The good folks at Google Earth (you have downloaded it, haven’t you) have some serious fans by the name of Pict`Earth.

They’ve got a great little bit of gear and software. They provide the coolest service for viewing high resolution overhead images.

A small RC airplane flies at low level and records high resolution video. The video is then placed into Google Earth and is actively used to display nap of the earth images.

One of the key uses they’re touting it for is to record events from overhead. Just think of all the great things you could soon see on Google Earth: the overhead of the crowd from a football game, the throngs of a marathon crossing a well known bridge, bulls running down drunken runners in Pamplona, the possibilities are endless!

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This is fourth part of the “red dot design series”, if you have not check out part 1, part 2 and part 3. In this post we will cover the interesting gadgets that won the award under the Recreation category.

Boing Boing Boxer: Designed by Park Sang Hyun and Kim Ji Ae this toy was created to enable kids to fight safely. It is produced with latex foam which should function as a shocking absorption material. The tagline of the product on the official site is “The Bong-Bong Boxer makes fighting fun and educational for pre-school children.” Well, I am not sure about your kids but the ones I see here in Brazil would definitely make some trouble with that boxing deal… Read the rest of this entry »

My daughter and I tend to get a fair few joint Christmas presents (one of us is old for their age though some would argue that I’m a bit childish), the coolest joint present so far is the Homer sculpture puzzle.

To make your own Homer bust you need to solve 150 individual jigsaw puzzles and then slot them together in order (they are numbered fortunately) to build your 3D masterpiece. Once the bust is complete you can paint it with the included characteristic Simpson yellow paint.

One thing we learnt the hard way is not throw away the black bit of curved card that looks like an offcut as that’s actually Homer’s hair.

If Santa never left you a Homer head it’s available from Hawkin (where I bought a tonne of stocking filler presents) for £24.99.

Come on, we’re all gadget, and thereby gift nuts.

So bring it on, what’d you go out and get for your loved ones?

Also, what’d you get?! Come on, you’re dying to share,, do you get to Wii? Is there a new PS3 in the family?

Do you have new socks that for some reason smell different from your old ones,, maybe due to the fact that your feet have not yet infected them?

Post your stuff in the comments, give a little reason why.

Any philanthropy? Put it in there, goodness is appreciated this time of year chaps!

My list to follow as well.

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This is a more of an advertisement than a post but as the product is so cool I don’t mind, it’s the must have pocket size remote control Micro X-Copter. I might be a bit too late for Christmas but if I was offered one of these as a somewhat belated present or a woolly jumper on Christmas morning I know which I’d choose :).

Who is the best-known hip-hop artist in the fictional land of Chub City? Chub C of course. At least that’s what it says on the box. Just don’t tell Hype. He’s the white version of Chub C (a la Eminem). What the hell am I talking about? That’s a good question.

Both Chub C (black) and Hype (white) are interactive toy characters called i-Playaz from a company called Jada Toys. i-Playaz connect to any music source including your iPod, CD player, computer or even an old school Sony Walkman. Just plug in an i-Playaz character and play some music. The i-Playaz characters will then dance to the beat and even play your music through a built-in speaker in their heads. There’s also an audio output if you want to connect better speakers to your i-Playaz character.

When I first got Hype in the mail, I was already on my way out and brought the box along with me to a bar down the street. I figured I’d just test him out for this review when I got home. But while I was waiting for some friends to show up, the people at the bar kept asking me what was in the box. I was curious to see what my i-Playaz could do anyway so I took Hype out of his box and set him up on the bar. With his sideways hat and flashy bling, it’s no wonder that everyone at the bar started calling him K-Fed, after Britney Spears wannabe hip-hop ex-husband. If you know someone who is trying to pull off the K-Fed white hip-hop thing, Hype will bring you and your friends hours of entertainment.

Full Review: i-Playaz Interactive Hip-Hop Toy

Fans of Link, the Hero of Time and the true bearer of the Triforce and Master Sword, will be pleased to know that the master adventurer is now cast in poly-stone forever by the good folk at First 4 Figures. The Adult Link measures 7″ tall including the base he stands on, and looks set to loose one of his trademark spin attack that we have all come to know and love over the past couple of decades.

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I once had a remote control plane, which was, to me, the coolest thing in the entire world. That is, until my second time flying it when my supreme flying skills got it stuck in a tree. That pretty much ended the fun. Of course, my plane was a cheap $40 piece of cardboard that required a good throw before it actually got into the air. If you’re willing to pay a little more, about $100, you can get a real plane, one that you can land and take off on its own.
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