Archive for March 14th, 2008

Smart Guide for drill

Friday, March 14th, 2008

Those people who are familiar with power drills know that it’s not an easy task to work with them, especially if the surface is rough. The most common mistake made by nonprofessionals is not enough pressure while they are drilling something. As a consequence, drill starts to wander all over the surface before hitting its mark. So you can spoil a great deal of materials before you’ll get the one you need. Fortunately due to the new idea of Bongkun Shin you can forget about this.

His concept prevents any mistakes while drilling, enabling you to make straight and accurate holes. The Smart Guide makes use of two intersected rings that collapse in on each other - keeping your drill straight and on the narrow. It can be perfectly used both by beginners and professionals. Despite the simplicity of this device, it is safe to say that there can be no doubt about its efficiency and usefulness.

Actually I don’t understand why something of this kind wasn’t designed before. As for the disadvantages of this gadget I would say that most likely it will not be possible to use such a drill in case you need to make a hole in a narrow corner or on a really small detail. Yet, in general it’s much better than all its counterparts.

Smart Goggles help you find that one thing… you know, with the stuff

Friday, March 14th, 2008

Posted Mar 14th 2008 10:08AM by Paul Miller
Filed under: Digital Cameras, Wearables
While perhaps some sort of tagging or RFID system could be more effective in this task, you’re certainly never going to look as badass on the hunt for a flower pot as you will with these Smart Goggles. Being developed by researchers at the University of Tokyo, the video goggles are hooked up to a backpack computer and record whatever you see. The system can be trained to recognize particular items by name, using some fancy image recognition software, and is meant for people with memory problems or just really hard to find plants. You can even ask the system to play back some recent video of the object (”where did you see it last?”) to help jog your memory or just bring back old times. Super-fine white coat not included.

[Via Daily Mail]

The Icon Watch

Friday, March 14th, 2008

The Icon Watch was designed back in 2005 although it appears to have just become available for purchase. It is shaped like a computer icon in pixelated form, has an ABS and stainless steel body with a polyurethane band. There is nothing too technical about this watch as it just tells the time and that’s all. I recommend you mix it with an 8-Bit tie for the ultimate computer look while you are out this weekend. Just don’t expect people to be laughing with you as they may end up laughing at you

The Icon Watch costs a hefty $75 ($67.50 if you are a member of MoMA) and measures Case: 1.25h x 1.25″w; Band: .75″w.

Product Page Source - Fosfor

Guest Post by Matthew of Gadget Venue.

Cuba ends ban on DVD player, computer sales

Friday, March 14th, 2008

Posted Mar 13th 2008 3:03PM by Nilay Patel
Filed under: Misc. gadgetsMan, Fidel’s out and already the kids are getting crazy: the Cuban government is finally allowing general consumers to buy various electronics, including DVD players and computers, for the first time. Only companies and foreigners were previously able to buy computers, while the looming threat of terrible Hollywood movies had forced Cuban authorities to seize DVD players at the airport. The change is due to “the improved availability of electricity,” and Cubans can look forward to also picking up microwaves, 24-inch televisions, and rice cookers to plug into the new juice. Of course, it’s not all flip flops and high-fives: air conditioners will not be available until next year, and the deadly menace known as the toaster will be restricted until 2010. Hope you like plain bread with your communism movies.

DIY Neon Sign Kit

Friday, March 14th, 2008

Got something to say? Say it with neon!

Create your own custom neon sign by snapping together 2″x3″ neon letters by buying individual letters to form your own phrase or statement, connect to the power supply and voila! You have a low heat and low power consumption ultra cool sign. Each neon letter is fitted inside a sturdy plastic housing with all electronic components safely tucked away. The letter are ready to power up as soon as they are snapped together and connected to the power supply.

Gimmie!

Suggested Price: $29.99

Sony Ericsson W580i dished out in a new color - Jungle Green

Friday, March 14th, 2008

Perhaps Sony Ericsson realized the pink version didn’t quite excite much of the male population of its users. So this time, it dishes out the awesome W580i Walkman phone in a new color. And they’ve decided to call it Jungle Green. Now you have 5 available colors to choose from, including Style White, Boulevard Black, Urban Grey, and Metro Pink. Same specs as the old one means it’s still a great music phone in a slick sliding form factor.

Via [SE Fanatics]

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$50 Teachermate PC launched by Chicago nonprofit

Friday, March 14th, 2008

Posted Mar 13th 2008 11:49AM by Joshua Topolsky
Filed under: Handhelds
As you’ve probably figured out from all the OLPC XO and Intel Classmate news we’ve hit, computers aimed at students are a pretty hot topic these days. A Chicago-based nonprofit called Innovations for Learning has joined the fray with a new $50 entry dubbed the Teachermate. The small PCs come equipped with a 2.5-inch LCD display, 512MB of RAM, an SD slot, and built-in microphone and speaker. The systems are being rolled out to a whopping 500 Chicago elementary schools over the next two years, with the aim of having a unit in the hands of every child. The kid-friendly computers will come with a special case that allows charging and data-sync of 30 units at a time, allowing teachers to collect score-data quickly. If you absolutely must have one, it looks like they’re going to commercially available on Amazon, so you will be able to add it to your collection.

Disney sells 4 million movies and over 40 million videos on iTunes — amounts to nothing

Friday, March 14th, 2008

Posted Mar 13th 2008 10:31AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Portable VideoDisney announced that it sold 4 million movies and between 40 to 50 million videos on iTunes since 2006. That’s huge, right? Not really. In fact, analysts expect those numbers to amount to just $123 million ($1.44 earned per video, $14.50 per movie); pennies in comparison to Disney’s $35 billion in annual sales. In fact, it’s roughly 10% of the $1 billion in digital revenue Disney hopes to achieve this year. A clear reminder, dear readers, of just how Type-A we really are. The typical Wal-mart noob still doesn’t download their video and music — hell, they can’t even figure out Linux.

Sony’s 13.3-inch VAIO VGN-SZ791N gets reviewed

Friday, March 14th, 2008

Posted Mar 13th 2008 11:22AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Laptops
Just glancing at the specifications sheet, you can tell Sony’s 13.3-inch VAIO VGN-SZ791N packs quite the punch for its size. After all, who wouldn’t be pleased with a 2.5GHz T9300 CPU, discrete GeForce 8400M graphics, 4GB of RAM and a built-in optical drive? Still, what looks good on paper doesn’t always translate into perfection on your lap, but according to a glowing review posted over at PC Mag, this is one of those cases in which it does. When benchmarked, this critter bested the highly-praised Asus U6S, Acer Ferrari 1100, Fujitsu P8010 and macbook air in the vast majority of tests — heck, it even cranked out a whopping 2 frames-per-second running Crysis at high quality (seriously, that’s an accomplishment). All in all, this beauty managed to impress in basically every category, and with 4.5 out of 5 stars and an Editor’s Choice badge, it seems that you’d be hard pressed to find a better ultraportable for $2,500.

[Thanks, Kane]

AT&T may charge you $5 to pay your bill over the phone

Friday, March 14th, 2008

According to recent rumors that began courtesy of an anonymous AT&T insider, as of March 11, AT&T has begun started charging customers located in the Southeast who pay over the phone an extra $5. And by May, the fee will be officially implemented nationwide.

Because the employee felt that charging extra is taking advantage of the customers, he sent this e-mail:

I have been working for ATT (Cingular, before SBC bought ATT Wireless) and starting March 11th, they are going to be doing a trial in the Southeast Market in charging customers who call in to make a payment. $5 is the charge to be exact, and they expect it to roll out nationwide by May.

I would be forwarding you the official internal memo, but they do monitor our emails with Nazi prowess…so no official email from them..

Now, thanks to this anonymous hero, loyal AT&T customers will no longer be clueless as to where in the world their money has gone. Be sure if or when paying your bill with AT&T over the phone that you use the automated line as there is not any additional $5 charge, this applies just to the customers who choose to deal with a live person.

Read [Consumerist]

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