As if you needed yet another household object to hide a spy cam in, here’s a book camera. It hides a pinhole camera and microphone and can record video for you to check out from afar. The only problem? It’ll cost you over $1,500, which is more than some therapy to get you over your addiction to peeping would set you back. Oh, another problem would be trying to sneak that Marcia Clark book into someone’s shelf without them noticing. I mean, really, is that the most subtle book they could find? Were they out of copies of I Might Be Wrong, But I Doubt It by Charles Barkley? [Product Page via Red Ferret]
I suppose it was only a matter of time before a company decided to use the same E-Ink technology found in the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader on a watch. Now that someone has, the result is interesting but slightly underwhelming. At the push of a button, users can change the watch face design —unfortunately, these changes are confined to a black and white face and various digital and analogue configurations. It is a decent first try, but the technology probably won’t be truly useful in this capacity until colour E-ink displays become available. Available for $250. [Product Page via Wrist Dreams via OhGizmo]
If you are a collector, chances are that you wouldn’t mind having one of these replica gadgets from your favourite game, TV show, or movie show up under the tree (or in the driveway) this holiday. Unfortunately, getting your hands on one is easier said than done. Limited availability and obscene price tags are going to be major obstacles in scoring these geeky holy grails, but not to worry, once you’re done drooling, there’s another gallery of more affordable replicas after the break.
Next-Generation Nintendo DS Mock-Up Another Giz want.
RIAA Argues Songs Ripped to Your Computer for Personal Use Are “Unauthorised Copies” First they’re awarded with $250,000 for 24 pirated songs and now this. Seriously?!
Microsoft Offers Free Software in Exchange for Your Privacy Unfortunately, big brother Microsoft is only tracking US residents.
BusinessWeek Says Blu-ray Ahead; Analysts Predict HD DVD FTW Hmmm…anyone else remember the time when “analysts” were “predicting” Blu-ray FTW?
Smarter Honda ASIMO Can Self-Charge, Avoid People, Work In Groups It still walks funny though.
Dell Latitude XT Tablet PC Gets Official At Under 1.8kg With Capacitive Touch Portable, affordable but no word yet on Australian release.
MPK, a company that has made a name producing glow-in-the-dark paint, has developed self-luminous micro particles called Litrospheres. The new material is said to be inexpensive (40 cents to light up a 8 ½ x 11 piece of plastic that is 1/8″ thick), non-toxic, and capable of staying constantly lit for over 12 years thanks to a betavoltaic technology that uses a radioactive gas.
It’s rare that people are clumsy enough to take their phones close enough to a pool to drop it in, but accidentally slipping it into the toilet is another matter. If these people are iPhone owners, then they need the H2O Audio iFR Ruggedized Case, which wraps the phone in a water-resistant seal that protects against drops, shocks, and scratching. Even though their previous products have been waterproof, we’re not sure if this particular one is completely sealed or just water resistant. Either way, it beats having to fake-cry to the Apple Genius for them to fix your phone. [PRNewswire]
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Yes, you read it correctly: The street lights in the Indian town of Thiruneermalai are run on digested curry. As National Geographic describes it, the human waste from an area housing complex collects in a sump, where the methane gas produced by the “sludge” is used to operate a generator. This biogas produces 3,000 watts of electricity daily, enough to keep the town bright at night. And you thought ovens running on garbage were gross. A friend who lived there this past spring tells me it never smelled bad, but then again, he’s been known to generate a fair share of biogas himself. (Just kidding, Gelf!) [National Geographic]
Amazon’s Kindle e-Book device gets its first third-party content provider support in the form of Fictionwise, who adds over 15k books to Amazon’s already extensive library. Unlike first-party books, you can’t directly download the books via the Kindle. You have to first download them onto your computer and sync via USB, or email them to yourself and pay the 10 cent fee. Quite a pain in the ass. Unless of course you can purchase this book, then it’s totally worth it. [Fictionwise via Electronista]
• Vivid Video is suing PornoTube over copyright infringement. I never thought I’d say this, but I hate you, Vivid Video. [Ars Technica] • Facebook Beacon isn’t only invasive and potentially embarassing, it may also be illegal. [Boing Boing] • The BudCase stores your ear buds on your keychain. I need this, and for $17, I may just get it. I can’t count the number of times I’ve forgotten mine and had to talk to people on the subway when I could be listening to my tunes. [product page via Red Ferret]
The NES emulator for the iPhone was hard enough to control with the touchscreen that we can’t imagine how frustrating it would be to try and play a PlayStation 1 game on the iPhone or iTouch. Luckily for us this is still a work in progress and these screens (bonus one after the jump) that show button placement aren’t quite final. What we do know is that screen scaling will be improved, sound will be supported, there will be four face buttons and 75% of games will be compatible. It would be 1000% better if someone could hook up a wireless Bluetooth controller to the iPhone/iTouch to play this instead of smashing the screen with your fingers, covering up parts of the action. [Zodttd]
