You know the Apocalypse is near when you read Walt’s buddy Katherine Boehret saying this in today’s The Mossberg Solution column:
I really liked the Sansa Connect. It forced me to look at my portable player as an evolving, untethered device that introduced me to lots of songs [...]My iPod suddenly seemed old-fashioned.
Sure, she doesn’t like the idea of subscriptions, the need for Wi-Fi for some functions or the fact that the Yahoo! Music Store only has two million songs versus five million in iTunes (come on Katie! I mean, how many versions of Elton John’s Goodbye England’s Rose do you want?) But overall, she seems to really dig the Sansa Connect for design, functionality, the neat Wi-Fi implementation and a good battery life. But maybe there is more than meets the eye in this review, right after the jump.
Hurrah for Danish Laydeez Birgitte Smedegaard and Stine Weiss, who have knocked up these Jamo i200 iPod speakers in their garden shed. And they’re not too pricey, either—we found them for $149—which is not bad for the crisp sound they will give to your choons. Available in black and white, you can either wallmount it, or stick it on your shelves and have everyone admire it. Remote controlled, the sound system has separate woofers and tweeters, and you can even connect it up to a separate subwoofer should you want more power, Captain.
And while we’re at it, hurrah for Brigitte Nielsen too—I’m pretty sure you could wallmount her if you ask nicely. – Ad Dugdale
Product Page [B&H Photo Video via Crave at CNET.co.uk]
Although this Security Camcorder Clock won’t transmit video over power lines and is not water-proof like the WiLife Spy Cam, it can be activated when it detects any movement to record 320 x 240 pixel full motion video files AVI files. Then, these files can be transferred to your computer using the included USB cable.
The only bad thing is that this $180 spy gadget will only record 12 minutes with its built-in 64 memory, so whatever security thing you have to record, you better do it fast. Fortunately, it has an SD slot, so you can buy 4GB card and record enough material to open your own homegrown porn video site. –Jesus Diaz
Product page [Skymall via Uberreview]
Portable air conditioning used to mean something Marshall amp-sized (preferably on wheels) that you could fill with water, hoick from room to room, dangle the hose out of the window and plug in. Well, my friends, those days are gone, and instead you can lower the temperature with air-con in a can. For $5 you get a 220ml can filled with all sorts of lovely chemicals, including ethanol (so no smoking while you’re spraying or you might find yourself flambéing your armpit hair) to keep your temperatures crypt-like in the summer months.
A Gizmodo tip, though: Don’t give up the deodorant in the meantime—while the air-con in a can might provide relief for you, it won’t help your fellow travelers on the subway if you are a smelly fella. – Ad Dugdale
Product Page [Strapya via Akihabara News]
This is a bit like watching paint dry. The Everlast Circle Clock is a one-handed time-telling device that draws circles on your wall. Which to me sounds like all the hassle of having a destructive creative toddler at home with none of the benefits (dirty nappies, repeating rude words they heard from you in front of Granny and Pa, discovering that spoons make very effective catapults, especially when teamed with carrot purée).
Stick a pencil in the arm, stick the clock on the wall—or against a piece of paper if you live in a minimalist’s loft—and watch it draw a circle. I’ll leave you with the guff from the website. “Are you the sort of person who projects to those around you an affinity for temporal illustrations?” Er, I think the answer is 42. The Everlast Circle Clock is $21&madash;plus the cost of an quarterly paint job for the wall. – Ad Dugdale
Product Page [Everlab via Oh!Gizmo]
The power of Web 2.0 is in full effect over at Digg, where users are revolting over Digg’s decision to pull a story (that netted over 15,000 diggs) and reportedly boot a user for posting the HD-DVD AACS Processing Key number, which would allow someone to crack the copy protection on an HD-DVD. The front page of Digg consists entirely of stories flaunting the number or criticizing Digg for its actions.
[UPDATE: About two hours after posting the above, Kevin Rose, Digg founder, reposted the HD-DVD key himself, in response to the massive negative reaction to pulling the original story. A snip of Kevin's statement, and the original screen grab we had of the fallout, are below the fold.
Technically this is called the JohnNXT 5, though even Steve Guttenberg’s minority friend won’t be fooled that this isn’t the real Johnny Five. LEGO fan Daniele Benedettelli built this entire thing out of LEGO Mindstorm NXT parts, which if our calculations are correct, means this probably costs as much as an actual robot to make.
If you want to build your own (who wouldn’t), check out the materials list to get started. – Jason Chen
Project Page [Danielle via MAKE]
Are you a bad enough dude to own this clock? Not everyone is capable of withstanding the eight-pointed shuriken frame, the Yin/Yang face, the nunchuck hands, the chopstick second hand, and the ninja figure that’s incessantly kicking its invisible enemies in the face before winding up and kicking some more.
Just pony up an Andrew Jackson (who’s not very awesome) and you’ll get one of these. We bet if if there were Native American ninjas back then, they would have taken out Jackson with a well timed kick to the groin. *Guitar RIIIFF* – Jason Chen
Product Page [Dannabananas via Nerd Approved]
See that glossy little fella right there? That’s Axiom Audio’s sexy new M0 PC speaker. The complete package will consist of two satellites and a sub that combined wil deliver 225 watts of power. The M0s will come out this June for $599. That’s a lot of money to ask for a pair of cans (the only other pair I can think of priced that high are these), but Axiom is betting the house on their first PC-based speakers. The company also has a wireless (and solar powered) outdoor speaker planned.
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The outdoor speaker will cost around $500 to $600 for a pair and it’ll come with a 4- to 6-hour battery. They’ll connect to an optional solar panel that’ll keep them juiced while you enjoy your cup o’ lemonade.
If you can’t wait for the wireless version, Axiom currently has the water-resistant Algonquin speakers ($300/pair) which are basically wired versions of the latter. It has a 1-inch titanium tweeter and a 6.5-inch aluminum woofer. We didn’t get to sample the M0s, so you may want to wait before you spluge, but we hope they sound as good as they look.– Louis Ramirez
The WMF 1 is a coffee pad/pod/whatever-based single-serve coffee machine, which integrates your cup into its minimalist cubic design that’s not much bigger than a couple of books. The cliche Mac-whiteness can be livened up with your choice of four colors for the lining. Exciting, I know. After dumping in the water and pressing a button, it only takes a minute to brew your coffee.
Personally, I prefer a French press, which is equally minimalist and probably brews better coffee, if you know what you’re doing. No price for the WMF 1 yet, but minimalist + white = not cheap. – Matt Buchanan
Product Page [WMF via Nerd Approved]
