By Andrew Liszewski

While it appears to be designed for having some seasonal Hallowe’en fun, ThinkGeek’s new EvilTron actually improves upon their original Annoy-A-Tron in many ways. Firstly, it’s smaller, only about as big as a quarter, and that in conjunction with a Rare-Earth magnet embedded in the back makes it even easier to hide. And secondly, instead of making random beeping noises the EvilTron plays 5 different eery sounds including “Something unsettling creaking, Unidentifiable scratching sounds, Gasping last breath, Sinister child laughing and Eerie whispering of ‘hey, can you hear me?’”

It’s powered by an included single cell type battery which is good for over a month of use, and at just $9.99 it won’t be that upsetting when your co-workers eventually find it and smash it to pieces.

[ The ThinkGeek EvilTron ]

By Andrew Liszewski

It’s no secret that advancements in battery technology have not kept pace with advancements in gadgetry. Smartphones equipped with giant LCD displays that are capable of playing movies, surfing the web, GPS’ing your location, taking photos and even occasionally making calls are great and all, but they’ve made the ugly downside of poor battery life even more of an issue.

Now sure, it would be fantastic if companies like Duracell stumbled across some miraculous solution to the problem in their research labs, but for the moment external backup batteries like their Instant USB Charger are the next best thing. I had a chance to try it out, and you can read my full review after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Andrew Liszewski

If dropping $200 on a Wii plus another $40 or so on a miniature golf game still doesn’t satisfy your virtual putt-putt needs, I’m afraid the next step up is a big one. This Video Arcade Miniature Golf Game available from Hammacher Schlemmer uses real golf putters and balls, but the actual courses and obstacles are virtual and only appear on the 32-inch vertically mounted LCD display.

You putt the ball with the club just like you’d do in real miniature golf, but after it passes below the screen its position and trajectory is calculated and transferred to the in-game ball, where it continues on its course. Sound effects and annoying music are provided by a set of three speakers, and there’s an automatic ball return for added convenience. It will set you back a whopping $6,900, but that includes “White Glove delivery” which sounds like it would make the investment totally worthwhile.

[ Video Arcade Miniature Golf Game ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Chess is a rather timeless game. I can think of few other games that are just as old and are still played as much as this one. The best part is that the game pieces can be modified to reflect just about any part of pop culture. This particular set has a Super Mario theme.

This $40 set would be go well in the house of almost any video game geek. You’ll find many of the classic characters ready to duke it out on the board. There are two things that I find rather odd. First, the pawns seem to be represented by coins. Since when are coins used as a weapon? Second is that you’ll find Luigi in the queen’s spot. This just raises a whole host of questions that I’m not even going to touch.

[ ThinkGeek ] VIA [ CoolestGadgets ]

By Chris Scott Barr

It would appear that the forecast in Hell is cold and snowy. AT&T announced yesterday that they have officially decided to allow VOIP applications on the iPhone which use their 3G network. Yes, you did in fact read that correctly. You’ll be able to use a service such as Skype to make phone calls which don’t actually count towards your minutes.

They just informed Apple and the FCC of their decision yesterday, so don’t expect for apps to show up right away that take advantage of this. My biggest concern is how well AT&T is prepared for the extra load this is going to put on their network. It’s been proven time and again that their 3G network can be brought to its knees by a large gathering of iPhone users. Just imagine if they’re all using Skype for their calls.

[ AT&T ] VIA [ Dvice ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Make has a link to a pretty interesting discussion on the ‘The Home Shop Machinist & Machinist’s Workshop BBS’ about using a Watts or Reuleaux drill to make a square hole.

Now the idea of using a spinning drill bit to create a square hole is kind of counter-intuitive, but the animation on the right, while not exactly what a Watts drill looks like, helps you wrap your head around the concept.

And if you find yourself amazed at this new innovation in machining, you might also be surprised to learn that the idea isn’t a new one, and Harry J. Watts, for whom the drill is named after, actually received a patent (#1,241,176) for it on September 25, 1917.

[ The Home Shop Machinist & Machinist's Workshop BBS - How do I make a square hole ] VIA [ Make ]

By Andrew Liszewski

When it comes to Star Wars it’s usually the visual effects that get all the attention, but the films’ sound design and foley work are just as impressive. So it’s cool to see a new book from becker&mayer that specifically takes a look at the sounds created for the ‘science fiction’ saga.

The Sounds of Star Wars illuminates the audio universe of Star Wars by exploring the vision for an “organic” sound that George Lucas and sound designer Ben Burtt brought to the movies’ sound effects, as well as how these distinctive sound effects were achieved. The book features a state-of-the-art audio module that will easily allow readers to hear the sounds while learning the stories behind those sounds. Lavishly illustrated pages will include clear markers directing readers to listen to specific tracks as they view and read about the scenes.

There’s no release date or pricing info available just yet, but the 304 page book does include an embedded audio module loaded with more than 200 sounds from the films.

[ Star Wars: Sounds - The Stories Behind The Effects ] VIA [ TheForce.net ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Sometimes passwords feel like more of a pain than a plus, so I like this 2.5-inch SATA HD enclosure that uses an RFID tag to protect your data. Unlocking your precious files is as easy as waving one of the 2 included RFID tags over the enclosure, and you just repeat the motion to lock everything back up again. It’s compatible with 2.5-inch SATA hard drives up to 160GB in size, but I can’t help but wonder if the dirt cheap $16 price tag from Chinavasion is an indication of how well this thing really works.

[ RFID Security 2.5 Inch SATA HDD Enclosure ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Just a heads up if you were thinking about picking up one of these new Air Hogs RC toys for your kids and happened to be the target of multiple would-be assassins. Their new Zero Gravity Laser is controlled by shining a laser dot in front of the vehicle which will automatically follow it, whether it’s racing around on the floor or defying gravity by driving on the walls. So if your home is constantly bombarded with red laser dots from distant sniper rifles, there could be issues, I’m just saying. $49.99 from Toys”R”Us Canada.

[ Air Hogs Zero Gravity Laser ] VIA [ Gearlog ]