Thursday, April 17, 2008
Online
Darwin Manuscripts Evolve From Paper Notes to Online Archive
11:50PM Gizmodo US Edition | The manuscripts that later became On The Origin of Species are going online for the first time. The good guys at the Cambridge University library, who were the only people with access beforehand, have put Charles Darwin’s notes on his book and another 20,000 archive items online, turning it into one vast educational/scientific resource. Apparently it’s actually so vast that if you downloaded one image a minute, it’d take you two months to view it all. More »
Entertainment
ThunderCats Were Loose On Palace of Westminster
11:32PM Mark Wilson | When most DVDs are released, production studios put up some posters and run a few television spots. However, when ThunderCats Season 2 hits store shelves…lets just say Lion-O isn’t settling for an afternoon at Kinko’s. Instead, he boldly emblazons the ThunderCats signal onto London’s Houses of Parliament. While some surely see the stunt as a subversion to a great tradition of government, others will realise that during the global fight against terror, nothing instills fear into our enemies like occasional real world manifestations of 1980s cartoon superheroes. [shinyshiny] More »
Gadgets
Conquest Credit Card Perfume Makes Eliot Spitzer Happy
11:12PM Jesus Diaz | A perfume called Conquest which comes in a credit card made of steel, capable of storing 20 milliliters of musk-loaded liquid? Atomise it away, Mr. Spitzer, because this seems like the perfect addition to the wallets of punters, NY state ex-governors or anyone with perfume-to-go needs. Whoever you are. [Tuvie] More »
Screens
HP MediaSmart SL4282N and SL4782N Media Centre Extender TVs Available Now
10:35PM Mark Wilson | Back around CES, HP announced that they were creating an updated line of MediaSmart TVs with built-in Microsoft’s Media Centre Extender support. Now those models have been unleashed on the public. A couple of 1080p LCD HDTVs with a modest 2000:1 contrast ratio, the HP SL4282N (42″, US$1,900) and SL4782N (47″ US$2,400) support wired and Wi-Fi connections to your home network. It’s a neat, convenient idea from HP, but you could definitely score a more spec-impressive image in the US$2,000+ LCD game. Also of note, existing MediaSmart owners can now download a firmware update that brings Media Centre support to their older-gen TVs. Here are the full details: More »
Gadgets
Yes, We Have Some Bananas, ‘Cause We Saved Them With NANA Saver
10:15PM Gizmodo US Edition | Whole bananas just look after themselves in your fruit bowl until they go all brown and spotty. But if your recipe calls for half a banana, then you know the spare hemibanana is going to go all gooshy really fast and you’ll end up binning it. That’s where NANA Saver comes in, with its pincer-like action grabbing onto the end of your bisected fruit and protecting it with a little sealing plate, keeping it fresh from the air. Simple, and only US$2.98. Or you just could eat the other half. I’m just saying. [Product via Nerd Approved] More »
Gadgets
Apple Patents Laser Head-Mounted Display, Sharks Rejoice
8:55PM Addy Dugdale | Apple has applied for a patent for a laser-based headset to use with its iPod and iPhone. And, unlike most headset displays, which can be bulky due to the light source and optical elements, the Cupertino company has come up with a way of slimming the device down. Here’s how. More »
Design
Rotator Bath-cum-Shower (Stop Sniggering at the Back) is Confusing
7:50PM Addy Dugdale | I have a soft spot for Ron Arad. His Bookworm bookshelf was the first piece of designer furniture I craved (admittedly, this might have been due to the fact that it was up on the wall in the apartment of a boy I craved.) He has me confused now, though, with this design for a bathtub-shower-thingie that ever-so-slightly reminds me of this crazy wall sculpture from last year. Called Rotator, it transforms from shower to bath and back again, but there’s something about its continuous trickle of water that makes me want to… hang on, back in a bit. More »
Gadgets
Massage Pants Soothe the Parts Other Pants Just Can’t Reach
6:56PM Gizmodo US Edition | Here’s a product for those of you whose desk-bound working life puts a strain on your posterior: massage pants. Ohoho yes. They’ve got seven massage units arranged in a “a scientific and rational allocation” to best soothe your (ahem) parts, a number of different vibration modes and an exciting-sounding 20-minute automatic mode for handsfreeness. I’ll say it again: ohoho yes. There’s also a ring of infrared heaters with auto temp control to keep your tush toasty, and it’s all powered by a rechargeable battery pack. Interested? Well, you’d have to be very interested: Wenzhou Wonderful Massage Equipment Co., Ltd sadly only takes orders of 500 units. [Product via Gadget lab] More »
Gadgets
Self-Stirring Cup of Tea Puts My Left Hand Out of a Job
6:42PM Addy Dugdale | In GizmodoWorld, no one loves a cuppa quite like I do—although the amount of times I go to the kettle each day is giving me RSI. Anyways, two French guys have designed a cup of tea that stirs itself. Simple in its design, all you need do for it to work is channel your inner Cognac-drinker, swilling the liquid around the cup until the sugar has dissolved. More info, including a How-To cartoon is after the jump. More »
Gadgets
