Joel Johnson

Video: Plastic Knuckledusters vs. Fruit and Vegetables

Lexan knuckledusters—brass knuckles made not of brass but of plastic—are the latest fodder for a hilarious local television news report, wherein a pasty take-no-guff reporter punches cabbages then stares down the viewer growling, "Cole slaw."

Watch as local officials recoil in horror at the thought that they might be perceived to be soft on violence! Shout as not a single adult finds themselves capable of shrugging their shoulders at the potential crimes of imagined hoodlums! Gasp in legitimate grief for a schoolteacher who was punched in the head! Resist the urge to punch the reporter in his sanctimonious flap face with a pair of lexan knuckles easily made at home!

[via Crime Scene KC]

Joel Johnson

Video: Slide Viewer Hacked Into iPod Dock

A judicious application of Dremel and gumption turned one man's slide viewer into a perfectly charming little iPod nano dock, blowing up its tiny screen into something...slightly less tiny. Too bad he has to reencode all his movies to display upside down!

[via Retrothing via Gadget Lab]

Joel Johnson

Rumor: Apple Will Vet iPhone/Touch Applications

iLounge spoke to sources familiar with the upcoming iPhone/iPod Touch software development kit, who explained that not only would Apple be distributing all third-party applications through iTunes (bad enough) they'll also be approving which applications are allowed to be sold (way worse).

Apple as application picker. The most controversial aspect of Apple’s SDK plan is its intention to formally approve or deny all SDK-based software releases for its devices. Our sources confirm that Apple will act as a gatekeeper for applications, deciding which are and are not worthy of release, and publishing only approved applications to the iTunes Store; a process that will less resemble the iTunes Store’s massive directory of podcasts than its sale of a limited variety of iPod Games. While one source saw this as a positive for major developers, suggesting that Apple will be choked by application submissions and forced to give priority to releases from larger companies, another source disagreed, stating that Apple’s current approval processes for third-party products have resulted in lengthy, needless delays. It is unclear whether Apple will need to approve subsequent bug fixes and feature additions to accepted applications, another issue that could clog the approval system and postpone important improvements.

iPhone/iPod SDK: Apple to approve, distribute apps, limit add-ons [iLounge]

Joel Johnson

Stirling Engine Motherboard Fans Powered by Waste Chip Heat

Motherboard manufacturer MSI is toying around with new "powerless" cooling fans in their labs that harvest heat from processors with tiny Stirling Engines. Brilliant!

MSI employs Stirling Engine Theory [TweakTown.com]

Joel Johnson

Trism: iPhone/Touch Accelerometer Game

Steve Demeter's Demiforce software is showing off "Trism," a Bewjewelled-family match-three game that uses triangular pieces that fall based on the orientation of your iPhone. The pieces always slide down towards the ground as if they were affected by real-world gravity.

Game Set Watch has an interview with Demeter where he talks about his company's history, the inspiration for the game, and his mad dash to try to find out everything he can about the upcoming iPhone/Touch SDK announcements next week. Understandably so—the first stand-out puzzle game for the iPhone to be available for sale on iTunes should bring in a fat stack of cash for its developer.

I started by making an Excel spreadsheet, listing all the different kinds of game input methods available, such as directional, directional + buttons, directional + buttons + mouse, and mouse only. Then, I listed the natural endpoints of evolution for games for each control mechanism.

For example, Tetris I feel is a natural endpoint of directional-only gaming because it uses the keyboard's functionality efficiently and to its fullest extent. The 2D sidescroller is a natural endpoint of directional + button gameplay, adding the concept of multitasking to the mix. FPSs are natural endpoints of keyboard and mouse gaming, and games like minesweeper and solitaire are natural endpoints for mouse-only gameplay.

Interview: The Next Big Puzzle Game Wave? iPhone + Accelerometer! [GameSetWatch.com]

Joel Johnson

LEGO Scene: 2 - 2 = 2

An apple a day keeps the brain-slagging thought-bot away, sending his parasitic beam to the skull of your best friend Jimmy.

The Devourer of Intellect [MOCPages.com via Brothers Brick]

Joel Johnson

Echo Park Time Travel Mart Serves All Your Time Travel Needs

Dave Eggers and crew have opened another faux store to support their non-profit tutoring and writing centers. This one's in LA and sells time-travel-related products, including delicious Mammoth Chunks in five gallon cans, packets of shade, and anti-barbarian spray.

Product Catalog [344Design.typepad.com via io9]

Joel Johnson

Modern Mechanix Round-Up

Today on Modern Mechanix we look at this cigarette factory built into a tobacco can, an electric head warmer for people who sleep out doors, anti-shrapnel goggles, a pressure sack used to save divers, and some pretty luxurious looking airplane accommodations.  Also, learn about the latest feats of plant breeders from this 1936 Popular Mechanics article. It's well worth it just for the picture of the woman giddily holding a two and a half foot cucumber.

Yesterday we looked at this weird looking collar, plans for a floating ice-island in the middle of the Atlantic, twisted chimneys that blow smoke rings, a professor who teaches his class via microwave radio, a man's dubious claim that he can tell what sex a chicken will be by holding a coil wrapped cork over the egg, and a 1934 Modern Mechanix feature about the vast array of guns kept by movie studio armorers for use in films. Also check out this this interesting, photo rich,  article about the Civilian Conservation Corps, one of F.D.R's programs designed to help whip the depression.

Joel Johnson

Philips' Interactive LED Installation at Arkansas Children's Hospital

Philips has installed this playful LED wall at Mercy Medical Center in Rogers, Arkansas. An array of 1,420 touch-sensitive panels change colors every time they are tapped, capable of registering up to six discrete participants at a time.

If you want to get an idea of what it's like, Gadget Lab's Rob Beschizza made a Flash version. I spent several minutes playing around with the array, adding my own blooping and bleeping sound effects while pretending I was about to give birth.

Paint LED Art With Philips' Giant Light Canvas [Gadget Lab]

Joel Johnson

Google Shows Off GMaps Street View on Android

The BBC's Darren Waters had a sit down with Andy Rubin (formerly of Apple, General Magic, WebTV, and Danger) who's the main man on Android, Google's mobile OS. Rubin showed the current state of the Android platform and it's looking swell—for the most part. (What's up with having to use a slider to zoom in the web browser? Can't you just rip off the double-tap intelligent zoom from Mobile Safari?)

Perhaps most impressive is the Street View mode of Google Maps, pulled down to the 3G prototype reference phone running at a relatively mild 300MHz. That reference design, which may or may not reflect hardware that will run Android in the future, had another interesting feature: a trackball, currently seen on Danger Hiptops and Blackberries.

Under the bonnet of Android [BBC]

Joel Johnson

USB Word-Per-Minute Speedometer

In what would surely be a depressing addition to my work desk, the "USB WPM Speedometer" tracks your typing speed and daily word count, displaying them on a handsome analog dial (which is nested in a less-than-handsome chassis with a flower-shaped vent and a non-functional second gauge). Custom software is necessary to monitor your output, of course, and I suspect the £20 Speedometer's software will be Windows-only when it arrives in mid-March. (Call it a hunch.)

Catalog Page [DrinkStuff.com via Technobob via Nexus404.com]

Joel Johnson

Where Every Man Has Gone Before

A funerary vendor called "Eternal Image" has licensed the Star Trek brand to provide a line of urns and caskets inspired by the sci-fi series. The first two products are an urn, a metallic sphere held aloft by three Starfleetesque buttresses, and a casket shaped like a photon torpedo. The urn will be $800 when it's released in the middle of this year, while the casket has no price as yet. Expect the casket to be several thousand dollars, for sure.

My preference, since I don't think I've made it clear before, would be to stuffed to overflowing with lilac seeds, doused in beer, and buried in a pine box packed with fertilizer. I'm sure that violates state and federal corpse handling procedure, so you have my permission to steal my body and bury it in an unmarked grave.

Product Page [EternalImage.com via Gearlog]

Joel Johnson

Choplery: Chopsticks and Cutlery in One

It's not on sale yet, but "Choplery" will give diners at Asian take-out joints an easy choice between chopsticks and Western utensils. The only way these could be better is if they worked in reverse: starting with chopsticks, then fusing together into a fork when you've realized the error of your ways. (Remember, eaters, the best way to eat rice with chopsticks is to put the bowl to your mouth and to shovel it all in.)

Concept Page [DesignGoStudios.Blogspot.com via Josh Spear]

Joel Johnson

UCCTOP Xeno Laptop for Video Editors, People Who Enjoy Knobs

I had a nagging suspicion that the UCCTOP Xeno mixing station laptop did not actually exist outside 3D mockups and busy Flash pages, but ; saw a working prototype at least once. Sadly, I can't find a proper review. It seems a $10,000 all-in-one luggable video workstation from an obscure Korean vendor isn't setting the broadcast world on fire. And though my video production needs can be met by a webcam and any computer with a delete key, I still sort of want to take the Xeno out for a whirl. All those buttons! And sliders! and jog shuttles! That is what the laptop of the future was supposed to look like (if you can ignore its ridiculous width).

In case you actually do have a need for a video workstation and aren't just enticed to drool by shiny control surfaces, the Xeno also has a four-channel video switcher built in (interface unknown!). I don't know much about broadcast television, but I'd expect most of the software and hardware is pretty proprietary stuff, right? Maybe UCCTOP should partner up with one of the bigger software vendors.

Product Page [Eng.ucctop.kr/eng/ via Oh Gizmo]

Joel Johnson

Leaked LEGO Sets Feature Old School Spaceships, Tentacled Space Skulls

Images purported to be the leaks of an upcoming Space line from LEGO have be scanned and I am intrigued. The ships are a heavily white and blue palette, with big chunky pieces reminiscent of some of the original Space line-ups from the '80s, complete with saucer-sucker landing gear. It's a throwback and I like it.

But then look at the other set! Giant cthuloid skull robot with accompanying droids! Definitely not a throwback.

These were not sets shown off at all at Toy Fair, so I don't know when we could expect to see them.

modular space [Brickshelf.com via Brothers Brick]

Joel Johnson

Morning Tech Deals Highlights

• Custom Greeting Cards – 20% custom cards at Moo.com. Moo is really great. [Dealhack]

• Mac Mini – Core Duo 1.66GHz Mac Mini from Geeks.com for $480. [Dealhack]

• Tech Accessories – Various crap on a sale from Shop4Tech.com, but I especially like this laptop presentation stand for $60, shipped. [Dealnews]

• PC Game – Company of Heroes for $16, shipped. Still a great game. I need to play the expansion. [Dealnews]

• Roomba – Today's Woot! is a iRobot Roomba 4296 Remote Scheduler (refurbished) for $105, shipped.

Joel Johnson

Aftermarket Gauge Mount Replaces Air Vents

These will appeal to a very small subset of readers, but I find the implementation to be slick enough to merit note: Roush, an aftermarket company for cars, is selling these relatively inexpensive clips for Ford Mustangs and F-150s that allow you to mount a standard gauge in an air vent rather than clipping it onto the dash or pillar as is typical.

As it's just a clip of plastic it'd be nice to see these as factory options for all performance inclined vehicles, but since most auto manufacturers like to pretend their cars don't get modded (and modders like to pretend they haven't violated their warranty) it's probably not likely.

Product Page [RoushPerformance.com] via Jalopnik]

Joel Johnson

BD+: Blu-ray's Last DRM Defense

Threat Level's Ryan Singel puts together a great overview of "BD+," the as-yet-undefeated DRM system that is included as an optional secondary restriction layer on Blu-ray high-definition discs.

The BD+ system, invented by the San Francisco-based company Cryptography Research, embeds a virtual machine in Blu-ray discs that play only on authorized Blu-ray players.

When the player spins up the disc, the virtual machine software and the DVD player view each other with mutual suspicion, but initiate a complicated mating ritual involving checks of cryptographic keys.

Once the disc decides the player is legitimate and hasn't been compromised, it allows the movie it contains to be decrypted for playback.

But if the disc detects that the player has been modified to record the movie, or it is using stolen keys from a different player, the disc won't play. Unlike AACS, however, BD+ has no ability to disable a player permanently, nor does its software linger after a disc is ejected.

How Crypto Won the DVD War [Threat Level]

Joel Johnson

Robot Coupe Bread Slicer and Other Industrial Food Making Machines

Unless you've stockpiled dozens of cases of Concord Grape Goober in your larder, you'll likely find the £1,400 "Robot Coupe" to be a bit more bread slicer than your average kitchen requires. Cram a rod of French bread in the Robot Coupe and you'll find up to 180 slices in the hamper in just a minute, provided you have a loaf that is at least 1.44 meters long—the Coupe can cut slices from 8mm to 80mm thickness. (Look at me with my big ol' calculator!)

The Oobject gallery (linked below) from which the slicer was pulled is full of over a dozen similar examples of industrial cooking machines, like a "small (read: not small) juicy meat bun maker" and a "generic fried snack food machine." They all make me wish my spring-loaded jaw were rated for a higher snack-per-second intake rate.

Catalog Page [Catering-Machines.com via Oh Gizmo via Oobject]

Joel Johnson

Cute Mecha Phone

While it would be much better if you didn't have glue the arms onto the phone, I find this SoftBank 815T robot phone charming nonetheless. The whole kaboodle is apparently part of a promotion of a Japanese show called "Ketai Sousakan 7."

Softbank Launches the First Mecha Like 3G Mobile Phone in the World [AkihabaraNews.com via Bot Junkie]

Joel Johnson

Morning Tech Deals Highlights

• iPod Touch – Refurb 8GB and 16GB iPod Touch for $229, $329 shipped. [Dealnews]

• Surround Sound – Low-end refurbished Philips 5.1 system for $100, shipped. Should be more than enough for most casual movie watchers. [Dealnews]

• SD Card – Today's Woot! is a Dane-Elec 2GB SD card for $12, shipped. Not a fast card, I'm sure, but should be fine for most.

Joel Johnson

Poor Customer Service is Killing Sprint

The standards of quality customer service in the American telecommunications industry have been steadily lowered since the divestiture. What was once a salaried, pensioned position with great benefits executed by professionals who had undergone months of training was slowly given over to disinterested temporary employees who didn't listen to customers but instead read to them dispassionately from a script.

And while executives at the telcos claimed their poor customer service didn't have an effect on the bottom line—the only justifiable claim they could make, since the quality of the customer service became a staple of casual kvetching and late night talk show monologues—it was clear to anyone with a vision that extended past the next quarter's earnings statement that unhappy customers would eventually make for a failing company.

So it is with not a little gloating that I read this report in Business Week about Sprint Nextel, a company hemorrhaging customers and stock value since their merger three years ago, not because they are without good technology and products, but because they treated their customers so poorly.

Employees like Paula Pryor saw the merger's impact firsthand. The 38-year-old, who worked in a call center in Temple, Tex., says the numbers-driven management approach implemented after the combination led to poor morale and deteriorating customer service. Even bathroom trips were monitored. "They would micromanage us like children," says Pryor, who was fired last year after taking time off when her father died.

To crib from Dostoyevsky, the degree of vitality in a phone company can be judged by entering its customer service queue.

Sprint's Wake-Up Call [BusinessWeek.com]

Joel Johnson

The Sharper Image Not Honoring Gift Cards, Certificates

So that The Sharper Image bankruptcy filing won't affect the stores, you think? Not so. A source just got back from a The Sharper Image where he tried to use his $150 gift certificate he received for Christmas. Instead of a bag full of scale model Lamborghini Countaches he was handed this in return: a letter explaining that his gift certificate would not be honored. Those are the hot winds of the ironic breeze.

The customer added, "The manager told me she already has a new job as internally they were told it is totally over."

(You can click the image for a larger version.)

Previously • Disconcerting: The Sharper Image Is Kaput [BBG]

Joel Johnson

Boing Boing...The Maternity Store!

Boing Boing is maternity and children's clothing store in Park Slope, Brooklyn. I snapped this rather crappy pic with my iPhone a couple of months ago, went out today to get a better one, and then couldn't find it. Turns out it's a lot further down 6th Avenue that I remembered!

It's got a 9.8 out of 10 review on NYMag.com, though, so we can safely say they're doing the name proud.

Boing Boing [NYMag.com]

Below is a sponsored widget from Microsoft.

Joel Johnson

Modern Mechanix Round-Up

Today on Modern Mechanix we look at this pimped out hayrake, a truly frightening looking face harness for "Milady's Beauty",  chemistry experiments you can do at home, a locomotive themed popcorn stand, an aircraft that looks sort of like a Star Wars land speeder and the Screw-Ship which, despite the wishes of one commenter, was not a dirtier cousin of the Love Boat. Also, in 1932 Modern Mechanix asked the question: "How much longer can our big cities last?"

Joel Johnson

Playstation 3 DVR to Forgo DRM

Let's give a nod where it's due: one of Sony's developers of the "PlayTV" digital receiver for the Playstation 3 has announced that television recordings will be stored in industry standard, DRM-free MPEG-2, reports Eurogamer.

"We've talked to our legal department about it," said Bunting. "All we're doing is moving it out of PlayTV and to the cross-media bar as if it was any other recording. So hopefully users won't do stuff they shouldn't do with it.
"If I'm prohibited from getting the recording off and storing it somewhere else because some other dude is making money out of selling it, then I'd rather they brought the law in to catch those people," he added.

I finally got a Playstation 3 last week, picking up a used 60GB so I can pretend I'll someday get around to playing Dragon Quest VIII someday. So far I've been pretty impressed by the machine, if superficially. It certainly feels like a magisterial, adult experience, from the warming orchestra boot-up intro to the copious options available in the menu to the slot-loading Blu-ray drive—much more so than the Wii or Xbox 360. (Which, for the record, I think are also great in their own ways. Let's not start a console battlefront here!)

Do anything with PlayTV recordings [Eurogamer.net]

Joel Johnson

Laken ISO 70 Aerogel-Insulated Water Bottle

The "Laken ISO 70" water bottle's outside shell is made of aluminum, but its filled—partially, of course—with aerogel, that wonderfully lightweight and low density material that weighs just three times more than air. It's a great insulator, helping in making a water bottle that's half the weight of a traditional all-metal vacuum thermos.

The Laken ISO 70 aren't cheap, though, at 60 bucks a pop. But in a pinch you could crack one open and catch interstellar dust.

Product Page [Laken.es via Oh Gizmo]

Joel Johnson

Playtime Perp Popped by PB's Pete Palenzuela

A story about 37-year-old Anthony Ricca, who shoplifted and then sold Star Wars LEGO on eBay, contains this hilariously literal quote.

"There is apparently some type of nostalgic or intrinsic value for these Star Wars Legos products, where individuals that are fans of Star Wars end up bidding for these products and buying them on Ebay," Pete Palenzuela with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office told WPBF News 25.

Ricca had shoplifted over $42k in LEGO and sold them through his eBay store. Considering that he claimed to have only stolen $150 worth of sets a week, he must have been doing it for ages.

Police: Man Stole, Sold $42K In Legos Star Wars Items On Ebay [WPBF.com]

Joel Johnson

Video: Sony Sells CD Player with the Power of Praise

The creepiest part of this whole commercial is the half second before they start singing, while all three of them bob and grimace into the camera while waiting for their cue. It gets more terrifying the more you watch it. [via TV in Japan]

Joel Johnson

In the Year 2000: Nothing Makes Me Happier Than Syd Mead

Prof. Michael Stoll has scanned in these wonderful Syd Mead illustrations, commissioned by U.S. Steel in the early '60s as promotional materials, and added them to the Paleo-Future/Boing Boing Gadgets "In the Year 2000" Flickr pool. I would kill to get my hands on a set of these.

This ambulance is taking me to the hospital where I will be impregnated with Syd Mead's babies.

Christ almighty! Syd Mead invented AT-ATs!

USS - a portfolio of probabilities [Flickr.com via Paleo-Future]

Joel Johnson

Automating Product Launches

This is a screenshot of my feedreader, sorted by time (not keyword). I think Sony may have come out with something today. Maybe something with letters in the model? I'm not sure.

Here's what I don't get: Wouldn't it be easier for these companies to release their product information directly into a public database from which all these sites and their readers could pull? I guarantee a bunch of gadget writers stayed up late last night to rewrite all those Sony press releases. It would have been much more efficient for everyone if the press releases were just injected into the stream without any human interaction.

(If I had one millions of rubles, I'd build a system to handle this.)

Joel Johnson

Zombie Wars: Dawn of the Dead Producer Sues Over Dead Rising Game

While I didn't love Capcom's Dead Rising as much as some—I thought the demo was cackle-inducing genius, but hated the punitive advancement system in the full game—there was no doubt that it was inspired carnage. Inspired by the Dawn of the Dead movies, clearly. I mean, it's set in a mall filled with zombies. It may not have ripped off the plot, but it clearly borrowed its setting, and to great effect.

Unfortunately for Capcom, the producer who holds the rights to the Dawn of the Dead movies didn't like their homage and is now suing them for intellectual property infringement.

"Both works are dark comedies," the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in New York on Monday reads. "In both, the recreational activities of the zombies and absurdly grotesque 'kill scenes' provide unexpected comedic relief."

"Both works provided thoughtful social commentary on the 'mall culture' zeitgeist, in addition to serving up a sizable portion of sensationalistic violence," it said.

Producer, game firm in rights battle over zombies [Reuters.com]

Joel Johnson

Morning Tech Deals Highlights

• Flash Memory – SanDisk GB microSD for $8, shipped. [Dealnews]

• Videogames – 25% off used games at Gamestop. [Dealnews]

• Portable Speakers – Today's Woot! is a two-pack of LG Electronics Portable Stereo Speakers for $23, shipped.

Joel Johnson

Exclusive Gallery: Dungeons and Dragons 4.0's "D&D Insider" Screenshots

Wizards of the Coast passed on these screenshots of the upcoming "D&D Insider" software application that will enable gamers to emulate tabletop games from the comfort of their PCs. It will be launched alongside Dungeons & Dragons 4.0, which will be shown off more fully at this weekend's "D&D Experience" event in Washington, D.C.

These first shots show the character builder—worries that transvestite characters would be unsupported in the system were obviously unfounded—while later shots show the tabletop and dungeon mapping interfaces. It's a little rough looking, but I suspect it'll look better at higher resolutions.

More screenshots after the jump. (You can click the images to get a pop-up at full resolution.)

READ THE REST

Joel Johnson

Ten Post-Apocalyptic Survival Vehicles

Oh, hell, let's make it two-in-a-row round-up linkbait capitulation: Jalopnik has put together a completely spurious, thoroughly entertaining list of the "Ten Best Post-Apocalyptic Survival Vehicles, including my lusted-after Earthroamer XV-JP. (I have to say, though, that that Volvo X303, a Unimog knock off it appears, is quite lovely and probably a sight less expensive.)

Of course none of them are as interesting-looking as the Dobbertin Surface Orbiter above which looks like a cross between a funny car and a golf pencil.

The Ten Best Post-Apocalyptic Survival Vehicles [Jalopnik]

Joel Johnson

30 Great Shelving Ideas

While I can often resist round-up posts for the linkbait they are, Freshome's "30 Most Creative Bookshelves" post hits me right where I live. (My house, durr.) If I weren't leaving my apartment in a few months I'd consider building some of the more creative options. Instead I'll just stick with shelves I can build but still easily break down for moving.

30 of the Most Creative Bookshelves Designs [Freshome.com]

Joel Johnson

Puzzle Quest's Sci-Fi Sequel: Galactrix

Gamespot UK got a look at the sequel to one of last year's best games, Puzzle Quest. The new version is a sci-fi influenced riff on the old puzzle/RPG hybrid called "Galactrix," which not only updates the theme but abstracts the Bejeweled-inspired gameplay out even more, changing from a square to hex grid and allowing other tweaks like blocks that clear not just down but from side-to-side. (If that doesn't make any sense to you, go out and buy one of the many versions of Puzzle Quest available on PC, portables, or Xbox 360—you won't regret it for an instant. In fact, I kind of want to play again now.)

The basic contents of a puzzle board in Galactrix are quite similar to those in Puzzle Quest. You're matching three of a kind of various tiles colored red, yellow, green, blue, purple, and silver. Red, yellow, and green correspond to your weapons, engines, and ship computer. Mechanically, they act like the mana you used in Puzzle Quest because they'll power the various weapons and abilities of your ships in battle. The only special ability we got D3 to talk about was disruptor, which will prevent your opponent's shields from recharging for a few turns.

GDC '08: Puzzle Quest: Galactrix First Look [UK.Gamespot.com via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

Joel Johnson

Modern Mechanix Round-Up

Today on Modern Mechanix we look at this Turbo Wheel Ocean Liner, a bevy of new cycle-cars from the 1922 Paris auto show, a movie projector that uses record sized disks of film and a few 1933 machines for "pulling power from the skies". Planning on buying a computer but can't make up your mind? Deciding whether to get a digital or analog computer is always a tough choice so I'd recommend reading this 1958 Popular Electronics article: "ELECTRONIC COMPUTERS - what they are and what they do" to get yourself up to speed. This handy little lady's mirror has a compartment in the handle to hold your stash of coke perfume.

This weekend we looked at this crazy 14 foot high 2,400 pound gyroscopic wheel from 1923 that was supposed to be able to go at least 250 miles per hour, a round up of new radio designs from 1934, a method for measuring lawmaker's intellect, a robot that makes introductions at banquets, and an electric table that serves your guests. This 1933 Modern Mechanix article explains how to build a really fun looking "Comedy Ford" trick car for doing stunts. We learned about using weird unseen rays to trap master crooks and an early boxing telecast. Also, a look at what the credit department of a big department store looked like before computers,  amateur news reel photographers, a dangerous looking homemade chair-sled, a solar powered steam engine and motorcycle riding headlight peddlers.

Joel Johnson

Unofficial LEGO MP3 Player

The "Homade LEGO MP3 player" is neither home-made nor officially a LEGO product, but its clever design—each nub is a button—is almost enough to convince me to make a purchase, despite a price of $46 with no built-in memory (it takes microSD) and a size considerably larger than a real LEGO element. (I can't quite figure out exactly how large the player might be, although I doubt it's 24 centimeters long as is stated on the product page. It uses a single AA battery for power, though, so that should give some rough idea.)

Catalog page [Homeloo.com via Technobob]

Joel Johnson

Amazing Unlicensed Backport of Final Fantasy VII...to the NES

Cinnamon Pirate discovered an unlicensed version of Final Fantasy VII for the original NES/Famicom. That's more than just a knock-off—it's an act of true skill and commitment by an unknown team of Chinese coders. Not everything made the transition from Playstation to NES versions—some characters, limit breaks, and summons are dropped—but what survived came through due to the dedication of one talented pirate coder.

First off, Final Fantasy VII is the only NES ROM I have ever seen to have its own several-hundred character 16×16 font. Most Japanese games are written in 8×8 hiragana or katakana only, and Chinese games typically waste CHR banks dedicated to 64 characters each, and optimize the banks for literally every text window in the game.

From polygons to pixels: Final Fantasy VII [CinnamonPirate.com via Kotaku]

Joel Johnson

NatureMill PRO Indoor Composter

The NatureMill PRO is an indoor composter that turns your food scraps into rich, healthy compost in just a couple of weeks. You can convert up to 120 pounds of food waste a month into compost producing only a mild smell "similar to sourdough, mushrooms, or damp straw." I'd presume that's mostly when the food bin is open, since a carbon filter cleans the air vented by the built-in fan. You could also use the unit outdoors.

Three models are available: the NatureMill plus for $300; the NatureMill PRO with a foot pedal bin lever and steel chassis for $400; and the "Pet-friendly" NatureMill which can accept pet waste in addition to food waste.

Of course you could ditch the electricity use entirely to build an at-home worm composting box. And a starter batch of worms costs just $10.

Product Page [NatureMill.com via Oh Gizmo]

Joel Johnson

Raycop Vibrating Antibacterial Hand Vacuum

This hand-held "Raycop" vacuum isn't just ugly for the sake of a punny name. That wide front holds a vibrating pad and a ultraviolet lamp—the pad shakes up dust mites and other microorganisms from your pillows and furniture, while the UV lamp gives them a good blast of electromagnetic death. Then the vacuum sucks it all up.

For those that suffer from allergies it might be worth taking a look, but with a $250 price you could do a lot of rug beating and pillow shaking outside.

Raycop anti-bacterial vacuum [Appliancist]

Joel Johnson

Morning Tech Deals Highlights

• SATA Hard Drive – Western Digital 400GB SATA drive for $70, shipped. [Slickdeals]

• LCD Monitor – Acer 24-inch LCD monitor for $280, shipped. A fine deal from Office Depot. [Slickdeals]

• Tripod – Joby Gorillapod for $22, shipped. [Dealnews]

• MP3 Player – Today's Woot! is a refurbished Sandisk Sansa e270 6GB Media Player with FM Tuner for $55, shipped.

Joel Johnson

Marines' Diesel Motorcycle

The Times profiles the "Hayes Diversified Technologies M103M1," a military variant of the Kawasaki KLR650 motorcycle that runs of the ever-present JP-8 diesel fuel. The result isn't a performance beast, but does get 96 miles to the gallon and is easily field serviceable.

On a half-hour test ride, the M103M1, though sluggish at first, gathered speed with dogged insistence. The footpegs and handlebars buzz as the engine revs — the counterbalancer that controls vibration in the stock KLR has been omitted to save weight and reduce complexity. Shifting through the five-speed gearbox gets the M103M1 past 90 miles an hour, a speed it will hold, apparently, until the end of time.

Diesel-Sipping Motorcycle for the Marines [NYTimes]

Joel Johnson

Taking a Full-Sized Computer into Starbucks

The latest stunt from Improv Everywhere saw three pranksters bring in full-sized desktop PCs to Starbucks, where they proceeded to buy a coffee and set browse the web. The Starbucks employees were good sports.

Mission: Mobile Desktop [ImprovEverywhere.com]

Joel Johnson

Etymologic Veil Pierced, Nintendo

Recently, on the internet, I saw a man explain that one pronounces "ennui" "on Wii."

Joel Johnson

Lost Instruments: The Claviola

Bookending the live premiere of Radiolab season four last night at the Angelika Film Center, a charmingly twee band called "One Ring Zero" played accordion and...something. It was like an accordion, but you blew into a pipe winding from the top. It made an intriguingly clear tone that sounded almost digital.

Turns out it's a claviola, an instrument designed by Ernst Zacharias (of musical equipment manufacturer Hohner) that was only available on the market for a few months in 1996. It's rare enough that a quick pass through eBay resulted only in listings of "craviola," a type of guitar. Too bad. I know I'll never learn to play the accordion, but I bet I could figure out how to blow into a tube.

You can hear claviola on its own at he beginning of One Ring Zero's "Mean Marcus," which can be streamed from their site. (And on most of their songs, too, but deeper in the mix.)

Update: Apparently I have no idea what the claviola sounds like. One Ring Zero's Michael Hearst tells me:

Mean Marcus" has hardly any audible claviola on it. "The Long Day," however, is all claviola playing lead at the beginning.

Joel Johnson

LEGO Universe MMO Coming Along Nicely

More details have emerged about LEGO Universe, the upcoming massively multiplayer game. I'm not sure how I feel about the organic backgrounds—I was hoping the entire world would be LEGO—but I could see how it would become tedious if everything were made of elements.

Two good bits of news, however: you will be able to create models of your own in game, which is wonderful news. (There had been some questions about how a kid-friendly game would protect itself from the inevitable legion of outsized LEGO phalluses—well, still are questions, I guess, but presumably developer NetDevil has figured out a happy medium. And even cooler, LEGO will allow you to "print" real-life versions of the LEGO models created in game. You make it online, they'll send you the bricks you need to make it at home. (For a price, of course.)

LEGO already offers a similar system with a virtual design tool, but I hope adding this feature to Universe will expand its capabilities and brick library—as well as drop the price of custom set ordering.

LEGO Universe: 'LEGO Star Wars Multiplied By A Million' [Game|Life]

Joel Johnson

Japanese Retailer Does Right By HD DVD Purchasers

Japanese electronics retailer Edion has instituted a take-back program for its customers who purchased HD DVD players, offering to replace the units with Blu-ray players. That is true class.

Throughout March, customers can return any of seven Toshiba HD DVD decks and swap them for a BD unit from Sony, Panasonic or Sharp. If the latter is more expensive, customers need to make up the balance, but if it’s cheaper they’ll actually get a refund of the difference.

Honest / insane retailer swaps old HD DVD for new Blu-ray gear [DigitalWorldTokyo.com]

Joel Johnson

Modern Mechanix Round-Up

Recently on Modern Mechanix we looked at this 1935 Popular Science article featuring various attempts to make aircraft that take off and land vertically, the origins of linoleum, a magnetic soap holder, a cute ad for a cowboy spinning rope, a very scary looking talking clock, venetian blind sun goggles and the hobbies of Hollywood stars circa 1936.  Many of our readers questioned the wisdom of this sled mounted stove for ice skating parties. Apparently they are of the opinion that hot things melt ice. This article shows a few of the vehicles devised by Europeans to cope with the gas shortages caused by WWII. We also learned the tricks of skywriting pilots, the dangers of giant man-eating clams and how to duel with yourself.

Joel Johnson

The Long Arm of a Crafty Hog Herder

Core77 details the "Longarm," an ingeniously simple contraption designed by a pig farming woman who found herself in charge of 3,000 stubborn hogs. It's just a retractable swath of red cloth, but something about it causes pigs to shy away from it, making it easy to guide them from pen to pen—and easy to clean, something I can attest from my occasional weekends on an uncle's pig farm is a critical feature.

Canadian pig farmer Mary Haugh had a problem; multiple heart attacks put her husband out of commission, and she alone had to somehow control and herd their 3,000 hogs through the barn. Traditional methods of getting pigs to move are to use a stick, an electric prod or a "chase board," a length of wood the farmer wields horizontally to angle the pigs in a particular direction.
The stick and the prod, in addition to being inhumane, are simply not practical solutions for a single man/woman vs. 3,000 pigs, and for that many animals Haugh would need an impossibly long board that no human could reasonably lift and wield.

Brilliant industrial design from a pig farmer with her back to the wall [Core77.com]

Joel Johnson

Popcorn Hour NMT A-100: A Hilariously Capable Network Media Streamer

I made a little squawk and clapped my paws as I read down the spec sheet for the "Popcorn Hour NMT A-100," a badass little media streaming front end that appears to do just about everything you'd want out of a set-top box and is inexpensive to boot. Not only can it stream from just about anything on your network—PCs, NAS, attached USB mass storage, even internet streams—but you can also toss in a hard drive (not included) to download movies directly to the Popcorn Hour via BitTorrent. (Yes!)

The A-100, the current model, has enough horsepower to decode MPEG2, H.264, or VC-1 at 1080p. (Some media streamers do not, even if the network can push out a fat enough video stream.)

Network-wise it does pretty much everything you'd expect: UPnP, Bonjour, Windows Media, SMB. You can browse photos on Flickr or watch video on YouTube. I don't see a major codec it doesn't support, including Matroska containers and Xvid. (No Ogg video or audio, but that could probably be patched in.)

HDMI out. Component out. S/PDIF coax digital audio out. (Although strangely only 10/100 Ethernet, not gigabit. And no Wi-Fi.) All with a custom on-screen interface that looks capable if not stunning.

I have absolutely no need for one of these with my current setup, yet I'm still considering getting one. Unfortunately, there's some sort of weird first-come, first-serve setup to allow people to buy the units online, so picking one up looks to be a bit of a chore.

Kolbu reviewed one of these a couple months ago and gave it generally high marks for the price. It exposes a lot of the same rough edges as many cheaply made Asian do-everything boxes. (And seeing how little hardware is actually inside the box is both impressive for its economy but saddening for how little actual hardware you're getting.) It's not going to be an Apple TV killer for most—too many little quirks, like dropped video signals while switching between modes—but for those willing to deal with the occasional snag it looks like you'll get a lot more capability in return.

If only Popcorn Hour would get enough of these units produced that you could just order them straight off the website!

Product Page [PopcornHour.com] (Thanks, Joakim!)

Joel Johnson

Commuter Cup Claims to Be Spill-Proof

This insulated travel mug is designed to be completely spill-proof, only release its contents into your face after you've pressed a button that allows you to "sip from anywhere on the rim." From the pictures, though, I can't quite tell where the button is. I hope it's not on the top.

Nevertheless, for sloppy slurpers or caffeine addicted trapeze artists, the $25 price may be less than punitive. (Although I have to say that this looks like the sort of design that, if effective as claimed, will soon be co-opted by knock-off vendors soon.)

Catalog Page [Hammacher.com]

Joel Johnson

Morning Tech Deals Highlights

• Moon Wall – Moon Wall Projector for $10, $5 shipping or free over $25. [Slickdeals]

• Asus Eee – Asus Eee 2G Surf for $290, shipped. [Dealnews]

• HDTV for PC – Today's Woot! is a refurbished Pinnacle PCTV HD Pro Stick for $45, shipped.

Joel Johnson

Report: Disk encryption security defeatable through DRAM vulnerability

Ed Felten writes on Freedom-to-Tinker:

Today eight colleagues and I are releasing a significant new research result. We show that disk encryption, the standard approach to protecting sensitive data on laptops, can be defeated by relatively simple methods. We demonstrate our methods by using them to defeat three popular disk encryption products: BitLocker, which comes with Windows Vista; FileVault, which comes with MacOS X; and dm-crypt, which is used with Linux.

The root of the problem lies in an unexpected property of today's DRAM memories. DRAMs are the main memory chips used to store data while the system is running. Virtually everybody, including experts, will tell you that DRAM contents are lost when you turn off the power. But this isn't so. Our research shows that data in DRAM actually fades out gradually over a period of seconds to minutes, enabling an attacker to read the full contents of memory by cutting power and then rebooting into a malicious operating system.

Link to paper site, Link to PDF, and a video is below. (thanks, Jake Appelbaum)

UPDATE, 9:44am PT: Declan McCullagh at News.com has an analysis piece here.

(Cross-posted from Boing Boing)

Joel Johnson

Video: Tex Avery's Television of Tomorrow (1953)

Cartoon genius Tex Avery produced this short in 1953, showing off TVs for smokers, water drinkers, and those afflicted by airplanes overhead. The integration of real footage with the cartoon is fantastic. (I love that the fishing set was actually replicated by SEGA in the '90s in an arcade game, complete with working reel.) [via io9]

Joel Johnson

Using Electric Fish to Calm the Human Brain

Regine conducts a winding interview with Antony Hall, whose creations—if I can try to put his multifarious experiments under a single, details-occluding nut—tend to explore the intersection of electronics, music, and nature. Projects like the "iLog" are basically just electronics stuffed in wood, while "ENKI" connects bioelectric fish to human brains to produce a state of relaxation. In case you were wondering, yes, that is awesome.

Isn't the idea of putting one's "brain-wave entertainment" into the fins of an animal scary? Do you feel that people would trust any other electronic device more than a fish or any other type of animal?

That is a good question. It's an exciting notion this whole idea of "wet-wear" interfacing - but not something that should be taken lightly. I don't like to be on my own if i am doing a test run, and yes I find it very unnerving. I never quite got used to the idea of connecting strangers up to electrodes and the fish. I also worry about the fish. The fish needs to be content and 'happy' for this to work.

In my opinion that most of these commercial devices are made by various humans all of whom have different intentions and issues, namely cost efficiency; and so effectively using quite crude means; cheap microchips. The Black Ghost knife fish is the result of millions of years of evolutionary refinement; but you could still say the same of micro chips.

Interview with Antony Hall [WMMNA]

Joel Johnson

"Road Zombie" Custom LEGO Roadster

Mister Zumbi's "Road Zombie" hot rod model prompts just one question: who will be the first to make a LEGO Rat Fink?

Actually, I've got an even greater challenge: Who can replicate George Barris's Banacek AMX 400? All smooth swoops and that W-shaped grill—that'd be a challenge.

Gallery Page [Brickshelf.com via Klocki via Bros. Brick]

Joel Johnson

Roland Iten's Ornate Belt Buckles

Roland Iten makes these appealingly complicated belt buckles, able to be dialed in to what appears to be a tolerance of up to one-tenth of a sandwich. But because they're made in Switzerland, each of these precision buckles cost $25,000—or a paltry $15,000 for the steel and gold model.

It's a pity, because I think they're quite neat. I'll wait until an enterprising American knife maker starts doing a stamped version for $50.

Product Page [RolandIten.com via Born Rich via Oh Gizmo]

Joel Johnson

Morning Tech Deals Highlights

• Headphones – Various Sennheiser headphones from Amazon for 30% off normal price. [Slickdeals]

• Point-and-Shoot – The lauded Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX55 8.1 megapixel camera is on sale for $218, shipped. [Dealhack]

• iMac – Refurbished 20-inch iMac Core 2 Duo (the new model) for $1,000, shipped. [Apple.com]

• Electric Kettle – Fujitronic kettle and tea pot (with filter) for $70, but with two $20 mail-in rebates it's down to $30, shipped. (Even without the rebates it's a good price.) [Dealnews]

• GPS – Today's Woot! is an Amcor 3.5" Touchscreen Portable GPS for $105, shipped.

Joel Johnson

Fright Catalog's Animatronic Horrors, or Where I Would Have My Wedding Registry

When you get emails titled "Mechanized Attack Alligator for the Masses," you pretty much know you've got a winner. Dug North has spotted this animatronic alligator designed for haunted houses and fright shops, available for just shy of $9,000. It's from FrightCatalog.com, an online Halloween-themed store that obviously goes beyond just the traditional fake blood and skeleton masks.

Fright Catalog has a whole section dedicated to animated props, including...actually, let's take a look.

"Dead Fred Zombie Chaser" travels along the floor powered by four DC motors, screaming and groaning from his built-in speaker, pulling his entrails behind him. He's $2,650 but comes with a battery charger—and Fright Catalog's "Best Price Guarantee," their promise to beat any animated zombie retailer's price out there.

"Dead and Deader" is a coffin. It won't erupt with a cackling foam latex corpse until you give it AC power and a 100 PSI air compressor. Ask about their optional timer or motion sensor!

This little lady is almost $7k, which is cheaper than a real dead woman in most states.

"Acid Spitter" blasts guests with a air or water vapor while a variable bubble creates a boiling acid effect in the barrel itself. Throw a couple in your basement to recreate the contamination scene from Return of the Living Dead.

Three grand, air compressor and motion sensor not included.

READ THE REST

Joel Johnson

Puzzle Box Adds a Little Hellraiser to Gift Giving

My mother has a charming, if annoying gift-wrapping habit: she writes the name of the recipient in tiny script somewhere in the intricate patterns of packaging, forcing the screaming rabble of children and grandchildren to pause before each present is ripped open and its contents slathered all over our bodies. (In keeping with midwestern tradition, we gift each other only pork-derived salves.) My sister and I quickly learned how to beat the system, doing all our sorting before Christmas morning, arranging the gifts in a stacks that we could recognize but would not tip off our mother to our scheme so she could rearrange the packages.

So I should hate this puzzle gift box that Phil discovered—I think it's called "Movie Maze"; the company is "Magnif"—but I can't help but think of how much fun it will be to frustrate children with this in the future. You've ripped off the wrapping paper, you little bastards, but now you must think! Being an adult is awesome.

Solve puzzles before you can open a DVD, CD, book, money... [MAKE]

Joel Johnson

Emotiv EPOC Neuroheadset: Control Games with Thought

Emotiv will be selling this "EPOC" neuroheadset, allowing gamers to control characters simply by the power of thought. (Unlike previous systems, which required the hands to act as a proxy interface.) The headset will be available around the holidays for $300 with a custom game that will take advantage of the 30 different expressions which can be recognized, including:

immersion, excitement, meditation, tension and frustration; facial expressions such as smile, laugh, wink, crossed eyes, shock (eyebrows raised), anger (eyebrows furrowed), horizontal eye movement, smirk and grimace (clenched teeth); and cognitive actions such as push, pull, lift, drop and rotate (on six different axis) as well as a completely new category of action based on visualization, the first of which is the ability to make objects disappear.

Kotaku's contemptible corsair Brian Crecente had a head-on with the EPOC at this year's Game Developer's Conference.

I was a little concerned with the underlying technology, though. From the demonstrations I saw and participated in, the device seemed mostly to detect whether you were or weren't doing one thing. In other words, it could tell when I was trying to float a rock or not trying. But it was hard to tell just how sophisticated that detection was. Could it, for instance, differentiate between my trying to levitate a rock and make one disappear? The Emotiv people said it absolutely could, but they didn't demonstrate that.

Press Release [BusinessWire.com via Crunchgear]

Joel Johnson

Disconcerting: The Sharper Image Is Kaput

The Sharper Image, the first organization to properly fetishize gadgetry as a lifestyle accessory and not just the domain of the obsessive, has filed for Chapter 11—and good riddance. The company has long hawked substandard, unimaginative products, like a cut-rate Sky Mall without all the whimsy (nor the captive audience).

And let's not even mention the retail stores, staffed by inept floor walkers and clogged with fake leather cases, ionic air lung scorchers and fake chromed plastic as far as the eye could see. Despite fond memories of fireside flips through its exotic pages, I am not upset to see the company go. It had long outlived its usefulness.

Sharper Image files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy [Reuters]

Joel Johnson

Clever Indie Game: Fez

"Fez" is one of the finalists in the 2008 Independent Games Festival awards. The conceit is deceptively simple: the protagonist avatar (the protavatar?) is a 2D character trapped in the 3D world. While that's been done before in games like Klonoa 2, the difference is that in Fez rotating the entire world reconfigures platforms that are out of depth on the Z-axis in 3D to still work in the plane in 2D. That doesn't make sense with me explaining it, I know, but watch the short clip and all should be clear.

Project Page [Kokoromi.com via Waxy]

Joel Johnson

Ariete SteakHouse Indoor Grill

The "SteakHouse" indoor grill's verical design is more than just a space-saving trick—and if you look at more of the pictures you'll realize it's not that small in the first place—but instead designed to allow fats to drain from the food into catch trays, preventing them from smoking next to the heating elements. Heating elements on both sides of the food tray speed up cooking times.

Is it worth €150? Probably not. But it's a striking piece of kitchen gear, looking more like commercial kitchen equipment than some other cheap, plastic grills.

Product Page [Ariete.net via Appliancist]

Joel Johnson

Alter-G G-Trainer Treadmill for Weightless Running

The "Alter-G G-Trainer," a treadmill which uses a compressed air chamber to lift and reduce the effective weight of its user, has been approved by the FDA for use in rehabilitation for injuries to the lower extremities. The G-Trainer can reduce up to 80% of lower body weight. Prices are probably somewhat extravagant, but unless you keep a rehabilitation chamber in your mad scientist fortress you'll likely only see the trainer when you send henchmen off to be restored to service.

Product Page [Alter-G.com via Oh Gizmo via MedGadget.com]

Joel Johnson

The Surprisingly Thoughtful Design of a Cheap Camcorder

EETimes's article on the creation of the Flip Ultra video camera by Pure Digital is a great example of how learning the thought and care that goes into a product can change your mind. Or my mind, at least, having ignored the Flip Ultra as a piece of knocked-together mass market exploitation but now finding myself questioning if perhaps I wouldn't be just as happy with a little pocket-sized, all-in-one solid state camcorder instead of my fairly expensive and unpocketable HD camcorder.

To address the ease of use issue, the designers rallied around a theme: No extra buttons. "The user would always know what each button does," said Fleming. In fact, the team had a goal that within 30 seconds, the user should know how to use it. "It must be intuitive or we won't use it," he said.

...

The "Eureka" moment came with the development of proprietary damping algorithms to implement a non-linear response curve off stasis to give a smooth 'landing' quickly, without instability in the system. "For slow or little change, we keep the auto exposure stable or make very small changes which cannot easily be discerned by viewers," said Furlan. While the auto exposure has no impact on the underlying video frame rate, it does improve the perception that as the camera moves from one scene to the next, there were no significant jumps in brightness.

Under the Hood: Flip Ultra camcorder - An ode to clean design [EETimes.com via Core77]

Joel Johnson

The "Z-Drive": Neato Linear Propulsion Prototype Toy

Phil Torrone uncovered this incredibly rad solid-state linear propulsion system that can send little cars or signs (or whatever) up and down a track by somehow pulsing in sequence underneath a shuttle's trio of magnets. Or at least that's how I suspect it works.

The toy guys showing this off at Toy Fair didn't have an actual product for sale but were just there trying to show it off to toy companies to see if anyone was interested. I am!

Amaing linear propulsion systems - no toy application (yet!) [MAKE]

Joel Johnson

Circuit Bending Documentary "BENT" Online

BENT 2004 from Derek Sajbel on Vimeo.

Dr. Rek writes:

I have just uploaded my Bent 2004 festival documentary to vimeo. In order to promote the art of circuit bending and the BENT festival, Absurdity.Biz has uploaded the first BENT festival dvd online in its entirety.

Shot at the first international circuit bending festival for Absurdity.Biz's ongoing Circuit Bending documentary, it later became a side-project DVD series sold at the BENT festivals.

Joel Johnson

Bedu: Emergency Shelter in a Barrel

More sci-fi concept than practical idea, I am nonetheless intrigued by the "Bedu" survival-annex-in-a-barrel idea by Toby McInnes, which crams a stove, tents, a radio and generator, medicine, and tools into a 50-gallon drum. Having just recently watched Into the Wild, I have a soft spot for survival and outdoors gear. I really want to go camping.

You know what I should do? Start putting together a camping trip for the spring. But instead of taking a few days off from blogging to do it, I should figure out how to power all my gear off the grid. Solar power would be a good option if I could get one of those roll-out panels. My Macbook Pro is heavier than I'd prefer—especially if I packed a second battery—but I don't think I want to buy a lighter machine just for this purpose. Perhaps I can get some sort of test model from someone.

What do you think I could pull off? I bet I could do a hike in one day, camp for two nights, then hike out the third day. Food would be easy, although water might be a hassle. The last time I hiked in to camp I ended up nearly running out of water on the way in. That would take some doing.

As for connectivity, I'd have to check the coverage maps, but there are several good trails running through the Hudson River valley that have good cell phone coverage. Five bars from the tops of mountains! I wouldn't be surprised if there were an EVDO node on some of those.

This is doable. Probably April at the earliest, depending on weather. I don't want to try to pack in the computer, food, water, and cold weather gear.

Emergency Response Unit [Yanko]

Joel Johnson

Morning Tech Deals Highlights

• Laser Printer – HP LaserJet P10006 Personal Laser Printer for $50, shipped. [Slickdeals]

• Laptop – Lenovo ThinkPad X61 Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz 12" 3.8-lb. Laptop for $955, shipped. [Dealnews]

• Videogame &Ndash; Rock Band (game only) for $35, shipped. If you already have an Xbox 360 Guitar Hero controller you can use this, as well as any generic USB microphone. Drums, however... [Dealnews]

• Electric Razor – Today's Woot! is the Remington MicroFlex Titanium Rechargeable Shaver for $25, shipped.

Joel Johnson

Modern Mechanix Round-Up

Over at Modern Mechanix today we have this cool looking remote controlled train from 1936, a tiny portable typewriter (the Mac Book Air of it's day), a 1933 roundup of mechanical gadgets for busy housewives and learned that too much nudism is not all it's cracked up to be. Also from 1933 is this great Modern Mechanix article about the makeup artists who worked on old monster movies, including Frankenstein.  Did you know that man has a strange inner power? Let Yogi Alpha and his magic finger help dig it out.

Today we also rolled out a new site design with a few new features that should make it a lot easier to navigate our archives.  Check it out and let us know what you think.

Joel Johnson

Patent Reveals the Possibilities of Laptop Multitouch

MacRumors has uncovered a intriguing patent application from Apple describing some of their possible planned multi-touch interface additions to OS X. Combinations include four finger taps to reveal Exposé, thumb-and-finger combinations, and even a way to recognize the pinky at the bottom of a fist for some sort of club-handed command. (I'm guessing why-you-little-Ctrl-Z.)

Whether or not we'll see any of this stuff on current-generation hardware (besides the Macbook Air) is anyone's guess. I think it's at least possible these upgrades could be done in software, despite some debate on whether or not the chipset powering the trackpads could handle it. I base this purely from the increased size of the trackpads from the PowerBook to MacBook. Surely they wouldn't have nearly doubled in size just for two-fingered scrolling?

Apple Depicts Advanced Multitouch Gesturing Control Panel in Mac OS X [MacRumors.com]

Joel Johnson

N-Strike Vulcan EBF-25: Fully Automatic NERF Cannon

This new Nerf "N-Strike Vulcan EBF-25" is a fully automatic belt-fed dart gun, powered by six D batteries. (I can't think of the last time I used D batteries.) It's only forty bucks, too. This will be mine when it launches this Fall.

Nerf Vulcan EBF-25: Fully Automatic Toy Dart Gun Rambo Junior's Weapon of Choice [Gizmodo]

Joel Johnson

MAKE Is All Over Toy Fair '08

PT is over on the MAKE blog doing a great job with actual hands-on reports of cool stuff from the New York Toy Fair. Tons and tons of science-oriented toys and project kits. I figure the intersection between BBG readers and MAKE readers is pretty large, but just in case, it bears mentioning that my handier cousin is doing yeoman's work.

Toy Fair '08 Coverage [Blog.Makezine.com]

Joel Johnson

HP UMPC 2133 Looks Like 12-Inch Powerbook Reborn

While it could be a fake, Engadget has gotten these images of the HP UMPC 2133, or as I like to call it "What I really hoped the Macbook Air would be." 8.9-inch display, nearly full-sized QWERTY keyboard, ExpressCard slot—all in a 2.5-pound package. It's enough to make me consider switching to Windows on my portables.

As Engadget notes, it's amusing how the solution to the UMPC-class computers' lack of keyboard input turns out to be...a keyboard.

HP's UMPC 2133 revealed [Engadget]

Joel Johnson

Morning Tech Deals Highlights

• Windows Development Software – Microsoft is giving away a free set of Visual Studio '08 Pro, Server '03, SQL Server, Expression Studio, Game Studio 2.0 and more to college/graduate students. [Slickdeals]

• Rackmount Server – Refurbished IBM eServer (Dul Opteron 2GHz) for $235, shipped. Oh, 1U servers, why must you be so lovely? [Dealnews]

• USB Hard Drive – Western Digital MyBook 500GB USB 2.0 external drive for $80, in-store pick-up at Circuit City only. (Check for stock availability online.) [Dealnews]

• Surround Speakers – Today's Woot! is a pair of Klipsch Synergy Series SS.5 Surround Sound Speakers for $95, shipped.

Joel Johnson

Toys 'R' Us to Eliminate PVC, Ni-Cad Batteries from Toys

In an email sent by Toys 'R' Us Chairman and CEO Gerald L Storch:

We have instructed manufacturers to immediately take steps to eliminate the use of nickel-cadmium batteries from all items manufactured exclusively for Toys“R”Us, Inc. This process is expected to be complete by the end of 2008.

Full press release after the jump, if you're interested.

Previously • Toys 'R' Us Accepting Any Recalled Toy [BBG]

READ THE REST

Joel Johnson

Teutonic Terrorcycle

A German motorcycle craftsman has created "Satte Literschüssel,"* a beautifully barbaric beast of bike powered by a tractor engine, sporting metal-banded ash forks and what appears to be a shovel for a seat. My only question: how would one steer with an axe in one hand and a shield in the other? (I suspect the solution involves an iron phallus sheath on the steering column.)

Project Page (Machine Translated) [Werner-Broesel.de via Jalopnik]

* Not exactly sure what that first letter is supposed to be in that script. Fixed. Thanks, guys!

Joel Johnson

Analyzing the Videogame Industry Analysts

Kotaku takes a look at ten different videogame industry analysts and analyzes the accuracy of their claims, proving the hardest part about being an industry pundit is fooling someone into giving you a proper soapbox.

My personal rate of success is a perfect ten, since I strive to be wrong always. HD DVD will rise again!

Analyzing the Analysts, Episode One [Kotaku]

Joel Johnson

Bongkun Shin's "SmartGuide" Drill Concept

Eschewing the form-over-function tendency of most concept designs, Bongkun Shin's "SmartGuide" drill features a nesting, retracting guide that ensures perfectly perpendicular holes. While there are certainly times when the guide would get in the way, a simple clip to keep the guide out of the way would be enough to make this useful in all situations. I wouldn't be surprised to see this on a retail product at some point in the near future.

Training Wheels For Your Drill [Yanko Design]

Joel Johnson

Microsoft's Ingenious "Mouse" Logo

This is a bit far afield for a gadgets site, perhaps, but indulge me. "Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions Creative Awards" has changed their name to "Mouse," with this clever logo. There's even a slight gadget connection, since to be eligible the advertisements had to appear only on a Microsoft property like MSN or Xbox Live.

Why "Mouse?" Because the winners are entered in the Cannes Cyber Lions award competition.

The Roaring Mouse [Brand New]

Joel Johnson

Video: Polaroid SX-70 Commercial by Charles and Ray Eames x The Cramps

Here's a bizarre intersection of a certain subset of my friends and our interests: a retro commercial filmed by Charles and Ray Eames for the Polaroid SX-70, set by an unknown genius to The Cramps "Garbageman." (I'm in there for everything but The Cramps, but I'm coming around to them, too.)

The SX-70 was a folding SLR and the first to use Polaroid's automatic format integral film, which didn't need to be separated from its back after being removed from the camera.

A later model of the SX-70 line used an autofocus system that used sonar to determine the distance from the lens to the subject.

[via Kottke]

Joel Johnson

Modern Mechanix Round-Up

Recently on Modern Mechanix we looked at this 1939 radio-fax machine that picked up a broadcast from a local radio station and printed out the morning newspaper right in your living room.  During WWII the U.S. navy deployed really crazy looking "dazzle" camouflage on some of it's ships. If you have a gajillion giant rubber bands and a whole lot of time on your hands,  I'd love to see someone actually build one of these midget cars powered by a sixteen-cylinder band motor. Supposedly it can travel up to three miles on one winding. Lose an expensive piece of radium? Better make sure it didn't get eaten by a pig.  In 1933 this dairy was producing milk cartons that are virtually identical to the ones you buy in the supermarket today. We also have musical instruments from around the world, a bicycle you ride by swaying from side to side, a helmet mounted radio,  a jiggling frame massager and  a not-so-compact organ for your home.

Joel Johnson

Leatherman Freestyle: A Cheaper Skeletool

The Leatherman Skeletool was near the top of most of my admittedly-multi-tool-obsessed friends' wish lists this Christmas. Too bad it still hasn't made it to market. (Amazon is currently projecting a mid-March release.)

Now Leatherman is showing off an even lighter riff on the same idea with a couple of minor changes. Called the "Freestyle," the new multi-tool replaces the Skeletool's removable bit driver socket with a combination Phillips/flathead driver that uses some sort of slightly twisted end to make it work with both types of screw heads. (I don't understand how that works, exactly, but the Toolmonger boys seem to get it so I'll just trust them.)

The other difference is a nylon plastic handle which should shed even more weight from the already less-than-husky Skeletool. I presume that plastic handle is also cheaper than the carbon fiber or aluminum of the Skeletool models, since the projected price of the Freestyle is just $50.

Having burnt their customers with a slow launch previously, Leatherman is currently planning to release the Freestyle in December of this year, giving themselves plenty of time to build up Christmas stock.

Preview: Leatherman Freestyle [Toolmonger]

Joel Johnson

The State of In-Dash Interface Design

CNET has assembled a gallery of interface shots from various in-car navigation and media systems, commenting on the strengths and failures of various designs. I'm shocked by the preponderance of blue and grey.

GM's interface is nicely done, with a good, deep color and a convenient tabbed design for easy access to different functions. But we think GM could have better brand differentiation, as we've seen this same interface on everything from a Cadillac Escalade to a Suzuki XL7 (built for Suzuki by GM).

Photos: Automotive interface design [Reviews.CNET.com]

Joel Johnson

Eyeclops Bug Vac Makes Backyard Entomology Slightly Less Squicky

Eyeclops, the cheap magnifying camera that attaches to your TV, has announced additions to the line-up for '08, including a replaceable lens for greater magnification and the "Bug Vac," essentially a small Dustbuster-like contraption with which to capture insects for closer study. One your bug is inside, you can pop the vacuum top and replace it with the Eyeclops camera itself.

Product Page [Jakks.com via Gizmodo]

Joel Johnson

Some—But Not All—of the Horrible Motherboard Box Art We Found

"Oh hella shit, boys, my new motherboard is off limits."

"Do you mean that it does not conform to industry standards making it unsuitable for interoperability with other PC hardware?"

"No, I mean that it has snake truck."

This motherboard renders space motorcycles so fast that your monitor can only display the tailpipes.

"Hey guys are you sure it's okay to make an orbital platform out of garden hose?"

"Shhhhkkkk...krrssshhh...I am a spaceman, over. Do you read I am in space now."

READ THE REST

Joel Johnson

60 Second Charcoal Starter Blasts Hot Air

Hammacher Schlemmer is selling this "60 Second Charcoal Starter," essentially a heat gun that blankets briquets in 1,300 degree air. Stick the heat gun in the charcoal, wait until it sparks, and then leave the blower on for another 60 seconds. There's one clear benefit of the $80 device: no nasty tasting lighter fluid on your briquets.

On the other hand, a chimney starter can usually be found for ten bucks or so at the hardware store and doesn't require electricity and attendance next to the grill for a minute.

Now I'm hungry. Only a couple more months until it's barbecue season!

Catalog Page [Hammacher.com via Dvice via Uberreview]

Joel Johnson

Why Shouldn't Super Mario Bros. Become Japan's Nat'l Anthem?

Composer Nobuo "Final Fantasy" Uematsu suggested in an interview that Japan change its national anthem from the imperially biased "Kimigayo" to the theme to Super Mario Bros.

I think there are a lot of talented composers these days compared to when we started back in the day. But if I were to name just one person then it would be [Koji] Kondo-san and his beats and music in Super Mario, just his upbeat tempos. I'm sure everyone in the world -- no borderlines or age limit -- everyone in the world who's come across Super Mario's music will never forget that melody... I think that the Super Mario song should be the national anthem for Japan. [Hums the death refrain] So when someone wins a gold medal at the Olympics, a Japanese athlete, the flag should go up with the theme song. Shoop! ...The world would have a different image of Japan if we use that.

A Day in the Life of Nobuo Uematsu [1up.com via Kotaku via Go Nintendo]

Joel Johnson

Where Are the New Keytars?

Image: Bombardier

Peter from Create Digital Music whacks Roland on the head for their inability to spot trends. This time they're missing the Keytar resurgence, forcing retro enthusiasts to go out and buy older models on eBay. I looked for one myself a year or so ago and couldn't believe the prices they commanded for what are essentially $30 keyboards in a fancy shell.

People love their 303, their 808, even their 909. Yet when these a whole generation of kids desperately wanted you to just re-release these things — or your Jupiter, or Juno, any of your other fantastic keyboards and sound toys of yesteryear — you’ve responded with souped-up, “modernized” versions that mainly share only the name.

Keytar Komeback: You Don’t Love It Until It’s Gone, An Open Letter to Roland [CreateDigitalMusic.com]

Joel Johnson

Reader Red Got a New Flashlight

Red sent in this brief recommendation for the Fenix P3d Cree Q5 Premium flashlight:

I'm not a shill...just a geek that over-researches every purchase.

I just received my Fenix P3d Cree Q5 Premium flashlight. I don't know what more to say than it is tiny, crazy bright, and feels very durable. It's a 4.5-inch flashlight that is as bright or brighter than the huge, police-style Mag Lights.

The P3d Q5 has six different modes, including several levels of brightness and a strobe. Strangely enough, I cannot find out how to order one from their website, nor the price. As with all these vanity super-torches, I'd expect it to be fairly expensive.

Product Page [FenixLight.com]

Joel Johnson

Exclusive: Leapfrog Crammer, an MP3 Player for Students

Although Leapfrog had recently shown off their two new handheld gaming systems, the Leapster 2 and Didj, one new product they haven't yet announced—until now—is the "Crammer," a 1GB portable media player with the ability to integrate pre-programmed flashcards and machine-pronounced vocabulary words. While it's far from the most advanced music player out there—it's got a low-rez monochrome screen, for one—it's not meant to kill the iPod, but to instead give middle schoolers and teens a way to listen to music while they cram for tests. The Crammer's interface is navigated using a rocking screen (like the iRiver Clix) as well as two buttons on the top—pressing on the corners of the screen itself like a giant D-pad moves the cursor. Vocabulary and flashcard questions are programmed in using a Windows- or Mac-based software interface.

There is only 1GB of storage on the Crammer, which isn't a ton, but it's plenty for a few albums. (Leapster's booth rep said they may consider a future version that can accept expanded flash memory chips.) But the MSRP is only $60—an easily sell by kids who want to give their parents an excuse to purchase their first MP3 player.

The Crammer will be available in the Fall. Curiously it appears to transcode all music into Ogg Vorbis for native playback on the device. (At least I presume they transcode; surely they don't expect 3rd to 8th graders to be sitting on a big collection of Ogg files.)

Full press release and another picture of the interface after the jump.

READ THE REST

Joel Johnson

Galley: New York Toy Fair '08

Here are several photos I shot this morning at the New York Toy Fair. There's a lot of LEGO in there, as well as some generic shots of products from around the floor.

It was amazing how full Javits was with vendors—easily the largest expo I've ever attended there. There was a lot of junk: heaping piles of cheaply molded figurines, rows of dolls and stuffed horses, and all manner of strange building blocks. On the whole, though, a recommended show for those interested in toys, especially toys that with more of a turn toward the toddler. (There was a serious lack of action figures, for one.)

Joel Johnson

Request: The Incredibly Bad Art of Motherboard Companies

Some friends and I were talking about how horrible the art has always been from hardware companies, specifically the Asian firms who, despite having millions of dollars in sales, still seem to hire artists from middle schools obsessed with warrior women, fantasy animals, and monster trucks.

So I want to build a gallery of the truly horrible examples of the form. Two things, specifically: the really wretched box art above; the hilariously ugly software utilities that ship with the hardware, like the infamous overclocking widgets with no antialiasing shaped like spaceships and shuriken. If we can get enough stuff put together over the weekend I'll put up the whole gallery on Monday.

To add your contribution, either drop a link in the comments or add it directly to our general Flickr pool. I'd appreciate the help. Also, there's no era too old. Bad designs from the '70s and '80s are fair game, too.

Joel Johnson

In the Future, All Toast Will Take 15 Minutes to Depress

There's no reason whatsoever to recommend this "Morphy Richards 2 Perfection Toaster"—it's upwards of $60, for one—but the space-age bread insertion mechanism, as seen in the video, is quite futuristic. Pretend you're loading the photon torpedo tubes.

Catalog Page [ElectricShopping.com via Serious Eats via Oh Gizmo]

Joel Johnson

Video: Purported Dell Call Center Employee Calls Customer "Little Girl"

The description on this clip calls it an "actual leaked phone conversation" to Dell. It's just lame enough to be believable, but who knows? [via Digg]

Joel Johnson

Everex CloudBook First Impressions Not Good

Laptop mag got their hands on a Everex CloudBook sub-notebook this morning, the $400 Asus Eee fighter that has a built-in 30GB hard drive instead of the Eee's all-solid-state rig up. I have (had?) high hopes for the CloudBook, but the first impressions don't sound that good:

The pointing device: The touchpad is a tiny stretch of plastic in the most awkward place you can possibly imagine, on the right above the keyboard. The left and right mouse buttons are on the left side above the keyboard, forcing you to use two hands to navigate and click.

CloudBook Unboxing and Very First Impressions [Blog.LaptopMag.com]

Joel Johnson

Lenovo's X300 Laptop Almost Revived the Butterfly Keyboard

From a Business Week cover story about the X300's development:

Hill's other idea was to make the PC very small, less than 10 inches across and less than one inch thick. Yet he wanted it to have a full-size keyboard, so he dusted off a design from the mid-1990s: a keyboard that folded up when the laptop was closed and opened out to full size when the machine was opened. The "butterfly" keyboard had caused a sensation when it was first introduced on a ThinkPad in 1995. ... During a meeting at Sapper's modernistic, V-shaped home on Italy's Lake Como, the 75-year-old design legend urged Hill to make the fold-out keyboard deploy automatically, rather than requiring the owner to snap it into place. By midsummer, Hill handed his ideas over to the Yamato engineers to see what would really work.

Building the Perfect Laptop [BusinessWeek]

Joel Johnson

Zojirushi Rizo: The Rice Cooker That Will Convince the West?

Trends in Japan says that rice cooker manufacturer Zojirushi's latest model, the "Rizo," was designed with "the western kitchen in mind." I'm not quite sure what that means—many rice cookers, including some from Zojirushi, have been available here for a while. I don't think it's the design that's holding them back from mass market penetration, but simply that rice isn't the everyday staple for most Americans as it is for many Asian cultures. I am curious about the special "risotto mode," however; how would it do all that stirring?

Another model from Zojirushi, called the "i-pot," will send a text message to your phone if it hasn't been used in a while, the better to keep track of the elderly's behavior. I know that when my parents die I want the first person to tell me to be the rice cooker.

Zojirushi Rizo rice cooker plans western invasion [Trends in Japan]

Joel Johnson

Morning Tech Deals Highlights

• Playstation 2 – Playstation 2 Console with SingStar Bundle for $100 with Free Shipping. The PS2 still has a ridiculously good game library if you missed it over the last seven years or so. [Slickdeals]

• Amazon Sale – Friday Sale, including this Fender Stratocaster for $180. [Dealhack]

• Home Theater Speakers – Panasonic SC-PT750 1,000W 5.1 Home Theater System with HDMI for $200, shipped. About $150 off everyone else. [Dealnews]

• Today's Woot! is a Woot-Off!

Joel Johnson

A Tale of Great Customer Service from DeLorme

Consumerist has this cockles-warming tale of a vacation saved by good customer service by GPS maker DeLorme:

I posted to the DeLorme company forums, explaining the situation, and asking if there was any way to spoof Topo 7 into thinking it had already synchronized, since I knew the firmware version for my PN-20. I got a PM back from one of the customer service reps, saying that no, this was probably not possible. So instead, they offered to overnight a replacement USB cable to where I was on the trip!

DeLorme's Awesome Customer Service Vastly Improves Road Trip [Consumerist]

Joel Johnson

Tefal QuickCup: Hot Water in 3 Seconds

The Tefal QuickCup heats up hot water in three seconds, perfect for popping out a quick cup of tea, instant coffee or soups, or cocoa. A built-in replaceable filter, uh, filters* while a special heating coil dispenses about 8 ounces of piping hot water. And because it only heats the water that you're about to consume, it saves energy. (I hope they have a smart stand-by mode so you can leave it plugged in all the time.)

I've been keeping an electric kettle at my desk, drinking down a box of loose leaf green Earl Grey. My little $10 kettle is perfectly decent (and heats up water in about a minute), but if you were a die-hard tea drinker I could see this being very nice. It's $130 AU, and is available only in Australia or the UK. (I doubt there's enough of a tea drinking contingent here in the States to warrant a version for us.)

Product Page [QuickCup.com.au via Gizmag]

* I kept trying to think of a way to say "makes cleaner" but most tap water is perfectly clean.

Previously • Electric Kettle Acid Test: Sunbeam Tea Drop, Kenwood Response Kettle [BBG]

Joel Johnson

St. Louis Post-Dispatch on AT&T's Filter Plans

Tim Barker's piece in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about AT&T's plans to filter the internet may not break a lot of new ground for you folks, savvy internet denizens that you are, but he's done a good job getting quotes and perspective from a variety of people, including musicians, to explain the issue to the average Joe.

Barker also does not fail to recognize the real nut of the AT&T plans—using copyright scaremongering as a end-run around Network Neutrality—and the legal issue that may hold them back from implementing filtering in the end:

There is one aspect of this, however, that has left Sloane and other legal observers scratching their heads.

Consider this: In the 1990s, telecommunications companies spent millions of dollars persuading Congress to pass the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which eliminated any responsibility they had for content carried over their networks. In other words, if two friends plotted murder through e-mail, nobody can sue Charter Communications for not reporting it to authorities.

Now, AT&T seems to be considering surrendering that immunity. The argument is that if the company makes any attempt to police its network, then it becomes responsible for all the content.

"All the lawyers have been pulling their hair out, wondering what's gotten into them," said Scott with Free Press.

AT&T's idea to monitor Net creates a web of suspicion [STLToday.com]

Previously • AT&T to Filter Internet Traffic; Comcast Investigated by FCC for Filtering Internet Traffic [BBG]
• Interview with AT&T's "Filter the Internet" Exec [BBG]
• Talking About AT&T's Internet Filtering on AT&T's The Hugh Thompson Show [BBG]

Joel Johnson

Modern Mechanix Round-Up

Today on Modern Mechanix: this giant megaphone that was used to call reveille at Fort Jackson, S.C. I'm not sure why they didn't invest in an amplifier but it sure looks neat. In 1941 a million people paid 10 cents just to sit on a concrete apron and watch all of the planes take off and land at La Guardia airport, dubbed "The Grand Central of the Airways" in this beautifully illustrated Popular Mechanics article.  We also have an automatic egg breaker that can break 3,600 eggs an hour, a mobile grocery store packed into a bus and a robot rat from 1935 that can (sort of) navigate a maze.  Lastly, for all the women out there who want to make a bold fashion statement, be sure to check out this 1941 monocle veil.

Joel Johnson

Apple TV HD Rental Quality Pretty Good, Says iLounge

iLounge takes a look at Apple TV HD downloads, Blu-ray, DVD, and HD cable on-demand movies. In short, the Blu-ray looks best (duh), but Apple TV's HD beats out HD cable by a slim but noticeable margin. I still have no desire for an Apple TV until it can play streamed Divx over my network. Then again my big LCD is hooked up to a PC, so it's not like I do much streaming into the projector these days anyway. (My projector and Time Warner DVR have become mostly "The American Idol Experience" since I got the Westinghouse LCD.)

(And no, you can't tell any difference in my resized image above.)

Apple TV 2.0 vs. Blu-Ray, DVD & HD Cable: The Comparison [iLounge.com]

Previously • My Wildly Inaccurate Look at Movie Distribution in 2007 [BBG]

Joel Johnson

Star Wars Toys That Were Not to Be

Jason "ToyOtter" Geyer was a toy designer who got a chance to pitch Lucasfilm right before Star Wars: Episode I came out. Most of their ideas didn't make it to market, but the concepts they've scanned in and put online are hilarious. I can't believe Lucasfilm hasn't done a Jabba the Hutt beanbag.

To say we were excited is an understatement. However, there were a few problems. One, since we were not yet an approved vendor to Lucasfilm, we had to use the Original Trilogy to concept with as we couldn’t be shown anything from Episode One. Lucasfilm would review our concepts and let us know if anything could apply to the new movie (this was a painful process that involved discarding far more ideas than the ones that were kept). Two, it was only a year away from the release of Episode One, and most manufacturing lead times were anywhere from 18-12 months to get the product made and to stores. But beggars can’t be choosers, and we hit the ground running.

Rejected! A long, long time ago… [ActionFigureInsider.com] (Thanks, Matt & Michael!)

Joel Johnson

Space Shuttle Bed Looks Vaguely Like Space Shuttle

This "Space Shuttle Bed" looks vaguely like our aging reusable launch vehicle, likely complete with suspicious creaking noises. It's $2,600 for the bed, but can also be upgraded with a full "Launch Tower" playset on the side for an additional $5k. Call me cynical, but do kids even really know what NASA is anymore? It's not like it's ever in the news unless something blows up.

Also, parents: When I was a youngster my mom got me a "bed tent" similar to these $50 ones on Amazon. I think mine was in the shape of a apatosaurus, but it served as a secret fortress, a space ship, and a wandering barbarian's cave just fine.

Product Page [MyMoonDrops.com via Oh Gizmo via Nerd Approved]

Joel Johnson

For Reel: Japanese Phone Game Rewards with Whole, Raw Fish

A fishing cellphone game in Japan rewards some winners with real, raw fish delivered fresh to their door.

When a fish takes the bait, the player is sent to a slot machine screen where, if luck prevails and 3 numbers line up appropriately, the virtual fish is hooked and reeled in. A message is then relayed to the wholesaler, who picks up the real-world equivalent from the local seafood market and delivers it, whole and raw, to the player’s doorstep.

Ippon Zuri: Catch-and-eat fishing by phone [Pink Tentacle via Gizmodo]

Joel Johnson

EVDO Service: Verizon or Sprint?

Here's a simple question I present for your consideration and input: I need to get another EVDO subscription. Verizon or Sprint? I've used both, both have the Novetel USB stick I want, and they both seem to have roughly similar coverage areas.

Joel Johnson

Lounge Chairs for the Space Hulk

Even though I am planning on packing up most of my stuff and leaving New York next year, I still keep thinking I'd like a new easy chair for the living room. Something nice enough to keep with in storage even as I move around. (More on that in a few months!)

Two have caught my eye over the last couple of weeks. Sadly, neither have had prices listed, which means they will be far out of my reach. Come on IKEA knock-offs!

The DS-166, designed by Hugo de Ruiter, is said to make those who sit in it "feel most profoundly." I just like its space lounge good looks.

The Lobster Chair [right], designed by Lund & Paarmann, is less plush, but the segmented walnut veneer over the back is striking. Eames by way of Giger.

If anyone lives in Europe has a few thousand dollars with which to buy a random blogger some furniture, I'll be happy to provide a shipping address. (Please do not touch or even look at any of the chairs before shipping, as I have a debilitating fear of psychic dustballs being caught in between the folds of cushions. This is why all visitors to my apartment must stay in the fraternization chamber.)

Joel Johnson

Ombredanne Inhaler: Nothing Says 'I Love You' Like Ether

My friend Kat came back from Buenos Aires with this vintage "Ombredanne Inhaler," used around the turn of the century to administer ether or chloroform as surgical anesthesia. From Phisick.com:

Professor Louis Ombredanne (1871-1956), the inventor of the apparatus, was a French Surgeon who introduced his ether breathing apparatus in 1908 and it was subsequently widely used throughout Europe. They were made by various makers in the early 1900s.

He daubed some chloroform from the brown glass bottle onto the cotton and tossed it down into the wood chips. The gerbils made no move for a moment, then began to gnaw off their own limbs.

Don't give your pets drugs, kids!

The best drug geek gift I've ever purchased [Dosenation.com]

Joel Johnson

Morning Tech Deals Highlights

• GPS Unit – Garmin Nuvi 750 4.3" Widescreen Display GPS for $295, shipped. [Slickdeals]

• Xbox Controller – Xbox 360 Play & Charge Kit w/Black Controller for $46, shipped. [Slickdeals]

• Lenovo Laptops – 20% off coupon on many Lenovo laptops that use the Nvidia Quadro NVS 140M chipset. [Dealnews]

• Camcorder – Today's Woot! is a refurbished Canon ZR830 MiniDV Camcorder with 35x Optical Zoom for $135, shipped.

Joel Johnson

Rainy Day Links Catch-Up

I'm slogging through a backlog of work I've been putting off here on this cold, wet Brooklyn afternoon, but here are several great links readers have sent in over the last couple of days. Plenty of stuff to chew on in here. Thanks, everyone, who took the time to pass these stories on.

• Dan writes:

Vladimir is a Northwest filmmaker who makes her own hand-crafted Viewmaster reels from stereoscopic pairs shot on 16mm film.  She gives out viewers and reels to an audience, plays a soundtrack, and everyone pushes their levers at the same time when they hear the "ding!"

• Josh writes:

BBC has a short photoset of electronic repairmen in Nigeria who fix anything from LCD TVs and stereos to mobile phones.  Some are self taught while others have studied under a master previously.  When they come across a phone they need to fix they have sent off to the manufacturer and received the diagrams, something I don't see happening in the US.

• Scuba Steve writes:

We're now one step closer to the personal jetpack - the personal helicopter!

• MKUltra writes:

This is a [harmonica-playing] kinetic sculpture by the artist Joseph Kohnke, that I thought you would enjoy. There's a great video of it in action. ... I have had the pleasure of seeing his work in person, and it's deeply moving stuff.

• Mike Mc. writes:

do it yourself "steam punk" portable solar PV electric power generator. Various photos of cart with general how to's. Includes opinionated commentary.

• Richard sends this link to a one-of-a-kind slot machine wristwatch with real working lever. [TheRawFeed.com]

Joel Johnson

Oscilloscope Hacks

Waxy has curated a nice collection of oscilloscope hacks in video form, including the above demo from Assembly 2007.

Oscilloscope Fun and Games [Waxy]

Joel Johnson

Nokia's "remade" Prototype Phone

Nokia's "remade" concept phone doesn't actually work, but the techniques and materials used in its construction are laudable. The casing is made from recycled aluminum cans, the chassis from plastic drink bottles, and the keys from old tires. The circuit board is printed instead of etched (or would be if it worked).

Great first step, Nokia. Now when are you going to roll these techniques into production?

Nokia ‘remade’ concept explores recycled materials in cellphones [Phonemag.com]

Joel Johnson

Morning Tech Deals Highlights

• Blu-ray Discs – Amazon has a Buy 2, Get 1 Free sale on several Blu-ray discs, as well as some deals on box sets. [Slickdeals]

• Bar Stool – Not very tech, I know, but sort of futuristic looking! (It's $111, shipped.) [Dealnews]

• Projector – Today's Woot! is a Infocus 7210 HD DLP Projector w/ Free 76" Projection Screen (720p native) for $1,005, shipped.

Joel Johnson

We Lost. The Telcos Won.

The telecom industry, including AT&T, will be given retroactive immunity for their collusion with the U.S. government to spy on American citizens. [TPM Muckraker]

Joel Johnson

Colored Pencils Reviewed (Verdict: Versatile But Lacks Precision)

Blogoscoped reviews a set of colored pencils:

You will notice several obvious features missing from the list. For instance, color pencil devices do not come with a clip arts library of any sorts. On the upside, the color pens do have a full support for advanced international character sets; this allowed me to enter Chinese characters as well. It is rare for devices today – including your average keyboard – to handle these characters with such ease.

The different fonts however, like Arial or Times New Roman, came out rather quirky, as the photo illustrates. Vector graphic quality was leaving a lot to be desired as well; lines were often not straight, aligned, or perfectly round as known from other utilities.

Color Pencils Reviewed [Blogoscoped.com] (Thanks, eriktown!)

Joel Johnson

Prosthetics Make Me Happy

Esquire has an great feature about Bryan Anderson, an Iraq War vet who lost both legs and an arm to an IED. His struggles with his prosthetic limbs are both heart-wrenching and inspiring. He's not letting his lack of limbs hold him back, like when he visits a go-kart track during a trip to be fitted with upgraded prosthetics.

The girl at the cash register runs us through the basic requirements, which add up to one rule: If we hurt ourselves, we won't sue.
"Do you all have close-toed shoes?" she asks.
Anderson is wearing sneakers, but he says it anyway: "Do I need them?"
"Everyone does," she says, not looking up.
"Even if I don't have feet?"

One of the most impressive projects in the labs now is DEKA's "Luke" arm, an eight-pound cybernetic arm that, while not a dextrous as a human arm, is nevertheless stunning. IEEE Spectrum has produced a short video of the Luke in action, including showing how it's worn and tested by a man who lost both arms 26 years ago to electrical burns. The smile on his face when he talks about the simple joy of being able to peel a banana brightened my day.

Joel Johnson

Modern Mechanix Round-Up

What do you think this woman is holding? A flare gun? Air Horn? Find out on Modern Mechanix. Last month Scientific American printed an excellent feature about particle accelerators past, present and future. Today we look at a 1953 Popular Mechanics article that covers the same ground, 1950's style. Unhappy with your appearance? The Plastic Appliance Institute can help you shape your ugly nose, the scientific way! If you're walking down an isle in a store and you should happen to come across a talking mirror that's trying to sell you toothpaste, you have this man to thank. While I think propeller driven cars always look neat, the guy who built this one really should have invested in a safety cage. Also, check out these plans for building a subterranean road system in NYC.

Joel Johnson

Roland FR-2 V-Accordion

Being gifted with a prodigious talent at playing one note on piano so repetitiously that I often lull myself to sleep (no joke), I've often thought that I would have been better served by the accordion. All that bellows-pumping would keep the blood flowing. Alas, my younger self thought accordion a dying instrument.

How shocked I would have been to stick my head through the slippery folds of time to gaze on the Roland FR-2 V-Accordion, with built-in drum loops, MIDI, and virtual bellows. (Well, the bellows are physical with "high-resolution pressure sensors," but you don't need to actually push air to make this squeezebox squawk. It's a synthesizer.) And of course the thing can be battery powered for hours of boardwalk busking. It does not appear to have a built-in speaker, though, which is baffling.

I will buy this as soon as I have three thousand dollars free of previous commitment or I become an accordion virtuoso, whichever comes first.

Product Page [RolandUS.com via Crave.CNET.com]

Previously • Suzuki Omnicord (1981) [Gadgets.BoingBoing.net]

Joel Johnson

Casulo: Complete Furniture in a Crate

My self-diagnosed mild autistic tendencies cause me to find great delight in things that express order and uniformity. I suspect that's part of what makes me love LEGO as much as I do—clicking the elements together actually calms me down. As does making pixel art, sliding elements into a zoomed-in grid. I love things that stack or that have compartments. I love airline meals, not because of the taste, but because of the way each little slab of food fits into its tray, which in turn slides into a wheeled steam compartment, which in turn snaps into a locker. (It makes me wish my belly were filled with stacks of rectangular stomachs.) If I could, I would live in a sterile white room with no corners and compartments in which to stow every item.

(Or course I'd grow tired of that bubble room in short order. I also like dirty log cabins and Marshall stacks and human genitalia. But I can feel a part of my brain that finds a sense of order soothing.)

Point is, I squealed a little when I saw "Casulo"—a small crate filled with all the furniture one needs to live a modest life—unfolded by its designers in the video below. While it's an admirable bit of prototype engineering, like a thesis project for a Doctorate of Ikea, it's the clear tone its connotive portent sends ringing in my head that makes it most laudable. To be able to cast out all one's things, step into a pregnant room, and unfold a new home in a few minutes? That's a seductive fantasy.

Project Page [Mein-Casulo.de via Treehugger via Design Spotter]

Joel Johnson

Energizer's "Light on Demand" LED Rechargeable Lamps

Energizer's "Light On Demand" products are LED lamps with battery backup, able to operate for up to 20 hours when the lights go out. And because they're from a battery company, each of the light sticks' batteries can be swapped with regular alkalines. Three products are designed to be plugged into an outlet: a desk lamp, a tabletop nightlight, and a wallplate nightlight. A motion-activated light and a wall sconce have to be recharged at a docking station.

I initially thought all the products in this series used a single type of lamp, but since different models have different listed running times when they're switched to battery power, I guess the only real innovation is that these are always-charged LED lights.

If your lights go out often I could see these being really nice. It is irritating to discover you're in a blackout but have forgotten to keep a flashlight around. That said, I can imagine that the majority of these lights will never be used as flashlights making the built-in battery superfluous and wasteful.

Target will have the retail exclusive on these until late summer. Prices have not been announced and the official website is down. (Would it be rude to suggest a battery backup for their webserver?) Update: Energizer tells me the prices will be "$24.99 - $69.99."

Press Release [PRNewswire.com via OhGizmo]

Joel Johnson

Morning Tech Deals Highlights

• PC Games – Amazon is selling The Orange Box (Half-Life 2, Portal, and Team Fortress 2) for $30. Incredible value. If you don't own this we need to have a talk about your commitment to fun. [Slickdeals]

• LCD HDTV/Monitor – Westinghouse LVM-37W3SE 37-inch LCD monitor for $800, shipped. No tuner, but these are nice, cheap LCD panels. [Dealhack]

• Giant Remote – Today's Woot! is a Innovage Jumbo Universal Remote 2 Pack for $12, shipped.

Joel Johnson

2008 Plagiarius Award Winners Announced

The "Plagiarius Awards" are given to the companies who make the most faithful unauthorized reproductions of gear they did not design. And while China has its fair share of knock-offs represented, many of the thieving companies operate in the same country as the original. The whole awards page is like a tasting menu for IP lawyers.

Plagiarius Award winners are not given an actual trophy, but simply given general specifications and relative heft.

Awards Page [Plagiarius.com via Core77]

Joel Johnson

Alert: Brad from TiVo Would Like to Know Who is Playing World of Warcraft

Just got this email. I figure it was sent to me because Brad knows that the Boing Boing Gadgets audience would be the ultimate locus of DVR-owning MMO players.

Hello,

I'm hoping this is the WoW Nowplaying guild list here at TiVo.  If not, please accept my apologies for tagging the wrong list.

If it is the list, I'd like to get in touch with someone to get my 2 characters, Beacker (mage) and Korok (warrior) into the guild.

I'd also like to see if it's possible to coordinate with people who are trying to level alts to group up.  I'm finding that the mage needs some backup to get his ruby shards from Silver Stream mine (Beacker's level 21), and get that damned compass out of the Alexston's farm house.  Nothing like getting jumped by a bunch of Defias when you poke your nose around the corner inside the house.

Brad (beacker)

Joel Johnson

Modern Mechanix Round-Up

Today on Modern Mechanix we have a 1952 Popular Mechanics article titled "Science on the March"; an excellent history of the rise of American science and engineering as well as predictions of what the next fifty years (1952-2002) would bring. In 1947 watching a baseball game on TV was apparently exciting enough that people felt the need to dress up for it.  We also looked at a machine for vending single cigarettes, an eight-wheeled car that can supposedly drive unimpeded through sand dunes, a bed made entirely of tin cans and a nifty solution for fitting more cars in a small urban parking lot.

This weekend we looked at the not-so-important question of whether Thomas Edison died a poor man. While we're on the topic of Edison, what better way to memorialize him than with a giant light bulb.  Here is a rather unstable looking one-passenger taxi cab.  In 1934 the Maginot line was being hailed as one of the greatest defensive structures in the world. It's a pity it only held the Germans off for about five minutes. Want to advertise something but don't want people to know it was you? Check out this car with a P.A. system hidden in the extra tire. Also take a look at this guy who makes amazing clockwork figures, a flying bomb/plane that looks like you'd have to be suicidal to fly it and new tools in the war on grasshoppers.

Joel Johnson

Surprise! Magic Gas Additive Executive a Big Gasbag

Screwball Stephen Moss—C.E.O. of "Firepower International," a company that makes a magic pill that they purport will "increase fuel efficiency and reduce pollution" when stuffed inside the gas tank of your automobile—knows an idiot when he reads one. The Sydney Morning Herald has been taking Firepower Intl. to the mat for several months, running stories about Firepower's links to Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, its colossal funding, and its suspicious lack of test results that would show its fuel additive actually works.

Dan "'s Data" Rutter has been commenting on the Morning Herald's work for several months now, which is how I was made aware of this latest pretender to the "I Fixed Gasoline" throne. That was cause enough for Moss to send a threatening email demanding Rutter remove any "defamatory statements" regarding Firepower's product, as well as post an apology. It's typical blowhard dickbag stuff—and does little to lend any credibility to the already less-than-credible company.

Here's my advice for Moss: Put your miracle product on the market, make lots of money, and forget about all the little people who doubted your genius.

Firepower threaten to sue me! [Dan's Data]

Joel Johnson

Blowing Out the Dust: Morning Edition

• No AppleTV Support! – Interview with head of the XBMC port to OS X. [9to5Mac.com] [Prev.]

• Stealing Thunder – The Mac Superstore in San Luis Obispo, California uses Mac Plus and SE/30s as doorstops. [Cult of Mac]

• Hrm. – Apple files to protect their trademark with regard to "hand-held units for playing electronic games," other game-related terms. I am guessing this is just covering bases. They already have a game device. It's called "iPod." [Trademork]

• I Actually Squealed – Publisher announces sequel to Puzzle Quest. No details yet. [Game|Life]

• High Voltage! – Microsoft buys Danger, Inc., the people who designed and operate the back-end for the Sidekick. The Sidekick has one of the best mobile interfaces around but has been largely stagnant since its launch. It's also my impression (read: nebulous, vague inclination with no linkable source) that most of the real players at Danger have already left. [Microsoft]

Joel Johnson

Arkitip x Wood Wood x Nike Black Viewmaster

Art magazine "Arkitip" collaborated with Danish collective Wood Wood to create this special black Viewmaster with display reels showing off their latest exhibition catalog. Somehow Nike is involved, too.

You can get one of your own for $45, hand-packaged and in limited, number edition of 1,500.

Order Page [Arkitip.com via Kitsune Noir via Notcot]

Joel Johnson

Not What We Meant When We Said "Go Play Outside"

This is the "Ant" model of a series of devices created by Chris Woebken and Kenichi Okada that aims to (somehow) simulate what it's like to be an ant for a tiny kid. Mostly I just like the picture.

Work in Progress at the Royal College of Art [Dezeen]

Joel Johnson

Use This Picture Frame to Spy on Your English Wife

Oh, this is shady: a picture frame with a built-in microphone and a GSM phone. Call into the number assigned to the picture frame's SIM and listen in at any time, with stand-by time of up to two weeks.

It's £130 and includes a SIM card, but no service plan is mentioned. Presumably you could use any SIM and any service. The seller is in the UK and GSM frequencies are not listed, so I'm not sure if it'll work in the US.

Catalog Page [Trackershack.co.uk via Coolest-Gadgets]

Joel Johnson

Upcoming Phones I Actually Find Interesting: Nokia N96 and Sony Ericsson Xperia X1

Despite quickly slapped together responses to the iPhone last year, most handset makers have been taking their time to make a proper response to Apple's wunderentfettungseinrichtung. (I'm pretty sure that means "wonderful degreasing device," which iPhone owner can tell you is a perfectly accurate description.)

There's a mobile conference going on in Barcelona this week. Unlike the mobile phone conferences we have here in the States, it's sort of a big deal, and most of the important and innovative handsets are being talked up. Two in particular caught my eye, which is saying something, since I tend to find the glacial upgrade process and reticence to risk-taking design tedious.

The Nokia N96 is the follow-up to the wildly popular N95—at least wildly popular in the rest of the world. Although the N95 was released in the States, it never quite became the default object of lust for USians. The N96 is cut from the same jib, but with upgrades all around, both in features—dual-LED flash for its 5-megapixel camera, DVB-H mobile TV tuner, and 16GB of built-in storage as well as a microSD slot—and in looks. It's very nice looking in general and the dual-sliding action that reveals either a keypad or a set of secondary gaming/media buttons with which to play N-Gage titles looks nice.

What it lacks, just as its predecessor did, is a proper keyboard. Nokia makes several models of smartphones with QWERTY keyboards, but they tend to be bigger and clunkier. Why they don't think QWERTY is appropriate for their flagship is anyone's guess, but I suspect it has something to do with the European perception of what makes a handset a handset.

The N96 will probably be released in North America at some point in the future, even if it's just available direct from Nokia, but for now it's only been announced in Europe with corresponding 3G bands.

Product Page [NSeries.com]

Sony Ericsson's XPERIA X1 is a step in a new direction for the company, pushing not only a large, tactile QWERTY keyboard (hidden under a curved "arc-slider") but Windows Mobile 6. Previous Sony Ericsson models tended to use a custom version of Symbian, the same OS used by Nokia.

A motion-sensitive screen reorients depending on, uh, orientation—very iPhone—and a new "Panel" interface that can be used with the touchscreen without sliding out the keyboard. The screen is huge and high resolution, the processor should be plenty powerful, and it's got the standard complement of 3G and Wi-Fi built in.

It is, in short, a kitchen sink device of the first order, and presuming that Sony Ericsson can add the same level of polish to Windows Mobile that they did to Symbian (a tougher, but still doable task, I think) they'll have quite the device on their hands. I think it's going to be too large to really be considered an iPhone killer—that sliding keyboard, while definitely appealing to me, will make this too big for many pockets; the iPhone is 11.6mm thick, the X1 is 17mm—but it's the first SE phone in which I've been interested for a while.

Sony's got a dedicated project page up if you'd like to take a look at pictures. I'd expect the X1 in late '08 for the better part of a thousand dollars, although nothing official has been announced.

Product Page [SonyEricsson.com]

Joel Johnson

Cargo "blu_ray&trade" Makeup for HD Actors

Chad writes:

I don't know what I think is most hilarious about this makeup line: the tech-related concept or that they trademarked blu_ray with an underscore and not a hyphen.  It's the latest technology in "photochromatic pigments with optical blurring."

It's probably not long for this world anyhow; I can't imagine Sony standing by while someone else tries to trademark "blu_ray" instead of "Blu-ray."

Product Page [Sephora.com]

Joel Johnson

Enerjar and Other Winners of the Greener Gadgets Design Competition

The winners of the Greener Gadgets Design Competition have been posted on the web, including the Grand Prize winning Enerjar, the "do-it-yourself power meter." There are several smart, interesting designs, but the Enerjar really does look great, with plans and software to be distributed freely on the web. (Now I just need somebody to build a one-click parts pack for order so I can build one myself without having to source all the individual items. Hint.)

Winners Page [Core77.com]

Update 03/03/08: The designers of the Enerjar have now put build instructions online.

Joel Johnson

Interview: Bjarne P. Tveskov, Classic LEGO Space Designer

Image: All the sets Bjarne created for LEGO Space.

One of the great pleasures of blogging is meeting people who had an influence on your life simply by off-handedly mentioning their work, prompting a conversation. That's what happened with Bjarne P. Tveskov and me after I'd included some of the LEGO sets he had designed in my "Sets I have Known and Loved" piece. Turns out the guy who made some of my very favorite sets of all time hangs out on our neck of the internet. We're in good company!

I chatted with the Danish concept developer back-and-forth over email.

BBG: What did designing kits for LEGO entail back in '80s? Were you working in an office or contracting from home?

Bjarne: It was all done internally at the LEGO Groups development department in Billund.

My LEGO career started when I was 17 years old; I saw an ad in the Sunday newspaper, they were looking for designers for the Space product line. No formal qualifications were required so just for fun I applied. They sent me a big box of LEGO bricks and asked me to create a Space model from imagination. Still got the model I made back then. (image coming later). At the interview I realized that the job was a full-time position in Billund, initially I thought that maybe it could be a freelance gig, but no. So when suddenly I was offered the job I had to ask my parents if it was OK if I quit high-school to become a Spaceship designer. They said it was fine, thinking I could always return to school later when I was done with the toy adventure. (But it never happened)

BBG: Where did the ideas for the models come from? Did someone from LEGO say "Bjarne, we need a big space ship for the Blacktron line" or did you come up with the ship so they decided to produce it?

Bjarne: Well, normally there was a brief to create a new space ship or vehicle or base at a specific price point. Maybe the model were to replace an existing set or maybe there would be some other requirements. But there would always be a fixed "brick-budget" one had to stay within. That was often the hardest part; If the model was over budget, one had to simplify and sometimes strip all the little cool extras of the models. Each brick has an internal price, and there was a whole department that did nothing but calculate the prices of all the prototype models we designed. Often 20-30 different models would be built, and only one would be selected for production. Then the models went through a committee of super-experienced model-designers to make sure stability and buildability was optimal.

I remember that one of the toughest ones to slim down to the right price was the Blacktron Alienator (6876). It had to be rebuilt and re- calculated several times before the brick-count was low enough. But it's still also one my favorite sets out of the 20+ LEGO Space models I designed  back in the day from 1986 to 1990.

Image: The design that scored Bjarne a job.

BBG: So were Blacktron bad guys or not? It seemed like LEGO was still avoiding putting proper weapons in sets back then, but it was pretty clear that Blacktron was supposed to be the guys that the Space Police caught.

Bjarne: Bad guys? Noooo. OK, they were a little bad, but in a good way... I remember there were some focus groups done with German mothers and they deemed the Blacktron models and minifigs to be a little too scary and aggressive. I don't think the Blacktron Renegade (6954) ever became available in Europe, and there was a memo issued saying that the Blacktron should always be shown with their visors open... Also when we did Blacktron II a couple of years later, it was a somewhat watered-down style, in my opinion not as good as the original Blacktron theme. And yes, Space Police was created to bring back law and order in the universe. The little mobile prison cell with the laser bars was a fun thing to design, even if it was a little cruel for the Blacktron guys to be imprisoned inside the pod. The big Space Police Mission Commander (6986) is another personal favorite of mine. Except it was quite tough for the poor kids to build; As designers we sometimes forgot that while we became better and better at creating advanced designs over time, there were new 6- or 7-year-olds who had to be able to build them (and even if it has an 8+ age marking on the box, the younger kids will still get the models for birthdays, Christmas etc.)

BBG: Do you still do any work for the company? How has working as a designer changed over the years?

Bjarne: I left the company in 1998 but I have been fortunate to work on many freelance projects, mainly concept work for LEGO.com, Knights Kingdom, Mindstorms and other projects that I can't mention. You could say that I got my "education" while working at LEGO Company, I still use a lot of things that I learned back then. From 1990 to 1998 I was working on trying to combine LEGO with all the emerging digital possibilities; Educational software, cdroms and internet and so on and so forth. But the eighties was in many ways a "Golden era" for the LEGO Company; One of the main challenges seemed to be deciding what new projects to shelve, otherwise the growth in sales would be too high (!). In the nineties things changed quite a bit. Suddenly there was a lot more competition in the marketplace and it became harder to respond to changing trends and new products like videogames and action figures etc. But I also believe that today there is a much more collaborative and international feel in the company in general.

Joel Johnson

Morning Tech Deals Highlights

• PC Game – Circuit City has STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl on sale for $10, in-store pick-up only. I kept hearing great things about that game although I never had a chance to play it. [Circuit City]

• GPS Unit – Navtour NT-147 Portable GPS System for $120, shipped, at Buy.com. I've never heard of that brand so research advised. [Dealhack]

• LCD HDTV – JVC 37-inch 1080p Widescreen LCD HDTV for $1,000, shipped. HDMI but no DVI input. (Easily fixed with a cheap cable.) [Dealnews]

• MP3 Player – Today's Woot! is a refurbished Sandisk Sansa M240 1GB MP3 Player with FM Tuner for $15, shipped. No expansion slot, but still a decent little unit for the price.

Joel Johnson

Modern Mechanix Round-Up

Today on Modern Mechanix we have this wonderful little blurb about using highly trained pigeons with little cameras strapped to their breast to take aerial photos of targets. Here is another article we posted a few years ago that has a few examples of the pictures they took.  Do you have a dozen aquariums and a pile of tree bark just sitting around doing nothing? Make this, um, attractive aquarium wall for your home.  I have my doubts about whether this giant turbo-plane would ever fly, but it sure would be neat to see. While it may not be a 1/10th scale self powered hummer with a built-in MP3 player, this little motorized car that drives 60 foot concrete track looks like a lot of fun for a little kid. We also have a watch that forgoes the minute hand and this lengthy but flawed article about man's evolution from the apes. Damn that Piltdown Man!

Joel Johnson

Run Your Wires and Cabling the NASA Way

While all my home wiring is inspired by the jerry-rigged Apollo 13 replacement CO2 scrubber, others might find more inspiration in doing it the way NASA does it when time is less of a factor. Toolmonger has spotted the NASA Workmanship Technical Committee's guides to proper installation, including a full guide for "Wiring and Cabling."

I'm sold. From now on I will outsource all my wiring to the lowest bidder. (I kid because I love, Dear Space Program!)

Project Page [Workmanship.NASA.gov via Toolmonger]

Joel Johnson

Hidden Litter Plant Box

The only way I'd like this "Hidden Litter Planter Box" more is if it could somehow compost the cat leavings into something nutritious for plants. Considering that feline droppings and urine are about the most toxic substance emitted by mammals, I'd say that's unlikely.

Until that sweet day when ammonia won't kill a fern, this planter will have to do. Sure, it's tacky, but not any more than any other exposed cat box, a problem that many of you with big houses in the 'burbs may not understand, but apartment dwellers know all too well. (Other designs are available but they're all about as goofy looking.)

Prices vary based on materials, but they're all in the $80 to $180 range.

Catalog Page [PetsBestProducts.com via Hardware Aisle]

Joel Johnson

Tell Me About Studio Monitors

My pops really wants me to be a musician. And I sort of am, although I'll never be more than a meddler.

First he bought me a really nice Telecaster which is more guitar than I'll ever need. Now he's bought me a pair of Yamaha HS 50M near-field monitors. So I can mix all my crappy loops in Garageband, you see.

I've got them hooked up to the Macbook Pro at the moment, listening to some high bit-rate MP3s. They sound sort of incredible. I'd forgotten how nice a decent pair of stereo speakers can sound, having used surround sound kit for quite a while.

But I don't know much about audio, really, especially something like studio monitors. Is there anything I should be doing to maximize the audio output of these things? I understand that they're not exactly designed for listening to music, but let's be honest—that's mostly what I'll be using them for. They have some switches on the back to handle frequency trim and the like, but it seems like in a standard stereo setup with no subwoofer they should basically be left flat.

One concern: Yahama advises that each monitor have a five-foot space around them for maximum fidelity, but there's no way I can do that in this room without rejiggering my whole desk setup. Is there anything I can do to mitigate the weird bounces I'll get by sticking one in the corner?

Joel Johnson

Dave's Giant LEGO Chess Pieces

After we posted that leaked LEGO chess set, Dave wrote in to tell us about his current project: building a giant chess set out of LEGO. So far he's just got a pawn and a rook, but they don't look half bad!

Giant LEGO Chess Pieces [BrickPlayer.com]

Joel Johnson

Wired Issue 1 Admired

Rex Sorgatz cracks the spine of Wired issue 1.1, the very first. I don't think I ended up getting Wired until a couple of issues in, shoplifted from my local Quiktrip, so it's especially interesting to see what all the fuss was about 15 years back.

There were probably two reasons why we loved the colophon: 1) we had no idea what a colophon was, and 2) it showed the means of production of the magazine. The colophon listed the computers (Apple Macintosh II), the printers (HP Scanjet IIc), the layout software (Quark XPress), and even the routers (Farallon). And then it concluded with some music (Dinosaur Jr., Curve, k.d. lang, etc.) and a final heading for "drugs of choice" (caffeine, sugar, Advil).

Wired 1.1: An Archaeology [Fimoculous.com via Waxy]

Update: The founding editor of Wired sent a long email to Fimoculous with more details about the backstory of Wired 1.1. [Filmoculous]

Joel Johnson

LEGO Indiana Jones Videogame Will Be Nazi-Free

According to Computer & Videogames reading of EDGE magazine (go internet!) the LEGO Indiana Jones games with be sans swastika, just like the LEGO sets. Developer Traveller's Tales says that LEGO has replaced the Nazis with "an anonymous genocidal, occultist, trenchcoat-wearing master-race."

On the one hand I get it: LEGO is a Danish company and Europeans are understandably more touchy about representing the Reich in pop culture (and it's a safe business decision, besides). On the other hand, if they were fine in the movie and the movie is fine for kids, what's the big deal?

Lego Indy: First concrete details [ComputerAndVideogames.com]

Joel Johnson

Three New Picoo-Z: Mini Micron; Tandem Z; 3 Channel Helicopter

My beloved little infrared-controlled helicopters have added three new models to the family line-up:

• The Picoo Z Mini Micron, a two-channel model that's the smallest yet—about as big as a credit card. Suggested price of $60.

• Picoo Z Tandem Z, a Chinook-style dual rotor chopper with a two-channel controller, giving it not only lift and rotation control, but motion forward and backwards. (On previous Picoo Z two-channel models, you could induce forward motion by adding weight to the front.) Suggest price of $80.

• Picoo Z 3 Channel Helicopter. It's a three-channel helicopter! Suggested price of $60, plus it appears to have some sort of LED spotlight on board.

I looked forward to playing with all of these once the price has dropped by at least half, which should happen by Christmas, I'm guessing.

New Picoo Z R/C Helicopters [GeekAlerts.com via Oh Gizmo]

Joel Johnson

Morning Tech Deals Highlights

• HD DVDs – 50% off sale on HD DVD discs at Barnes & Noble. Aggressive pricing or inventory close-out? On the other hand: The Big Lebowski. [Slickdeals]

• Friday Sale – It's the Amazon Friday Sale! Buy things! Buy them. [Amazon]

• Point-and-Shoot – Fujifilm Z10fd 7.2MP Digital Camera $120 Shipped at Newegg [Dealhack]

• Surge Protector – Belkin Pivot-Plug 12-Outlet Surge Protector for $31, shipped. [Dealnews]

• Bass Guitar – Gibson SG Supreme in Natural Finish for $900, shipped. Don't know if that's a good deal all around but it's an overnight $500 drop at Musicians' Friend. [Dealnews]

• Gas Grill – Char-Broil Premium 48,000 BTU Stainless Steel Gril at Linens 'n' Things for $200. In-store pickup is suggested, as shipping is $100. [Dealnews]

• Phones – Today's Woot! is a refurbished Uniden 5.8Ghz 3 Handset Phone with Answering System for $35, shipped.

Joel Johnson

Quotable: Paul Ford Remembers Computers as Islands

I sometimes feel a tremendous nostalgia for that era of technology, even though in other regards it was not the finest hour for my family or myself. I notice a similar nostalgia in other now-older computer geeks. Perhaps the nostalgia emerges because the earlier machines—the ones at home, in bedrooms or dens—were so utterly disconnected from the larger reality, pre-Internet, pre-compact-disc, pre-hard-drive. I remember that I identified powerfully with the Amiga 1000 we bought when I was twelve; I came to know its bizarre moods and to listen to its grunting disks for clues to its health—the anthropomorphic/pathetic fallacy at work.

The Vet [FTrain.com]

Joel Johnson

Modern Mechanix Round-Up

Today on Modern Mechanix we look at a hand-cranked, propeller powered life preserver from 1933, a five story tin can for people who like their veggies to stay separate and a "flight simulator" machine that looks a like a lot of fun. Even though they were a complete monopoly Ma Bell used to publish a lot of advertisements extolling the virtues of the US telephone system. In this 1935 Modern Mechanix article, Charles Kettering explains the hows and whys of GM's research division. Also be sure to check out this awesome looking rail car that was powered by electricity, compressed air, imagination and a distinct lack of physics knowledge.

Joel Johnson

Hand-Cranked Spong Coffee Mill

Designed by James Osborne Spong, the Spong Coffee Mill is a hand-cranked contraption that Apartment Therapy claims makes a fine cup of coffee. While it still uses a blade instead of a burr, it's unlikely that the speed of the grinder would build up enough to scorch the beans, one of the primary disadvantages of blade grinders. (How even the grind, however, is not mentioned.)

They're no longer on sale, being upwards of one-hundred-years-old, but can be found on eBay here and there. There's one listed now for $10, but it's missing the nifty catch tin that doubles as a dust cap.

The Best Coffee Grinder You Don't Know About [ApartmentTherapy.com]

Joel Johnson

Another Look at the Toyota "1/X" Plug-in Hybrid Car

While it debuted at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, Toyota showed off its "1/X" plug-in hybrid concept vehicle at the Chicago Auto Show this week. (That's pronounced "one-Xth" in case you were wondering, although I think "one-stroke-ex" is better.)

Compared to the Prius, Toyota's gas-electric hybrid, the 1/X is smaller, lighter (by almost a factor of three), has a smaller engine (again by 2/3rd) and uses lithium-ion batteries instead of NiMH. Expect a future Prius to incorporate some of the technologies, but not all—the carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic frame and bio-plastic roof aren't likely to make it into an affordable production car. The 125 miles-per-gallon performance will take a hit in a heavier car, too, but it's a step in the right direction.

Oh, the production models will probably have doors, too. That might make them heavier, but it should decrease wind resistance.

Toyota 1/X Plug-In Concept Makes North American Debut At 2008 Chicago Auto Show [GreenCarCongress.com]

Joel Johnson

Moving Mario: Real-World Sidescroller

Keith Lam has built a prototype of his "Moving Mario" installation, which trades on the conceit that sidescrolling platform games aren't actually moving the avatar, but scrolling the background. In Lam's installation, the character (and the "screen") actually move left to right. Very cute—but I'm more curious to see how he'll animate all the blocks and enemies in the real world. It's like a Super Mario Bros. carnival game!

Project Page [The-Demos.com via Gadget Lab via MAKE]

Joel Johnson

Quotable: Alec Meer on Official No-CD Patches

Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Alec Meer points out the inherent rub of official no-CD patches to games that are released after the games are long in the tooth, as Blizzard recently offered for Warcraft 3:

I’ve always found it fascinating when games do this after release. It’s an admission that copy protection is just an irritation to legitimate players, and that disc checks are a particularly buffoonish and archaic anti-piracy measure at that. ... And is there really anyone still playing W3 after all these years who didn’t apply an unofficial no-CD crack long ago?

Warcracked III [RockPaperShotgun.com]

Joel Johnson

Blip Festival: Reformat the Planet Trailer

"Blip Festival: Reformat the Planet" is a documentary debuting at SXSW next month that delves into the world of chiptunes, using the Blip Festival '06 as a jumping-off point. Looks great.

Trailer [Vimeo via Waxeley]

Previously • BBtv: Blip Festival, Sweet Spot Candy Expo, More Chip Tunes Artists [BBG]

Joel Johnson

Modu: Tiny Phone Snaps into Other Gear

Modu, an Israeli mobile phone start-up, has tipped its hand, showing off a tiny phone that slide into "jackets" and "mates" to change the look or extend the functionality of the phone.

Think of the main Modu handset as a tiny phone with some flash memory, able to store your personal information and provide basic cellular connectivity. Throughout the day you'd drop the handset into other devices like cameras, MP3 players, navigation systems, or laptops.

The primary problem is obvious: would you want to buy all new Modu-compatible gear? And would you want that gear to be limited in part by the size of the Modu phone itself? What if you wanted to use two gadgets at once?

There's something inherently futuristic-feeling about snapping central control modules into various bits of electronics, but it's not very actually futuristic. We're on the cusp of the era of ubiquitous, always-on wireless connectivity to the internet for every single device. Once a device can get online, why would I need to use a physical bit of memory to carry my data around?

Modu hasn't released much in the way of specifics yet, nor will they until later this year, so we'll just have to hang back and see how it works itself out. Any concept that relies on other hardware manufacturers to produce compatible gear usually has a rough row to hoe.

Modu unveils flexible phone with "jacket" range [Reuters]
Modu Cellphone Changes Function with Jackets [Gizmodo]
Modu mystery unravelled, look ma, a modular handset [Engadget]

Joel Johnson

Three Solar Chargers on a Mountain

The Tishman family does Christmas vacation right—this year it was a trip to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. And because they're a modern family, they brought the boys, who in turn brought their iPods, cellphones, and BlackBerries. The Times hooked them up with three solar chargers—the Solio Hybrid 1000, the Soldius1, and the Brunton Solo 3.4 panel—and sent them on their way.

They really don't get into a lot of detail, but the Solio Hybrid 1000 was the family's favorite, despite its small panel, because its ability to charge during the day and dispense power at night made it the "most convenient."

With a Little Help From the Sun [NYTimes]

Joel Johnson

Morning Tech Deals Highlights

• CFL Bulb – Sylvania Compact Fluorescent Energy Bulb for $.84 each, shipped. [Slickdeals]

• Flash Camcorder – Sanyo Xacti VPC-CG6 Digital Camcorder for $206, shipped. I have an HV20 and a DSLR, but I keep thinking I want one of these as a take-everywhere point-and-shoot. [Dealnews]

• DVD Movies – United Artists 90th Anniversary Prestige Collection for $350, shipped. 110 DVDs from 1944 to 2004. [Dealnews]

• HD DVD for XBOX – Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on is now $125, shipped, with 5 free HD DVD movies by mail. [Dealnews]

• Gyro Mouse – Today's Woot! is the Gyration GyroTransport Air Mouse with 512MB USB Drive for $40, shipped.

Joel Johnson

Blowing Out the Dust: Afternoon Edition

• Macbook Glitter – Science-nik figures out how to use lasers to make metals change color. [NYTimes]

• Fort Blox – Business Week takes a tour of the LEGO brick factory. [BusinessWeek.com]

• Microcephalic Yahoo – Someone at Esquire decides to get into the tech industry analysis game. Why? Steve Balmer has a cold? [Esquire]

Joel Johnson

Ruhlman Defends the Percolator

Food writer Michael Ruhlman swears up and down that his ancient GE percolator makes better coffee than any drip machine—and from generic Folgers grounds, too.

I cherish the General Electric percolator (apparently no longer in production), but when I tell people that it makes the best coffee, by far superior to the ubiquitous automatic drip machines, they look at me like I've just confessed my belief in creationism.

It astonishes me that I have to defend this sleek, 9-cup wonder.  I serve generic decaf to guests and they’re begging to know what kind of coffee I buy.

...

Auto-drip coffee though almost never hot, especially if you put anything in it.  If it sits for a half hour, it’s tepid, and soon burnt.  It’s usually not much faster, nor appreciably easier to make.

Percolator Love [Ruhlman.com]

Joel Johnson

Canon's 5200mm Mirror Lens

Canon made this 5200mm lens several years ago, capable of taking photographs of objects "18 to 32 miles away." That little knob on the right? That's the camera. It even came with its own sighting scope!

Brochure [CanonFD.com via Kottke]

Joel Johnson

Modern Mechanix Round-Up

Yesterday on Modern Mechanix we learn how to make this photographic enlarger out of kitchen utensils. We also have a beautiful, color Popular Mechanics article from 1936 introducing us to a new era in railroading.  Also in 1936, Modern Mechanix explored the LAPD's plans to win an arms race with local gangsters. Did you know that Eleanor Roosevelt ran a furniture factory? Here is an electric violin from 1933. Finally, girls, it's important to remember that no matter how pretty or fun you are, boys won't like you if you have bad breath.

Joel Johnson

The Wine Rack: It's a Bra

The "Wine Rack" is a bra that can be filled with up to 25-ounces of fluid and emptied through a convenient bite-locked tube. There's no way to discuss this without offending someone, so I offer you a choice of three descriptions by which you can be scandalized:

• Boobze. (Bonus: Camelfront.)

• Perfect for duplicitous, predatory transvestites–as your shrinking breasts belie your masculine nature your guzzling target will be proportionately less concerned.

• Bubbly in your jubblies!

It's available only in size "small" at the moment for $30, but medium is on backorder.

Catalog Page [Firebox.com]

Joel Johnson

Zippo Blu: The World's Swankiest Crack Lighter

There's a new Zippo in town—and it's quite ugly. The "Zippo BLU" takes the original windproof design and tweaks it, switching the fuel from liquid to butane to produce a jet blast of flame. You know, just like those $5 lighters you can get down at the gas station.

It's a strange product for the company. It may be more windproof and add less of a gassy taste to your smokes, but you'll be paying a lot of scratch for the brand name when something generic will serve you just as well. Even worse, it appears that Zippo's flint-based sparker is not user serviceable, meaning you'll have to send it back in every time the flint is worn out. (Most of those gas station lighters use an electronic igniter instead of a flint.)

Zippo lighters are one of those timeless designs that shouldn't be fussed with. If the company wants to extend the brand, adding twenty-year-old technology to their line-up probably isn't the right move. Or does this mean that Zippo now considers crack lighters an American icon?

Product Page [Flash with music] [ZippoBlu.com via Uncrate]

Joel Johnson

Leapster2 and Didj: LeapFrog's Two New Gaming Handhelds

Educational gadget maker LeapFrog has announced two new handheld gaming systems: the "Leapster2," a more simple system designed for younger kids; and the "Didj," a DS-class model that can be integrated with homework assignments (or at least spelling lists) but can also play proper games like Sonic the Hedgehog. Both systems are listed as "web-connected" to allow parents to track their kids' progress, but they don't say how, exactly. Wi-Fi perhaps?

Both systems are coming this summer. The Leapster2 will be $70; the Didj $90. While I like the idea behinds these systems quite a bit, I do question how much kids will actually want to play the games that are offered instead of entertainment titles for the DS and PSP. (We weren't playing Mathblasters and Odell Lake in school because we wanted to—or because of our love of osprey.)

A final, vital note: LeapFrog's vice-president of gaming is named "Christian Cocks."

Press Release [PRNewswire.com via Coolest Gadgets]

Joel Johnson

Spice Gun Concept

While only a concept, the "Spice Gun" by Zhu Fei would certainly liven up dinner parties as guest blast each other with flakes of salt and pepper. Or you could pretend your peas are punk kids putting quarters on the railways and blast them with tiny bits of rock salt. That's what I'd do, if for no other reason than it would give me an excuse to wear my train engineer overalls to the dinner table.

You've got to ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya, pork?

Dining in 2015 [Design Boom via Gadget Lab via Engadget]

Joel Johnson

A Directory of Wonderful Pro Audio Equipment

Music Thing took a spin through the Canford Audio Catalogue—an 1,296 page collection of broadcast and other pro audio gear—so you don't have to. There's some cool stuff in there, including five different types of gaffer's tape and the pictured Noise-Activated Warning Sign which, were it not over £300, would be decorating my bedroom door lintel.

The many wonders of the Canford Audio catalogue [Music Thing]

Joel Johnson

Morning Tech Deals Highlights

• DVDs – The complete series of Stargate SG-1 for $115, shipped. I'm sure someone out there likes SG-1, right? [Slickdeals]

• Guitar and Mandolin – Musician's Friend is selling the Rogue acoustic guitar and mandolin pack for $100, shipped. I've got that guitar. It'll get the job done. [Dealhack]

• Hard Drive – Seagate 500GB SATA internal drive for $110, shipped. [Dealnews]

• 7.1 Receiver – Denon AVR-687 7.1-channel home theater receiver for $200 at Circuit City, but only for in-store pickup. [Dealnews]

• Golf Clubs – Today's Woot! John Daly XDS 16 Piece Mens Right Hand Golf Set for $135, shipped.

Joel Johnson

Leaked LEGO Castle Chess Set

I don't normally traffic in leaks or rumors since that's a loser's game, but leaked LEGO sets? You bet your ass.

This is what Brothers Brick are calling the "Ultimate Castle Chess Set," but the final name and price are anyone's guess. The rooks are actual castles. I stopped playing chess in the second grade but I still sort of want it. It will remain about as classy looking on my bookcase as did the one owned by my friend Mike's dad—an entire chess set with pieces that were full-sized bottles of cologne.

Ultimate castle chess set [Brothers-Brick.com]

Joel Johnson

Col-Pop: Fast Food Drink Caddie for Snacks

Serious Eats' Adam Kuban documents the "Col-Pop," perhaps the future of popcorn chicken and soda delivery. It's available at BBQ Chicken, which has only a handful of stores open in the U.S. at the moment, but will be expanding soon.

And the genius doesn't stop at popcorn chicken. In South Korea, sister company BHC Chicken also offers spaghetti, french fries, and fried mozzarella balls in Col-Pop containers.

Snack to the Future: The Col-Pop, an All-in-One Chicken Nugget and Soda Cup [SeriousEats.com]

Update: Reader Orlando took the Col-Pop for a spin and posted his field report in the comments:

I actually went and had one around lunch time yesterday at the Manhattan location. First off, they aren't cheap... the large Col-Pop is around 5$. Secondly, while the idea of the container itself is pretty cool, the resulting product was just okay. The chicken balls (thats really what they are, balls of chicken, no need to pretty this up for you) were okay. BBQ Chicken actually fries their chicken in olive oil, which they claim makes it "healthier", but I was under the impression that only using raw olive oil made it a healthier oil. Basically anything fried is gonna make you fatter and more heart attack worthy. Flavour wise, big step up from KFC, which I don't eat, because, well, its gross. The chicken was very lightly breadded, and was, unlike the KFC popcorn chicken, actually contained meat, not just breadded fat. Basically crispy and tender. The major flaw was not that the chicken affected the soda, nor soda the chicken, but that the cup itself began to get soft and flimsy feeling by the end of my snack gorging. So, end result, as I said before, I felt it was an okay product, just that was a little expensive for my taste, and probably wouldn't buy again.

Joel Johnson

Yamaha BodiBeat Plays Music at Your Pace

The Yamaha BodiBeat MP3 player won't be out until late this year, but it's got a certain something. (And I don't just say that because of the running girl and bouncy music on their Flash site.) The BodiBeat analyzes your music collection, then syncs up songs that match your running tempo using a built-in accelerometer. It's also got a heart rate monitor that will clip on the ear if you're doing something low-impact.

It's a solid idea, but the implementation will make the difference. Yamaha talks about changing tracks mid-song if your pace changes, which could get irritating pretty quick if not handled with some intelligence.

Product Page [Yamaha.com via Oh Gizmo via Red Ferret]

Joel Johnson

The Tempest Prognosticator

The Tempest Prognosticator was also known as the "Leech Barometer," because it was used by 19th century pundits to take measurements of annelid political persuasion. Also, it was filled with leeches.

The twelve leeches are kept in small bottles inside the device; when they become agitated by an approaching storm they attempt to climb out of the bottles and trigger a small hammer which strikes a bell. The likelihood of a storm is indicated by the number of times the bell is struck.

Tempest Prognosticator [Wikipedia via Hr. Kottke]

Joel Johnson

Morning Tech Deals Highlights

• Kitchen Gear – A bunch of cooking stuff is on sale at Amazon, like a yogurt maker for $13 (down from $25). [Dealhack]

• Crapsale! – Hammacher Schlemmer has a big clearance sale with many items up to 65% off. And many far less off! [Dealnews]

• Portable HDD – Western Digital 320GB USB2 HDD for $150, shipped. [Dealnews]

• FM Transmitter – Today's Woot! is a Wireless FM Transmitter 2 Pack for $13, shipped.

Joel Johnson

Coleman Camp Blender with Rechargeable Battery

Everyone knows camping is about one thing: pulsing various stones and twigs into a muddy slurry, slopping it directly into the stomach, tamping it down with a cattail, and writhing for two or three days in a yurt while your intestines are inexorably polished to a mirror finish. But what a hassle to bring the generator to keep the blender running!

Coleman's new battery-powered blender makes that a problem of the past, capable of blending 20 to 30 pitchers-worth of materials with each battery charge. (Number of blends will vary depending on where your rocks of choice fall on the Mohs scale.)

It's 80 bucks. (May or may not actually be capable of blending rocks.)

Product Page [Coleman.com via Dvice via Oh Gizmo]

Joel Johnson

Modern Mechanix Round-Up

Today on Modern Mechanix we look at some outlaw radio pirate's plan to operate from giant offshore broadcasting platforms. Why would they go through all the trouble? Freedom of speech? Nah, they just wanted to play ads for gambling, quack medical cures and liquor (this was during prohibition). It's a pity they didn't have an v1agra to pitch. This machine solved one of 1936's biggest mechanical problems; the automatic bending of pretzels.  We also looked at a home movie camera that is also a projector, an odd method of launching airplanes by flinging them from a giant merry-go-round and the popular new sport of sand skiing.

This weekend we learned about all of the tricks employed by FBI agents in an article written (or at least written with) J. Edgar Hoover. We also looked at a machine that is supposed to help the deaf by blasting their ears with loud noises and project ICARUS, a plan for delivering troops to the battlefield via giant rocket troopships. Every once in a while these old magazines have a bit of ASCII art (of course it wasn't called ASCII art then), here is another example; an ad for International Correspondence Schools.  In 1935 Science and Mechanics asked the question "Can Cities be Annihilated from the Air?" alas, they can.

We learned what every good smoker of the 1930's already knew: More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette brand. If you're worried about buying contaminated food at the market this checkout device is supposed to render your food germ-free using "condensed sunlight" (UV).  This kid made some pretty amazing models of a ferris wheel and the Eiffel tower entirely out of toothpicks.  Also check out this crazy, homemade bubble-topped car, a whole radio set built into pair of headphones a cool looking electric bicycle and an army device that lays communications cables by shooting them into the air at 30 MPH.

Joel Johnson

Electronic Rosary

Paolo massaged this machine-translated product description of an "Electronic Rosary" on sale in Italy for us:

The Electronic Rosary, produced in Italy by the PREX Company, is an apparatus of reduced dimensions, comfortable and portable. The Saint rosary is recited by a feminine voice and a chorus of persons who answer. The digital rosary PREX has a push-button in order to select the day of the wished week, with its mysteries. Simple to use, the electronic rosary can be listened to as a meditation aid or it can be answered as customary.

Catalog Page [HolyArt.it]

Previously • Kuka: Robot Ascetic Inscribes Bible [BBG]
• Electronic NIV Bible and Hymnal from SAK Korea [BBG]

Joel Johnson

Leaf Bowls of India

This post from Wan Yan Ling on Serious Eats about disposable bowls made of leaves makes me wistful for something like this in my country, although I'm sure it'd never get past the FDA. The imagery of completely environmentally kosher litter makes all the plastic I see out on my street right now seem uncivilized.

It used to be that a hole would be dug after a meal, with the used cups and leaves tossed in and covered with mud. This would eventually turn into a rich humus that could be used to fertilize crops. Urban living, however, means these cups and plates tend to end up as litter on the roadsides. While I know litter is litter, somehow, crumpled plastic just does not have the poetry that broken terracotta cups and shredded leaf bowls do. Especially when all that remains of the cups at the end of the day is red dust shimmering in the air.

Snapshots from Asia: Leaf Bowls and Terracotta Cups [Serious Eats]

Joel Johnson

Apple //c Unboxing

Dan Budiac indulged in a little nostalgia, purchasing an unopened Apple //c computer on eBay for $2,553. Rather than letting it sit on a shelf accruing value, he unboxed it in a lovely series of photographs.

Unlike so many nerds my age, I actually loathed this era of Apple computers, convinced they were all some sort of terrible attempt to undermine right and proper computing done by healthy young men on TRS-80s and Compaq lugables. It was only in the OS X era that I finally was wooed by Apple.

Apple //c set [Flickr via Coding Horror]

Joel Johnson

Eco Button: Save Energy By Buying Something Unnecessary

Attach this "Eco Button" to your PC and it will send your computer into power-saving mode. You know, the mode that you can already send your computer into by pressing the power button, selecting an option from a menu, or closing a laptop's lid. Even better, the Eco Button is illuminated, the better to remind you that you're wasting more of the planet's resources unnecessarily just by keeping it plugged into your computer's USB port.

"One small click[;] one big change" is the company's motto. Too bad the click that would make the largest change would be the one that powered down their webservers forever.

Fortunately, the Eco Button doesn't seem to actually be on sale yet. Let's hope it stays that way.

Product Page [Eco-Button.com via Geeksugar]

Joel Johnson

Morning Tech Deals Highlights

• Bluetooth Headset – Jabra BT5010 Bluetooth Headset for $25, shipped. [Dealnews]

• Flying Toy – One of those foam UFO toys for $13, shipped. [Dealnews]

• HDTV – Today's Woot! is an Olevia 52-inch 1080p LCD TV for $1,605, shipped.

Joel Johnson

Slacker Portable Music Player Unboxed

Laptop got their hands on one of those Slacker Portable units today which can stream music from the Slacker service in a sort of hybrid subscription/internet radio model. It's a big honkin' player, that's for sure, but I'm curious to see what Jeffrey Wilson's long term impressions are.

Slacker Portable works in conjunction with music site Slacker to let you take your customized Internet radio stations with you on the road–for free. Well, the music is free. The player starts at $199 for 15 stations, and the 25-station and 40-station models costs $249 and $299 respectively. The Basic Radio plan limits you to six song skips per hour and involves a limited number of ads, but if you sign up for Premium Radio ($7.50 per month if you sign up for one year) you get unlimited song skips, no ads, and the ability to save songs to the device while you’re listening.

The Great Unboxing: Hands On With Slacker Portable [LaptopMag.com]

Xeni Jardin

Sex gadget expose on Mississippi tv news (where they're illegal)

After hearing rumors that the “Adult Video and Books” boutique on McDowell Road, which had previously been busted for selling sex toys, was at it again, the intrepid Kandiss Crone from the 3 On Your Side “news” team decided to go undercover. Based on the secret audio recording, it sounds like she was confronted with a helpful sales person who sold her a vibrator (she chose “the purple one”). She then went back to confront an unimpressed but entirely pleasant store owner who tried to explain to Ms. Crone all the different places on your body you can use a vibrator (the one’s not prohibited by law in Mississippi).

You really have to watch the segment to believe it. I’ve watched it twice, and am left with several thoughts:

1. I love that the store is wheelchair accessible. I live in a major city and 90% of the stores here aren’t. Bravo “Adult Video and Books”.
2. How pathetic was it that they couldn’t even get the cops interested in the store? It seems like the “3 On Your Side” team are the only ones who care about this sex store selling sex toys. This begs the question; whose side are they on?
3. The “reporter” chose a vibrator that matched her sweater. Coincidence?

Joel Johnson

Octopuss Studios' "Silverfish" Aquarium

The oddly named "Silverfish" aquarium—isn't a silverfish aquarium a bookcase?—from Octopus Studios has six orbs connected by tubes, the better to let your fish reconfigure their own habitat while gargling the theme to The Jeffersons. Each aquarium is made-to-order for $3,400 minus gravel and fish. (Freshwater suggested.)

While the manufacturer says it's not much more difficult to clean than a standard rectangular tank, I think we all know that's a bit of understatement. Still, I like it a lot—although I think I'd like it a lot more if it had a more attractive base instead of something that looks like a TV stand from Wal-Mart.

Product Page [OctopussStudios.com via Oh Gizmo]

Joel Johnson

"N Range" Indoor Target Range

The "N Range" Shooting System is an indoor firing range, tastefully concealed in a wooden armoire. While the target is steel-backed to absorb any impact, the manufacturer requires the use of a custom round that is low noise, low smoke, and non-lethal. Where's the fun in that?

A basic model will set you back $1,300, but the "Executive" model pictured is $3,500.

Company Page (Flash, stupid looping music) [NRange.com via BallerHouse.com via Complex]

Joel Johnson

The DIY Tractors of Poland

Photographer Lukasz Skapski traveled around Poland to document the hand-built tractors used by many of the nation's farmers who were forced to hoe a DIY row due to the communist's government's inability to provision proper farm equipment. Many of the tractors are built from motorcycles and discarded war machines.

Skapski's photos are currently on display at the Zak gallery in Berlin, but Regine has a few examples to share.

DIY tractor culture in Poland [WMMNA]

Joel Johnson

Major Minor's Majestic March: Wii Game from PaRappa Team

Game|Life has a first look at "Major Minor's Majestic March," an upcoming Wii game from the developers and artist behind the classic Playstation game, PaRappa the Rapper. The un-ironic art is wonderful and Game|Life has more examples.

Players will use the baton to keep tempo, recruit new band members, and snag special items in an effort to create the most impressive parade ever seen. You'll be able to add up to 15 different instruments to the procession, and will be judged on how well your marching musicians keeps the rhythm and avoids obstacles.

First Look: PaRappa Creators' Wii Game [Game|Life]

Joel Johnson

Deals: Zune 8GB for $180 at Toys 'R' Us

Ad page [ToysRUs.rsys1.net]

Joel Johnson

Reader Asks: Where to Buy Anchor Rubber Bands?

Kirk writes:

Today I wrote about these fantastic items: "Cinch It anchor bands are rubber band with anchors. It sounds dumb but I've never found anything better for wrapping small wires, like iPod headphones."

The thing is I have no idea how to find these online! I first ran into them at the sadly-just-now-defunct (and very boingboingish) shop at Harvard Square "The Museum of Useful Things." Luckily their parent shop "Black Ink" still had some. I can't Google them anywhere, even "Shepard Medical Products" is mum about this lovely bit of elastic brilliance!

So I wouldn't mind enlisting boingboingers help in explaining where these come from, and if I need to stockpile more.

Rubber bands of the moment [Kisreal.com]

Joel Johnson

Modern Mechanix Round-Up

Yesterday on Modern Mechanix we look at this Japanese radio controlled tank from 1930, an article about the perils of making movies under the sea, a carousel gas station and a fire extinguisher that works by catapulting glass "bombs" full of flame retardant into the flames. Voice recognition 70 years ago? Supposedly this giant TV/Radio combo from 1934 allows the user to change the station just by speaking to it.  Lastly we have the debut of the new "De Luxe Sleeper Planes" which actually do look quite comfortable. I suppose they'd have to be considering a flight from New York to LA would take a day or two.

Joel Johnson

Photo: Belgian Swarm Bots

National Geographic's Photo of the Day are these Belgian swarm bots traveling through a forest.

A red color ring tells others, "Grab me;" blue means "stay away." Scientists study ant colonies, bird flocks, mammal herds, and fish schools to understand the simple genius of such animal swarms.

Swarm-Bots, Belgium, 2007 [Photography.NationalGeographic.com via Botjunkie]

Joel Johnson

Working Class Heroes "Unfold" Laptop Bag

The "Unfold" is a lovely laptop bag from Working Class Heroes, half leather and half felt, which can be folded in half to work with smaller laptops or kept extended for larger, longer models. A carrying handle at the top is attractive, although I question how practical it would be to use with something so long. Would it scrape on the ground?

The Unfold will be released in limited quantities on the fourth. No price yet, but based on Working Class Heroes' other products, I'd expect it to be fairly reasonable. (Say, $200 or so. But I'm just guessing.)

WORKING CLASS HEROES UNFOLD [Notcot]

Joel Johnson

Microsoft Offers to Buy Yahoo(!!!)

Says Reuters, with a cash and stock offer of $44.6 billion. More like "Yowza!"

Microsoft offers to buy Yahoo in $44.6 billion deal [Reuters]

Joel Johnson

Go-One Recumbent Tricycle

The Go-One is an enclosed tricycle capable of speeds up to 20MPH that can be rigged up with an optional 500-watt electrical assistance motor. Still, no special license is needed in North America, says the manufacturer, as "bicycle rules apply." You can pop the top in the summer to enjoy the breeze or keep yourself sealed inside completely, wholly unlike a dead cat in a pine box. Holes cut in the bottom allow you to push the Go-One in reverse in a technique they call "the Flintstones method."

Since 2006, eight Go-Ones have been sold in North America.

The base rate for a Go-One is just shy of $11k, although adding additional options like the lighting package or assistance motor will obviously increase the price. Don't let me mild sneer fool you—I think these things are pretty nifty. I'd be killed instantly if I tried to ride one in New York, but if I lived somewhere with open roads I could see them making for a pleasant ride to work.

Product Page [Go-One.us via Red Ferret]

Joel Johnson

Leica M8 Upgrade Program a Bargain for the Rich

Leica's newly announced upgrade program for their M8 digital rangefinder cameras is intriguing. Instead of releasing a new model that obviates the previous, Leica is making certain upgrades available to M8 owners, including an LCD monitor cover made of sapphire and a new less-noisy shutter—for €1,200. Ridiculous, yes, but ever-so-slightly less so when you realize that the M8's suggested price is $5,500.

In short, the upgrade program is a great idea for camera owners and it's high time digital hardware be privy to the same long lifecycle of analog equipment, but you're still a twat if you own an M8 in the first place. (I'll admit, though, that this is exposing some of the inherent frisson between my desire for inexpensive goods and a willingness to pay a premium for quality.)

PMA: Leica announces M8 hardware upgrade program [Adorama]

Joel Johnson

Morning Tech Deals Highlights

• Media Player – Creative Zen 8GB media player for $135, shipped. Can play Divx and Xvid, plus has expandable memory via SDHC. [Dealhack]

• Wi-Fi Memory Card – Eye-Fi Wireless 2GB SD card for $101, shipped. Not a crazy deal, but this thing has been pretty popular. [Dealnews]

• Tax Software – Today's Woot! is a copy of TaxCut Premium & State Tax Year 2007 on 1GB USB Drive for $30.