For those who don’t remember, the Chumby One is a cool little Internet connected media and information device which stands out as a consumer appliance because of its open source roots. Of course open source means hackable, and sure enough, here’s a neat little walking robot called the Chumby Walker based on the unit. Very cool indeed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBMvGDectjk#t=1m41s The control code is RobotSee/Linux, it’s totally autonomous and the processor is Freescale. So, can your bedside alarm clock do this? A YouTube video…
Read MoreMonthly Archives: October 2010
Women in Film – gorgeous morph tribute to the movie divas
Women in Film is a beautifully produced short movie of ladies who have graced the silver screen for the past 80 years. What makes it special is the careful morphing of face into face and the haunting cello music from Yo-Yo Ma. An oldie but greatie. (See also 144 Beautiful Faces below which is not as classy, but offers a similar view of current Western concepts of female beauty). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgTEnkV59i0 Tags: women+in+film, morph, photography, 144+beautiful+faces
Read MoreSkeet Shooter – indoor skeet shooting game promises safety first
This indoor Skeet Shooter game promises to deliver all the fun of its big shotgun toting brother, without all that ‘sorry did I shoot your leg off?‘ anxiety. The thing works using infrared pistols, which ‘break’ the plastic targets if your aim is true. Sounds like clean harmless fun right? Until the gerbil gets caught in the crossfire, that is. $49.95. Annoying video. Targets are ejected from the “trap” at pre-determined intervals–one every two to one every ten seconds–reaching a height of 7′ that allows…
Read More40 Pattern Bike Spoke Light – say it loud, say it clear…
This mundane looking 40 Pattern Bicycle Spoke Light contains enough processing power to deliver messages, groovy patterns and even a log of your riding time in glorious LED persistent vision-o-rama. It’s amazing what they can cram into a 0.1kg bit of plastic nowadays. $8.99. 40-Pattern LED Bike Spoke Light is a very cool little thing that will make you stand out from the crowd when riding your bike. This Cool Bike Spoke LED light with 40 graphic patterns will make you…
Read MorePatch – the world’s first biodegradeable paper watch
The Patch Watch from Altanus, is the world’s first biodegradable paper watch. It comes in 10 different garish colours, costs around $33.50 and apparently comes with a coating so it won’t disintegrate on your wrist when it rains. Which is tres reassuring, innit? The Patch, which was inspired by the papier-mâché floats at the annual Carnival festival in Viareggio, Tuscandy, took four years of research and development to create. Weighing only 11 grams (0.3 ounce), the LED ticker is designed…
Read MoreGame Time 440 Arcade Machine – blowing away the XBox fanbois, one fire button at a time…
The Game Time 440 Arcade Machine is a fully customisable arcade game machine for the home. You can select colour, screen size, coin op or not, and even add your own logo or name. You also get a set of 440 games loaded on the system, which should be enough to keep you going and the divorce lawyers salivating. Priced from £1399.00 and up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgp6pRcRjHw The gaming action is enhanced with a pumping stereo arcade system that is designed to pull you…
Read MoreOn The Run Notebooks – notebooks for crossing borders…almost
These On The Run Notebooks are cunningly disguised as international passports. OK, when we say cunningly, what we really mean is almost but not quite like something which in an alternate universe might fool a myopic border guard with chronic hayfever at midnight. You get four in a pack, USA, Cuba, Russia and UK. Good luck. £9.99. Whilst presenting these Passport Notebooks at Customs may impede your journey somewhat, and possibly get you more accustomed to prison food than you’d…
Read MoreWinFaceOff – freeware wallpaper changer turns your computer into a digital photo frame
WinFaceOff is a freeware program which automatically changes the wallpaper on your computer at user customisable intervals. What’s cool is the fact that you can point it at a folder full of your fave photos and have them automagically used as desktop wallpapers, with stretch to screen and all that loveliness. The program doesn’t need any installation, is super fast, works with all versions of Windows and can also be set to play music in the background. It’s a cool…
Read MoreFree Magic Tricks – download some party winners for free
The Magic For All offers a fun selection of free magic tricks which you can download to impress your friends and family, including the intriguingly named Poltergeist Spoon trick. The site also contains more professional fare, as well as magic trick videos, ebooks and a free member’s section with more free magic downloads and goodies. Shazzam! Magic For All was founded in 2004 by magician and magic designer Andy Jay. Basically it was Andy’s way of bringing his own original…
Read MoreCrosley Portable LP to MP3 Turntable – compact player digitizer with added tech
This Crosley Portable LP to MP3 Turntable is an impressively svelte digitizer which will take the lustre and succulent sounds of yesteryear and convert them into mechanised digital convenience in a format of your choice (as long as it’s WAV or MP3). It also sports a neat FM transmitter feature which will let you beam your album to the nearest stereo radio without wires. Battery powered and plastic black. $149.95. With a platter smaller than a teacup saucer, the belt-driven turntable…
Read MoreFranklin Explorer 16 Language Speaking Translator – say it ain’t so…
Franklin Explorer 16 Language Speaking Translator. Says it all really. Arf! OK OK, so it uses recorded voices, none of that computerized rubbish, and you’ll instantly enjoy over 800 useful phrases for your travelling demands. “Waiter, where can I fish then nearest truck, perchance?” Priced from $99.50 and up. Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, you shouldn’t be without our 16-language Speaking Translator. This translator has everything needed to communicate in a foreign land. With the simple press of…
Read MoreDNA Tape – give your packaging some bio engineered cutes
This DNA Tape is a cutesy idea, what with all that double helix stuff going on, but what would make it even better would be if you could use your own DNA as the pattern. Taking personalised wrapping tape to a whole new level. One day. $7.95. Taking it way deeper than tracking numbers, this decorative DNA Packing Tape gets down to gene level origins. Add some scientific panache and personality to your packages and with this packing tape covered…
Read MoreMini Low Energy Lamp Bulbs – retrofitting eco into old style lamps
These Mini Low Energy Lamp Bulbs come with their own standard fittings, but offer an ultra small profile to fit into classic shaped fixtures. Perfect for traditional style chandeliers or tiny desk lamps. Clever idea. Priced at £13.90 for a twin pack. Ordinary energy-saving frosted bulbs look downright ridiculous in delicate light fittings, but these miniature bulbs are made of clear glass and come with their own mini adaptors. The high-efficiency Xenon G9 bulb uses 28W and replaces a standard 40W…
Read MoreSpoon – awesome virtual box lets you run sofware and games safely anywhere
Spoon is an awesome freeware virtualisation box for Windows which lets you run applications and games without having to install anything on the host computer. You need to download the Spoon Studio plugin first, but once that’s done you can then download and use any of the freely available apps from the site’s app library as you want. Skype, Picasa, Thunderbird, uTorrent, web browsers (try out all the latest web browsers without having to install them first!), there’s a bunch of apps available to…
Read MoreDropitto.me – free upload service makes it super easy for people to send you files
Dropitto.me is a new free service for Real Easy file sharing. All you need to do is set up an account, and then give someone a URL – e.g. dropitto.me/ferret – from where they can upload the file they want to give you. The upload page requires a password for security, and uploaded files (max size 75MB) are automatically dumped into your Dropbox folder. That’s it. Sweet and simple. It’s in beta at the moment, but well worth bookmarking for emergencies. Oh and you…
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