By Chris Scott Barr

We’ve written about the shoes from Back to the Future II on more than one occasion. Mostly because it’s one of the few “futuristic” technologies that might have a chance of being made by 2015. A little while back we showed you a custom shoe that was made using an Arduino board. It was cool, but not exactly practical for wearing. So who do we look to for a real pair of these self-lacing shoes? Nike.

Yes, the company that “made” those sneakers in the movie have actually patented the idea. Specifically, they’ve received a patent for:

An article of footwear with an automatic lacing system is disclosed. The automatic lacing system provides a set of straps that can be automatically opened and closed to switch between a loosened and tightened position of the upper. The article further includes an automatic ankle cinching system that is configured to automatically adjust an ankle portion of the upper.

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By Andrew Liszewski

I don’t know the entire back story behind this little contraption, but apparently the mailbox for this home in Independence, Missouri is located at the bottom of a steep hill designed to separate their property from traffic. Taking the long way to fetch the mail involves a two block walk, which probably sucks when it’s raining or snowing. So instead of just building a staircase down the hill they decided to totally over-engineer the solution with this mailbox tram system.

The rails run right up the hill, over the bushes and through the quaint picket fence, and it would be particularly cool if the system was motorized allowing them to retrieve their bills and Netflix discs at the flick of a button, though I don’t think it is. Personally I would have gone with the Mr. Rogers miniature railroad solution, running the track right into my house and along my bed so I would only have to roll over to get my Tiger Direct catalogs.

[ Apartment Therapy Unplggd - Yodelayheehoo: Automated Mailbox Ski Lift ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I usually only expect to find rock-disguised speakers in the pages of a Hammacher Schlemmer or Sharper Image catalog, built and designed in some name-less overseas factory. But this little monolith comes from Creative under their Sound Blaster brand. You can use it as a standard speaker if you feel like running cables to your backyard (not that you have to use it out there) or it will communicate with Creative’s Sound Blaster wireless music system, making things a whole lot more convenient.

Now since it doesn’t use wi-fi you’ll need one of Creative’s $99.99 USB wireless transmitters in order to send music to the speakers, but thankfully they’re currently throwing one in for free if you pony up the $199.99 for the Wireless Rock. Other notable features include a weatherproof design allowing you to leave it outside 24/7 and a removable rechargeable battery good for 6 hours so you don’t even need to run a power cable.

[ Creative Sound Blaster Wireless Rock ] VIA [ SlashGear ]

By David Ponce

Don’t think it’s a good idea to ask why it’s taken this long. Chalk it up to yours truly being some kind of moron. Nevertheless, better late than never, so here you have it, our Facebook Page. We’ve also inserted a little widget in the sidebar, but we’re not sure just how many people ever really look there… so I’m making a post about it so you can all luxate a finger in your excitement to go follow us on Facebook.

What are we going to do with it? Well, aside from reposting our articles, there will be the occasional giveaway that will be announced there only. And maybe you’ll see photos or videos of your favorite editors getting into increasingly embarrassing shenanigans. Or maybe not… we like to keep an aura of pretend professionalism around here. We’ll see, and we welcome suggestions.

In the meantime, Go Press That Button!!.

[ OhGizmo!'s Facebook Page ]

By David Ponce

We’re told that it’s the first time HP’s Envy 14 Beats has seen a discount. Here are the details:

HP direct store has released HP ENVY 14 Beats edition 14.5-inch Laptop starting at $1,249.99 – $50 off Coupon Code = $1,199.99 with free shipping. Also includes Beats lightweight on-ear solo headphone, an audio console that lets you customize output through a powerful equalizer and a red backlit keyboard.

You can customize the Envy 14 Beats with Intel Core i5 (-450M, -520M) or Core i7 with Quad Core (i7-720QM, i7-740QM, i7-840QM). The Envy 14be (Beats Edition) is one of the thinnest and lightest quad-core Laptops for its size, mesuring 1.16-inch thin and 5.69 pounds.

[ Get Your $50 Coupon ] VIA [ LogicBuy ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I still hold the iPod Shuffle in high regard as one of Apple’s greatest creations. It immediately replaced my larger iPod which had taught me the novelty and joy of just randomly shuffling through my music. But as these diminutive players grew in capacity, allowing us to carry larger chunks of our music collections, being able to occasionally call up a specific track was a missed feature. So that’s why I’m really enthralled by the new iPod nano which is kind of a fantastic hybrid between the Shuffle and the iPod Touch.

Gone is the previous generation Nano’s buttons, vertically oriented landscape display and camera (which I’m pretty sure won’t be missed) and in its place is a square multi-touch capable screen large enough to accommodate 4 icons. While it’s a bit larger than the new iPod Shuffle (also announced today) it’s 46% smaller and 42% lighter than the previous generation Nano, which always seemed odd and out of place to me. Also gone is the ability to watch videos which makes sense given the tiny display, and again, it’s another feature that probably won’t be missed. The multi-touch display gives you full access to your music as well as other useful functionality like an FM radio, connectivity with Nike’s accessories and even the ability to view tiny photo slideshows. And instead of a gyro inside to detect when you’ve rotated the device, you can manually spin the screen’s orientation with a couple of fingers and a twisting gesture.

Available in 7 colors starting next week the new multi-touch iPod nano comes in 2 capacities: 8GB for $149 and 16GB for $179.

[ iPod nano with Multi-Touch ]

By Andrew Liszewski

A few weeks ago the internet was all abuzz over Sharpie’s ‘new’ liquid pencil (sorry Sharpie, I used an equally disappointing liquid graphite pencil 5 or 6 years ago) but I’ll choose this Frosting Deco Pen from Kuhn Rikon over a faux-permanent pencil any day of the week. Whether I use it for decorating cupcakes, signing birthday cards or endorsing checks. Powered by a couple of AA batteries the Frosting Deco Pen is compatible with most store-bought frosting (Duncan Hines, Betty Crocker and Pillsbury) and includes a filling plate that snaps over the tub making the pen easy to fill. (From what I can tell it works like a syringe.)

The Frosting Deco Pen kit comes with 3 refillable cartridges allowing you to swap in different colors as needed and 6 different tips for creating those standard frosting designs. $30 available directly from Kuhn Rikon. (KUUUUUUUHN!!!!!)

[ Kuhn Rikon Frosting Deco Pen ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]

By Chris Scott Barr

These days it seems like there are countless options of what to do with yourself once you’ve decided to stop breathing. You can be fired into space, turned into a pencil, fashioned into a diamond or even put into an urn shaped just like your head. But what about being transformed into a vinyl record? Yes, you can do that too.

When you bite the dust, you can spend around $3,000 to have your remains pressed into a set of 30 records, each containing 24 minutes of audio (12 minutes per side). Each will come with a cover that lists your name, date of birth, and date of death. You can supply whatever music you like, but company does not accept responsibility for copyright violations from the music you supply. (And what do you care? You’ll be dead!)

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By Andrew Liszewski

In the event of an emergency would you be prepared to properly perform CPR on someone? The answer from most people would probably be a guilty “no” even if they’ve had training in the past. No one wants to be responsible for someone losing their life because they didn’t perform CPR properly, so first and foremost the PocketCPR provides confidence when it comes to administering the life saving act. Using audio and visual instructions, the device walks a user through the preliminary stages including checking responsiveness and calling for help, and while performing CPR it uses an accelerometer to measure the rate and depth of chest compressions to ensure they’re being done properly and at the correct intervals (using an audible metronome) for optimal effectiveness.

The PocketCPR device is approved by the FDA and is available now as an ‘over-the-counter’ rescue device for $149. However, a lot of us already carry an accelerometer-equipped device every day in the form of our iPhones, so an app version of PocketCPR is now available for just $3.99. It’s not approved by the FDA just yet for use in an actual emergency, which is why the on-screen instructions bear the ‘TRAINING USE ONLY’ warning, but it seems to provide the exact same functionality as the dedicated device turning your iPhone into an effective tool for learning the life saving procedure.

[ PocketCPR ] VIA [ Medgadget ]