Gadgets Base

There is no doubt that mouse is a very important device for every PC user. Because of this everyone should be very careful while choosing a mouse. As regards designers and producers they are to make it in such a way that it would be possible to ensure the most efficient, comfortable and harmless usage. A great attempt to meet all these points was made by Moldable Mouse designers.

The Moldable Mouse Concept designed by Lite-On Technology and P&C Design Center has won the Red Dot award: design concept 2007 in the Productivity and Work category. It’s made of lightweight modeling clay and covered with nylon and polyurethane blends fabric, and users can knead it into different shapes they like. Most high-tech counterparts claim to be ergonomically designed, but in case you ask people who spend all the day sitting in front of the computer, you will find out that it is not exactly so.

The Moldable Mouse infuses a bit of fun and game into the computing process. On a more serious note, by allowing a wide variety of hand positions when holding the mouse, it reduces repeated motions of the same posture, thereby minimizing the chance of common mouse-related injuries such as the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. The click buttons and touch-sensitive scroll pad of the Moldable Mouse are stick-on parts with built-in RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device), which can be repositioned for maximum comfort.

Thus, it’s hard to imagine a device that would be more ergonomic than this mouse. It’s always a great pleasure to read about such wonderful gadgets that significantly improve our life activity.

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Posted Feb 24th 2008 5:05AM by Paul Miller
Filed under: Desktops
Anybody remember when a gigaflop was a big deal? Oh, how far we’ve come. Researchers are now talking about exascale computing, which means systems that can handle a million trillion calculations per second. To put that in perspective, IBM’s BlueGene/L (pictured), the fastest machine running, has a peak performance of 596 teraflops. A petaflop is 1000 times faster than a teraflop, and an exaflop is 1000 times faster than a petaflop. Yeah, that’s a lot of flops. Right now researchers are sorting out the most preliminary of groundwork, such as how do you get data to tens of thousands of processors at a time for crunching, but we’re sure before a few decades are up they’ll finally have built a machine that is powerful enough to cure all human diseases — or, you know, maybe even play Crysis at 60fps.

If you love HD and you’re a sports fan, then there’s probably not much better than watching your favorite sports in HD. A HD sports event is the second closest you can get to the game, as long as you know when it’s on. This is where HDSportsGuide.Com comes in, they provide you with the very best comprehensive online listing on HDTV sports events.

The site is a great idea, and a great solution for keeping up with all sports in HD.  Their listing are added from a number of different sources, and are all checked for correctness by humans before being published.  They even provide a 14 day guide so you can plan ahead.

Its always fun to see the inner workings of technology, its not always fun to take apart your brand new $3000 laptop. In this case we have to rely on those who are a little more brave than we may be. Courtesy of ThinkPads.com we can now have a good look at the inner workings of the ultra-portable Lenovo ThinkPad X300.

Click the read link below for some more great pictures…

Read [ThinkPads.com]

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Posted Feb 24th 2008 12:15AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Misc. gadgets
We’re pretty certain this isn’t the first time researchers have dove in and tried to accurately gauge laughter, but it just might be the most thorough. Gurus at Kansai University have reportedly crafted a machine that can “scientifically measure the quantity of a person’s laughter, as well as distinguish between the real and the fake.” Apparently, the idea here is to gather such information and use it to “conduct more detailed research into the physiological effects of laughter on the immune system,” and it’s collected by a series of electrode sensors that monitor “bioelectricity generated by certain muscles that flex when you chuckle.” Best of all, they’ve actually created a unit of measure to quantify their findings (aH), which certainly removes any doubt that all of this is just some elaborate joke.

[Via PinkTentacle, image courtesy of TravellersPoint]

Posted Feb 23rd 2008 8:41PM by Ryan Block
Filed under: Gaming, HDTV, Home Entertainment
Well scratch that rumor about a dramatic price drop: according to Microsoft’s Gamerscore blog, Microsoft and Toshiba are discontinuing the Xbox 360 hd dvd drive. So long friend, we’ll see you in the next life (or in the bargain bin at Good Will soon enough).

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Ever wanted to just quickly log in and check your email only to have a bunch of friends instantly hit you up on chat, well now you can do just that, just switch yourself to invisible. A new option that was added to Gmail Chat will let you switch yourself from visible to invisible. The nice part about this is that while you are logged in and invisible you will still be able to see your friends status, they just cannot see you, meaning you may actually be able to get your work completed.

This new option works in the latest version of Gmail on Firefox 2 and IE7. The only limitation seems to be that you cannot switch yourself to invisible if you are logged in using another (gadget or desktop application) Gmail Client.

Via [Google Operating System]

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TiVo currently has a new special going for the TiVo HD DVR. For a limited time you can now get a refurbished model for just $199.99. That price does require a one year service obligation which will run you an additional $12.95 a month or $129 for the full year. As we mentioned this is just for a limited time and the offer will end on April 2.

Read [TiVo] Via [Boy Genius Report]

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Posted Feb 23rd 2008 4:44PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: cellphones, Displays, Handhelds
If you’re frustrated with how difficult it is to control your touchscreen-based mobile with just one hand, Mitsumi clearly feels your pain. At a recent presentation, the outfit highlighted a new haptic input device that would ideally be situated on the rear of a handset / PMP and enable users to activate applications without having to use another hand to do so. The device consists of “a sheet with small protrusions, a resistance sensitive touch pad and switches,” and while the prototype was a tad unsightly, the firm is hoping to reduce the thickness before taking it commercial. Yeah, we’re patiently waiting for mind control, but we suppose this would do in the meantime.

[Via FarEastGizmos]

Posted Feb 23rd 2008 6:07PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Home Entertainment
Earlier this month, we disagreed that HD movie downloads would trump hd dvd / Blu-ray disc purchases in the not-too-distant future, and now we’ve got yet another clever alternative on deck that just doesn’t have the makings of a winner. While it seems that consumers still prefer something tangible when purchasing movies, we can’t help but agree that flicks on flash drives just wouldn’t work. Aside from the prohibitive cost to pop out a standard DVD on a flash chip versus a disc, the idea of having customers flock to some sort of movie download kiosk to refill memory cards with new releases just seems absurd. Sure, we understand how this could sound marginally appealing from the sidelines, but we just can’t imagine all those DVD cases at your favorite big box retailer getting swapped out with movie-filled SDHC cards anytime soon.