While the Livestrong wristband fad might have faded ages ago, you could be seeing people sporting a new, more advanced wrist adornment, this Fall. This wristband isn’t supporting a charitable cause however. It actually comes from Jawbone, makers of mighty fine Bluetooth earpieces and speakers, and is chock full of technology designed to improve the wearer’s general well-being.
It’s designed to be comfortable enough to wear 24/7, which is important because motion sensors inside the band are constantly tracking your movements and motions, sending that data to an accompanying application on your iOS or Android device. That information is then processed and used to make healthy living recommendations when it comes to sleep patterns, exercise and just generally being more active. I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume the wristband connects to mobile devices over Bluetooth, and since it seems to be pretty passive in terms of how it operates, I imagine you don’t need to recharge it that often. Unfortunately pricing info and a specific release date isn’t available just yet, even though Jawbone has apparently been developing the UP for over 2 years now.
A few years ago Haynes, a once respected creator of detailed technical handbooks for cars and other vehicles, published an owner’s workshop manual for Apollo 11 and other 1969-era Apollo mission spacecraft. It made for a humorous gift for spacecraft enthusiasts, but also provided a unique glimpse into the technical aspects of the vehicles, for those who were engineering inclined.
However, they’re now releasing a manual for modified YT-1300 Corellian Freighters, the most famous of which being the Millennium Falcon from the Star Wars films. Now I know it’s not the first fictional vehicle they’ve created a manual for. That would probably be the USS Enterprise from that other ‘Star’ franchise. But I just hope they don’t get too carried away with this trend, and sully their well respected name. This particular workshop manual was written by Ryder Windham who already has some 50 Star Wars books under his belt, so I guess if anyone knows what they’re talking when it comes to fictional engineering, it’s him. And while it’s not available for sale just yet, Amazon Canada does have it listed for a little over $23.
I find the stuff being sold on Etsy to be pretty hit and miss. But the few times I come across a ‘hit’ it makes me wish I spent more time perusing what was available for sale there. These beautiful custom birch plywood headphones, created by Nico Monterosso, not only manage to make plywood look sexy, but they also make my black plastic over-the-ear cans look downright cheap.
They’re custom made so you actually have your choice of fabric finish on the outside of the earcups, and since they’re not adjustable you can even specify your head size if the standard 45cm from ear lobe to ear lobe measurement won’t accommodate you. Unfortunately there’s no pricing info since they appear to already be sold, which makes me kick myself again for not paying closer attention to Etsy in the past. But given they’re custom made and all, maybe not knowing the price is a good thing.
Today we move away from monitors and vanilla business PCs to something a tad more exciting with the HP Pavilion h8t. While not a full-on gaming rig on overdrive, the h8t features some decent specs:
A Core i5-2300 2.8GHz Quad-core processor, 6GB DDR3 RAM, 1TB 7200RPM Hard Drive, 1GB NVIDIA GeForce 405, LightScribe 16X DVD+/-RW drive, Beats Audio and a 15-in-1 Card Reader.
After an instant $100 off with a stackable $100 coupon, your $899 purchase is now $699.
As much as I enjoy watching videos of truly impressive and astounding LEGO creations, it also makes me feel pretty embarrassed about the things I used to build. And none moreso than Sheepo’s LEGO Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet which is built from almost 3,500 parts, weighs just over 8lbs. and is powered by 8 electric motors.
It has everything from real locking doors, an emergency hand brake, a retractable hard-top roof and spoiler and a 7-speed gearbox complete with reverse. The photos of his creation on his blog are impressive, but if you consider yourself a true AFoL you’ll want to spend the 7+ minutes needed to watch this video walkthrough of all its features being demonstrated.
And if you think you’ve seen something like this before, you probably have. A few years ago there was a video floating around of one of Sheepo’s previous creations, an incredibly detailed LEGO Bugatti Veyron. But I think this certainly one-ups it.
I can’t say it looks any easier to ship than your standard blue BIC ballpoint model, but I like designer Fraser Ross’ IKEA-inspired take on those fancy large format writing instruments. The pen arrives as a single sheet of pre-cut plywood which fits inside an A6-sized postcard envelope, making it easy to send through the mail. Assembly looks easier than a LEGO Duplo set, though the last step which involves heating the outer rubber shrinkwrap sleeve with a hairdryer, or in an oven, should probably be left to a pseudo-adult.
It might be no where near as compact as Apple’s tiny iPod Shuffle, but the Singbox MP3 player from Novelview has a good excuse for being so rotund. It packs a 2W speaker on one end allowing you to use it as a highly portable boombox for sharing music with others. I’m sure the sound quality and levels aren’t mind-blowing, but I’m also sure it would be more than adequate in a situation where you’re traveling and don’t want to pack anything too elaborate.
It can also be used as a portable audio player too, supporting MP3, WMA and APE files enjoyed through headphones. While an FM tuner provides a sampling of local content and color. A microSD card slot provides the Singbox’s storage, which means you can cram up to 32GB of music on it, while the USB-charged battery is good for about 13 hours use. Though I’m sure that’s dependent on whether you’re using the speaker the entire time. And for you style conscious types, it’s available in 8 different finishes.
A lot of engineers will tell you that the technology to build a car that runs solely on energy from the sun just doesn’t exist. But that’s simply not true. You most certainly can build one, as long as you don’t need it to be longer than 1.3 inches. It won’t carry you, or any passengers, or any groceries, or probably even a paperclip for that matter. But when you stick Georg Huber’s quarter-sized electric racer somewhere with ample sunlight (and a smooth surface given its minuscule size) it will zip along in circles until the clouds roll in. Available from the Museum of Contemporary Art Store for $25, batteries not included, nor required.
Hey LG Korea. You might fool the hipsters, but you’re not fooling me. I know that ‘retro’ is just another term for ‘horribly outdated’ so I’m not going to run out and buy this Retro TV you’re hawking. It’s a clever move though. Finding a way to empty your warehouses of antiquated CRT components without resorting to dumping them in a nearby river. And you’ll probably sell quite a few of these too, with their matching old-timey tuner knobs, rabbit ear antennas and settings for full-color, black and white and even sepia effects. But I’ve already claimed the space freed up by switching to LCD TVs and monitors, and I’m not giving it back!
I’ve no idea how much they’re asking for them, but given they’ve only got a 14-inch display I’m assuming not much. And while they’re digital ready, since they’re listed on the LG Korea website they may not actually work here in North America.
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