ManagedQ. David Stat has sent me details of his team’s new search startup called ManagedQ, which aims to combine a ‘highly visual interface’ with ‘natural language processing’ to improve search. In simple terms it’s trying to provide search at the completely other extreme from the sparse Google interface. Search engines are a difficult thing to deliver, mostly because we have grown accustomed to the market leader, and therefore judge everything against Google. Newcomers therefore have a mountain to climb before…
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Porsche Audio System – minimalist radio music player dock screams Teutonic style
Porsche Audio System. Ach, dose klever Germans, yet again they show ze world how to craft stylish, yet understated consumer technology in ze black kolor. Diese FM/AM radio stationen player mit remote controllen und iPod docking facilitate hides the speakers in the control knobs for extra coolness. And puts a 3 inch sub-woofer in the back seat. Yep, dat Porsche fellow he knows his designen stuffen. £409.00. No unnecessary buttons, no blinking display. The stylish front in shiny black acrylic…
Read MoreChain Mail T-Shirt – take your inner geek and show it off to the world
Chain Mail T-Shirt. We’re thinking this is the perfect attire to wear for your all important interview at the Googleplex. Forget all the fancy intelligence tests, psychometric questioning and bonding sessions, if the guys there don’t recognise a real live off the wall renaissance lovin’ middle earth dungeon master when they see one, then what’s the point of working there anyway? $99.99. In case you weren’t aware, chain mail does not stretch. You cannot put it on one arm at…
Read MoreLight Sensitive Sound Box – annoying gadgets r’us
This Light Sensitive Sound Box should probably be sub-titled ‘how to get your head smacked’. Hide the box in someone’s bedroom, and watch or listen as the device emits either a dog bark or dripping tap noise when they switch the light off. Yeah well, an Einstein product it ain’t. The annoying thing of course is the fact that the noise stops when they turn on the light to hunt for the source, making it difficult to locate without a good…
Read More3rd Space FPS Vest – pneumatic vest simulates bodily game damage, so you don’t have to suffer
3rd Space FPS Vest. Integrated ‘pneumatic technology’ simulates punches, explosions and stuff when you’re immersed in playing that video game. Um…is this a good thing? Anyhoo, you’ll need to load up the special driver to get it to work, and there’s no guarantee that the air-compressor system will work with your game (only eight titles supported so far). Oh and it only works with ‘official licensed’ versions of the games, so bad luck on that hacked copy of F.E.A.R., dude. £129.95. This state of…
Read MoreElectric Bus – start your own transport service with a power strip and fuse
The EV-BRT12-2 Electric Bus holds 36 bodies, travels at 45 km/hour and has a range of 85km fully loaded. OK, so it may get a tad windy, but what’s a small breeze matter when it comes to saving the planet? And…oh joy of joys…it comes with a CD player. And speaker. There now, you’re convinced aren’t you? No idea on price, but give them a call anyway and make some enquiries. Tags: electric+bus, ecological, ev
Read MoreSurveillanceSaver – the webcam screensaver now available in a Windows version
SurveillanceSaver. This deliciously subversive piece of freeware accesses over 600 security CCTV cameras around the world and cycles through them via an auto-playing screensaver. Finally we all get a chance at playing Big Brother from the comfort of our homes or cubicle. The original version was Mac only, but now it’s available in a Windows format. Lovely, and a little scary too. (the image above is Bucharest in Romania, by the way) SurveillanceSaver is an OS X screensaver that shows live images of over 600…
Read MoreAudiko – the easiest ringtone maker in the known physical universe and beyond
Audiko. Creating a cell phone ringtone doesn’t get any easier than with this free service. Just upload an MP3 track (or point to an MP3 url), choose the fragment you want to use and download the result to your hard disk. Erm…that’s it. “audiko” word exists in no language all over the world. audiko is a simple service which helps you to make a ringtone of your favorite song! Tags: audiko, ringtone+maker, mobile+phone
Read MoreTactaPad – control your computer using two hands and a big smile…
The TactaPad is a concept technology awaiting development funding and manufacture. The system provides for two handed manipulation of your computing screen via a USB pad and integral camera, with full touch and audio feedback. Quite an ambitious concept, but the demo animations make it look very cool indeed. They say it could cost around $1000.00 though, so it looks as though they’re aiming at the top-end of the market initially. Nice. Where does the keyboard go? For two-handed operation the TactaPad is most…
Read MoreNubrella – world’s first hands-free upper torso umbrella…
Nubrella. Alan Kaufman was inspired one wet and windy day in New York and came up with this doozy of a product to replace the humble umbrella. A hands-free, upper torso ‘weather protector’. Apparently it’s wind tested up to 50mph, won’t fog, or make you look like a slightly weird alien from Alpha Centauri. Ahh…OK so scratch that last bit. $59.95. (…snarks aside, it looks quite useful for bike riders) [Thanks Lewis] With its new aerodynamic oval design with extended coverage wind now flows over…
Read MoreMemory Foam MP3 Blackout Shades – kick back, chill out and listen in total darkness
Memory Foam MP3 Blackout Shades. We’re thinking that while you’re blissfully submerged in your soothing blacked out MP3 sounds, you’ll be getting some looks, real funny looks from your colleagues. And your pencil sharpener stolen. Your call. $24.99. Plug in your MP3, iPod, or Zune, wrap yourself in silky soft darkness and comfort, and lose yourself in relaxation at home, at work, or while traveling. Made with memory foam to conform to your individual face shape. Tags: memory+foam+mp3+shades, gadget, mp3,…
Read MoreDesktop Mini Aluminium Soccer Game – finger twiddling fun
Desktop Mini Soccer. Why is it called fusball? Why? The proper name is table football. Heh. $22.90. Come On! Just get a Beer & have a Mini Football League in your Office & Home Tags: gadget, desktop+mini+soccer
Read MoreHaluz2 – point and click adventure game is fun, pretty and clever
Haluz2. Nice little point and click adventure game with innovative graphics and some clever Myst like puzzles to solve along the way. I’m hopeless at this type of game, but I know that you clever folk will do much better. [via Lazylaces] Tags: haluz2, game, adventure
Read MoreLivestation – new live television netcast service launches beta
I’ve been checking out the new Livestation online television service and it’s pretty impressive. Very similar to the Zattoo service we reported on earlier, and also in beta. The main difference is that this one is based on the Microsoft Silverlight platform, which makes it an interesting technology experiment. So far it looks pretty good. The video quality is reasonable, although it’s not that hard to serve good quality video when it’s based mostly around news channels (which is all…
Read MoreKill Dead Pixel – simple tool to recover dead pixels on your LCD screen
KillDeadPixel. Here’s a cute little tool which may help to recover dead pixels on your LCD monitor. You know, those little points of light which indicate liquid crystal cells which have stopped working. Definitely a bookmark for the toolbox (although it gives me a bit of a headache if I look at it too long). Simply drag the above graphic to your dead pixel and let it stay there for about 1 hour. The graphic will try to massage the dead pixel back alive…
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