Technabob

Sunflower Uses Solar Power to Shine Light into Your House

Paul Strauss — Sun, 19 May 2013 19:00:00 +0000

Do you find yourself sitting in the dark, even if it’s bright and sunny outside? Well, speaking from experience, regular exposure to sunlight can really make you feel better both mentally and physically. But if the Sun isn’t hitting your windows you might be missing out on its radiant glow. With the help of this device, you can now automatically reflect the Sun into your rooms.

Designed by an engineer named “Mr. Lim” the Sunflower is a compact version of a heliostat you can place in your yard. It automatically follows the Sun throughout the day and reflects it into a location of your choice. It uses a solar panel along with a motorized array of mirrors to ensure the light is always reflected to a specific point you aim it at – like your living room window.

Each Sunflower is handmade in Concord, Massachusetts by One Sunny Home, and sells for $299(USD) over on their Etsy shop.

Porkfolio Piggy Bank Saves You Time to Save Its Life

Lambert Varias — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:00:51 +0000

The fragile nature of the traditional piggy bank was meant to force you to save your money until you really needed it, but it also meant you couldn’t count how much you already saved unless you break the thing open. Not so with the Porkfolio. It’s a smart piggy bank that can tell you how much money is inside it.

The Porkfolio was conceptualized by Quirky member Jason Hunter. The idea is to teach kids the basics of both saving money and online banking. When you insert a coin in Porkfolio’s belly, his nose will light up to indicate that it has recognized what coin you put in (though it only recognizes U.S. coins.) You will then use a companion mobile app to look at your balance and even set savings goals. But the app can do more than that.

According to Quirky, the app is the only legitimate way to open Porkfolio. If someone tampers with him or forces him open, the accelerometer inside him should detect the movement and alert you via the app.

There’s still no word on when and for how much Quirky will sell Porkfolio. Your current piggy bank is safe for now.

[via Quirky]

Cross Stitched Pokédex: for Cataloging Textile Pokémon

Lambert Varias — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:00:00 +0000

Last year I called Linda’s impressive cross-stitch project the “textile Pokédex.” I was wrong. This cute bundle of thread made by Sprite Stitch member Lord Libidan is the actual textile Pokédex. Linda deserves to own a copy of this. It sure beats getting a cross-stitched diploma.

Lord Libidan says he based his creation on the generation 1 Pokédex and gave it “animé accurate colors.” It’s a shame it doesn’t have animé accurate functions.

Nintendo should consider releasing an actual Pokédex. Even if it’s just a glorified media player that only contained information on Pokémon, I’m pretty sure they’d sell millions.

[via Sprite Stitch]

Beardvertising: Hair It Is

Paul Strauss — Sun, 19 May 2013 17:00:52 +0000

In today’s world of advertising oversaturation, it’s really hard to get your marketing message out. Sure, you can try making a “viral” video, but if you really want to get your name out there, you need to do something a little different to stand out from the crowd. How about running your ad in some guy’s facial hair?

Well thanks to Cornett IMS and their new Beardvertising service, you now can. For a fee, companies can now promote their wares in the oversize beards of its hirsute marketers. Ads are placed on “BeardBoards” – tiny billboards which clip into a wearer’s beard, and are sure to grab attention of passersby.

Better yet, if you have a substantive beard, you can make money wearing a BeardBoard, getting paid up to $5 a day for promoting an advertiser’s wares on your chin. If you think your beard might make the cut, you can sign up over on the Beardvertising website now.

So far, Beardvertising has signed on A&W Restaurants and Eagle One Automotive Appearance as clients, but I think that they might want to go after Remington or Norelco too.

Aspekt Modular SLR Camera Concept: Connecti-Cam

Lambert Varias — Sun, 19 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000

I’ve shared a couple of wild concepts for cameras here before. This one made by students from the University of Design Schwäbisch Gmünd is also highly unusual, but it’s also something that might actually make sense for most photographers. It’s called the Aspekt, an SLR camera with swappable components.

As you can see in the image above, Gabriel Brückner, Johanna Gedeon, Christoph Hiebinger, Bianca Koch and Jessica Lederer imagine the Aspekt as having separate components for the CPU, the 24mp CMOS sensor, the battery (which is connected to a camera grip) and a viewfinder with an OLED monitor and controls. Other modules that could be added to the Aspekt include a module with a Thunderbolt port and one with slots for external storage.

According to designboom, the team’s main goal with the Aspekt was to design a camera that will “enable users to attach older lenses which are not supported by SLR devices.” But wouldn’t it be neat if you could also upgrade your camera piece by piece like a desktop computer? Or if you could mix and match its parts to suit your needs? Or if it could transform into a giant robot that you’ll use to defend Earth from an alien race, only for you to find out later on that you’re half-human and half said alien race, so you venture to your other home planet and abolish the oppressive class system there with the help of your giant camera robot?

[via designboom]

Chinese Inventor Builds Awesome Robot from Scrap Metal

Conner Flynn — Sun, 19 May 2013 15:00:00 +0000

I always admire these guys who can take junk parts and scrap metal and turn them into cool robots. I’ve made some very basic robots out of junk before, but nothing like these guys. The latest inventor to build himself a scrap parts robot is Chinese inventor Tao Xiangli.

Photo: Suzie Wong/Reuters

Just because it is made from scrap doesn’t mean it was cheap. He spent about $24,000, and it took him more than 11 months to build the robot. He made it from recycled scrap metal and electric wires that he bought from a second-hand market.

This beast weighs about 500 pounds and stands about 6-feet-tall. Thank God Tao didn’t give this thing the kiss of life. It would make short work of us humans and make some art of it’s own. With blood and entrails.

[via NBC News via Obvious Winner]

Sony Working on A4-Size E-Ink Mobius “Digital Paper” Tablet

Paul Strauss — Sun, 19 May 2013 14:00:50 +0000

While many of us already have tablets like the iPad, the futuristic vision of people walking around with digital notebooks taking notes with a stylus never really came to be. With Sony’s upcoming E-Ink tablet, this could finally be a reality.

Currently being shown in prototype form, the new tablet features a large 13.3″ (A4 Size) drawing surface, and is ridiculously thin. In fact, it’s just 6.8mm thick (almost 30% thinner than a current-gen iPad). The tablet features a 1600×1200 resolution screen, using E-Ink’s new Mobius screen technology. This new tech sandwiches the electrostatic film between plastic layers instead of glass, which cuts down on thickness and weight, and makes the display material flexible. In addition, Sony says the plastic screen will be more durable than glass versions – though I have to wonder how long well it will hold up to stylus pressure over time.

Photo: DigInfo

The display is designed for taking notes, data entry, and creative tasks. While the black and white display isn’t as responsive as LCD screens, it’s definitely faster than other electrostatic screens, with exceptional battery life. In fact, Sony says the tablet can go up to three weeks without a recharge. Another benefit of course is the ease of reading the screen in daylight and workplace lighting.

Sony plans on releasing a commercial version of the tablet at some point later this year.

[via DigInfo & New Launches]

Bacon Press, Because… Bacon

Conner Flynn — Sun, 19 May 2013 13:00:50 +0000

Around these parts, we all love bacon. That goes without saying. We can’t get enough of it. We also can’t get enough bacon related merchandise. Or things to help us cook it better. The bacon press is a must have if you want to keep your bacon straight rather than curly.

This bacon press will keep your bacon down, like the man keeps you down, so that it fries up straight and delicious. It has a handle and is in the shape of a pig. There’s no better way to force your bacon straight.

Any press would work, but you need the pig. The right tool for the right job people. You can get it from Amazon or for about $12(USD).

[via Uncrate via Oh Gizmo!]

Girls Won’t Be Able to Resist this Rainbow Resistor Bracelet

Paul Strauss — Sat, 18 May 2013 19:00:48 +0000

It’s been a while since I did any serious circuit board hacking, but back in the day I saw my share of electronic components. One of my favorite parts was always the resistor – not because of its rudimentary electrical properties – but because its value could always be identified through a convenient color-coding scheme. In fact, I think at some point I had actually memorized a resistor color chart. Of course, now my mind is feeble, and I couldn’t tell the difference between a 22 ohm and a 2200 ohm. While I don’t personally wear bracelets, I’m still highly compelled by this nifty bracelet made from colorful resistors.

Artist Megan Nissen of Techcycled carefully selects resistors and assembles these nifty “ladder” style bracelets which have a rainbow of resistor colors. While the bracelets are definitely geeky, they’re also elegant, with sparkly Swarovski crystals and finished with a nice silver toggle clasp to hold it on your wrist.

The Rainbow Resistor Bracelet sells for $125(USD) over on Etsy. While you’re over there, be sure to check out Techcycled complete collection of jewelry fabricated from recycled electronic components and wires.

Resistance is futile. There, I said it.

Recon Jet AR Headset: Google Glass Sport

Lambert Varias — Sat, 18 May 2013 18:00:48 +0000

Google Glass made the world at large aware of the existence and potential of augmented reality headsets and heads-up displays. Surely we’ll see more and more similar devices appear. In fact, one such device could launch before Glass. It’s called the Recon Jet, a nerdy accessory for jocks.

Recon Instruments, the company behind the Recon Jet, clearly designed the headset to augment sports and other outdoor-related activities. It has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and all the other sensors and connectivity technology that Glass has. But instead of projecting its monitor through a prism, the Recon Jet’s display is directly situated at the front of the device. This makes it more visible than the resulting transparent display on the Glass. Recon Instruments placed the Recon Jet’s display below the user’s right eye because according to the company’s research it was the least obtrusive location.

Here’s Mashable’s interview with a spokesman from Recon Instruments:

Without knowing the final specs of both devices, it’s hard to say if the Glass can also do everything that the Recon Jet can. It’s also equally important that Recon Instruments get the support of app developers. One thing’s clear: there’s never been a better time to make prescription contact lenses. Except for the time when there weren’t any prescription contacts.

[Recon Instruments via Mashable via Reddit]

Airburr Flying Robot Attaches to Walls, Someday Your Face

Conner Flynn — Sat, 18 May 2013 17:00:00 +0000

This flying robot seems pretty creepy. Not only can it fly around, it can attach itself to walls like some sort of flying lizard. It won’t be long until these things have tentacles and attach themselves to our faces, while we thrash around suffocating. Thanks, researchers, thanks.

Airburr was developed at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems, a branch of the European École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland. It is designed specifically to traverse cluttered environments, like those in the aftermath of a disaster.

The big news here is that AirBurr now has the ability to fly into a room and attach itself to a wall and act as a remote monitoring outpost. While perched, the AirBurr also shuts its engines down, preserving battery power. It uses an instant adhesive pad to attach to smooth surfaces. The video doesn’t show it detaching from the wall, so I’m guessing they haven’t worked that part out yet, though we’ve already seen technology which can do that.

via [Adafruit via DVICE]

The Following T-Shirt Has Been Approved as Appropriate Attire

Hazel Chua — Sat, 18 May 2013 16:00:23 +0000

If you watch movies and trailers fairly frequently, then no doubt this shirt will look familiar to you. Its design is based on the Motion Picture Association of America’s (MPAA) film rating review system that informs viewers if what they’re watching is safe for all audiences or not.

It doesn’t copy the entire notice, of course.

Rather, the designer behind it, New Zealand-based artist Barn Bocock of How to Carve Roast Unicorn, made a few choice changes to the text. The layout remains almost entirely the same, though.

Barn calls the design ‘The Following T-Shirt’, which is pretty apt for what it is.

The Following T-Shirt is available to purchase online for $30, and as it says, it’s rated “T” for Teerrific.

[via Gamefreaks via Laughing Squid]

Warhammer 40K Blood Angels Costume: Don’t Mess with the Space Marines

Conner Flynn — Sat, 18 May 2013 15:03:32 +0000

I’m not a fan of Warhammer 40,000 myself, but this Blood Angels Space Marine costume looks so awesome, I want to check it out and see what I have been missing. Youtuber Pilerud scratch built this Warhammer 40K Space Marine Blood Angel Tactical Sergeant, 7th company, 9th squad, costume himself.

He obviously loves Warhammer, having devoted 400 hours over 10 months to making this badass costume. The completed outfit weighs 25kg (~55 pounds) and stands about 215 cm tall (~7 feet). I am about 183 cm without armor. He used foam and hot glue and as well as other tricks to make it look more like the miniatures. Mech sounds are provided by ThinkGeek’s awesome little Mega Stomp Panic box. Check it out in action in the video below:

The cost? About €2500 (~$3206 USD) I love how everything moves as he is walking around. It’s all very fluid. Nice job!

[via Geeks Are Sexy]

Bang & Olufsen Unveil “Entry Level” BeoLab 14 Surround Sound System

Shane McGlaun — Sat, 18 May 2013 15:00:29 +0000

When it comes to high-end audio products, Bang & Olufsen make some of the most elegant and expensive devices on the market. Saying “entry-level” for these guys sort of like saying entry-level Ferrari, in that you know just because it’s their cheapest product, it’s still going to be very expensive. Bang & Olufsen have announced a new home theater system called the BeoLab 14.

The company says that this speaker system uses its high-quality acoustic engineering and components, and while it’s designed specifically to complement Bang & Olufsen televisions, it will work with other TVs as well. The satellite speakers have a distinctive flat, round design, while the subwoofer looks like some sort of fancy vase.

Each of the satellite speakers offers 140 W of power, and the subwoofer has 280 W of dedicated power and an eight-inch downward facing driver. The system can be connected to B&O televisions with a built-in surround sound decoder, or you’ll need to have a receiver that can do the decoding if you don’t have a B&O TV.

You can also select from a variety of colors for the satellite grille cloths, to complement your specific room decor.

Buyers can opt for a 4.1 solution at a price of $3995(USD) or a full 5.1 solution at $4395. The BeoLab 14 will be available in B&O stores around the world this June.

Craving a Specific Dish? Dish.fm Will Tell You Where to Find the Best Version of It

Hazel Chua — Sat, 18 May 2013 14:00:36 +0000

Have you ever craved something so badly, that you Googled for the nearest restaurant that had that dish and ordered it – only to realize later on that it was the worst thing that you’ve ever tasted? This has happened to me loads of times, especially when I’m traveling and can’t get my usual fix at my favorite restaurant. This is a first-world problem that the Dish.fm app aims to fix for you.

All you have to do is key in the the food that you want to eat and the app will parse through thousands of reviews and ratings on sites like Yelp and Foursquare. After it sorts through all that data, Dish.fm will then tell you where you can find the best version of that food in the city that you’re in.

Dish.fm started out in New York and San Francisco and will slowly work their way through the US and through various cities in Europe. The best part? iOS users can get the Dish.fm app for free.

[via DVICE]

Motorcycle Gets Outfitted with 9-Cylinder Aircraft Engine, Still Can’t Fly

Conner Flynn — Fri, 17 May 2013 22:00:00 +0000

I would be hesitant to put a plane engine inside of a car, let alone mounting one on a motorcycle. That’s just crazy. I just let others do the work and enjoy their success from afar. Like German DIYer Frank Ohle, who actually outfitted his motorcycle with a 150hp Rotec Radical R3600 nine cylinder aircraft engine.

Frank calls his bike the Red Baron and it took him around 18 months to build this insane chopper. It took a custom built chassis to do it, but the end result looks damn good. I love the little propeller behind the front wheel – nice touch. He upgraded the suspension and overhauled all of the electronics too.

The video says it all. Awesome bike. Plane. Bikeplane.

[via Top Gear]

Razer Atrox Arcade Stick for the Xbox 360 Requires No Quarters to Play

Shane McGlaun — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:00:56 +0000

As a child of the 80s, I spent plenty of time in the arcade playing video games and continued that practice as long as there were arcades in the mall. One of the things that used to irritate me more than anything was when my favorite fighting game had a damaged joystick. There’s nothing worse than a junky joystick when you’re playing a fighting game. I miss the days of brawny joysticks for gaming, and if you do too, Razer has got your back with its latest offering.

Razer has unveiled the Atrox arcade stick – made specifically for the Xbox 360 console. This is a big and beefy controller with an actual Sanwa Denshi arcade-quality joystick, along with 10 Sanwa arcade buttons. The coolest part about the controller is that Razer has designed it to support the modding community.

Razer offers a template to allow you to print out your own custom artwork for the lid, and the top opens to reveal a storage compartment underneath. Inside that compartment the controls is an interchangeable bat-shaped handle for the joystick, a screwdriver, and a storage compartment for its detachable 13-foot-long USB cable.

You can also mod the controller and it has a special honeycomb system inside designed to make it easy to screw in additional hardware or accessories. The Atrox controller will ship worldwide this June for $199.99(USD).

Jabba the Hutt Cookies Will Turn into Salacious Crumbs

Conner Flynn — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:00:00 +0000

If you are what you eat, then these adorable Jabba The Hutt cookies will make you look just like Jabba if you eat enough. But who cares? It’s not as if you can control yourself when faced with a Star Wars cookie. You see a Star Wars cookie, you eat it! End of story. End of cookie.

These cookies from Semi Sweet Designs make even Jabba look super cute. The baker has even created a template and written very specific instructions so you can make these Jabba cookies on your own.

You’ll need sugar cookie dough, icing, and a desire to eat them as they come out of the oven, leaving none for the rest of your family and friends.

[via That's Nerdalicious]

Switchboard Mixes Multiple Internet Connections: With Your Powers Combined, I Am Faster Bandwidth!

Lambert Varias — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:00:50 +0000

I’ve often wished that I could combine the speed of my cable Internet connection with my phone’s data connection to form one ~~supercharged~~ slightly above average connection. If you’ve been wishing for the same thing my wish buddy, take a look at Switchboard. It’s a subscription-based cloud service that will let you tap into multiple Internet connections at once.

The Switchboard service is currently being developed by a company called Connectify. The company claims that its servers can spread the packets that you upload or download across multiple Internet connections. All you have to do is link your computer to these connections; the Switchboard software and Connectify’s servers will do the rest.

Switchboard is actually similar to one of Connectify’s other apps called Dispatch. Dispatch can also send data to and from your computer through multiple Internet connections. The upside to Dispatch is that it doesn’t need to pass through a server. That means you only pay once – just for the client software. But Connectify says that Dispatch is only good for applications or processes that use multiple sockets at once, such as web browsing or peer-to-peer connections. Programs that use single sockets like Netflix and Hulu will gain nothing from Dispatch. Also Dispatch doesn’t have a Mac client, whereas Switchboard will have one.

Pledge at least $60 (USD) on Kickstarter to be one of the first to try out Switchboard. But with great speed comes great expense. Not only is Switchboard a subscription service, its plans also have data caps. The limits range from 10GB to 2TB per month depending on your plan. I’m not saying that’s unreasonable, but now I have another wish: I wish that future computers had this functionality baked in.

[via Tom's Hardware]

Archos 80 Xenon Android Tablet: Unlocked 3G Wireless & GPS on the Cheap

Shane McGlaun — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:00:51 +0000

Archos has been making Android tablets for almost as long as Android has been around. The company has unveiled a new tablet called the Archos 80 Xenon that promises some nice features in a very portable form factor.

Archos says the $200 tablet was specifically designed for on-the-go access and experience and offers integrated Wi-Fi and 3G mobile network support. The tablet is designed to accept any 3G SIM card with no provider restrictions. That should mean you can pop your SIM card out of your existing device and plug it right into this tablet to get online while traveling.

The Android 4.1-based tablet features a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon CPU and and 1GB system memory. Its eight-inch multitouch IPS screen has a resolution of 1024 x 768. The tablet also comes preloaded with media center applications and can run most of the popular Android applications out there. Internal storage is 4 GB and a MicroSD memory card slot is available for expansion up to 64GB. The tablet also has integrated GPS/A-GPS capability with full support for Google Maps.