Saturday, December 8, 2007
Vehicles
PAM Lifting Vehicle: Yet Another Segway-like Flying Deathtrap
1:20PM Sean Fallon | If you didn’t get enough of the Vertipod from last month, another Segway-like flying vehicle called PAM has shown up on the radar —literally. Like the Vertipod, a simple shifting of the weight points the PAM in the appropriate direction. So, in theory, it should be simple to operate (so why do you need a pilot’s licence?). More info after the jump. More »
Gadgets
Lamp CD Tower Is Beautifully Obsolete
1:00PM Sean Fallon | The Light CD Tower by Kwang Hoo Lee was inspired by the fact that people spend an ever-increasing amount of time sitting in front of their computers. In the end, he came up with a design that merged a lamp and a CD holder into one sweet looking practical device. Unfortunately, the design is not without its flaws. For one thing, the lamp would be rendered useless when filled with CDs, the device is battery powered (why not USB?) and CDs are on the fast track to obsolecence. Still, not a bad concept piece from a design perspective. [Designboom via Gearfuse via DVICE] More »
Gadgets
Ornament Lets You “Blow” on Santa’s “Magic Candle” to Turn Out Your Tree Lights
12:40PM Sean Fallon | When you wire this perverted Santa to your Christmas tree, you can turn out the lights with a simple blow on his “magic candle.” When you want to turn the lights back on again, a push of the button on the chimney will get the job done. Sure, a device like this could be practical if you don’t normally have the tree wired to a light switch, but you have to wonder whether all of the innuendo was lost on the distributor. Kind of like when your mum uses words like “erect.” Available for $US24.99. [Product Page via OhGizmo] More »
Gadgets
What Should You Get the Geeky Ladies This Holiday?
12:20PM Sean Fallon | If you are anything like me, the women in your life are impossible to shop for. However, if you are lucky enough have a lady in your life that enjoys gadgets, Geeksugar has put together a guide that will help you find the perfect gift for girlfriends, mmus, and teen girls. They even have a section devoted to Grandmothers and female cousins. There are guides for the guys too, but if you ask me the women are where it is at. Seriously, what kind of gadget would you get your Grandmother? Big band music is not meant for iPods! [Geeksugar] More »
Games
Mario Kart Slot Racing For Geeks of All Ages
12:00PM Sean Fallon | You have been a slot racer fan since you were a kid —plus, you have always enjoyed the Mario Kart series. So why not put your passions together with this Mario Kart Slot Racing set? Additional info and photo of the track after the jump. More »
Announcements
CompUSA Throws in the Towel, Sells to a Liquidator
11:45AM Adrian Covert | While the rumour has been floating around all week, the Wall Street Journal reports CompUSA has been sold to a liquidation firm, effectively putting the company out of business. The move is largely based on declining sales, with the company speculated to only do $US1.5 billion in sales this year (compared to $US4 billion last year). While it will be open through the holidays, the company is actively working to sell and/or close its 103 retail stores. Can you say clearance deals? [WSJ] More »
Entertainment
Dell Reintroduces CableCARDs on XPS 420s
11:40AM Jason Chen | We’ve been keeping an eye on Dell’s discontinued CableCARD systems since they first introduced them on the XPS 410s because they were a relatively cheap way to get HD recording on a reasonably-priced desktop. Well, fantastic news! Chris Lanier says that Dell’s reintroduced the CableCARD option on their XPS 420s, which you can customise and get out the door starting at about a thousand bucks. According to Dell, this is a “functional upgrade to the platform”, which means you’ll be able to get the CableCARD on this line for the foreseeable future. Sounds like a cheap alternative to our set-top-box wishlist item. [Dell via Chris Lanier] More »
Gadgets
USB Humping Dogs Get Upgraded, Now They Enjoy the Sex
11:20AM Sean Fallon | The USB Humping Dogs we all know and love have gotten a much needed upgrade. If you recall, previous versions looked as though they were indifferent towards all of the humping. I don’t know about you, but if that was my sole purpose in life, I would be pretty happy about it. Apparently the manufacturers thought so too because the new versions feature smiling faces and perked up ears. More »
Peripherals
USB Hub Has Individual On/Off Switches
11:00AM Jason Chen | USB Hubs come in all shapes and sizes (including fruit cake), but this is the first time we’ve seen a USB hub with individual on/off switches. This isn’t only useful for switching off stuff without unplugging it and making a mess, it also helps save power when you’re on laptop battery mode. It’s a non-powered hub, however, so you won’t be able to run four external USB hard drives off this thing. Those of you with four external hard drives should probably be getting a Windows Home Server unit and plugging those into there anyway. [Brando] More »
Phones
