Gadgets and New Technologies

It will take a much better command of written Japanese Korean than my paltry non-existent skills afford to suss out full details on Gakken’s vacuum-tube ipod amplifier, but damn, this looks like a fun assembly project in the "pre-soldering ability" class. Looks like they even supply the screwdriver. And when you’re done, you have a faux-Heathkit beauty that should be the envy of your workgroup. (Read the full post about ‘Build a Vacuum Tube iPod Amplifier’…)

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MIT’s Media Lab and Smart Cities Group believes it has come up with a possible solution to the growing problem of finding a parking space in busy urban environments. The solution involves a new concept car that can fold up to just half its size when parked. The car is being called the “City Car” and can hold two passengers while running on a rechargeable battery. The innovative bit is the way it can be stored when not in use. Unlike standard cars, which require their own parking space, the City Car can fold and stack with other City Cars, like shopping carts stack today. By doing this, they take up much less space (about one-eighth the space) while still being able to recharge ready for their next use. (Read the full post about ‘MIT solves parking problems with folding car’…)

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The toilet isn’t exactly the best smelling place on earth, and this is where tools like the Breeza deodorizing toilet seat comes in. The Breeza features a 4-part deodorizing system that kicks into gear whenever someone sits down. The fan will get to work straight away, sucking up any potential offensive odor, while the carbon filter goes on to absorb whatever smell that comes through. Breeza’s fragrance vents will then deliver a subtle waft of natural extracts, making the place smell as though you’d want to stay in there forever. To prevent ice cold shocks to your respective butts during winter, Breeza can also warm up its seat with an adjustable temperature setting. (Read the full post about ‘Breeza deodorizing toilet seat’…)

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Posted Mar 11th 2008 6:02AM by Ryan BlockFiled under: Desktops We don’t know if this guy got his box running GLaDOS, but it sure as hell looks like standard issue Aperture Science, if you ask us. We’d like to see it running Portal though — only that would be recursive enough for our tastes.[Thanks, Nick] (Read the full post about ‘Make your own Aperture Science PC workstation’…)

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Radio is becoming an increasingly competitive market. Not only do you have stations competing locally and online, but also you have competing radio services, which include the way you receive your programming. Of course, there is terrestrial radio, which is the most common radio people think of. This is what is offered on FM and AM stations. Then you have satellite radio. As the name implies, your radio signal is beamed from a satellite, giving you an incredible amount of programming, which is accessible wherever you are. There is also Internet radio, which is the best of both terrestrial and satellite radio.

(Read the full post about ‘CBS and AOL combine Internet radio networks’…)

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OpenMoko has taken the stance to sell cell phones to general consumers as announced at the O’Reilly Emerging Technology Conference. Before we proceed any further, here’s a little bit of history on OpenMoko. This company is run by Openmoko Inc. of Taiwan, a subsidiary of First International Computer Inc. of Taiwan, and is proud to be a developer of cell phones which rely on open source hardware and software. To date, OpenMoko has developed OpenMoko Linux and Neo, whereby both of them are open-source software platform and hardware for cell phones. Currently, OpenMoko Linux utilizes Linux as its OS kernel and employs X11 and GTK as its window systems. (Read the full post about ‘OpenMoko begins to sell cell phones to consumers’…)

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If you’re into collecting limited edition items, then the Olympus Mju 1200 should be taken into consideration since there will only be 5,000 of such units available. Each of these limited edition digital cameras feature uniquely-styled skins by internationally-acclaimed artist Matei Apostolescu, and I suspect you will probably keep this safe and sound at home instead of subjecting it to the rigors of everyday use. Other than the external aesthetic changes, everything else inside the Olympus Mju 1020 remains the same.

(Read the full post about ‘Limited Edition Olympus Mju 1020′…)

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USB Drum Kit (USB Digital Drum Kit) Who says drummers are noisy thickos? This full-on USB Drum Kit drum kit plugs straight into your USB port and can be played through headphones. Perfect for aspiring Tommy Lees, it’s the ideal way to learn drums without upsetting the entire neighbourhood. (Read the full post about ‘USB Drum Kit (USB Digital Drum Kit)’…)

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Who knew that mixers with custom paint-jobs were so popular? I know from our comments that a lot of our readers are Alton Brown fans, and now you can pimp your Kitchen Aid mixer just like the scientific chef himself. Seen here is a sticker set from FlameKA, a site dedicated to “flamed-out mixers”. The store redirects to Ebay or Amazon, but it’s worth checking out for both the blurb (sample line: “So buy them already. Your mixer is NAKED without them!”) and the gallery page, a kind of Reader’s Wives section, only with custom kitchenware instead of, well, wives. (Read the full post about ‘Flame Decals Pimps Your Mixer’…)

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So we’ve seen a car that actually transforms into an underwater vehicle - now here’s a car that can bring its passengers up into the sky, courtesy of a diesel-powered engine that can cruise at speeds of up to 200mph 25,000 feet above the ground in air mode. Needless to say, you will need to land the Milner Air Car before you switch back to car mode from plane mode, unless you want the local forensics department to do a whole lot of cleaning up work while your family bickers over the remains of your estate. The Milner Air Car is roughly the size of a Honda Civic, and comes with a couple of flat-panel computer displays inside, showing the necessary information for both air and ground modes. (Read the full post about ‘Milner AirCar To Take Flight’…)

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