By Andrew Liszewski

Besides world peace, free energy and a “fat-free fudge cake that doesn’t let you down in the flavor department like so many others”, mankind’s greatest pursuit has been a solution to the problem of dirty laundry. And it turns out it’s been sitting right under our butts the whole time. It just took the designers at elementodiseño to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

What they’ve come up with is a brilliant way to ignore and avoid the issue of washing soiled garments, by turning them into the stuffing for a padded stool. Now I know what you’re probably thinking: “Andrew, I’ve been wallowing in a mountain of dirty laundry for months now, this isn’t new!” And I can’t argue with that. But, have you been wallowing in it while it’s stuffed inside a stylish blue canvas bag with reinforced seams? I didn’t think so. So let’s give the credit where the credit is due ok?

[ elementodiseño - Nexus Stool ] VIA [ Stilsucht ]

This post is syndicated with permission from GamerFront.net

When I’m gaming on my PC, I not only want to have the gear that will perform the best, but also that’s going to be comfortable. After all, it doesn’t matter how well you perform, if you’re uncomfortable the whole time, it will eventually catch up with you and drag you down. Well, that’s exactly the idea that XFX had when they designed the War Pad.

The War Pad is a unique mousepad that doesn’t just sit on your desk like others. Instead of sitting at the edge of your desk, it actually curls underneath and clips on. This design does two things. First, the fact that there is no harsh edge means that it is going to be more comfortable. Your wrist isn’t going to be sitting on a hard desk corner for hours on end, instead, the pad is rounded downward and provides a more comfortable surface. Second, the clip is going to make sure that the pad doesn’t move at all while you’re playing.

The pad measures roughly 17” by 14”, so as to provide a nice big surface for mousing. It also rolls up nicely for taking to your favorite LAN. You’re going to pay a bit extra for the convenience and comfort, as it will currently set you back $50 (regular price is $55). However, I think that the extra features are worth it.

[ G8 Store ] VIA [ GamerFront ]

By David Ponce

We’ve mentioned the Inspiron line before, only that time it was in reference to the smaller 14r, the 14-inch cousin to today’s 17-inch 17r. We had referred to the Inspiron as the “workhorse” line of laptops at Dell, and this still holds true of the larger version, which some reviewers have described as “very solid indeed, and there’s nary a hint of creaking or unwanted flex. Overall then, the 17R is very attractive and well-built, albeit somewhat high-maintenance.” High maintenance of course doesn’t mean high cost, as the Core i3 Sandy Bridge version of this machine starts at $549, while the Core i5 is at $649 after $278 in rebates. All models come with “HDMI v1.4, two USB 3.0 ports, 8-in-1 card reader, 1-Megapixel HD webcam and more.”

Hurry though, because this deal ends today.

[ Dell Inspiron 17r Starting At $549 ] VIA [ LogicBuy ]

By Paul McCollum

USB drives have become almost as much of a mainstay in the pockets of computer users as their car keys. While flash drives are more convenient they don’t offer the flexibility that comes along with an external drive for speed and capacity. Kingston’s latest release bridges the gap between pocket-able flash drive and performance drive speed and size. Its HyperX Max USB 3.0 SSD boasts some of the highest drive speeds available in a portable drive and is smaller than almost every other external class drive.

The latest generation USB 3.0 bridge coupled with a top of the line SSD controller (backed with 128MB RAM) paves way for massive data transfers. The 128GB capacity should be more than enough room for business and personal file storage without the space management issues of generally smaller thumb drives. The backward compatible USB 3.0 mini-connector will allow you to use it on older computers not yet blessed with SuperSpeed ports. In terms of real-world scenarios, nothing really comes close with its 200MB/s read and 164MB/s write speed. Unfortunately, almost nothing rivals the Kingston when it comes to price. The HyperX Max costs about $300 for the 128GB when you can get a speedy 90MB/s 1TB portable drive for under $100. It’s really up to you to decide whether or not the Kingston is cost effective. Check out full review at Everything USB to find details of how well the HyperX Max USB 3.0 SSD compared amongst a large sampling of other drives.

[Kingston HyperX USB 3.0 SSD @ Everything USB]

By Andrew Liszewski

And continuing with today’s trend of adorable photography accessories we bring you these handmade pillows designed to look like Nikon and Canon lenses. They’re made with fleece, felt and approximately 3 stops worth of love, and are currently available in a Canon 50mm f/1.8 II and Nikon 35mm f/1.8 design for $35 each. And while the Canon 24-105mm f/4 L design (pictured above) is still in production, it can be pre-ordered now for $65. Until July 12th that is when the price jumps to $80. No word on when they’ll produce a Sigma line, but I’m going to assume they’ll be a lot cheaper.

[ Plushtography Camera Lens Pillows ] VIA [ Freshome ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I don’t think the fact that these miniature, keychain-sized Lomography cameras don’t actually work will stop hipsters from quickly snatching up the entire collection. Made from ABS plastic these tiny cameras are about 20% the size of the full scale versions they represent, and the collection includes some of the more popular Lomos like the Lubitel+, the Diana F+, the Fisheye 2 and the LOMO LC-A+. They can be hung from your cellphone, worn as jewelry or even strapped to the real Lomo you carry around all day. (How meta!) And to further sweeten the deal each miniature Lomo comes in a small metal tin that’s roughly the same size as a film canister. Available from Dream In Plastic for just $7 each.

[ Keychain Lomography Cameras ] VIA [ Matomeno ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Good news everyone! You know that sad feeling when one of your iDevices is docked to a stereo system, while the others lie about unused, lacking a place of their own to dock? Actually no one probably ever has that feeling. And thanks to JVC, no one ever will! Their new UX-VJ5 dock features not one, not one and a half, but two docks allowing you to play multimedia content from an iPad and an iPhone/iPod Touch at the same time! Well, not at the same time, but you can select which source you’d like to play from.

It’s got a couple of 15W speakers which should provide ample sound to fill a room, but there’s also AV out connections if you’d prefer to play your music through a larger setup, or send video from either device to a TV. Tucked away behind where the iPad sits is something JVC refers to as a ‘CD’ player. And the dock is capable of automatically ripping your music stored on this archaic digital media to MP3s, and copy them to an external USB device. The UX-VJ5 will be available in Japan in mid-July for ~$370 (¥30,000) in your choice of six different colors.

[ PR - Victor JVC UX‐VJ5/VJ3 ] VIA [ Akihabara News ]

By Andrew Liszewski

So here’s the backstory. Since traveling to a far-off planet to location shoot the Tatooine scenes from the original Star Wars film would have been cost-prohibitive, the filmmakers built and shot the sets in Tunisia instead. Including the Lars’ family home, commonly known as the ‘igloo’. Unfortunately the conditions and temperatures in the Tunisian desert have slowly weathered those sets over time, to the point where they’re close to being completely destroyed. So a group of fans has planned an expedition to Tunisia to restore them to their original glory, but in order to do that they need money. And as Lucasfilm has proved time and time again, the best way to get money is with Star Wars merchandise.

Taking a page from the Romain Jerome design playbook, the restoration team has created a collectible watch that features actual sand from the Tatooine sets adorning the face. The numbers surrounding the watch face are printed in Aurebesh, the official language of the Star Wars universe, and each timepiece is made from solid 316L stainless steel, machined brass and Seiko mechanisms. According to their Kickstarter page the watch has a suggested retail price of $112, and you can get one with a donation of just $77. However, it looks like the project has already reached their $22,760 funding goal. So not only will the sets hopefully be preserved, but they’ll have a few extra credits to head into Tosche Station to pick up some power converters too.

[ Kickstarter - Planet Tatooine Collectibles ] VIA [ TheForce.Net ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I grimace and shudder when I see an iPhone that’s been ‘bedazzled’ or stuck in a case that greatly diminishes its original sleek form factor. So you can probably hear my eyes rolling from half-way ’round the world at these Touch Me! stickers designed to spruce up the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad’s home button.

Strapya World is currently selling three sets (~$5 for 6 stickers) that look like buttons, donuts and more colorful versions of the original home button. One small advantage these buttons might have is that they’re convex instead of concave, so they bulge out from the iDevice’s surface, making them easier to press. But that added bit of thickness could make it hard to use certain sleeve cases designed to hug each device closely, so buyer beware. Also, they’ll make your phone look like it was decorated by a teenage girl. I’m just sayin’…

[ Strapya World - Touch Me! Button Sticker for iPhone, iPod and iPad ] VIA [ Inventor Spot ]