balls

If TVs can be built into basketballs, is there any reason that MP3 players can't look like soccer balls? Absolutely not, as far as Shiro is concerned.

The Singapore-based company has updated its "AS" ball-shaped player with a 2GB storage capacity but thankfully has changed little else (if anything) in its excellent futbol design, which has the controls on its contoured panels. Measuring under 2 inches in diameter, it still has a circular LED display, according to Technabob. And true to its athletic roots--it was originally designed to commemorate the World Cup--the player has a stopwatch and … Read more

What works better: hard, cold technology or arcane, mystical powers? We put that question to a test by seeing which would better help us get home, a Magic 8 Ball or the GPS navigation system in a Honda Accord. We made our start point in the midst of suburban streets near Tiburon, and tried each method to direct us back across the Golden Gate Bridge, into San Francisco. With the Magic 8 Ball, we asked it at each intersection whether we should go right. Using the GPS navigation system, we merely input the address in San Francisco where we wanted … Read more

We're seriously beginning to question the sanity of the people at Japan's SolidAlliance. (And that says a lot, coming from us.) It's one thing to make devices using fake gold, rubber duckies and UFO detectors. But a crystal ball for a mouse?

The "Choikawadeco Mouse," which Akihabara News translates to mean "a little bit cute," is one of several new bling-infected mice just released--and, in our opinion, the most over the top. On the other hand, if you're into doing DDR on your mouse pad, this disco-ball wannabe could be just the … Read more

While so many other computer companies are trying to hide their CPUs, a handful of brave mavericks are actually trying to draw more attention to them. But that doesn't mean they're building the standard and deadly boring old gray boxes.

Directron, for example, is selling one that looks more like a rubber ball than a PC--hence its name, the "Ball PC System." Not much is offered in the way of specs, pricing or availability, but SCI FI Tech says the shiny sphere splits open, spaceship-style, to reveal a 40GB hard drive between its hemispheres.

That means … Read more

Gadgets that light up to musical rhythms are everywhere, but they're generally stationary. That's where the "Robotic Laser Ball" has them beat. This disco bot actually hits the dance floor on its own and "gyrates violently and flashes lights in time to your music," according to Red Ferret, for 50 seconds at a time. But keep an eye on it--the ball measures only about 4 inches in diameter, so it could get stepped on.

Nathan Ball, a graduate student at MIT, has invented a motorized pulley that will let paramedics and firefighters zip up the side of buildings like Spider-Man.

Ball's Atlas Powered Rope Ascender can pull a firefighter loaded down with 80 to 100 pounds of equipment up a 30-story building in 30 seconds. Trudging up the stairs weighed down with equipment can take six to eight minutes.

Ball is this year's recipient of the Lemelson-MIT award, a $30,000 prize for invention annually awarded to a student at the school. The Atlas works as follows. A rope is fixed to … Read more

In the end-of-'06 wrap-up madness, there are a whole lot of people talking about Web 2.0, YouTube, social media, connected-home technology, the Wii and its corresponding Wiinjuries...the list goes on. But there's been almost no mention of the rash of completely useless USB-powered devices that infested the gadget market in 2006 with a viciousness that can only be compared to bubonic plague in a medieval village or head lice in a kindergarten classroom. I mean, they were everywhere. They're so ubiquitous, in fact, that I've decided I'm not going to touch 'em in '… Read more

Looking for a new music player but tired of the same old same old? This one definitely doesn't look like your standard fare.

Soundwave has come up with an MP3 ball less than 2 inches in diameter, complete with a tiny display and 1GB memory (in pink, of course) for about $77. And if it doesn't work as billed, you can always hang it on the Chrismas tree next to your eyeball-shape Webcam.

Just about every day, we come across a blog or site that claims to have found the worst or dumbest (or both) portable USB drive. And we usually agree each time, until the next one comes along. But we're somewhat conflicted over this 16-pound bowling ball, which the Raw Feed calls the "worst USB gadget yet." We admit that it kind of defeats the purpose of portability, but we still like it, probably because it reminds us of our drive-in movie days (memories over memory?). There's just one question: How do you toss it down the … Read more