Now just put the reciprocator in the optical refractor and—oh, hey. Uh, just doing a little rewiring. Okay, fine, you caught me. I've grown tired of the subterranean prison that is the Gadgetbox HQ, so I smuggled a spork out of the cafeteria and have been quietly digging a hole to freedom for the last few months.
I've got a nice place picked out atop a remote, hopefully dormant volcano. Plenty of light, great views. Plus the geothermal energy provided by magma really lowers the heating costs. Such a location, however, demands a commensurate upgrade in my Interweb dwelling, so I'm packing up shop and moving over to Macworld.com proper.
Gadgetbox is now the latest blog at Macworld, joining such esteemed company as Mac Gems and Mac OS X Hints. You can expect a new column (like this one) every week, chock full o' the same gadgety tastiness to which your discerning palates have no doubt become accustomed. So don't fret...Gadgetbox is dead; long live Gadgetbox!
Geeks are like megalomaniacs: when it comes down to it, it's really all about the power. Without juice, all your fancy gadgetry is just dead in the water. We've covered a number of solutions for your power needs, but among the very slickest are the USBCELL batteries from Moixa that let you recharge via your USB port.
Now Moixa's looking to bring the same convenience to your cellphone with the USBCELL for phones and portable devices. The batteries are going to be available in a number of popular form factors, including major phones and Blackberries. They'll be available later this year. No price is announced yet.
One wonders how the cell phone manufacturers, who often advise against using third-party batteries, will react to this. I'd imagine the USBCELL's would be pretty handy as backup batteries, especially when you're on the road.
[via Chip Chick]
If you enjoy a bit of technological tinkering in your spare time and aren't totally terrified of the destruction of privacies that technology will eventually bring down upon our society, you might be interested in the RFID Experimentation Kit. While it's currently out of stock, there're more coming in at the end of March, so you'll want to reserve your copy now.
The kit comes with a USB RFID reader, a dozen different RFID chips, cards and keychains for embedding the chip, and even one tag suitable for implanting in yourself, though it's really recommended that you don't (no problem here). The extensive included book runs you through instructions for a bunch of different little projects you can do with your kit, like setting up an RFID doggy door (though presumably not including performing minor surgery on yourself or your cat, thankfully).
Running at $100, the kit is perfect for the geek in your life, though be warned: some amount of technological savvy is recommended. Windows is required, so Mac users will probably need to switch over to Boot Camp or Parallels, unfortunately.
[via Popgadget]
Batteries, batteries. They power all sorts of gadgets today, and they're constantly in need of replacing, recharging, or what have you: it's all a drain on the old natural resources. This four battery Solar Charger is out to prevent such needless waste by powering up your cells with sweet, sweet thermonuclear energy—straight from the Sun itself.
Four NiMh batteries can be charged at a time, of AAA, AA, C, or D sizes (don't mix them though); they'll hit full capacity in as little as six hours, given a sunny day. There are also adapters for plugging your small electronics in directly. While batteries aren't included, the unit itself runs for just $14 at present, so if you've got NiMh batteries lying around, it might be a handy alternative.
[via Red Ferret Journal]
It's always good to see technology put to helpful uses, rather than merely being just a timesink. That said, I'm not sure about these ABS Avalanche backpacks, which are supposedly designed to prevent you from being buried in the snow when the mountain comes down on you.
The pack works kind of like an automobile's airbag. When the avalanche starts, you pull a ripcord, which inflates two large pouches, totaling 150 litres of additional volume. Hopefully, that's enough to keep you on top of the snow, which greatly increases your odds of both surviving and helping others survive.
It's a very cool idea, and assuming it works well, the almost $400 asking price isn't that much to pay. A lot of people die from avalanches because they're not prepared; hopefully, this could tip the odds back in the other direction, when used with proper safety precautions and equipment.
[via Shiny Shiny]
I wasn't sure how much the Korean manufacturer of these light-up umbrellas had intended for them to be referred to as lightsaber umbrealls. Until I went to the product page and scrolled down a bit. First I caught sight of a caption reading "Light Saber Umbrella." Okay. Maybe it's a joke.Then I scrolled down some more to find a picture of Obi-Wan Kenobi fighting Darth Maul. All right then.
Until that, I thought maybe they were echoing more Blade Runner than Star Wars. Oh well. Should you be interested in owning an umbrella that lights up like the sci-fi prop of your choice, you'll be happy to know they can be snagged for around $40, in your choice of white, red, and blue.
The lights are generated by an LED bulb, which is powered by AA batteries. Any more information is pretty much dependent on knowledge of Korean.
[via CrunchGear]
And still this whole "finding more difficult ways to tell time" train just keeps on rolling. This time we're appealing to that breed of people who just have a burning need to spend a ridiculous amount of money on something that looks trendy. You know who I mean.
So it's little surprise that the clock in question comes from the mind of the Art. Lebedev Studio, best known for their Optimus line of products. The Verbarius tells you the time—but not in numbers, oh no. That would be far too easy. Every time you "ask" it to tell you the time (via a button or something, one presumes), it will write out the time as something like "forty-five minutes past five," or "fifteen minutes to six," or "quarter 'til never." By default, it ships with five languages: English, Russian, German, Spanish and French, though you can supposedly upload different languages via your PC (the Verbarius includes a USB cable).
Nifty, sure, but I don't exactly have $158 dollars to spare for a clock, even a gregarious one. Now if they finish that OLED keyboard, maybe we can talk. Verbarius is available for pre-order now; it'll be shipping around November 1st.
[via Gizmodo]
As far as I know, there are still plans to release a Star Wars TV series sometime in the next couple years. But until then, you'll have to sate your fetish for a galaxy far far away by other means. May I humbly suggest an R2-D2 trash can?
It's a natural combination, when you think about it. I mean, R2-D2 is, after all, more trash can shaped than any other droid—okay, except maybe a GNK model Power Droid. Fine.
But nobody's making GNK Power Droid trashcans, are they, smart guy? Yeah. I mean, you'll still have to pay $150 for this 24" tall R2 trash can. And while his dome pops open with the press of a foot pedal, don't expect him to launch your lightsaber skyward or start projecting holograms. For that, you'll need to get the R2-D2 projector. Then, they can fight.
[via I4U News]
Here's the thing about technology: just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. Like a Voice-Activated Answering Machine. Is it really so onerous to have a little light that tells you there are messages and then to press a button to hear said messages? I like to think I've gotten pretty good at pressing buttons in the last twenty-seven years (zing!).
This brilliant piece of engineering comes, of course, from Hammacher Schlemmer (motto: selling over-priced crap since 1825). To activate it, simply say "answering machine." For hours of hilarity, be sure to leave a message containing the phrase "answering machine," thus propelling your expensive toy into a deranged infinite loop. Also, in case you're wondering, it's really only funny the first time somebody mistakes it for an Art Deco ashtray.
A warning: it's tuned to "American" English, so you Brits and Aussies are out of luck (Canadians may be able to sneak by, but I make no promises). The price point is $250, or, roughly five times the cost of the previous most expensive answering machine you were likely to buy.
[via GadgetLab]
