By the power of Grayskull and the Wii TV Guide Channel, I shall now use my Mighty Wiimote to ride the TV channels and command the TV volume, and from now on, thou shall be known as… TWiimote! At last, the circle is complete. [Nintendo Wii Fanboy]
The Simtrix Slider joins the list of strange pointing devices like the finger mouse designed for mobile computing. Held between thumb and finger, it’s designed to slide right over the keys on your laptop, making the whole keyboard a mousepad. Supposedly this offers efficiency savings, as your hands don’t have to dart off to a touchpad or grab a mouse, and Simtrix says it may reduce the risk of RSI. Seems like a good idea, though we wonder how you avoid dt causing typos dçe]by ?- rando,m keypresse;’ss. No idea when you’ll see it as a real product. [Simtrix via PCPro]
This Japanese mechanical urinal in Osaka is an all-laughing, all-singing clown with a huge mouth. Yes, you read that well: it sings and moves up and down as you pee in it. And it has teeth. I know. After seeing it in action, I found it so wrong on so many levels that I had to put the video after the jump for other sensitive souls like me.
Over 100,000 construction workers on the 2012 Olympics venue in London will be subjected to biometric tests while they build the site. The two-tier system will scan hands and faces, and should be up and running by June this year, when work starts on the 50-acre site. And these measures, part of the $700 million security budget, will not just be for the building contractors, either.
Moritz Waldemeyer, London-based shiny, spangly design person, has designed what must be the most expensive pair of spoke lights evah. Auctioned off at the ICA Gala Fundraiser in London last week, the Joyrider LEDs, which put a smile on the wheels of your bike, went for almost US$4,000. Perhaps that’s because they came attached to a couple of vintage-style bikes that Waldemeyer has designed.
According to a Circuit City employee in Chicago, the consumer electronics chain is trading in HD DVD players bought into their stores “within 3 months of the announcement,” as opposed to their 30-day return policy. According to the internal memo announcing the demise of the format, they will either give customers a Blu-ray player—paying the price difference, if any—or a gift card. The trade-in, however, will not be widely promoted and it will be only made available if the customer asks for it. Have any of you tried this? [Thanks Tony]
So, you’re at your desk typing away, but what are your feet doing? If they’re wandering about aimlessly, put them to work by investing in a Footime Mouse, which allows you to control your cursor by using feet-based gestures. Retailing at US$199, the Footime Mouse could actually provide great functionality for those with physical disabilities, or alternatively, it could help the chronically bored dispose of some free time.
We loved the Pleo when we reviewed it a little while back, and now the smallest dinosaur in town has just been updated for more fun times. The 1.0.2 update will allow Pleo to interact with its surroundings more convincingly, wake from rest if a noise is detected and support a new grouped singing function, which we can’t help but think is our little Pleo growing up and giving out the old mating call—those dino hormones sure are going to be tough to control. [Pleoworld;Thanks, Elvis. P]
The Samsung P200 notebook weighs in at a slightly obese 1.9 kilos, but it sure does pack in the features, including a 12.1-inch display (1280 x 800), Intel Core 2 Duo processor, ATI Radeon Xpress 1250 graphics card, Bluetooth, ExpressCard slot, two USB ports and an integrated 6-in-1 card reader. Additionally, the battery will supposedly kick out three hours of playtime. The P200 is available in Europe and Korea, retailing at around €999 ($1638), but it doesn’t look like it will be hitting Stateside shores too soon. If you’re thinking of importing, why not shed double the price on the better equipped X300 instead? [Gadgetell via Ubergizmo]
In case you were worried that digital SLRs would remain priced higher than point-and-shoots, Olympus is breaking down the US$500 barrier with its, well, US$499.99 E-420. (Kinda makes you feel like sparkin’ a doobie, don’t it?) Sure, it’ll cost you an extra hundred to get a 14-42mm starter lens, but this is the beginning of the truly affordable DSLR. That’s not the only thing Olympus is excited about though: the 380 gram E-420 is up to 40% lighter than other DSLRs in its class, and is being declared the “world’s smallest digital SLR” by its maker. All that while retaining Live View, a 10-megapixel sensor and a 2.7″ LCD. We can’t wait to try it out. Jump for press release and chart of freakishly detailed specs. Just one question, Olympus: What happened to the Evolt brand? AU: Pricing is yet to be announced for Australia, but you can expect to see it on shelves in May.
