Hasbro’s Room Tech Clock, which looks like a mix between an iPod and a Goomba, is an alarm clock with a wireless link to the shroom-shaped Room Tech Lamp. When the alarm goes off, two things happen; the alarm clock will either stomp its fists on the table making an awful racket, play back the radio or pump out tunes from a connected MP3 player. Secondly, the Room Tech Lamp, which is styled like a shroom-Martian hybrid, will be activated, bringing illumination to your dank, dingy room.
The PSP is becoming a formidable platform with gaming, Skype, music and video all under the hood, but what if the standard battery does not cut it? Sony Japan has just announced a 2200 mAh battery pack for the PSP slim, which will allow up to 7-11 hours of continuous gaming and 7-11 hours of video playback.
While the hot and heavy 700MHz a(u)ction is anonymously taking place behind closed doors, we do know a couple of big things have happened. That potential winning bid from Thursday was punked down by a surprise total bid of $4.74 billion. This is juicy because it indicates Google has probably been outbid—assuming it was the party that pushed the bid past the $4.6 billion open access reserve, as it had promised—most likely by Verizon, using some slightly complicated rule shuffling with the regional licenses comprising the block.
Annalee Newitz, editor of io9, posted some controversial photos of a robot on the scene of a suicide bombing in Israel. One of the worst shots includes the robot rolling over the bomber’s corpse to check if the body is rigged with a second batch of explosives. Readers are calling her names for posting such intense photos. But I think they’re wrong. WARNING: This post has very disturbing photos.
Okay, we’re not saying that wireless technology gives you tumors. The jury’s still out on that one. What we are saying is that rather than go through the painful process of setting up a wireless network to stream you’re Hi-Def porn collection illegally bittorrented home movies (the only legal type in Australia, really) from your PC to your TV, why not try streaming it through the powerlines?
The Billion BiPAC 2070 (sounds like an evil robot from the future) is a 200Mbps Ethernet over power plug that lets you stream content through the copper in the walls rather than the air. Because it’s so fast, there’s no need to worry about buffer streams or interference like you would with a wireless router.
You get two HomePlugs in a box for $229, which automatically creates an extended network. Grab a couple more for different rooms of your house and anybody can log onto your new super fast ADSL2+ network as well.
Of course, to stream your video, you’ll still need a separate box, like an Apple TV or a Netgear EVA8000. But as far as setting up a home networks go, this sounds about as easy as plugging in a powerpoint. Stay tuned for a review in the coming weeks.
[Billion]
The Spice Gun by Chinese designer Zhu Fei takes the rotating spice caster to a whole new level. Using an air bag that compresses when the trigger is pressed, the Spice Gun allows for the bottom of the seasoning bottle to be hit by the handspike, blasting seasoning all over your food. Details on on the Spice Gun are scarce. But if celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse were to use this thing, he would have to change his catchphrase from BAM to BANG. [designboom via dvice]
Hollywood wants ISPs such as Verizon to help filter and block the illegal transfer of copyrighted content. Unlike AT&T, Verizon is telling Hollywood to kiss its ass. Verizon EVP of Public Affairs Tom Tauke says they won’t consider Hollywood’s call to action for three reasons.
My electric bill for December was intense. I was out of the city two weeks of the month, and it was still $175. I live by myself in a one bedroom in a moderate climate. I think I need to start unplugging all my power strips when I leave home. Except the Sling, cable modem, router and TiVo’s power strip, of course.
TV-B-Gone + 30 infrared LEDs + mineral crystal lens + blue LED laser-like precision aim + PVC tubes + black paint = Judgement Day. And this time it’s personal, punks. [hacked gadgets]
The 1000mm Sigma we saw at PMA is nothing compared to this ultra rare Canon zoom. The retailer B&H photo has one of these, a 1200mm, F5.6 USM lens. They’ve been around since 1993, but are made to order at the rate of 2 per year, and there are less than 20 in existence. What the hell does 1200mm give you on a 35mm camera? A 2 percent field of vision. The cost? US$99,000.00…USED. Shot of the zoom vs a standard 50mm lens, post jump. [B&H, thanks to everyone who sent this in.]
