Monday, June 2, 2008
Design
Constant Garden Speakers: Make Your Desk Look Like Shrek Crop Field
11:41PM Gizmodo US Edition | A design team at Umea Design School created Constant Garden to act as a desktop speaker that gently plays gardeny sounds (”Oh— would you look at those weeds?!”) and act as an audio secretary, prompting you about appointments. It’s designed in rubber, and each of those Shrek-ear-like fronds holds a mini speaker that also lights up with LED magic. Apparently it’s an attempt to “coordinate audio visual mechanics and integrate them more seamlessly into our daily lives,” but, whatever— I reckon it’d look sweet on my desk, pouring out tunes as I work. Shame it’s just a concept. [TheDesignBlog via Techdigest] More »
Computers
Gigabyte M912 Spotted, Photographed, Drooled Upon
11:20PM Mark Wilson | We’ll probably hear finalised details tomorrow when it’s officially unveiled at Computex tomorrow, but here’s the first shot of the Gigabyte M912. An 8.9″ convertable touchscreen laptop packing an Atom processor, it’s supposed to be another promising entrant to the lightweight, budget laptop ring. Hopefully we’ll know just how budget Gigabyte means within the week. [engadget China via engadget] More »
Peripherals
Earth Trek Phone Stand is USB Hub, Card Reader Too
11:10PM Gizmodo US Edition | Sure, this all-in-one from Earth Trek is no good-looking gadget stand like the iClooly, but it’d be hard to beat it for convenience. You can use it to prop up your mobile phone (though how does it stick on? … magic? love? glue?) and also charge it through a range of swappable connectors. It’s also a three-way USB hub, and you can even jam in a range of memory cards from microSD to MemoryStick Pro Duo. Looks like the perfect thing to fling in your laptop bag when you’re off on a trip. It’s available in black or white, but there’s no info on price. [Akihabaranews] More »
Games
Ballmer Egg Attack Eulogised In Flash Game
10:48PM Mark Wilson | Leave it to the Flash game makers of the world to treat a public egging with all the sensitivity and care of a mother kitten. While Steve Ballmer may have been attacked in Hungary, his sacrifice for Microsoft will not be forgotten. In Egg Attack!, you can play as the breakfast assassin or big Steve himself. Unfortunately, Ballmer doesn’t get to fight back with his crazy tongue attack. He pretty much just gets to dodge and hide—and cry for yet another Egg McMuffin that never could be. [Egg Attack! via fakesteve] More »
Hardware
WD Joins 7200rpm Club with 320GB 2.5-Inch Scorpio Black Drives
10:21PM Wilson Rothman | Today Western Digital announced its Scorpio Black 2.5″ drive line, which reach 7200rpm, though at 5400rpm power demands. Like certain Fujitsu and Hitachi drives announced earlier this year, the speedy drives will ship in capacities from 80GB up to 320GB. The top model, with built-in free-fall sensor for drive protection, costs US$250. [WD] More »
Gadgets
Medidome Syringe Aims for Veins with Kid-Friendly Design
9:59PM Gizmodo US Edition | We’ve brought you inventions that aim to replace the scary-looking hypodermic syringe before, but this new design reinvents the device in a kid-friendly package. Designed by Christopher Holden, a student at Northumbria University in the UK, MediDome combines drug and needle in a stick-on blister, designed for a single use only. So it reduces the risk of needle-stick injury, and looks much friendlier to kids. You simply stick it on, and compress it until the drug is delivered: it’s even got an integrated alert system to check you’ve not ruptured a vein, and a built-in tamper warning. It’s now being patented, so it’s a product we might actually see for real sometime. [Medgadget] More »
Design
Horm Voltaceleste: A Fibre-Optical Star-Spangled Cabinet For Your Stuff
9:10PM Gizmodo US Edition | I loved the glowing Full Moon sideboard from the other month, but I wasn’t able to convince my wife it’d make a good addition to our home. I reckon I’d have more of a chance with Horm Voltaceleste, from designer Salvatore Indriolo as it’s a touch more subtle but just as astronomical. The doors are decorated with embedded fibre-optics in the patterns of constellations, and there’s interior lighting too. It’s chipboard and poplar veneer, so though there’s no info on price I reckon it wouldn’t be a wallet-smasher. [Born Rich] More »
Robots
Guy Hacks His Roomba with LEDs, Transforms It Into Pac Man
8:45PM Gizmodo US Edition | Anyone out there with a fetish for hoovering in the dark (anyone out there with a fetish for hoovering, call me, because I need a new cleaning lady) might like this hacked Roomba. Ron Tajima has created the Pacma, using 448 yellow LEDs, and a control unit made of an MPU that connects to the robo-vac via a cable and uses Bluetooth. Fun? Ron, my rugs are just crying out for you. [YouTube via BotJunkie] More »
Peripherals
In-Car FM Radio Gives Stick Shift via the Cigarette Lighter
8:30PM Gizmodo US Edition | Japanese company Green House is always coming up with nifty little accessories for us gadget lummoxes, and this FM transmitter for your car is no exception. Utterly reminiscent of a stick shift, you plug it into your car’s cigarette lighter and tune into the radio. It connects to your entertainment system via an audio cable, and there’s also a USB connection. Cost is US$28 and it’ll be available in Japan in the middle of this month. [Impress] More »
Computers
