Thursday, July 12, 2007
iPod User Gets Struck by iLightning
11:56PM Seamus Byrne | If you’re going to be walking around in a thunderstorm, it might not be a good idea to be wearing an iPod. A 39-year-old dentist from Vancouver had a shocking experience while he was out jogging and listening to his iPod. Lightning struck a tree next to him, and then jumped over to him, throwing him 8 feet and resulting in second degree burns on his chest and left leg. There were also a couple of burns exactly where his iPod wires led up his torso, along either side of his neck and face and then into his ears. Did he live to tell the tale? More »
Control Your PC From an iPhone
11:23PM Seamus Byrne | Here’s a free way to control your PC from an iPhone, thanks to Nate True at cre.ations.net. Using TightVNC, software that lets you remotely control your PC desktop (sorry, it’s not Mac-friendly yet), he’s made a couple of simple changes that let you use the iPhone’s touchscreen interface to control your PC from afar. Here’s how it works: More »
US-Rep. Declares iPhone Expensive Paperweight, Discovers Termination Fees
10:44PM Seamus Byrne | In a breaking development for the cellphone industry, US Rep. Edward J. Markey announced yesterday that the iPhone will become an “expensive paperweight” even if you pay the $175 early termination fee to AT&T. Markey, whose top contributor for the 2004 election in the cellphone carrier business was Sprint (AT&T is also listed), has his knickers in a twist for something that every carrier has been doing for years with all locked phones, exclusive or not. Further showing his outstanding cellphone know-how, he said the iPhone was like a “Hotel California service. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave—you’re stuck with your iPhone and you can’t take it anywhere.” According to completely unreliable and probably drunk sources, Rep. Markey, is getting ready to announce to the world that water freezes at zero degrees celsius soon. [Boston Herald] More »
The Return of the Hands Hand Soap Still is Still Wrong for Other Reasons
10:00PM Seamus Byrne | Following up on the creepy Baby Hands Hands soap, here’s the Grope On a Rope, a hand soap with an attached rope for the shower. You can actually buy it for $15, but really, somebody has to tell them that for serious shower groping the last thing you need is an extended hand. [Product page] More »
Angel Kitty Tail Cam for Intimate, Up-The-Skirt Moments
9:22PM Seamus Byrne | What’s long, white, wiry and fluffy and has a bit of hardware stuck on the end? A tail cam, of course. Available in Japan from Angel Kitty (they are the hot freekz who brought us the French Maid Keyboard) it will cost you $146, but I think that’s a bit expensive, so, after the jump, I’ll tell you how to make your own. More »
Digital Olive MP3 Player Has No Stones, Just Speakers
9:13PM Seamus Byrne | Sofmap’s Digital Olive is a kitsch, cutesy MP3 player with removable speakers. Available in Japan from July 24 the battery-run music box comes in four shades and will set you back $50. This what there is – and isn’t… First of all, there is no built-in memory, just a USB port and an SD card slot. However, you can connect it up to your existing player and run it as a speaker system. It runs both on batteries and off the mains and, once charged, should give you seven hours’ continuous play. There’s a liquid crystal display on the Digital Olive’s main body with a two-color LED, and the whole unit weighs in at 275 grams. More »
Bionic Legs Help Miracle Crash Survivor Walk Again
8:30PM Seamus Byrne | An eggcup-like device with bionic legs attached to it has been developed by doctors for a man who was chopped in half by a truck in 1995. The accident left Peng Shulin bedridden for over a decade, but thanks to doctors at the China Rehabilitation Research Center in Beijing, the 2′6″ fighter is back on his feet again. More »
Logitech’s MX Air Is No Longer Vapor
7:00PM Seamus Byrne | Just in time for the return of Harry Potter, Logitech lands its own magic wand, the MX Air mouse. It responds to the Freespace motion control technology when held aloft, especially when aimed at a Media Center PC or other “10-foot” PC application. Gesture controls are included: in a music app, a nudge to the left will turn down volume, a circle to the right will skip to the next track. On the desk, tracks movement via laser like other Logitech rechargeable mice, but it’s missing a scroll wheel. In place of that is—yup, you guessed it—a touch-sensitive scroll panel. galleryPost('LogitechMXAir', 4, 'Logitech MXAir'); More »
Bring Out The Bruised Kid in You with Roller Lights
6:34PM Seamus Byrne | These Roller Lights are the equivalent of strap-on wheelies for the disco generation – provided you don’t weigh more than 176 lb. , the two-wheeled toys attach to your shoes and flash away with their three color lights. Tempting as it would be to announce the birth of the Gizmodo Roller Lights team, I don’t think it will happen*. But since these things are reminiscent of Heelys, those strange trainers-with-casters that make ver yoof of today look like they’re gliding along (as well as making them forget how to walk), and, at around $25, cost a third of the price, they are an alternative. Plus, you can borrow them when he’s at school and you’re late for work. *If anyone is interested, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Giz tee-shirts, yellow banana hammocks, plus the all important protective gear – I can see us now on America’s Got Talent. More »
