The WE EVO570 Standalone GPRS Camera is designed to transmit images over the cellular networks when the on-board motion detection system sees movement. It also sports two way audio, so presumably once you’ve received the pic of the the villain stealing your Petunias, you can call up and harangue them into stopping. “Unhand those flowers, you beast…” and suchlike. Thankfully it’s forward compatible too, so you’ll be able to take advantage of HSDPA to transmit even clearer images of your…
Read MoreMonthly Archives: September 2007
Brian the Brain – the world’s first digital roommate
Brian the Brain – the world’s first digital roommate. There may come a time in some distant future when historians will retrieve one of these from a dank forgotten cellar in Poughkeepsie, and recognise it as the last remaining icon of the lost years of 2000’s Techno Age. “Ahh…” they will say wisely to each other in Esperanto, “So this is from the time when our ancestors still had the option to take a different path.” And they will give each other a small knowing nod, as if to…
Read MoreAnimoto – wild punk video slideshows hit town…Powerpoint surrenders
Animoto is wild, man. Like really. A funky, punk hatch video slideshow service with attitude. And we’re like totally hooked. Choose your video length, upload your images, choose your own sounds or from their library of stuff and like, rock out man, as your video is created and the link emailed to you. The results are cool, well crafted and totally like watchable. If they sold a professional version of this to advertising departments, a whole class of business would be instantly…
Read MoreSneaker Power – DIY energy from roller shoes
The Energy Harvesting Sneakers produce power from roller sneakers to drive a small display. It’s part of a Kinetic Shoes art project at the moment, but why not extend the concept and give everyone a chance to produce their own power through motion, or what they call power harvesting? [PDF] Accelerometers, gyros, roller ball mechanisms, even solar panels – parcel them all up into a Personal Power Pack and never have to worry about charging your phone or music player again. Cool. Tags:…
Read MoreKeyword popups suck – Ryan speaks
Ryan Block from Engadget has a small rant about keyword popup advertising, which he says pollutes the content and confuses readers. Couldn’t agree more. And while we’re at it Ryan, what’s with the current trend of multiple links to internal content in the main body of a post? That to my mind is just as confusing and annoying. But, hey what do I know? Treat your readers with a modicum of respect. These kinds ads are absolutely abhorrent, and just because…
Read MoreRearchitecting the Music Business – how to stop piracy by getting rid of the record companies
A First Monday paper which proposes a new music business model which will remove record companies as we know them today. We pay less, the artist gets more. Sounds like a plan. Revenue flows through the proposed framework would remain fairly simple and transparent, characterized in the first instance by artists (or their managers and agents) enjoying near–direct payments from consumers. Artists themselves or their agents would themselves take responsibility for the expenses of production as outlined above, and for…
Read MoreIntellicot Cot – the baby bed revolution?
Intellicot Cot. Only four men could come up with something so hideous and call it a baby bed revolution. C’mon guys, where’s the cute little bear motif, the elephant mobile and the pink or blue decor? Sheesh! Anyway, it incorporates an automatic rocking system, a back saving elevator, air circulation system and an in-built video monitoring system so you can watch little Johnnie scream as he tries to escape. Developed a year ago, it looks like it should be on sale…
Read MoreDialogue Speaker – make your television sound more audible
The Dialogue Speaker may look like a boring black box with a speaker inside, but in fact it’s actually a boring black box with a speaker inside. Yep. Oh, sorry, apparently there’s more. Right…oh yeah, the speaker ‘especially accentuates voices’, to help you hear your television set better. Which is nice to know, isn’t it? Because we’d all be lost if we couldn’t catch the drivel from yet another episode of I Was a Desperate Survivor of The Idol Makeover Millionaire show….
Read MoreGamercize Pro Sport – exercise while you’re having fun gaming
The new Gamercize Pro Sport promises to make you fitter, leaner and more attractive to Britney Spears in one easy stretch. Just hook it up to your Sony, Nintendo or Microsoft games console and use the stepper or cycle attachment to power your game controller. So basically, no exercise, no game. They’re saying that a full workout equals 400–700 calories an hour burned, which is scary. Any game works, and prices for the previous version started at £69.90. Gamercize interacts…
Read MoreNet Neutrality – Tim Berners-Lee says it’s serious folks…..
The father of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee recently entered the net neutrality debate and made his position absolutely crystal clear – net neutrality is essential and it must be enshrined in legislation to prevent any abuse by commercial or political interests. Read the post, watch the video and be prepared to fight for your Internet’s future if it comes to the crunch. When I invented the Web, I didn’t have to ask anyone’s permission. Now, hundreds of millions…
Read MorePhotosynth – 3D fun and frolics with photographs
Proof that interesting stuff still trickles out of Microsoft labs now and then, Photosynth is a technology which takes a mass collection of images and creates a 3D environment which can be navigated and examined in detail. It’s rather too innovative to explain in words, so you’ll just have to explore the thing yourself. It’s fun. Photosynth is an amazing new technology from Microsoft Live Labs that will change forever the way you think about digital photos…Our software takes a large collection…
Read MoreThe Bates Method – restore your eyesight naturally without surgery, drugs or glasses?
In the early 1900s ophthalmologist William Bates developed a system – the Bates Method – for restoring poor eyesight without external aids. His treatment is based around the idea that tension and strain make poor vision worse, and so he spent his time teaching his patients – often for free – how to relax mentally and physically and thereby see better. The full course and his book are available online for free. It is, of course, all rather controversial. Fascinating stuff. Conditions…
Read MoreInteractive Parrot – all the squawking, none of the droppings
The Interactive Parrot responds to your voice, repeats random phrases spontaneously and does all those really annoying parrot things like head bobbing, wing flapping, perch dancing and cooing. Why oh why would you want something like this near to your body? Are you insane, Mr Animatronic Marketing Man? $79.95. The parrot can be programmed with additional phrases that it repeats at random in a classic parrot squawk, and it has a full range of movement that mimics a real parrot, including…
Read MoreSyringe Pen – prose abuse tool for school
The Syringe Pen is a great way to show how cool you are as they’re slapping the handcuffs on. Just whip it out quickly and sign your name on the rap sheet. You’ll be the toast of the bail hearing, trust me. Around $2.53 in Yen like. [Via TokyoMango] Tags: syringe+pen, gadget, japanese+novelty
Read MoreDisappearing Door Car – now you see it…
The Disappearing Door Car is a prototype concept car made by Lincoln back in 1993 with a door technology that clearly hasn’t yet made it into production. WATCH THE VIDEO! Bearing in mind how embarrassing this could be if accidently activated at speed on a highway, we’re kind of not surprised it fell by the wayside (boom boom). Anyhoo, there it is, in all its eBay auction glory for y’all. [Thanks Teli] This is a multi personality car – it…
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