Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Gadgets
Porcupine, The Weaponised Flashlight: Blinding, Slashing, Worrying
11:57PM Gizmodo US Edition | Okay, the flashlight machine gun was alarming enough, but now there’s also the Pentagon Porcupine weaponised flashlight. A kind of all-in-one gadget for the frightened, it can help you find your car keys if you drop them in the dark, and/or blind and wound an attacker. Or victim, for that matter. More »
Phones
Plug It Phone Charm Contains Cunningly Disguised Data Cable
11:05PM Haroon Malik | If you thought the phrase “useful phone charm” was inherently oxymoronic, please meet Plug It’s phone charm offering. It looks like a hunk of plastic junk, until you split it open to reveal a complete data cable. More »
Gadgets
Ubisoft’s DS Pedometer, Get Fit With Your Gaming System
10:20PM Gizmodo US Edition | Wii-fit, schmii-fit: why go tromping boringly up and down on a plastic pedestal when you can use Ubisoft’s new DS pedometer to help get fit with healthy outdoor exercise? It’s designed to complement the cute My Weight Loss Coach DS software—simply carry it around with you all day, on your jogs and walks, then plug it in to your DS’s GBA slot to download data on your fat-fighting. We guess you’ll have to be pretty dedicated to getting fit though: if the system gives bad news on your performance it’d be too easy to unplug and cheer yourself up with some Mario Karting. Out in Summer, in Europe at first. [DSfanboy] More »
Screens
Panasonic Shows Off Full HD Viera LCD TVs
9:25PM Haroon Malik | We first took notice at CES, and today Panasonic has refreshed their excellent Viera LCD range. The new flagship model goes by the sexy moniker, TX-37LZ800. The other new entrants include the LZ80 Series, TX-37LZ85 and TX-32LZ85, which will all be full HD (1080p) capable, have three HDMI inputs and boast 10,000:1 contrast ratios. Available this month, the new sets will also pack in Real Pro 3 picture technology, which is coined as a new image optimisation enhancement, allowing for “images of mesmerising beauty.” Obviously, it’s all very technical. Panasonic, not content with dropping all those goodies for the full HD display searching hordes, also plans an April launch of even better TV sets. More »
Peripherals
Belkin’s Mashup Surge Protector and USB Charger is Perfect, Tiny
9:00PM Gizmodo US Edition | I was desperate for a product just like Belkin’s mini surge protector and USB charger combo yesterday, as I struggled behind my desk with the nest of wires, power bricks and surge protection to find my phone charger. Taking the small-is-neat approach, Belkin looks to have tackled their Dual USB Power Adapter and Monster Power Outlets to Go and made them one handy package. Sure, it won’t change the world, but it’s a nifty product that might tidy your home up a bit. If only it came with Euro-shaped sockets, I find myself thinking. Out soon for US$25. [Belkin and CNET crave] More »
Home
Kwikset Smartkey System is Unbumpable, Can Learn New Keys
8:34PM Gizmodo US Edition | The everyday front-door lock has had a bit of an overhaul with Kwikset’s Smartkey system. Firstly it’s designed to be unbumpable, so you can feel more secure when you leave your home. What’s bumping, you ask? A way for nefarious types to defeat the lock by quickly shoving in a trick key, taking just seconds to do— apparently many normal locks are easy to defeat. Secondly, by using a special adaptor, you can actually teach the lock to use a new key. Fancy using any old key, or changing keys once a week? Easypeasy, and handy for keeping unwanted mothers-in-law at bay. [Apartmenttherapy] More »
Online
3:41PM Nathan Taylor | Is somebody out to get Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales? Just a few weeks after being embroiled in an accounting scandal, Wales has been accused of modifying Wikipedia entries in return for donations to the site.
Jeff Merkey, a former computer scientist at Novell, has said that, in return for US$5000 in donations in 2006, Wales agreed to modify Merkey’s Wikipedia entry to make it more flattering. Investigations have revelealed that Merkey did indeed make the donations and that Wales did modify the entry, but Wales is saying that the two things aren’t related.
In any case, $5000 seems like a lot of money to get a Wikipedia entry modified, given that anybody (including Merkey himself) could have made those modifications. We’re pretty sure we could find a few people willing to change an entry for considerably less money (we reckon $50 and a subscription to Playboy Online could probably get it done). [SMH]
More »
Jimmy Wales Involved in New Cash for Wiki Scandal
3:41PM Nathan Taylor | Is somebody out to get Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales? Just a few weeks after being embroiled in an accounting scandal, Wales has been accused of modifying Wikipedia entries in return for donations to the site.
Jeff Merkey, a former computer scientist at Novell, has said that, in return for US$5000 in donations in 2006, Wales agreed to modify Merkey’s Wikipedia entry to make it more flattering. Investigations have revelealed that Merkey did indeed make the donations and that Wales did modify the entry, but Wales is saying that the two things aren’t related.
In any case, $5000 seems like a lot of money to get a Wikipedia entry modified, given that anybody (including Merkey himself) could have made those modifications. We’re pretty sure we could find a few people willing to change an entry for considerably less money (we reckon $50 and a subscription to Playboy Online could probably get it done). [SMH]
More »
Random Stuff
3:02PM Nathan Taylor | When British telcos introduced ultra-cheap text messaging, they obviously weren’t considering the health implications. We’re not talking about SMS thumb, RSI or getting beat up because you decided that texting during the movie was not, in fact, incredibly annoying for everybody else in the cinema. We’re talking about lampposts.
Apparently the problem of people stupidly walking into lampposts while texting has become such an epidemic in London that the government there has started wrapping lamp posts in rugby-style thick padding. Ten posts in Brick Lane in East London have been wrapped in the padding, and if all goes well the plan it to add padding to posts in other “danger zones” throughout the city.
More »
When Lampposts Attack
3:02PM Nathan Taylor | When British telcos introduced ultra-cheap text messaging, they obviously weren’t considering the health implications. We’re not talking about SMS thumb, RSI or getting beat up because you decided that texting during the movie was not, in fact, incredibly annoying for everybody else in the cinema. We’re talking about lampposts.
Apparently the problem of people stupidly walking into lampposts while texting has become such an epidemic in London that the government there has started wrapping lamp posts in rugby-style thick padding. Ten posts in Brick Lane in East London have been wrapped in the padding, and if all goes well the plan it to add padding to posts in other “danger zones” throughout the city.
More »
Hardware
2:40PM Nathan Taylor | The weirdest (and possibly coolest) accessory for the Nintendo Wii is coming to our shores on May 8.
The Wii Fit is a board that you perform exercises on: pushups, handstands, yoga, hula hoops (no, we’re not joking about that last one), whatever. The Fit and the Wii keep track your weight and body mass index, maintain a database of how many exercises you have performed and provide tutorials on proper fitness. There are even a few balance games like ski jump and tightrope walk you can play on it.
The Wii Fit will set you back $149.95, and no, you probably can’t claim it on your health insurance.
More »
Wii Fit Coming in May
2:40PM Nathan Taylor | The weirdest (and possibly coolest) accessory for the Nintendo Wii is coming to our shores on May 8.
The Wii Fit is a board that you perform exercises on: pushups, handstands, yoga, hula hoops (no, we’re not joking about that last one), whatever. The Fit and the Wii keep track your weight and body mass index, maintain a database of how many exercises you have performed and provide tutorials on proper fitness. There are even a few balance games like ski jump and tightrope walk you can play on it.
The Wii Fit will set you back $149.95, and no, you probably can’t claim it on your health insurance.
More »
Networks
2:13PM Nathan Taylor | One of the great things about Internet security companies is that they love to send out little factoids about which country is currently screwing over all the other countries. This week it was Sophos that sent out a release detailing the breakdown of spam-relaying countries, adjusted for population.
It turns out that on a per-capita basis, The Pitcairn Islands emits more spam than any other nation. At number two is Niue, and eight other nations that you probably couldn’t find on a map round out the top ten.
More »
Australia Only 85th on List of Top International Spammers: Vows to Try Harder
2:13PM Nathan Taylor | One of the great things about Internet security companies is that they love to send out little factoids about which country is currently screwing over all the other countries. This week it was Sophos that sent out a release detailing the breakdown of spam-relaying countries, adjusted for population.
It turns out that on a per-capita basis, The Pitcairn Islands emits more spam than any other nation. At number two is Niue, and eight other nations that you probably couldn’t find on a map round out the top ten.
More » 