What is it with building stuff into pens? First it was a Wi-Fi detector, now a Japanese company (of course) has developed what they call the "SpyPen." Because, if every thriller I've ever seen is any indication, spies love devices disguised as pens. This time around, it's a flash memory drive in capacities of 128MB, 256MB, and 512MB for $24, $33, and $41 respectively.
Of course it works as a standard ballpoint pen too—how could you expect to sneak it into the CIA if it didn't manage to write things down? But the SpyPen throws in one extra feature: the SpyPen can also be used as a card reader for SD/MMC memory cards hidden in the pen's clip. Very cool. Plug it into a USB slot and you'll get two volumes: one for the flash drive and one for the memory card. It would be cooler if they could automatically download the contents of the memory card onto the internal flash drive. Then you'd have spies lining up in droves. Quietly, of course.
[via I4U]
My dad is a coffee enthusiast. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the stuff (heresy, I know), but I indulge him. He's kind of a purist though—he grinds his own beans and prefers a manual French press to a coffee machine.
I'm kind of tempted to pick him up a Press-Bot, though. It screws into the ubiquitous Nalgene brand water bottle and enables you to make your very own coffee on the go. It's a pretty awesome little design that also lets you brew loose leaf tea (my own hot beverage of choice) and ought to come in useful for all those campers and hikers out there who can't get moving down the trail without a cup.
The Press-Bot fits some other wide-mouth water bottles, but they recommend Nalgene "we have found they are consistantly the best quality wide mouth bottles on the market." The Press-Bot costs $20.
Now all I have to do is buy my dad a Nalgene and, um, take him camping. Then again, maybe this is more trouble than it's worth.
[via Popgadget]
You know, I've just realized that my tool kit needs some upgrading. I noticed yesterday that I didn't have a hammer, and today I find myself coveting the Black & Decker Automatic Wrench. What's so automatic about it, you might ask? Well, plug in two AAA batteries (included) and, at the touch of a button, the wrench goes and unscrews bolts for you.
Okay, not exactly. At the push of a button, the wrench automatically detects the size of bolt you're trying to adjust and clamps down on it, allowing up to 220 ft-lbs of torque. Which is better than the 1ft-lbs of torque my teeth can provide. So that's good.
It's available online for around $30. You'll never loosen bolts the same way again. I guarantee.
[via Shiny Shiny]
I honestly can't decide if Wireless USB is going to be the next big thing or if it's merely a kludgy solution to a valid problem. The idea is a good one: free your peripherals from the hassle of wires by replacing their USB cables with a wireless version of that protocol, based on a technology called Ultra-wideband (UWB).
Only we've been hearing about Wireless USB and the first devices have yet to materialize. Japanese vendor Y-E Data, Inc. is poised to release the first Wireless USB hub in October. It's a lot like your standard USB hub, except that instead of plugging the hub into your computer, you plug in a USB dongle that looks like a flash drive or Bluetooth adapter. It enables your computer to communicate wirelessly with the devices in the hub as if they were USB devices connected to your computer.
This is just a stopgap, of course, since you still have to connect wires from your peripherals to the hub. Still, at a range of 10 meters, you can put your peripherals in, say, another room in your house. But at a cost of between $210-$340 dollars it's going to be a bit more pricey than, umm, a long USB cable.
The goal is to start integrating Wireless USB into devices like digital cameras and printers. Of course, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth have already started down this road. Then again, is there such a thing as too much wireless goodness?
Signs point to yes.
[via Gizmodo]
Money may make the world go round, but electricity makes it fun. Without electricity, it's safe to say, I would not be writing this right now. Instead, I'd be perched on a soap box in the middle of some crowded town square, shouting things at you with a megaphone constructed of rolled paper. Not as much fun by half.
Still, moderation in all things is best, and that's true even with electricity. Energy consumption rates are only going up, so every consumer has a responsibility to conserve as much as possible. Take the Compact Fluorescent Light, for example. Not only is it super bright, and cheap at just $3, but it uses 75%-80% less electricity than your average incandescent and can last for up to 10 years. If everyone in the US replaced just one incandescent 60W bulb with a CFL, the resulting energy saved would be enough to power the combined households of Delaware and Rhode Island.
My apartment has one of these in the back hallway, but now I'm thinking we should get some more. The more we save, the more I can use for my gadgets, right?
[via Gizmowatch]
This may be the most brilliant idea in music players since the invention of the iPod. You've probably seen those camping flashlights and radios that you can recharge by hand cranking for a few minutes. The Regen MP3 player brings a similar idea to MP3 players, except instead of using a hand crank, you harness the power of the yo-yo. Running low? A few spins of Around the World and you're good to rock out. Bluetooth headphones insure that you don't accidentally tangle your cord up while Walking the Dog.
Now, I love yo-yos. I have a handful of them in my apartment—I'm one of those people who picks things up and plays with them while thinking and yo-yos are perfect. Right now my desk has a Macworld light-up yo-yo that I snagged at Macworld SF this year.
Sadly, in a move no doubt designed to break the last remaining portion of my will, the Regen is just a concept at the moment and it may very well never make it to production. But if it does, I can assure you that I'll be among the very first on the list, despite the two iPods I already own.
[via SCI-FI Tech]
What will happen when every man, woman, and child in the US has a cellphone? Simple: Rover and Fluffy will get one too. The PetsCell is a collar-mounted waterproof cellphone for your dog that you can call whenever you like and tell Fido to sit, roll over, or start dinner. Don't worry about the controls either; it'll answer automatically when you call, and it will only answer recognized numbers, so no need to worry about Rex getting telemarketer calls during dinner.
In addition, the unit contains a GPS unit, so you'll never have occasion to post "Lost Dog" notices around the neighborhood. You can even define a "fenced" area and the PetsCell will notify you when your dog leaves that area. The PetsCell also has three "Call Owner" buttons that can be used to contact you in an emergency. Pricing and plans are not listed on the website, but the unit won't be available until late 2006.
Now, I'm not a dog owner, so to me this idea seems patently ridiculous. However, I could see why people would like the ability to keep track their dogs—it's certainly less disturbing than people tracking their children via GPS. And I love the idea that you could get a call telling you that Duke is running wild in the streets again.
[via Ubergizmo]
This is some truly odd—and somewhat disturbing—news. We've been following the progress of the next generation wireless standard, 802.11n, which ought to provide theoretical maximum speeds of 540Mbps, as well as increased efficiency over long ranges. And while 802.11n gear has been released, the final standard has not been approved by the governing body, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Just the other week, the standard review was pushed further back, suggesting that we would perhaps not see 802.11n until 2008.
Now the Wi-Fi Alliance, a business trade group set up to ensure interoperability between various companies' Wi-Fi equipment, has announced that they will step up and certify 802.11n equipment in two separate stages: one against the 2.0 Draft of the 802.11n standard and one when the IEEE standard is ratified. There is no guarantee that equipment from the first phase will be compatible with equipment from the second and final stage.
In some ways this is a step up from the current willy nilly nature of the marketplace, in which each vendor is promoting their own "Draft N" equipment, none of which is guaranteed to be compatible with any other vendor's products. At the same time, approving 802.11n gear now could set a precedent by condoning vendors' actions in launching half-baked products before a standard is finalized.
[via Ars Technica]
