OpenSignalMaps is a very cool Google maps mashup which uses crowdsourced info to track and identify cellphone towers. The clever thing about the app is the fact that the devs have connected this info with user handset information to give an idea of signal strength as well. Very useful if you’re getting fed up with dropped calls and suchlike from your home. The service uses a free Android application to add data, so anyone can contribute to improve the quality of…
Read MoreMonthly Archives: February 2011
Powertrekk charges your gadgets with a hydrogen fuel cell
There has been a lot of talk about using hydrogen fuel cells over the years, but rarely do you actually see them. Well if you want to get in on the eco-friendly ways to recharge your gadgets, this Powertrekk charger might just be what you’re looking for. The PowerTrekk is a small hydrogen fuel cell that is crafted almost entirely from recycled electronic waste materials, which is always good to see. Inside you’ll find a small PowerPukk, which is where…
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Dark Side Detector lets you know where your Force allegiance lies
I’m sure that every Star Wars geek has wondered which side of the Force they would stay on. Sure, we’d like to think that we would be good people and use our power for good, but not all of us can walk that path without giving into temptation. Now there’s a handy Dark Side Detector available to answer that question. The detector is a miniature lightsaber, which you will construct yourself. You’ll then touch your finger to the trigger, and…
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Scaloupe gives you an up-close and personal look at your scalp
Have you ever taken a close look at the top of your head? There’s a good chance you haven’t. After all, it’s not the easiest of places to look at without some sort of assistance. One company has decided that we should be checking our scalps more often, and crafted a gadget that’s meant to help do that. The Scaloupe is essentially a webcam that’s designed to be used only about an inch or so from your head. It’s built…
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Zazoo Photo Frame Clock lets your kids know when it’s late enough to get up
Kids don’t always understand the concept of �too early.� When you’re really young, all you know is that you’re awake, and you want to get up, eat breakfast and watch TV. Of course parents don’t appreciate being woken up at the crack of dawn, which is why the Zazoo Kids Photo Frame Clock was created. This clock uses an LCD screen as its face so that it can display specific images. These are user-changeable, but the idea is that you’ll…
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Groovylists pulls your iTunes, Spotify and Last.fm playlists into Grooveshark
When it comes to streaming music, there are a number of services at your disposal. Grooveshark is known for its ability to let you create your own playlists from their library. This is great if you’re at the office without your iTunes library, or just don’t own the songs to begin with. If you do already have playlists setup in iTunes, there’s a handy web app that will let you import it into Grooveshark. Groovylists can take any playlist that…
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Battleship gets a complete makeover
In a world dominated by video games, I imagine it’s hard for toymakers to keep kids interested in old-fashioned board games. That’s probably why Hasbro has been working hard to update their classic games to bring them into the 21st century. We already saw what was being done with Monopoly, but it appears that Battleship has received the same treatment. The Monopoly makeover seemed like a logical one. It helped take some of the annoyance out of keeping track of…
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Light Cycle – geek your ride to infinity and beyond…
The Light Cycle started out as a limited edition run of custom crafted geekiness, based around a Suzuki 4 stroke engine and some insanely cool design chops. It now looks like it’s on more general availability, as long as you have the requisite $55,000 to pay for the privilege. What does that get you (apart from envious stares in the office car park)? Well a custom built, street legal, 6 speed, chain driven glow bike which looks like it handles…
Read MoreVgo Robotic Telepresence – see robot run….
Vgo is a mobile robot with telepresence, which means it rolls around on wheels and has a webcam and LCD screen attached so you can view and chat to people at remote locations. You could call it video-conferencing a la Segway. Or you could just call it creepy. Anyhoo, it looks like this sort of product is going to get fashionable quickly, probably because there’s an insanely high profit margin lurking in the thing. For example, this product costs around…
Read MoreAndroid Injector – freeware lets you install Android apps on your phone without the market
Android Injector is a neat little freeware program which lets you easily install Android apps on your phone without having to go to the Android Market. Just download the .apk file to your computer (hint: a google search for “*app name* .apk” usually works), connect your handset to the PC, select the apps and click Install to Device. It’s definitely useful where you want to grab apps which aren’t available on the market yet, but remember that if you install off piste…
Read MoreGoogle for Weddings looks useful, if unexpected
Need to plan a wedding? There’s a Google App for that. I honestly thought it was April 1st when I saw this, but I assure you, it is not. It would seem that the search giant has decided to branch out in a very unexpected direction, offering a slew of tools for planning your nuptials. Google for Weddings isn’t so much a new tool, as it is a grouping of existing ones. What they’ve done is added a bunch of…
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�Paypal for digital goods� gives online publishers a better way to sell their wares
If you’ve thought about selling digital content online, there’s a good chance that you’ve considered Paypal as an option for collecting the payments. Unfortunately they really haven’t been the best option for micro-transactions. That changed today when the company opened up their Paypal for digital goods program. The program is aimed at anyone who is selling digital content online, specifically at a very low price. It will allow sellers to offer a two-click checkout process that doesn’t take customers away…
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Carnivorous Clock tells time, kills flies
Looking for a clock that is powered by a renewable resource that you don’t have to pay for? Well this� Carnivorous Clock might be just what you’re looking for, especially if you have a fly problem. This timepiece is quite eco-friendly as it doesn�t run off of electricity or need batteries, but it has to eat flies to continue to run. The whole process is decomposition and whoever thought of it must really hate flies. This fancy time-keeper uses a…
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Multi Lines extension cords spread out your outlets
There are extension cords that span very long distances, but a giant brick of outlets at the end of a cord doesn�t always cut it. What if you have a lot of wall space, and lots of things to plug in intermittently? That�s where the Multi Lines extension cord comes in. This has several outlets that are spread out on the cord instead of being in one giant lump at the end of it. Not having to tear your walls…
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SXSW Free Music – cool 4.5 GB torrent of free legal music now available for public download
SXSW has just released a 4.5 GB torrent of 800 tracks of free music for public download as a prelude to the upcoming 11th March kickoff of this year’s extravaganza. If you’d rather listen to it in a streaming form, you can hear it here on Shoutcast. Enjoy! <apparently a 2nd torrent will be posted later, so bookmark!> Tags: sxsw, free+music, torrent, shoutcast
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