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Fans of kitsch plastic gewgaws might find this Stitch radio and CD player from Runat so far up their street it’s parked in their garage. Modelled on the Disney alien from the 2002 movie Lilo and Stitch, and most probably a tie-in for the upcoming anime series Stitch! it looks awesome with its mouth open—as…
Never heard of the Graffiti Research Lab? Well, if we tell you they were wrongly suspected of being involved in the Boston LED Mooninite mess, and their self-declared mission statement is to be "dedicated to outfitting graffiti writers, pranksters, artists and protestors with open source tools for urban communication" do you have more of a…
From Wired’s Randy Alfred: 1184 B.C.: During the Trojan War, the Greeks depart in ships, leaving behind a large wooden horse as a victory offering. It is hauled inside the walls of Troy, and Greek soldiers descend from the horse’s belly after dark to slay the guards and commence destruction of the city. [Wired]
Here’s something from 2004 worth bringing up again as it circulates the blogs. I am guessing that wedding bands featuring male and female 8P8C Ethernet connectors have a somewhat limited demand. I mean, sure I have met geeks that would be right into this, but never a pair of them, though the fact that they…
The latest iPhone SDK is now available, and unlike last time, it actually comes with an awesome new feature: OpenGL ES support! Now the iPhone simulator can render OpenGL ES that “mirror behavior on the iPhone and iPod Touch.” The ES in OpenGL ES stands for embedded systems, and is the official graphics API in…
Our friend Datamancer, steampunk modder extraordinaire, is at it again. His newest creation is this Steampunk LCD monitor, and it’s a doozy. https://gizmodo.com/exclusive-interview-steampunk-virtuoso-datamancer-aka-322687 This is a 22″ widescreen LCD that I built to compliment my brass keyboards. The frame is solid 1/4-inch brass that has been sanded and polished to a high shine. The base…
I don’t know if you follow Starbucks news, but as much as I prefer local coffeehouses, I’ve been intently watching their recent efforts to get back the soul they’ve commoditized away. Here’s their new espresso machine, the Mastrena, which they call a “high-performance Italian sports car,” set to roll out this year. It’s shorter than…
Here’s a simple concept: An umbrella stand that directs wet umbrella run off to a plant-filled tray. I one day hope to live in a modern house with modern furniture surrounded by geometrically symmetric patches of indoor lawn, so I enjoy the idea of this immensely. [what else via bigchief.it]
The September 20, 1925 San Antonio Light (San Antonio, TX) speculated about the state of teenage love in 1955. An excerpt appears below. The adolescents of thirty years hence will probably be in the thick of the argument. And the mothers of these adolescents, if they do their duty will be very much preoccupied with…
This “auto-tutor” from the 1964 World’s Fair is very similar in concept to the “homework machine” we looked at from 1981. The photo above can be found in the Official Souvenir Book of the 1964 New York World’s Fair. AUTOMATED SCHOOLMARM The Autotutor, a U.S. Industries teaching machine, is tried out by visitors to the…
Microsoft’s Mesh seems full of promise, even if you can’t find a jargon free definition of it anywhere, even Microsoft: All your devices working together; Access from Anywhere, Simple to Share; Stay Informed; Protection You Know. Let’s stick with the simple here and now: It’s online file syncing, sharing, and storage for many devices. And…
When I was talking to Comcast for my round up of ISP network management practices (pre-BT deal), we talked a lot about how they manage p2p traffic, and they were very clear that the temporary slowdowns were “surgical,” (their word) and only employed during heavy congestion. So I’d been using that caveat anytime I brought…
Those of you who are familiar with Arthur C. Clarke’s 1955 novel Earthlight may recognize a new weapon from DARPA dubbed the Magneto Hydrodynamic Explosive Munition (MAHEM). In the novel, a commander unleashes “The Stiletto”—a weapon consisting of a jet of molten metal hurled through space by an electro-magnet. The MAHEM concept works in much…
The official release is on April 29th, but if you are the impatient sort and enjoy the thrill of downloading unproven software, you can get your hands on it now via MajorGeeks and Softpedia. [Major Geeks and Softpedia via Lifehacker] https://gizmodo.com/windows-xp-sp3-being-manufactured-available-for-releas-382436
If the lack of GPS on the AT&T Blackberry Pearl was the one thing holding you back, today is your lucky day. The GPS-capable 8110 is now available through AT&T. Unfortunately, the $150 handset sacrifices Wi-Fi in favor of navigaton. [AT&T via IntoMobile] https://gizmodo.com/blackberrys-8120-pearl-goes-wi-fi-for-at-t-367515
After nearly a year, the iPhone has finally received its first [Questionably the first, but definitely the worst – Ed.] starring role in a music video. Unfortunately, the video is “Smell Yo Dick”, by sassy rapper Riskay. In the self-explanatory guide to detecting cheaters, the phone is featured in a variety of situations both good…
Autoliv’s new Pedestrian Protection System combines a hood that opens to cushion impact and a pair of hood mounted airbags to reduce the risk of serious injury when a car comes into contact with an unfortunate pedestrian, cyclist or motorcyclist. The tech’s safety specs are impressive: “From almost certain death to less than a 15%…
Cloud computing is supposed to be the next big tech revolution. One of the basic ideas, for the uninitiated, is that all of your apps and files (docs, pictures, music) are stored online in a digital locker, and you can access them from anywhere, no matter what computer you’re using, thus heralding the end of…
Festo, the same company that brought us the Air Ray robot last year, has developed yet another graceful robot inspired by a creature of the sea. In fact, they have developed two versions, both based on the common jellyfish: the AquaJelly and the AirJelly. According to Festo, the AquaJelly is “an artificial autonomous jellyfish with…
This LEGO mousetrap by Jason Allemann is pure, classic simplicity made of bricks. Created with LEGO technic, the trap measures 30 x 16 x 24 studs, and captured two mice that had decided to live in his home (one in the picture above.) The mechanism itself is quite simple: https://gizmodo.com/lego-brick-timeline-50-years-of-building-frenzy-and-cu-349509 1) mice get inside to…
