Monday, February 25, 2008
Phones
Jon Stewart, Bored With Oscars, Pulls Out iPhone
11:54PM Mark Wilson | Never before has the futility of watching films on such a tiny screen been so well encapsulated as when Jon Stewart enjoyed Lawrence of Arabia on the Oscar stage last night. If you missed it, we won’t spoil the joke for you. But even after Stewart’s cultural nod/low blow to the iPhone, Jobs got the last laugh as he was thanked later during Pixar’s Best Animated Film acceptance speech. More »
Cameras
Sony Performance Cyber-shots Come in Small (W300) and Large (H50)
11:00PM Wilson Rothman | Today you can take your pick of two mid-priced high-performance Cyber-shot cameras from Sony, the 9-megapixel H50 with the 15X zoom lens for US$400 and the W300, a 13.6-megapixel pocket point-and-shoot for US$350. More »
Vehicles
Paddle-Wheel Propeller Designs Take Flight, 115 Years Late
10:46PM Gizmodo US Edition | Researchers in Singapore have demoed a flying model that uses a strange paddle-wheel-like propeller design that was first patented in 1893. The cyclogyro’s flat whirling propeller-blades look like the comical contraptions built in the years before and after the Wright brothers flights, but could potentially be more efficient and quieter than those currently used on aircraft. More »
Press
Megatron Jailed for Smuggling Drugs, Probably Lubricant Too
10:16PM Jesus Diaz | Megatron has been jailed for six years and six months for a drugs crime. Not this one or this one, but Megatron Eardley-Wilmot, a Deceptimbecile from New Zealand who imported $100,000 of methamphetamine and ecstasy. His defense, according to his lawyer, is that he was a “normal guy” until “he had an accident and suffered a serious head injury.” And then he changed his name to Megatron. Your honour, I rest my case. [Stuff.co.nz] More »
Gadgets
NTT RedTacton Device Turns Your Body Into Swipe Card
10:03PM Gizmodo US Edition | Japanese telecom company NTT is soon to launch a product that transmits data via your body, effectively turning you into a touch-technology swipe card. RedTacton is a card-like gadget that you simply carry anywhere on your person, and it transmits data via electric fields&mdash a world’s first according to NTT. More »
Phones
Nokia Morph Mobile Rolls Up, Stretches, Cleans Itself
8:55PM Gizmodo US Edition | Nokia’s new Morph concept phone would use nanotechnology to give it a flexible body with a transparent display that could be re-shaped depending on the user’s needs, a far cry from today’s solid and chunky devices. Even the electronics inside it would be transparent and flexible, so the whole phone may be twisted and stretched into bracelet shapes or tablet form, and nanotech cleverness means it would even clean itself. Developed in cooperation with Cambridge University, this glimpse of a distant future is now on display at the MoMA in New York. Jump for video and yadda-yadda press release. More »
Gadgets
New Botanicalls Lets Plants Communicate Using Twitter
7:07PM Gizmodo US Edition | The new version of Botanicalls can now talk to Twitter. It uses an Arduino electronics board connected to a notebook, and some soil moisture probes crafted from a couple of galvanised nails. Your plant can then send out a Twitter alert when it’s thirsty, detect when its been over- or under-watered and let you know about that, and it can even signal its thanks. So, if you’re off on vacation and your office-mates have abandoned your desk greenery, your plants can now automatically point the (green) finger at them. [Botanicalls via Make] More »
Gadgets
Solar Dragonfly Flaps Wings Feebly, Makes Us Sad
3:59PM Haroon Malik | James Watts spends his time putting together fantastic insect-bot sculptures, and the Solar Dragonfly is one of the best. The solar panels running down the body actually power the wings, which are then kicked into motion using a pager motor. Sure, it looks swell, but we can’t help but think the Solar Dragonfly would lose its balance while flapping its wings feebly, all the while wishing it was a real dragonfly. How would Disney have tackled that one? A solar powered dragonfly that wants to be a real insect—now there’s a cartoon we want to see. Pixar, hop to it. Hit the link for some more great shots. [Clockwork Robot via Make] More »
Gadgets
2:23PM Nick Broughall | A thought came to me as my fiancee and I spent every waking moment of our weekend working on last minute details for our wedding: why don’t you hear about cool wedding gadgets?
I mean, every bride and groom have a registry including all kinds of household items, but outside of toasters, there isn’t really that much that tickled my fancy. So this morning I’ve been roting around in the archives to discover the kind of gadgety goodness I would be happy to receive at my wedding. And yes, you can feel free to take this as a hint…
Make Your Wedding Gadget-tastic!
2:23PM Nick Broughall | A thought came to me as my fiancee and I spent every waking moment of our weekend working on last minute details for our wedding: why don’t you hear about cool wedding gadgets?
I mean, every bride and groom have a registry including all kinds of household items, but outside of toasters, there isn’t really that much that tickled my fancy. So this morning I’ve been roting around in the archives to discover the kind of gadgety goodness I would be happy to receive at my wedding. And yes, you can feel free to take this as a hint…
Phones
