By Andrew Liszewski

Any kind of building block toy is OK in my books since it encourages kids to use their imaginations. And if someone manages to find a way to make them educational at the same time, like these clever Water Blocks, well then more power to you! Made in Thailand from sustainable rubberwood, the blocks each feature a window filled with red, blue or yellow water. When held together the blocks appear to change color, providing a useful lesson in color mixing without ever having to break out, and subsequently clean up after, the finger paints. Sadly, like most educational toys, the Water Blocks aren’t cheap, and a set of just 6 blocks which can barely produce the front wall of a castle will set you back $39.99 from ThinkGeek.

[ Water Blocks ]

By Chris Scott Barr

We’re no strangers to SSD’s here at OhGizmo, as we’ve already had the pleasure of reviewing a couple. Today Kingston announced their second generation of SSDNow V+ drives. These are their higher-end enthusiast drives, very similar to the OCZ Summit drive that we reviewed a few months ago. Kingston sent over one of these new SSD’s so that we could put it to the test.

Just like the V Series drive that we reviewed back in August, the V+ is available in a bundle or as just a standalone drive. The bundle includes mounting brackets, a 4-pin power cable converter, SATA cable and USB enclosure (for your old drive) and drive cloning software. The bundle will only set you back around an extra $15, which is more than enough to justify the cost. Heck, the Acronis drive cloning software alone is worth it.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Andrew Liszewski

A good podcast starts with a good microphone, and Thanko’s new XLR to USB mic cable (or ‘mike’ cable as their website puts it) allows you to easily connect even the most high-end of mics directly to your PC. It’s both Windows and Mac friendly, with some degree of plug-and-play compatibility I assume, and the 5 meter cable means you don’t have to sit right in front of your computer or laptop to use it. ~$55 (4,980 yen) available from Thanko.jp.

[ USB To XLR Mic Cable ] VIA [ DVICE ]

By Chris Scott Barr

LCD’s are wonderful bits of technology. TVs, computer monitors and even the screen on your phone are probably LCD displays. Now one company even wants to use this same technology to replace your old-fashioned pen and paper. Behold the Boogie Board LCD Tablet.

No, this thing isn’t going to completely replace that pad of paper in your desk drawer, but it does have its uses. What you’re looking at is an LCD tablet that can be used with a stylus (or any other object, such as a fingernail) to write on. Touch-sensitive screens are nothing new, but this particular one uses no power except when you erase the screen. Even then it requires only a very small amount of power, which is supplied by a watch battery. This is good for around 50,000 erase cycles.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Evan Ackerman

You’ve got a motorcycle. It’s hot out. Do you put on a t-shirt and ride around like a comfortable badass, or put on a protective suit and ride around like someone who wears a protective suit to ride around on motorcycles and is also really freakin’ hot a lot of the time? Now, thanks to an Israeli company called EntroSys, you can have all of that at once, except for the badass part. Oh well.

The EntroSys BikeAir-1 is a little air conditioner and heater that sits on the cargo area of your motorcycle and plugs into the 12v outlet, complete with a controller that clips to the handlebars. There’s a tube that comes out of it that pumps either cold or warm air through a special vest that you wear underneath your gear. If you have motorcycle or a scooter (or even if you don’t just think of the possibilities!), you’re probably wondering how much this thing goes for, and so am I: there’s no price listed yet, but if you pre-order one, you can get 20% off! …Of …Whatever it is.

Look for the system to be available sometime this summer.

[ EntroSys ] VIA [ Daily Motorcycle News ]

By Evan Ackerman

Want this piece of art? It can be yours, since it’s for sale on eBay. Always. Called “A Tool to Deceive and Slaughter,” this black box has some software inside it plus an internet connection. Every 10 minutes, the box checks eBay to see if it’s currently listed for sale. If not, it creates an auction for itself that starts at the price it was last auctioned for. If you win the auction, you’re agreeing to a contract between you an the artist where you promise to connect the box to the internet when you get it, and then send it along to whoever wins the next auction. You do get to keep the money, at least.

People say that art is a good investment, and if you’re looking for something with a quicker than normal turnaround, you can follow the current auction of the piece here.

[ Caleb Larsen ] VIA [ Make ]

By Andrew Liszewski

In the back of your mind you’ve always thought you could do a better job at announcing directions than your GPS device does, and now you can prove it thanks to Garmin who’ve released a free Windows-only application that lets you record and use your own voice with a select number of their units.

The app looks straight-forward and easy to use, and while Garmin claims it only takes about 30 minutes, expect it be a particularly boring and tedious half-hour as you record and trim the various phrases and directions required to complete the device’s vocabulary. But the potential for comedic gold here makes it seem worthwhile. So what are you waiting for? Make sure your Garmin is compatible with the software and then download it here.

[ Garmin Voice Studio ] VIA [ Lifehacker ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Because we as a society have become even too lazy to use our fingers, Nikko is coming out with a remote controlled miniature helicopter that can be controlled with your voice, including commands like “start engine”, “higher”, “lower”, “hold” and “stop”. It can also be controlled with a traditional dual-stick remote (which is used for charging the craft) if you want your fingers to get a real workout. The most useful feature though is a built-in sensor which stops the helicopter from hitting the ceiling, saving you from having to constantly say, “don’t hit the ceiling”. No word on pricing or availability yet.

[ Nikko's Voice Controlled Voice-Heli ] VIA [ Toyology ]

By Andrew Liszewski

While the hi-larious pun might make you think the Kandle ebook light can only be used with Amazon’s Kindle, rest assured the design and its WideLip grip (patent-pending) makes it compatible with any of the hundreds of eBook readers that will be flooding the market based on what I saw at CES. The Kandle’s dual pivoting arms allow it to fold up to a slightly more compact form factor, but it also allows the light from the 2 LEDs to be directed as needed. And while it’s nice that it includes 2xCR2032 batteries which power the LEDs, and we understand they help make the device smaller, a more common battery choice would have been preferred. $24.95 available from Amazon.

[ Kandle LED eBook Light ] VIA [ The Gadgeteer ]