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Archive: Gadgets
August 28, 2008
A device that drives squirrels nuts
A device that drives squirrels nuts via Book of Joe...
Bill pondered the ways humans have chosen to deal with squirrels -- poisoning, shooting, trapping -- and decided no one had tried to annoy them into submission. That is Bill Earl's great contribution to pest control: He's the first man to think of ticking squirrels off. ad_icon"I thought of the old disco lights," he said. Bill contacted his friend Mike DeGinto, who works at an electrical and lighting supply shop in Pennsylvania. And thus was born the Evictor, a high-intensity strobe light that flashes 92 times a minute. Bill and Mike say if you install enough in your attic to illuminate every last dark corner the squirrels will, um, high-tail it.
"The reason they leave is it's so very annoying," Bill said. "It's very, very annoying. The squirrels can't get past that. They decide it's a bad place to raise their young."
It's like living in a cheesy '70s nightclub -- a perpetual cheesy '70s nightclub, Studio 54 with a cocaine-addled DJ who refuses to stop the checkerboard dance floor from pulsating.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 28, 2008 12:20 PM
Gadgets |
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August 27, 2008
Kinetic charger
CleanTechnica points us to M2E's kinetically-powered portable charger due to be released next summer.
The kinetic energy system uses the Faraday Principle, which states that the movement of a conductor through a magnetic field produces voltage in the conductor proportional to the speed of movement. In this case, the conductor is a wire coil. The system uses a magnet that moves against the coil every time the charger moves, generating a charge that is captured in a capacitor. A logic circuit takes the charge to the built-in Li-Ion cell, where it is stored until use.
They say 6 hours of motion will provide 30-60 minutes of power. I can't see jogging that long, but I bet we'll see things like this in the future hooked to construction equipment, dog collars, soccer-playing kids . . .
Posted by Patti Schiendelman |
Aug 27, 2008 07:00 AM
Electronics, Gadgets, News from the Future |
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August 17, 2008
The 1920s satnav ... and other weird and wonderful gadgets that never quite took off...
The 1920s satnav ... and other weird and wonderful gadgets that never quite took off... via Land-o-links.
CLOCKWORK TEASMADE - Patented in Birmingham in 1902, this brass and copper tea maker was the first Teasmade. The alarm clock triggered a switch and a match was then struck against moving sandpaper, lighting the spirit stove under the kettle. Once the water boiled, the steam pressure lifted a hinged flap and the kettle would tilt, filling the teapot beneath. Finally, a plate would swing over the stove, extinguishing its flames.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 17, 2008 10:00 AM
Gadgets, Retro |
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August 14, 2008
Wiimote mod adds LEDs to your rumble
This site shows a step-by-step mod to get your Nintendo Wiimote to flash an LED when it rumbles. Ingredients for this mod include a Triwing screwdriver, a 0603 LED, copper circuit tape, and some wire strippers. Pretty simple mod that will definitely add some bling to your game.
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Aug 14, 2008 06:00 AM
Gadgets, Gaming |
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August 12, 2008
Crazy casemod round-up
Dark Roasted Blend has a large round-up of weird, wonderful, and thoroughly unnecessary computer casemods. Some of these you've likely already seen in your online haunts, others not.
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Aug 12, 2008 05:43 PM
Arts, Computers, Gadgets |
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August 5, 2008
Battery is a stand...
Simple idea, but I like it -- the LCD CLOCK ZER00:00 BUTTERFLY uses the battery as its stand, plugs right in to the PCB via Book of Joe.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 5, 2008 12:02 PM
Electronics, Gadgets |
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August 4, 2008
Circuit City out to destroy all copies of MAD magazine?
Our pals at MAD magazine seem to be in the crosshairs of Circuit City.. The Consumerist writes...
Circuit City headquarters has ordered their stores to "destroy all copies" of the latest issue of Mad Magazine, according to an anonymous tipster. The retailer apparently isn't amused by the 4-page spoof of "Sucker City." Inside, Mad's 1-page preview and headquarters' response.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 4, 2008 01:00 AM
Announcements, Gadgets |
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August 1, 2008
Haggling for Asian electronics
Unplggd has two articles on shopping for cheap tech in Asian markets and how to haggle down the price on the stuff you want.
Do your research. One of the first steps in haggling over a sale in Asia is to do proper research before making a purchase. It's easy to find out what the retail prices and market value prices of items are in Asia beforehand. For example, you can check out the listings on Yahoo! Auctions in Taiwan. I use Google Translate to get an idea what a page says.Yahoo! is really big in Asia, bigger than eBay in my opinion. Almost everyone uses Yahoo! including Asian retailers and vendors. They aren't really used as auctions per se, but rather as an e-commerce site. These auction lists give you an idea of how much an item retails at different vendors. These prices are almost always lower than the retail price. I've bought cell phones, laptops and desktop computers this way. I just call up the retailers and get their location.
Bring a local. The best way to get a better deal is to go with a local friend or acquaintance. They will be able to haggle better and faster than you ever will. However, they do need to know a bit about what you want.
How To... Take Advantage of Technology Markets in Asia
How To... Haggle in Asian Technology Markets
More:
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Aug 1, 2008 02:00 PM
Gadgets, Toolbox |
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July 31, 2008
Illustrated guide to "every stupid cable you need"
This is handy, Gizmodo put together a super guide on all the AV cables and more you might need, have or will end up telling your parents they need when they want to hook up that thing to the other thing...
We put up with too many cables. There are at least four different kinds of USB plugs, two kinds of FireWire and like a million different ways to connect something to TV or monitor. Modern gadget life can be kind of retarded in this way. Why not one kind of cable, or just a couple? I don't know. But until everyone gets on the same appendage-to-hole scheme, in the meantime, you can use this: an illustrated guide to pretty much every kind of cable you will see in current gadgets and what it's used for (unless, you know, Sony springs a new one on us overnight, which is honestly possible).
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 31, 2008 12:00 AM
Gadgets |
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July 29, 2008
5 in 5: Day 1
It's the first day of 5 in 5 and there's a parade of projects. See the gang free themselves from Positioning Systems, choose their food decisively, sash a speaker, stick socks to a tee, mate software circles, print Mega Man, enliven their claw prizes, greet with robots, calm a TV, root for poops, Eco-nomize a billfold, season some mittens, dramatize their voicemail, cut their own coins and Franken their Faces. This motivated group of ITP students and their Guest Star, Bre Pettis did each project in a single day and they'll do another four each this week for a total of around 50 different projects in five days!
Posted by Rob Faludi |
Jul 29, 2008 05:00 PM
Arts, Computers, Crafts, Culture jamming, DIY Projects, Electronics, Gadgets, GPS, Makers, Robotics, Wearables |
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Replacing Nike+ receiver battery
Here's an Instructable on how to replace the button cell battery on a Nike+ receiver for as little as the CR2032 battery costs you. To get a replacement receiver costs $20.
Replace battery in Nike+ receiver for under $5 [via Lifehacker]
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Jul 29, 2008 12:19 PM
Gadgets, Green, Toolbox |
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July 16, 2008
Glowing night stand charging station
Dave Rocamora turned his old Ikea night table into a charging station for his gadgets, and made it an elegant lamp at the same time. He made a nice instructable about it, too, so with not much more than a router and utility knife, you can achieve the same look.
Posted by Becky Stern |
Jul 16, 2008 09:00 PM
DIY Projects, Furniture, Gadgets, Instructables |
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Build your own iPod speaker set
Don't want to shell out a few hundred bucks for one of those iPod speaker docs? This Tupperware homebrew dock and speaker set is a cheap alternative and pretty simple to build with little overhead investment. There's even a trapdoor for easy access for your iPod when you hit the road.
Ipod Cool & Creative DIY Speaker!
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Jul 16, 2008 05:00 AM
Computers, Electronics, Gadgets, iPod |
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July 14, 2008
HACKED! - Maker-made USB cable storage now a product!
Say hi to the USB cable flash drive -- As seen at MAKE and now it's a real product, excellent work Windell and Lenore - this is a great hacky "make" project that's now for sale!
HACKED. Holy crap—somebody just went and TORE MY FREAKING USB CABLE IN HALF while it was still attached to my laptop! No — wait — sorry. That’s just my USB flash drive. My bad. Nevermind. Mammoth 2-gig capacity. Peggable blistercard packaging. Design: Windell Oskay
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 14, 2008 11:37 AM
Gadgets |
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Add mood lighting to your Xbox controller ports
This mod shows you how to install 4 LEDs above the controller port of an XBOX to illuminate when the plugs are installed into the machine. I guess this maker had the problem where his controller was always loose from his console, so he decided to make it official and have the connection "glow" when attached. You'll need some basic soldering skills for this mod, but the details are all spelled out at the link below.
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Jul 14, 2008 05:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Gadgets, Gaming |
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July 8, 2008
Sinclair watch will make a geek grin
This wrist watch is modeled after a Sinclair ZX81 from the early 1980s. Although it looks like telling time with this watch would be very difficult it's a nice homage to the past that someone thought should be worn on your wrist. Unfortunately we don't have very much info on who built this or where to find it, but it's pretty inspiring (in a retro way) nonetheless.
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Jul 8, 2008 05:00 AM
Electronics, Gadgets |
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July 7, 2008
Use a Wii Fit balance board to control a robot in the real world
This video shows a Wii Fit Balance Board controlling a "SkyBot" toy robot to move around a platform. Check out the link below to the downloadable Python source code for this hack and lots of good details on how it was built.
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Jul 7, 2008 06:00 AM
Gadgets, Gaming, Robotics, Science |
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July 3, 2008
PSP hack mixes live sound editing and collection with GPS navigation
The "Oterp" by Antonin Fourneau is a prototype sound editor built inside a PSP console with an integrated GPS that allows you to manipulate sound in real-time based on your location on earth. The device also collects new sounds when it detects that you have arrived at specific pre-programmed locations on the planet, with the end goal of mixing the reality of our natural environment into video game music sounds. Pretty interesting idea and we will definitely be seeing more of this type of project with the advent of iPhone 3G and the addition of GPS into its digital audio, gaming, and video capabilities.
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Jul 3, 2008 06:00 AM
Gadgets, Gaming, iPhone |
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July 2, 2008
Transparent Headphones will enable you to hear the important stuff
Although this project is considered old by blog standards (2002), we still like the simplicity of this device. The "Transparent Headphones" are a custom built pair of headphones with a microphone attached to the outside of each ear piece. The device detects nearby sounds and fades the sound out of the corresponding ear that detects the loudest sounds. So for instance, if you are at work in front of your computer with your headphones on and someone is trying to talk to you on your right, your right ear's phone will fade out and the microphone's output will fade in so you can hear what they are saying. Pretty simple idea that we hope will be integrated into all future headphones.
Transparent Headphones Project Page
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Jul 2, 2008 05:00 AM
Computers, Gadgets, Music |
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June 28, 2008
Reflect table helps enlighten the conversation
The "Reflect" table is an LED board embedded inside a table that monitors the sound levels of people's conversations with an array of microphones around the exterior. The multi-color LEDs show the sound levels of the chatter of those speaking so that they can get a visual picture of who is dominating the conversation. The translucent paneling in front of the lights is meant to move the feedback system into the background so that people will not concentrate on the lights. Pretty nice, but I think that might ruin the conversation itself.
REFLECT: Noise Sensitive Table, [via]
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Jun 28, 2008 08:00 AM
Arts, Electronics, Furniture, Gadgets |
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Phillip Torrone
Senior Editor
Tel: 707-827-7311
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