Meet Dan! He's our associate publisher at MAKE and Magazine.org just did an interview with him -

Dan Woods is Associate Publisher for O'Reilly Media's Maker Media Division, which includes MAKE: Magazine, makezine.com,book publishing unit MAKE: Books, e-tail site MakerShed.com, and Maker Faire, a live event targeting armchair MacGyvers and Ben Franklins. Before taking on that post almost five years ago, Woods served with the Sebastopol, California-based O’Reilly Media’s book unit for nearly two years.

Dan is one of those behind the scenes folks you'd don't on the site that often who works hard everyday making what we do at MAKE possible.

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"Drawing Machine" is a robotic device that uses the physicality of sound vibrations to influence a pen rotating on a robotic arm. Check out the video to see this thing in action.

via AITDW

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Photograph by Jeff Lieberman

Want robots to be musical, creative, and expressive? Better brush up on your engineering. Musician/ roboticists Dan Paluska and Jeff Lieberman constructed a web-connected "robotic mechanical orchestra" that plays a marimba by firing rubber balls out of a cannon, strikes traditional percussion instruments, and also rubs mechanical fingers along wine glasses. The machine, Absolut Quartet, uses artificial intelligence to creatively riff on melodies composed remotely by users on the web.

"At the core, the machine is just motors, metal, and software," say the MI T alums. "However, the design of these elements gives the whole machine a 'personality' and this is what allows a creative dialog to exist between the machine and the online user."

Of course, that dialog can't just work once -- it has to work over and over again. The guys wanted the technology to "disappear," leaving a purely creative experience. But that meant making 3,000 custom parts and 10,000 stock parts work in harmony.

And then there are the 500,000 custom rubber balls firing a 4-meter arc onto the keys.

"For any reasonable maintenance, this can only fail roughly 1 in 10,000 times," the duo explains. They tried four fundamentally different shooting mechanisms before they found one that worked -- springs and a rotating arm.

They then consulted an engineer to settle on magical, maintenance-solving ingredients such as polyethylene glycol dimethacrylate, which they used to make the suede fingers resonant. But they also needed the skills of a professional glass harpist so they could get 35 tuned wine glasses.

"Being both musicians and roboticists, we have always been interested in combinations of the two," say Paluska and Lieberman. In the finished work, centuries-old percussion and glass armonicas meet modern industrial robotics. Musician/inventor Benjamin Franklin, who built the first glass armonica, would have been proud.

>> Absolut Quartet: absolut.com/absolutmachines

>> The Build: bea.st/sight/absolut

From the column Made on Earth - MAKE 14, page 18 - Peter Kirn.

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We’re starting up a new feature here at Krunker (something I used to do on WhiningDog.net). Since we get so many review emails every day, I thought it would be good to simply list them out in a single blog posting for all of you to check out – a lot like how BluesNews does it.

BTW – if you have a new review that you’d like us to post up here at Krunker.com, please send it to news at krunker.com.

So without further ado, here goes nothing!

Hardware Secrets reviews the BFG MX-550 Power Supply Unit(above) and has this to say:

“The new MX series of power supplies from BFG features a modular cabling system, one 120-mm fan and one 80-mm fan that only kicks in when the temperature on the secondary heatsink is above 50º C. Let’s see if the 550 W model (MX-550 or BFGI550WMXPSU) is a good product.”

 

TechwareLabs reviews the NZXT TEMPEST Enthusiast Steel Mid-Tower case (right). Here’s their snippet:

“With a professional look that can fit anywhere, you’re sure to intimidate others with the very presence of this case”

 

TechwareLabs also has a review of the Altec Lansing SoundBar (above). Been looking for a soundbar myself for the bedroom. I wonder how these will do. Here’s a snippet:

“Looking for a set of computer speakers that are compact, but still loud enough to blow you away? Are you a audiophile that really wants to hear your music while at the office? Look no further. Today JasonD takes a look at the Altec Lansing SoundBar. Featuring XdB bass technology, the SoundBar is definitely something to check out”

ThinkComputers has a review of Xilence RAM Cooler HP Duo memory cooler. Here’s a snippet:

“The RAM Cooler HP Duo has a pair of copper heatpipes with lots of pretty copper fins, so besides providing extra cooling for those hot memory chips, you also get an excuse to add more shiny copper to the inside of your rig.”

OverclockersOnline has a review posted of the E-Power Thunder 650W 3 in 1 power supply. Here’s what they say:

“Topower manages to do an excellent job balancing price and performance. While there are cheaper power supplies available, and at the same time better performing power supplies available, Topower has managed to reach an equilibrium”

TrustedReviews has a review of the ASUS Maximus Extreme Mobo here on their website. Here’s their summary:

“You pay plenty for the Maximus Extreme, but that’s true of any X38 motherboard. We’re not convinced about the merits of three graphics slots but neither can we see any harm in the set-up that Asus has chosen and the cooling system and Fusion block are simply superb.”

The freaks at Test Freaks has a review of the HTC AT&T Fuze handset. Here’s what they think of it:

“The HTC Fuze is not a bad phone overall, it will take most users quite a bit to get accustomed to the new interface and the lack of buttons, the Fuze is meant to be navigated with the fingers primarily, and for those of us that like buttons and navigation pads, we’re out of luck”

Need a new pair of headphones for the holidays? Check out TechLounge’s review of the Sennheiser HD 595 headphones on their website.

“… the Sennheiser HD 595s are a great choice if you like listening to music alone at home. They won’t fly on a commute or in any public situation due to invading outside noise, and you might get in trouble for inadvertently broadcasting your music selections to those around you.”

Is your notebook running a tad bit hot? Check out TechPowerUp’s review of the Vizo mini Ninja II Notebook Cooler.. (I couldn’t help but laugh when I read the Ninja naming…). Here’s what they had to say:

“The mini Ninja II does the job quite well, just like the other versions from Vizo”

Digital Trends reviews the HTC Touch Diamond on their website here. Like many other earlier reviews, Digital Trends didn’t have high regards for the software. Here’s a snippet:

“..we have very few complaints about the outside of the Diamond Touch, and wish the software inside could live up to its promise.”

And finally, TweakNews has a review of a new HTPC case – the Antec Veris Fusion Remote Max Premium HTPC case that is (that’s a long name!). Here’s what they thought of the case:

“If you’re in the market for an HTPC chassis, and don’t want to spend a small fortune for it, I can easily recommend the Antec Fusion Remote Max. The combination of quality, functionality, quiet cooling performance and value is going to be difficult to beat. I like the Max a lot, and I think you will too.”

Technorati Tags: Review roundup, HTC Touch Diamond, HTC Fuze, Antec HTPC case, Sennheiser headphones, ASUS motherboard, power supply, altec lansing soundbar

Yes you are actually looking at real 1:1 replicas of Gears of War armor and weapons. The replicas are designed by Nightmare Armor Studios who are officially licensed to create the replicas.

The armor is not currently available for sale, but you can purchase replicas of the Locust Drone and of the Lancer Assault Rifle over at http://www.projecttriforce.com.

The Locust Drone are a part of the Locust Horde and the replica measures 21 x 12 x 11 inches while weighing 20 lbs. You can purchase the Locust Drone replica for $650 dollars.

The Lancer Assault Rifle is the primary assault weapon of the COG with the replica measuring 12 x 5 x 37 inches and weighing 15 lbs. The Lancer is available for a cool $949 dollars.

With these prices, I can’t imagine what the actual armor replica will cost. Ah.. if only I was rich..

[Check it out via Geekologie]

Technorati Tags: Gears of War 2, Nightmare Armor Studio, Lancer Assault Rifle, Locust Drone