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Tokyo PC shop Tsukumo built this custom Dreamcast computer. Its innards gutted, the system was “upgraded” with a new motherboard, Blu-ray drive, HDMI, and 160GB hard drive. The controller ports were swapped out for USB inputs and mega-sized fan was added to the bottom. Added up, these changes represent $1000 in hardware modifications. You can’t…
I tend to avoid bottled water—my tap-water’s fine and way cheaper—but since millions don’t think the same, this concept from designers Brand Image would be a way to reduce the eco-impact of all those nasty plastic bottles. The 360 is a paper bottle, molded from 100% recyclable, food-safe paper, and its simplicity makes even the…
The hardware in Mac Funamizu’s gesture-controlled light switch would be very, very simple—after all, it’s just a trackpad. But it’s the input methods that make this exciting: just as laptop trackpads can track gestures for scrolling, this light switch would parse them to control up a roomful of lights, either together or in unison. The…
Sandisk may have a 16GB microSDHC card already a little sneakily on the scene, but now Toshiba’s announced it’s joining the game with one of its own. The card is compliant with SD memory standard version 2.00, as are the other two cards Tosh is making: The 8GB and 16GB SDHC cards with a maximum…
Golden Shellback started circulating videos of their extraordinary gadget waterproofing treatment in action way back in July, and it took us a while (and a live demo) to really believe that it works. Well, it does, and now you can buy it. That is, if you’re willing to send the company your gadget to be…
One part of the new MacBook experience that didn’t exactly seem like much of an upgrade was the addition of HDCP for the new DisplayPort video connector, which left users unable to watch iTunes DRMed video content—HD or SD—on non-HDCP compliant external displays. This morning Apple released an update to ease the pain: protected SD…
I sometimes wonder if the people at Brando have a competition going to see how many USB ports they could possibly put into one gadget. This alarm clock hub comes with seven, as well as a calendar and thermometer. With seven hubs (and knowledge of your room’s exact temperature), you could charge your iPod, warm…
Fry’s MacBook deal may have turned out to be too good to be true, but these sales prices are real: Best Buy and Macmall are offering up to $250 off Macs. The full list is here, helpfully compiled by MacRumors, with that $250 being on 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros at Macmall with on-sale discount…
A new hydropower prototype from the University of Michigan could end up using even slower river and ocean currents to generate energy. VIVACE, which stands for Vortex Induced Vibrations for Aquatic Clean Energy, can generate power from as little as 2 knots, making it more useful than most turbine and water mill systems out there,…
Not sure why anybody would take on this project, but several modders at the xda-developers forum have gotten Sony Ericsson’s Xperia X1 panel interface to work on HTC’s Touch HD. From the look of it, X1 installs, launches and works without much of a speed difference, and the panel interface actually seems nicer on the…
With nary an explanation, most of the Sony-owned movies that were mysteriously pulled from Xbox’s Netflix Watch Instantly streaming service last week have been put back up again. Ghostbusters, the Karate Kid series and other Columbia Pictures luminaries can now be downloaded for watching. However, anything tagged with an “available through Starz Play” logo, such…
What’s black and white and acts like a bamboo(m) box? The iPanda, an adorable iPod docking station by animal-themed audio system makers Speakal! The China bear-shaped dock boasts four speakers and a 4” subwoofer for 25 watts of sound and “360° sound distribution.” Pump up the volume by touching the panda’s left ear, or lower…
This no-name charger from neTimes is a welcome add-on to the T-Mobile G1. It charges both the phone and a spare battery simultaneously, and with the G1’s offensive battery life, it’s almost a necessity to carry around an extra power source with you at all times. It’s $17, which is just about the price we’d…
Just like inner-city drug kingpins and high-seas pirates, architects also often find themselves eyeball to eyeball in deadly cutthroat fights. This time around, the Broken Bottle award goes to two firms trying to revamp the mouth of Copenhagen’s harbor with a crazy bridge-building. One team wants to make two towers with a pedestrian walkway between…
The January 29, 1939 Hammond Times (Hammond, IN) ran this piece about the super-fast airplanes of the future. The article quickly devolves into a debate about how trustworthy air speed indicators are. WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 — Airplanes capable of flying nearly 1,000 miles an hour – 300 miles an hour faster than the speed of…
One of those rumors that won’t ever die—the Zune phone—is now being touted by a reputable, legitimate news organization, CNBC. Jim Goldman (the guy that interviews Steve Jobs on CNBC after every Apple event) says that according a “good source,” Microsoft is “ready to give a major facelift to the company’s Zune music player that…
This is it. The real McCoy: Luke Skywalker’s one and only lightsaber, used in the original Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. It can be yours for only $185,000. If you don’t have $185,000 handy, you can get the real fedora hat or the bullwhip used by Indiana Jones in Temple of Doom for…
Found via Digg, these illustrative arm slings show onlookers exactly how you broke that arm, so you can save precious seconds from not having to repeat that boring story. Of course, your coworkers seeing this will then ask about where you got the sling design, how exactly you fell down the stairs when you live…
I hate having change in my pockets. It’s clutter. Besides, I rarely carry any cash nowadays—the almighty debit card tackles all transactions. So whenever I see a Salvation Army Santa endlessly tingling his little bell, I keep on marching ’til I’m out of earshot. But those days are over. The Salvation Army is loading up…
As seen on Married to the Sea. [Thanks Marco!]
