Cool New Gadgets

Be Seen And Be Green With Puma’s Glow In The Dark Bike
  If you are trying to make the switch from four wheels to two, and help make the environment as well as your pocket book a little healthier, but worry about the short daylight hours and riding home in the dark, check out Puma’s glow-in-the-dark bicycle. addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coolgreengadgets.com%2F2008%2F02%2F11%2Fbe-seen-and-be-green-with-pumas-glow-in-the-dark-bike%2F’; addthis_title […]

 

If you are trying to make the switch from four wheels to two, and help make the environment as well as your pocket book a little healthier, but worry about the short daylight hours and riding home in the dark, check out Puma’s glow-in-the-dark bicycle. (more…)

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Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is one entertaining man. Both brutally unique and charismatic, something which he has recently shown is a certain level of humility. Ballmer has even gone as far as admitting that Vista is an “incomplete product”, while speaking at Microsoft’s Most Valuable Professionals event in Seattle yesterday.
Ballmer claims that the Vista OS is still a “wo…

Gadget Corner
Source: www.gadgetgoblin.com

Recycled Suitcase Chairs
These funky unique are a clever solution to old suitcases. The designer has come up with a way to recycle patterned luggage in a line called the Sit Bag. addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coolgreengadgets.com%2F2008%2F02%2F07%2Frecycled-suitcase-chairs%2F’; addthis_title = ‘Recycled+Suitcase+Chairs’; addthis_pub = ‘palle04′;

These funky unique are a clever solution to old suitcases. The designer has come up with a way to recycle patterned luggage in a line called the Sit Bag. (more…)

Us ladies may not want this thing hanging on the living room wall, but this would make a great eco-friendly valentine gift for that special someone to hang in their office. (more…)

By now you’ve probably seen our Battlemodo between the four hottest entry-level DSLRs on the market—the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi, the Sony Alpha a350, the Nikon D60 and the Olympus E-420. With 91 good-sized comments (and counting), there were obviously some issues raised that merited further investigation. Here are some new details, discussed by camera model.

Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi - I originally wrote: “Live View is limited, or you might even say crippled. You can’t preview autofocus—I’m not even sure the autofocus works very well in this mode.” When you activate Live View, you have to enter the custom settings and enable one of two kinds of autofocus, which you then manually trigger with the press of a button. The Live View isn’t so much crippled as it is overly complicated, compared to the sexier iterations in the Sony and Olympus.

Sony Alpha a350 - I noted a sluggishness with photo reviewing: once you take a shot, there’s an annoying pause. The question was raised whether or not this was due to Sony’s D-Range Optimizer, which “delivers suitable tonality and exposures with rich shadow and highlight detail, even under high contrast situations.” While the D-RO and D-RO+ modes can add even more time to the turnaround on the a350, taking pics without D-RO still means a turnaround time about twice as long as Canon’s.

Nikon D60 - I complained about something I called the “auto-focus lamp” but which Nikon refers to as AF -assist. You can in fact turn it off, but it’s not exactly easy. First, you have to go to the Setup menu to enable the “full” Custom Settings Menu, or the option doesn’t appear. And then you have to go into the Custom Settings Menu, locate the AF-assist option and turn it off—provided you know that the bright annoying light is even called by that somewhat indirect name. My feeling is that this option should be off as a default, like on some competing DSLRs.

Olympus E-420 - I have said repeatedly that this camera has trouble with autofocus: when shooting with the kit lens, it resets almost every time you point it at an object, even if it’s the same object you were focused on a second before. Olympus suggested I update the lens firmware to see if it improved anything. While there was a patch that I successfully installed, the lens’ AF behavior is unchanged.

As you can see, when all new information is factored in, my initial ranking still stays the same. It seems you get what you pay for, though it bears repeating that the real dark horse is Sony’s a300, a $700 (with lens) 10-megapixel version of the a350.

One final note: Whenever I bring up DSLRs, the debate about automatic shooting modes rages with some vehemence. I love the discussion, but I want to stress two things: Cameras intended for newbies need really good auto modes, and even the $900 kits I write about are targeted at the noob crowd. Don’t believe me? Chuck Westfall, head of media and customer relations for Canon USA, told me this the other day: “The Rebel demographic is skewed towards beginners,” adding, “We’ve found that any kind of automation we can give them is a good thing.”

Thanks for the lively debate, and by all means keep it rockin’. As always, I am blown away by the depth of knowledge coming from Giz commenters on this popular but often confusing subject. [Entry-Level DSLR Battlemodo]

Source: feeds.gawker.com

Alas, Poor RAZR, I Knew You Well [Essay]

Yetro is something so unfashionable it has yet to be retro—and probably will never be. Example: my RAZR. I’ve had it for almost three years now. I hate it. Actually, hate is too strong a word. I pity it. My mobile phone with its nauseous blue-painted interface, its ability to change ring tone to the Motorola theme whenever it feels like it, and its battery, which now gives me about five minutes’ talk time before it bleeps like a demented synthetic chicken. In the video above, Jesus and I “reenact” a more joyful time, its original unboxing three long years ago. Today, I’m thinking I should bite the bullet and retire the old boiler. Is the utter demise of the RAZR finally nigh at hand?

In nine years, I’ve gone through five mobiles. A Nokia brick my dad gave me (left in the back of a taxi), an Ericsson flip T28 (the flip eventually flopped), an Ericsson T68 (honestly, the best phone ever, lasted three years), a cheapo, tiny Panasonic I picked up at Dubai airport for 50 bucks, and the RAZR.

Perhaps its because, as phones have become more sophisticated, they have become more fallible. The RAZR promised so much—and I’m not talking about bumping into Beckham at the supermarket checkout here—and failed to deliver.

As my first cameraphone, it made pictures that looked like something I drew on Etch-a-Sketch a couple of decades ago, but I can live with that. What I can’t live with is the sluggy interface. Or the buttons that don’t work, with their eerie backlight that just shows up all the hideous detritus that my phone has picked up from being chucked into the black hole-esque dustbin that is my bag. Or the seemingly random volume control. I can’t see a thing on the screen when the sun is shining. And I have room for just 13 incoming SMS messages at any one time before I have to start deleting them.

So, let’s talk about the good times with my RAZR. *tumbleweed blows across the page* I was pissed off the day I bought it because the shop didn’t even have the black one I wanted. I’d liked the look of that when it came out, but by the time my Panasonic gave up the ghost, all that was available was silver. Why did I go through with it? It was small enough to fit into my pockets without making me look like a ladyboy, and I’d heard good things about Motorola from other friends. They’re not my friends any more.

I asked myself what I liked about it, and there was one thing: the wallpaper is a picture of Jesus taken the day after he asked me to marry him, and I’ll be sad to see that go. But the quality is so shite—honestly, I’d have got better results from a pinhole camera—I know that it won’t travel. Plus, for some reason, I can’t send photos via SMS.

I can’t even lose it, like older more beloved phones. I left the RAZR in a club a couple of months ago, and I’d made it halfway down the block when some guy came running up behind me. “You left this on the bar,” he wheezed. (Everyone in Spain smokes, and I’m a fast walker.) As he palmed the RAZR back into my hand, I could swear there was a look of pity on his face.

In truth, this isn’t about the RAZR, but what comes after. I bleeding know it’s time for a new phone, but which? No prizes for guessing which one Jesus wants me to get. But even when the 3G model of the iPhone eventually deigns to park its arse at an Apple Store near me, I am still digging my heels in over certain issues—internal memory too small, eminently crackable screen for my klutziness, a rather larger size than a closed RAZR, etc etc. I also know that the largest-capacity 3G iPhone would be molto ’spensivo, and I don’t know whether I really want to spunk that much on a phone. Pathetic, isn’t it?

So here I am, willing but unable to put the RAZR out of its misery. Until it breathes its last, when the ringtone that sounds like J-Lo bellydancing sputters to a halt, as the little screen with the M logo fades to gray, when the buttons lie dull and unresponsive beneath my desperate fingers, that will be the time to replace it. Got any recommendations?

Source: feeds.gawker.com

Apple Patent Filing Hints at Second Life-Style Storefront [Apple]

A recent patent filing by Apple Inc. entitled Enhancing Online Shopping Atmosphere indicates that Steve Jobs’ next BOOM could involve a hat tip to virtual worlds like Second Life. According to the filing, Apple is considering a more interactive visual representation of its online store complete with changing weather and avatars. Let the griefer brainstorming session begin.

The Apple patent at its core relates to improving the online shopping experience. While the company lauds online shopping in its filing, it also criticizes the medium’s inability to offer consumers a truly interactive experience, calling it “sterile and isolating.” (Uh, isn’t the solitary, crowd-bypassing characteristic of online shopping part of its appeal?)

The Apple filing goes on to say that isolated, unhappy customers are more apt to be non-paying customers. However, if you provide them with “sunny” shopping experiences and virtual interactivity with Apple avatars, they might be more likely to come away with a positive impression of online shopping. Customers would also receive their own avatars, a la Second Life, and would be branded with letters to show their level of familiarity with Apple products. N is for New Users, or “newbies,” and E is for Experts, or the entire Apple-loving Gizmodo staff.

There are still a lot of unknowns regarding the filing. Add to that the fact that most Apple patents never see the light of day. As MacNN expertly points out, this could also be a reincarnated eWorld, Apple’s ill-fated online service launched—and then un-launched—in 2004 1994.

If the Apple Store does go virtual, however, our question for Steve this afternoon is pretty straightforward: How will the Genius Bar respond to a bouncing penis-filled griefer attack? [MacNN]

Source: feeds.gawker.com

Six Cloned Labradors Enter the Korean Customs Service [Cloned Dogs]

Six cloned male golden Labradors named Toppy look set to be sniffing suitcases for the Korean Customs Service. The cloning method was developed by a team at Seoul National University led by Lee Byeong-chun, former lieutenant of disgraced scientist Woo-Suk Hwang, who was found to have fabricated research. Their father was chosen due to his exceptional drug sniffing abilities and good temperament. While still a ways off from sniffing out contraband, the six Toppies have already passed the first of round of genetic and behavioral testing and look set to continue the family tradition. As long as they can keep their noses out of passengers’ crotches, they should be fine. [Chosun via Far East Gizmos and The Niche]

Source: feeds.gawker.com

Button Remote: A Neat Controller On Your Shirt [Concepts]

I like this concept of a stylish remote control that clasps over the button on a piece of clothing. The idea doesn’t account for the rise of this little invention called the zipper. But it appeals to me for the subtlety of integration with clothing, and well, because I like to fiddle with buttons. Always have. [Yanko]

Source: feeds.gawker.com