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New details have been leaked about Creative’s answer to the iPod touch and Zune, a wireless music player with Wi-Fi media sharing capabilities called the Zen X-Fi. Pictures show the device sporting a chrome-and-black plastic look that’s vaguely reminiscent of the iPhone, along with a nine-point directional pad. Besides certain internet features, X-Fi will also…
"Argh, um, ooh… actually that’s kinda interesting" is an approximate record of my thoughts as I heard the Time Harp play in this vid for the first time. The robo-musical instrument grinds plastic discs against strings to make them resonate, activated by motion sensors. And it produces…well, a kind of vooming hum that is almost,…
In yet another attempt to further plant and human inter-communication, a company called PlantSense is now offering a USB stake that monitors the soil around your greens and gives you advice on how to keep them healthy. Great for people like me, who have trouble getting even herbs to grow right. https://gizmodo.com/new-botanicalls-lets-plants-communicate-using-twitter-360280 The user places…
Over a year after their Southern neighbors, Canadians are finally getting their hands on the magical iPhone. But Rogers Communications, the only carrier with a contract to sell the phone, has a data plan that makes AT&T look positively philanthropic. A $75 a month plan comes with a mandatory 3-year contract, 100 text messages, 300…
DIY gadgeteer Carlos at Carlito’s Contraptions and Tony Stark have at least one thing in common: they like to tinker with homemade gizmos and strap ’em onto their bodies. Sadly Carlos didn’t have access to Tony’s array of sci-fi gadget impossibilities, but that didn’t stop him from producing this palm-mounted ultra-bright LED flashlight in a…
While everyone this week spent time recognizing Bill’s achievements, I’d like to recognize Mrs. Bill, Melinda Gates. In a quarter-century’s time, after her husband has shuffled offstage at the Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm clutching his gong, after the applause has died down, those people who like to discuss such things will say, “It was…
Designer Haishu Zhang has created the Sweety concept gadget to help soothe away people’s stresses. Apparently he’s designed to be your 24-hour listener, so I guess you just sound-off in his direction rather than at a real person. And Sweety reacts with graphic patterns and color changes that, um, help you somehow. I’m a little…
One man’s LEGO is another man’s treasure, and what better way is there to guard your grand stash of colored bricks than by using the bricks themselves as a weapon? The Thriller Automatic and Thriller Compact are slide action crossbow pistols with cocking and chambering mechanisms that are almost completely made out of LEGO. Martin…
Hey dudebro, looking to take a bro-dtrip but afraid you’ll make the ultimate braux-pas: not bringing enough beer and having a totally whack sound system? Chill out man, Party-A-Cargo’s got your back with its tow hitch mounted kegerator. The Party-A-Cargo Ultimate can store up to 160 glasses of beer and contains a jockey box with…
Every office has one. The loud-mouthed, conversation-hogging know-it-all who interrupts meetings with long-winded diatribes, and then holds them hostage until the sweet release of 5 o’ clock. The Reflect table tries to tackle this problem, and help quieter meeting attendees, perhaps, with a series of LED bulbs and microphones that track the flow of conversation.…
If Radiation Shield Technologies’ Demron fabric pans out, maybe our dystopian, radiation-soaked future won’t be so bad after all. At the very least, we’ll be toasty-and fashionable too! RST says the fabric (available in full body suits, blankets, gloves and boots) protects against particle ionizing/nuclear radiation, and shields against X-ray and low-energy Gamma emissions. The…
Click to viewHey Mr. Pentagon Guys, John Mayer here. Remember those plans to invade Iran because of their missiles and weapons of mass destruction and the long fugly beards and a musical taste that doesn’t include me? Yeah? Well, just take your time. Watch the video. All will be clearer afterwards. Thanks yous, John.
These dry-clean only shirts from Rhombuswear are, perhaps, the perfect “next step” for geeks looking to spruce up their wardrobe with a few articles that aren’t open source project-branded polo shirts. From a distance, they’re all business. But get close, and the little 1’s and 0’s start to take shape. Or Iowa test ovals, your…
This is possibly the ultimate hack-turning your face into a remote control unit. A computer-science Ph.D student from UC San Diego can use his fizzog to speed up or slow down video, as part of a project that hopes to make robots better teachers using automated facial expression recognition. Jacob Whitehill, who is leading the…
Couldn’t make it out to the Coney Island meetup today? It’s OK, it’s really, really hot outside. Now you can enjoy photos taken from our trusty Nokia N95, continually updated as we take them tonight. So go ahead, enjoy our baseball and shenanigans from afar, you lazy bum. Thanks to the fine folks at Nokia…
The Boy Genius Report has a first look at Motorola’s answer to the “Touch Screen Wars,” called the Blaze. From the looks of the branding, this touchy-feely handset is coming to Verizon, complete with a special Verizon-only operating system. BGR says the touch screen is decent, and the mobile browser is “OK,” but nothing to…
Can’t quite make it to a Six Flags this weekend? Sign up for a BuzzBall then, and bring the motion-induced vomiting to you! Cooked up by some crazy New Zealanders from Evento as a cure for ‘coaster aficionados without access to the rails, the BuzzBall features a pair of electric motors, each of which controls…
With the arrival of Topia’s one-seater prototype, I think it’s finally safe to say the SMART car has something it can take in a fight. Called the HUVO, this diminutive electric car forgoes features like “well-being” and “sanity” for “lightweight” (330 lbs.) and “Jesus Christ watch out for that MINI Cooper!” To save weight and…
Going one better than the Jesus model (the original, not Giz’s resident LEGO freak and sexy boy Diaz) is the Konepan, a bread maker from japanese toy manufacturer Megahouse. The kitchen gizmo, aimed at kids and recently-retired Giz writers, can turn your dough into 14 different shapes, most of them crazy, all of them fabulous.…
A 21-year-old student from the UK has designed a cardboard bicycle that he has dubbed “the ultimate green machine.” Supporting anyone up to 168 pounds, the frame, which costs around $6 to make, is made from the cardboard used in industrial packaging, whilst the wheels and chain are standard bike issue, and will cost around…
