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A clock-orrery mashup may be more trouble than it's worth

The pages of Crave have seen many a strange clock recently. In fact, we may or may not have imposed a moratorium on writing about creative clocks, even the kind that wake you up with bacon. But this one, featured on Technabob, is really worth a mention because of its sheer convolutedness.

Basically, this Japanese clock, which doesn't even look like a clock, is modeled off that classic old astronomy gadget called the orrery. A number of little aluminum "planets" circle a central body, and you decipher the time by "reading" the position of the … Read more

Henry, the air purifier who looks kind of like a penguin

I suppose it's unofficially Modernist Monday here at Crave. Yes, I know that's not quite as thrilling as Party Friday, but you have to admit it's still kind of cool to learn about household items that resemble abstract art. With the surrealist power strip earlier this morning and now this wacky air filter, you certainly could say that we're on a bizarre-appliance kick.

A few weeks ago we looked at an air filter that resembles an iPod wrapped in wallpaper (in a good way), and now here's another one to add to the mix of … Read more

Surrealists rejoice: here's a power strip for you

Are you one of those artsy-fatalist types who has a poster of Salvador Dali's The Persistence of Memory up on the wall? That's the "melting clock painting," also known as the backdrop of the 1938 cartoon short "Porky in Wackyland." (Yes, it's on YouTube.)

If so, we've found something perfect to further indulge your fantasies of things that appear to be melting into a puddle of surrealist goo. Called the "ElectriciTree," this stretchy power strip/extension cord is technically supposed to look like the branches of a tree to remind … Read more

Security cams for the paranoid on a budget

We're not so paranoid that we need technologies that can tell who's spying on us, honest. All we want to do is conduct constant surveillance around our perimeter at all times, so we can dispatch the guard dogs as necessary. (Until we finish filling the moat, anyway.)

The problem, however, is that we're cheap--and surveillance equipment often isn't. But something like the "Mini-Air Watch4" system might just work. For a relatively reasonable $275, Gadgetizer says the system comes with four wireless color security cameras and a video receiver that can work from 100 to … Read more

A PC-TV for the wall

We weren't particularly fond of the keyboard computer, but we don't want to hold that against all combo devices. The "Meivo TV," for instance, is something we wouldn't kick out of the living room if someone gave it to us as a gift. The 22-inch LCD has 720p resolution, an Intel Core 2 Duo chip, wireless keyboard and mouse, and is ready for both HD and Vista, according to Tech Digest

Made by U.K. gaming notebook maker Rock, the Meivo is priced at 1,000 pounds (around $1,940)--which may be its biggest … Read more

LED mirror isn't as bad as it sounds

LEDs are beginning to rival Swarovski crystals as overused (and unnecessary) accents for all manner of products--even handbags. They appear so often that we could even start a daily feature on them.

So for today's installment of Crave, The LED Edition, we be bring you into the home. The "Diamond Lite" mirror, from the UK's BC Designs, is a backlit, splash-proof accessory punctuated with small diamond-shaped LED clusters. But, unlike so the garish designs of so many other items we've seen, this one is actually done in a tasteful manner, as Gadget Candy says. Then … Read more

Beacon lights a path to beer

It's St. Patrick's Day, of course, and we must pay homage accordingly. So even though this doesn't exactly qualify as a traditional gadget, we're guessing that it will be of some interest on this hallowed occasion.

The lighted beer dispenser is arguably a safety device as well as a practical home appliance, for its illumination can help prevent injurious mishaps. "A beacon for the thirsty," as Ubergizmo calls it, standing more than 21 inches tall.

The dispenser comes in a choice of black or chrome to avoid clashing with the rest of your decor. (… Read more

At least your stereo can be a flat panel

You can't walk two steps around here without tripping over some company's latest Apple iPod-docking mini stereo. The majority of these gadgets are just landfill fodder, but the new Altec Lansing InMotion iM600 looks like it might stand out from the herd. First, it folds flat--down to 1.7 inches. With a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery rated at 7 hours, that flatness might come in handy if you want to take it on a romantic iPod picnic or even to a room in your house with an inconveniently located outlet. There's a built-in FM tuner with … Read more

Chocolate spreads to home theater

Chocolate lovers are everywhere, and LG knows it. So the company is taking its popular phone brand and milking it (sorry) for home entertainment products as well on the U.K. market.

The "J10HD Chocolate" is a home theater system with an 80GB hard drive and surround-sound speakers that can play DVDs, CDs and MPEG4 videos, as well as MP3 files. The only feature it shares with its handset cousin is a touchpad similar to one on the Chocolate phone, according to Coolest-Gadgets, but that's not the point. It's more about marketing than any technological ties.… Read more

iPod speakers hit high note

This is one piece of sound equipment that will make a huge statement without ever being turned on.

The "iTower Omega" iPod system stands nearly 4 feet tall, housing four stereo speakers in its black vertical case. The monolithic design dwarfs the iPod itself, which sits atop in its dock like a bird perched on the tip of a giant redwood.

The height is practical for another reason. As Gadget Review points out, the system lacks a remote--so the iPod will be relatively close to eye level when you need to walk over and fiddle with the … Read more