Digital Technology for Digital Living.
February 28, 2010
Greener Gadgets Conference — Pretty Cool Gadgets to Gander Upon
The Greener Gadgets conference just took place in NYC this past week and popular mechanics was there to talk about the cool gadgets on display there. There is a pretty nifty solar tent from the U.K. and a whole array of other nifty gadgets.
One of the more popular items however is a human powered cell phone charger in India for people that are off the grid, as most of the country is in fact. Ahh, the global attitudes towards the United States are sometimes amazing to the guys at gadgetlounge when, for example, in this instance, the United States invented cell phones. As far back as 1907 there was a U.S. patent involving radio transmissions on telephone calls, later better perfected by the venerable Bell Labs in the 1940′s. In fact the most powerful support for the growth in “emerging markets” or “third world countries” is cheap communications provided by cell phones.
What are some of the other ones? The internet, the personal computer . . . those are pretty big ones as well. Ahh yes, they were also originated by U.S. technology and know-how. Also, known as good ole Yankee Ingenuity. Bell Labs is a shell of its former self, given the break up of the Ma Bell and its monopoly, but wow did they create some amazing things. They’ve still got some funding, but it isn’t what it used to be. DARPA is a U.S. government entity that has pushed the envelope a lot as well. In any case, this is a total sidebar from the Greener Gadgets Conference, but sometimes we like to bring up the macro picture that people forget or never knew.
Gadgets boy | Comments (0) | Generalgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
February 27, 2010
Tsunami Warning for Hawaii and the Technology Behind It
A massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake hit Chile today and therefore a tsunami warning has been issued for Hawaii, Polynesia and Tonga, with the first potential waves reaching Hawaii around 11:30 AM local time in Hawaii — 4:30PM eastern time.
Tsunamis are triggered by undersea earthquakes. A research team led by Geoffrey Blewitt of the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology and Seismological Laboratory has demonstrated that a large quake’s true size can be determined within 15 minutes using Global Positioning System (GPS) data. This swift exchange of information is critical to determine if an earthquake might trigger a tsunami. Together with a seismometer and ocean buoy data, GPS is an important tool in improving tsunami danger assessments, Blewitt said. “The advantage of including GPS in warning systems is that it quickly tells how much the ocean floor moved, and that information can directly set tsunami models into motion.”
Let’s sincerely hope that Hawaii and other areas in harm’s way avoid the tsunami. The improved tsunami detection technology sure will help with getting people out of harm’s way though in the future. Thanks to the researchers at Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology and Seismological Laboratory to working on making our systems even better. Below is an illustrative view of how tsunamis work.
Gadgets boy | Comments (0) | Generalgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
February 25, 2010
Celebrities are Digging the Bloom Box . . . Ugh Oh!
The new highly touted bloom box is a very interesting device indeed. It lends the promise of going off the grid someday even in your home. The likes of Ebay have already used it successfully and evidently are saving about 15% in electrical costs at their HQ so far (a savings of around $100k USD). We will see how everything develops and we certainly wish them the best. However, the early sign of celebrity endorsers is never good news in the world of high technology. We hope the bloom box will represent something different however. It sure will be great if it does . . .
Gadgets boy | Comments (0) | Generalgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
February 23, 2010
HTC Pulse Mini In Your Face (or is that your hand?)
HTC and T-Mobile UK have scaled down their android phone to make it a wee bit smaller and get it in everyone’s hot little hands.
The comparison between the larger HTC Pulse and the new HTC Pulse Mini is as follows:
A 2.8″ Screen – as opposed to of 3.5″
HSPDA 3.2 – as opposed to 7.2
Android 2.1 – as opposed to 1.5
Also includes a 3.15MP Camera, Wifi, Bluetooth and GPS
The smaller size also comes with everyone’s favorite, a lesser price. It sells for about 100 Pounds (that’s around $150 US Bones). Android is a very cool system. I think bringing down the price will further put it in competition with the iphone. Now, will the apple iphone be offered on other carriers with its next version? I know a lot of folks in the U.S. hope so — rumors of Verizon and T-mobile getting the iphone are popping up, but that is of course, just rumor. Apple has a way of surprising everyone with its changes. In the meantime, take a look at the new t-mobile HTC Pulse Mini. Pretty cool.
Gadgets boy | Comments (0) | Generalgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
February 21, 2010
Tokyo’s New “Eye” Phone is Nothing to Roll Your Eyes Over
This is some really interesting techonology from NTT Docomo that allows you to change your music on your ear buds by moving your eyes about. Here it is in video form. One of the most interesting aspects is learning that the cornea emits different electro-charges depending on how you move your eyes. The ear buds can measure those changes and will tell your mp3 player (okay fine, most likely your ipod or iphone . . . but maybe the new windows 7 phone?) to up the volume or flip the track ahead, etc. Evidently this is just a prototype though and NTT does not have any immediate plans to move them into production, but that can change . . .
Gadgets boy | Comments Off | Generalgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
February 20, 2010
How to make a Potato Gun . . . Shoot Farther!
So several years ago, we were one of the first to talk about the phenomenon of making a coke and mentos rocket. That has gone on for it to become a pretty big part of pop culture — or at least to the point that many people have at least heard that combining the two creates quite a fizz (Willy Wonka might be interested for his Fizzy Lifting Drinks Version 2.0). In any case, we decided to check in on one of our other favorite toys, the potato gun. We were delighted to find that there is scientific research being conducted right now in North America (Canada of all places!) to find out the best propellant to fire your potato gun the farthest.
And the Winner is . . . Finesse Hairspray! Finesse beat out Pantene Hair Spray, Right Guard and Good Ole Ether (no breathing it in). I always liked Aqua Net Hairspray, but that wasn’t tested. Perhaps a re-match? Is someone can test Aqua Net Hairspray against Finesse Hairspray in their potato gun and post their results here, we would be forever indebted. In any case, you can check out the article and the experiment from the Pigeon Lake School in Alberta here. Have fun with your potato guns or spud guns or whatever they’re being called today (mine was first crafted maybe 8 years ago and has become inoperable unfortunately).
Gadgets boy | Comments (1) | Games, Peripheralsgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
February 17, 2010
New AMD Turion Notebooks
As we have covered in the past, the notebook turion processor’s development is something we keep a close eye on. Well there are some new ultraportable notebooks coming to market that sport the AMD Turion Neo X2 and are looking pretty attractive at the $600 to $700 price range.
We remember the days when you had to spend +$2000 to get this type of performance in an ultraportable notebook. These new generation netbooks are very attractive at this price point and they perform at or above expectations.
Gadgets boy | Comments (0) | Portablegadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
Makedo Designs gives Kids the Creative Power
This is a pretty great idea. Your kids or nephews or nieces can make creative items from household items with these kits that try to keep things safe while inspiring creativity. This is a really important thing to do for young ones. The more they use their mind imaginatively at a young age, the more creative problem solvers they become later in life — a critical skill to success in the never linear real world. We like this idea a lot. Below is an example of what’s been done with the kit — but the options are truly endless.
Gadgets boy | Comments (0) | Generalgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
February 15, 2010
HTC Desire – Verizon
The guys over at phandroid have reported that the HTC Bravo will become the HTC Desire and will be announced in the next day or two officially. Given a solid history of these types I predictions, we tend to believe that this has a good probability of taking place. Given the stats listed (rumored), it looks like quite a device. Combine the device’s power with Verizon’s reliable network and you have a very attractive Google Nexus One entry to the Verizon platform. Let’s see what happens officially in the next few days, but it should be an interesting Spring for the smartphone marketplace with iphone’s enivitable update coming soon.
Gadgets boy | Comments (0) | Mobile Phonegadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
Spy Gadgets – Video Camera Watch
This watch caught our eye because it actually is quite smart looking with some pretty amazing features. It has an 8GB video camera that can also record voice. The applications here, as I am sure you can imagine, are quite broad. We also really like the fact that they blended in analog features such as keeping the watch runing on a traditional gear system. It is retailing for less than $100 USD so on all fronts in seems like a worthy consideration for you or your gadget loving compadres.
When you consider the cost of a flip video camera is higher and obviously more conspicuous, in the spy gear realm, this watch really caught our eye.
Gadgets boy | Comments (0) | Spy Gadgetsgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
February 12, 2010
Twitter vs. Facebook for Business
A recent article at Bnet states that Twitter is somewhat less valuable for building lasting partnerships with customers than Facebook. However, the evidence provided is somewhat anecdotal. Both Twitter and Facebook are very good tools for business, but they may be best used as a complement to each other, rather than one or the other.
Certain businesses will do very well with Facebook and others with Twitter and many with no social networking strategy at all. The article appropriately points out that it is a significant time committment to manage these social resources, so taking a macro view and deciding where your finite time is most effectively spent is likely the best business decision you can make.
Gadgets boy | Comments (0) | Generalgadgets,gadget,gadgets shop, latest gadgets, new gadgets
