Archive for August 24th, 2006
Miscellaneous Gadgets, Tech News
Apple Recalls Laptop Batteries
Unfortunately Dell isn’t the only company plagued by exploding defective Sony batteries. On Thursday afternoon Apple announced that they will recall 1.8 million lithium-ion notebook batteries after nine devices overheated. Two people have even reportedly suffered minor burns due to these battery malfunctions.
You can check out some of the fiery Apple laptops in this clip from NBC’s Nightly News with Brian Williams.
This recall is the second-biggest consumer electronics recall in U.S. history. Dell proudly holds the #1 position thanks to the 4.1 million batteries they announced a recall for last week.
So how do you know if you have a bad Sony battery in your Apple laptop? The bad batteries were sold worldwide from October 2003 through August 2006 in the following notebook computers: 12-inch iBook G4, 12-inch PowerBook G4 and 15-inch PowerBook G4.
If you own one of these Apple laptops, carefully remove your battery and take a look at the numbers printed on the back. The battery serial number is printed in black or dark grey lettering beneath a barcode. See this flickr photo for more info.
Once you mail your defective Sony battery back to Apple, you can still use your Apple laptop sans battery. Just plug in the AC adapter to power the computer until a replacement battery arrives. Apple pays for all the shipping costs and will even send you a postage paid label to send the bad battery back. Unfortunately you’ll lose the joys of laptop portability for about 4 to 6 weeks. That’s the estimated time it will take Apple to replace your battery. Look on the bright side – at least you won’t have to worry about a bonfire spontaneously igniting in your lap for a few weeks. Flame on!
For more information on the battery recall, check out this page on Apple.com.
Miscellaneous Gadgets, iPod gadgets
Colorize your gadgets
You’ve got your $2,000 MacBook Pro, but the silver pain job just isn’t doing it for you. Maybe you want a unique iPod, considering everyone else has one, too. Colorware tailors exactly to you, the people with too much money!
Colorware is a third party vendor that will take your gadgets and give them a new paint job. They do a wide variety of products, including most of the current Mac lineup, except the Mac Pro. That includes Nanos and 5Gs. They also do a few Dells, only laptops though.
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Miscellaneous Gadgets, Vehicle Gadgets
Innovan – Cool Mobile House
The Innovan is like a portable mini-house that can be attached to your vehicle, it is made from lightweight material and designed in a form that it can be slided-on the tray back, this way you have 2 advantages: being able to drag a boat, trailer or anything else you want; and good performance on or off-road areas. This mobile home comes with plenty of features and as the name (innovan) indicates, innovation is the important part. Here some specifications with links to photos:
Miscellaneous Gadgets
Close Proximity Glucometer and Insulin Pump
Having diabetes is certainly not fun, and probably is pretty inconvenient. You’ve got to remember to bring all your supplies, be it a glucometer, insulin, and anything else you need to keep healthy everywhere you go. That can’t be fun.
The folks over at Cambridge Consultants realize that and want to make it a bit less inconvenient. Recently they announced a device that integrates close-proximity wireless with an insulin pump and a glucometer.
The device utilizes the close-proximity wireless standard, NFC, to wirelessly link the insulin pump and glucometer. Your glucometer will record your blood sugar level then recommend a dose of insulin. If you accept the dose, all you need to do is swipe the glucometer against the insulin pump, which can be hidden under your clothes, and it will issue the dosage.
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Cool Clocks, Electronic Gadgets
Bio-Clock – Tell the Time with Ketchup
This is a cool educational gadget, the Bio-Clock. It’s a digital clock with infinite different power sources.
The versatile Bio-Clock demonstrates how simple chemical reaction can create usable electricity. Add almost any household materials to its electrodes and this amazing clock has the power to run accurately and non-stop. Ketchup, toothpaste, lemons, even cola works well.
Experiment with your own unexpected power sources!
Easy to assemble; extra electrodes and instructions included.
If you want a fun way to educate the kids it’s available from Museum Tour for $14.95 (batteries not included 
), thanks to vousami from our forums for the tip.
Drinking Gadgets, Miscellaneous Gadgets, Toys
How To Make a Mentos Coke Rocket
Want to make your own carbonated gas rocket? You’ve probably already seen someone make a Mentos Coke Geyser. Just drop a few Mentos into a bottle of Diet Coke and you’ll see a violent 16 foot fountain of Coke explode out of the bottle. Although that may sound somewhat exciting, the geyser is the boring “science teacher” version of this experiment. If you really want to unleash the carbon dioxide power in a 2-liter bottle of Diet Coke, try making a Mentos Coke Rocket. Here’s how:
- Buy a 2 litter bottle of Diet Coke and a roll of Mentos. You can use any soda but room temperature Diet Coke for some reason is the best performer.
- Find a big open area to launch your Mentos Coke Rocket. Don’t do it indoors. Trust me.
- Slide the paper cover off the Mentos (leave the foil wrapper on) and slip the roll into the bottle.
- Quickly cap the bottle and shake it.
- Gently unscrew the cap, just a little, until you start to hear fizzing.
- Throw it down and cover your face!
You can see the video here.
