By David Ponce

Continuing the time tested tradition of dipping ordinary objects in gold for the sake of justifying higher prices, Crystal Rocked presents us with these iPad 2 cases. We’re not entirely sure if “dipping in gold” means gold plated, or if we’re talking molten gold manufacturing here. The company’s website is down at the time of writing, but at current gold prices we suspect that a mere $617 for both the white and yellow gold version point to a plating process. Beneath the layer of gold is a sturdy aluminum frame and of course, all buttons are accessible. Oh and there’s a handle.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Born Rich ]

If you plan on getting one or two USB 3.0 devices, then you need to shop for an USB 3.0 add-on card. SIIG has a USB 3.0 card kit that is worth checking out. The biggest draw of the kit is the included 5.25 and 3.5″ hub bay. This gives you all the function of a USB 3.0 hub, providing 4 fully powered ports on the front of your computer. Buying long USB 3.0 cables and a hub just to be able to use another USB 3.0 card gets expensive fast. SuperSpeed peripherals aren’t readily available yet nor cheap so this kit definitely offers some advantages for the all-in-one purchase.

The only major caveat of this setup is in some of the cheaper choices that could affect performance. USB 3.0 requires a huge data path, one that many manufacturers struggle to fully enable. The SIIG card only has a PCI Express x1 lane while other cards have opted for an x4. The front facing hub draws power hassle-free from the internal power connectors of your system but all 4 of the USB 3.0 ports have to share 1 connection to the card. These choices could affect “intense use” performance. Everything USB’s review has some detailed findings on what you can expect out of this card for casual and intense use alike. General opinion is that it’s more than capable but might not be all that you’d expect for the price tag.

[SIIG USB 3.0 Card, Hub Kit Review - Everything USB]

By David Ponce

It was just a few days ago that we were remarking on the sub $1k price of a 55 inch LED TV. 55 inches is a lot of screen real estate and while today’s deal might not be of the LED kind, the price more than makes up for it. See, instead of the $1,299 regular pricetag, you can get the Toshiba 55G310U 55-inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV for $799. For that price you get “1080p resolution, ClearScan 120Hz, CineSpeed Plus LCD Panel, DynaLight, and more. ”

[ Save $500 On 55 Inch Toshiba Flatscreen ] VIA [ LogicBuy ]

By David Ponce

Made to create the illusion of being in a room with a window, the Bright Blind by Makoto Hirahara uses electroluminescent (EL) sheets on the underside of each slat. The intensity of the light is controlled by changing the angle of these, pretty much as you’d do if these were blinds on an actual window. While it’s not being sold as a treatment for seasonal affective disorder, this might not be such a bad angle for the product to take.

Bunker dwellers interested in the product should know that price information is not public: you have to request this information. Unless one of our readers has already purchased this and wants to enlighten us…

[ Product Page ] VIA [ BookOfJoe ]

By David Ponce

Luke Jerram is an artist and he decided to create a 3D sculpture of sorts based off of the seismograph of Japan’s devastating March 2011 earthquake. Measuring 11 inches long, the sculpture is simply 9 minutes of seismographic data rotated 360 degrees in a 3D modelling program, and then printed with a rapid prototyping machine. It is going to be presented at the

Jerwood Space in London for a show called Terra. Exploring how data is read and can be represented and interpreted, the artwork is one of a series of data visualization sculptures Jerram has recently created.

“Next month Jerram will be artist in residence at the Museum of Glass in Washington where he hopes to create this work as a limited edition in glass.” If you think you might want one, you let Luke know you’re interested by sending him an email: luke at lukejerram dot com.

[ Luke's Page ] VIA [ PC World ]

By David Ponce

Much as it’s quickly becoming a great platform for gaming, your iPhone (or any touchscreen-only smartphone) still lacks fundamental controllers that anyone who grew up gaming has become accustomed to. There’s just something intrinsically annoying about having to touch a screen instead of joysticks; gaming isn’t the same without the feedback you get from feeling that button under your thumb. To address this issue, the iControlpad connects via Bluetooth to your iPhone (or any of a long list of devices) and gives you traditional, physical buttons. There’s six face buttons, a D-pad, two analog nubs and two rear buttons. Finally, there’s an accessory that allows you to attach your device to the iControlpad so that you have a single gaming unit.

Of course for this to work, your chose game has to allow control via the iControlpad. Fortunately there are tons of these and to find out if your favorite one is supported, just check out the links at the bottom. It’s $75 and is currently in stock.

[ Product Page ] AND [ Compatibility List ] VIA [ Uncrate ]

By David Ponce

Getting around in London on public transport just got a little easier. The BusChecker app not only gives you countdowns until your next bus arrives at any of the 20,000 London bus stops, but it packs a neat feature that any drunk/sleepy person could use. See, with iOS 5s region monitoring feature, you can simply get on the bus, tell the application where you’re going and doze off. An alarm will ring as you reach your station. Whether you’ll be awoken from your slumber is another matter altogether.

Aside from that, you can keep track of your bus on a map. BusChecker is around $3.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Wired's Gadget Lab ]

By David Ponce

As we increasingly untether our computing tasks from the desktop we start to rely more and more on battery power, and that in turn means chargers and cable spaghetti hell. Any solution that helps tidy things up even a bit is always welcome. The PlugBug elegantly attaches to your MacBook charger and introduces an additional USB outlet; you can then charge both the MacBook and any iDevice simultaneously. It’s rated at 10W which means your iPhone or iPad will charge much faster than if it’s charging from the MacBook USB port. Plus, at $35, it sure beats using a $2,400 laptop to juice back up.

[ PlugBug Product Page ] VIA [ CoolHunting ]

By David Ponce

Well, we’re too late for Haloween.

But only by a day.

VIA [ GeeksAreSexy ]