Thursday, May 8, 2008
Gadgets
Camouflage Paint Hides Vehicles From Radar, Subsequent Missiles
11:51PM Mark Wilson | A German inventor has developed a paint called AR 1 that can hide a vehicle from radar, and most importantly, “all militarily relevant frequencies.” How it works is unclear, though one test researcher proposes it’s either by reflecting radar waves in a pattern so they cancel on another out, or by utilising microscopic magnets to absorb radar radiation. And no, it won’t get you out of speeding tickets. More »
Phones
SIMable May Be Easiest Way to Unlock 3G GSM Phones
11:30PM Wilson Rothman | A company called SIMable has produced a little chip that they call the “10-second solution” for unlocking carrier-tethered GSM handsets. The gimmick is that, instead of unlocking the phone itself—and risking invalidation of your warranty— the chip works on the SIM card, provided you punch a hole in the SIM. More »
Gadgets
Steampunk Going Mainstream?
11:03PM Mark Wilson | Here, in our niche technological world, we’d already considered steampunk as a mainstream phenomenon. But according to the NY Times, it could be the next major trend for, you know, normal people. More »
Music
Wave Goodbye To Pocket Billiards with Magnetic Knob MP3 Player
10:43PM Gizmodo US Edition | We all know the hassle of digging into a pocket to twiddle the controls on our MP3 players, but until smart clothing becomes mainstream we’re stuck with it. Unless someone takes this magnetic control concept and manufactures it for real, that is. The Pocket Pal is simple: the control stays outside, but is magnetically fixed to the body, which sits inside your pants pocket. Twiddling the control is easy, and would let you adjust volume or skip songs. I’m not sure what’ll happen if you lose the knob—would any magnet/iron object do?—but I like the lateral thinking here. [Inventables via Gizmowatch] More »
Online
Google Street View Becomes Google Bag View in Alaska
10:40PM Addy Dugdale | One of the occupational hazards of Google Street View is, I guess, having the camera obscured by something. It could be a pterodactyl, perhaps, flying low for a closer view, it could be a giant Monty Python-style animated brogue homing in on the car as if it were a roach ripe for the squishing. Or it could be a plastic bag. One minute it’s dancing around, American Beauty-style, the next it’s spread-eagled over the camera rather like an over-amorous spinster at a barn dance. This is what College Road in Fairbanks, Alaska, looks like, according to Google Street View. [Google Maps via Google Sightseeing] More »
Gadgets
Replica Bat Cuffs Turn Batman into BDSMan
9:20PM Addy Dugdale | “Assume the position,” barked Batman, as he wrestled his captive into a supine position. “Ooh, I just love it when you talk dirty to me,” purred Catwoman, an enigmatic half-smile playing about her whiskers, as she was bat-handled into submission. Her direct, feline gaze never left the superhero’s face, and he shifted uncomfortably as he realised that, somewhere below his bat-belt, the batsuit was becoming too tight for comfort. More »
Vehicles
Scientist Studies Cars That Speak and Listen Like KITT
9:02PM Gizmodo US Edition | I used to want a car just like KITT when I was a kid, though perhaps without that slightly annoying nasal voice. And now a Stanford scientist is looking at whether nattering to your vehicle may be good for you, the car, other road users and even (darnit) your insurers or advertising execs. More »
Phones
First Live Shots of Sony Ericsson Paris
8:25PM Addy Dugdale | Shots of Sony Ericsson’s Paris have been popping up here and there over the past month, but get yourselves an eyeful of the five-megapixel slider. Hang on, should I spell that “Eiffel?” [Unofficial Sony Ericsson Blog]
Screens
Sony’s XEL-1 OLED Lasts Half as Long as You Expect, Says Study
7:52PM Gizmodo US Edition | Now, we’ve been raving about Sony’s diminutive XEL-1 OLED TV for a while, but an independent investigation by Displaysearch is casting doubt on the screen’s lifespan. They ran two XEL-1 units for 1000 hours, then measured the change in brightness emitted by the screen. They concluded that it would take 17,000 hours for the screen to lose half its brightness—a usual measure of display life. That sounds like a lot—it’s 5.8 years, at 8 hours use every day—but it’s actually close to half the 30,000 hours claimed by Sony. Sony, of course, is defending their figure, saying it’s based on years of experimentation. Sounds like bad news, though of course when larger OLEDs hit soon they’ll have newer tech inside. [Displaysearch via OLED-display] More »
Phones
