By Andrew Liszewski

I’m pretty sure we aren’t born with wheels on our feet for a reason, but that hasn’t stopped man from ignoring that subtle safety hint and strapping all kinds of wheeled contraptions to his feet. And next up in the long line of inventions that look kind of fun, but maybe aren’t the best idea, are the Chariot Skates.

For lack of a better description, they look like a wheelchair that’s been split in two, and each half attaches to your lower legs and feet providing an inline-like skating experience that also feels a lot like skiing. The large wheels can accommodate riding on rougher terrain, and since the ‘skates’ are made of mostly carbon fiber, they only weigh about 5.5 pounds each. Right now the Chariot Skates appear to be in the final stages of design, and I hope the optional handbrake accessory mentioned on their site becomes a standard feature, but they should be available sometime in June if all goes well.

[ Chariot Skates ] VIA [ Gear Junkie ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I can’t say I’ve ever been that thrilled with using the Wiimote on its side as a ‘classic’ NES controller, but it’s a cheaper solution that shelling out for Nintendo’s genuine Wii Classic Controller. However, for a mere $10 the B.O.S.S. from PDP will turn your Wiimote into something vaguely reminiscent of an SNES controller, making playing titles like the New Super Mario Bros. Wii a bit more enjoyable.

The name B.O.S.S. stands for ‘Big Oversized Super Shell’ and that’s essentially all it is; a plastic shell that you cram your Wiimote into, theoretically providing a better gaming experience. Unfortunately though Ars Technica wasn’t sold on the idea. Not only did they find the B.O.S.S. to be considerably larger than the SNES controller we all know and love, but the Wiimote sticks out of the back, making it really uncomfortable to hold. And even though it costs a mere $9.99 from Amazon, Ars feels you just suck it up and get used to using a sideways Wiimote instead. Oh well.

[ Wii B.O.S.S. ] VIA [ Ars Technica ]

By Andrew Liszewski

For a mere $1,150 (or €800.00) you can help celebrate SpongeBob SquarePants’ 10th anniversary, stay safe and look particularly stylish with this limited edition helmet from Les Ateliers Ruby. Only 200 of them have been created, so rest assured you will look extra unique the next time you’re out riding, and with a little pink spraypaint you can give your Vespa a matching ‘Patrick’ paint job completing the ensemble. Available now from colette.

[ colette - Les Ateliers Ruby SpongeBob Helmet ] VIA [ Hypebeast ]

By Evan Ackerman

As a matter of form, it is necessary for me to object on scientific grounds to these speakers being called “DNA” speakers. DNA is a double helix, not just two wiggly polymer strands… I mean, I guess it’s possible that these speakers are DNA after a helicase enzyme has zipped through and broken all of the hydrogen bonds, but if that’s the case, then it really should have said so on the box.

Oh, wait. DNA stands for Dynamic Neural Audio? Never mind then. ‘Course, I can’t tell you what “Dynamic Neural Audio” means either, but I can tell you that these speakers are bendy, powered by USB or AC or batteries, come with an integrated volume control, and cost $40.

[ Amazon ] VIA [ Craziest Gadgets ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Do you have need of a lot of external storage and want to make use of that USB 3.0 card that you decided to purchase? After all, what good is having the ports if you don’t also have devices that use them? LaCie has announced their latest external drive, dubbed the 2Big RAID drive which utilizes the latest in USB technology.

Obviously speed is the name of the game with this drive, with throughput speeds of 275MB/s. These speeds are reached by using a dual-disk RAID configuration along with the USB 3.0 technology. LaCie claims that with a drive this fast, you can stream and edit multiple HD files simultaneously. Pricing and availability have not yet been announced, though you can expect to pay a nice premium for the extra speed.

[ LaCie ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]

By Evan Ackerman

Part of the reason that I like playing games is that my character can get beat up in a million different ways and die over and over and I get to just sit here and drink Mountain Dew and eat Cheetos and push buttons. But I guess some people want a more immersive experience, and want to be able to feel more than an ego sting when their character takes a shotgun blast in the chest. We’re familiar with one gadget that tries to make the gaming experience a bit more realistic, the 3rd Space Vest, and the Immerz KOR-fx, uh, chestphones aim to do the same kind of thing, except with sound instead of air pressure.

The way the KOR-fx works is through the magical mystery of “acousto-haptic technology.” Really, all it seems to be is some bass amplifiers that rest on your chest and pump low frequency sound directly into your body cavity, letting you feel the bass effects without having to turn your speakers way up, since headphones don’t produce that same visceral low-end effect. It means you can game quietly without feeling like it’s quiet. Sounds like a great accessory, right? Well, it would be, if it wasn’t supposed to cost $250 or more. I mean, for that amount of money I’d rather just turn my speakers up and make my neighbors suffer… If they want to buy me a set of these, that’s up to them.

[ Immerz ] VIA [ CNET ]

By Evan Ackerman

We’re continually bemoaning the fact that the selection of practical robotic vacuums is extremely limited here in the US (although not so much elsewhere). Besides iRobot’s Roomba, you’ve got… Well, you don’t have much. Today, Neato Robotics (yep, their real name) unveiled the first new model of consumer robot vacuum we’ve seen in the US in quite a while: the XV-11.

Now, I hate to describe the XV-11 in terms of the Roomba, but for better or worse, that’s just kind of the way it is…

Read more at BotJunkie…

By David Ponce

This little plastic cube could make your cooking duties a little simpler. Instead of having to dial in a time you need to count down (with potentially dirty fingers), simply turn the cube so that the desired face points up. For example, need 10 minutes? Turn it so 10 faces up, and it’ll start counting down automatically.

And that’s pretty much all it does, but we like it. Even at $34.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Incredible Things ]

By David Ponce

Though we don’t often cover art on OhGizmo!, we can’t pass up the opportunity to show you the work of Shi Jinsong, currently on display as part of the “China – Contemporary Revival” exhibition at the Palazo Reale in Milan, Italy. The one piece that we’re lusting after is this badass baby carriage.

We think the picture pretty much speaks for itself so no further description is necessary. Suffice it to say this is a one-off piece of art and is likely priced in accordance. Meaning you can’t get one…

But you can hit the jump for a couple more pictures.

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