crowdfunding

You've got the quality locks, you've seen the how-to-lock videos, and you're very careful about where to leave your bicycle. But is that enough?

Not according to the backers of BikeSpike, a GPS tracking device being promoted on Kickstarter.

If a thief makes off with your ride, the BikeSpike will show its map location on your mobile device or home computer. Police can be given access to the data to help recovery. … Read more

April may be the cruelest month, as T.S. Eliot said, unless you've been jonesing to hack the massively popular Pebble smartwatch.

Founder Eric Migicovsky has announced that a watch-face SDK (software development kit) for the Pebble will be released in the second week of next month (and that 40,000 Pebbles have been assembled so far).

He showed off some early developer work in the Kickstarter video update below, including watch faces with an animated dragon, Mario running around the screen, and even the first game written for Pebble, featuring a Nokia-style Snake done in very simple graphics.

It's all very 1980s, but lots of fun. … Read more

If paddling out to that wave is getting a little too tiring, this electric body board puts you right in the water while pulling you along effortlessly.

Kymera is a lightweight, motorized jet board that can send you crashing through waves to help a struggling swimmer. Mainly intended for lifeguards and search and rescue teams, it's designed to be placed in the water more quickly and easily than personal watercraft.

The focus of a $250,000 Kickstarter campaign, Kymera weighs 48 pounds with the rechargeable lithium polymer battery pack, and 29 pounds without it. … Read more

Crowdfunding may be a normal way to start a business, but it's an unusual way to start a baby. Baby Ali-Penny is due soon, and when the kid arrives, it may have one of the first crowdfunded births thanks to the March 2013: Baby Ali-Penny Indiegogo project.

"Since getting knocked up, the number one question we have been asked is, 'What do you guys need?'" mom Fanny says in the project video. The answer is pretty much nothing. The family already has strollers, car seats, onesies, blankets, and socks. What's left? The birth itself.… Read more

Open your wallets, Ultima fans. Lord British needs cash.

The RPG pioneer and space tourist has a Kickstarter campaign to raise $1 million for an Ultima-style game called Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues and he's well on his way to that goal.

Lord British, whose real name is Richard Garriott, says Shroud will be "a fantasy role-playing game that will focus more on player choices and discovery than on level grinding." … Read more

So you've got the LED-lit Tron basketball court. Now you need an electronic ball.

94Fifty is a sensor-laden ball that's designed to give you feedback on your court athletics. It has wireless links to your iOS or Android smartphone and a Qi charging pad.

Part of a Kickstarter campaign by InfoMotion Sports Technologies, 94Fifty is a regulation-size ball that gathers data on everything from dribbling to shot arcs, backspin, and speed. … Read more

You've played that "no phones at dinner" game and lost. You can't bear ignoring your messages. Well, this bit of bling could be your new best friend.

LinkMe is a digital bracelet that displays the messages, Facebook updates, and tweets that you need most.

Billed as a world first on its Kickstarter page, LinkMe will "display the messages and alerts you choose, making your entire social life available to you with just a glance at your wrist." … Read more

Some folks are naturally neat-freak morning people. They wake up on time, feeling perky, bounce into the bathroom, and scrub their teeth first thing in the morning. Others need a little extra encouragement. That's where the Wayki alarm clock/toothbrush hopes to come in.

David Hawkins was having trouble dragging himself out of bed in the mornings. He decided he needed a two-part push. Half of the Wayki sits next to the bed, behaving like a regular alarm clock. When it goes off, the only way to silence it is to get up, take it into the bathroom, plug in the toothbrush portion, and trigger a 2-minute brushing timer. Before you know what hit you, you're up and scrubbing your teeth.… Read more

There's no disturbing lack of faith among Kickstarter supporters.

After all, a crowdfunded project to construct the Death Star that was launched less than a week ago already has nearly 1,500 backers and an astonishing $364,772 in pledges.

Well, the Rebels aren't taking that threat sitting down. A rival Kickstarter campaign to build X-wing fighters has just taken off. Its goal is to build one of the famous spaceships from "Star Wars" and then more. … Read more