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The Inquirer continues their excellent coverage of Computex 2005, including a shot of this GeCube GC-STK-TV, a USB TV tuner so small that its antenna is larger than the circuitry. It doesn’t look quite ready for a released product, of course, but something that small could be very handy for the traveling types who have…
I’ve seen a few of these things come and go and none of them have been really able to survive for longer than a few months. I mean, there’s already freecycle and Craigslist out there, so “free love hippie exchanges” are pretty well covered. However, this is a parts exchange for geeks by geeks so…
Normally we see it as our job to try and deflate the soaring egos of Tech Bubble 2.0, but in this case—the suggestion that Skype CEO Niklas Zennstrom and company should get a Nobel Prize—Om Malik does the heavy lifting: I know Jeff meant well but still to think of these gentlemen in the same…
Some of my favorite childhood memories involved these big jars of tamales that my dad would buy and that I’d make and eat in bulk coupled with a few minutes of LCD gaming goodness on my old Pac Man watch. As a result, I was a pretty fat kid. Well, I can relive those artery…
Yee Haw. HP has dipped another toe into the waters of oblivion by continuing to cross-brand the iPod. I would love to see the numbers on this project in terms of units sold and revenue gained. While it is obvious no one can kill the Apple behemoth, they could maybe try by making an intelligent…
Those Teutons! First it’s the Volk Musik box from yesterday and now they have this primordial iPod. Who says German isn’t the language of fun? This Ebay item is actually a Schneider portable record player with full built-in EQ and volume controls and it even comes with “boom box” speakers. The seller doesn’t want to…
A man who thought that sunlight looks beautiful as it refracts through the side of a CD-ROM shouldn’t be trusted with power tools, but I guess they’re more lax about that up in Canada. Jim Watters, a former QA tester, had about 70 CDs and decided to make a lamp in order to recreate that…
Design cues in electronic products are kind of like my mom’s mild harelip or your weird uncle’s curly hair—they show up once every generation and only occasionally get passed on to a wide array of progeny and really ensconce themselves into the gene pool. The DigiArmor DMS-S20 is the first device to display a tendency…
Dear BMW and Mercedes- Please fire the 12-year-olds in your cross-marketing team. They may think MP3 watches are very cool and, like, really retro, but in fact they are quite silly and frustrating and no self-respecting car owner would be caught dead wearing one. Take a tip from Dunhill and make some nice watches instead…
Is this Moby’s Next Big Thing? Who needs a sweaty, drunk German in socks and sandals playing a tuba when you can just hook up the Hohner ‘Alp Inside’ which includes “perfectly arranged 128 sounds for folk music and popular Popmusik, various accordion sounds, additional Samples from Bariton to zither.” How do you use it?…
5.1-megapixels. 5x optical zoom. 5.1 cm LCD. Some sort of HP “Real Life” technologies. Not much to write home about, but it’s nice that HP—they of the excellent camera commercials—is still in the game. The R817 is silver. The R818 is dark matte. Isn’t that amazing? An entirely new model number just for a difference…
While this device may sound like something that dispenses old-timey opium for babies, it’s actually a pretty hot little theremin that modulates light instead of whatever real theremins modulate. It’s RF, isn’t it? Or bodily gases? For about $79, Professor Television will send you a handmade photo theremin so you can create your own rock…
What’s that, Drinky Smurf? Can’t get enough of the bathtub gin? Well sidle up to this 180 Degree martini bar—or, better yet, put two together, get yourself drunk, get in, and then try to sit in the corner—and slurp yourself into mad oblivion. The kit includes Kohler fixtures, in-line water purifier, and in-line quick-recovery instant…
Not sure what that little asterisks is doing in there, but this entry-level SLR looks like a nice competitor for the Rebel. 2.5-inch LCD, 6.1-megapixels, and removable lenses make very happy. Pentax has used a ten-layer circuit board to squeeze all kinds of power inside and the camera accepts the SD, a strange move away…
This is one of those “so much depends upon a red wheel barrow” moments in gadget history. This little dongle is one of the most needed tools in all computing and almost impossible to find in a nice, inexpensive form factor. I’m so glad we stumbled on it today, because there are thousands of perfectly…
Where have you gone, Apple Newton? The nation turns its lonely eyes to you. Retro-Electro is a book about retro computing objects including the much-missed original toaster Mac and the Atari 2600. As an aside, I recently brought my Atari 800XL back from my parent’s rolling estate in the mountains of Columbus, Ohio and now…
We talked about the 22-megapixel Mamiya ZD quite a while ago and PDNonline has finally gotten their hands on an early model. Not quite an SLR and not quite a digicam, this “bullpup” design monster accepts auto-focus lenses and has a shutter speed of 1.5 fps. Other nice features include dual memory card slots and…
Casio and some other folks are particularly fond of making atomic/solar watches but, strangely enough, Seiko has mostly bucked the trend until now. The Seiko Ignition Takuma Sato—named after a famous Japanese race car driver—has a solar battery with six month power reserve, atomic time calibration, and a cool caseback with Sato’s signature. Seiko is…
The MPAA’s totally excellent adventure of forcing a broadcast flag down our throats has gone tits-up thanks to House Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX). This means that your TiVo won’t have to phone the Man so you can send that episode of Desperate American Idols Want to Be Hiltons Island to your PMP. A…
Gawker Media’s latest site not to feature a robot elf head mascot, Oddjack, is live. Edited by A.J. Daulerio, Oddjack covers the world of gambling, which makes me happy, because I know nothing about gambling except how to make really stale jokes in the office about the “odds of success.” Anyway, check it out, if…