Wednesday, June 20, 2007
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USB Hub Does a Three-way as Clock, Letter Opener
11:46PM Seamus Byrne | As the consolidation of USB devices continues, now here’s a three-way: a USB hub with four ports, telling you what time it is and helpfully offering a letter opener up front. Now what’s so hard about opening a letter that you have to have a USB device to do it? Well, dogs can hump on their own, but we have a USB device for that, so maybe this makes sense. Anyway, there’s also an alarm clock function included, perfect for waking you up after you’ve been sleeping it off at your desk. Maybe you need this USB letter opener clock. You may have to wait, because pricing and availability weren’t announced yet. – Charlie White Letter Opener USB Hub Clock [Red Ferret] More »
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Apple Announces YouTube Will Be On iPhone (and Now Ready for Apple TV)
11:43PM Seamus Byrne | Last week we speculated on it, and today Apple confirmed it. The company said that the YouTube software update was ready for download for Apple TV owners. But of course there was “one more thing”: YouTube content would be available on the iPhone at launch. You will be able to download content over Wi-Fi or EDGE, according to the press release. (My guess is that one will be better than the other.) This doesn’t mean Flash video on iPhone. YouTube is encoding its content in H.264, and the iPhone will be “the first” mobile device to use those videos. That means, at launch, you won’t be able to get at the entire catalog of YouTube video, but the Apple press release states that the conversion of all YouTube clips to H.264 will be complete by the fall. More »
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Spin Camping Light, Your Porto-Disco
11:22PM Seamus Byrne | We’re not entirely sure what you do on your camping trips, but we do know that this Spin Camping Light will get your disco jones into funky town no matter where you are. Tack this $15 sucka up in your tent and boogie the night away to its 60 LEDs. But be careful with that music selection—the bears may not have the Night Fever as badly as you do. – Charlie White galleryPost('spinlight', 4, 'Spin Camping Light'); Product Page [Brando] More »
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Duracell/Xantrex Power Devices Make Me Say ¿Que?
11:13PM Seamus Byrne | I got very excited when my fabulous colleague Charlie White passed this thing from Duracell and Xantrex* on to me, saying that the write-up would need my touch. “Ah, it’s a clunky, chunky boombox for hunky construction-worker types that plays CDs and never breaks, even when you drop something builder-y and heavy on it,” I thought. (Yes, my idea of home decoration is painting my nails in front of re-runs of Dallas, although I’m good with the vacuum cleaner and spirit level when my man is drilling holes in walls.) More »
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Ring the Changes (and Scare the Neighbours’ Kids) with a USB Doorbell
10:36PM Seamus Byrne | Got a fever? I have, and the only prescription is DOORBELL – namely, this USB one from ReBell. Connect it up to your laptop or PC and download whatever sound you want to hear when your bell is pressed. Then fix it to the wall and connect it to your existing low-voltage doorbell wiring system. Quick question. What would you have to herald the arrival of The Fuzz/Your Mom/Repossessions-R-Us at your door? Would it be Ring My Bell by Anita Ward? Jack Nicholson doing “Heeeere’s Johnny!” in The Shining? Something from Ringo Starr’s solo oeuvre? Personally, I’d have another Jack – White Stripes’ Jack White – doing My Doorbell if I bought this – but then again, I wouldn’t shell out, because it’s $100 and I’m a tight-fisted git. – Ad Dugdale USB Doorbell [Think Geek] More »
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Samsung Celebrates Shifting One Million Miniskirts, Parties with Laydeez in Miniskirts
9:38PM Seamus Byrne | At the beginning of this month, Charlie touched on the latest Miniskirt phone from Samsung. Well, to celebrate the fact that one million units have been shifted in Korea since its launch, the company had a lay-dee party. Personally, I think something like this is great – I mean, there’s only so many black geek tee-shirts that us gurlz can put up with, so a line of all of this summer’s key fashion looks (Suspenders! Sixties Shifts! Slogan tees! Spots! Ow-My-Eyes Graphic Prints!) can only be a good thing. You want more lay-dee shots? Of course you do… More »
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Air Disinfection Unit to Make Hospitals Cleaner, Safer
9:10PM Seamus Byrne | Hospitals and germ freaks rejoice! English tech company Inov8 (sounds a bit ravey, doesn’t it?) has come up with the Air Disinfection unit, or AD. It recreates fresh air, which is a key factor in killing microbes, without the need for opening a window in the operating theater. Any surgeons or hospital staff reading, that was a joke, by the way. Although launched yesterday in London, the device, which is about the size of a flower vase, is currently being tested in 17 veterans’ hospitals over here with a view to making it available in the US. Within an hour of switching it on, the AD can reduce bacteria levels to zero as it creates reactive hydrogen radicals, then pumps them out into the atmosphere, purging the air of bacteria. Faced with the AD, even the tough superbug MRSA is apparently toast – and that can only be a good thing. – Ad Dugdale Superbug zapper recreates fresh air indoors [New Scientist Tech] More »
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Mr. Obvious Shaw Wu Predicts Cheaper iPhones Sometime Later
8:49PM Seamus Byrne | Shaw Wu, Analyst from American Technology Research and Apple fortune cookie teller is predicting cheaper iPhones in the future. Specifically: “lower cost iPhone prototypes for release at unspecified future dates” Obviously. This post isn’t bout that. Let’s talk about Shaw. More »
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Nerf Maverick Office Weapon Won’t Kill You, Plays Doom
8:22PM Seamus Byrne | Bang, bang, my baby shot me down. With a foam dart. And this Nerf Maverick, which loads six into its barrel and fires them in rapid succession at 15 feet away. And yes, ironically, this thing lets you play Doom, as shown in the video after the jump. More »
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