Archive for March, 2008
Thursday, March 27th, 2008
I wonder if ancient people were able to predict the weather. If that’s the case, how exactly did they do it? Beats me. Nowadays, with all that technology above us we can make a pretty reliable forecast for a good 7 day interval. In fact, things are not so accurate anymore since the greenhouse effect is upon us. The number of people interested in weather forecasts has grown as well. If you are among these, then you definitely have to own a wireless weather forecaster.
The handy wireless weather forecaster lets you know everything about the climatic debacle. It runs on a free wireless network spanning the continental USA, so it works virtually anywhere and requires no set-up. Hmmmm, does it work without a hot spot, too? Yeah? It’s got some sort of weather GPS or what?
The supplied LCD displays a weeks worth of detailed weather predictions from AccuWeather.com. No PC or Internet connection is actually required. You’ll be up to date with details on daily high and low temperatures, precipitation, wind speed and direction, UV index, pollen, and air quality alerts, in no time. A cool feature is the back-light that changes color to indicate temperature at a glance. You don’t need to setup special sensors, just add 4 AA batteries. Stay informed for about $150.
Posted in Electronic Gadgets | 2 Comments »
Thursday, March 27th, 2008
Driving a car is more than a hobby for most of us; it’s a necessity, at least in large cities. Anyhow, things can get pretty cranky when you get caught in the rush hour chaos. Good thing you got the car, but what’s the use when you don’t have freeways to drive it through the city? No problem, you say to yourself, I’m going to risk it. Go ahead and do that and when you find yourself honking around like crazy and giving the finger to all those mother f..shhhh! drivers who don’t give a damn about driving signs and rules, don’t bother figuring out why you didn’t choose the subway in the first place.
Although showing fingers is a relatively efficient form of non-verbal communication, I recommend you use a more geeky way to let the other drivers know how you feel about them. Try the Driving LED Emoticon sign for a long lasting impression on your fellow drivers. This is a battery powered, wirelessly controlled message sign that can be attached to the rear window of your car via the included suction cup. With the included remote control unit kept in the front of the car, you can activate the messages by pressing one of its buttons.
Each of the five buttons can display a different message - smiley face, frowning face, “Thanks”, “Back Off” and “Idiot”. So when them mo’ fo’s try to get at you, slap them back with the appropriate sign! Wouldn’t it be cooler if you could program some additional signs? “Owned!”
Additionally, the main unit is powered by 4 AA batteries and you get a power saving mode. The approximate dimensions of the LED device are 6″ diameter X 1.25″ thick. It’s only $29.99.
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Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
Maybe you aren’t a couch potato, but when you find yourself sitting around the TV for days as some football tournament is happening abroad, wouldn’t it be cool to flip channels only by using your voice? Toshiba already knows what we wish for and presents their improved ApriPoko robot to help us with the channel surfing.
ApriPoko has been in development for about two years and it is specifically designed to operate different remote controls by observing and asking questions. So it knows how to deal with your HD and hi-fi stuff, as well. In order to do this it features sensors that will be able to detect infrared rays coming out from each remote you own, so each time you activate a command it will ask “What did you just do?” It is important you answer appropriately because ApriPoko immediately stores the relevant details in its memory. So the next time you need to change the channel, for example, all you need to do is verbalize the command and the robot does the rest. He’s even equipped with a camera to identify users, and might learn their habits, too.
Now go ahead and by a really cool hi-fi system along with an HD-ready TV and a BD-player until ApriPoko gets a commercial release, because, for now, it’s just an R&D demonstrator device, and is limited to simple commands. He’s kinda cute, don’t you think?
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Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
As a respectable gadget geek you surely own all sorts of stuff that use memory cards for storage. You got a DSLR or a compact camera, a cellphone, a PDA, a camcorder and even portable media player… Geeky indeed, but what do you manage all those memory cards? Why not get a 51-in-1 card reader that comes with a Bluetooth & USB hub?
You can use the 51-in-1 card reader with your PC rig or you could give your laptop Bluetooth power alongside some extra USB ports. It’s great for quick data transfer between a multitude of card formats without actually carrying all those devices with you. Are you ready for the card compatibility list? Here you go:
- CF I, CF II , CF I WA, CF I ELITE PRO, CF PRO, CF PRO II, CF Ultra II, HS CF, CF Extreme, CF Extreme III, CF Extreme IV
- IBM MD
- Hitachi MD
- MAGICSTOR
- MS, MS MG, MS PRO, MS PRO EXTREME, MS PRO MG, MS DUO, MS DUO MG, MS PRO DUO, MS PRO DUO ULTRA, MS PRO DUO MG, MS PRO ULTRA II, MS ROM, MS MEMORY SELECT FUNCTION, MS DUO HS , MS PRO EXTREME III, MS PRO HS, MS PRO DUO, MG HS
- M2
- XD. XD H Type, XD M TYPE
- SD, SD PRO, SD ELITE PRO, SD ULTRA, SD ULTRA II, SD EXTREME, SD EXTEREME III, SD HS 150X, SDHC 2.0, MINI SD
- T-Flash
- Micro SD
- MMC, MMC 4.0, HS MMC, RS MMC, RS MMC 4.0, HS RS A15MMC, MMC MOBILE, MMC PLUS 200X
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Tuesday, March 25th, 2008
Time to get a taste of what the future prepares for all you kitchen-dependent people out there. Designers Fisher and Paykel did some brainstorming and came up with a futuristic kitchen range. Their new Izona Cooksurface looks like a spaceship control dashboard rather than a ceramic electric hob or a gas one. All you need now is some holographic food floating over that sleek hob and you’re already feeding yourself the digital way. The hob dumps the four-burner pattern that nearly every other range uses, and even though this means fewer cooking stations, at least you won’t be accidentally setting on fire random stuff around it.
The clever designers implemented some retracting pot supports, burners and controls, so when it’s off its glass surface is easy to clean. Just take a look at that squeecky-clean surface, would you really cook something on that? Talking about futuristic stuff, you also get extra-precise temperature control and LED displays. Unfortunately, this is still in the project stage and not quite ready for commercialization yet. Look on the bright side, it has just received the Australian International Design Awards. Take it easy with that holo-food, there might be some sort of holo-cancer around the corner.
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