<![CDATA[Gizmodo: crapmodo]]> http://tags.gizmodo.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/gizmodo.com.png <![CDATA[Gizmodo: crapmodo]]> http://gizmodo.com/tag/crapmodo http://gizmodo.com/tag/crapmodo <![CDATA[Regretsy: For Anyone Who Didn't See the Creepy Side to Making and Selling Your Own Crafts]]> As much as I admire people who believe enough in their artistic output to foist it on others for money, I knew Etsy had a dark side. Well, someone with the no-nonsense pseudonym Helen Killer just showed it to me:

Here are a few choice excerpts from Regretsy (NSFW); just a taste, mind you, no substitute for a visit. Be careful, though, because the amazing site is not always safe for work. Looking over the entries makes me wish it were as fictitious as Kasper Hauser's brilliant—but mercifully fake—SkyMaul.

Regarding the lovely lady and her cheese-grater clock, Regretsy says: Oh sure, it's not perfect, but you try cleaning a cheese grater with a cigarette.


Regretsy says: Whenever I hear "Michael Jackson", I immediately think "baseball". Well technically, I think "Little League", but you know what I'm saying. [Link]


Regretsy says: Usually I just use the guest towels when we're out of toilet paper. [Link]


Regretsy says: You know what goats like? They like grass. They don't like having leopard outfits strapped to their sagging haunches like Kim Cattrall. [Link]


Regretsy says: Santo trompas de Falopio! Who wouldn't want to curl up with the stuffed reproductive organs of Mexico's most famous bisexual surrealist? [Link]

It goes without saying "Santo trompas de Falopio!" is my new favorite expression of surprise. Hit the site for way more where this came from. [Regretsy (NSFW)]

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<![CDATA[Garmin Nuvifone G60 GPS Phone Review: Do Not Buy]]> Garmin makes the best portable navigators out there. Millions of people, including me, are fans. But following notoriously lengthy delays, the first Nuvifone should have been euthanized, not put on AT&T shelves next to the iPhone—for $100 more.

The Nuvifone G60 GPS phone is out this week for $300, an absurdly high price for even a smartphone in this age. But the Nuvifone is not a smartphone, not even a clever one.

What's Bad

• The resistive touchscreen reminds me of phones circa 2006, bad for everything but big-button tapping.

• There's no homescreen button, to quickly take you out of a mire of menus.

• It's crashy—screens froze twice while I was writing this, forcing a full-on hard restart.

• Sometimes the accelerometer just stops working completely.

• The camera is terrible—if the hardware button required for the shutter even works—and there's no video of any kind.

• The web browser is all but useless, because it relies heavily on zooming in and out, and the touchscreen easily confuses swiping and tapping.

• The interface looks cool at first, but there are strange design choices throughout. Want an example? The QWERTY keyboard only appears in horizontal mode—it's ABCDE in vertical mode. Also, no "Where To?" button, a la older Nuvi devices.

• You have to pay a $5/month premium charge to check the weather, traffic, local events and other services—all of which can be found on free apps from real smartphone platforms (not just iPhone).

• Even when using email (let alone calendar), there doesn't seem to be any awareness of the rest of the internet: The email wizard lets you enter any address and password, but it doesn't say whether it can actually get mail. This tenacious little phone is still trying to log onto my Hotmail account.

• The battery ran down completely during my first day of testing, after a few phone calls and some modest GPS navigation, and the battery indicator drops fast when it's just on standby. In fairness, you shouldn't use this phone or any other phone without a car charger, if you intend to use it for GPS navigation.

• There is no car charger. It's missing the $7 USB-to-cig-lighter adapter. AT&T probably wanted to sell it separately, but when I asked at my local AT&T store, they didn't even carry it.

• Since it's an AT&T phone, it has to compete with the iPhone and other handsets that are way better. If the Nuvifone were on Verizon, it would at least have a network advantage in certain markets that it could lord over the iPhone herd. But even Apple haters would have a hard time spending an extra $100 on this—with the exact same phone reception.

The Verdict

Unlike most reviews, this verdict isn't for you. If you made it to the end of the headline, you already know what to do. But because I care, I thought I'd say something to the makers:

Garmin: Please get your act together in the phone space. You have two choices: Either make tidy useful navigation apps for the major platforms, or make real phones. There's no such thing as a PND that also makes phone calls (though I think that was the original plan for the G60).

You are great in your field, but even teamed with Asus, you aren't better than the lowliest phone maker, so you have to play catchup: Pick a mobile OS and stick with it. Skip Windows Mobile (for now) and make a serious push into Android. To do that, you'll have to see what everyone else is doing. Don't just set yourself up to lose in the end to an HTC running a TeleNav or TomTom app. You're good at making tough hardware, so why not differentiate with a rugged outdoor Android smartphone?

I urge you to re-consider your premature departure from the mobile app business. Garmin brand equity would sell a lot of iPhone apps, especially if they came with the Nuvi interface most people love more than TomTom's or Navigon's. It may bruise the ego a bit to focus on software instead of hardware, but I just don't see how successful you can be by doing what everyone else is doing, only later and worse. I didn't mean to be this harsh, but I also didn't expect the G60 to be so bad.

In Brief

The home screen is cool for a dumbphone, with three major buttons and a slider of auxiliary options

The navigational experience I have enjoyed on regular Nuvis is here, almost completely intact, but since you can already get that without buying this phone, it's not a major plus

See above—like, every single word of this piece

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<![CDATA[Wannabe Entrepreneur Has Never Heard of Electronic Post-Its]]> In the years that Post-its have existed alongside laptops, there hasn't been a single alternative to pasting the sticky papers around screen bezels. Right? Not quite, but no one told that to this contestant on ABC's Shark Tank.

Leading us to believe that she has never used a Mac OS or Vista computer, which have sticky widgets baked in, her half a million dollar idea is to create "a sticky pad for sticky notes." Yes, the invention is a $10 board that attaches to the side of a laptop screen to hold Post-its in one central area.

In convincing the hosts to give her $100K for a 20 percent investment in her company, she evidences the fact that 56 million laptops will be sold in the U.S. this year alone. Ah yes, now it makes so much more sense. Someone please tell her each of those laptops are capable of downloading Post-it's very own software. [ABC's Shark Tank]

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<![CDATA[World's Crappiest Projector (As Reviewed By Gizmodo) On Sale Now At Woot]]> If you want in on a projector that Gizmodo once dubbed the "world's crappiest projector," head over to Woot right now. It's been marked down considerably, and is still the worst ever. [Woot Thanks, Akif]

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<![CDATA['Casetation' Mod Is Defeated By Me Putting PS2 In Bag, Attaching It to Bigger TV]]> Recently, I defeated my arch nemesis, the $250 briefcase-bound Casetation 2. It took a $99 PS2 (super power: price cuts), duffel bag, and connecting to any TV, because they're everywhere. $151 left over. Flawless Victory.

Seriously. Why? [Casetation 2 at Flickr - Thanks (?), Akshay]

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<![CDATA[Cheeseburger Vacuum Sucks Up Desktop Dirt, Crumbs, Your Dignity]]> A cheeseburger-shaped mini-vacuum for your dirty desktop? Sure, why the hell not?

If you seriously can't stop salivating over this thing, it's $20 at FredFlare. [FredFlare via technabob]

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<![CDATA[Xact XG2500 Cordless Telephone Headset Is On Sale!—Wait, What Decade Is It Again?!]]> The Xact XG2500 Headset Cordless Telephone is still atrociously ugly, but that won't stop it from inevitably appearing in JCPenny's Christmas catalog in my parents' mailbox later this year. And now it's on sale!

Seriously, I think I saw this thing in the Penny's catalog back when I was growing up in the 90's, and I know I saw it in Quantum Leap somewhere. And it's heavy too with the .1-lb. weight drooping more than a few ears to the floor with its massive, eye sore bulk.

At least it's only $20 now with free shipping. Get it for someone you hate today! [Gear Diary]

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<![CDATA[Maxell M&M's Earbuds Will Probably End Up In Your Kid's Stomach]]> iPod accessory maker Maxell is going to release music player earbuds that look like many kids' favorite candy-coated chocolate candy. What could possibly go wrong?!

Even the packaging, by design, screams "EAT ME!" And, also just like the candy, these buds come in multiple colors for maximum toddler confusion: Red, pink, blue, orange, and white.

At $10, they're pretty cheap, which is good because ER visits aren't. Available "soon," possibly in the candy aisle or next to Maxell's other new product, the Pencil Scalpel.

Update@8:33 p.m. EST: Regarding the packaging. Approximately 14% of Americans are illiterate. [Coolest Gadgets]

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<![CDATA[Emergency Yodel Button Creates Avalanche of Ridicule]]> With the press of a button, your life will surely change for the negative.

Enticing marketing copy seals the deal:

Nothing lifts the spirits like a good yodel, but most of us don’t have the skill to yodel on cue. That’s where the Emergency Yodel Button comes in. Keep this 4″ x 3″ x 5/8″ plastic device with you at all times and when the need arises, press the button to hear the sweet mellifluous warbling of an alpine yodel.

That's certainly correct. I neither have the ability, nor the desire, to emit a skilled yodel on cue. Costs $12.50 and your dignity. FYI: Goes well with this. [Archie McPhee via Red Ferret]

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<![CDATA[Pasen REI-16 UI Determined to Become Center of Apple Lawsuit]]> The UI in this video of the Pasen REI-16 is pretty slick, if not vaguely familiar. Oh that's right. Just like their other player, the "iTouch," this one is also a blatant ripoff of Apple.

Get them while they last when they arrive in January for about $130. [B4Tech]

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<![CDATA[iLuv i9500 iPod Dock Has 4 CD Drives Too Many]]>

This iPod dock by iLuv is not really an iPod dock, but a full fledged stereo with subwoofer. And four CD players. Is that right? I mean, I make fun of gadgets with just ONE CD player and this has four CD players. FOUR. [Gadgetreview]

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<![CDATA[World's Smallest Optical Mouse Proves Some Gadgets Don't Need To Be Tinier]]> The Z-Nano mouse is claiming smallest optical mouse in the world: it's about the size of the finger you will use to daintily stab at its buttons. See it in diminutive action.

Yes, it is clear that the threshold of practicality here has been violated. [TechEBlog via BBG]

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<![CDATA[The 99-Cent iPod Radio Cheapo Knock-Off of the Year]]> Last week, Stephen Gerding of the Kung-Fu Rodeo blog found this 99-cent iPod lookalike radio in his corner store. There are two buttons on the "click" "wheel." One for scan, another for reset, and you've got to marvel at the technology they must have used for the full-color screen. Unboxed pic below.

Oh. It's a stuck-on picture. Jobso must be quaking in his boots. The radio comes with earphones and a handy carrying strap, just so you don't drop it on the sidewalk and see its guts (which are probably made of cardboard) spill out. Still, Stephen's psyched, because the thing works quite well.
[Kung-Fu Rodeo—thanks, Flavio]

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<![CDATA[Backyards Scream "Classy!" With StereoStone Birdbath Fountain Speaker]]> Sorry, but I just can't believe anyone's going to buy this. Not only does it just look ridiculous, with its faux stone carving topped with a leafy pineapple, and its two submerged halogen lights. (Why not four lights, or a whole ring of them? I mean, if you're going cheesy, go all the way.) On the good side, it does contain a hidden 8-inch 250-watt stereo speaker system, and can plug directly into a standard 120V wall unit. But still, it's not worth it at any price, especially not $600. Yes, I said $600. [Electronic House via Ubergizmo]

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<![CDATA[Nokia's Touch UI Hands-On: Officially Way Behind Apple]]> When we first saw the Nokia Symbian Touch UI over the familiar S60/Symbian OS, we were stoked. Then we found out it was not a working proto but a rendering, and we wondered how far along they really were in their touchscreen UI. Turns out, not as far as we would like.

The working prototype here is very rough. It's missing animations between picture swipes and lacks truly natural menu swiping. It also doesn't support multitouch here, but that's a matter of hardware—and this is early software, so we should be not too harsh on Symbian for updating their great OS to keep up with the Joneses. But we can conclude one thing from this demo: Despite doing a good job of building a touch UI on S60 without alienating current users, Symbian is far behind Apple in UI development, by months, if not years.

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<![CDATA[iPod May Shuffle You From Rolling Stone to Roadkill, Australian Ad Says]]> ipod_road_safety.jpgA new ad in Australia highlights the dangers of crossing the road with your MP3 player rumbling your inner ear canal at full volume. And of course, it shows the iPod in a new twist of Apple's original silhouettes campaign, now using the headphones cable as a way to draw the place in which a body lies dead. Ah, nothing like a great morbid image to start up a pre-MacWorld wednesday.

The ad was created by advertising agency DDB in Sydney, all after the State Traffic Commander, Chief Superintendent John Hartley said:

"The NSW police would look at the New York senator's proposal and the impact it may have in twelve months' time," as reported in an article entitled "Alert Sounded on iPod Use" by Asher Moses on February 7, 2007 in The Sydney Morning Herald. Superintendent Hartley went on in that same article to say; "You can't legislate stupidity - if people are stupid enough to do something that's so distracting they can't see cars coming, that's a problem they need to deal with."

Sounds reasonable enough, but apparently the problem started to get really serious (yes, a lot of stupid people in the world, it seems) and the authorities decided to warn all those crazy crazy personal media player junkies. To probably be ignored shortly thereafter. [iPhone Savior]

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<![CDATA[Hands-On Proposal: Euricase Multimedia Ring Box]]> The Gadget: Euricase Multimedia Ring Box, adds a 2-inch LCD and 60 minutes of video to otherwise meaningless jewelry boxes.

The Catch: Sarah Meyers!

The Verdict...

I sleep on the couch for the three months following CES. Don't worry honey, you know I'd never propose to an internet celebrity with such a tacky, tacky product.

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<![CDATA[Taser Gun + MP3 Player + Leopard Skin = One Insane Gadget]]>
Taser wants its products to be common gadgets along the same lines as cell phones and MP3 players; you know, the stuff you always carry with you. That's why it's released a belt holster for its tasers that can be loaded up with 1GB of MP3s.

Perhaps the most feature-free MP3 player we've ever seen, it has a mere 2 buttons and no screen on it. But hey, it holds a Taser! I'd like to see an iPod actually prevent you from being mugged instead of the other way around. Oh, and it also unveiled leopard print and pink Tasers, just in case you want to look fashionable before taking someone who's political beliefs you disagree with down to the pavement.

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<![CDATA[DXG-566V: A $150 High Def Camcorder?!]]> The What: DXG has always gone for the low cost bragging rights and they've reached the height of their budget crusade with this $150 HD camera that records to 1280 x 720 at its highest res. We've seen tapeless camcorders do this before, but that price is pretty insane. It records in H.264 quicktime files, and the camera takes 5mp native stills.
The Oh No You Didn't: I would expect that this captures the grainiest, most lifeless, tepid high def you've ever seen.


DXG-566V HD Features:DXG-566V%20Front%20New%20Lens.jpeg
Camcorder Features:
Records full-motion video in high-definition
D1 Resolution: 720 x 480, at 30fps
HD Resolution: 1280 x 720, at 30fps
Records video in H.264, MOV file format
2X Digital Zoom
3.0" TFT Screen

Digital Camera Features:
5 Megapixel CMOS sensor
Captures still images in JPEG format
Up to 8 Megapixel image resolution

Mass Storage Features:
32MB onboard memory
SD Card slot to accept high-capacity or standard SD cards
Connect to your PC to store and transfer data files
USB2.0 Interface for fast transfer of files
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<![CDATA[Wonder Sauna Hot Pants Are the Most Shameful Products Ever]]> These Wonder Sauna (Long) Hot Pants are the kind of product you find in the back of your grandparents closet that make you rethink everything you thought you knew about them. Namely, that they aren't retarded enough to buy a product called Wonder Sauna (Long) Hot Pants in the first place. Sucks for you, dude. The apple doesn't fall far from the idiotic grandparents. [Boing Boing Gadgets]

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