msparkes

Five Feet of Green Frankenstein Fun

This five-foot-tall animated Frankenstein’s monster will move its arms, twist its hips and play spooky noises through its integrated speakers whenever it detects someone walking past. Adults will get a kick out of it, and children will never sleep properly again. The monster is accurate all the way down to the neck bolts and sutured…

Panoramic Camera Spins Like a Top

Set this panoramic camera down on a flat surface and it will spin around like a top to take a 360º image. It will record to a memory card, and can take video, too. Devices like this are fairly limited, but if you regularly find yourself in deserts, up on mountain peaks or in the…

Did Microsoft Deceive With ‘Vista Capable’?

A judge has ruled that a trial against Microsoft can proceed to decide whether they misled people with their “Vista Capable” advertising campaign. Two PC buyers have started a class action, and are arguing that they bought machines that weren’t capable of running Aero, even though they were marked as “Vista Capable.” https://gizmodo.com/vista-capable-now-means-vista-handi-capable-251239 Microsoft is…

World’s Biggest Camera, Not So Portable

On Monday the world’s biggest camera took the world’s biggest picture – a not very wallet-friendly 31′ by 111′. The camera body was an aircraft hangar, the film was cloth soaked in light sensitive chemicals and the exposure was a tedious ten days. Of course, there are limited options with a camera this big, and…

ETS Motorola S71 Headphone Sunglasses

If you own a Bluetooth headset but aren’t happy with how ridiculous you look wearing it, then these may be for you. The ETS Motorola S71 is a combination pair of sunglasses/headphones/Bluetooth headset/opposite sex repellent. The device, which is apparently also known as the O ROKR Pro, has buttons on the frame which let you…

Sony Recalls 350,000 Razor-Sharp Cameras

Sony has announced the recall of 350,000 digital cameras that have the potential to cut and scratch users. The adhesive holding down the metal case is failing occasionally, causing dangerous sharp edges to lift up. Thirty people have already been injured, prompting the Japan and US recall. Read on to see the failing models. The…

The Stand Umbrella, Umbrella with Stand

The Stand Umbrella is a simple idea—an umbrella that stands up by itself. Come in from the rain, and you can stand it up in the corner, where it will dry off and be out of the way. Its three small feet don’t affect how you use it, but really come in handy when you’re…

Help Google Deliver Email In a Gmail Video

When you send an email through Gmail, hundreds of Google engineers leap from their chairs to help deliver the message. It’s like P2P, but with bikes. They are doing a video all about it, and you can contribute to it if you hurry: Google is asking you to add to their video, where people take…

ActFace Concept Cell Has Looks, 3 Touchscreens

This is the ActFace Japanese cell phone concept from au by KDDI. It laughs in the face of the iPhone and its single touchscreen – with not one, not two, but three, and no visible traditional buttons. There’s a video of the two front screens showing some impressive animation after the jump. https://gizmodo.com/au-phones-media-skin-machina-hexagon-139091 Although it…

LED Alarm Clock – Bend Time and Space

This alarm clock is made up of four 1″x1.5″ cubes that can be moved around independently—if you’re running late you can just rearrange the cubes to suit. There is a separate controller to set the time and alarm, dim the LEDs and press that wonderful, please-just-10-more-minutes snooze button. It’s available now from Suck UK, at…

Nissan Skyline Now Bouncier for Pedestrians

Nissan have announced a cunning new safety feature, aimed at pedestrians rather than drivers. In the event of an accident, the hood on the Skyline Coupe immediately pops up a few inches, creating a softer landing spot. Note the word, softer, not soft – getting hit by a Nissan is still going to sting. It…

Getec V100 Tablet PC Laughs in the Face of Danger

Getec’s V100 is a tough laptop, a really tough laptop. You won’t have to rely on some pathetic drop-sensor to protect this machine. In fact, you probably have to throw it down the stairs just to boot it up. It’s built as a military machine, but we lucky civilians can get now one, too. The…

Behind the Wall Couch

Behind the Wall is a two-sided couch with a stretchy membrane dividing those on each side. I’m not sure how practical it is, but it sure looks like fun. People sit on the opposite side form a bulge in the membrane, meaning that people can interact through the furniture. There’s bound to be a lot…

Find One, Find All – I’m on Your KeyFobz, Making a Noize

If, like me, you lose your keys and wallet on an almost daily basis, then you just might be desperate enough for gadgets like this. The Find One, Find All is a little radio receiver that you attach to your commonly lost items. You can then use another one— yes, you have to buy two—to…

UK Ministry of “Defence” 2008 Grand Challenge for Troop Support Bots

In Summer 2008, Copehill Down in the UK countryside will be full of various military robots. The UK Ministry of Defence has organized a Grand Challenge, in which 14 teams will be competing with various types of robots that are designed to support ground troops. The designs vary from single robots to swarms of small…

Panasonic HDC-SD7 is Now World’s Smallest HD Camcorder

Panasonic just announced their new HDC-SD7 in Japan. Those tricksters are now saying that this is the world’s smallest HD camcorder, and not yesterday’s record-holder. This one has a vertical format but is it really the smallest of both? https://gizmodo.com/panasonic-hdc-sd5-is-worlds-smallest-3ccd-1080i-camcord-283717 The SD7 weighs less, at 0.63 pounds vs 0.75 pounds for the SD5. On size,…

Giant Golf-Labyrinth Game For Sale

Do you like golf? Do you like Labyrinth games? Do you have a HUGE house? If you answered yes to those three questions then you might just be in the market for one of these. Its a scaled up version of a Labyrinth game, and was created as a mini-golf hole that used golf balls…

New Phone for People Who Like Mushrooms, Hate Poisonings

Foraging for mushrooms can be fun, but getting poisoned by the wrong species always ruins a nice afternoon. Researchers at the Hagenberg College in Austria have developed software that can identify which mushrooms are safe to eat and which are poisonous, just from a photograph. This means it could easily be run on a mobile…

28-Wheel Truck Climbs Mountains, Builds Telescopes

What has 28 wheels, is 20m long, weighs 130 tonnes and has as much power as two Formula One cars? This truck does, and it’s been built to haul 115-tonne telescope parts 5,000m up the Chilean Andes. At that height the driver won’t be able to breathe, so the seat has been designed so that…

If you’re a Linux fan, then your options just got bigger. It seems like Acer are following in Dell’s footsteps, and starting to offer Ubuntu preloaded on some machines. [Hardware Zone]