Crave

In today's high-paced, BlackBerry-powered world, a lot of things have been made more expedient (and more annoying) through the use of high technology, but there are a few things that gadgets just can't seem to solve easily. One of the biggest ones: waking up. We've seen loads of crazy alarm clocks recently, from the one that you have to chase around to the one that flies to the one that you have to dismantle like a bomb. But here's a prototype for an alarm clock that actually might work: instead of an alarm, it wakes you … Read more

This little Tamagotchi-like device, called the "Virtual Boyfriend," promises to help "practice your relationship skills." Okay, I'm not denying that my dating prowess might need a little bit of tweaking here and there, but this is just a bit much. Rather than raising a pet, you have to learn how to treat a boyfriend right--presents, dates, and, uh, "wild passion." (What?!?) Ooh, and there's a twist, since the Virtual Boyfriend can make "decisions" too (how novel!) so it can get unpredictable and exciting!

Thanks, but no thanks. I think … Read more

Regular readers of this space know that we're given to the occasional rant against silly special or limited editions, but this is one we can get behind: a "Blaze" MP4 player from Dutch company Sweex that comes preloaded with a trailer of Mr. Bean's Holiday. The player otherwise seems fairly unremarkable, available in 1GB black and 2GB pink for about $93 and $117 respectively. But there's one more thing--if you do buy one, you could win a ticket to the premiere of the movie.

This almost sounds like a gadget from Maxwell Smart's repertoire, but it seems to be legit. This mini-safe opens not from the usual cumbersome combination of numbers but from your own voice commands.

If you forget the secret word, the safe tells you to try again in four preset phrases. (It sounds like a bad sitcom already.)

On the other hand, you could set up a hidden camera and have fun watching others trying to guess the code. Booby-traps might be in order as well. Maybe this isn't such a bad idea after all.

The Barenaked Ladies, the Canadian pop group that's churned out radio hits like "One Week" and "Old Apartment" over the past decade-plus, might have a user base that's slightly older than the average MySpace user. But that hasn't stopped them from gaining a particularly tech-savvy reputation: recently, they've become somewhat of anti-DRM figureheads. Their latest video, "Sound Of Your Voice," will undoubtedly add to that buzz. It doesn't feature the band at all, but rather a whole bunch of popular YouTube personalities lip-synching to the song. Among those featured … Read more

This spring, Nikon's Coolpix P series of compact cameras--a steady, solid, mainstream family of midprice models--will be welcoming its geeky uncle Coolpix P5000 to live in the attic.

With the P5000, Nikon belatedly returns to the the market with an enthusiast-oriented compact. With features such as the full set of manual and semimanual exposure modes and a flash shoe, the black P5000 looks ready to take on the Canon PowerShot G7. And, in fact, it has many similar specs: a 10-megapixel sensor with maximum ISO 1,600 (ISO 3,200 at 5 megapixels), optical image stabilization, a 2.5-inch … Read more

It's spring, and new cameras are in the air. With the PMA expo in Las Vegas early next month, companies are already announcing their newest cameras. Nikon just revealed a handful of compact shooters to use when it's finally warm enough to leave the house again.

If you were to put the Coolpix S50 and the S50c next to each other, you probably wouldn't be able to tell them apart. They look alike, they shoot alike, they have the same 7-megapixel sensors, 3x lenses with mechanical image stabilization, and 3-inch LCD screens. Despite these similarities, these two … Read more

Usually when we see so-called luxury items, they're often fairly standard products that have just been plated in gold or covered in crystals--serving only to make them ugly, as well as expensive. A distinct exception, however, is the work coming from Russia's innovative Gresso.

The company came out of nowhere last fall with a stunning phone made of gold and African Blackwood, generating a lot of interest but offering scant details about features and availability. But now it's preparing to release an MP3 player made with similarly rare materials, and Gresso isn't being quite so … Read more

Japan may have robots that can clean and tend to hospital patients, but German scientists are working on a model that can do both.

In addition to mopping floors, the "Nursebot" can reportedly take a patient's temperature with laser beams and thermal camera imaging. And, as Technie Diva says, "this means no more rectal temperature-taking treatment for you."

The Nursebot is scheduled for 2010, but we're looking for ways to donate contributions to speed its release.