Monthly Archives: December 2010

hmm..interesting December 31, 2010 posted by

The Anti-Stress Pen – as good as a slinky?

Leave it to a university student to come up with a great stress reducer. Industrial Design PhD student Miguel Bruns Alonso from Delft University in the Netherlands has created the “anti-stress pen” which, he says, can identify a user’s short-term stress and then proceed to alleviate some of it. Most of us fidget with our pens as we’re writing, whether we’re aware of it or not. It’s a symptom of anxiety and/or stress. When this prototype pen detects this nervous…

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The Anti-Stress Pen – as good as a slinky?
Free Software December 31, 2010 posted by

Skype video calls use around 3.4MB per minute over 3G

We’ve kept you informed about Skype’s video calling on the iPhone this week, and there’s still more to know. Yes, it is available on the iPhone, and yes it works over 3G. The question, however, is just how much of your precious data plan will get used up during a video call, should you choose to chat over a 3G connection. The answer isn’t terrible, depending on how you look at it. The estimates figured up show about 3.4MB per…

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Skype video calls use around 3.4MB per minute over 3G
Gadgets December 31, 2010 posted by

Moto GP Helmet Sound System is an expensive iPod dock

While the phrase �there’s an app for that� gets tossed around a lot, I think there’s one that applies to iPods (iPhones, etc) even better. �There’s an accessory for that.� Seriously, I can’t think of any single line of products that has as many accessories designed specifically for it. There are even accessories to suit your own personal interests. If you’re a racing fan, then this Moto GP Helmet Sound System might be up your alley. Built to look like…

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Moto GP Helmet Sound System is an expensive iPod dock
cool tech December 31, 2010 posted by

Lumi Mask wakes you up with light

Sometimes I consider waking up to be the worst part of the day. It depends on how much sleep I’ve had, really. Regardless, that annoying buzzer on my alarm clock is enough to make anyone grumpy in the morning. So what about waking up in a more natural way? One designer thinks that light is the key to starting your morning right. This Lumi Mask is designed to provide a gentle wake-up call by emitting an increasing amount of light…

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Lumi Mask wakes you up with light
Fun & Games December 31, 2010 posted by

Keyboard Key Magnets bring geekery to your fridge

We all love magnets for the fridge, each one has a story of its own, and shows a bit of a person�s character. These fun Keyboard Key Magnets will help to remind you are the extreme nerd that you are, and tack up any important notes that you need be reminded of. Crayon drawings for example. So how far does $12 get you with these things? Well you’ll get four magnets in all: ESC, CTRL, DEL and SHIFT. I think…

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Keyboard Key Magnets bring geekery to your fridge
Awesome December 31, 2010 posted by

Amazon finally lets you lend out eBooks

If you own a book, you can let anyone borrow it. If you own an e-book, you can�t really let anyone borrow it unless you�re comfortable passing over your e-reader to a friend for a while. Amazon Kindle users heard that there would be a lending feature on its Kindle e-reader platform by the end of the year. And so, it has finally arrived (with little time to spare). It was just yesterday that all Kindle device and app owners…

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Amazon finally lets you lend out eBooks
general December 31, 2010 posted by

Gyro Bowl doesn’t spill, thanks to science!

How many times have you had a bowl of�anything, and spilled it? No matter what we do, or how hard we try, food is just not content to keep itself contained in a dish. However, with the Gyro Bowl, this problem magically disappears. This BPH-free plastic bowl with handles has an inner bowl that rotates 360 degrees. You literally cannot spill anything because it will counter whatever mess-inducing movement you make. The design makes sure that the open part of…

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Gyro Bowl doesn’t spill, thanks to science!
announcement December 30, 2010 posted by

Skype launches video calls for iPhone, doesn’t limit you to a WiFi connection

As we suspected,� Skype has added video call capabilities to the iPhone. What we didn’t expect was for it to happen so quickly. That’s right, they’ve already released the update that we mentioned yesterday. They even managed to throw in a pretty big surprise. If you’ve got an iPhone 4 or a 4th-gen iPod Touch, then you’ll be able to place video calls to any of your friends via Skype. However, if you’re using an iPhone 3GS, 3rd-gen iPod Touch…

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Skype launches video calls for iPhone, doesn’t limit you to a WiFi connection
announcement December 30, 2010 posted by

Europe to get standardized cellphone chargers next year

How many cellphones have you owned in the last 10 years? Now how many of those used the exact same charger? Not many I suspect, unless your phones were from the same manufacturer, and even that wasn’t a guarantee. Well if you live in Europe, this issue will be a thing of the past. Starting next year they will all be using the same charging connector. To be specific, mobile phones will be required to use a microUSB connector for…

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Europe to get standardized cellphone chargers next year
Awesome December 30, 2010 posted by

Hack your Nook Color to read Kindle books

In this age of digital content, you can have access to so many things on a mobile device. Movies, music, and even books. Unfortunately with companies vying for your business, you can’t always get every piece of content to work on the device you’ve purchased. For instance, if you were to purchase a Nook, you would be unable to read a book purchased from Amazon on it. Of course, if you really want that book to work, it can be…

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Hack your Nook Color to read Kindle books
Free Software December 30, 2010 posted by

Free music from Bing

Bing wants you to celebrate the holidays by having a free song on their tab! And you even get a bonus of a newsletter. How lucky are you? All you have to do is head over to the site, enter your email, get a code, and redeem it. Easy as pie. A delicious, audio pie. Ok, so the extra emails from the newsletters will be annoying, but if you look at this from a monetary standpoint, you�re making a killing….

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Free music from Bing
Gadgets December 30, 2010 posted by

Book Rest Lamp pulls double duty

It�s nice to sit in bed all snuggled up with a good book. Something that is entirely annoying is whenever you have to get up, for any reason at all, you lose track of the page you�re on. Or the book magically closes itself entirely in your absence. The Book Rest Lamp put out by hilariously named Suck UK has both form and function wrapped up in an elegant, yet childish way. A frosted glass geometric frame contains the light…

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Book Rest Lamp pulls double duty
Free Software December 30, 2010 posted by

ToneCheck makes sure you get the right message across

If ToneCheck had come around a while ago, there would�ve been a lot less needless breakups and hurt feelings. It�s really hard to express inflection and emotion through text, so a lot of times, what you wrote, is often not what you meant to say. This emotional spell-check will keep your words in line to get across the correct meaning without making you the bad guy. Not many email plug-ins are this concerned about your wording and provide frowny faces…

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ToneCheck makes sure you get the right message across
Fun & Games December 29, 2010 posted by

R/C Jumping Kart drives and flies

How many of you have owned an R/C car in their lives? How about a remote controlled helicopter? I’m sure that some of you have owned both. But what about a toy that functioned as both a car and a helicopter? I bet not many of you can say yes to that one. This R/C Jumping Kart may not be the biggest or fanciest toy you’ve ever seen, however, it is still pretty cool nonetheless. I can imagine the hours…

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R/C Jumping Kart drives and flies
but is it art? December 29, 2010 posted by

Build your own bamboo bike

There’s something about crafting an object with your own two hands that makes it really special. Being able to look at it and say to yourself �I built that� gives you a great sense of pride. I do a bit of DIY work here and there, but nothing on a large scale. Never have I considered actually building an entire bike myself. It would seem that you can purchase a Bamboo Bike Kit, and do exactly that. This kit gives…

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Build your own bamboo bike