Station

Brando's Power Station Holds 1000mAh, Title For Cheapest iPhone Battery

We're not sure if Brando's version of the external iPhone battery pack bests the others we've seen in performance, but it's definitely the cheapest by far. At $25, it's a whole $18 cheaper than the iPhoneck, and half as costly as Macally's PowerLink. Is it any good? No clue yet. But it's cheap, which is all some people care about. [Brando]

1:40 PM on Fri Jul 25 2008
By Jason Chen
3,497 views, 21 comments

Latest by imagine-engine: I'm actually waiting for Mophie to release their iPhone 3G Juice Pack in September since it fits the iPhone better than Brando's Power Station. [www.mophie.com] more »

space

Unmanned Japanese Cargo Spacecraft Could Be NASA's Next Space Shuttle

With the dinosaur Space Shuttle set to retire in 2010, and Orion due to be finished (optimistically) by 2015, NASA may purchase the $131 million unmanned HTV cargo vehicle from JAXA, Japan's space agency, to guarantee fresh shipments of space-Doritos flowing up to the brave souls on the International Space Sation. While they had initially planned to fill this gap by relying on commercial space cargo flights by companies like SpaceX, Reuters is reporting that delays in the private-sector space companies have caused NASA to look elsewhere to avoid being crippled by the Shuttle's retirement. UPDATE: NASA issued a statement this afternoon saying the Reuters' report was full of baloney. They're still dedicated to finding commercial haulers—full release below. More »

1:00 PM on Mon Jul 21 2008
By John Mahoney
2,595 views, 19 comments

Latest by tdeckard2000: @Chromeo is typing this on his iPhone 3G: I saw the pic an i thought the exact same thing. In fact i clicked on the link jus to see if anyone else was thinking it. .. cool more »

tides

World's First Tidal Turbine Power Station Goes Online, Doesn't Blend Seals

However exciting the rubber robot snake wave power generator sounds, a real seagoing power station is way more interesting. And over in the UK, they've just turned on the world's first commercial tidal power generator station. SeaGen is situated in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland, and it has twin turbines that spin as the tide rushes into and out of the lough at up to 8 knots. The moving seawater spins the turbines for around 20 hours each day and when it's up to full operating capacity, SeaGen will be pushing out 1.2 megawatts of power, roughly enough to supply 1,000 homes. And since the revolution speed is only around 10 to 15 per minute, the blades shouldn't offer a threat to sealife like the local common seals. Eco-friendliness all 'round. [Daily Mail]

7:09 AM on Mon Jul 21 2008
By Kit Eaton
10,243 views, 35 comments

Latest by skiterr: @Kit Eaton: this is just another useless "green" invention that serves no real solution to the power shortage or the green movement. If it's not going to produce reliable power 24/7 there is no point of building it. But of more »

review

Lightning Review: Kangaroom Bamboo Laptop Stand and Charging Station

The Gadget: Kangaroom's laptop stand and charging station, which offers a ventilated laptop stand as well as two phone/iPod holders so you can have a place to charge your gear without cluttering up your desk. It's even tilted, since many laptop users enjoy typing at an angle. More »

10:00 PM on Tue Jul 1 2008
By Jason Chen
9,145 views, 37 comments

Latest by n/a: this actually looks like a space waster more »

reader designs

Reader Designs: MacBook Cooler and Docking Station

Reader Olivier came up with this pretty interesting design for a form-fitting MacBook cooler that attaches to the bottom of your laptop and provides card readers, more USB ports and a gigantic fan to cool it. It might not look as slick as the Zefyr, but it's pretty damn functional despite being called the "iCool". On the other hand, Olivier's just some dude with Photoshop, so don't expect this to be coming out anytime soon. [Thanks Olivier!] More »

4:00 PM on Tue Jul 1 2008
By Jason Chen
6,242 views, 26 comments

Latest by DeadWriter: What about this 13" MacBook docking station. [www.bookendzdocks.com] Perhaps it was already covered. more »

astro boy

Astro Boy Mural Created From 138,000 Recycled Tokyo Metro Tickets

Japan loves Astro Boy even more than we love Mickey Mouse, so it's not too surprising that the little robot boy's visage is still everywhere, even though his show and manga series ended decades ago. The most recent Astro Boy art installation is a 10 by 7 foot mural that consists of 138,000 recycled Tokyo Metro tickets. The pixel art, made to mark the opening of Tokyo's new Fukutoshin subway line, depicts Astro Boy, Uran, Professor Ochanomizu and Higeoyaji traipsing around Shinjuku along with the new Fukutoshin train. Created by volunteers from around the area, the mural can be found at the Shinjuku Takashimaya Department Store. [Pink Tentacle] More »

3:00 PM on Sat Jun 14 2008
By Elaine Chow
21,219 views, 21 comments

Latest by m1tch37: @HiPnOtEk: Lamest thing i have ever heared. Not to mention, what does 10k USD buy now days anyway.. more »

accessories

Touch 360 Tablet Stand: An Easel to Your Digital Canvas

Tablets are great to work with when you're walking around like you're too good to use a normal computer, but sitting at a desk can make things tricky. This stand/docking station from Touch 360 is an elegant solution to sometimes awkward tablet ergonomics. Well-stocked with USB ports and power, the stand can either make your tablet into an all-in-one PC, or it can tilt/swivel/raise into a sort of Microsoft Surface Light. Good stuff, but no word on price or availability. [Touch 360 via Gizmowatch]

10:45 AM on Fri Jun 13 2008
By Mark Wilson
2,329 views, 8 comments

Latest by Electricity: oh wait this is just the stand... ;-> hmmm... idea. more »

wi-fi

Handlink Wi-Fi Base Station: Quick Net Access at Drop of a Coin

This gizmo from Handlink is clearly aimed at hotels, coffee shops and other public places where you may need net access, and you can't argue with the thinking in its design. Simply pop in some coins, grab the printout with your time-limited access codes, and then connect up your notebook, or phone to its 802.11b/g service. Kind of the retro-future public payphone of the internet era, it saves time from all that messing about you sometimes have to do in internet cafes. Useful if you're without credit cards, I guess. [RegHardware]

6:16 AM on Mon Jun 9 2008
By Kit Eaton
2,123 views, 8 comments

Latest by n/a: I wouldnt mind betting the unit will soon have paypal access like Handlinks WG-602 Hotspot in a box product. Noticed on Handlink.com.au website that an 802.11n version has just been released at Computex 2008. more »

iss

Habemos John! Astronauts Can Boldly Go Again, As ISS Toilet is Fixed

Spaceboys who have been crossing their legs in sympathy with the can-less astronauts on the Space Station can relax. Cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko fixed the toilet after the Discovery space shuttle delivered a new pump to the ISS on Monday. The outer-space loo had been broken for two weeks, and the three-man team had been taking it in turns to swill it out manually with water. "Let's start using it," said Russian mission control to Kononenko, adding hopefully, "we'll keep our fingers crossed." In other space news, a billion-dollar Japanese science lab was opened on the ISS. Called Kibo, or hope, the 37-foot long lab is one of the largest rooms on the ISS, but will not be up and running until its porch arrives next year. [CNN]

6:00 AM on Thu Jun 5 2008
By AddyDugdale
1,098 views, 16 comments

Latest by unspellable: @AddyDugdale: Entonces: 'tenemos catolica', 'tenemos italiana', o 'tenemos papa-cita'. more »

space

NASA Toilet Might Force Emergency Evacuation

The International Space Station's toilet is still broken, people. And all of our toilet humor isn't doing anything to fix what could be a potentially extremely hazardous situation. And as Russian ISS chief Vladimir Solovyov explained, it could lead to a complete evacuation. More »

4:40 PM on Tue Jun 3 2008
By Mark Wilson
12,417 views, 88 comments

let down

Buzz Lightyear Goes to Infinity and... the International Space Station?

Buzz Lightyear is now part of the International Space Station crew, after astronauts from mission STS-124 boarded the orbital outpost yesterday at 3:36PM EDT—bringing in the 12-inch to guard us against Emperor Zurg, who has been secretly building a weapon with the destructive capacity to annihilate an entire planet. Or maybe just teach kids about math and science. I can go either way, death rays or deathly equations. More »

6:16 AM on Tue Jun 3 2008
By Jesus Diaz
2,204 views, 13 comments

Latest by n/a: (Cue imitation Tim Allen voice) "It's free-falling, with style!" At least I think that's what they call the floating sensation up there. I'm just annoyed I haven't heard one story of an astronaut bringing an amusing carry-on, like this, but more »

desk tidy

The Butt Station: Crap by Name, Crap by Nature

Basically a desk tidy, the Butt Station, as it has been tastefully named, stores your business cards, sticky tape, pens and pencils, and has a little compartment for paperclips, in the toilet bowl. Lift up the little man and the clips will come out attached to said little man's bottom. It's classy, it's assy, and I think I'll pass(y). [Urban Outfitters via Bem Legaus]

1:00 PM on Thu May 15 2008
By AddyDugdale
5,668 views, 25 comments

energy

Dragon Power Station Harnesses Kinetic Energy From Passing Vehicles to Power Stuff

Terry Kenney's Dragon Power Station prototype works by harnessing the kinetic energy of trucks passing over plates buried in the road and turning that energy into electricity. The system he's got set up now in the Port of Oakland, with 2,500 trucks passing over it in a day, is enough to power 1,750 homes. It's a very interesting concept that can be extended to busier streets, harnessing a little bit of the energy that would otherwise be lost. More »

2:00 PM on Thu May 1 2008
By Jason Chen
10,192 views, 58 comments

Latest by GadgetPlay: @ripfire4:"Why are we even discussing the science of this anyway? The system works!" At a net loss. Nice! @citizen024: "hybrids? ever hear of em? although i suppose not that many trucks have that yet, but this would be an investment in more »

boomerang

Video of Space Boomerang Is Exactly What You Expect

We knew that boomerangs work in space because Takao Doi tried one in the International Space Station last month. Now, thanks to JAXA's obsession with cameras we have proof on video. The usual skeptics who think that Elvis is really the only human that ever went to the moon—and still lives there—will be happy. [JAXA via Pink Tentacle]

8:06 AM on Thu May 1 2008
By Jesus Diaz
8,236 views, 46 comments

nas

Synology's New RAID NAS Servers Claimed as Fastest Non-PC NAS

Synology's new SATA NAS servers offer up to 4TB storage capacity and Synology is claiming they're the fastest non-PC RAID 5 NAS servers there are. The desktop Disk Station DS508 takes five hot-swappable drives, while the rack-style Rack Station RS408 fits in four drives for up to 3TB RAID 5 capacity. More »

4:15 AM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By Kit Eaton
3,996 views, 7 comments

multi-level bicycle parking

Japanese Multi-Level Bicycle Parking

The Multi-level bicycle park at Tokyo's Kasai Station might sound like a crazy overblown way to tidy up the streets, but the woeful lack of available parking spaces at most Japanese train stations is a real problem. In some places legal parks are impossible to find and private security guards are known for performing periodic sweeps where bicycles are tossed in the back of a truck and impounded. At 100 Yen (about $1) per day or 1,800 Yen (about $18) for a month, a multi-level parking spot is a lot cheaper than the impound fee. Here's hoping that they proliferate. [Japan Probe]

10:07 PM on Fri Apr 18 2008
By Chris Magor
9,474 views, 33 comments

Latest by n/a: Japanese people rule! This is the narliest thing Ive ever seen! Kick ass more »

jules verne

Space Truck Executes "Text-Book" Automated Docking at International Space Station

At 10.45 EST this morning, the Jules Verne docked at the International Space Station, with a 7,500-pound cargo containing equipment, supplies, water, food and gases—and no human driver. The AI-assisted landing of the European space truck after a 26-day journey was described as "text-book" and here it is, courtesy of NASA TV. While the Jules-ISS hook-up is not the first unmanned docking, anything with an automated system that can track down an object that is moving at 16,777 miles per hour and attach itself with just a 2-centimeter leeway, is pretty damn awesome in Giz's book. [NASA]

11:23 AM on Thu Apr 3 2008
By AddyDugdale
13,352 views, 57 comments

Latest by ntrgc89: @blanco164: I don't know about before the progress, but yes, the Soviet Union was first to develop automated resupply (as far as I know). I'm not sure why the ATV is suddenly such a big deal because it "docks automatically," more »

robots

NASA Sending Robots into Space to do Astronauts' Dirty Work

NASA is sending a $200 million, Canadian-built robot named Dextre (Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator) up to the International Space Station to help carryout spacewalk missions too dangerous for humans to attempt. The currently disassembled robot is being flown up on the Space Shuttle Endeavour and will be built up on the Space Station. Once constructed, Dextre will be 10 feet high, 5 feet wide and have two arms comprised of seven joints apiece. [ABC News]

3:18 PM on Fri Mar 14 2008
By Adrian Covert
3,993 views, 33 comments

Gizmodo

Steve Jobs Says He Doesn't Have Cancer (And Why It's Not Your Business...

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