By Bruce Eaton

The bane of using technology in public is the chance that someone might see what you are doing. Joe Malia has designed at the Royal College of Art a privacy scarf for those of us that wish to use our gadgets in public without fear of having it being seen. With this you can compose private text messages about important business meetings or use a computer at work and deal with highly sensitive data. [You're also quite likely to attract the attention of any nearby mental health facility. -Ed.]

Who are we kidding? PRON PRON PRON!! That is all we would use it for…. at least I am truthful about what I would do with it…

[Tech Addict Privacy Scarf] VIA [We Make Money Not Art]

By Andrew Liszewski

Using the middle finger while driving implies a pretty specific emotion to others on the road. There’s really no middle ground there when you flip the bird, you’re angry – end of story. If you’d prefer to be a bit more specific when conveying your emotions to other drivers just stick one of these Drive-e-mocion (just rolls off the tongue doesn’t it?) to your back window.

Using the supplied wireless remote you can trigger a series of different messages based on your mood. Sometimes a simple ‘Thanks’ or even a smiley/frowny face is more than enough to get your point across. At other times a stern ‘Back Off’ might be more appropriate.

While I’m sure the inventor of the Drive-e-mocion had nothing but good intentions for this device I personally can’t see flashing a ‘Back Off’ message to another driver being taken all that well.

The Drive-e-mocion is available from AU-MY.com for ?11 but at the moment is out of stock as they appear to be replacing this model with an upgraded version.

[Drive-e-mocion] VIA [Coolest-Gadgets]

By David Ponce

Yeah, so maybe it doesn’t do 0-60 under 5 seconds, nor does it have 340 ft/lbs of torque. Maybe it doesn’t spit fire when you floor it, but hell, my man, it can go from Halifax to Vancouver (that’s from coast to lovely Canadian coast, in case you don’t know) on one gallon of gas. That works out to just about 3,145 miles per US gallon (0.074 litres/100 km).

The vehicle is the first prize winner at the yearly Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Supermileage Competition that took place June 9 in Marshall, Michigan. It was developed by students at UBC, now winners for the sixth year in a row. The idea is to build the most fuel efficient vehicle possible. The competition rules stipulate that it must be powered by only an internal combustion engine, with no assistance from electric motors or human propulsion.

Last year, UBC won with an entry that clocked in at 1,600 mpg. It’s funny to think we get excited these days at cars that can manage 35mpg.

[UBC 3,145 Mpg Vehicle]

By Ian Chiu

You may have seen a number of USB TV dongles, yet none of those have made into the Mac market. The Miglia has debuted one, called TVMicro and packaged it with the highly-praised Elgato EyeTV 2. Everything USB has reviewed it, and seems to like it, except that the software, being Universal Binary, only runs on Tiger. So, the editor was kinda frustrated when it wouldn’t work on his PowerBook G4.

For the full review, follow the link love.

[Everything USB Reviews The Miglia TVMicro USB TV Dongle]

By David Ponce

We’ve written about desktop applications that redefine the user interface dynamic before. But I have to say we’re a little smitten with this one: the BumpTop prototype.

It seeks to approximate the way we handle documents in a real world setting. You know what I’m talking about; piles of sheets here, scattered magazines there… Now, I do a pretty bad job of describing this. Instead, come inside and watch a fascinating 6 minute video of an early prototype.

The company says that if they get funding, they’ll grow it into a full OS. I have a feeling money’s on the way.

Read the rest of this entry »

By David Ponce

Being the inveterate (no, no, not invertebrate) entertainer that you are, you’ll no doubt appreciate the following item. The CL Sound Machine does it all: it’s a vinyl record player, an iPod dock, a CD player, and a wine rack. All in one stylish piece, so you can impress all your guests.

The 200W amp pumps its juice through the gramophone inspired speaker, while an 8 inch subwoofer provides more bass than you can shake a stick at. The wine rack can hold 12 bottles and the CD player can handle 5 disks.

Sadly, you can’t pick one up at your local Wal-Mart: it’s in “limited production”, and you have to contact the company to request pricing and availability.

[The CL Sound Machine] VIA [Sci-Fi Tech]

By David Ponce

God, that headline reads like an infomercial. But whatever, the CarMD actually sounds like something useful. When the “Check Engine” light on your car’s dashboard comes on, and doesn’t go off after a few kicks on the tires, it usually means your wallet will bleed whatever amount your mechanic deems appropriate to charge you for hooking it up to a computer. It takes two minutes, yet somehow ends up costing an arm.

Well, no more. With the CarMD, you can figure out what’s wrong all on your own. Just hook it up to one of the nine OBD2 (On-Board Diagnostic 2, for cars 1996 and newer) ports located throughout your car (the most commonly used is under the steering wheel) and in no time the device will tell you what’s wrong.

Of course, there’s still a good likelihood you won’t be able to fix the problem on your own, but technology can only take you so far. At least, if your mechanic tries to scam you, you’ll know.

It’s $90.

[CarMD] VIA [Gizmologia]

By David Ponce

There’s a bunch of reasons for Apple’s success these past few years, not the least of which being its clean, elegant designs. Of course, that doesn’t mean we can’t poke a little fun at them now and then.

So, come inside for a three minute clip of Apple’s latest would-be product: the iBox. It’s hilarious, believe me.

Read the rest of this entry »

By David Ponce

Looks like Nokia is trying to ride the widget gravy train, and it’s calling its initiative Widsets. They’re basically widgets for your mobile.

Like its PC and Mac counterparts, Widsets are tiny apps that enable to do all sorts of things, like get weather updates, get your favorite headlines, etc. And it looks like all you need is the following: Java MIDP 2.0, a 128×128 color screen or higher and internet access on your mobile, though WidSets does not currently work with Nextel, T-Mobile USA or BREW-enabled phones (e.g. Verizon, Alltel, U.S. Cellular), or Palm devices.

Now, if you’re like me, you’ll start looking for the word Nokia on the Widsets site… and have a hard time finding it. This intrigues me. It is there, though it’s buried in the TOS page. Speculation, anyone?

[Widsets] VIA [Xataka]