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Japanese Researchers Recycle Old Mobile Phone Parts into PCs
Posted by Addy Dugdale at 11:53 PM on November 23, 2007
Recycled mobile phone parts are being used alongside circuit boards to make pocket-sized PCs. A team of engineers at Hokuto System is behind the idea, which will be available in Japan before the end of the year, and is known as DVIEW. It won't, however, be available to consumers. Instead, they will be used in shops as a self-contained point-of-sale display. Specs are below.
Technohouse showed off the Lifefast, a radical transparent, 360º LED display unit at the Inter BEE 2007 fair in Japan. Placed at right angles to each other in the Lifefast's cylindrical design are four bars, each fitted with 600 three-color LEDs, which revolve between 12 and 13 times per second, flashing up images. More info and pics below.
While I still wait, breath a-bated, for the arrival of the USB trouser press from either Thanko or Solid Alliance, the sheer genius of some USB products never fail to impress me — like this Optiwind mouse, from Brando. And those of you out there with sweaty palms through too much hot desktop action (or a recognised medical condition) will salute Brando's ingenious mouse-fan hybrid. Full specs and price below.
This mallet is the most ingenious thing I've seen for a long time. While not normally a fan of flat-pack stuff — the only thing I have ever assembled from scratch (a wooden shelving unit from 
Skype's encryption codes are proving a problem for German police, who say that their officers are unable to monitor suspect conversations. One of the country's top cops admitted yesterday that the combination of VoIP technology and Germany's strict anti-surveillance laws — a reaction to the Stasi's exploits during the Cold War — is making it harder to keep tabs on criminal and terrorist activity in the country.
Even if governments aren't 
Most of my friends play World of Warcraft. I don't. I suspect that these hilarious new spots featuring cult icons Mr. T and William Shatner are aimed at me—if you're not a geek or know nothing about the game, they have little appeal, like an 
If you are a die-hard PC user, but you have always been a little jealous of Front Row on Macs, this USB Media remote can provide a solution. The device allows you to play music, flip through photos, watch movies and control Windows Media Center all from an inexpensive remote that fits neatly into your laptop PCMCIA Slot. Other features include: a range of 30 feet and support for Windows Vista, XP, 2000 and ME. It is not the first time we have come across a 
The next time you strap on that goofy helmet and head out on your bike to work, consider adding a pair of these Windrider Bicycle Clips to your ensemble. They protect your pant cuffs from rips and stains caused by the bicycle chain, and they are made from a reflective PVC for night-time riding. And don't worry, the people pointing and laughing are just jealous about how badass you look. Available for $15. [
You've barely finished swallowing that bite of turkey and stuffing when BAM! the onslaught of Christmas crap begins. We feel your pain, but the Senario digital photo frame Christmas-tree ornament might actually be cool enough to justify the whole holiday spirit thing. This festive ball has an embedded 1.5" display and enough memory for a 50-picture slideshow. Unfortunately, Mac lovers are out of luck since the frame only supports Windows 2000, XP and Vista. You can snatch one up from Wal-Mart for about $US30. [
What do you have to be thankful for? When Thanksgiving comes around every year, it makes us start thinking about all that is good in the gadget world. The Gizmodo team got together this morning and started blurting out stuff, all the (mostly) gadget-related things that we're glad to have around. The result is this long—but by no means comprehensive or in order of preference—list of all we're thankful for. Please, feel free to add anything we've missed, and Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope you've enjoyed your unhealthy overeating and awkward familial encounters. While you take a break from watching football, fighting with your dad, or forcing yourself to throw up, I invite you to take in some brilliance provided by your fellow Gizmodo readers. The challenge was to bring the first Thanksgiving into the 21st century. We didn't get as many entries as past contests, and I think they all used the same, say, three source images, but that's not to say this Gallery of Champions is any less impressive than past galleries. So now, onward, to the victors!
I admit it: even though I barely play my PSP, I'm absolutely in love with the platform and its future of connectivity to the PS3. So when Sony starts talking about a PlayStation phone
The holidays are all about candy, and nothing says holiday sweets like a set of chocolate tools. Wait, is that right? We know there are chocolate shaped bunnies, Champaign bottles and even 
Other than the teenage, female demographic, I'm not quite sure who would want a gold-plated phone, or go through the trouble of sticking a bunch of little plastic squares all over it. The idea is that one could customise their phone on a whim, but it seems like doing so would be tedious. It's a good idea in theory, I guess. But so were MySpace's customisable pages. And we all know how that turned out. [
Too many times have my Karate Kid "one-strike-per-nail" experiments gone wrong. This simple device holds your nail in the middle of a piece of plastic with a cross slice that holds a nail but lets the head pass through when you're finished pounding. Brilliant, but the people too busy to hammer carefully don't have time to fumble with gear, either. Plus, we'll make fun of them. [
As a follow-up to my post on the 
The "Bay Watch" bikini life jacket concept is brilliant on three levels: It can help save lives, it is much more attractive to wear than traditional life jackets and your likelihood of being saved by a male lifeguard in the area probably increases ten-fold when you are wearing it. Plus, it looks as though there is some additional padding in the rear to achieve J-Lo levels of buoyancy. Again, it is only a concept at this point, but it certainly has mounds of potential. [
Analog X-ray machines could be a thing of the past, thanks to Samsung's new film-free version. Measuring 45 x 46 cm, the Flat-Panel X-Ray Detector, or FPXD, boasts a 3072 x 3072 resolution, or 9.4 Megapixels. The Korean firm claims it will replace existing X-ray machines faster than digital cameras replaced film ones. Here's how it works:
