Besides the included OCR/TTS (text-to-speech) software and the company’s patented ‘SEE Technology’ which uses a curved lamp to reduce text distortion along the spine of a thick book, I don’t really see what sets this Plustek scanner apart from the cheaper versions you can find at most electronic stores. But I guess in this case the whole is greater than the sum of its parts because the Plustek V100 BookReader makes converting a page of text into an MP3 audio file as easy as clicking a single button.
The Plustek V100 can also do standard scanner stuff like converting a document into editable text or spitting out an email-friendly PDF file, but it’s the text-to-speech functionality that seems to be its real claim to fame. The V100′s price tag comes in at around $700, but since it doesn’t feature an auto page-turning mechanism, the real price is the amount of time you’ll have to spend manually flipping pages if you intend to convert an entire novel into an audiobook.
Even though you faithfully brush your teeth every morning and night, are you really sure your pearly whites and gums are in perfect health? A weekly trip to the dentist would answer those questions, but so would this considerably more affordable wireless dental cam. The toothbrush-shaped device features a 1.3MP camera that transmits the images of your mouth to a 2.4GHz wireless receiver which can be connected to a TV or a PC for closer examination. A set of 6 white LEDs around the lens should provide ample light no matter what time of day you go exploring, but keep in mind the transmission range is limited to about 33 feet. Also, it only comes in a PAL version, so sorry North America, Japan and the rest of the NTSC-only countries.
The Wireless Dental Camera is available from Chinavasion for just over $100.
Switches are ancient, ancient, ancient technology. Why should I have to laboriously move a piece of hardware from the down position to the up position whenever I want to some lights on? Lights should respond to voice commands, or better yet, they should just know when I’m around and magically turn themselves on. I’m sure this isn’t too much to ask, since you can now buy a motion sensing light adapter that makes this all possible.
Smarthome’s Screw-in Motion Sensing Light Adapter fits right into an existing light socket, acting as an intermediary between the light bulb and the love juice that lights it up. The adapter has a motion sensor that operates 360 degrees around, up to 16 feet away, and you can adjust both the light duration and the sensitivity of the sensor so that your free-range gerbils won’t keep the lights on all night.
So, it’s a good idea that could save you a bunch of effort and electricity. But does it have to be so… You know… Freakin’ ginormous? Good luck trying to use it in any sort of overhead lighting, but I guess it might be okay in a floor lamp with a really, really big shade. It’s $25 on Amazon.
Quite a few 1:18 scale die-cast Back To The Future Delorean replicas have come out over the past few years, in fact there’s one sitting on my shelf right now, but Diamond Select is pushing the envelope with the new lights and sounds models they announced at Toy Fair this year. Both a flying and non-flying version of the time traveling Delorean will be available, and they’ll each come with authentic sounds from the movies, as well as light-up features like headlights and the all-important flux capacitor.
The Delorean Mark I replica is currently available for pre-order from BigBadToyStore.com for $33.99 (it’s expected to arrive in July) but the flying version pictured above will be a harder to find exclusive according to WizardUniverse.com.
With all of the nuclear power plants in the US pushing 25 years old or more, the obvious solution to keep them from disintegrating into piles of radioactive dust is duct tape. But not just any duct tape: 3M’s Performance Plus Nuclear Grade Duct Tape. It doesn’t appear to be particularly radiation resistant, but it does feature clean removal indoors and outdoors after up to 6 months. It’s waterproof and you can write on it, but most notably it works at temperatures up to 200°F, which was always the achilles heel of duct tape and the reason why it’s so bad at taping ducts.
You can find 3M Nuclear Grade Duct Tape in slate blue or red on Amazon for about $14 a roll.
Looks like the recession hasn’t had much of an effect on California sea otters, one of whom was recently spotted in Monterey Bay with his own video camera.
“I was like, did I actually see an otter with a video camera or was I hallucinating?” [Aguirre] said.
The screen on Aguirre’s digital camera soon confirmed what he’d seen: an otter floating on its back, video camera grasped in its paws, lens aimed at the boat of excited photographers. The humans had a bad angle, but Aguirre managed to snap a single clear shot before the otter dived, video camera in tow.
“He’s the only one who got the photo,” Gideon said.
Judging by the rust and seaweed adorning the camera, the otter probably wasn’t getting much good footage. But Aguirre, who has photographed animals all over the world for more than a decade, said the otter aiming a camcorder was the “craziest” thing he’s seen an animal do in the wild.
The otter never resurfaced, leaving the photographers to speculate on the make and model of the animal’s gear. Aguirre suspects that the camera was dropped by a kayaking tourist and then picked up by the curious creature.
“I know I can go down there another million times and I will never see another otter with a video camera,” Aguirre said. “I think I have more chance of a penguin coming up to me and actually speaking English.”
The biOrb SpyOrb is a generally unremarkable spherical eight gallon fish tank of the self-contained variety, meaning that besides changing filters every once in a while you don’t really have to do much. What makes it kinda neat are some of the accessories, like the biOrb Timer ($37) which will flash its LEDs at you to remind you when it’s time to do feed your fish or do maintenance on the tank.
You can also get a special little LED lighting unit ($82) that cycles through different colors and brightnesses depending on what time of day it is. In the morning, “sunrise” lighting fades gradually into normal white light, followed in the evening by “sunset” lighting which turns into soft blue moonlight at night. It’s supposed to look nice, but more importantly, it replicates a natural light cycle which should help keep your fish blissfully happy and unaffected by the fact that they’re spending their lives in an eight gallon ball.
The biOrb SpyOrb is available now in ice white, piano black, or silver for $195.
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