Thursday, June 19, 2008
Gadgets
Patent Shows Apple Researching Advanced iPhone Sensor Use, iChat Integration
11:53PM Gizmodo US Edition | Over at Mac Rumors they’ve unearthed a recent patent that shows Apple is researching cleverer use of the iPhone’s many sensors. More nifty than turning the screen off when you put it to your ear, the new uses may include things like working out it’s in your pocket (by temperature, proximity and ambient light) and then auto-switching to vibrate mode. Intriguingly, there’s a hint that by detecting you’ve docked the phone, it may pass an ongoing phone call to a VoIP call over iChat. This all makes sense: making best use of those sensors and the iPhone’s power… but like all Apple patents, we may never see these ideas in a real-life software update. [MacRumors] More »
Gadgets
Lightning Review: Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner is the Worst Gadget I Have Ever Used In My Entire Life
11:20PM Brian Lam | I’ve never been so thoroughly disappointed with a gadget than I am with the Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner. You might have seen one of these in the aisles of Target or Wal-Mart and thought it would be an amazing way to keep your shower clean. After all, the Ad copy says, “It’s like a MAID. Times TWO!” You’d be dreaming of two hot robot french maid androids, keeping your human cleaning receptacles spotless. But this stuff does not work. DO NOT BUY. UPDATE: Just got hate mail for this post. Sounds like a douchebag rep for the product shilling hard. More »
Random Stuff
Space Wedding Doesn’t Include 62.1-Mile High Club Membership
10:45PM Gizmodo US Edition | Soon, all those silly individuals who like to marry underwater, on top of mountains, jumping off planes, or even in church, will have another way to get into this futile and utterly-frustrating experience that some people like to call “marriage,” but that I would like to call The China Syndrome. Space will now be the ultimate frontier for grooms and brides in 2011, when Rocketplane Kistler Japan and wedding planner First Advantage start to sell their one-hour ceremony to marry in zero gravity, at 100 kilometres above the planet’s surface. More »
Gadgets
Brando’s Firefly Lamp: For Those Romantic Digital Insect-Light Moments
10:00PM Gizmodo US Edition | A non-USB product from Brando, and one that’s surprisingly cute? Good grief, I nearly fell off my keyboard. These Firefly jars are solar-powered, charging up during the day and adding a simulated bioluminescent insect-arse glow to wherever you pop them at night. The kitchen worktop, perhaps—perfect for lighting your way to that midnight snack. Standing 15.2 cms high, they glow in orange, but are they more eco-friendly than trapping a real firefly in a jar? Probably not… but at least its kinder to animals. Available now for US$45. [Brando] More »
Gadgets
Real-Size Alien Statue Guaranteed to Kill You at Night
9:44PM Gizmodo US Edition | Standing 2.3 metres high, this ultra-realistic alien statue made of steel, resin and rigid foam–with transparent dental acrylic lips—is designed to kill everyone who tries to break into your house with the sheer power of pure fear. The only bad this is that, most probably, it will also kill you when you go to the fridge in the middle of the night. As you can see in the nine-image gallery, the detail is amazing. More »
Games
Ben Heck Mods Atari 7800 into Portable Retro-Gaming Wonder
9:27PM Gizmodo US Edition | Modding clever-clogs Ben Heck was apparently daunted by the complexity of the Atari 7800’s internals at first, so he had to summon up the nerve to try this requested mod. Into the custom-built chassis he squeezed a 7-inch colour widescreen display, a set of rechargeable batteries, combo driving/paddle controller and an A-V output. Though it’s not exactly pocket-friendly (thanks to the 7800’s large motherboard) it’s still pretty awesome—check out the gallery. Ben’s site has a detailed making-of story if you’re interested. Now, if you excuse me… I’m off to reminisce about playing Pole Position. [Ben Heck via Hackaday]
Games
PSP 4.0 Firmware Now Available
9:13PM Gizmodo US Edition | The PSP 4.0 Firmware is out. But for those expecting holographic projection and Nintendo DS destruction mode, don’t get too excited: The main features—at least according to the official change log—are the internet search option under the network menu, and playing with the video playback speed using the up and down buttons. In any case, you can judge for yourself seeing the PSP 4.0 firmware in the video walkthrough. More »
Vehicles
Chinese UFO Looks Like Emergency Life Raft, Spies on You
9:10PM Gizmodo US Edition | Chinese company Harbin Smart Special Aerocraft has spent 12 years and over US$4 million developing its unmanned flying saucers. Somewhat reminiscent of the Honeywell Micro Air Vehicle, the unmanned drone has propellers that run on methanol, a top speed of around 80kph, and can stay at an altitude of around 1,000 yards up for 40 minutes or so. Expect to see it being used for aerial photography, geological surveys and in people’s LSD-fuelled weird-outs. [DVICE] More »
Screens
TI Intros Industry First Lamp-Free DLP Projector
8:59PM Gizmodo US Edition | Hot on the heels of the Optoma pico-projector that uses a TI chipset, TI itself has announced the “industry’s first home-theatre lamp-free projector.” It uses a PhlatLight LED illumination source instead, and a Brilliantcolor chipset to give a 1080p display. This makes it capable of a 50% bigger colour gamut than traditional projector tech (that’s over 200 trillion colors!) and a contrast ratio that can go up to 500,000:1. The lamp-free bit is the part that will interest consumers: as well as not requiring expensive new bulbs, the LEDs consume far less power so you’ll pay for less electricity if you’re a heavy projector user. Apparently “multiple DLP customers” are expecting to launch projector products with the tech late this year. [Digitimes] More »
Gadgets
