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In the future, everything will levitate. Take for example Angela Jansen’s floaty lamp, shown by the Netherlander firm Crealev at a show during Dutch Design Week. (Oh, you don’t attend?) It’s actually the shade that hovers using magnetic levitation over the light-up lamp base, but it’s enough to make you truly believe in magic. Or…
Last night I had a dream about soba noodles in which I explained the enjoyment of sitting at a noodle bar beside otherwise silent, hungry salarymen and slurping away in harmony. I explained that the experience would never be quite the same outside of Tokyo, much like how this new Toshiba Vardia RD-A301 is not…
It’s that time of year again, and we’re getting shivers down our spines just thinking about it: Halloween, the time of harvest, parties, carving gourds and getting drunk out of your gourd. And some of that gourd carving must have been done with the assistance of high technology, especially that one with Jack Nicholson from…
Previously seen mainly in laptop technology, shock sensing is making its way to external drives. I-O Data’s new drive (with 3.5″ disk) is available in sizes up to 1TB, and its G-Sensor stops any read-write activity when the drive is jostled. The thing is, it’s not bus-powered, so it’s not something you’d lug around with…
Garmin says it will outbid TomTom for ownership of map provider Tele Atlas. Ironically, Garmin has always used data from Navteq, which is now being purchased by Nokia. Soooo Days of Our Lives. [Garmin]
NEC has developed a wideband antenna prototype that’s made of fabric, allowing it to be attached to or stitched into clothes. This’ll allow people to increase their cell connectivity by wearing gigantic antennas on their backs. Apparently, “one of the difficulties encountered in the past when using conductive fabrics was that soldering was not possible.…
The awkwardly named Asus Eee laptop, which was originally supposed to drop in August for a mere $199, is finally now available here in the States for a doubly-high price of $399 at NewEgg. Not that $399 is a terrible price for a compact, low-end laptop with a slick custom Linux OS; if you’re looking…
If you live in Japan and drive a stripy Nissan Micra (March), we are so sorry. Still, if you desperately want an NEC Nissan branded laptop to match said vehicle, you are in luck. NEC has just announced an equally grotesque laptop, finished with enough stripes to create an accomplished rock band. Beyond the eccentric…
We like Nokia’s N series smartphones, and thanks to the EZfetch, we like them a little more. The EZfetch allows Nokia N series cellphones, with Wi-Fi, to stream media content straight to either a digital TV or audio system. The device also adds the option of using your Nokia as a remote control for the…
How much of a douche nozzle must you be to replace your standard belt buckle with one that doubles up as a calculator? Apparently, a market exists for such persons, as indicated by the Calculator Belt Buckle. Yes, for $10 you can do away with your dignity and simultaneously purchase a chrome calculator/belt buckle. If…
Our buddy Dr. Ashen of crappy gadget fame just reviewed the the PolyStation 3; a horrific knockoff of a famed Japanese console that only a snarky British gentleman can properly go to town on. Not to spoil the ending or anything, but there’s a reason why he calls himself a Doctor (and no it’s not…
We’ve already covered a couple of Leopard’s uh-ohs and their fixes, but researchers have kicked up the dirt to reveal a few security-related flaws. First, according to Jürgen Schmidt, editor in chief at Heise Security, if you enable Leopard’s firewall (it’s disabled by default) and set it to “block all incoming connections,” some internal system…
Crafted by the makers of TV Poker, the Sweet Thang Plush and the “Original Scoozie Pet,” the Torpedo Entertainment Projector probably isn’t a good choice to form the cornerstone of your home theater. But, for a measly $179 at Target or Wal-Mart, the 920 x 240-resolution projector’s not a bad way to mildly frighten your…
Looking for a shiny new notebook to slap your shiny new Windows Vista on that’ll run it all super snappy and buttery smooth? According to PC World‘s tests, the fastest Windows Vista notebook this year is (or ever): the MacBook Pro. Yeah, it makes throw up in my mouth a little bit before forcing me…
While they’re not getting behind the wheel of the 2009 plug-in Toyota Prius Popular Mechanics took for a spin, 100 households in Northern California are going to put rubber to asphalt next year in the first large-scale consumer test of plug-in hybrids in the country. The 100 green guinea pigs will be picked from the…
The acoustic isolating design of this home theater makes it the first I’ve ever read that brags about how silent it runs. Those wall panels hanging from this basement den absorb sound, as do the dense 1-pound per square foot barriers behind the double walls. Then there’s the floating floor made of a plywood top…
Giz friend Danny Choo is dancing in the streets of Tokyo as a Storm Trooper again, this time in Shibuya. During his routine in the crossing, the famous intersection seen in countless films, he busted his jock strap. (Which meant no running man.) [DannyChoo]
Rob Beschizza at Wired’s Gadget Lab just offered a rundown of why cellphone carriers are essentially evil. His most intriguing argument is that cell carriers operate under a rigid power structure that not only controls prices with an iron fist, but also limits the creativity of hardware makers in the features they offer consumers. I…
It appears that consumers will not be satisfied unless we can listen to music in every possible environment —even underwater. If you are an avid swimmer, you might be interested in this Neoprene Swimbelt to help you stay motivated with music while you exercise. The belt itself costs $39.99 but you have to buy the…
According to Reuters, Google is in talks with Verizon about bringing some of its applications to the carrier’s mobile phones. What they are talking about exactly isn’t clear, but one source noted that the talks have been “useful” and they “could result in a deal.” [Reuters]
