Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
TreeHugger’s got the scoop on this Sun Table, an otherwise normal-looking table covered in solar panels that’s effective enough to power your gadgets for a few hours. The internal battery’s max storage stores 13 amps and charges in 3 hours under full sunlight. It depends on the type of device you use (laptops get 3…
The latest Zune firmware update is going to hit today, fixing some of the issues people have been experiencing with their 30GB and 80GB players. Among the fixes are “improved device recognition” and “improved stability and reliability on sync,” which doesn’t really tell us much, but should help with the problems (hopefully). No new features…
The Archos 605 Wi-Fi is a fine player when you want to watch movies on the go, but have you noticed that it’s not quite Harry Pottery enough? Archos hears your cries, and is introducing a special edition loaded with the first four Potter movies (with the fifth being downloadable from the Archos Content Portal).…
As if shaking martinis could get all that much classier, this Cocktail Cyclone Portable Drink Mixer makes shaking a drink high-tech and awesome. Pour in your ingredients, snap on the top and hit the button to create a liquid cyclone inside that mixes while entertaining. The best part is that as you make more and…
You’d better be dead serious about your snowball fighting if you want to build this pneumatic snowball cannon. If you already own an air compressor, you can build it with $45 worth of parts and a heaping helping of patience. Team this sucker up with that Sno-baller we showed you earlier today, and your snowball-fighting…
The Unwired spotted the LG KS20 Windows Mobile smartphone on the FCC, noting that it’s going to be called the LG MS25 when it reaches the US. Our guess is AT&T. [The Unwired via Boy Genius]
Here’s an idea that’s not going to go over well with the Department of Homeland Security: Toshiba has reportedly developed a nuclear reactor that will fit in your basement. Measuring 20 feet wide by 6 feet long, it cranks out 200kW and doesn’t even require Homer Simpson to operate, since it’s supposedly totally automatic and…
If you don’t have an empty cigarette pack around to make an impromptu flash diffuser for your digital SLR, you might be interested in this slightly more refined Lumiquest Soft Screen. The best photographers know that soft light is the most flattering, and it’s not exactly easy to obtain when all you have on hand…
Huzzah! I’ve discovered why XviD files didn’t work in the PlayStation DivX Playback test. Apparently, streaming over Windows Media Player 11 does not work for any XviD files and most DivX files, but it does work fine if you load the files onto an external USB drive or burn it to a DVD. But there’s…
RAM is getting so cheap, HyperOS Systems figured it might as well just make a 32GB hard drive out of the stuff. Even though the HyperDrive4 costs $2940, imagine a hard drive that fits in a conventional 5.25″ bay, but is 8000 times faster than a 10,000RPM spinning hard disk. The downside? You have to…
This week at TreeHugger: Say hello to the “Cuter Scooter,” the latest electric, foldable, affordable scooter from the brain maniacs at MIT. The Danish city of Gren is putting RFID to work for the green good with a pretty slick idea involving bikes, traffic and keeping the two from running in to each other. Get…
Just in case you haven’t had a chance to play the original Sonic the Hedgehog on your Wii or Xbox 360 lately, now there’s yet another platform that’s offering the classic platformer for sale: the iPod. Yep, for $4.99 you can now download the classic Sonic the “I remember this being better” Hedgehog for all…
In the spring of 2006, Yasuhiro Matsunaga had a dream. It wasn’t complicated, like how to bring about racial harmony or build a rocket ship. Matsunaga had discovered a bunch of mouse pads in a storage locker, and his dream was to toss them all. Not into the trash, though. Matsunaga’s mama had taught him…
Google is the Tetsuo of tech. It’s already massive, but it grows uncontrollably in a million different directions and almost feels like it’s on the verge of creating its own gUniverse. [Ed. note: “Gooniverse”?] At times, it’s both amazing and scary to watch. 2007 was the biggest year yet for Google, but crazily enough, most…
Don’t you hate it when your hands get all frozen forming those snowballs? There’s a gadget that’s made to solve that problem, called the Sno-Baller. Now your snowballs can be just as precise as everything else in your life. And in the summer when there’s no snow, you can use this press to create gigantic…
Asus has announced the availability of the U6E and U6S notebooks in the US. Each boasts glossy, high-shine covers,and genuine leather along with an Intel Centrino Duo processor, up to 2GB of RAM and 250GB of hard drive space, and either the NVIDIA GeForce 8400M G or Intel’s GMA X3100 GPU. And just for kicks…
On the heels of the Epos digital pen we showed you earlier this month, now Nokia gets into the act with the Nokia SU-27W Digital Pen, and this one goes a step further with Bluetooth connectivity. The idea is you write or draw something with this fat instrument on an ordinary piece paper, and everything…
The Zipit 2 is being upgraded to send and receive SMS to and from cellphones, for just $4.99 a month. Available via download between December 20 and its official February launch, the Zipit will only receive texts from a pre-approved list, making it spam-free. https://gizmodo.com/zipit-z2-wireless-messenger-lets-teens-im-for-free-gal-319767
Salt and pepper shaker collectors will be interested in this innovative way to dispense those table staples, looking a whole lot like nuts and bolts. They’re actually constructed like a Slinky. Bend one of these bolts, and the gaps between its coils get wide enough to release your chosen seasoning. Good thing there’s an “S”…
Come with us into the world of fantasy, where there’s just one kind of plug and its associated cable that will work for every electronic device. What we would like to see is one cable that carries audio, video and power to or from whatever device you need to use. It needs to be small,…