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As if the world needed yet another weird musical instrument, Danielle Wilde has created the hipDisk, a pair of doughnut-shaped platters activated with a series of movements that might be quite attractive with the right person doing them. The idea incorporates not just one of these noisemakers, but duets, trios, quartets or even choirs of…
Fashionistas and animators made these holograms of freaky underwater creatures float around sexy models at the Diesel Spring/Summer ’08 show, celebrated a few days ago in Florence. See how they did it and watch the tentacle porn their fascinating movements in the video after the jump. The creatures were created by Diesel’s creative team, Barcelona…
For those of you without a talking dog, this retractable leash with built-in AM/FM radio and flashlight means you’ll never be lonely again when it’s time for Bonzo’s walkies. It costs $25, weighs one pound and works with two AA batteries. There’s only 12 feet of cord, though, so make sure that you’re playing mutt-friendly…
A group of MIT and Brown researchers and engineers have debuted a prosthetic foot that propels the user forward using “tendon-like springs and an electric motor,” meaning it is even more like the real thing than traditional prostheses. Professor Hugh Herr, head of biomechatronics at MIT’s Media Lab, and a double amputee himself, tested the…
Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player for $199 with free shipping, HDMI cable and five HD DVD movies [Value Electronics]
For Hire: one armored personnel carrier. Gloss-white paint job, champagne-filled, smoked-glass fridge, racing green interior, seats eight, plus three crew. The crazy Brits who modded this are just waiting for a Jacuzzi and 44 feet of blue neon tubing (remote-controlled, natch). How much for the night? Between 1600 and 4000 (that’s from $3,300 to $8,233),…
Last week we told of something that would bring more fear to public transport users than deodorant supplies running low in the summer months. This week, we bring you the reality. iSing. iDon’t Know. iWhat is the iWorld coming to, when a Karaoke version of an MP3 player hits the streets. There’s a video after…
This complete waste of everyone’s time is the Portable Desktop Dancing Water Fountain from Brando. It reacts to sound by squirting synchronized jets of water a couple of inches into the air “to create a peacful oasis,” says the product site. You can turn off the sound-activated option so that the jets all go off…
Cellphone chatrooms and blogs have been discussing the merits of Samsung’s P-520, alongside a couple of photos. This is largely seen as the Korean company’s version of the iPhone (it’s EDGE-supporting, after all) but whether its UI will be as revolutionary as Jobs’ baby is still unknown. Maybe it’s more Prada than JesusPhone—what do you…
We told you about a couple of iPhone activation tricks, but here’s the easy iWay for iDummies like me: iActivator, a graphic program for Mac OS X that will activate the iPhone just by touching a button, without any command line voodoo. https://gizmodo.com/unconfirmed-activate-the-iphone-with-extra-iphone-274046 iActivator is a program that allows you to use some of the…
As if you need to ask what the Z stands for. Panasonic has been pushing the optical-zoom envelope for years, and now, with the Lumix DMC-FZ18, pretty much turns you into some kind of stalker. The 8-megapixel camera with 18X optical zoom lens will be out in September in silver or black for $399. Like…
Today, Panasonic is launching the Lumix FX33 and FX55, two 8 megapixel cameras with 28mm wide-angle 3.6X optical zoom Leica lenses. The DMC-FX55, with a 3″ LCD, will sell for $349 in silver, black and pink; the DMC-FX33, with 2.5″ LCD, will go for $299 and come in silver, black, blue and brown. I know,…
The 1979 book Future Cities: Homes and Living into the 21st Century goes into some detail about how the “risto” may be used in a variety of applications. Aside from instantly voting via your watch the device apparently has crime-fighting capabilities. Crime in cities could get a knock from the risto. Police would all be…
If you’ve been saving up your nickels to get a $800 TiVo Series3, you just got yourself a $500 bonus prize. Today TiVo releases the TiVo HD, a scaled-back version of the original Series3 that lists for just $299. We got our hands on one, and managed the even more complicated task of convincing Cablevision…
Amp’d kick-the-bucket Q&A updated: new expiration date is July 31. To quote it out of context: “Potentially.” [Amp’d] https://gizmodo.com/ampd-mobile-shutting-down-july-24-prepayers-beware-281128
The photos and excerpts below are featured in the book Fifties Source Book and highlight the Kitchen of the Future built for the 1956 Daily Mail Ideal Home Exhibition. Peter and Alison Smithson were major exponents of Modernist architecture in Britain, commissioned to design the House of the Future for the 1956 Daily Mail Ideal…
D-Link’s DUB-9240 Wireless USB hub was announced today. For non-wireless USB equipped PCs (everything but the Lenovo T61 and Dell Inspiron 1720), the kit includes an adapter, called the DUB-1210. It operates with the four port hub (DUB-2240), which your devices connect to by cable, at the 3.4GHz to 4.5GHz range to reduce interference. https://gizmodo.com/certified-wireless-usb-takes-flight-in-inspiron-thinkp-281616…
Kiss your favorite cords goodbye, because Certified Wireless USB is throwing them out with the trash. Industry giants including Dell and IBM have come on board as early adopters of the new USB standard, which combines the data transfer rates of USB with the ease-of-use and cable-free nature of Bluetooth and WiFi. Dell is rolling…
Sling Media released a firmware update for Slingbox, it helps improve on its UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) performance. [Sling]
Crediting a strategic price cut and a strong E3 showing, Sony is gloating over its latest figures: PS3 sales are up 135% since the July 9th announcement of the $499 price tag. With Xbox 360 sales dropping, new firmware updates enhancing the basic functionality of the system, Blu-ray pushing hard against HD-DVD and a growing…