If you’re feeling a little lonely while you’re surfing the internet or chatting it up with someone online, now you can have a yellow friend to brighten your day.  This little guy is capable of picking up on the tone of your conversation and changes his mood accordingly.  He’ll even go as far as getting involved by telling you how he feels about the discussions that are being exchanged.  Which basically means you’ll have paid your hard earned cash to have a yellow backseat driver while you’re on the internet.  On the up side of things it’d be a sneaky way to keep an eye on what your kids are up to on the internet.

Read the rest of this entry »

What you see here is a robot made by both NASA and GM, in order to go into outer space. Yeah, it sounds like science fiction, but it is happening right now.

In fact, there is a video of it after the jump so you can see the robots at work. You may notice that they can do some very precise work of assembling and disassembling, albeit slowly. I guess if time is not an issue, these robots could probably be sent to the space station right away.

Yes, there are probably a lot of bugs to work out before these robots are ready to be sent in orbit. Of course, one can see the need for robot astronauts. Why send a man up there if you can have a robot do the same job? Of course, if the robots break down, then you’d better send a robot to fix the thing.

Read the rest of this entry »

Fujifilm is ready to roll out their new long-zoom category of compact cameras under the JZ line, where it merges style, substance and affordability in a single (and hopefully for them) winning formula. Just take a look at the design and chances are pretty good that you will be pleased with what your eyes see. You can choose from silver and black color choices, accompanied by elegant round edges, a smooth matte finish and measuring only 23mm thin, making the JZ cameras ideal for those who are looking for a pocketable, elegant shooter equipped with a longer zoom to shoot subjects from far away without compromising on image quality.

Read the rest of this entry »

Nikon is at it yet again with another digital camera for the masses – the Nikon Coolpix S8000 is the latest in the Coolpix range which proves the age old adage of not judging a book by its cover. After all, it comes with a slim and slender body that is actually capable of holding a powerful and versatile 10x Optical Zoom-NIKKOR ED glass lens which will no doubt deliver extremely sharp, crisp images regardless of whether you shoot an image from far off or from a close up. In order to remove blur at any focal length, the S8000 is equipped with a 4-way Image Stabilization System and ISO settings to 3200, alongside the ability to record HD movies (720p) at 30 frames per second (fps) with stereo sound. Not only that, you can instantly preview your snapped photos thanks to its 921k pixel Clear Color Display LCD right there and then.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hovercrafts aren’t exactly the most popular form of transport even until today, but it does offer a slew of fun if you’ve ever hopped on one. Well, assuming you have never experienced such a privilege, then the RC Hoverpod could be just the thing for you, as it allows you to pilot your very own Hoverpod.

Just like the real thing, the Hoverpod slides around the place by thrusting air downwards and propelling along in zippy fashion, leaving you to use the remote control to guide it past obstacles (tables, chairs, the legs of family members). Though it won’t work on water, you can still have hours of fun playing at being the skipper as you nimbly guide the Hoverpod across smooth floors and carpets (as long as the pile isn’t too shaggy).

The law of diminishing returns applies here, where a 10-minute charge offers 5 minutes of hover-time, while the remote control ought to be stocked with a quartet of AA batteries. As with everything else, there is a need for practise as the RC Hoverpod has a learning curve before you can zip it around with aplomb. Each of the RC Hoverpods will cost £24.99, where you can choose from red or blue colors.

Before zippers came along, mankind had to grapple with their arch nemesis – laces. Apart from making it extremely difficult for a hot-blooded male to relieve his consort of her extremely tight corset (which was wound with a knot that proved harder than the Gordian knot), it also proved to be rather messy when you needed it to stay in place the most. Well, the Lace-amatic could offer a dramatic solution to this age old problem, functioning as a device which acts as an instant on/off switch for walking & running shoes. With but a single wave of your finger, it is capable of tightening, knotting or undoing laced shoes – all without having to bend over. Requiring very little strength as well, it takes a minimal degree of dexterity or flexibility to operate. Seems to be available only in Canada at point of publishing though, but this is one invention which we welcome with open arms (and wounded up knots).

Product Page

Pico projectors haven’t really taken off in the past couple of years despite the rather early promise it has, but that’s to be expected since most places already have the facilities to accommodate a nice presentation on a large, projected display, so why go mobile? Perhaps things might change in the future, but the pico projector market has taken small strides with the latest release from AAXA with their L1 laser pico projector. This laser-driven LCoS projector boasts 20 lumens of brightness at a resolution of 800 x 600, where it can throw up to a 50″ image thanks to its integrated media player. Still, all that technology is crammed into something as small as 4.2″ x 2.1″ x 0.8″ while tipping the scales at a mere 170 grams with the battery included! Being reliant on lasers, it is capable of projecting on curved surfaces and is focus-free. For $599, the L1 laser pico projector can run for 90 minutes before it requires a recharge – not too shabby, eh?

Source: Pico Projector Info