Archive for March, 2009
Netflix Blu-ray users about to see price jump
For those of you who have been enjoying Blu-ray through Netflix, you’re about to see a jump in the price of your membership. Which could be deemed as slightly unfair. Since you may have a month where you’ve only received DVDs instead of Blu-ray. There is no guarantee the videos you want are even available in Blu-ray. At the same time though, Blu-ray does cost more money, so it’s questionable what else could have been done. It was bound to happen eventually.
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Honda lets your mind do the work
I’m sure that all of you have heard of Asimo, Honda’s robot that moves with surprising grace. It would appear that Honda Research Institute are working together to make the human mind work together with this artificial body.
Yes, Honda has finally created the world’s first Brain Machine Interface. All a user needs to do is sit with some skull cap interface on, and (electroencephalography) EEG and NIRS (near-infrared spectroscopy) sensors can detect your thoughts and transmit them into action for Asimo.
I watched Honda’s video of this new science. They really hyped it up by introducing a world where we can open our trunk with a thought, or turn on our heater when it gets too cold. I have a video of it after the jump if you would like to see it for yourself.
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Previous Coolest Gadget of the Week Winner is…
The winner of last week’s coolest gadget competition is the World’s Fastest Hard Drive.
The Fusion ioDrive Duo is according to the manufacturer, the fastest SSD solution available today, and from the looks of the specification they might be right.
The ioDrive duo comes with 160GB of storage, for the basic model, with up to 1.28TB for the top model, it has read speeds of 1.5GB per second and write speeds of 1.4GB per second.
Congrats again to Geeky Gadgets.
Continue reading » Previous Coolest Gadget of the Week Winner is…
Elecom’s new USB Fan keeps it simple
There’s never a shortage of people preferring their gadgets complicated and with lots of built-in features. After all, it does make things more convenient, since that’s one less thing you’ll have to deal with. However, sometimes it’s nice to keep things simple, instead of overloading your gadgets with things that you often never use. In some cases the added extras aren’t quite as well done when they’re combined with another gadget. This fan from Elecom is anything but complicated.
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Gametrak Freedom
Nintendo made history when it released the motion controlling Wiimote, so why shouldn’t other video game consoles carry a motion controller of their own? I suppose it would look like a cheap imitation if they did, but why shouldn’t a good idea be multiplied?
A company called Performance Designed Products (PDP) say that Gametrak Freedom is a 3D motion controller for the Xbox 360. In fact, it almost looks like PDP has made something almost better than the Wiimote.
The Gametrak Freedom has Ultrasonic 3D position sensing which uses sound to determine exactly where the controller is in the room. This new tech may unlock a whole new genre of gaming as the controllers can “see” one player throw something towards another player in a room, and it can sense when a player moves out of the way. The Xbox stick also uses accelerometers that can determine the angle of the controller.
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OfficePOD
As someone who likes to work from home, I value my space. Right now, I use a laundry room because I don’t have a spare room, but I’m wondering if my productivity would increase if got my own space apart from the house.
I suppose that this is the vision for the OfficePOD which is designed for, a small space that is designed to shut out the outside world. I’m not certain how soundproofed it is, but it’s probably more able to drown out the background noises than what I usually experience inside the house.
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Dell Desktop Computers bring out color for springtime
I may very well be the only person that gets sentimental over technology, but when it comes to Dell I am. My very first computer was a Dell and it was a great machine while it lasted. So it’s still a favorite brand of mine for many reasons (even if I don’t own a Dell anymore). One being that Dell has always seemed to listen to their customers and now that everyone is crying out for technology with color, Dell has listened once again. They’re releasing a full line of desktop computers that are brightly colored to match their colorful laptops.
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Remote Controlled Manta Ray
Manta rays are majestic creatures that roam the earth’s oceans, and chances are you won’t be able to bring one home by any means which leads us to the next best thing – the Remote Controlled Manta Ray.
This is the remote controlled manta ray that glides underwater while you swim or snorkel nearby. Its hydrodynamic body has small holes in its upper body that allow water to displace air as it submerges down to its maximum depth of 8′. You can control it from 6′ away with the remote (which is waterproof down to 3′). Forefinger triggers on the underside of the remote enable independent pitch for each thruster, providing control for steep, powered dives to the bottom of pools and rapid ascents. Thumb toggles on the topside of the remote allow for independent thrust operation of each shrouded propeller, providing the ability to move forward, backward, make left and right turns, barrel rolls, or complete underwater loops–even intricate submerged Immelmann turns. Three LED panels provide a phosphorescent glow as it moves through the water. A rechargeable battery (sold separately) contained in a sealed, waterproof compartment powers the manta for up to 30 minutes (takes four hours to fully charge); the remote requires one 9-volt battery. Four AA batteries (not included) can also power the manta ray. Sturdy PVC, ABS, and stainless steel construction. For freshwater use.
It is interesting to note that while the real manta rays live in the ocean, this remote controlled version will just have to make do with freshwater only, probably due to the materials it was constructed from where salt water could end up being more abrasive than normal. After all, you wouldn’t want something that cost you a handsome $119.95 wear out so fast, do you?
