Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Intelligent Coconuts Working to Stop Airport Noise
11:50PM Gizmodo US Edition | Intelligent coconuts are the latest invention to come out of the MIT Media Lab, designed to combat excessive airport noise. They have built-in noise sensors, and will be hung on trees surrounding San Jose International Airport. When they detect a jet coming in louder than it should they use their built-in phone to call the airport complaint hotline and leave one of four pre-recorded messages. Check out the clips after the jump. AU: I can’t believe they missed the opportunity for a Gilligan’s Island joke – it’s a coconut with a phone in it FFS! -SB More »
Bombproof and Bulldozerproof Speed Camera is Waaaatching Youuuu
11:40PM Addy Dugdale | Anyone who thought that the Dutch were a liberal race might think again if they come up against the IDEE machine. Standing for Innovative Digital Enforcement Environment, this 13-feet-high speed camera has just about everything it needs to resist an attack from an angry motorist. The IDEE, which costs anything between $60,000 and $100,000, incorporates just about every single anti-vandal measurement known to delinquent man in its design. The camera’s enclosed electronics are insulated against extreme heat, and the main pillar can resist just about any fire. A thick steel base prevents the camera from being removed forcibly from the ground, and protects the device from being rammed by a pissed commuter. Impact-resistant polycarbonate glass protects the camera and flash. If the tower is attacked, then an alert goes to the local cop shop. All the data already recorded is sent to be downloaded at a traffic control base. More »
Electric Heated Rug from Panasonic
11:40PM Gizmodo US Edition | Panasonic has released a range of electric rugs into the Japanese market that heat up to a toasty 114 degrees. At first glance this seems like an extravagant waste of power, but it’s actually very green. If you’re sitting in the living room watching a movie, then you only need to heat the rug to get warm, not the whole house. Never before has saving energy been so romantic. More »
Dream Egg Vibrator. Be Kinky, and Proud Of It
11:30PM Gizmodo US Edition | If you love technology, then why hide it away? You’d show off a new phone, iPod or laptop, but not a vibrator. It doesn’t seem fair. The LoveHoney Dream Egg doesn’t shy away from attention though – not only is it bright pink, but it’s also a key ring. Check out a perfectly work safe video after the jump. More »
Bluetooth D-Snap Player from Panasonic
10:50PM Gizmodo US Edition | The new D-Snap SV-SD950N from Panasonic is Bluetooth-enabled, so can pair with your phone and control some call functions. It has an SD slot, but only comes bundled with a rather stingy 1GB card. Battery life is good, at an estimated 60 hours, but is a drop from the previous D-Snap models without Bluetooth. More »1200-Feet High Zip Line the School Bus for Colombian Kids
8:16PM Addy Dugdale | There’s a South African zip line that claims to be the highest one in the world. But how about this one that takes Colombian kids from their hillside village to school? Well, faced with one minute of eyeball-spinning terror 1200 feet above the jungle, or a two-and-a-half hour hike, which one would you take? [Spluch] More »
Hands On the Nokia XpressMusic 5310/5610 Phone (Verdict: Tight Design)
8:10PM Brian Lam | The Nokia XpressMusic line phones have been kind of junky and low end. That ended sometime between then and today’s unveiling of the 5310 slim candy bar (above) and the 5610 slider. Both have build qualities approaching that of the Samsung Ultra phones, with bright screens, textured backplates and aluminum bits all over. The 5610 slider has a 2.2-inch screen, 3.2MP camera, a microSD slot, and Europe-band 3G. To flip between music and the main menu, there is a toggle on the face that felt great to thumb, and the switch had backlighting. More »
Sony NWZ-A818BLK Video Walkman now Packing 8GB
8:09PM Addy Dugdale | Sony has boosted the memory size of its Video Walkman up to 8GB. Available in four colors – white, black, silver and metallic pink, the NWZ-A818 still isn’t the most beautiful machine on the block. Specs, price and shipping date after the jump. More »
Hands On the Nokia N81 (Verdict: Really Loud Music Phone)
8:00PM Brian Lam | You’ve already seen photos, but you haven’t yet been told why the N81, which just went live, is special. Unlike the N9x series handsets this one’s designed around music and gaming, not its camera taking abilities. That explains why its MP rating is a mere 2MP and it’s not armed with a Carl Zeiss lens. That also explains why Nokia put the loudest speakers I’ve ever heard on a mobile phone on this thing: More »
