We feature many concepts here at Gizmodo, it’s great to actually see something put into production. This Sputnik watch has an inverted LCD screen, and displays the time and date, plus has an alarm and stopwatch. Not bad for $US40. More »
Are you obsessed with Sputnik, the Space Race, Google architecture and radioactive powers for superheroes? Look out, it seems like your fetish is about to get a name: “Atompunk.”
It’s the stuff of canine legends. Fifty years ago Laika the dog went from stray zero to hero when the Soviet Union strapped her to Sputnik 2 and launched it into the cold reaches of outer space. The trailblazing pooch, who had a statue to her unveiled in Russia last week, proved that living things could survive in space. Her trip also paved the way for more ambitious human-related endeavours, like John’s Glenn’s historic orbit, the Apollo 11 moon landing and Tom Hanks’ career. Laika eventually died an excruciating death from overheating when life support failed a few hours after launch, for which Russia recognised her with a monument. All that sacrifice, and just a statue?
We’ve been playing too much Mass Effect, but these Sputnik Subwoofers look like mounted turrets that shoot lasers at you. Instead of lasers, these ceiling-dangling units shoot sound; deep, deep sound. Inside is a 12-inch passive subwoofer that can handle 1000 watts of continuous power directly at your face, provided your face is in its line of sight. Looks deadly, sounds deadly, and goes perfectly with the Venus loudspeakers from Everything But the Box to make a Darth Vader/Luke Skywalker themed living room. If we weren’t poor as balls, we’d pick up one of these for $US2950. [Audio Junkies] More »
Today is the 50th anniversary of Russia’s Sputnik satellite. Sputnik translates into “Traveling companion of the earth”, was “23 inches in diameter and 184 pounds, with four feathery antennas swept back like a windblown comb-over from its high-gloss sphere.” Some credit the unexpected launch of Sputnik with kicking off the space race. Steven Winn’s piece on the satellite is sweeping and moving and every gadget head should give it a pass. [SFGate] More »
