Who would have thought that someone would find a way to make pop-up books, aka the best type of book ever invented, even better? Well that’s exactly what Jie Qi, with assistance from Leah Buechley and Tshen Chew, from the MIT Media Lab have done with their Electronic Popables. The book uses traditional pop-up paper book mechanics but also integrates modern paper-based electronics for more “dynamic interactivity.” In other words it makes them even more awesome, as you can see in the video below.
One contest is over, but it’s already time for another to begin. This time around we have a Vusix iWear AV310 to give away. We haven’t done any formal reviews on this particular item, but I have checked our a few of their other iWear products in the past. The device is essentially worn like a pair of glasses (along with a pair of integrated earbuds) and hooked up to some sort of video input. This can be an iPod, game console, DVD player or just about anything. The unit has a pair of tiny screens that gives you the the same feeling as watching a 52-inch TV.
If you spend a lot of time commuting, or just like to escape for a bit, this could be a fun way to do it. The best part is that you can get one for free. How can you win one? I’m glad you asked.
With today being Friday, there is a little bit of business to attend to. I have a pair of cases that need to be given away to two of you lucky readers. After sifting through dozens of comments, I selected mattmitch and jessicat to receive the two cases. Congratulations to both of you! Stay tuned for more exciting giveaways here at OhGizmo!
Instead of fumbling with handles while your hands are dirty, spreading the mess everywhere, Delta’s new Pilar faucets feature the company’s Touch20 Technology which lets you simply tap or touch them to turn the water on or off. The faucets use two capacitive touch sensors in the handle and the spout to detect when you’ve touched them, but are smart enough to know when the handle or spout have been grabbed instead so you can adjust their positions without turning the water on or off. A chrome version of the Pilar faucet will set you back $495 while the stainless steel model is a bit more at $547.
Think you had the world’s greatest treehouse as a kid? Well this guy’s got you beat. Horace Burgess’s treehouse is located somewhere near Crossville, Tennessee and stands over 97-feet tall thanks to the 80-foot white oak tree it was built around which also happens to be about 12-feet in diameter at its base. It has 11 floors, somewhere in the neighborhood of 8,000 to 10,000 square feet, a miniature basketball court and is held together by roughly 258,000 nails. If you can think of a better way to spend $12,000, I’d like to hear it.
Yep, another one to add to the ridiculous Wii accessories list. This time it’s a 1:1 scale Heckler & Kock MP5 that Pocket-lint spotted at a trade show in Hong Kong. The controller was made by a Chinese company, and instead of having to find a place to stick your Wiimote and Nunchuck, the machine gun contains all of that functionality, as well as MotionPlus and a rechargeable battery, built-in. There’s no word on pricing or availability just yet, but the version pictured above with the orange tip was supposedly created for the US market so it wouldn’t look real or anything.
Keys are one of those objects that seems almost archaic when you think about them. We have so many technologies at our disposal, you have to wonder why we rely on these so heavily. If you don’t have a car with a fancy keyless setup, you can now add a Viper StartSmart system that will let you control your car from your iPhone.
The new StartSmart System won’t have you driving your car from an iPhone, but you can do a host of other functions:
The cold air has been settling in lately and my thoughts have been turning to winter and snow. I like the idea of snow, but it’s just not as much fun when you’re an adult. You tend to get bored with sledding and snowball fights a bit more quickly than you used to. If you have kids and want them to get all of the enjoyment out of winter that they can, here’s something you might be able to get for them.
Snowshorts are basically a pair of shorts that go over their snowsuit. The bottom of the shorts has a hard plastic shell, which can be used as a mini sled. Now instead of lugging their sled to the top of the hill after every run. It’ll only set you back $35, and your kid will no doubt be thankful for it.
Most amateur photographers aren’t known to directly use their laptops when shooting pictures. However, professionals will sometimes hook their camera up to a notebook so that they can see immediate results on a large screen. As you can imagine, not all situations make it easy to keep a laptop situated near your camera. Well now you can have a flat surface for your laptop anywhere you can set a tripod.
The Tallyn Series Laptop Deck attaches to your tripod (you’ll need a really good tripod for this, not your $20 Walmart special) and will hold a laptop at the angle you desire. It is adjustable and holds laptops up to 17-inches and 8 lbs. The deck will set you back $85, which is a small price to pay for the convenience it will bring.
Related Tags: Books, Concepts, Innovation
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