Sunday, March 16, 2008
Gadgets
USB Mini Mouse Speaker Forgets its Input Obligations
3:59PM Haroon Malik | Brando’s USB Mini Mouse Speaker is a great little portable speaker, which connects via 3.5mm stereo jack to any sound output. The speaker charges via an included USB cable and it is sure to bring the house down with the thumping 2W output. If you are worried you won’t look the image of cool with the USB Mini Mouse, put those ludicrous notions aside, it comes with a neck strap so you can pimp Flavor Flav styles effortlessly. Phew! More »
Hardware
Armari eXtreme Concept Prototype is Liquid Nitrogen Cooled PC Beast
2:59PM Haroon Malik | Armari’s eXtreme Concept Prototype (XCP) super computer is made of some 100 uniquely designed parts, is either cooled by liquid nitrogen, liquid flurocarbon immersion or thermoelectric cooling and phase change, depending on the model’s configuration and has the ability to run 24/7 without needing to shutdown. The XCP will happily function through a temperature range of -110°C to 90°C and being built on Intel’s Skulltrail platform, the XCP happily packs quite some power under its Lost in Space-esque hood. More »
Gadgets
iPod Pictured Onboard Space Shuttle Endeavour
2:30PM Haroon Malik | A TUAW reader has managed to spot an iPod onboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, which is currently floating around in a giant vacuum. The hawk-eyed reader spotted the iPod from official NASA photos, which showed the device, barely visible, through a cabin window. Interestingly, iPods cannot be taken into space willy-nilly. In fact, the usual lithium battery must be replaced with specially designed alkaline alternatives to ensure safety standards are met. That seems like a lot of planning to us, which is part of the reason we won’t be leaving planet Earth anytime soon. Another equally valid reason is because we are not qualified astronauts. If you are having difficulty recovering from the shock of this new information, please sit down and drink some water. Jump for a zoomed out shot of the space shuttle, which indicates the founder was either very bored or has awesome Superman-like eyesight. You decide. More »
Hardware
Norhtec Gecko Laptop is Another Eee
2:00PM Haroon Malik | Norhtec is set to release a UMPC Eee competitor, called the Gecko, which will run Linpus Linux Lite. The new OS is specifically designed for ultra portable platforms, but the Gecko will not be bound to Norhtec’s operating system of choice, as other distributions of Linux and Windows will also be supported. The Gecko will retail for somewhere south of US$300, have a 1GHz Via C7M ULV CPU, an optional PATA hard disk and what appears to be a 7-inch display. A formal announcement is expected to “happen soon,” but in the meantime, a shot of the Linpus UI should tide you over. Jump for your UMPC Linux fix. More »
Random Stuff
ICQ, the Toothpaste
12:30PM Jason Chen | Everyone remembers ICQ, the first widely-used instant messaging application that’s all but dead in most of the world now. The Israeli software company that developed the suite before it was purchased by AOL has just partnered with a big Israeli pharmacy company called CTS to release this ICQ toothpaste, which our tipster claims will “help P2P communication (person to person) while reducing bad breath.” Weird, yet really really cool. On a related note, I’ve got a low six-digit ICQ number. How long is yours? [Thanks Nir!] More »
Gadgets
MIT Media Lab’s Siftables Are Cool, But Ultimately Useless
11:30AM Jason Chen | These Siftables from MIT Media Labs are small Post It-sized displays with processing power built in, allowing it to communicate with other Siftables as well as detect motion and proximity. You’ll have to see what that means in the video, as they have different examples of shaking these Siftables, connecting them together, and having each respond accordingly to the one next to it. In its current form it’s just a neat toy that doesn’t really do much, but if you can adapt this to say, mobile phones or MP3 players—stuff people actually carry around with them every day—it might make for some neat interactivity when you and your friends meet up and make your iPhones kiss. [MIT via OhGizmo] More »
Phones
Varioptic and Seiko to Bring Liquid Lenses to Mobile Phones, Finally
10:30AM Haroon Malik | Varioptic has been talking about bringing liquid lenses to mobile phones since 2005, but now they have teamed up with Seiko and the watery dreams look to be coming alive. Liquid lenses have the added benefit of being speedier and less power hungry than conventional lenses, but the release of Varioptic’s pioneering technology for mobile phones has been in the pipe lines for almost two years. Thankfully, Seiko has stepped up to the mark, coining a mass production date of Q3, 2008. The initial models that will be created are the Arctic 314 and Arctic 416, which rate 5 mega pixels in 0.33-inch and 0.25-inch modules. The faster lenses should see an increase in video capture quality and battery life for mobile phones adopting the new standard, which can only be a good thing. Jump for the press release. More »
Online
Japanese ISPs Plan To Cut Off P2P Pirates
9:30AM Gizmodo US Edition | Japanese internet service providers plan on disconnecting evil filesharing pirates in some of the most severe anti-p2p tactics worldwide. Due to pressure from music, video game and movie companies, the ISPs would warn the offender via email before cutting the cord if the bootlegger in question didn’t cease and desist. Though such a punishment may not seem as bad as the multimillion-dollar fines levied by the RIAA in the US, we think a life without internet may be worse than one without money. [AFP] More »
Gadgets
Exmocare BT2 Allows Your Employers To Monitor Your Emotions, Arousal Level
8:00AM Jason Chen | Exmocare’s released emotion-monitoring watches before, but this BT2 model seems to be directed at the service industry, meaning that bosses can use these wristbands to monitor their employee’s emotional states. The control panel (screenshot after the jump) displays a summary of each person’s heart rate, location, body temperature and skin moisture levels reported by an individual’s device. If you thought your boss didn’t know when you were looking at porn while you were supposed to be working, well, think again. And in our case, the watches would probably break from overuse, thanks to our constant state of arousal. [Exmocare via io9] More »
Entertainment
