Oh! Gizmo

By Evan Ackerman

I’ll be posting tons of pics from this past weekend’s Maker Faire over the next few days, but here’s a little taste. This is Compubeaver. He’s a beaver (or I guess he used to be a beaver), who now has a computer inside him. His torso contains a 2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo processor, a 160gb HD, a gig of ram, a chest-loading DVD burner, and, um, some tastefully placed USB ports. If you’d like a Compubeaver of your very own, Instructables will show you how to make one in 29 easy steps.

Keeping Compubeaver company was Text-o-possum, which combines a bluetooth laser keyboard with, well, a possum, allowing “the convenience of regular keyboard typing in a possum form. Text-o-possum puts the awesome in possum - the future is here!”

Both of these animals were modded by Your Psycho Girlfriend. And if you find yourself asking a question like “why would anybody DO this,” you’ll need to try and get more in the spirit of Maker Faire, which I might sum up as: “Why not do it, it’s cool!”

[ Compubeaver ]
[ Text-O-Possum ]

By Andrew Liszewski

We’ve written about a few different book scanners that are relatively compact and affordable, but have you ever wondered what the professionals use when deadlines are looming and money is no object? I assume they turn to something like the Digitizing Line DL 3000. It’s capable of turning and scanning 3,000 pages an hour and it’s guaranteed to only turn one page at a time, since having to go back and check for missing pages defeats the purpose of it being so fast in the first place.

The machine works mostly unattended, though human intervention is needed when it comes time to load a new book. On average the setup process takes less than a minute per book when using a preset, or about 2 minutes if you’re setting up a book type that’s never been scanned before. And given the fact that the DL 3000 can operate 24 hours a day for up to 6 million cycles before needing maintenance, it can bring the production costs for scanning a book down to about 2 cents per page. As a result, even though the machine has a price tag of about $250,000, that cost can be financially amortized after about 3 million scanned pages. I just wish I could have convinced the local copy shop at my University to invest in one.

[ Digitizing Line DL 3000 ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

By Andrew Liszewski

The Snap-In ExDrive25 is kind of like those hot-swappable SATA hard drive readers that have become popular as of late. But instead of being a large, clunky reader that sits on your desk, the ExDrive25 comes in the form of a portable external drive case. Installing a drive is as easy as opening the access door on the front and sliding almost any 2.5 inch SATA drive inside. If you find yourself even occasionally having to swap 2.5 inch drives in and out of a case, you’ll appreciate the ExDrive25’s screw-free approach.

The case is made from aluminum for maximum head dissipation and includes a patented shock mount mechanism allowing you to travel with the case without the risk of damaging the drive inside. It also includes both USB 2.0 and eSATA connections on the back for connecting to a laptop or even a desktop with an easily accessible eSATA port.

And at just $29 from Addonics, I’m tempted to replace the external cases I’m using right now.

[ Addonics Snap-In ExDrive25 ] VIA [ I4U News ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If you’re still reliant on compact flash cards because of that DSLR you have no intentions of replacing, your options for a compact memory card reader are limited. But if you’ve managed to break free of the shackles of compact flash, the mini card reader world is your oyster. The Mini Cube is definitely one of the smallest readers I’ve ever seen, and it’s able to remain so tiny because the largest memory card format it accepts is SD. It also supports M2, T-Flash, MicroSD, MiniSD, MMC, MS, MS Duo, MS Pro and MS Pro Duo cards. On its longest side the reader is just 1.4 inches long, but it manages to include a built-in USB cable that tucks into the body when not in use.

You can get it from Gadget4all for just $12.

[ Mini Cube Multi-in-one Card Reader ] VIA [ Pocket-lint ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I’ve been using the same Logitech wireless keyboard for a good 6 or 7 years now. While I’m sure it would easily last a few more years, I decided to replace it because I’m convinced there’s a complete self-sustaining biosphere lurking beneath the keys. So for the past few weeks I’ve been checking out keyboards here and there, but I kept coming back to the latest version from Apple, seen here at my local Apple Store. Now I’m a Windows guy, and intend to use the keyboard under XP and Vista, but I’ll gladly admit that Apple have become masters of product design. They’re pretty good at marketing too, but have a bad habit of letting their campaigns run a lot longer than they should.

Not surprisingly, the people at the Apple Store were as useless when it came to answering my questions as any other retail employee, but thankfully the keyboard works nearly flawlessly under XP. I’ll have to make a few registry changes to get my printscreen button back, but other than that I’m really liking the new keyboard. It’s exactly like typing on a laptop, which I know some people don’t like, but I have no problem with it. The position of the CTRL and ALT keys are swapped compared to my old Logitech keyboard, but I’m sure the muscle memory in my hands will soon adjust. In fact the only real complaint I have was when I tried to plug my Wacom into one of the keyboard’s USB ports and found that it didn’t supply enough power for the tablet to work properly. Unfortunate, but far from a deal breaker.

By Andrew Liszewski

Besides the improved graphics and unique control mechanisms, the latest generation of video game consoles are the first to really go beyond just being gaming hardware. They now include the ability to play back videos, MP3s and even digital photos to a varying degree, without the need for a PC. And while I’m still not ready to forgive Iomega for the Zip drive fiasco (click, click, click) it seems the company has moved on and is targeting their latest USB hard drive to be used exclusively with your console of choice. (As long as you didn’t choose the Wii.)

As far as I can tell the Media Xporter USB hard drive is just a standard portable hard drive but with a paint job that seems more suited for use with the Xbox 360 rather than the PS3. However the 160GB drive will work with either console allowing you to expand your media library considerably. It also includes the Prism Video Converter MX software for converting files to formats that are supported by your particular console. And by included I mean you have to download it from their site.

You can get the Media Xporter directly from the Iomega website for $113.95 which is actually not a bad price for a compact 2.5 inch, 160GB external drive.

[ Iomega Media Xporter ] VIA [ Ubergizmo ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If you’re seriously trying to make a living as a DVD or CD pirate, you need the right equipment. Typically, automatic duplicating machines have been too expensive for those working out of their parent’s basement, but the Forte from Disc Makers is a fully automated CD & DVD Duplicator that comes in at just under $500. It can duplicate up to 25 discs at the push of a button, with a speed of 7 DVDs or 14 CDs an hour. The small robotic arm will load and empty the tray as discs are completed, which means you don’t need to hire someone to sit there and feed it media all day.

The Forte also features a 160GB hard drive which can store up to 31 full-size DVD ISOs. The included LCD display and control panel means a computer isn’t necessary, but I assume you’ll still want one around when it comes to ‘acquiring’ or ‘making’ the ISOs being burned. You can buy the Forte Duplicator directly from the Disc Makers website for $499.

[ Forte CD/DVD Duplicator ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If you’re carrying around launch codes, CIA dossiers or even a script for the funniest screwball comedy of all time, you’re probably in the market for some level of data encryption. Might I suggest the STARAY S-Series drive enclosures from RAIDON, which come in 3 varieties catering to all levels of paranoia. All of the enclosures allow you to setup both public and encrypted partitions on the drive, so you don’t necessarily have to deal with the security measures for files you’re not worried about.

However for the data you want protected, the S1 Series uses a software password that has to be entered on the computer once the drive has been connected. The S2 Series steps things up with a fingerprint scanner that requires you to swipe, before you can access the encrypted data. Finally, the S3 Series has a keypad running down the side that requires you to punch in a code to unlock your data. I’m not sure if the use of Roman Numerals on the buttons is the best approach, particularly if you failed that section in grade school. But you can always write over them with a Sharpie. That looks professional right?

[ RAIDON STARAY S Series Drive Enclosures ] VIA [ 7 Gadgets ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I was under the impression the world no longer needed basic, stand-alone calculators but it seems I was gravely mistaken. This ‘Jet Calculator’ from LEXON is clearly made to appeal to the design-minded consumer who also doesn’t have access to a cellphone, PDA, computer or mathematically-gifted idiot-savant. Made from aluminum alloy (and boring plastic keys with a crappy ‘LCD’ font) the calculator comes in a silver or gold finish and features a pretty useless sliding screen design.

Both the silver and gold models will be available in Korea in April for about $42 and $53 respectively.

[ LEXON Jet Calculator ] VIA [ Coolest Gadgets ]

By Evan Ackerman

I decided a few months ago that the first incarnation of Asus’ EEE laptop was not quite enough machine for me. I loved the small form factor and the fact that it has everything necessary to be totally usable (and not much more), but I wanted just a little bit extra, like a bigger screen and a little bit more storage space. Asus has announced the new EEE 900, which looks like it’s going to be pretty much the perfect laptop for my needs. Overall it’s the same size and weight as its predecessor (the speakers have been moved from the sides to the bottom), with an 8.9″ 1024 x 600 LCD, 1gb of ram and an 8gb SSD with Windows XP in the base configuration, and it should offer a battery life of 2.5 - 3 hours. It also may be using Intel’s Atom platform (900mhz Celeron M), which is supposed to be adopted in Q2 of this year.

Supposedly, the EEE 900 will also include a resistive touchscreen (!). However, based on the FCC filing, Gizmodo says no, while DigiTimes quotes Asus’ VP of Sales as saying that the “second-generation Eee PC lineup will include touchscreen panels and possible GPS support.” What it will definitely include is a multi-gesture touchpad like the one on Macbooks (except less fancy), allowing you to use two fingers to zoom in and out on pictures and stuff.

On release (May or June), the 8gb/XP model should retail for $499 in the US.

VIA [ Engadget ]