By David Ponce

Having a bike light is always a good idea, lest you meet a much larger vehicle at night for a decidedly unpleasant collision. Now, there are those lights that require batteries to operate. And there are those that use contact dynamos to power the light. But the Magnic Light, currently on Kickstarter, does away with contact altogether. And it doesn’t require you to install magnets along the rim (which produces inconsistent light):

Magnic Light works with all kinds of metallic rims (normally aluminum, steel or magnesium). While aluminium and magnesium are not magnetic (but paramagnetic) they are conductive. Relative movements of magnets and neighboured conductive material induce eddy currents in the conductive material – in our case the metallic rim. These eddy currents have their own magnetic fields (see Wikipedia) which are absorbed by the Magnic Light generator kernel and by this way produce electric energy. Although there is no friction the absorption of magnetic fields has a minimal braking effect, so we don’t get energy for free. Magnic Light contains the most efficient LEDs currently available (CREE XM-L T6) to get maximal light from minimal energy.

So, it looks pretty nice, doesn’t touch your bike and lights up your path. What’s not to like? Well, the price for one. The back light is $85 while the front is $130. And… well that’s it really. Maybe if the little bit of innovation were seeing here is your thing, hit the link and pledge away.

[ Product Page ]

By David Ponce

Cycling in an urban environment, it’s not a bad idea to see where you’re going. Lights help but these tend to get stolen quite a bit. That’s why we like the The Defender bike light by Gotham Bicycle Defense. Not only does it look somewhat badass shaped like a gun’s barrel revolver’s cylinder (the reason for the design? “As you know, city biking can be a battle. We captured the struggle of the urban cyclist in our design” says the company) but it’s also pretty darn hard to take off your bike. It’s secured in place with a “security screwdriver”, which you can’t find in a hardware store. It’s the sort of tool an opportunistic thief is unlikely to have on them, making them much more likely to move on to the next target.

The solid aluminum Defender light is also water resistant and waterproof up to 1ft.: heavy downpours will not damage it. Even removing the 3 required AAA batteries requires a small Allen key. The 6 bright LEDs will sip these batteries at a rate that should give you 100 hours before needing a change.

$50 will get you one (down from the expected $70 retail price) and in usual Kickstarter fashion you get more perks with more money down.

[ Product Page ]

By David Ponce

Waking up is one of the hardest things to do and surely countless jobs have been lost after an unfortunate morning snoozing session. There are many alarms on the market that try to tackle this issue and the Ramos Alarm Clock, currently on Kickstarter, is one of the better ones. It features a clock that stays by your bed and a remote wireless pad. When the alarm goes off, you have to get out of bed and walk to this pad to enter a code. By then, hopefully, you’ll just decide to stay out of bed.

But the features don’t end there. You can preset the number of snoozes you allow yourself in the morning, after which you have to walk to the pad. Also, some people like to make their own snooze by waking up before the alarm goes off and changing the time. The Ramos deals with this by going into a lockdown mode 30 minutes before it’s due, forcing you to get out of bed anyway. There’s also a Courtesy Mode that takes your housemates into consideration: the alarm rings for 10 seconds, then pauses for a minute. This gives you a window of opportunity to get out of bed and disarm the clock, sparing the sleep of others in the house.

The Ramos clock comes in two flavors: a $160 LED teak wood clock or a $350 nixie tube clock, also in teak wood. More expensive options exist for fancier finishes and longer range control panels.

[ The Ramos Alarm Clock ]

By David Ponce

Let’s face it, many geeks like coffee. It’s one of those beverages whose quality can vary enormously and whose perfect execution is considered an art by some. I personally don’t really care and gulp down ashtray juice by the gallons, but the more refined of you might appreciate the PID-Controlled Espresso Machine. It’s a $400 machine that stands on par with $700+ models. And here’s why. Good espresso boils down to two things (aside from the quality of the beans): constant pressure and temperature during the entire pull. More expensive machines manage this feat through high-end components. But this project from Gleb Polyakov and Igor Zamlinsky uses an Arduino brain and a PID controller (proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller) to constantly monitor the temperature and pressure of the shot and adjust on the fly, ensuring a consistent pull every time. They had to redesign the thermoblock to suit their needs but have kept overall costs down by using off the shelf parts whenever possible.

The geeks are excited about this one, as the project has raised $341,000+ so far, even though their target was $20k. They’re on their way to being the 6th most funded project ever. And while once on the market this espresso machine will retail for $400, you can still get yours for $300 (up from $200 at few days ago). It’s going to be made and is supposed to ship in March.

[ Project Home ] VIA [ Wired's Gadget Lab ]

By David Ponce

e-Readers are booming in popularity and they now come in all manners of shapes, sizes and feature-sets. But the granddaddy of them all, the Kindle, does not include any form of backlighting, so if you want to read in the dark, you need a light. Today’s project, the Kapsule Lightstand, is made specifically for the Kindle Keyboard and adds a bunch of functionality. First off, one retractable and adjustable gooseneck serves as an LED; pull it out and it lights, push it back in to turn it off. Another retractable gooseneck at the bottom of the accessory serves as a kickstand, so you can prop your reader up for hands-free enjoyment. And finally, the shape of the Kapsule itself serves as an added hand grip.

Currently on Kickstarter, you can get yours starting at $40 with estimated delivery in February 2012, if the project is fully funded.

Hit the jump for a video and links.

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By David Ponce

Cable tangle on your desktop is unsightly, and craning your neck to look at your iPad’s screen when it’s flat on a surface is annoying. So this particular object, called Cable.Gone, addresses both of these issues… no, these small inconveniences at once. Being a simple plastic tube with an opening at the bottom, it’s pretty easy to just insert a bunch of cables inside of it and tidy things up a bit. Also, its top surface is angled down so that you can rest an iPad or other tablet on it.

Currently on Kickstarter, $25 will get you a pre-order. It doesn’t look like it’ll take off however, as there are only 17 days left and only $331 of $27,500 needed raised so far. We understand the lack of enthusiasm, this isn’t a revolutionary product. But at $25 doesn’t seem like a bad deal to make things look just a little better on your desk.

[ Cable.Gone ] VIA [ Geeky Gadgets ]

By David Ponce

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.

[ Kickstarter Campaign For iTar ] VIA [ DVice ]

By David Ponce

Over the years we’ve written a few times about the Gorillapod, an extremely versatile camera tripod that can be used to take shots from unconventional places. It’s a great product, but it can be made better. Still images is not the only thing modern DSLRs are able to do: they also shoot great video. The only problem is stabilization.

Enter the Cineskates.

They transform the Gorillapod Focus into a camera dolly, with which you can do the following type of shots:

Arcing shots that rotate around objects

Sliding shots that push or pull the subject into focus

Rolling shots that glide over the subject

Time-lapse shots that move the camera slowly and smoothly

Panning shots that scan a wide area

“Worm’s eye view” shots that slide just above the floor

The entire system consists of the Cineskates (the wheels), a BallHead X joint, the Gorillapod Focus, a case and cleaning cloth. And the best news is that you can actually purchase this now, as the Kickstarter project associated with it has amply surpassed it’s $20,000 funding goals and should start shipping soon. Retail, the complete system will go for $350 but if you pledge now, you can have it for $275.

Hit the jump for a video and links.

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