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Archive for April, 2009

By Shane McGlaun
Last time I was in California for a conference, I spent a good hour trying to find an ATM to get some cash to eat lunch. I hate not being able to find an ATM and even in my hometown at times, it can be hard to find a place to grab some cash.
MasterCard has announced a new application for the iPhone and iPod touch called ATM Hunter that will find ATMs near you. The application uses the location functionality of the devices to pinpoint ATMs nearby.
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By Andrew Liszewski
While I don’t recommend them for everyday use, 3Dconnexion’s series of Space Navigator mice are the perfect tool if you spend your days in 3D applications like Maya, 3ds Max, Softimage, AutoCad etc. The SpacePilot Pro is the latest addition to the line, and it includes the 3Dconnexion Cap (the large knob) which can be pushed, pulled, twisted and tilted allowing you to navigate a 3D interface. It’s also got a set of ‘QuickView’ Navigation keys for quickly jumping to one of 32 pre-set views as well as duplicate ESC, CTRL, ALT and SHIFT keys so you don’t have to reach over to your keyboard as much.
The biggest addition though is the full-color LCD display which provides visual feedback on what the SpacePilot Pro’s function keys are currently programmed to do, or you can use it to keep an eye on your email with the included Mail applet. And since the display is powered by an open software architecture, you can even write your own custom applets as needed.
The 3Dconnexion SpacePilot Pro is available now for $499.
[ 3Dconnexion SpacePilot Pro ] VIA [ I4U News ]

By Andrew Liszewski
Designed by Dante Bonuccelli for the 2009 UMUL Project (Use More, Use Less) the Text-ile chair is made from discarded keyboards, and might actually be just as comfortable for touch typists as it is for hunt-and-peck types. Of course the comfort level depends on the type of keyboard being used, and if this chair ever goes into production I’m sure there will be a dedicated group who refuse to sit in it unless it’s made from an old IBM buckling spring model.
[ MoCo Loco - Text-ile by Dante Bonuccelli ] VIA [ Cribcandy ]

By Evan Ackerman
Yes, I know that this thing is most likely not real, especially since it’s from a company called “Naivetek.” The idea is you stick D batteries in one side, and it charges up AA or AAAs on the other. It sounds silly, kind of like the solar powered flashlight, but it actually could end up being something useful.
Disposable D batteries have a typical capacity of 12,000 mAh, whereas rechargeable AA batteries normally have capacities of 2,500 mAh or less. It looks like this thing can hold maybe 4 D batteries on one side, and 2 AAs on the other. So hypothetically, that gives you 48,000 mAh capacity with which you could recharge your AA batteries 9 or 10 times. Say you’re off camping for a week and need to keep your camera running… Would you rather carry 10 sets of AAs, or 1 set of AAs, 4 Ds, and this charger?
[ Flickr ] VIA [ TechEBlog ]

By Evan Ackerman
I’m sure that some of you are stalwart, law abiding citizens who always drive at 5 mph under the speed limit. That’s great, but you should know that you really, really annoy the rest of us who actually have places to go and people to see and need to drive damn fast. Outrunning cops is usually not a problem, but outrunning speed cameras is a little bit trickier (although not technically impossible). What to do?
The MicroGO, from RoadPilot, is a tiny little GPS system that knows the location of every speed camera everywhere. In, um, the UK and Europe. The MicroGO also knows the speed limit, and it’s smart enough to only alert you if you’re going too fast and in the right direction to get tagged by a camera. As new cameras are installed, the MicroGO can be synced with an online database to keep it up to date. Plus, the screen can be changed to 64 different colors, awesome!
The MicroGO costs the equivalent of about $120, with an update subscription cost of less than $6 a month.
[ MicroGO ] VIA [ Navigadget ]
Wednesday, April 15, 2009

By Shane McGlaun
Until Nintendo announced its Wii game console, sitting around playing with your Wii had decidedly negative connotations to it. Thankfully, today you can call up your friends and ask them to come play with your Wii and they will happily come over. Nintendo is set to launch new accessories and games this summer that many have been waiting for.
Nintendo has announced that the new MotionPlus accessory and Wii Sports Resort are going to be available for purchase this summer. The MotionPlus accessory will be available on June 8 for $19.99. The accessory adds accuracy to the motion detecting Wii Remotes. I wonder if we will see future Wii remotes simply get the MotionPlus tech built-in.
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By Shane McGlaun
Whatever you plan to do with your computer, there is usually a peripheral made just for the task. If you want to game there are a myriad of gaming mice on the market and if you just want to do boring old computer work, there are peripherals for that too.
Bella has announced a new wireless mouse called the HD Mouse that is aimed at professional and amateur video editors. The mouse is designed for multimedia users and includes software that allows the user to program mouse movements to act like gesture commands. The mouse has 1600dpi of sensitivity and a wireless range of up to 26 feet.
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By Andrew Liszewski
They’ve already branched out into USB flash drives and MP3 players, so it only makes sense that the next step for Victorinox would be to produce their very own fragrance. Victorinox SWISS Unlimited is described as a natural “swiss essence with notes of wooded silver fir, alpine herbs, absinthe” and just a hint of bottle opener mixed with nail file. And in the true swiss army knife tradition, the bottle is refillable and reusable, and includes a carabiner since you never want to find yourself on the side of a mountain smelling bad. You can order a bottle here for about $55.
[ Victorinox Swiss Unlimited ] VIA [ Acquire ]

By Andrew Liszewski
Believe it or not, the Game Boy is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and to commemorate the occasion, Technologizer has put together a list of some of the weirdest accessories, variations and tributes to the most popular handheld gaming device of all time. But I’m pretty sure the PediSedate takes the birthday cake. It was designed to distract kids in a doctor’s or dentist’s office while they were being sedated with nitrous oxide. Now I’m pretty sure being asked to wear a headset like that wouldn’t make my visit to the dentist any more enjoyable, but I have to admit, if you stuck a copy of Link’s Awakening in my hands, you could gas me with anything you wanted.
[ PediSedate ] VIA [ Technologizer ] VIA [ GoNintendo ]
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