Latest Gadgets, Tablets and Smartphones
The Dough-Nu-Matic creates mini-doughnuts in just 50 seconds. All you need to do is add the dough and the machine takes care of the rest. The oil fryer keeps cleaning to just that part and the maker is fully adjustable to create the finest.
Available from SkyMall for $129.99.
A prototype technology has been introduced from GM named OnStar. It allows the police to send a signal to your car which automatically reduces the power of your vehicle and gradually brings you to a full stop. Although I have seen similar technology in Europe, I do not believe any one uses a system like this yet. I just wonder if every car eventually has this, how do they pin point which car slows down… or will every car around the police car come to a halt.
I am kind of for this technology as all police chases are crazy. However, if I was just forced to stop for a routine check then that would be frustrating.
Via: Open Banter
A new system has been created which is targeting the problem of traffic around Heathrow airport among others. A network of 18 driverless pods will carry passengers between the car park and terminal. PRT (Personal Rapid Transport) systems are not new although Heathrow airport will be the first to actually test the system. If the system looks like the picture above then it appears like several passengers and baggage could be carried at a time. In my opinion it seems like 18 might not be enough at Heathrow due to how many passengers fly each day. Time will tell though.
Via: Link Notes
An interesting device has been created by Samsung which is a micro-fuel cell. What makes this fuel cell different is that it runs on H2O. It works by water!! By mixing metal with water and oxygen it should be able to get three watts of power which is around 10 hours of use. The main problem right now with this is that the hydrogen cartridge needs to be replaced regularly. No doubt, future versions will be easily topped up with just water with out the replacement every few days. This is a nice step forwards as I suspect a lot of places with many mobile phone users will probably (luckily) have access to water to power it.
Via: CrunchGear
I came across this UMPC (Ultra Mobile PC) over at DEGadget today and first impressions it looks like an interesting device. It is white and features a full QWERTY keyboard with a large 5 inch WVGA screen. The keyboard is the main part that got my attention as it is split in the middle allowing it to fold and then the screen also fold in making a more compact device to carry around. It runs Windows XP for an OS and has a 1GHz processor. On the memory side it has 512MB which isn’t bad at all and should be plenty to run the XP operating system. Built in is a 30GB HDD allowing for plenty of storage space while on the go.
Connectivity seems quite good too as it sports GSM/GPRS/Edge and HSDPA. Wi-Fi is built in at 802.11g. USB ports are also built in allowing connectivity with wires. Battery life is not too bad at 2.5 hours with the standard battery although it is possible to jump to 5 hours with an extended battery.
Overall it seems like quite a nice package if you are wanting a replacement for a laptop, but the benefit of a nice sized keyboard.
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The cassette was big a number of years ago. The days of recording the top 10 on to a 90 minute cassette are long gone, but the cassette is still not forgotten and now, this huge cassette bag has been created. The handles look like tape coming from the top of the bag. As can be seen, this is the C-60 tape which could record 30 minutes each side. However, no recording will be done with this as it’s just a bag to carry your MP3 player and what ever else you can throw in there.
The Cassette Bag costs $14.99 from ThinkGeek.
By using 4 AA batteries, 1 CD, an empty Pepsi can, a playing card, tape roll and a dime you can make some kind of funky levitation device. From the information I can find, it uses discoveries found by John Hutchinson and the Casimir effect which according to sources, is related to resonance and physical forces between objects. I’m not even going to try understand all that as it isn’t the point of this post. Anyway, check out the video below and see the playing card and dime levitate before your eyes. If anyone can make on of these then feel free to post a video and I will post it here.
Secret Science Anti Gravity Revealed Homemade – video powered by Metacafe
Forget the cheap looking steering wheels you get for your PS3 or PC. You need to look more up market and get your self a Porsche 911 Turbo S wheel. It has a a realistic clutch pedal with declining resistance and more realistic brakes which emulate a soft stop. Not bad for $350. Just grab your self a copy of Gran Turismo and your cruising in luxury. All we need now is the proper car seat to make it more authentic.
Product Page Via: Fosfor
A team over at Carnegie Mellon University are working on a robot that can walk on water. It will work in a similar way that a Basilisk does in that it can dash across water keeping afloat. A prototype is still being worked on although test simulations are showing positive. It makes you wonder if taking a trip from Dover to Calais in the future will be made in a robot which “dashes” across the water rather then on a boat or in the channel tunnel.
Via: GizMag
According to belt-buckles.net, the LED belt buckle is the hottest thing in that industry right now. To be honest, I never realised that LED belt buckles were all the rage. Ive never seen one in real life. Anyway, choosing one needs a lot of care and attention so that you get exactly what you need. Belt-buckles came up with a list of things to look out for.
* The ability to store multiple messages
* The length of the message in characters (good ones allow up to 256 characters or more)
* The number of speed levels (speed your message displays)
* The number of brightness levels
* An accessible ON/OFF button
* Is is easily programmable and can you switch between messages easily
* There should be an instruction manual
* Batteries should be included
Michelin have created some self regenerating tires which can go even longer then your long life ones. These new tires named the XDA5 feature 2 layers of traction. When the first layer wares out it reveals the second layer of tire. By doing this the tire can travel 30% further then before. Not only has the extra rubber been added, but also a new pattern which allows for better wear and tear by minimising wear patterns. A mixture of all this adds to a safer, longer and more stable tire. These tires are not available for your car though as they are for Class 8 rigs only. It would be cool to see this kind of idea make it to regular cars and no doubt in the future we will see tires increase in performance.
Via: Inventorspot
What you see above is a multi touch pad built from a plastic bag, dyed water and a camera. The camera looks up from below and the image it sees it converted in to three areas through threshold. Light blue represents the background with dark blue being the fingers which are seen as an overlay on the screen. Pressure points are seen as another colour and when the pressure points show up they are recognised and translated accordingly. More technical details can be found at 37Signals linked after the video demonstration below. On to the practical side of this… I doubt anyone would want to carry a plastic bag of blue dye around with them, but its still cool and well worth checking out.
Via: 37Signals
