GadgetMETER - Meet The Coolest Trends » Sarah

Beautiful wind powered lighting

Sarah — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 12:40:35 +0000

Sometimes I fantasize about living off the grid (how I’ll ever get by without my laptop really is a fantasy if you ask me)… but the dream is always shattered when I start thinking about practical things, like light. Where will my light come from after dark, because I’m not buying a year supply of candles or kerosene. Leave it up to the fine folks at Inhabitat.com to come up with the perfect answer.

Bamboo Flow Lights from Igendesign.

The bamboo flow lights are a self-sustaining public lighting solution that is based on the principle of vertical wind power plants. Not only are they beautiful but they can catch the wind from any directions. In addition it is made entirely from bamboo (an abundant, sustainable and renewable resource) and recyclable electronic components (LEDs, wires and dynamo).
Initially designed for the coastal areas in Columbia, where they can’t get connected to the grid, this design is about to be tested in several other places. So keep your eyes open as these could be popping up in a city near you.

Via Inhabitat.com

Tech inspired design

Sarah — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:30:53 +0000

It seems like everywhere I look every gadget/tech related blog is talking only about the iPad (including this one!). I’ve never been much of one to follow the group so I’m just gonna post whatever I wanna post (and it’s not because I’m resentful of the fact that I don’t have an iPad yet… no really, it’s not).

I found some cool nerdy design related stuff I’m going to post about instead. First, ceramic tiles modeled off the old school 3 1/2 inch floppy disks.

Designed by Australian design firm ENESS, these tiles are sadly not for sale. Though if they were they would totally corner the computer nerd market. I can already envision my kitchen countertops, or possibly the top surface area of what was previously a normal computer desk. If you know someone who can make ceramics these wouldn’t be hard to do. I think I still have a 3 1/2 inch floppy tucked away somewhere that could be used as a mold (no idea what is on it but some things just have sentimental value, you know?).

Via Wired Gadget Blog

Second is a modular floor covering concept from Kyoto based design student Shin Yamashita and unfortunately titled “The Land Peel”…

Made out of an insulating material, this floor covering converts into furniture. Need a seat and a TV tray to watch that next episode of Fringe while eating dinner, you say? No Problem!
Would you like to face east while working on your laptop today, but make it face west tomorrow? You can do that too.

I can see how this type of thing would go over well in Japan. I probably would have preferred this type of thing in my shoebox apartment as opposed to the table that came out of the wall and desk that couldn’t be moved along with the most uncomfortable chairs possibly in existence. And it looks like it can be totally customized as to size and shape. Here in the States I don’t see it garnering much popularity except possibly in children’s game rooms or daycare centers. But maybe I’m just not using my imagination.

What would make it much cooler would be to make it out of actual tatami mat material. Lose the gray with the primary colored accents. But what I really want to know is where did they get that tiny lamp?

Corky, the sustainable kinetic mouse

Sarah — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:13:25 +0000

These days every small thing I can do to eliminate waste is of interest to me. One of the few things that really get on my nerves are batteries. Rechargeable are great, but they are still toxic. And E-waste is getting to be a bigger and bigger problem. So when I saw Adele Peters’ Corky mouse I got pretty excited.

It’s one of 18 finalists in this year’s Greener Gadgets Design Competition. The mouse uses kinetic energy to power it and is also made from 100% recycled plastic components and recycled and biodegradable cork. The Corky mouse uses piezoelectricity to generate energy every time you click, use the scroll wheel, or even move it around.

Plans for the mouse include regional sourcing and assembly, product take-back and recycling, and disassembly data will be easily accessible for recycling centers. So this mouse seems all around to be a more sustainable option. And cork feels nice, doesn’t it? Much nicer than plastic any day.

Go vote for it at Greener Gadgets Design Competition!

Via Inhabitat.com

Grenade shaped USB drive

Sarah — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:40:36 +0000

After watching the series finale of Dollhouse (which made me very sad and also a firm believer that Joss Whedon should finally give the Fox Network a huge middle finger) I found this little treasure, which to me would be exactly the kind of tech that would belong in such a dystopian future.
A grenade shaped USB drive!

It’s tiny and malicious looking, and perfect for the nerdy rebel in me that fantasizes about overthrowing the current corporate paradigm that would allow such destructive tech loose on the planet in order to mind control the populace.
Wait. Sorry. Did I get carried away? Man that show was good.
But back to reality here.

Seriously though. Grenade shaped USB drives that can hold up to 8GB of your most important data. I’m sure Topher Brink would approve.

Via ThinkGeek.com

BassJump adds dimension to MacBook speakers

Sarah — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:21:01 +0000

I’ve always thought the MacBook built in speakers were pretty good, considering. But as we all know they lack oomph. Those tiny speakers just can’t produce those long waveforms we like to call bass. So as I sit here and listen to the latest Marbert Rocel through my MacBook speakers (because AirTunes is a consistent disappointment and it saddens me to sit here at look at my lovely Klipsch speakers just sitting there, silent) I remember seeing a GadgetLab post that could solve my issue.
The BassJump Subwoofer.

All it requires is access to a USB port and the installation of a preference pane and BAM! You have BASS!

So whether you are sitting around the apartment listening to the latest Massive Attack while writing macabre short stories (like me), or surfing the internet while taking a trip down memory lane with The Pharcyde’s Bizarre Ride II (also like me), you won’t be missing out on half of what makes both of those album’s great, i.e. the bass-line.

Via Wired’s GadgetLab

DIY Touch screen gloves

Sarah — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:13:30 +0000

With everything being about touch screens lately it only makes sense that eventually the problem of using gloves would come up. It’s cold outside, you’re wearing gloves, your iPhone rings, and you have to take the gloves off to answer it because otherwise the screen won’t register the change in capacitance between the screen and your finger in order to execute the command you are trying to give it.
See, that’s how touch screens work. The human body is a conductor of electric current, and when you touch the screen of a capacitive touch screen device it detects the distortion of the electrostatic field (apologies to those of you who know this already, but I’ve found myself explaining it to several of my friends recently who have iPhones but know nothing about how they work).
I’ve heard there are special gloves on the market that you can use to solve this problem. But why purchase a whole new set of gloves (expensive ones probably) when yours are just dandy?
There is a solution. A really really CHEAP solution, that takes just the tiniest bit of DIY spirit.
There is a whole how-to article on Instructables.com, so I won’t go through the steps here. But the gist of it is that you sew a little conductive thread (yes, there is such a thing) into the tips of the fingers of your gloves. It completes a circuit with your flesh and blood finger, and viola! You can now use your touch screens without taking off your gloves.

Now go and check out all the other fun stuff you can do with conductive threads, you crafty DIY nerds you!

Also, if you don’t want to order a whole spool of thread, you can order just a few feet of it from here

Via Coolest Gadgets

Robotics and stuff

Sarah — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:04:01 +0000

With my return to GadgetMETER (after a several week winter vacation from blogging) I thought I’d start my blog year off with some super high-tech future gadgetry. The International Robot Exhibition was held back in November. Among the exhibits was the NAO next generation humanoid robot.

Created by Alderbaran Robotics, this 23-inch tall robot has a full range of motion that allows it to walk, pick up small objects and process audio and visual data to navigate it’s way around. Also, it’s cute. Not incredibly useful, yet, but really really cute.
And it’s not even Japanese, it’s French. Color me surprised.
Here’s a little video of it in action:

Before you start thinking “oh, how underwhelming“, stop and think about how far we’ve come. It’s only the beginning (or beginning of the middle, maybe).

Via dvice.com

Next, and this one I think is even cooler, also exhibited at the International Robot Exhibition, is the Shadow Dextrous Hand and CyberGlove, by the Shadow Robot Company.

Anything with “cyberglove” in the title is going to have serious cool potential in my book. The robotic hand can be operated remotely by a human wearing the sensor glove to perform actions as delicate as cradling an egg, changing a lightbulb or writing with a pen.
Maybe it doesn’t have a lot of consumer applications, but how cool would it be to have “Remote robotics operator” as your job title?
Via dvice.com

12 Things Xmas list, fin

Sarah — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:38:54 +0000

OK, my final post about Xmas gifts. These last two both have to do with time, and would be excellent gifts for anyone, regardless of weather they are into “being green”, like me, or not.

First, the Citizen “Eco-Drive” Solar Powered Watch.

This super stylish watch has a solar panel background that keeps the watch running for months at a time. It’s $131 with a quality name to back it up. I know they say this is a man’s watch, but it could be unisex, easy.

Via Inhabitat’s Green Gift Guide

Finally the Water Powered Clock by Green Stamp.

About $16 these clocks run off water, not batteries. So instead of tossing and buying batteries every year, just fill up the can.
I like the green one, btw.

Via Coolest Gadgets

12 Things X-mas list, part 5

Sarah — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:22:05 +0000

Number 9 on my 12 Things It Would Be Really Cool To Get For Xmas list is probably the most affordable and accessible of all the items I have listed (or plan to list).
It’s the Darth Vadar Breathing Keychain.

For only $12.99 this is a perfect stocking stuffer for any Star Wars fan in your life. And double bonus if they tend to lose their keys a lot (they will be much less likely if something as cool as Darth Vadar’s breathing head is on them).

Via Coolest Gadgets

Number 10 on my list is probably one of the coolest things I have ever seen, and completely impractical since I still live in an apartment. The Han Solo secret door book case!

See how it works!

The DIY install only cost this individual about $150, not including the Han Frozen-in-Carbonite addition. That will probably cost a pretty penny. But someday, when I have an actual house, this is going high on my list of priorities.

Via Gizmodo

12 things x-mas list, part 4

Sarah — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:00:50 +0000

This is post of unreasonable things that I know I will never get but just want to fantasize about having…

First, the Brammo Enertia Electric Motorcycle

So first things first, it’s 100% electric. All its components can be recycled, including the batteries. It has a range of about 42 miles and can reach up to 65mph. And the batteries can be charged in about 4 hours, with 2,000 recharges possible.
For more on the specifications, check the Brammo website.

An interesting point on this bike is that the production requires less than 10% of the material resources needed for an average car, and it is manufactured in the US so the transportation costs in getting it delivered are minimal.

Also, they just dropped the price from $11,995 to $7,995. And since it is 100% electric you can also qualify for a government rebate so the final cost will be $7,195.
I love it. It looks great and is perfect for my needs. Of the three items in this post, this is the most accessible.
Check out your local Best Buy to test drive one (weird, I know, but whatevs).

Via Inhabitat Green Holiday Gift Guide

Going a little deeper into fantasy land we have the BMW Vision, a diesel plug-in hybrid that gets 63 mpg.

It can go up to 31 miles on electric only, perfect for commuters, and has a total range of 431 miles on 6.6 gallons of diesel.
Unfortunately this is a concept car and only prototypes have been produced. But this is a beautiful car. I mean, it’s gorgeous, actually. I love it. And I bet it’s a dream to drive. Too bad I’ll never get to. Sigh!

Via dvice.com

And finally, the show stopper. A car so beautiful and so futuristic looking as to inspire me to think of it as a hovercraft with wheels, the e-Wolf e2 all electric car.

Inspired most notably by Lamborghini and Ferrari, this all electric sports car should be going into production in 2011. Yes, that’s right. They are actually making this one!
So, specs?
0-60mph in under 4 seconds.
Top speed of 155 mph.
Possible range of 187 miles per charge (getting very near the Tesla range of 200 miles).

Maybe someday I’ll be able to race this thing along the pyrenees mountains and pretend that I’m a Bond girl, being chased by supervillians that want to destroy the world for their own financial gains and my mission is to stop them by using super gadgets, kung fu, and killer sports cars.
Ok, probably not, but a girl can dream, can’t she?

via Boing Boing gadgets

12 things x-mas list, part 3

Sarah — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:00:45 +0000

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but I am a bit of a type A personality. I like things to be organized. But sometimes I get lazy about it so whenever I find something that aids in my quest to have an organized life I get super excited.
One of the things I don’t have very organized currently is my recycling station. It currently consists of one bin and one empty plastic kitty litter box (which itself is getting recycled).
I’d much rather have this:

The Mode Premium All-in-one Home Recycling center with mechanical compactor.
I believe there is a model without the can crusher. I almost never have aluminum cans to crush so I don’t need that. But the sleek design and separate compartments for different recyclables would be a smart addition to my apartment, and would look much much better than the makeshift bins I’m currently using (and take up less space).
And I like that you can get recyclable bin liners for it as well (for an extra $6.49).
The only question is if it is really worh the $250 price tag from Amazon.com.
It seems kinda pricey for the capacity to be honest. If it was $100 less I probably wouldn’t hesitate.

via Inhabitat Green Gift Guide

12 Things X-mas list, part deux

Sarah — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:00:08 +0000

Part 2 of my “12 Things That Would Be Really Cool To Have For Christmas” list relates to items found on the Inhabitat Green Gift Buyers guide.

First, the Macally ECOFAN Bamboo Laptop Stand with Fan from Amazon.com ($36.69).

I’m on my laptop a good portion of every day and yes, it does get hot, even with the Lap Desk I currently use. Not only is the bamboo laptop stand stylish, but it has a built in fan to keep my laptop cool.
Strangely the Pro version, which features three height adjustable levels, is actually cheaper. But I still haven’t found one I can comfortably put on my lap (my preferred modus operandi).

Keeping in the sustainable and stylish spirit of bamboo, next is the VerseAudio iPhone Bamboo Hard Case.

$39.99 from Vers Audio. It’s beautiful, practical, sustainable, and not too expensive. Except that I’d also have to get an iPhone for x-mas (hint hint). Excellent dual gift, imo.

Finally, if I do get said iPhone for x-mas, well then it would only make sense to get the first Apple-licensed iPhone solar charger to go along with it.

The Surge for iPhone, $70 from SolarArcadia. Two hours of direct solar exposure provides 30 minutes of talk time on a 3G network, or 60 minutes of talk time on a 2G network.
It also includes a USB port so you can charge or sync with your computer without taking it out of the case.
My preferred color is green, btw.

12 Things X-mas List, Part 1

Sarah — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:00:21 +0000

I was going to wait until after Turkey Day to start posting my “12 Things That Would Be Really Cool To Have For Christmas” list, but then I decided that the earlier I start, the more likely I am to actually get one of these things.
So here is number one (these are going to appear in no particular order of preference, btw):

The Eye-Fi SD wireless card.

The Eye-Fi card is the 1st wireless memory card for your digital camera. It is just like a normal SD card except that it is wireless enabled and can be synced with your home wireless network (actually it can be synced with up to 32 different wireless networks) so you can transfer your photos and videos to your computer without the mess of cables. And we all know how much I hate cables (fyi, A LOT).

There are four classes of cards.
Home ($49.99) – This is the stripped down version. It’s 2GB and only transfers JPEGs and only to your computer, not to photo sharing sites.
Share Video ($79.99) – This adds the ability to upload video as well as uploading directly to photo sharing sites like Flickr, Facebook and more.
Explore Video($99.99) - This adds Hotspot access and Geotagging to the package
Pro ($149.99) – Includes RAW support and “Ad Hoc” transfers (the photos get transfered to your laptop instantly while you shoot)… This is essentially wireless tethering without the need for a Hotspot or wireless access point. Awesome!!!

There’s a few other card options as well, so there really is a card to suit everyone’s need and budget. And of course, any Eye-Fi user get a free iPhone app that uploads all your iPhone images and videos automatically to your selected sharing sites.

And the best part, it works with your existing digital camera. Currently these cards are compatible with over 1,000 different models.

So of course the next question is: Does it work with the Mac?
Yeah. It totally works with the Mac. OS X 10.4, 10.5 and 10.6 in fact.

Here’s a rundown of system requirements:
An SDHC compatible camera. Not sure if yours is one of them? Find out here.
A broadband Internet connection
A Wi-Fi router compatible with 802.11b/g
A computer with Windows XP/Vista/7 or Mac OSX 10.4, 10.5, or 10.6 (Snow Leopard)
An internet browser, specifically Internet Explorer 7 (Windows only), Firefox 2 and 3 (Windows and OS X) and Safari 3 (OS X 10.4 – 10.6)

What it comes with:
A 2GB or 4GB (depending on model) SD Eye-Fi Share Video memory card with built-in Wi-Fi
Eye-Fi Manager software
Free USB card reader for easy setup
Quick Start Guide

specs:
Range: 90+ ft outdoors & 45+ ft indoors
Advanced power management that optimizes use of your camera power
Wi-Fi security: Static WEP 64/128, WPA-PSK, WPA2-PSK

I know I sound like an advertisement for Eye-FI (I swear, I am not actually on their payroll). But it really is that cool of a product. And one day I’ll be able to dump out the entire drawer of cables I have dedicated just for that purpose. That truly will be a wonderful day.

Via Eye-Fi website

Han Solo desk and more!

Sarah — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:02:10 +0000

Yesterday I thought I had found the desk of my dreams. But it was not to be since this desk featuring Han Solo frozen in carbonite is just a one off custom job, not ever to be sold commercially to all of us envious Star Wars nerds.

But I have to say, this desk was done right. I especially love the glowing panel legs. I imagine that if Solo had ended up as a prize for the Emperor instead of Jabba, this is exactly what would have been done with him.
The only thing that would make it better would be if the access panels on the front actually came out and acted as drawers (everything for me has to be functional… I don’t know why).

While I was still lusting after the Han Solo desk I came across yet another welcome Star Wars item, though admittedly not on anywhere near as grand a scale (but hey, at least I can actually buy these)…

Star Wars cellphone alert charms! I love phone charms, an obsession I picked up in Japan (those guys are NUTZ with phone charms, seriously). These might be a little too cumbersome to actually connect to your phone, but there are plenty of other places they could go. Where there’s a will there’s a way.

These little light up do-dads respond to frequencies emitted by your cell phone (only for 800-1600 MHz GSM network handsets). So you can leave your phone on silent, in your bag, and these little guys will light up and spin around when it goes off.
Neat. Sadly I don’t think there is one with Boba Fette, but for use uber-nerds there is one with a Dalek!

Can be bought from Thinkgeek.com for about $10, batteries included

Via Wired’s GadgetLab

LED Eyelashes by Soomi Park

Sarah — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:15:57 +0000

I recently came across Soomi Park’s LED Eyelashes on Gizmodo.

Without knowing anything about Ms. Park’s design philosophy it would be easy to dismiss these as just some weird Asian quirky accessory that a niche subculture would wear when going clubbing (think Japanese Ganguro). As several bloggers and commenters have stated, wearing these would be like a special form of torture for the fairer sex. And they would be. Which isn’t to say I wouldn’t find a way to design them into one of my own costumes. I could think of at least 2 events a year I could wear these to. As noted on Gizmodo, they are strangely hypnotic.

But then I read this on her website: “Her artwork utilizes the increasing banalization of plastic surgery in many countries around the world, including in Korea.”

I then remembered that the number one form of plastic surgery in Japan and Korea is the kind that makes the eye more round. And these LED Eyelashes very obviously change the shape of the eye, at least to the observer.
So it’s not about fashion. It’s art making a statement. So right on Soomi Park!

Here is a video for your viewing pleasure (note: no need to watch the entire video, it’s awfully long… you’ll get it after the first 30 seconds).

Via Gizmodo

House Plant Air Purifier

Sarah — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:38:54 +0000

I’ve heard that the air inside our homes can be up to 5 to 10 times more noxious than the air on your average street corner. This would be due to the plethora of chemicals used in common household items (from your carpet to your cleaning products). I’ve not done any real research on this myself but what I do know is that when I have a few healthy house plants around my apartment just feels nicer and I seem to get more work done (more oxygen to the brain maybe??? Dunno).

Well some smart guys at le olde Harvard University named Mathieu Lehanneur and David Edwards have designed a new air purifier that harnesses the natural processes of plants to make your air more, well, pure.

It’s called the ANDREA. It houses an actual plant of your choosing and uses the plants natural processes to clean the surrounding air. Air comes through the vents in the top and is funneled through the leaves and roots of the plant. Particles are absorbed and converted and the clean oxygen is fanned out the vent in the back. Simple, yes?
Also, it looks cool. Like something that belongs on a space station.

What I’m not so clear on is how exactly this is better than just having some house plants. Especially at the $200 price tag. I mean, I got my house plants for free from a neighbor that was moving out and didn’t want to take his ficus along.
Also, it seems like it would attract a lot of dust. So just another thing in the house that needs to be cleaned regularly.
So yes, this is pretty cool, but I probably won’t be investing in one.

Via Popular Science Gadgets

Stay warm and charged, even in the mountains

Sarah — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:13:01 +0000

There is now a new way to charge your mobile devices on the go and keep you warm during the cold seasons. A company called Ardica has developed a civilian version of it’s versatile military battery pack. It’s called Ardica’s Moshi Power System.

Seven 2.75-inch lithium-ion batteries are linked inside a foam sleeve that can slip into the back of your jacket (the one pictured here is from Mountain Hardware but this power pack will work on any jacket wired for heat). The battery pack holds enough power to drive heat-creating yarn and send current to a USB cord in a jacket pocket. And it’s light enough and flexible enough that you probably won’t even notice you are wearing it.
You can get about 9 hours of heat or about 11 iPhone charges before you have to plug the battery pack back in.

The Ardica Moshi Power System is $145 (adapters are an additional $50).

Via Popular Science Gadgets

Solar UFO

Sarah — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:30:05 +0000

I came across these interesting little guys a few weeks ago. Solar powered water purifiers being used in Osaka Japan to keep the canals clean, as well as the moat around Osaka castle.
Trust me, they need it.

These Solar UFOs have been built by Tokyo-based engineering group NTT Facilities. They pump fresh oxygen into the water and spray clean water out of a nozzle at the top of the craft. They can purify 2400 gallons of water each day.
And at night they are lit up with LEDs. Some people may think they’re an eyesore, but they are way better than brown smelly polluted water.

Via Dvice.com

Self heating boots

Sarah — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:00:55 +0000

Living in Texas I probably would never have a use for these, but anyone that lives north of us and has weather that actually provides snow and below freezing weather for longer than five minutes a year will probably appreciate these a whole lot. Just this past January I was reminded just how much suck can be brought to an otherwise awesome snowboarding adventure because your socks are wet and starting to freeze your toes.

As the blogger at Wired already noted, the name for these battery powered self heating boots is just awful. The Bugathermo, ugh! The women’s version, imo, is even worse. The Snow Hottie. But regardless, they look pretty awesome. I personally would prefer the men’s to the women’s just based on style alone (you’d be amazed how often that happens… sometimes I wonder just what exactly designers think women really like).

Made by Columbia Sportswear, the boots are powered by rechargeable lithium polymer batteries that will give you four to eight hours of heat depending on which level you pick. They have insulated soles, are waterproof and breathable so your feet will be both warm AND dry down to -25°F. And for around $250 I’d say it’s an excellent investment.

Via Wired’s Gadget Lab

Science lab beaker lamps

Sarah — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:00:03 +0000

I’ve noticed that my posts here all seem to conform to one of the following: science geek, sci-fi nerd, art and design, sustainability, and cute/Japanese/weird. I can’t help it. These are all my favorite things. On a good day I can bridge several of these into one post. Today is one such day. Today I found Labware Lamps by Benjamin Hubert!

So this would be science geek/art and design. It’s a series of hand blown white glass lamps of three shapes inspired by traditional laboratory beakers. They are necessarily a little heftier than real ones and are plugged with Portuguese cork (not sure how necessary it is that the cork is Portuguese but it sounds real nice, don’t it?).
These beaker lamps led me to another excellent site (one which I immediately bookmarked for later investigation) called mocoloco.com, a site dedicated to design, interiors, art and architecture. Cool stuff, check it out!

So I’ve started to design my ideal office, in my head. One of each of the beaker lamps on 3 levels of bracketless shelving that jut out of the brick walls, the Steamer Trunk mobile office, walnut colored bamboo flooring, and giant windows overlooking the bustling concrete city of Trantor. Either that or the view from Rick Deckard’s apartment.

Now let’s see who can guess, without looking, which two famous sci-fi authors I have referenced in this post;-)

Via Gizmodo

Steamer trunk office space

Sarah — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:30:07 +0000

This steamer trunk turned portable office, as far as design goes, is really quite beautiful. I would totally consider having it in my office (if I had an office) and would actually use it as my storage and work space if it wasn’t for the $4000 price tag.
As for traveling with it, I don’t think that is was actually the intention of the designers.
I wonder if I could get a faux-leather version for cheaper?

Via Boing Boing

Blood Lamp

Sarah — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:30:32 +0000

Now here is a piece of art that will make you think about energy consumption…

The Blood Lamp…

For the lamp to work one breaks the top off, dissolves the powder, and uses their own blood to power a simple light. By creating a lamp that can only be used once, the user must consider when light is needed the most, forcing them to rethink how wasteful they are with energy, and how precious it is.

Blood Lamp from miket on Vimeo.

Via miket.co.uk

Astro-droid gaming console

Sarah — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:15:41 +0000

Not very long ago, in a place relatively nearby, a guy named Brian De Vitis totally became my hero. He took his R2D2 cooler and converted it into the ultimate game console. It has eight consoles, a projector and a sound system. And one of those gaming consoles is the Atari 7800 (I totally used to have one of those).

Rad.

I’m not personally a gamer, unless you count the few times a year I find myself in an actual arcade playing Galaga or House of the Dead. It’s really the Star Wars nerd in me that this really speaks to. The only improvement I can think of would be to make some of those controllers wireless.

Via popsci.com

And in the spirit of Star Wars creativity, I found this little nugget too that really spoke to the steampunk in me…

Brilliant.

Via Boing Boing

Electronic smoking device

Sarah — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:15:05 +0000

I’ve been on hiatus from GadgetMETER the last few weeks. I was working for the Fantastic Fest Film Festival here in Austin. It was pretty fantastic. Nothing like watching a bunch of film makers, critics and bloggers smoke themselves into oblivion between screenings and then watch the homeless dude walk by and scrounge for butts after they have all gone back inside. That was the less glamorous side. But I think I have found a solution that is both nerdy gadget cool and combustion free!

The E-cigarette!

The E-cigarette is a tube that includes electronic components and a heating element that essentially vaporizes liquid nicotine (and yes, the liquid does come in multiple flavors).

Now, I’m not a smoker (I used to be, ages ago), but I have a lot of friends that are and boy do they love to whine about the smoking ban. Well, E-cigarettes have no second hand smoke. They have no smoke at all. Wouldn’t this be a great way to get your fix without having to wander outside to the grubby smoking section of the local bar? And there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that suggests E-cigarettes can be used to aid in quitting smoking by slowly stepping down your nicotine intake. No official studies on this have yet been done which is why the FDA has not approved these devices for this specified purpose.

There is plenty of controversy around this little item. But with the issue of second hand smoke non-existent, and the fact that it eliminates cigarette butts, I really fail to see what the big deal is about.
It makes smoking less intrusive to others, eliminates cigarette butts, and can help people quit smoking. Sounds pretty good to me.
And there is a whole new market for designer E-cigarette tubes. I think I know what online business I’ll be starting up.

Via popsci.com

New sources of plastic

Sarah — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:30:22 +0000

One of the things we (consumers) take for granted is how much plastic we use. We all know plastic is made from oil (at least I hope we all know that). So I was curious to know what people were doing to figure out what to do when there is no more oil, or at least when it’s so scarce that making plastics out of it becomes no longer an option.
In an attempt to be green I’ve been trying to eliminate a lot of plastics. I don’t buy water in plastic bottles. I got a Klean Kanteen and fill it up from a filter. I use glass jugs and a metal ice cube tray. I have reusable grocery bags and don’t put produce in plastic bags. But this all adds up to a very minimal savings in plastic use. Realistically there is no way to get away from plastic in this day and age.

Inhabitat.com recently had a few pieces on new plastic technology that I hope will really take off.

First, plastic made from plant glucose. Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have discovered a way to convert glucose from plant cellulose into something called HMF (5-hydroxymethylfurfural), a basic building block for fuel and other petroleum-based chemicals. And they’ve done it in a way that doesn’t create unwanted byproducts.

Next, scientists at Genomatica Inc have developed strains of bacteria that are able to produce plastic without the use of oil or natural gas. The process uses little more than sugar and water to produce butanediol (BDO), which can be manufactured into everything from plastics and fibers to pharmaceuticals. And the best part is that they estimate that the energy-efficient process will cost less than the current hydrocarbon process within a YEAR!

Finally, and this is a little different than the above since the following process is about recycling plastic, not making it (but I wanted to figure out how to get all the plastic articles into one post!)… A company in DC called Environ claims it can turn plastic into an oil-like fuel for just $10/barrel and it can be blended with other components and used as either gasoline or diesel. What’s significant about this is that the company has come up with a process that results in a net GAIN of energy (82% of all material that goes in is transformed into fuel). Previous attempts at turning plastic into fuel have resulted in a net loss of energy.

Green auto trends…

Sarah — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:30:03 +0000

GadgetMETER is all about trends. Technological trends. Well everything right now is trending towards green. Energy, architecture, automobiles. My friends in architecture say everything is going green. There is no debate about it. The future is green.
And that is the message that the Frankfurt Auto Show is sending now too (not surprisingly the American presence at the show was minimal, sadly).
I’ll admit, I’m not super into cars. I don’t even own one (anymore). But I’m hyper-aware of the impact cars have directly and indirectly on my own life and everyone else’s life as well. So I was super excited to see such green innovation in the cars at the show.
Here are a few of my favorites:

Audi’s R8-based all-electric sports car boasts four electric motors — two on each axle — and a lithium-ion battery pack mounted behind the two-seat cabin for gravity and load distribution. It has an estimated combined-cycle driving range of 154 miles (248 km).
Currently just a concept but will hopefully be one of the ones that actually gets put into production.

The VW L1 turbodiesel hybrid claims 170 mpg or a 100 km on a little more than one liter (hence the name). It reportedly has rear-view TV cameras instead of mirrors, and a small 800cc engine that gets up to 99 mph (160 km/h) and 0-62 mph (100 km/h) in 14.3 seconds. It weighs only 840 lbs (380 kg) with a streamlined body that may offer the most aerodynamic and be the “most fuel-efficient automobile in the world.”
I love this one. I admit, I’m a V-dub fan.

And finally, the Roadster from Tesla. The first in production all electric sports car. I’ve fantasized about owning one of these since I heard about them a few years ago. This is the only all electric car at the show that is currently in production and it makes me break out in sweats every time I see it it’s so hot.

I’d be proud to own and drive any of these. Maybe, someday, I will.

Via Inhabitat and CNET

Glow in the dark bicycle

Sarah — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:30:29 +0000

I’ve been caught out after dark on my bike with no safety lights more times than I care to admit. Sometimes I just forget to bring them, sometimes I’m out later than anticipated. But if I had a bike that glowed like the new Teague Pulse, well, it might not be such a big deal.

It even has left and right turn signals built into the handlebars.
The bike’s turn signal operates like a motorcycle’s, with a kill switch on the left handle, illuminating LED turn lights on both the handlebar ends, and a taillight mounted on the seat tube.

The only downside, for me at least, is that it’s a fixed gear bike. Can’t ride around South Austin’s hilly terrain with no gears. But if they could put the glowy frame on my Marin Hybrid, well, that would be, like, totally awesome.
So far I haven’t found out how the frame glows, but it does look like, for now anyway, that this is still a concept bike.
If they make it with gears then I’m totally in.

Via Popular Science

Flow Kitchen shoots for no waste

Sarah — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:30:37 +0000

The flow kitchen is a concept designed to be a sustainable system where drying dishes helps water plants and composting food waste helps to fertilize them. It was designed by Oregon-based Studio Gorm, which has quite a few other interesting items I recommend checking out.

Drying dishes hanging from a vertical storage rack drip onto herbs and edible plants, which are grown in carefully positioned containers below. A double-walled terracotta container acts as a refrigerator, keeping the inside cool as water evaporates through the outer wall, while food scraps are broken down by worms in a composter and the resulting fertilizer is used in the herb boxes to grow more food.

This particular design may not be suitable for most indoor home kitchens, but it’s a good start. And it’s perfect for an outdoor kitchen, much like the one at Punta Mona, a sustainable living retreat I stayed at in Costa Rica several years ago.

Not too many people have outdoor kitchens though, so I can only hope that the Flow Kitchen is used as inspiration to create similar, more practical sustainable indoor flow kitchens that could realistically be built into just about any home.
I already know someone here in Austin who is using their kitchen runoff to water their outdoor garden. All you need to do is use biodegradable soaps and pipe the water where you want it to go (i.e. to the garden), and viola, no more wasting water and you have healthy green plants.

Via Inhabitat.com

The Ultimate Universal Remote

Sarah — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:00:40 +0000

This is just about the coolest thing in home entertainment/management I have seen in awhile.

It’s called The CRISTAL (short for “control of remotely interfaced systems using touch-based actions in living spaces”). It’s a coffee table that can remotely control your home theater, lights, digital photo library, and even vacuum (yes, vacuum).
Currently this is just a concept of a team at the Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences’ Media Interaction Lab. And if it does get put into production it will probably cost around $15,000 to start.
I’d be interested in seeing the logistics on how this can be set up in a consumer’s home. Would the average consumer need an installation specialist to come over and configure the table? Or even configure their entire media set up? I would suspect so.
Of all the people I personally know (and that’s a lot of people) only a small percentage already have a set up where all their media is centrally stored and accessible via computer. Most everyone else still relies on their component systems. And of those people the vast majority still use separate remotes for everything (we’re talking seriously dark ages stuff here;-)

Check out the video to see the prototype in action.

Via Popular Science Gadgets

Camera with front-facing LCD

Sarah — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:00:54 +0000

Ever since cameras have been small enough to hold with just one hand people have been taking hand held self portraits. I pride myself on being a master of it. I know just what angles work and about 95% of all self portraits I’ve done the last few years have turned out framed just right. But I think I’m in the minority on this one. So I’m surprised it took this long for a company to implement such a great idea.
Samsung will be releasing a point and shoot that includes a small front-facing LCD, so you can line up your self portraits just right EVERY single time. Alas, I spent all that time perfecting my technique for nothing. Oh well!

And it’s not just for self portraits. It can also display the timer as well as little animations to get your kiddos to look at you when you are trying to take that all important shot of their beautiful smiling face!
Not to mention all the other excellent features of this camera: touch screen capabilities, 720p HD video and facial recognition to name just a few.
The lower end T220 runs $200, and the higher end T225 (which includes a slightly larger screen and an HDMI out) will be $350.

Via Popular Science Gadgets

Solar bags by Noon Solar

Sarah — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:05:44 +0000

I almost hate to interrupt the steady stream of Google/AT&T/Apple related topics that have been dominating GadgetMeter these last few weeks (kudos to you, Quang Ly, for fighting the good fight!) but sometimes a break is a good thing.
I’m heading out of the realm of “Serious Corporate Land” into “Eco Friendly Accessories World”.
So, I’m the kind of person that rides my bike most places. I’m also the kind of person who is rarely without my phone and ipod (I’m too scared to take my laptop on my bike because I know the minute I do something bad will happen). Anyway, the other day I was busy texting while laying out by Barton Springs Pool and my phone battery died! If only I had one of THESE:

I could have charged it up right then and there!
These new bags by Noon Solar integrate flexible solar panels into their design. They have several styles of both messenger bags and purses and they are made from either German leather or organic hemp or cotton.
The solar power is stored in a lithium-ion battery pack, weighing about 4oz, found inside the bag. Because the solar power is stored inside a battery pack, cell phones and iPods can be charged day or night.

From their website: Noon Solar bags are made from biodegradable materials so that the bags can skip the landfill and go directly into your backyard without hurting the earth. The bags are safe and non-toxic, and most of the materials will actually nourish the earth if buried. The other materials such as the solar panel and hardware can be removed and recycled or reused.

And after reading their design philosophy I’m about ready to drop the several hundred dollars required to purchase one of their bags.
This is a company whose products AND philosophy I am ready to support. And that in and of itself is a rare thing these days.

VIa Inhabitat.com

Ramen making robots

Sarah — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:18:02 +0000

I just read on Wired’s GadgetLab about a Ramen shop in Nagoya, Japan that uses robots to make “perfect” bowls of ramen.

I never made it to Nagoya but am surprised I didn’t come across this elsewhere in the country. It’s pretty cool, and definitely a novelty to watch, especially the little shows they put on when there is no ramen to make. Though seriously, how hard is it to make a good bowl of ramen? It’s noodles and broth. Sometimes there are toppings. I never had a bad bowl of ramen the whole time I was there. And trust me, I ate a lot of it.

Not that there is anything wrong with pointless technology (or is there?).

via Wired’s GadgetLab

Humanoid robots, sooner than you think…

Lo-fi iPod Nano cases

Sarah — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:30:31 +0000

I always love it when I find accessories that are made of reclaimed or recycled stuff that would otherwise rot for 1000 years in a landfill. So when I found the iPod Nano cases made from reclaimed tapes I was utterly gleeful.

I love high-tech and low-fi. I’m not sure how that is possible, but it seems to work.
Designed by Contexture Design in Canada, these D90 tapes are gutted, routered and rebuilt to fit the 4th generation iPod Nano and cost $45 Canadian (about $41 USD).
A little pricey in my opinion but still, very very cool.

Via Wired’s GadgetLab
Contexture’s Product Page

Inhabitat.com

Sarah — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:34:32 +0000

Last week I discovered inhabitat.com while researching the floating apartment complex and it has quickly become one of my favorite sites. It indulges in two of the things I am most passionate about: sustainable living and innovative design.
I want to share three of my favorite things that I have so far discovered and that are accessible to the average consumer, not just a mere curiosity or cool concept.

The first are the stackable fridge units. They remind me a bit of my Tetris playing youth.

There are a number of reasons why these are awesome.
First, you can buy just the space you need. Perfect for college dorms or single people living in efficiencies (Japan, I’m looking at you… mostly).
Second, If you have roommates you can separate your stuff more easily and hopefully avoid the inevitable who-ate-what arguments.
Third, these fridges also conserve energy. Instead of opening one giant fridge and letting all the cold air out, you only open one section, letting a little cold air out at a time.
Finally, each unit can be set to it’s own temperature. So chill your wine in one fridge and keep your fruits and veggies in another fridge that maybe isn’t quite so cold. The back of my current fridge gets so cold that if I’m not paying attention, the 4 eggs in the back of the package will freeze. Ever try scrambling frozen eggs? The texture isn’t quite there, you know?

via Inhabitat.com

Next on my list are the cassette tape lamps.

I wish I had thought of this before I dumped all my cassette tapes (this was years ago before I was conscious enough to try and do something else with them).
These lamps are very cool and would be even cooler with my collection of New Wave and Punk Rock tapes. Sadly those tapes are gone but I can still order one made with someone else’s recycled tapes. But if YOU have any tapes you can send them in and have a lamp made just for you! The light patterns on the walls are particularly gorgeous, especially when there is a stack of them.

Via Inhabitat.com

Last but not least are the pieces of living furniture. There are several designs, some for indoor, some for outdoor.

This particular one doesn’t seem super comfy, but it certainly looks cool.

However, my favorite is the lawn chair.

It’s a chair landscaped into your lawn. As soon as I get a lawn, I’m making one of these (or several, probably). I may even make a table to go with it, all overgrown with grass. Then I’ll invite over Alice and the Mad Hatter (aka: Johnny Depp) and we’ll have the trippiest tea party there ever was!

Via Inhabitat.com

Floating apartment complex

Sarah — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:00:57 +0000

I’ve finally discovered where I would live if money and language were no object!
It’s called The Citadel, and it’s going to be somewhere in the Netherlands (Surely Dutch isn’t that hard to learn).

The Citadel is the world’s first floating apartment complex, designed by architect Koen Olthius of Waterstudio. And it will use 25% less energy than than a conventional building on land by using unique water cooling techniques.
The project will be built on a polder, a recessed area below sea level where flood waters settle from heavy rains.
There will be 60 luxury apartments in the complex, a car park, a floating road to access it, boat docks and greenhouses.
Apparently this is just the beginning of the proposed development. If all goes well there are to be several more buildings to surround this one.

Via The Guardian UK and Inhabit

Check out an interview with architect Koen Olthius.

No related posts.

Transparent Aluminum, a reality?

Sarah — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:11:45 +0000

You Star Trek geeks out there should appreciate this one.
Today my friend sent me this:

Scientists at Oxford have developed TRANSPARENT ALUMINUM (or as they probably say over there “aluminium”).
Using a FLASH laser (no idea what that is, btw) they knocked out an electron from every aluminum atom in a lab sample.
“What we have created is a completely new state of matter nobody has seen before,” said Professor Justin Wark.

That’s pretty cool, I have to say! Granted, the sample was less than a 20th the width of a human hair and the amount of energy required to create this “new state of matter” was equal to that of a power plant providing electricity to an entire city (though what size city is never made clear). But they say this technology may be able to help in the quest for generating power using nuclear fusion.

I, however, like it mostly for it’s nerd factor. About 9.5 out of 10.

via dvice.com

Photographic Memory pill

Sarah — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:33:31 +0000

People with a photographic memory often say it’s a curse. People without are usually, like me, jealous of those that have one. How cool would it be to remember anything and everything you see and be able to recall it at any time necessary at a later date. No more asking for directions, no more trouble recalling information, no more cramming for tests. No more trying to remember that person’s name or phone number. The applications are endless.
Now imagine you could take a pill and BAM! everything you see is committed to memory without any effort.
Well some scientists in Spain think they have singled out a protein that can extend the life of visual memory significantly. When the production of the protein was boosted in mice, the rodents’ visual memory retention increased from about an hour to almost two months.

Will you remember what this protein looks like in two months?

This memory extension only applies to memories made through the poorly understood visual cortex of the brain. So you won’t be able to remember everything you hear, only everything you see. But still!
The implications of having a pill that could do this are staggering. I’m not sure even William Gibson himself could imagine all the repercussions, but I’ll have fun pondering it none the less.

via popsci.com

Chess Set for Tesla

Sarah — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:00:23 +0000

I’m not much of a chess player. Thanks to my dad I know how the pieces move and I know the rules. Beyond that I’m a pretty hopeless case, but Paul Fryer’s vacuum tube chess set, dubbed Chess Set For Tesla (in honor of the eccentric and enigmatic inventor Nikola Tesla) could possibly inspire me to maybe learn a little bit more about this interesting and intricate game.

The set has electricity running through the board to light up the red and blue tubes, and the tubes actually maintain power for a short time when they are unplugged from the board as you move them. From what I can tell in the photographs each piece has an identifying symbol on the top to indicate which piece you are moving, since apparently only the King and Queen are of unique shapes.

Paul Fryer himself seems to be an interesting character as well. He’s gone from being an electropop singer to transvestite DJ to poet to contemporary artist. After only a few minutes research I discovered most of his art to involve light and electricity. He’s even published a book of poetry with artwork by the controversial Damien Hirst (whose $50 million diamond skull is probably one of my favorite pieces ever). He’s worth a look if you are interested even remotely in contemporary art.

Sadely it’s unlikely that anyone other than the few people Fryer made this custom set for will ever get a chance to use it, or purchase one for themselves. This is art after all, and not a commercial endeavor. Which is really too bad as I know my friend The Neon Cowboy would simply keel over if he ever got to own a chess set that went along with his Tesla tattoo.

Via Wired’s Gadget Lab

Solar plane prototype

Sarah — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:04:13 +0000

Last month the prototype of a new solar-powered aircraft was unveiled at a Swiss airfield by it’s future pilots and promoters Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg.

It’s called the Solar Impulse HB-SIA and is designed to fly both day and night without the need for fuel. It should begin test flights by the end of the year.
There have been two other notable solar planes designed and tested in the last decade, Qinetiq’s Zephyr and NASA’s Helios.

The former is specifically an unmanned aircraft and the latter unfortunately went down in the Pacific after a structural failure.

The goal of the Solar Impulse is the prove the business viability and profitability of renewable energy.
“If an aircraft is able to fly day and night without fuel, propelled solely by solar energy, let no one come and claim that is impossible to do the same thing for motor vehicles, heating and air conditioning systems ,and computers,” Piccard said.

After this year’s test flight, a night flight is scheduled for 2010 to test the plane’s ability to stay in the air for 36 hours without the need for fuel.
In 2012 the team plans to fly the next generation Solar Impulse around the world in a 5 leg trip over six days.

I have to say I’m very impressed and excited about these tests. Hopefully we’ll be seeing more solar energy integrated into aeronautics in the near future since the emissions from airplanes is a major source of carbon in the atmosphere.

Via CNET.com

New solar roof tiles

Sarah — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:03:59 +0000

Living in Austin I tend to see more than your average amount of solar panels. Not only do we get a lot of sunshine here (and I mean A LOT), but people here are really into getting their energy in an ecologically friendly way. I know solar energy isn’t quite there yet (by “there” I mean “sustainable” and “affordable” to the average person), but I try to pay attention to the advances so one day, when I’ve finally achieved the “dream” of home ownership, I’ll have a good idea of how to make my own house close to the ideal zero carbon foot print.
And the other day I found this:

A company called SRS Energy has partnered with US Tile, a leading manufacturer of Spanish, slate and shake roof tiles, to design solar panels with the exact shapes of their clay counterparts.
The idea is that more people will likely integrate solar paneling into their roofs if it is more aesthetically appealing. Good idea. Solar panels are kinda fugly, not that it ever bothered ME any. I’m more of a “greater good” kinda person.
But builders and designers obviously take aesthetics into consideration (especially when people are spending the kind of money you would have to spend on a house like the one in this photo) and I think this is an excellent practical solution. And I have to say I think it looks pretty damn good. Hopefully we don’t all have to own million dollar homes in order to get solar tiles. But I guess they have to start somewhere.

The US Tile’s Solé Power Tile system will begin to be installed in homes this November by contractors that have taken the company’s Solé certification class.
The current incarnation of these tiles are said to be able to convert 8-10% of the sun’s energy into electricity. That’s a little behind the 20% that traditional solar panels are capable of, unfortunately, but a representative from SRS energy claims the overall efficiency of the system makes up for the difference. I hope that is true.

I yearn for the day that photovotaic cells can outproduce the amount of energy it takes to make and ship them, and do it at an affordable price in a reasonable amount of time. Hopefully this initiative will help achieve that goal. It’s definitely a step.

Via CNET.com

Solar camping!

Sarah — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 13:00:28 +0000

How often do you go camping just to find yourself messing with inadequate battery or gas powered lamps? Or the inability to charge your cell phone (I know I know, you camp to get AWAY from people, but sometimes you just need your phone)?
Well I found a few green (or semi-green at least) camping solutions while prowling the internet the other day… all of them having to do with solar powered tents!
First the Woods Solar Powered EZ-Tent:

The tent itself is OK (though materials still consist of PVC which is less than desirable when trying to go green). Essentially there is a solar panel that powers the set of internal integrated LED lights. The solar energy can also be used to charge batteries. It takes 4-6 hours of direct light (or 6-8 hours of indirect) to yield 2-4 hours tent light. The tent comes in 4 and 6 person versions and run $180 to $220 respectively.
via: treehugger.com

Second is the much cooler Recharge Pod built by Orange in the UK and created for last years Glastonbury Music festival.

The tent has 500-watt solar panels and a 500-watt wind turbine to generate electricity so patrons can charge their phones while at the festival. Great idea, but would be cool to make a personal use production model.
via: engadget.com

Finally, the coolest of the three by far, and the one I’m just salivating to get my hands on even though it is still in concept mode…

Again created by Orange, this time in conjunction with Kaleidoscope, and unveiled at this years Glastonbury Music Festival, this solar tent not only looks comfortable and functional, it has really been taken to the next level. It uses the new flexible photovoltaics that have recently been developed and will be covered in semi-photovoltaic fabric woven with both coated solar threads and conventional threads to form a solar shell that could be adjusted to get the most sun throughout the day. The Solar enegery would be channeled into four main power uses: heating, lighting, communications and recharging.

One of the unique features includes a wireless charging pouch. Instead of plugging in, you would drop your phone or other portable device into a pouch inside the tent. A coil in the pouch would carry an electric current that generates a magnetic field to produce a charge which would then serve to power the device’s battery.

Some of the captured solar energy could also be channeled toward radiant floor heating as well. This is exciting news! I can’t tell you how many times I wake up freezing in the middle of the night while camping, no matter how good my sleeping bag is.

But the most innovative part is the “Glo-cation” technology. When you are trying to find your tent you can send an SMS message or use an RFID tag. Basically press a button and your tent lights up in response, like using your wireless remote to find your car in a parking lot by listening for the horn.

The concept tent also has the ability to broadcast a Wi-Fi signal, though whether or not it acts as a router or just a booster is unclear.
If this ever goes into production (and I hope it will) it will be on my must have list for Burning Man.

via CNET

Watch Phones are coming!

Sarah — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:00:35 +0000

In the UK there once was a mobile carrier called Orange. They partnered up with an innovative electronics company called LG (maybe you’ve heard of them). Together they are about to release some crazy tech in the UK next month.
Check it:

LG GD910

It’s the LG GD910 Watch Phone. The gadget blogs are all aflutter with this news. Some dissing it by calling it “cool but impractical”, but most embracing it despite the rumored cost of near £1000 (about $1600 US). This is definitely an awesome gadget and the inner nerd in all of us techies seriously desires it, mostly because it’s cool and futuristic giving us an actual excuse to act like super spies or intergalactic heroes (as if we needed another reason).
But just the fact that they are getting there with this technology is exciting to me.

Here is a quick overview of the features done by T3.com at the CES2009:

Another less well known company has come out with their own watch phone. It is also pretty cool with a nice touch screen AND a keypad on the side (though some people might think this detracts from it’s aesthetics a bit).
The company is called Phenom, and the model pictured is called “Special Ops”.

I like the more industrial design of this watch phone. And I like the price a whole lot more (between $200 and $300).
Both watch phones include bluetooth, touch screen, video conferencing and MP3 capabilities, and a micro SD slot. The LG also offers “high speed browsing” while that is not on the included list of features for the Phenom.
I can’t wait to start seeing people with these things on, but so far it looks like this Phenomenon will be limited to the UK, for the time being.

Via BoyGeniusReport

Sony Vaio W

Sarah — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:28:29 +0000

In the tech world news seems to get old in about a week so this could be considered old news. But I’m less interested in the news factor, cuz let’s be honest, the new Sony Vaio W is kind of a snoozer, but I did find their translated product page to be quite humorous. Mostly because I’m a fan of Engrish.
My personal favorite is the section titled “Features of the Internet to achieve a comfortable life”.
What an oh so Japanese thing to say.

The next best part is the product video.

It reminds me of watching late night television infomercials when I was a teenager but the music has added a few electronic beats and bleeps to the super snooze piano track.
You’d think the people at Sony of all places would have a sleeker video. Something worthy of the 21st century. I’m completely confused by this, but entertained none the less.

And finally, though the Vaio itself, as always, looks nice… this new color scheme has me thinking more of Neopolitan ice cream than anything else. Brown was a pretty bold choice I have to say. I wonder if it will pay of (my money says it won’t). The Sony Vaio W is going for $500. That’ll get you 1.6GHz Atom Powered, 10 inch screen notebook with 160GB hard drive and 1 GB of RAM along with ethernet, USB, SD card reader (that also reads MemorySticks) and bluetooth. Nothing out of the ordinary for any other netbook at half the price.
For those interested though it should be available in August.

via Wired Gadget Lab

Aerodynamic helmets

Sarah — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:00:47 +0000

WIth the Tour De France underway and my hometown hero, Lance Armstrong, performing as strong as ever (I hope nothing happens between now and the time this actually posts), I thought I’d post some tech related to cycling.
Cycling may seem like an awfully low tech kind of sport. It involves lots of muscle and sweat, and pretty much no electronic gadgets at all, but you wouldn’t believe the amount of science that goes into helmet design.

The Rudy Project Wingspan TT Helmet, which was just announced for the Tour and is in use by the German team Milram, has shown between and six and thirteen second benefit over competitors in a 40km test trial performed by an independent testing lab.
I’m sure you know that races like this can be won and lost based on milliseconds. So every advance they can make in aerodynamic helmets gives an edge to the competitors.

I myself don’t cycle for speed and therefor won’t be spending the $299.99 they’ll be asking for this helmet when it comes out on the market.
But I’ll definitely be interested to know how much of a difference it will make for the German team who are sporting them this year.

Here is their (rather uninformative) YouTube video for the helmet:

Via Popular Science

Safest table saw EVER!

Elecom SoundBlock iPod speakers

Sarah — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:00:34 +0000

It looks like those kawaii-loving, tech savants over in Japan have developed yet another cute iPod accessory. To me they look a bit like LEGOs, especially in the product photo all laid out together in all their multi-colored glory. One to match every color of the iPod nano, apparently.

If I were to guess I would say the speaker quality and output volume would be somewhere in the vicinity of an iMac internal speaker, which is fine if you want to quietly listen to your music at your office, not interrupting the worker in the neighboring cubicle (or the neighboring apartment if you happen to live just about anywhere in Japan, which, incidentally is the only place you can currently buy this product).

It’s cute to be sure and is compatible with just about all the iPod models (iPod 5G, iPod Touch, iPod classic and iPod Nano). And I’m sure has it’s uses and a market, somewhere.

Though for $40 it seems a little puny, even though it does appear to have both left and right channels (wow, tiny stereo!).
I wonder what the drain on the iPod batter is like?

Geek Stuff 4 U is taking pre-orders from people living outside Japan.
¥4000 is approximately $42 American.

Cooliris 1.11

Sarah — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:00:41 +0000

Just when you thought your viewing experience couldn’t get any better (I’m talking to OS X users here;-) CoolIris comes along and takes it to the next level. I’ve been playing around with it for the last week and seriously having the best time.

CoolIris isn’t just for Mac users though, it works on Windows XP, Vista and Linux (!!!) too. The folks at CoolIris want to bring this experience to everyone! And it truly is a beautiful experience.

A simple image search on Google

CoolIris was previously PicLens. So some of you may already be familiar with previous incarnations of CoolIris (even though I am not).

So what is it, exactly? Well, it is a plug-in that gives you a new way to navigate, find and share images and videos “using the rich media that is now dominating the web” says partner Randy Komisar.

Learn about the CoolIris vision here!

It basically transforms your viewing experience into a cinematic 3D wall. You can do Google searches, YouTube, Flickr, Hulu, Facebook and many many more. It frees you from the confines of your browser, which I didn’t know was confining until I tried CoolIris, strangely enough.

Image search zoomed out

It also works in your Finder. Search all images and videos within your Finder with speed and style. CoolIris transforms your screen into the ultimate 3D viewing experience! The best word I can find for it is elegant. Really. It’s like Cover-Flow’s debonair cousin or something.

Using it is simple enough. Just install and then the CoolIris icon will appear on images when you mouse over them in your browser, or you can launch CoolIris from the icon that appears at the top right of your browser window. Of course you can launch from your Applications folder as well. From within CoolIris you can zoom out (as seen to the right) or go full screen with any image. And that is just the tip of the CoolIris iceberg.

It’s even gotten me excited for the day that those oh-so-awesome fictional GUIs that you always see in the movies may actually become something of a reality.

There is a version for the iPhone as well that looks pretty awesome, though since I still have yet to get one I haven’t been able to test it out yet.

Check out the CoolIris website and then get ready to change the way you see the virtual world.

CoolIris Overview
CoolIris Features

Science kits galore!

Sarah — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:27:47 +0000

Remember a few weeks ago when I mentioned the distinct lack of chemistry sets on our shelves in the last few decades. Well I was shopping at Book People the other day (one of Austin’s very cool local bookstores) and I came across National Geographic’s Elements of Science kit.

For $74.95 you can do 100 experiments in biology, chemistry and physics. It includes 112 page book that covers optics, light, electricity, chemical reactions and much much more. It’s a pretty basic kit for ages 10 and up.

But then I found this on the DiscoverThis website:

The Chem3000 kit is a comprehensive chemistry set for ages 12 and up that covers over fifty topics relating specifically to chemistry.
The kit includes dozens of actual chemicals along with all the supplies needed to do 360 different experiments (including ones covering fuels and combustion… the most fun part of chemistry in my opinion).
Obviously these experiments need to be done with adult supervision. But I’m willing to bet that any parent that gets this kind of kit for their kid will have just as much fun helping with these experiments as their kid will have doing them. I know I would (now I just have to get around to having kids and raising them to age twelve… dang!).
There are dozens more kits on the DiscoverThis website covering everything from Astronomy to Zoology. They have Robot Kits (!!!) and Genetics and DNA kits too. Hopefully if more kids learn to have fun in science early on the US of A won’t be so woefully behind in producing the worlds leading scientists anymore.

128 GB capacity USB flash drive!

Sarah — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:00:05 +0000

Lately I’ve been shopping around for a USB flash drive. I’ve not had much of a need for one before, but seems like I do now. And I came across this…

That’s right. 128 GB USB flash drive. This one is by Kingston. But I found another made by DiskGo (though it doesn’t look quite as cool). I hadn’t thought I would need such a high capacity USB drive, but now that I know it exists (it was just a matter of time really), well now I really REALLY NEED one. Though at $546.00 for the Kingston and $389.95 for the DiskGo I might need to rethink the need part a little.
They both have the ability to password protect, though sadly only on Windows (for now, hopefully).
But ultimately I like the Kingston better for the simple fact that it has a sliding USB connector. Great idea:-)
They come in 64GB and 32GB versions as well for significantly cheaper. I’ll probably have to go with one of those until I strike it rich with my brilliant screenplay. Heh.

Via OhGizmo!

Olympus E-P1 digital camera

Sarah — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 08:30:06 +0000

It’s not a point and shoot, it’s not an SLR. It seems to pack the best of both worlds in a sleek, and small, retro casing. I first saw a leaked image of this camera on Wired’s GadgetLab last week. It intrigued me so I did a little research on it and found that it was announced officially by Olympus just the other day.

There are many reasons I love this camera already, without even having tried it out.
First and foremost, it reminds me of my first 35mm camera, an early 80s model Pentax given to me by my dad. My photos back then weren’t very good, but I loved that camera.
And now it seems all the joy and convenience of DSLR can be packed into a small retro styled body. Sweet!
All the familiar scene modes are there in a handy thumb dial. No built in view finder, BUT you can get one as an accessory that goes in the flash mount.
It also shoots RAW as well as JPEG, which should get the attention of more than just hobby photographers.
And, this is probably my favorite part, the lenses are interchangeable! No digital camera this small has that capability (that I know of anyway). As it says on the E-P1 site, “the photographic optics of an SLR and the size and simplicity of a point and shoot.” Nice!

It also shoots 720p HD video (though limited to only 7 minutes), and has a whole laundry list of excellent features.
See the product site for more details (hope you have some time, cuz there’s a lot).

A peak at a few of the specs:
Interchangeable Lens Type Live View Digital Camera
Memory: SD memory card (SDHC compatible)
Screen size: 17.3mm (H) x 13.0mm (V)
Micro Four thirds mount (adapters for lenses available)
High speed Live MOS Sensor
12.3 MegaPixels
19 automatic scene modes
Face detection
adjustable aspect ratios
SSWF (dust reduction)
Still images: RAW, JPEG, RAW+JPEG
Movies: AVI Motion Jpeg (30fps)
HD 1280×720 (720p)
-Max recording time 7 minutes
SD 640×480
-Max recording time 14 minutes
Audio: Wave files, stereo PCM/16Bit, 44.1kHz
Built in Image stabilizer
6 Art Filters
Multi exposure capability
Full Manual control available

Via Gizmodo

Hulu Desktop application

Sarah — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 08:30:47 +0000

I was a little late to the Hulu phenomenon. Mostly because Hulu doesn’t work in Japan. But now that I’m home again I’m able to catch up on all of my favorite shows. Hulu just created a new desktop application (for both Windows and Mac) so you can watch your shows free of your browser.

For me (and many others) Hulu is the way forward for television. The less money I give to the cable companies, the better I feel.

The Hulu desktop app is beautifully designed and seems fairly intuitive. It’s also compatible with the Apple remote or any Windows Media compatible remote.

The video quality is still excellent and advertising is handled the same as ever. You can also link it to your Hulu account so you can automatically access your queue, subscriptions and viewing history, as well as your preferences to fully customize your viewing experience.

System requirements:
Mac: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz
2 GB of TAM
Mac OS X 10.4 or later
2 Mbps internet connection
Flash 9.0.124

Windows: Intel Core 2 duo 1.8GHz
2 GB of RAM
Windows XP or later
2 Mbps Internet connection
Flash 9.0.124

Via Popular Science Blog