Capsule Shaped USB Drive
June 21, 2008
This post is for those that don’t feel particularly comfortable in the crafting of their very own, unique “sawed” off USB drive (I know, I know, but that’s what the creator called it). Fortunately, there’s still plenty of weird, crazy, and simply pointless flash drives available for those that are disinclined to get busy with a craft knife and super glue.
The capsule USB flash drive certainly makes a statement, although it’s not necessarily a positive one. Shaped like a medicine capsule, drives are available in capacity ranging from a meagre 128MB to a reasonably substantial 4GB. Hopefully you won’t find this too difficult to swallow (sorry) but they’re only really available from China so you’ll have to get on Ebay if you’re that desperate for one.
There’s numerous other alternatives out there if you don’t want the capsule. Flash drives have been created to mimic sushi, fish fingers, burgers, saki bottles, and a swiss army knife to name a but a few. It seems that if it can reasonably be hollowed out or a mimic can be created out of vacuum formed plastic then there’s somebody willing to take the plunge and get busy making it – what would the world do without such innovation?
Ringtones That Only Dogs Can Hear
June 21, 2008
It’s normally the Americans we would associate with going a little overboard on their dogs and other pets, but it seems that the Japanese are equally insane over their four legged friends too. You may have thought you’d seen everything that canine fashion and accessories had to offer (I saw one dog on TV that had its very own Paris Hilton – incredible) but you’d be wrong.
The canine ringtone is a free ringtone that, apparently, can only be heard by dogs. Although, if they’re as effective as dog whistles that can only be heard by dogs then you’re never really going to know whether they work.
The service is rather imaginatively named ringtones only dogs can hear (it does exactly what it says on the tin) and has been created by a Japanese company called Dwango. The original report is in Japanese, as you would probably imagine, what with it being created by a Japanese firm and all, so all of you non-Japenese speaking readers will just have to take our word for it. We presume that it will work worldwide and not only for Japanese dogs though.
Easily The Coolest Looking USB Drive You’ll Ever Make
June 21, 2008
First, a cautionary tale – while this is easily the coolest USB drive you’ll ever see, it’s also not in production yet and was created by a home modder of the kind you’ll probably never meet; and if you did I doubt you’d want them round to look at your home set up. However, if you’ve got the time, the patience, and a spare bit of USB cable it is a great way to waste a few minutes.
USB drives already come in a huge variety of disguises but whether you’re wanting a unique approach to personal data security (who exactly is going to think of stealing the torn, burnt, or otherwise decimated USB cable from your PC?) or a completely unique looking USB flash drive this has to be one of the better options available to you.
Check out the Evil Mad Scientist blog to see detailed instructions on how to get your own although we do suggest that you go with a bit of old cable that’s lying around rather than a brand new one. We’ll likely be featuring a few more madcap mods from their website because there’s some incredible stuff on there.
Sim Cards To Replace USB Modem Dongles
June 19, 2008
Vodafone has stated its belief that laptops will turn their attention away from USB dongles and towards the inclusion of built in Sim cards. The technology has actually already been introduced and is offered by several manufacturers including Dell.
The technology would prove beneficial to consumers because it would be far more convenient than a USB dongle and deals could be brokered between laptop manufacturers and mobile companies that would encourage both sides to advance the technology even further.
Once implemented on a large scale it would potentially mean that consumers would be able to buy a laptop that could connect to a wireless network instantly and easily without the added inconvenience sometimes associated with wireless networks and laptop computers. Increased wireless broadband options will also make the whole collection of technology a much more appealing prospect to the average consumer.
Wireless broadband, now offered by most major mobile transmitters, is fairly limited in its download and upload speeds when compared to traditional broadband connections but this is likely to further increase over time.
The technological advances behind mobile communication and broadband has faced some serious changes in recent years but they continue to keep pleasantly surprising many of us. The question is, what’s next?
Will You Take Part In Next Year’s RoboGames?
June 19, 2008
Obviously, we don’t mean you personally – or, at least we hope not. However, the RoboGames is the world’s largest open robot competition meaning that anybody can enter in any of the categories. This year’s RoboGames drew to a conclusion on the 15th June but it will all happen again next year.
As well as open events there are sumo classes, bot hockey, junior league, combat bot fighting, radio controlled humanoid competitions (ranging from kung-fu to stair climbing), robot football (of the British variety, not the American), tetsujin, art bot competition, and BEAM competitions. While some of the robots are radio controlled other classes are open to either RC or completely autonomous bots and the event hosts some of the world’s finest roboticists.
Whether you want to take part or you simply want to see how far the world of open robotics has come along, the annual event also gives you a good excuse to take a short break in America.
Even in the UK there is a surprisingly long list of robotic competitions including themed and general category events. Some are only open to college students but a lot are open to the bodgers and hobbyists of the robotic world too.
Mozilla Breaks World Download Record But Is Nearly A Victim Of Its Own Success
June 19, 2008
Mozilla was attempting to break the world record for the largest number of software downloads performed in a 24 hour period when it released the latest version of its free browser, Firefox 3. Unconfirmed figures have shown that the record has been broken, with a staggering 8.3 million downloads in that period. However, it has fallen victim to its own success.
Firefox has long been a popular alternative to the Internet Explorer range of browsers partially because of the increased security that it offers. Fewer hackers and malware authors targeted Firefox because it wasn’t as omnipresent as Microsoft’s software. Because of the success and possibly the planned record attempt, though, security firms have found a potential flaw that hackers can use to gain access to the resident PC.
Another problem occurred almost as soon as the record attempt began, with servers going down under the pressure of so many attempted downloads. The record attempt subsequently began when the problem was fixed.
Download and server logs have now been forwarded to Oregon State University to verify the exact number of downloads and remove duplicate and failed attempts from the list. The process of verification is expected to take several days, perhaps as long as a week, but the record claim will be either confirmed or rebuked at that time.
Acer Ferrari 1100
June 19, 2008
We love a bit of pointless brand endorsement on this site and nothing gets the gadget gears clunking quite like a coupling between Ferrari and Acer. Clearly an attempt to overthrow the combination of Asus with Lamborghini perhaps the biggest surprise is that it isn’t Ferrari red. The least surprising aspect, on the other hand, is that it costs a considerable amount of money considering its ample but meagre specifications.
For £1,500 you’d be hard pressed to find an unbranded laptop that you couldn’t afford and while the Acer Ferrari 1100 has a good hard drive capacity and a few other reasonable specs it has some serious problems too. The tracker pad is lacking any accuracy and it certainly doesn’t share Ferrari’s love of speed. In fact, the same could be said for the whole computer which, despite a 2.3GHz processor, 250GB hard drive, and 4GB of ram manages to achieve a top speed of pretty sluggish.
It’s hard to see quite who it’s designed for. Even with the ATI Radeon graphics chip it doesn’t perform well enough on 3D graphics to be considered a gaming laptop and general poor performance means it isn’t any use for multi-tasking and multimedia. Essentially, then, it looks like it’s designed for those that have to have a Ferrari symbol emblazoned on everything they own.
The Clockwork Desk By Dale Mathis
June 19, 2008
Like something from Bioshock, Gizmodo has details of a clockwork desktop with working internal mechanism. The brain child of Dale Mathis is shaped kind of like a red tipped butterfly and although you won’t be able to pick it up from your average mail order catalogue you can have one hand made for around £10,000.
I’m not entirely sure what the mechanism is powering, or indeed what it could be used to power, but I guess that isn’t the point because the clockwork desk is a fully functioning piece of art. When you pay the premium you can have your very own design and form, which will certainly help ensure that it works in any office regardless of design.
On the functional side, this might be one seriously fancy desk, but it also has a mouse and keyboard drawer so you don’t have to clutter the top with too much. It would, after all, be a shame to mask the mechanism with peripherals as well as numerous notepads, post it notes, a pen tray, and the desktop toys that your kids buy your father’s day when they can’t think of anything else to get.
Sky HD Channel List
June 18, 2008
There’s currently more than 14 Sky HD channels, representing by far one of the best HD subscription services available. While some of these channels only air certain programs in full technicolour High Definition, a few of them are HD only so every program can be enjoyed on your brand spanking new HD Ready TV (if you’ve got one yet).
If movies are your thing, and they’re among the most enjoyable aspect of HD TV, then there are two channels for you to choose from. Sky Movies HD offers more than 280 different HD movies every single month. SKY Movies HD is a package of three movie channels transmitting in High Def. Sky Box Office HD also provides access to as many as 10 extra HD movies a week.
Sports lovers also have a good selection of channels and choices throughout the day every day while documentary and factual program lovers will revel in the selection they get. The most recent additions, FX HD and Lush HD, provide entertainment programs and Channel 4 and BBC HD are also included in the package.
All that combined with the sleeker and better looking Sky HD box and what more could you ask for?
MX Air - Precision Mouse That Looks A Bit Like A Whale
June 18, 2008
In a PC gaming environment, the onus is very much placed on speed and reaction. The last thing you need when you’re clicking the mouse buttons or trying to quickly use the scroll wheel is any lag or lapse in reaction from the mouse itself. As ever, when we’re looking at PC precision gaming equipment, we tend to first turn to Logitech.
The MX Air is, to start with, probably one of the most expensive mice you will ever see at around £100. And, in reality, it probably has more functionality than the average user will ever demand or truly take advantage of (In air hand motion sensors kind of spring to mind here) but there’s no denying it’s a seriously impressive piece of kit.
The laser precision is incredibly accurate and offers instantaneous response time, while the wave and click multimedia control detects motion in your hands and the click of the buttons. The scroll panel is designed to offer ultra fast scrolling while the Li-ion battery lasts longer and recharges faster minimising the time you need to take away from your gaming session. A 9 metre operating range means you could, if you really wanted, use the mouse on the other side of the room or even in the hallway.
Oh, and it kind of looks a bit like Moby Dick too, which has got to be a good thing.
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