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Self-destruct buttons (especially the deluxe models) have been part of geekgeist at least since Battle Damage He-Man. The self-styled ‘Kaizo Aho Ichidai’ (roughly, the ‘Modding Nutter Unit’) has built himself this very nice-looking version that fits cleanly inside a 5-inch PC bay and even works as an on/off switch. Even more attractive, though, are the…
I think this quote from DesignTechnica’s review of the Bose QuietComfort 2 headphones is a fair encapsulation of almost every Bose product: At an MSRP of $299, consider this a $100 worth of decent headphone, and $200 worth of noise reduction. The only thing surprising in this quote is that Bose actually did something well…
I’m not quite sure what the overall message is of Pete Miser’s new ‘Scent of a Robot’ video—I can’t quite relate to someone who would think being an autonomous servant of the hegemony would be in any way negative. I can easily relate to robots that go home to drink a beer and watch DVDs,…
A South African doctor has developed the SIMpill, a pill bottle that uses SMS to monitor how often pills are being taken and can send alerts to a patient’s phone if they have missed a dose by mistake. Each time the cap is removed, a small cellular transmitter in the bottle sends a secure SMS…
Read this review of the new MSI Mega Player 521 and 522 [left and right, respectively] and tell me you don’t see the shadow of the iPod shuffle hanging over both of them. Both of them have decent features, including an integrated pedometer in the 521 and built-in Bluetooth in the 522, but it’s hard…
Dear Total Nerds, if you would like to read an article with lots of terms like, “bio-nanofiber,” “low heat expanding transparent substrate,” “bio-luminescent transistor,” and other possible examples of Star Trek plot-resolving deus ex machina, this article on TechJapan is right up your Jeffries Tube. If you want the less nerdly boil-down, here it is:…
Only a little bit dorky, the ‘Pack n Chair’ is a folding seat that wraps around a standard-issue, detachable backpack, allowing you to traipse merrily after fish taco vendors without worrying about unshaven smell bombs engaging in impromptu relations on your lawn-section blanket. The backpack even has a built-in cooler at the bottom, easily accessible…
It’s been the gadget industry’s quiet secret for far too long, and it’s about time someone took the spermicide issue into their own hands. Infection and impregnation by digital manipulation is portable media’s silent killer. Available in fine truck stop restrooms everywhere (tickler models may not be suitable for use with multiple headphones). (Thanks, Paul!)…
February 20, 2005 Update: It’s happened again. Now with pictures. See also: The Collected Works of Paris Hilton’s Hacked Sidekick [Gawker] Paris Hilton: Hacked [Defamer] (With link to her famed phone book) Paris Hilton’s Sidekick hacked [Lifehacker] http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/cellphones/danger/index.php#paris-hiltons-sidekick-ii-hacked-what-about-yours-033637 An anonymous ‘source’ has claimed that Paris Hilton’s Blackberry has been haxorbated, leaving us with a quote…
It looks as if ‘the tube’ surround sound headphone is actually being sold, despite the fact they did not personally ask me to weigh in with my skepticism. To an extent the idea makes sense—placing speakers around the head to simulate surround sounds more effective than using strange phase algorithms, at least in theory—but the…
Hammacher Schlemmer has a new crap toy for sending to your step-sister’s obnoxious children—one that makes grating, out-of-phase noise while also conveniently allowing you to see what would have happened had they been blessed with a third 21st chromosome. Made to fit all but the fattest-handed children, The Hand Band can generate keyboard, guitar or…
From what we heard from import shops last year, the iKub Kubrick iPod Cradle ended up being a blockbuster hit—people couldn’t get enough of the $50 white robot that held the iPod with cold, but loving precision. Now it looks like there is a new model, which we’re told is called the iBear, designed to…
Nathan Tung was just 10 years old when he won the Wild Planet toy design contest for his ‘Explorer Gloves,’ a clever pair of gloves with built-in signal lights, watch, compass, and more (Wild Planet has worked with GapKids before). Now GapKids has decided to pick up the gloves for inclusion with their new subtle…
It’s rare that a watch strikes my lust gland as clearly as the YES Zulu did. The $800 titanium-clad timepiece not only tells time (through a digital display), but has a built-in analog 24 clock. As the single hand moves through its 24-hour cycle, the display underneath shows how much daylight is left in the…
Product Highlights • Nokia and TI to develop single chip GSM phone [MobileTracker] • Aiwa adds 512MB and 1GB models to XDM series [TechJapan] • Kutaragi defends PSP design despite high defect rate [GameIndustryBIZ] Business • Maxtor won’t think small after all [Reuters] No 2.5-inch laptop drives. • The Good, The Bad, (RIM), The Ugly…
Pocket-Lint surely likes the iTech XFM DAB radio, a pleasant-looking mantis-headed radio with lots of features, including 10-minute live rewind and MP3 playback from SD/MMC flash memory cards. If it’s got any shortcoming, it would be the 5 D-cell batteries it takes to power it off the wall—you’d be better off keeping it on mains…
Perhaps not the newest bit of gear on the ice-covered block, but certainly topical enough considering: the Whovel is a snow shovel with a giant plastic wheel attached to the middle, making it easier to flip snow without straining your back. It’s supposedly been reviewed by a real doctor, as well, who verified its ability…
Matt Maier reviews a pair of new Verizon EV-DO phones, the Samsung A890 and LG VX8000, both of which operate on the carrier’s newish high-speed cellular network yet don’t allow any mechanism for getting content on or off the phone (no Bluetooth, no memory cards). While Maier is impressed with the speed—and should be, because…
Part-time Gizmodo operative and full-time ladykiller Brendon “I,” Koerner talks about the “Mercedes of Trash Bags,” the Glad ForceFlex. Each of the new, stronger bags is comprised of ribber diamond patterns, each of which can expand out when internal pressure gets too overwhelming without compromising the entire bag integrity. As Clive notes, the most interesting…
I cannot tell a lie: the space hookah picture does not actually show the prototype devices being developed by Defense Department contractors to test if soldiers are sick or tired just by sniffing their breath. In fact, I think that man might be inventing the world’s bitchunest french horn or maybe one of those MIDI…