magnet

Joby Gorillatorch Blade: A flexible lighting solution (hands-on)

The Joby Gorillatorch Blade is the latest in a line of hands-free flashlights that includes the Gorillatorch Original and the Gorillatorch Flare. While all three 'torches feature Joby's trademark flexible, bendable legs--a feature that originally debuted on the Gorillapod line of tripods--the Blade differentiates itself with an all-new chassis for the lamp and a few new features. It's also the most expensive, which may be a turn-off for casual users.

Starting with the Gorillatorch Blade's flashlight, the unit features an anodized black aluminum tube chassis that's about 6.25 inches long and 1.33 inches thick. The unit is IPX-5 water-resistant, which means you could probably douse it with a hose or rinse it in a sink, but you probably don't want to go submerging it. The unit's design also lends a bit of inherent shock-resistance. Dropping this guy onto concrete may mar the finish, but the functionality probably won't be affected.

Located at the business end of the lamp is the CREE XLamp XP-C LED. When Joby calls this guy ultra-bright, it's not just blowing smoke. Standard output from this LED is 65 lumens, which matches the output of the Gorillatorch Original and proved to be more than bright enough for most of the uses we could think of. However, for users who need even more brightness, the Blade also features a boost mode that doubles the output to 130 lumens for a moment or for up to a three-minute burst. By twisting the head of the flashlight, users are also able to adjust the cone of light emitted by the Blade, widening it to a 160-degree flood or narrowing it to a 30-degree spotlight.… Read more

Righty to lefty

Links from Wednesday's episode of Loaded: Sony's Google TV remote WebOS phones next year Netflix for iPhone adds video-out Windows 7 slates coming this Christmas A magnet can make you left-handed

Fujitsu to release wireless charging tech in 2012

Wireless networks and Bluetooth keyboards can free people from some cable clutter, but Fujitsu believes new research could help whisk away some power cords, too.

Fujitsu said Monday that it's overcome design hurdles for a mechanism for wireless charging of electronic devices and that it plans to use the technology in products to be sold in 2012.

The general idea, which Intel, MIT, and other organizations have been researching for years, offers the prospect of a laptop or phone that charges when you set it on a desk or table, potentially getting rid of some cables and making travel easier. Fujitsu has bigger ideas in mind, too: transmitting power within a computer chassis and charging electric cars, for example. … Read more

A speaker so good it doesn't sound like a speaker

I've probably listened to and reviewed a thousand speakers, and truth be told, the majority of them never sound like live music. They sound like speakers.

The "problem" with box speakers is that you're always aware the sound is coming out of a box, but Magnepan speakers don't have a box. And they don't have dome tweeters or cone midrange or woofer drivers, either. Magnepan technology is radically different than what you find on box speakers, so the 1.7's sound "floats" free of the speakers themselves.

The new Magnepan 1.7 ($1,995 per pair) looks a lot like the model it replaces, the 1.6, which was regarded by many of the world's high-end audio critics, including me, as one of the greatest less-than-$2,000 speakers on the market. The 1.6 stayed in the line for more than 10 years, and I have every reason to believe the 1.7 will be a standard bearer for just as long. And speaking of value, Magnepan also offers a factory-direct $599 (per pair) panel speaker, the MMG. The technology isn't as advanced as the 1.7's, but it's miles ahead of any other $599 speaker I can think of.

The 1.7 panel is 64.5 inches high, 19.25 wide, and just 2 inches thick. Magnepan builds all of its speakers in White Bear Lake, Minn., and almost all the 1.7's parts that aren't fabricated in-house are sourced from U.S. suppliers. I reviewed the 1.7 for Tone Audio magazine, where you can read the complete review.

The 1.7's technology is unprecedented for Magnepan; the speaker is the company's first "full-range ribbon" design. It's also worth noting that what makes a well setup pair of 1.7s so special isn't just something that only dyed-in-the-wool audiophiles would notice; pretty much anyone with ears will immediately grasp what's going on. Their box-free sound is astonishing.… Read more

Inside CNET Labs 98: So much magnetism

We're back! Again. And this time it's personal. That's right, we're together again, for the first time. Forget it Dong, it's Chinatown.

Dong is away in Vietnam this week, yet through the miracle of technology, we're able to come together and record a podcast. What an age we live in.

Actually we recorded this episode before he left and honestly there's not much "us" in it. We spend as much time going through your e-mails and voice mails as we do being our usual narcissistic selves.

This week we're discussing … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1266: It's not the porn, it's you (podcast)

If you find that your employees are goofing off watching porn at work instead of working, does it make logical sense that you should get rid of the porn, or the employee? Exactly. Of course, the government doesn't see it that way, but they're the ones who encoded their like, 900-word mission statement into the U.S. CyberCommand shield. Sigh.

Magnetic Silly Putty reminds us of Venom

Magnetic Thinking Putty is Silly Putty with a twist. Aside from exhibiting standard characteristics such as being able to be molded and stretched, this version can be magnetized. This means you can use a magnet to control the putty, creating the cool effect seen in the image. It reminds us of Spider-Man's nemesis Venom preparing to snare its next victim.

This is possible because there are millions of tiny magnets embedded in the material, giving this blob its magnetic properties.

Online store Vat19 currently lists the product as out of stock. The same product can also be found on … Read more

Can bands sell out anymore?

With music, there's no bright line between art and commerce. Ever since the dawn of mass media, when big-band radio shows were commercially sponsored, musicians have explicitly endorsed products or allowed their songs to be used in advertisements.

At the same time, there's a notion among some musicians and fans that rock 'n' roll is sacred, and that artists who sell their music to commercial sponsors are less talented or less deserving of fame and fortune. This notion ebbs and flows as the music industry changes and has been particularly strong in certain subcultures--particularly the original punks and … Read more

$2,000,000 speaker can be yours for just $500,000

Moon Audio claims the Signature Titan was designed to outperform any speaker system in the world. It's a strictly limited edition of three pairs, and each pair is hand-signed by the designer. Each pair will also be named after its buyer and once the third pair is built, the Signature Titan is history.

Even by high-end audio standards the pricing structure is a little unusual: Signature Titan #003 can be yours for $500,000 per pair, but the cost for #002 doubles to $1,000,000! Sounds crazy, but #001 has already been sold for $2,000,000!

I spoke with Moon Audio's founder, Chris Moon, yesterday about the Signature Titan, and learned the speaker grew out of Moon's dissatisfaction with the world's best production speakers. He went out and built the Signature Titan just to see how far he could take speaker design. Moon isn't your average high-end guy, he told me that he discovered, recorded, and produced Prince, along with Morris Day, Alexander O'Neal, Dez Dickerson, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

Moon wrote and produced music for companies such as Northwest Airlines, music scores for films and television.

Moon claims the designers of the 72-inch-tall speaker have been involved in the high-end audio industry for 25 years. Installation and setup in the customer's home anywhere in the world is included in the purchase price. They better have strong floors; the pair of speakers weighs 2,800 pounds!… Read more

Apple lovers, rejoice: iPhone magnets for the fridge

If you're an Apple fan with a particular love for all things iPhone, you'll want to check out Jailbreak Toys' new App Magnets.

The company has looked at all those apps you'll find in the iPhone and turned them into magnets you can place on your refrigerator. The offering includes magnets of Safari, Mail, and several other apps that come pre-loaded on the iPhone. All told, 18 magnets come in the box.

The Jailbreak Toys iPhone magnets follow a long line of tech-related products that have been converted into magnets. In fact, just a few years ago, … Read more