This wheel features electronic sensors which are embedded in to the tire. Information is collected from the sensors and fed back to a vehicle information system. That data is processed and the “tweel ribs” flex through wireless technology to cause the pressure to stay level across the tire. The idea is just in concept at the moment from the guys over at Yanko. If this technology was to be made it would have a number of uses such as longer wear on the tire and even the possibility to not have to rotate the wheels like we currently do now.
Tire Alignment Sensors
January 29, 2008 by 1 Comment
$5000 to anyone who can fix HTC Tytn II Problems
January 28, 2008 by 1 Comment
Currently the good people over at XDA developers are offering $5199.51 to anyone who can create some drivers to fix a problem with the HTC TYTN II (Or Tilt, Vario etc..). The reason they are offering this amount is due to HTC confirming they will not be fixing the slow speeds on the Tytn II.
Our Kaisers currently lack drivers for hardware accelerated display functionality. A full set of these drivers would significantly speed up ALL drawing operations, including the user interfaces of normal applications, video playback, games and 3D rendering.
There are different parts to these drivers, namely for 2D (user interfaces, video, images) and 3D graphics (games). It is not yet sure even IF these drivers will be available soon, and if they are, which parts will be accelerated.
The plan, of course, is to provide a full set. Though this will most likely not include a speed up for the camera.
If you are an owner of a HTC Tytn II then go take a read of what’s happening over at XDA Developers.
OLED – LCD or Plasma?
January 28, 2008 by 2 Comments
Sound and Vision magazine have run a nice comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of OLED, LCD and Plasma screens. With all 3 types of screen being an option it does make you wonder which you want to purchase with your hard earned cash. CES which has just passed a few weeks ago had a lot of TV’s on display which tends to make the choice even more overwhelming.
OLED (organic light emitting diode) is fairly new to the TV scene. The most noticeable feature with OLED’s is the contrast. This is due to OLED being a self-emitting display technology which requires no back light. Each OLED pixel can be switched on as needed because the tiny cells respond instantly. Also OLED screens happen to be wafer thin too which is an added bonus as well as having a wide viewing angle like the plasma screens. Mix this with HDTV resolutions and the large screen and you are on to a winner. On the downside, screens are not that big yet and the prices are quite high. But with the screens only really appearing over the last year there is no doubt that prices will go down while screen sizes increase.
Robotic Walking Chair
January 26, 2008 by Leave a Comment
This chair costs ‚¬15K and puts it’s self in control of where you are sitting. It is a robotic walking chair which is built of steel tubes, plastic and is chrome plated. Built by designers Karl Emilio Pircher and Fidel Peugeot it makes for a crazy type of chair for your dining room table. Imagine having dinner with someone annoying and also having the ability to just push a button and have the chair take them away. Cool!
Via: SlipperyBrick
iPhone SIM Unlock Card
January 26, 2008 by 1 Comment
This SIM card according to Brando, can unlock an iPhone with a firmware no greater then 1.1.2. I am not sure if I believe it like a number of others, but I guess it could be possible. Anyone with a 1.1.2 or less firmware want to fork out $30 and test it?
Via: Slashgear
Apple Patent – Illuminated Touch Pad for Visual Feedback
January 25, 2008 by Leave a Comment
A Patent for Apple was filed August last year and approved yesterday. The patent is for an Illuminated Touch Pad which appears that the light panel will be capable of emitting light in localized areas of the input surface. What this means is basically visual feed back which when you touch the scroll wheel on an iPod, the touch wheel will light up under your finger to visually show what just happened with the light actually following your finger around the dial. As well as the touch wheel being illuminated, the button in the middle will also light up too to show the actions on what it is doing.
Via: Patent Applications
The Original Stylophone
January 25, 2008 by Leave a Comment
The Stylophone was commonly seen with Rolph Harris back in the days when he was on TV more. It’s a bizarre instrument which acts as an electric organ in your pocket. In the 70’s about 3 million of these little organs were sold. The Stylophone is battery operated and packed full of circuitry from transistors, resistors, diodes and other stuff. When you press the stylus against a metal key it makes a unique noise.
The new version now has a volume control which is good to hear. Also, you can hook it up to your MP3 player and play along to your music tracks.
The Stylophone costs £14.95 from Firebox.
Cassette to MP3 Converter
January 25, 2008 by 1 Comment
While recently cleaning through old junk I came across a number of cassette tapes which I had in the late 80’s and 90’s before I got my first Disc Man. I actually chucked them out thinking I’d never use them again. If I would have come across this device earlier, I might have hung on to them a little longer. The Cassette To MP3 converter is a device which you put your old cassettes in and it converts them to MP3 quick and easily. It attaches to a PC with a USB cable and the device includes the software needed for conversion. The software is used for conversion and breaking up the audio stream in to separate tracks. Noise reduction settings as well as the ability to play metal/CrO2 tapes is also included. The last cool feature is the ability to use the good old high speed dubbing which means you can convert the tracks far further while listening to the music chirp away at speeds several times faster then normal.
The Cassette to MP3 Converter costs $149.95.
Steampunk Painted Nerf Maverick Gun
January 25, 2008 by 1 Comment
A Nerf Maverick gun has been painted to have a worn Steampunk look. Inside it you will get 6 foam bullets which the gun can fire accurately, or as accurately as a foam bullet can be.
It costs $30 and was made by curiositykt over at Etsy.
Belkin USB Hub
January 24, 2008 by 2 Comments
This little Hub comes from Belkin and is the ideal travel hub for your laptop. The key feature is it’s ability to rotate around on a hinge making it more compact, but still opening up the USB port on your laptop to allow for 4 devices to be connected easily.
Product Page Via: GadgetsPage
Mini USB Digital Camera with no LCD
January 24, 2008 by Leave a Comment
This concept mini digital camera tries to take photography back a few years, but bring it to now at the same time. It is a small USB flash drive with a camera built in and it just has 1 button. There is no LCD on the back and there is no view finder. The whole purpose of the camera is to just have you point, shoot and then have to wait till you are back at your PC to see the results which is just like the waiting time to get pictures developed.
It’s not the best idea I have come across, but I can see it as doing quite well should it become available. If the cameras are cheap enough (< $10) then they would make ideal little cameras to take around while out and about so you can snap away, but not worry about it getting damaged.
Via: LikeCool and YankoDesign
Buffalo Keyboard with built in Skype Phone
January 24, 2008 by Leave a Comment
The Buffalo keyboard features a phone attached to the right hand side of the keyboard. It allows everything you need to communicate be right there with you. For some reason it reminds me of something Dr. Evil would have on his desk, although looking at the size of the actual handset, it’s probably something he has mini-me use.
When the BKBU-SKJ109/SV (Long way of saying Skype keyboard) is released in Japan it will cost $65. The phone is Skype certified and just requires a small piece of software to communicate with the Skype software on your computer.
Via: SkypeBot
