Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

To the best of my knowledge I’ve never been abducted by aliens (though I admit my memory of certain nights is vague at best) but I imagine if an alien race decided to skip the door or window and instead enter my bedroom via a hole cut in the floor under my bed, it would look exactly like this. The Beam Bed was designed by Ewan Robertson of Lagostudio and besides the cool lighting effect, the bed also appears to have IKEA-esque flat-pack qualities making it easy to collapse and transport.

The Beam bed amazes with the particular features of its structure, which is inspired by a figure of elementary simplicity and beauty: the sun. An original system of boards forms the base for the mattress, opening up in a sunburst arrangement from a central fulcrum. The way of supporting the mattress is therefore innovative and unorthodox, but decidedly functional and practical. Beam shows its respect for the environment by making itself as small when it is packaged to be transported. Added to this sun element is a component that produces a strongly scenographic effect: light. The insertion of a lighting system for the base, which irradiates beams of light like a sunburst through the sun-rays-like opening, generates a seductive light-shadow effect that makes the atmosphere of the bedroom unique.

Unfortunately the bed makes it next to impossible to hide anything underneath when you have visitors since even the smallest item would end up casting a pretty obvious shadow.

[ Beam Bed ] VIA [ Cribcandy ]

By Andrew Liszewski

After that massive power failure that hit the US and Canada a few years ago, I’m sure most of us living on the eastern side of the continent now keep at least one flashlight ready in case it happens again. But for those times when the emergency isn’t quite so big, this tiny hand-cranked LED keychain would probably come in handy. It’s just over an inch and a half long but manages to incorporate a fold-up crank as well as a couple of bright LEDs. I’m going to also assume there’s a battery or capacitor inside for storing up a charge so that you don’t need to continually crank the flashlight in order for it to work. You can get it from Brando.com.hk in black, blue or red for just $8.

[ Mini Dynamo Keychain 2-LED Flashlight ] VIA [ GeekAlerts ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Is there really a better way to say “I have millions of dollars and I know how to tastefully spend it” than with a chandelier in your home shaped like a handgun, AK-47, Jolly Roger or giant spider? I didn’t think so. While Rock and Royal is based out of Rotterdam in The Netherlands, they’ve been creating custom chandeliers for clients all over the world since about 2005. Designers Hans van Bentem and Arno Coenen are responsible for the pieces pictured above, but they also do custom tile mosaics which quite frankly are exactly what you’d expect given what some of their chandeliers look like. Since it seems the company only does custom work, there’s no pricing information available on their site, so if you’ve been dreaming of a giant Optimus Prime-shaped chandelier your whole life, you’ll need to contact them directly for a quote.

[ Rock and Royal Custom Chandeliers ] VIA [ BallerHouse ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Solar powered lighting for your deck or backyard is pretty popular these days, but here’s another eco-friendly solution to illuminate your next BBQ. While the Firewinder looks like the kind of kitschy outdoor wind chime you’d find at an arts & crafts sale, the spinning motion of its upward spiraling helix is actually used to power a generator which in turn illuminates a set of 14 ultra bright LEDs. The helix design allows the Firewinder to harness the wind no matter what direction it’s blowing, and it features an ultra-light design so even the lightest breeze will keep it going. The LEDs are also located along the edge of the helix which produces a unique lighting effect as it spins.

From what I can tell the Firewinder doesn’t feature a rechargeable battery to store up a charge, so if the wind isn’t blowing, the LEDs won’t light up. It does come with a set of brackets though, for mounting it to a wall, or you can just take the lazy route and hang it from a rope. It’s available from Firewinder.com for about $200.

[ Firewinder ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

By Luke Anderson

If you’ve been looking for some new and unique lighting for your place, why not install some pipe lighting? These cool pipes appear to just sit on the floor and give the appearance that they go straight through the wall, however, you won’t need to mess with cutting holes or anything, as you just set them where you like.

If you have a cool basement or a brick apartment with pipes already running through the floor and wall, this would certainly be cool way to add some color to your room. Then again, you could always put one in a nice room with white walls and carpet to freak out friends and family when they stop by.

[ DaWanda ] VIA [ Technabob ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If you’re shooting in a studio or somewhere with a large external flash, it’s pretty much a given that a wireless triggering system will make your life a whole lot easier. At work we use a PocketWizard setup which consists of a large transmitter attached to the hot shoe of our camera, and a receiver connected to the flash itself. It works great, but the transmitter and receiver will run you about $400, which isn’t so great if you’re just a hobbyist. However, the CyberSync from a company called AlienBees promises to provide the exact same wireless functionality, but in a smaller package and with a price tag of about $130.

Like with the PocketWizard, the CyberSync has a dedicated transmitter which connects to the hot shoe on your camera, as well as a wireless receiver for the flash. You have your choice of sixteen different frequencies within the 2.4GHz band so you can avoid interference from other photographers, and the system has a usable range of up to 400 feet, barring any obstructions like walls etc. I also like the fact that the CyberSync transmitter uses a single cell battery instead of 2 AAs like the PocketWizard, which tends to make the camera I use a bit top heavy when it’s attached.

The CyberSync transmitter is available from AlienBees for just $59.95, while the receiver is $10 more at $69.95, and comes in either AC or battery powered versions.

[ AlienBees CyberSync ] VIA [ Wired Gadget Lab ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Fluorescent bulbs seem to be a better choice over their incandescent predecessors at least when it comes to energy efficiency. However, they do take a bit longer to reach full brightness than an incandescent bulb, which makes them less ideal for use in places where they’re frequently turned on and off. (Like a bathroom.) To solve this problem Panasonic has developed their new Pa-Look Ball Premium Q (quick) compact fluorescent bulbs which use a hybrid lighting system to achieve instant brightness.

The new bulbs contain a compact ‘quick lamp’ located in the center of the fluorescent tube, which allows the bulb to obtain 60 percent full brightness within about a second of it being turned on. This is apparently about 50% faster than the company’s regular Pa-Look Ball Premium bulbs. As far as I can tell the ‘quick lamp’ is actually a small incandescent bulb, and a built-in timer will automatically turn it off when the fluorescent spiral arc lamp has developed enough brightness of its own. In the end the Premium Q bulbs can achieve a brightness that’s equivalent to a 54-watt incandescent bulb, with an energy consumption of only 10 watts. The new bulbs which also feature a 13,000 hour lifespan will be available in Japan in July of this year.

[ Akihabara News - Panasonic Develops Pa-Look, Ball Premium Q Fluorescent Bulbs ]

By Luke Anderson

When I was a young kid, the thing Atari’s glory days were already at an end. I started off with games like Super Mario Bros. And Duck Hunt, however, over time I grew an appreciation for the other games which were a little more difficult to get ahold of back then. One of my favorite older games has to be Space Invaders. I don’t know why, but i just love mowing down line after line of bad guys as they slowly come down at me. Well if you’re as much of a fan as I, you might check out these interesting lights.

You’ll notice that these lights bear a strong resemblance to the Invaders in that classic arcade. However they are much different, as they are called Intruderz. I doubt that the slight difference in the name will hinder many people from purchasing these. The price of around $50 per light, however, might be enough to do the trick.

[ Unison Idea Studio ] VIA [ Technabob ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Designed by Chris Kabel, the Sticky Lamp comes in what appears to be the standard plastic bubble packaging you’d normally throw away once it was opened. However, the plastic packaging is actually meant to be a part of the lamp itself. On the back you’ll find a self-adhesive fixing that allows you to stick the lamp wherever you need an extra bit of light. Not surprisingly you’re not supposed to use a bulb that’s greater than 15W, and I assume an energy efficient fluorescent or LED model that gives off minimal heat would be the best choice.

You can find the Sticky Lamp at the Design Museum Shop for about $48.

[ Sticky Lamp ]

By Evan Ackerman

If you have $15 burning a hole in your pocket and a USB port burning a hole in your computer, leave it to Brando to put out the metaphorical fires with this, their most recent and perhaps most colorful USB accessory. This unspeakably phallic device has an 8.5″ plasma tube that lights up in one of three colors, and can be set to react to music or ambient noise. It looks like it’ll probably snap in half if you breathe on it, but what do you honestly expect for $15?

As much as I like to harsh on the useless USB junk, if you check out the video on Brando’s website, seeing a few of these things lighting up is actually kinda cool.

[ USB DJ Plasma Tube ] VIA [ Gizmodo ]