Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

If you’re looking for a more humane way to rid your home of cockroaches, this Extra Electromagnetic Cockroach Expeller from Gadget.Brando.com.hk claims to do just that without the use of poisons, traps or all those dead cockroach corpses. While your standard Electromagnetic Cockroach Expeller might just annoy the bugs, you have to remember that this is the ‘Extra Electromagnetic’ model which should make things so uncomfortable for your unwanted guests that they’ll just voluntarily up and leave. It also uses flashing lights to drive away other pests, because we all know that insects are in no way attracted to lighting.

The repeller plugs into a standard wall socket and has a supposed range of about 120 square meters. It’s available from Gadget.Brando.com.hk for just $25 and I’m guessing it doesn’t come with a money-back guarantee.

[ Extra Electromagnetic Cockroach Expeller ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

By Andrew Liszewski

For the nerd who has everything, as well as a desire to destroy their lungs comes these computer keyboard themed lighters. Each one is roughly the size of your standard Bic lighter, but features a remarkable amount of detail. They have a matte powder coat finish and come in 6 different color options with black or white sets of keys. The plunger, which is visible on a couple of the lighters in that photo, folds safely into the side of the keyboard so there’s less of a chance of it being accidentally lit while it’s banging around in your pocket. The lighters are also refillable, and can be engraved on the underside if you’re looking for a promotional item that will appeal to smokers and arsonists.

Unfortunately/fortunately for those of us in North America, the Computer Keyboard Lighters are only available from Amazon.co.uk for about $3.84 each, and can only be shipped to a UK address.

[ Computer Keyboard Lighter ] VIA [ Nerd Approved ]

By Andrew Liszewski

The Mask of Emotion is a research project created at the Digital Media Design department at Hongik University in Korea. It’s designed to hide your true emotions which are easily given away by your facial expressions. So instead of people seeing your face, they see this half-dome mask which features LEDs that can light up in different patterns to form basic emoticons. By default the LED face has no expression, but different interactions, like shaking the wearer’s hand, will cause it to display a smile or other emotions. While the mask was apparently created to “generate conversation and response in public spaces” I think it was actually designed to give anyone who wears it the ultimate poker face. (Can you think of a better way to pay for university?)

[ Mask of Emotion ] VIA [ MAKE: Blog ]

By Evan Ackerman

According to Engadget, this rather dull looking mouse giggles when you touch it and gets upset if someone you don’t like sends you an email. There’s no other information besides that it’s made by a company called DarFon. I wish I had more on this, but for some reason, the idea of a ticklish mouse fascinates me. I mean, you’re always grabbing them by the waist, why shouldn’t they be ticklish? Sure, it would be wicked annoying most of the time, but it would be nice to take a break from work now and then to give your mouse a little squeeze and hear it giggle back at you.

VIA [ Engadget ]

By Andrew Liszewski

The Rail Runner looks more like a prop from a Marx Brothers movie than an eco-friendly mode of transportation. But it’s real, and if you happen to have access to a section of railroad track that isn’t frequented by a 200 ton diesel locomotive, you can spend a leisurely afternoon riding the rails via pedal power. The Rail Runner can accommodate up to 4 people (it can support about 1,200 pounds when sitting on a set of tracks) but can actually be powered by a single rider since it only weighs around 140 pounds thanks to an aluminum frame and polyurethane wheels. The base version of the Rail Runner comes with 2 seats and a price tag of $1,950 but you can add the optional ‘deck’ in the back with 2 additional seats for $135, and a sun canopy for another $165.

[ Rail Runner ] VIA [ 2dayBlog ]

By Andrew Liszewski

While most people are happy to see the arrival of Spring after the cold Winter months, I’m a bit less welcoming since it means it’s time for me to stock up on allergy medications. Until now, the only other option was to simply never go outside in the Spring (actually a lot easier than it sounds) but a device called the Medinose could provide an alternative solution. It uses light therapy applied directly to the inside of the nose to ‘practically eliminate’ allergic symptoms like congestion, runny nose, watery eyes and headaches with just a couple of weeks use.

Using photo therapy, Medinose inhibits the release of histamine, relieving or even completely eliminating allergic reactions and complaints in a natural way. The body is not burdened by drugs and Medinose has no side effects. Medinose consists of a small power pack (about the size of cigarette packet) and two probes which are inserted into the nostrils.

Each treatment session with the Medinose takes just approx. 4.5 minutes 2-3 times a day. The Medinose can be used anywhere: at home, on the move or at work. With severe symptoms, treatment can be repeated several times without any side effects. As soon as the symptoms subside, the number of treatments can be reduced. The Medinose is, however, also suitable for prevention.

Photo therapy is a method developed in hospitals for treating allergic reactions. It uses visible red light that acts on the cellular metabolism, slowing down the immune reaction and reducing inflammation of the nasal mucous membranes. The light causes an overall reduction in allergic reactions and symptoms. The manufacturers of Medinose have taken this technology and developed a hand held, consumer friendly device.

While I actually wouldn’t be opposed to trying the device, I’m afraid there’s just no way I would use it anywhere except in the privacy of my own home. (On the move? Seriously?) It’s available from Health Innovations Ltd. for about $156, and if it works as claimed, in the long run it would probably be cheaper than buying medications.

[ Medisana Medinose ] VIA [ Shiny Shiny ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Let’s face it. If you’re the type of person who reads a gadget blog every morning (or 70) you’re also the type of person who likes to have the latest cool or unique gadgets to show off to your friends. So the next time your pals stop by and you’re serving up some refreshments, why not blow their minds with these Ghost Goblets.

Ok, while they’re not exactly ‘mind-blowing’ the goblet within a glass effect is still pretty cool, particularly when it’s filled with what appears to be a weird hybrid of Tang and V8. I think that cocktail is officially called ‘Sadness in my Mouth.’

A set of 4 Ghost Goblets is available from CocktailVibe.com for $74.95.

[ Ghost Goblet ] VIA [ Nerd Approved ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Earlier in the year, well-known electronics manufacturer Asus actually split into three separate divisions. One of those divisions (now known as Pegatron) has a dedicated design department called PEGA who recently created 8 different interactive concept products under the theme of ‘Between On&Off’. One of those concepts was this Look@Me keyboard for instant messaging which actually only has 40 keys containing various emoticon elements. (Basically an assortment of alphabet and punctuation keys.)

The compact layout and limited number of keys means the Look@Me can be used one-handed, but I’m not exactly sure why someone would want an extra keyboard that only includes emoticon elements. I mean the whole point of the emoticon was to use the standard characters on a regular keyboard to express your feelings. If you wanted to make adding emoticons to a conversation easier, why not just make each key its own emoticon? I realize there are far more than just 40 emoticons to choose from, but that should be more than enough to cover the basics.

[ PEGA Design - Look@Me Emoticon Keyboard ] VIA [ designboom ]

By Andrew Liszewski

As much as I hate to see extra-crappy Star Wars merchandise, I have to admit I would have loved to own a lightsaber-style fishing rod when I was a kid. Ok, that’s not entirely true. If I had the opportunity to go fishing more than once a year, I would probably buy one today too. And in addition to the lightsaber fishing rod you’ll soon be able to buy a slightly less-clever tackle box adorned with various Star Wars graphics, and a Darth Vader Fun Net which doesn’t actually seem that much funner than a regular net. This is also apparently just the first wave of Star Wars themed fishing accessories, and in the future there will be more products that could even feature a Clone Wars theme, which makes sense given the upcoming animated film.

[ TheForce.Net - Star Wars Fishing Supplies ]

By Evan Ackerman

I do a lot of moaning about lack of desktop real estate when it comes to computers, but even I can’t fathom the purpose of this Xentex Flip-Pad Voyager “laptop.” It looks like somebody hacked it down the middle with a machete, and the entire laptop does in fact fold in half (twice) to make it slightly more portable. The eye-catching feature is, of course, the dual 13.3″ (1024 x 768) screens, one of which rotates completely around so that you can… Uh… Give a presentation? Or something? While the 12 pound weight and 20″ width are a bit of a turn-off, the huge size allows for a disgustingly large and spacious keyboard, as well as a high resolution trackpad that works as a drawing tablet with the included stylus.

The Xentex Flip-Pad Voyager dates from late 2002 or early 2003, when it was available with an Athalon 4 (remember those?) up to 1.6GHz, 512mb of RAM, and ports up the wazoo, for a decidedly corporate $5000. The version currently on eBay is only about half as fast (and it needs some work), but the bidding is currently well under $1000, so if you’d like a bizarre new computer to play with, this could be your big chance.

[ eBay ] VIA [ Engadget ]