Archive for December, 2008

Solar iPhone cases from Solar Arcadia

Posted in iPhone Accessories by Conner Flynn on December 20th, 2008

Solar iPhone cases from Solar ArcadiaAn iPhone with integrated solar cells may be quite a ways off, so in the meantime Solar Arcadia’s solar-powered cases are your best option. The cases are available in SideFlip and Leather Flip models and offer a bit of extra protection for your handset.

They feature a solar panel so that your phone can enjoy at least a few more minutes of life while you’re out in the sunlight. Each case is constructed from ABS sheepskin and comes in a trio of colors. Red, white or black (The Leather Flip is only available in black).

$400K Cabestan Winch Tourbillion Watch has a chain drive

Posted in Watches by Conner Flynn on December 19th, 2008

Cabestan Winch Tourbillion Watch has a chain driveSpending a few grand on a watch is ridiculous. Spending $400K takes it to a whole other crazy level. $400K is what the Cabestan Winch Tourbillion watch will cost you. From afar it sort of resembles a weird fishing rod reel, but up close, you can see the amazing workmanship.

We’re talking 1352 components driven by a 450 link chain and nickel silver drums in horizontal precision. How cool is that? Still, it’s like buying a house for your wrist. I bet this $400K watch is a real hit with bankers and auto executives. The rest of us can just admire it from afar.

Wazabee 3DeeShell gives your iPhone a 3D screen

Posted in iPhone Accessories by Conner Flynn on December 19th, 2008

Wazabee 3DeeShell gives your iPhone a 3D screenWazabee will be introducing several ‘autostereoscopic’ products at Macworld that add no-glasses 3D technology to regular LCDs, including the iPhone. The 3DeeShell hugs the iPhone like a protective case, and features a clear “3D” lens that you can remove when you’re not using it.

Of course the case can’t magically convert 2D to 3D, but the company is offering a trio of apps to create and view media for the display, named 3DeeVUsion, 3Dee!oadr and 3DeeCamera. The Wazabee 3DeeShell is scheduled to ship in early Q2 2009.

Torus concept watch adds some color to time

Posted in Watches by Conner Flynn on December 19th, 2008

Torus concept watch adds some color to timeThe Torus concept watch from Nicolas Meiresonne won’t give you the exact time. But it will look pretty in a Sci-Fi kind of way. This timepiece offers the wearer only a perception of time, by cycling through a variety of pretty colors.

For instance, you’ll get blue and green in the morning, while yellow and orange mean noon with red and purple depicting both evening and night. The bracelet’s surface has touchscreen capability, allowing you to set the timer simply by tapping on the corresponding segments. Pretty cool, but pretty useless if you need to know appropriate times.

Sensor-equipped Footballs may make Refs obsolete

Posted in Sports by Conner Flynn on December 19th, 2008

Sensor-equipped Footballs may make Refs obsoleteWe’ve all seen a ref make a bad call at their team’s expense. It sucks. NFL refs aren’t perfect. But footballs and gloves with built-in sensors will make it easier for them as well as put some out of business. It might even mark an end to coach’s challenges. Dr. Priya Narasimhan of Carnegie Mellon University has developed this football and gloves, outfitting them with wireless sensors that can precisely determine whether or not a ball hit the ground before being caught or whether or not someone had control of the ball before fumbling. Using GPS, they could also determine whether or not the ball crossed the goal line.

The same kind of sensors could easily be adapted to shoes, used to measure stride and running patterns, or even in shoulder pads, calculating blocking positions and force.

iLuv introduces 2.1 soundbar speaker system for PC

Posted in Accessories by Shane McGlaun on December 19th, 2008

iLuv iSP 200I have seen soundbars for home theater sets ups that provide good sound and a clean install look. They place speakers inside a long, slender box that is designed to sit under the TV in your living room rather than boxy speakers that are designed to stand beside the TV.

iLuv has introduced a new 2.1 speaker set for PC that looks like a soundbar. The long and slender device has a pair of speakers inside with a subwoofer. The system uses SRS-XT technology to simulate surround sound for movies and games.

THQ signs with NVIDIA for PhysX technology

Posted in NVIDIA by Shane McGlaun on December 19th, 2008

NVIDIA LogoNVIDIA is the biggest name in discrete video card sales. It has among its wares some of the best performing video cards available. The graphics giant purchased Ageia and gained from the buy PhysX technology that it has been enabling on its GPUs and peddling to game developers.

Over the last few weeks, some of the biggest game publishers in the world have licensed NVIDIA’s PhysX technology including EA. EA showed footage of its new title Mirror’s Edge with PhysX enabled and it looked like a different game.

Circuit City says it’s not shutting more stores down

Posted in circuit city by Shane McGlaun on December 19th, 2008

Circuit CityWe all know that the economy in the U.S. and abroad is bad right now. People are losing their homes, major automakers are facing the very real prospect of going out of business, and the technology industry is seeing some of the hardest times in many years.

One of the hardest hit companies in the electronics industry is Circuit City. The consumer electronics reseller announced in early November that it was closing down a significant number of its locations, specifically 155 stores would lock their doors on December 31.

BlackBerry Storm in stock at some Verizon stores

Posted in Verizon by Shane McGlaun on December 19th, 2008

BlackBerry StormThe geeky world of smartphone fans was giddy with anticipation when BlackBerry announced its first touchscreen device called the BlackBerry Storm. So excited were the hoards of BlackBerry fanatics that Verizon stores quickly sold out in many areas on launch day.

If you were one of the folks who wanted a Storm, despite the rather bad reviews of the device, and were unable to get one before stocks ran out Verizon has announced that some of its stores in the Southern California area will have stock today.

NASA looking to give away Space Shuttles

Posted in Science by Darrin Olson on December 19th, 2008

NASA looking to possibly give away Space ShuttlesNASA has announced that they are looking for ideas on what to do with the two space shuttle orbiters and main engine display kits by issuing a Request For Information (RFI) to the public. If you can convince them that you can appropriately display the shuttle to the public along with having enough money to transport and store them then you may have a good chance and scoring your own space shuttle from NASA.

Car USB Frog Air Purifier adds some dork to your dashboard

Posted in USB by Conner Flynn on December 18th, 2008

Car USB Frog Air Purifier adds some dork to your dashboardIt’s a familiar situation. You’ve just had some Taco Bell and something is trying to make a run for the border in your pants. Or maybe you just haven’t showered lately. Either way, what you need is a car Air Purifier. The Car USB Frog Air Purifier will eat bad smells like so many tasty flies and make it all better.

It’s designed to generate millions of negative ions to ionize and remove unwanted particles in the air. The frog air purifier comes with a car plug adapter and a USB cable, so you can use it not only in your car, but also in your office or at home. No matter where you use it, you’ll look like a dork for only $19.99.

Magic 8 Ball USB drive

Posted in USB Flash Drives by Conner Flynn on December 18th, 2008

Magic 8 Ball USB driveSometimes it’s really hard to make a decision. Sometimes you need a scapegoat, so you can blame someone else for something that you know is a bad idea. Traditionally, that’s where the magic 8-ball has always come in handy. It has now been combined with this cool little USB flash drive from The USB Group.

This way, you’ll always have storage and an easy answer at your fingertips. It’s a fully logo brandable drive with a cute magic 8 ball suspended in liquid. Should I delete my porn? “Ask again later” Will my co-workers find my High School Musical tracks? “My sources say no”.

Crazy Dalek Christmas tree exterminates holiday cheer

Posted in Robots by Conner Flynn on December 18th, 2008

Crazy Dalek Christmas tree exterminates holiday cheerThis Dalek Christmas tree is scary. Scary because it’s a Dalek and scary because it’s so silly and bizarre that my brain has no idea how to process it. It was created by Minnesotan Lindsey Testolin and features a lot of flashing lights, no sense of style or attitude, some bulb ornaments on the base, and I hope they have a spare laundry basket or he’s gonna lose his neck.

If Doctor Who was a DIY production, this would be an actual screen cap of the Christmas special. Regardless of it’s ragtag DIY look, it warms our cold geek hearts. Video below.

Retroreflective vinyl turns stuff from black to white

Posted in News by Conner Flynn on December 18th, 2008

Retroreflective vinyl turns stuff from black to whiteHere’s a great idea. If you ride your bike at night, hopefully you have reflectors attached so cars can see you and you don’t get ran over. Thing is, there is now a better type of reflector for your bike, as in making the entire bike a reflector. Did I mention that it’s invisible?

Impossible you say? Not anymore. It’s made possible by retroreflective vinyl. The material looks black under normal light, but turns completely and utterly white and reflective when a bright light, like headlights shines on it. It also gives you a two-color chameleon-like bike. You can actually buy it and do it to your own bike.

IBM ThinkPad W700 has integrated second display

Posted in IBM by Conner Flynn on December 18th, 2008

IBM ThinkPad W700 has integrated second displayWe didn’t see this one coming. Although we had hoped for something like it, after seeing the Apple Tribook. The new IBM ThinkPad W700 may only have one integrated secondary display, but it’s a foldable, 10.6 inch secondary display, with 768 x 1,280 pixels and LED backlight.

This may not be an Apple Tribook, but hell that was just a fancy dream. This one is real and the IBM ThinkPad W700 feature list has us impressed.