Friday, November 16, 2007

Friday, November 16, 2007
Online

Blackle Searches, Kind of Saves Energy, LCDs and Planet Earth

11:36PM Jesus Diaz | Probably all the US treehuggers ignored this but yesterday there was an international call for a five-minute blackout to save some watts and call attention to the staggering energy consumption on the planet. Too little you say? Try Blackle, a non-official version of Google, which claims to have saved 307,326 Watt hours by using a black background instead of the classic white. Anything that may save some cents from my bill and minutes from my monitor life is welcome, but is this real? AU: The guys at Techlogg tested 27 monitors and found absolutely no power saving on flat panels. There was a genuine saving on CRTs, but not the 15 watts the site claims. Techlogg averaged 10 watts. So if you’re on a CRT, bookmark it. If not, ignore it. -SB More »
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Home

Teardrop-shaped iPod Dock is Showerproof

10:52PM Addy Dugdale | Zumreed’s raindrop-shaped iPod dock is waterproof, so it’s perfect for singing along to sad songs in the shower, if you’re that kind of person. Available in three colors, white, turquoise and orange, it weighs just over a pound, costs $49.95 and is compatible with most 4th- and 5th-gen iPods. [AudioCubes via Sci-Fi Tech] More »
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Random Stuff

WW2 code-breaker behemoth Colossus was beaten …

10:23PM Addy Dugdale | WW2 code-breaker behemoth Colossus was beaten by amateur Joachim Schuth in yesterday’s code-cracking challenge. Bonn-based Schuth had written his own suite of software specially for the challenge. [BBC Online] More »
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Games

SNES Controller for Wii Makes Me Go So Nice

8:00PM Jesus Diaz | If you are a virtual console fan, a Club Nintendo member and live in Japan, here’s the perfect retro gamepad for your Nintendo Wii: a Super Nintendo Entertainment System controller for the Wii. It will be out in April of next year and hopefully it will be such a raging success that Nintendo will have to rerelease it commercially all over the world, may Godzilla destroy their headquarters and kick Satoru Iwata’s butt if they don’t do that. Verdict: Gimme. [Gamebrink] More »
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Games

Pyramat Gaming Chair Helps You Keep Up Appearances in the Office

7:40PM Addy Dugdale | A wireless gaming chair for desktop gamers is a cool idea, although it’s not as cool as this massage gaming chair from a few weeks back. In the sheltered little life that I scuzz around in, gaming chairs are floor-height cack-magnets, rocking delights such as sweat patches, condiment stains, popcorn husks that look like toenail clippings, toenail clippings and other assorted umska that acts as girlfriend repellent, not to mention the sweet smell of eau de sweaty butt crack. Full specs and price below. More »
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Design

Packaging Lamps Look Better with the Lights Off

7:12PM Addy Dugdale | Anke Weiss has designed these neat lights made from packaging, by pricking holes in soap boxes and juice cartons. There is one problem, however: More »
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Hardware

Seiko High-Res Super-Thin EBook Reader

4:20PM Brian Lam | More E-Book News, this one a prototype from Seiko Epson, makers of the cool E-ink watch. The device’s form factor is at least as thin as Sony’s Reader, but it has a 1200×1600 display. That’s a lot of res on that 6.7-inch screen. UPDATE: Res independence, good point brilliant readers. [MobileRead via TechnoBob] More »
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Gadgets

Thanko USB Heating Pad

3:37PM Brian Lam | The Thanko USB Heating pad has the unique position of being potentially useful as we enter the colder months. Then again, there’s no way this thing puts out more heat than a modern CPU/GPU combo. Just put your notebook on your lap, and watch your man-bits. [Akihabara] More »
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Lars and Ivan iPod Dock Small In Size, Big On Sound

2:05PM Adrian Covert | Lars & Ivan’s entry into the iPod Dock market is not the typical do-it-all, moderately-powered device. Instead, the PA-40Ti Hybrid is a tube-based 40-watt amplifier that hooks up to whatever speakers you so desire. It also looks like some sort of utopian alien fortress, but I digress. Additional features include RCA inputs, subwoofer preamp and dock connector output (for video and usb connectivity). Belgian retailer designgadgets currently has the Hybrid available for about $342 USD. [designgadgets via technabob] More »
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Vehicles

Nissan GT-R My New Fav Geek Car

1:58PM Brian Lam | As car geek icons go, there’s the Tesla, the Prius, and for me the Japanese Nissan GT-R supercar, which was unveiled at the LA Auto Show yesterday. Ray at Jalop calls it the GTR-Zilla, but I’ll prematurely call it geek car of the coming year, lack of electric power be damned. I swear, this post gets gadgety somewhere through. He keeps telling me the Corvette Z06 will kill it dead, and who am I to argue with a car meat head like Ray. But I still love this thing. A lot of that has to do with the instrument cluster, designed in conjunction with game-designers from the Playstation’s Gran Turismo series, pushing a driver into stat and chart overload. A lot of that also has to do with the factory-spec’s insane 480HP from a twin-turbo charged V6. Of course, getting that power to the ground for it’s 3.5-second zero-to-sixty time takes a lot of rubber or a lot of technology, and in this case it has to do with an increasingly complex electronically-managed AWD system that in detailed function is one of the last remaining tech secrets of the car. More »
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