The fact that a landline phone will continue to work even in the event of a power failure wasn’t enough to stop me from going cellphone only, but it’s nice to know those unused phone jacks dotting my walls aren’t just an eyesore now. The trickle of power they carry is apparently enough to power this 8 LED desk lamp that features an RJ11 connector at the end of the power cord, instead of a plug or USB connector. The pink color scheme is a bit on the hideous side, but for just $4.69 the lamp at least seems like a handy emergency light for your next power outage.
You don’t have to be a smoker who grew up gobbling white dots and ghosts to appreciate these retro gaming themed Zippo lighters. You could also be a pyromaniac who really enjoyed Dig Dug as a kid, or someone who can never get enough Galaxian who also happens to prepare a lot of birthday cakes. The Zippos are available in four different versions including Pac-Man, Xevious and the aforementioned Dig Dug and Galaxian, and can be pre-ordered from NCSX for a mere $108.90.
The next time you leave a room you don’t have to wonder what everyone is saying about you. You can simply whip out this compact eavesdropping device and find out for yourself. It looks a bit like the business end of a stethoscope, but uses an electronic internal sound amplifier to boost the noises coming through a wall, door, window and even steel plates. (So you can listen in on conversations inside a tank?) It’s rechargeable via USB and includes a set of headphones you’ll probably want to instantly dispose of, and is available from ChinaGrabber.com for $62.99.
I’m going to assume this ethanol fueled rolling fireplace from Conmoto isn’t actually designed to be rolled while there’s a roaring fire inside. But even if someone does get the bright idea to send it sailing across a room while there’s a fire burning, a set of glass panels on either side will prevent the worst from happening should it topple over.
On Monday we posted about the Q2 radio, which you control by rocking it back and forth. And today, we’ve got the R1 radio, which you control by rolling it back and forth. So, they’re radios. And they rock and roll. How could we possibly justify not posting about them? I mean, the potential for terrible puns or something is just enormous! Or it would be, if these were somehow combined into one incredibly awesome radio. But sadly, the R1 isn’t even a real product yet, although you’ll be interested to know that it’s actually been designed for blind people, who’d have a much easier time using a radio with simple and intuitive tactile controls. Designed by South Korean Il-Gu Cha, the R1 is currently at the working prototype stage.
The era of USB 3.0 will soon be upon us. Devices are slowly being talked about, and compatible motherboards being announced. Of course unless you’re planning on building a new machine in the near future, you’ll either have to live with your old 2.0 ports, or buy an add-on card. Asus has announced such a card that not only gives you two of the latest USB ports, but also a pair of SATA 6.0 ports.
The card allows you to experience the full power of both new standards, provided you have a free PCI-E port on your motherboard. Sure, it’s probably still a little early to really start thinking about USB 3.0, but this is a case where I really don’t see an issue with it. The card is only $30 (USB 2.0 cards were at least twice as much when it came out) and you’re going to get SATA 6.0 ports to boot. According to Asus, the card will be out “soon.”
If you do any kind of computer graphics, animation or design work on a daily basis there’s a good chance you already use a Wacom tablet. But while that Intuos or Cintiq (you lucky bastard) might be ideal for your workstation, their size makes them not so ideal when you’re on the go, working on a laptop, or anywhere with limited space. And it’s those times when Wacom’s more affordable Bamboo line really shines.
Not only does their compact size make them easy to stash in a laptop bag, but they provide similar functionality to their larger counterparts for a lot less money. And they’re the first Wacom tablets that can also be used with your fingers, including multi-touch gestures on a Mac or a PC. As someone who’s used a Wacom tablet pretty much every day for the past 7+ years I was curious how the company’s new Bamboo line stacked up against their more professional models. And if you’re curious too, you can find my full review after the jump.
Good news for sedentary sports fans with frustrated aspirations of grandeur. Thanks to the wonders of technology (and UK-based firm Real Time Race) they should now be able to take part in some of the worlds biggest sporting spectacles. Well, kind of.
The basic concept is designed to allow gamers to take a virtual place in real environments and events – all with naught but an internet and web browser enabled device.
Real Time Race says the technology could be applied to “skiing, mountain biking, equine eventing and water sports etc,” but that sounds a bit pants, and fortunately they’ve been focusing on motor racing so far.
Prior to a big race, the track environment will be captured by a Google Streetcar-alike vehicle, which along with 360 degree cameras sports a gizmo on the back which fires lasers all over the place to work out how far away everything is. The data is then processed and makes its way to a browser where it should play something like a conventional video game map.
The (real) cars participating in the race will also be captured, as well as fitted with navigation systems which transmit their position on the track, allowing couch-bound speed freaks to test themselves against the best in the world.
The technology still appears to be in the proof of concept rather than “actually fun” stage, and the car handling and physics are woeful, but it does seem rather promising all the same.
If you can stand the massive and utterly gratuitous use of exclamation marks and apostrophes, you can read more and download a demo here.
I’m always suspicious of anyone who buys nightvision gear and isn’t a member of any official military or law enforcement organization. But I’m sure there’s some legitimate reason why a civilian would need to be able to record video in complete darkness, and that seems to be this camera’s forte.
A ring of IR LEDs around the lens will illuminate your subject no matter how dark it is, and while the paltry 32 MB of storage allows you to record just 2 minutes of 640×480 resolution video, the storage can be upgraded with a 2GB SD card. The camera also works in regular daylight of course, automatically switching to nightvision mode when there isn’t adequate light, and is available from Firebox for ~$113.
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