If minimalism is your thing, but you’d still like a tiny bit of extra insurance for your iPhone, you’re not going to find a simpler case than the ‘Just a Loop’ which is quite literally just a black elastic loop. For ~$13(€10) you actually get 4 of them, which can be wrapped around any of the iPhone models (it’s engineered to be completely backwards compatible) providing a simple bumper so there’s less risk of scratching when you set it down.
Oddly enough it’s from the same inventor, Konstantin Leonenko, who created the World’s Tiniest Drill from a year or so ago. But I suspect this venture could be a bit more profitable for him. Unless someone manages to crack his revolutionary manufacturing techniques for creating elastic loops, but that seems improbable.
Update: Konstantin Leonenko has gotten in touch with us with a correction. It turns out the ‘Just a Loop’ cords are not actually made from an elastic material at all, since they would slip off the phone too easily. Instead, they’re made from a more rigid material to always ensure a tight fit. If you’d like to see them actually being installed on an iPhone, please check out this video demonstration.
It looks like it’s ready to collapse from little more than a napkin’s weight, but designer Mauricio Arruda’s House Of Cards table is actually able to support up to 550lbs. That’s because those 13:1 scale oversized playing cards are actually made from laser cut 4mm steel plates that are all individually printed to resemble real playing cards. And like with a real house of cards the plates are randomly drawn from a large pile so that each table is composed of a unique set of cards. But instead of relying on gravity and holding your breath to keep it standing, these cards are welded together.
Like the engineering students behind yesterday’s AutoFrost Cake Decorator, Japanese researchers at Keio University’s Yasuaki Kakehi Laboratory have come to realize there’s far more important research to undertake than say cloning sheep. Instead, they’re improving candy using augmented reality. Their TagCandy system uses an actual sucker attached to a fairly hefty sensor/speaker device. When it detects the candy has touched your tongue, the vibration speaker kicks in and is able to recreate various physical effects in your mouth like drinking a fizzy carbonated drink, biting into a crisp apple, or even fireworks. And when your teeth touch the candy, you’ll even hear sounds thanks to the effects of bone conduction.
Their ultimate goal is to develop a system where a neutral flavored sucker could end up tasting like anything you’d want it to, with people even developing and sharing their own flavors online.
Are you looking for a way to immerse yourself into your video games a bit more? We’re still a long way from virtual reality, but there are small things you can do to feel like a part of the game. One thing is to have the proper audio setup. Switching from stereo to a 5.1 surround sound setup can make a huge difference. Soon, you’ll even be able to add mood lighting to your PC games. That’s right, mood lighting.
Mad Catz has announced their new amBX devices, which provide ambient light in conjunction with whatever game you are playing. They can actually take lighting cues from the PC games that you’re playing, and give off the same colors that are being seen in the game. This takes the image from just being on the screen in front of you, and makes it a part of the entire room. Will this be the next big thing in gaming? We’ll see when the lights hit later this year.
If there was one thing that could trump the calculator watch when it comes to bestowing nerd cred on its wearer, I’d have to say it’s the TV remote watch. But at least having a calculator built into a watch was a handy feature at one time, before cellphones became as prevalent as they are today. At no point in time have humans ever needed a TV remote control strapped to their wrists. Not for functional reasons, and based on the models I’ve seen throughout the years, not for fashion reasons.
Now I will give this particular TV remote watch credit for mixing things up in the design department. Its stainless steel bezel and faux-leather strap make it look slightly more appealing than the models Casio was known for, but not by much. It could definitely benefit from NOT having the words ‘REMOTE CONTROL WATCH’ emblazoned just below the display, and apparently the makers don’t realize that a Tachymeter scale around the bezel is only really useful on an analog watch. But to its credit it can be easily set to control any IR-equipped home theater device using only a 3-digit code, and the buttons on either side provide control over the basic remote necessities. $99.95 from Hammacher Schlemmer.
It seems like golf swing analysis is an industry unto itself with more contraptions available for improving your swing than there are iPhone cases on the CES show floor. But the PocketPro is an incredibly compact alternative that works in conjunction with an iPhone app to provide detailed analysis of your swing, including speed, tempo and the angle at which the club face hits the ball.
All you need to do is attach a small nylon clip to your club, just below the grip, that has a 3-axis digital gyroscope and accelerometer sensors built-in for measuring acceleration and rotation. After a round of golf you transfer the data for all of your swings to your iPhone via Bluetooth, and the PocketPro app recreates the motions using 3D characters so you can see how it looked from a third-person perspective. Now it seems that determining what exactly might be wrong with your swing is up to your own analysis, but the hardware and software seem to provide more data than any golfer could ever need. Coming soon with pricing TBA.
If you’ve ever wanted to get up close and personal with a hummingbird I don’t think you’re going to find a better means than this unusual feeder built into a full face shield mask. The bright colors are designed to look like red rhododendrons to make the hummingbirds more comfortable with the feeder, but apparently it does take some time to get them accustomed to the whole idea. And it goes without saying that you’ll have to learn to sit very, very still if you hope to see any results.
While the whole idea does seem kind of ridiculous, at the same time watching hummingbirds hover in the air while feeding is fascinating. So I think being this close, and hearing the hum of their wings, could actually be a bit of a thrill. Unfortunately the eYe2eYe will set you back $79.95, though from the looks of it it’s another product that can be assembled from parts at your local hardware store for a lot less money.
The world already has enough electric cars at this point, so I’m happy to see a group of engineering students from the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering tackling another important issue- cake decorating. Their AutoFrost machine, created for their Principles of Engineering class, is a 3-axis cake decorator designed to replicate a design created in a custom graphical UI onto a cake using an Arduino-controlled frosting plunger. A second Arduino unit controls the bed the cake sits on, moving it along its X and Y axis, allowing the custom designs to be drawn out.
I doubt the students have any intentions of taking the AutoFrost any farther, but if one of them manages to improve the machine so it does all the baking and prep work as well, they’re guaranteed at least one sale here. Actually make that two, I could always use a second in the bedroom.
When it comes to your desktop, you rarely worry about having your keyboard and mouse stolen. After all, your desktop doesn’t often move from your desk, does it? If you’re a gamer who attends LAN parties, then you might be one of the few that does have to worry about your peripherals running off, and there’s a good chance that you don’t stick to the cheap stuff either. That’s why you need the Bunker.
This device is installed in one of your 5.25” bays and gives you four USB ports. What makes it different is that there is a door that swings shut over the ports, and locking. There is just enough room for your cable to stick out, but not for the plug to come through. This keeps your fancy gaming keyboard and mouse securely in place. For $25, it’s a must-have for LAN party-goers.
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