Bitplay’s Bang! lamp is a pretty cool lighting accessory that lets you turn it on and off through a remote control that’s shaped like a gun. Pull the trigger, the light goes out and the lampshade actually tilts as if shot. It also works in reverse, though it doesn’t really make much sense that way. The gun is an IR controller and that dark band around the base of the lamp is the receiver.
The sad news is that it’s being sold in Japan only at the moment, and it costs a pretty penny: ¥26,000 (~$336 USD).
We’ve never come to see the snaking wires on a bicycle as that much of a hassle, yet there is research underway to get rid of them altogether. And unlike existing wireless gear-shifters, reliability is somewhat of an issue when it comes to braking. The worst that happens if your bike doesn’t shift is that it doesn’t shift. Miss out of the brakes and it could be a fast-track to the bottom of a ravine. So researchers at Germany’s Saarland University have developed a prototype wireless braking system with 99.999999999997% reliability. The number of nines on that figure is important: it means it would fail three times out of a trillion braking attempts, which isn’t so bad. There’s no handle either, everything is accomplished through pressure sensors in the handlebar that apply braking force proportional to your grip (past a predetermined threshold). A receiver box interprets the signals and stops the bike “within 250 milliseconds. At that speed, a cyclist traveling at 30 km/h (18.6 mph) would have to react at least two meters (6.6 feet) before the point at which they needed to stop.” It’s not ideal but they’re working on improving this figure.
There is no clear path to marketplace at the moment, although lessons learned in this project could help engineers develop wireless systems with very high degrees of reliability.
Well it’s nice that the folks at Apple are developing a sense of humor. No sooner is Siri released to the wild masses that we start hearing reports of some of the strange things being asked of her (it?), but more importantly of the awesome responses she’s got for these. To the statement “Open the pod bay doors”, Siri responds “I’m afraid I can’t do that [your name]. Are you happy now?” This is a reference (in case you’re too young/live under rock) to the movie 2001 Space Odyssey. To “What is the meaning of life?” she responds, rightly, “42″. When asked “Do I make you horny”, you’re presented with a list of local escort agencies.
Favorite so far? “Who’s your daddy”, which elicits “You are. Can we get back to work now?”
Clearly this is somewhat of a departure for Apple engineers, famously prudish in the past (just think how hard it is to use swear words…).
For more of these, check out the link below on Joshua Topolsky’s ThisIsMyNext.
This is where deals get interesting. Think about this for a minute. You’re staring at a 60 inch HDTV priced under $1k. Of course that’s after a generous $540 in rebates, but it’s still a gigantic sea of viewing pleasure for less than four figures. Of course it’s plasma and some people will tell you that’s aging technology. Be that as it may, it still produces awesome images and the only reason it’s losing ground to its LED counterparts is because of its relative bulk and power consumption. If you don’t mind either, you’ll get the LG 60PV250 60″ 1080p 600Hz Plasma HDTV that features 1920 x 1080 Resolution, 600Hz refresh rate, 3,000,000:1 contrast ratio and more.
It might be an Apple world out there, but Nokia’s still a behemoth in the mobile world. And their accessories often come through with an aesthetic degree of design brilliance that we wish they could display in other areas. Take for instance this Bluetooth headset they’re releasing. It’s called the Luna and is really small, really light and comes in 5 different colors. It looks interesting but more importantly has some killer features. NFC (near field communications) makes pairing with your phone as simple as tapping the two together. If you get a call, press down on it to release it and answer the call. You’re done? Hang up by putting the Luna back on its dock. Or use the button if you don’t feel like doing it that way. Also, it’s able to pair with 2 phones, through Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR. With an impressive 8 hours of talk time and up to 60 hours of standby (unplugged, obviously), getting this $69 device seems like a no-brainer.
The iTar is not a real product yet, it’s a conceptual accessory for the iPad that will make it easier to turn it into a guitar. Which is where we imagine the iTar name came from: “i” and “guiTAR”. Still, at first glance, iTar looks like something nefarious, something oily and perhaps cigarette related. Or perhaps that’s all in this author’s mind and in reality it couldn’t be anything further from that. We actually do like what it will do if its Kickstarter campaign takes off. It combines a button-based guitar fretboard (Starr Labs patented fingerboard) with your iPad to create a multi-talented instrument. Dock the iPad in and you’ll be able to play, quasi-virtually, a number of instruments, not just the guitar. It can be a keyboard, a drum set, a synthesizer; everything hinges on the related application and its bevvy of instruments that are at your fingertips.
Of course, the iTar will only exist if the Kickstarter campaign gains steam. As of writing, they’ve raised $4k of their $50k goal, but there are a little over 50 days left. If this is your sort of thing, the smallest contribution that will net you an iTar is $200, although you can pitch in at any level.
This is an object of desire. It’s terribly awful looking and at the same time just awesome. It’s ostentatious, gaudy and classless but also gutsy. See, the EXO7 is a belt buckle that’s large enough to hold your iPhone. Heck, it was made for that very purpose. But if you grow tired of it being a belt buckle, there are attachments that turn it into a pocket holster. It’s made of either brass or aluminum and the sides are inlaid with Pau Ferro wood. If you want to use the phone, flip the top which is held in place with rare earth magnets and hinges smoothly on stainless steel.
There really isn’t much to say about this product other than there’s now some color on them. They’re the same over-ear Studio Beats that have been on the market for some time now, only more colored and in limited edition.
Like you see on the picture.
Maybe Monster wanted to cash in on Colorware’s business?
We wouldn’t post about this usually, but yours truly owns a pair and wishes he’d had that option way back then. For what it’s worth and in this author’s opinion, the audio line of earphones and headphones is the only Monster product that doesn’t suck.
Not only does it look better than that kidney, it tells the time. But who are we kidding, you won’t have to sell a kidney to buy this. Please. You’re buying it because you already own a Lamborghini and have to buy a timepiece that matches, don’t you? Well, here you have Adriano Valente’s AV-L001, a watch with a matching price tag of $35,000. For roughly one-tenth the price of the car, you get a casing made of Karbonyte (allegedly a Titanium Carbon alloy, but we can’t find anything on this online…), a backplate made of either aluminum or titanium, a sapphire crystal cover and titanium screws. The mechanism “is based on the mechanical Engine 001 movement, specially made for the company.” The wrist bands can be made from carbon infused rubber or Alcantara laced rubber.
This will be a limited edition set, with numbered models.
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