We wrote about the Golden Shellback splashproof coating back in July, and it looks like the coating is now available for a few select gadgets. Although the coating is technically splashproofing, not waterproofing, demos have shown that things like cell phones are able to operate quite happily even while completely submerged in water. The awesome part is that you can’t tell that your gadget now has superpowers… It looks, feels, and operates exactly the same, until you find yourself sneezed on by a manatee (or something) and you realize that hey, your phone still works.
So how does it actually work? It involves some kind of crazy machine, and here’s what the website says:
Golden Shellback coating produces a vacuum deposited film that is nonflammable, has low toxicity and has the ability to weatherproof electronic devices and other surfaces. The clear, nearly non-detectable, uniform film is insoluble in solvents. When applied to clean, moisture free surfaces, such as plastic, copper, aluminum, metal, ceramic, steel, tin or glass, the coating is transparent with excellent weather proofing and anti-corrosion properties.
Here’s what’s currently available to be splashproofed… Although they don’t specify, you’ll probably have to buy your own device and then mail it to them for the coating service:
Blackberry Pearl $120.00 per unit coated
Apple IPod Shuffle $60.00 per unit coated
Apple IPod Touch $120.00 per unit coated
Garmin GPS etrex $75.00 per unit coated
They can do a couple other things too, and my guess is that they’re just slowly testing electronics to make sure that they remain fully functional after the coating process. This is good, ’cause I’m totally hoping to Golden Shellback my dive computer.
I love giving gifts during the holiday season. I go to great lengths to find the perfect gift for everyone on my list. Unfortunately, while I may accomplish my task, someone else may have purchased the exact same gift. This is where gift receipts and such come in handy. Just fork over the little piece of paper, and they’ll be able to pick out their own gift to replace the duplicate. Want to make sure that everyone knows you held onto the reciept? Just wrap your gifts with some “I STILL HAVE THE RECEIPT…” ribbon and you’re good to go. Seems a little cheesy to me, but if that’s your style, a set of five bows and a roll of ribbon will set you back $8.
I remember having one of those neat pin art sculpture things when I was a kid. You know, the box with silver pins that made the shape of whatever you pressed against it. I think the original intention of this crafty device was to allow people to prominently display their middle finger without the effort of actually flipping the bird. I could be wrong, but that’s about all I ever used mine for. Anyway, if you want to relive the nostalgia of your youth, this Pin Clock may suit you.
This simple clock works on the same principal as the toy, only this one tells the time. While I find it a bit amusing, I don’t think I’d pay $60 for one of these. First, it doesn’t even function as an alarm, and second, I don’t think it’s set up to display fingers.
I like lemonade. I like it a lot, in fact. But if there’s one thing that lemonade absolutely sucks at, it’s telling you what time it is. So next time you find yourself with some spare lemons, chop them up and stick them onto the Citrus Clock. The clock is made with two spikes of copper and zinc to impale the lemons on, and will run for a week using the juice contained in one lemon thanks to black magicelectrolysis. It doesn’t have to be a lemon, either… Anything acidic will do. Like limes. Or potatoes. Or a battery.
The Citrus Clock doesn’t seem to be commercially available, but hey, you can make one at home! Or better yet, just go to any middle school science fair and steal one.
While I find the trend kind of disappointing, it seems the only way you can sell toys to kids these days is by including some kind of electronic light & sound feature. And that of course means the toy also needs batteries, and is immediately at risk of being ignored once those batteries die. But a company called Sprig has come up with a line of rugged toy trucks and vehicles complete with sounds and lights that not only don’t require batteries, but are eco-friendly as well.
The toys are molded from a product called ‘Sprigwood’ which is a kid-friendly, bio-composite material made from recycled wood and reclaimed plastic. And the material is colored when it’s produced, so the toys don’t feature any decorative paint, but are still bright and colorful. Each vehicle has a different off-road theme that is accompanied with custom sounds and LED lights, but they use a push-and-pump-action to harness a child’s endless supply of energy which powers the electronic components.
And while many eco-friendly toys also come with outrageous price tags, the Sprig vehicles are actually quite reasonable, ranging in price from about $20 for the Rally Racer and Baja Scout, and up to $50 for the larger Discover Rig.
It seems the dream of x-ray vision is no longer limited to the back pages of comic books, Popular Science, or Bazooka Joe premium catalogs. For just $199 from DavidSteele.com you can pick up this basic IR filter that attaches to most camcorders (it comes in 30mm and 58mm sizes) allowing you to become that creepy guy who’s always shooting video at the beach. Here’s how and why it works according to the site:
The theory behind how it works is really simple. Many types of clothing allow light and infrared light to pass through the fabric. This light is reflected back through the clothing, off the skin, to our naked eyes. What we normally see is both the reflected normal light mixed with the Infrared light. The lens filters the normal light out, leaving only the Infrared light and some other ambient light waves. The result…the clothing (and many other materials) become as clear as glass.
But I’m sure anyone who actually buys one of these lenses intends to use it for scientific purposes only. At least that’s the story they’ll want to stick to when they’re eventually being cross-examined.
Come 2009, Lenovo will be adding a new feature to their ThinkPad notebooks called ‘Lenovo Constant Secure Remote Disable’ that was co-developed with Phoenix Technologies. The new feature works with the ThinkPad’s BIOS to allow a user to disable their notebook by sending an SMS text message from their phone, in the event that it’s been stolen or lost. Once the command is sent, the ThinkPad will immediately shutdown, or will be disabled the next time it’s powered on. And if and when the notebook is retrieved, the user can simply restore their data and functionality via a private ‘resurrection code’.
Unfortunately the downside to the new feature is that it requires the laptop to have a WAN card installed with an active data plan, and it must be in range of the user’s GSM network for the shutdown signal to be received. And I have no idea if this feature will come standard on future ThinkPads, or if it will be an add-on option.
This post is syndicated with permission from GamerFront.net
How many times have you watched a movie based off of a popular video game franchise, only to be rewarded with a steaming pile of crap? My guess is just about any time you’ve seen a Uwe Boll film. Sure, there have been a few good video game flicks here and there but rarely do I ever get too excited over one (though the Tetris movie sounds riveting). However, this Mega Man fan flick actually looks pretty cool.
Sure, I don’t have a lot of faith in the big robot battles being all that great, but you have to admit that this looks incredible. For a fan film not designed to actually bring in any cash, they’ve obviously put a lot of time and effort into this thing. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that there’s a little more behind this than were being told, but either way, color me impressed.
I, much like many other people in the world, have trouble sleeping at night. No, I’m not the CEO of a large bank that’s ruined the financial lives of many Americans while still raking in an enormous salary (zing!), I just have a hard time falling asleep and staying that way. I’ve seen a couple of doctors and tried a few different sleeping pills without much effect. I’ve been like this since I was a kid, so I’m pretty sure it’s not something that’s going away any time soon. However, that doesn’t mean that I won’t still try a new gadget or two that promises to make me sleep better.
This Sleep Partner wristband promises to help you fall asleep by reducing stress and resetting your body’s internal clock (for those with jet lag). It “stimulates the acupuncture points of the wrist associated with sleep”, which sounds a little strange, but for around $30, I’d probably give it a shot.
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