Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
After losing our Paul Frank calculator watch to our arch nemesis the washing machine, we’ve been searching the Earth (a few internet sites a handful of times a month) for a suitable replacement. Our latest contender is this metal link Casio Data Bank watch, a sort of upper middle class citizen of the retro calculator…
During the earnings call where Sprint got to chat about bleeding $29.5 billion this past quarter (thanks to the Nextel merger), CEO Dan Hesse confirmed that they’ll be releasing dual CDMA/WiMax handsets sometime this year—the first solid word they’d be packing WiMax in phones. Question: Do you care? [mocoNews]
The solar power plant Abengoa Solar will build in Gila Bend, Arizona, won’t rely on fancy photovoltaic panels. No, it uses pretty much the same trick your evil ass used on bugs and leaves way back when: focusing sunlight to create high heat. In this case, mirrors focus the sun’s rays into tanks of heat-transfer…
Remember that romantic scene from Ghost with the wet pottery and the steamy groping? This USB pottery wheel mod will never, under any circumstances, re-create such an intense moment by the side of your computer. But it is pretty entertaining to watch a hard drive coupled with sweaty fingers create asymmetrically clay shot glasses. [via…
This Closer Than We Think strip about weather control appeared in the June 22, 1958 Chicago Tribune. In years to come, there will be satellite equipment for forecasting – as well as controlling – the weather. The effects of air and humidity masses can be calculated more precisely from above. Sunspots, solar rays and other…
This foot-tall Mario statue is actually a DS holder, with his grip specially designed to hold your portable gaming device. It’s the perfect way to make your bedroom look like a 1993 Toys R Us while also making sure your DS doesn’t have to sully itself resting on any flat surfaces. How can you say…
Here’s a first look at the Time Capsule in its packaging. It just arrived at our door, but we’ll do our best to get you our impressions ASAP, so stay tuned. [Time Capsule on Giz]
Green Cell is a concept with a single simple idea: use safe, standardized rechargeable batteries in all portable gadgets. The environment would benefit from fewer batteries being thrown away, and you’d need fewer chargers for all your gear. Green Cell batteries would even be made without toxic chemicals, and sold from vending machines that double…
Who else saw Lost last night? Was that not the best episode ever? Desmond! Desmooooond! I love that guy. If we were stuck on an island, we’d want to have that crazy bloke with us. But thanks to Alaska Airlines, Ask.com, Bell Business Mobility, BMW, Insecticide, Mini, Sprint, The 88, Toshiba and Zoombak, we won’t…
Made from bastardized I-Cybie robots, this set of 11 hunting trophies only come to life when approached, an IR sensor alerting them to the presence of movement. Their eyes flash red, orange or green, and the closer you come to them, the louder they growl. Created by France Cadet, a robotics teacher at Aix-en-Provence School…
As our monitors eat away more at our retinas every day, we’re increasingly interested in computers for the blind. “Siafu” is a concept by Jonathan Lucas that combines a dynamic Braille surface with tactile control. Aside from clicking on the words that your hands read, photos could also be displayed on the same surface, protruding…
Dutch researchers have come up with a heated sleep suit that could help insomniacs and older people who suffer from disturbed sleeping patterns. A system of micropipes filled with water warms the patient, increasing their body temperature by just 0.4 degrees Celsius. At 35.4ºC, the body shifts from nocturnal wakefulness to a deeper sleep because,…
Our friend the animated USB dog has returned, this time with more of a healthy G- rather than a rampant R-rating. Just plug him in, and watch him do sit-ups all day long. It may inspire you to head down to your gym, or perhaps find a bar because the sight of all that abdominal…
Designer Nuno Teixeira has redesigned the iMac, giving it a curved screen, second display at the back (not sure what that’s good for—educating the mice who live behind the skirting board in the office, perhaps?) and a second webcam. Apparently, he was inspired by the wraparound Cinerama screens from the ’50s. [Yanko]
I nearly labelled this four-port USB hub with digital alarm and seven-colour moodlight “just another boring Brando USB gadget.” But on second thought, I decided I actually like it: if you’re going to have a USB hub on your desk, why not combine it with some multicolored LED goodness? Brighten up your dreary cubicle with…
Yamaha has brought out its 63 Series, five receivers for Home Theater setups ranging in price from the $229 RX-V363 to the RX-V863, which costs just under a grand. All of them (the other three are the RX-V463, the RX-V563 and the RX-V663) are iPod- and Bluetooth-compatible, and some of them have on-screen menu display,…
Apple is blowing out a whole bunch of Apple-certified refurbished models, from a current generation aluminum iMac 24″ (amazing machine that I use daily) for $1,899 with free shipping in 24 hours (that’s $400 off the sticker price), to a previous generation $1,499 2.33GHz MacBook Pro 15″ ($1,000 off) or a $1,899 17-inch MacBook Pro…
Have you been waiting for a Sony Vaio range that will allow custom font selection for keyboard lettering? Well, the new Graphic Splash Expressions Collection is here to answer your prayers. Yes, you can finally choose the font of the keyboard lettering when you order—we’re so excited. The lappies are available in various designs, including…
Sega Toy’s new Body Trainer is a “medical entertainment” product, we kid you not, designed to guide you through your exercise regime. Taking account of your age, weight and so on, it advises you with spoken prompts along the lines of “Let’s start warming up.” It actually measures your heart rate with an earlobe clip,…
I don’t know about you, but any trailer that starts with the greatest gadget genius of all time having a morning whisky on the rocks, while traveling through the desert in a Humvee to the beat of AC/DC’s Back In Black, says to me: BEST SUPERHERO MOVIE EVER. Which is precisely what you can see…