heads

Baking utensils fit for a kid

When I showed an interest in baking, my mother got me a few utensils of my own. I had my spoon and my bowl. It was pretty cool not having to share, but it might have been cooler if she had given me the Head Chefs Kids' Posable Silicon Kitchen Utensils from the Harold Import Company. These five tools--a measuring cup, spoon, spatula, pastry brush. and whisk--are so fun that even grown ups will like them. Each implement has a pliable human-like body as a handle that you can fashion into different poses, complete with arms and legs, and suction … Read more

New Byrne/Eno album streams free

In past years, I often bought a full album because I heard one or two tracks I liked on the radio, only to find that the entire record was a letdown. One way to cure this problem is to offer larger free samples, like game demos that last more than a level.

On Tuesday, David Byrne and Brian Eno released their new record, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. It's available, in its entirety, as an online stream. They are encouraging anybody who wants to embed it in a Web site to do so.

If you're a fan, … Read more

SodaHead.com slurps up $8.4 million

Its name might be wacky, but some investors with deep pockets think it's the real thing: SodaHead.com, a polling and answers site, announced Wednesday that it has raised $8.4 million in Series B venture funding. The money comes from new lead investor Mission Ventures, as well as existing investor Mohr Davidow Ventures.

The company's previous round, with veteran investor Ron Conway and Tech Coast Angels contributing, had totaled $4.3 million.

SodaHead was founded by Jason Feffer, former vice president of operations at MySpace, and his childhood friend Michael Glazer. Feffer describes the site as "… Read more

'Playing the Building': A musical interactive exhibit created by David Byrne

The public-art organization Creative Time unveiled an interactive exhibit called "Playing the Building"--a 9,000-square-foot, site-specific installation by renowned artist David Byrne (lead/founder of retro-pop group Talking Heads).

What once served as a soaring waiting room for passengers to board ferries bound for South Brooklyn until 1938, the Battery Maritime Building in lower Manhattan was transformed into a massive sound sculpture for which all visitors are invited to sit and "play." The project consists of a retro-fitted antique organ in which the innards are replaced with relays, wires, and light-blue air hoses, and placed … Read more

If the TouchWall had a gambling baby brother

Let Bill Gates have his TouchWall. You can still be the envy of your friends with the "Heads-Up Challenge" digital poker table.

Unlike the "iDealer" or its mahjong counterpart, this one truly brings the game of champions into the Digital Age by using a large touch screen to shuffle, deal, calculate odds, and pay the winner. And get this: It will even let you peel up the cards, according to Chip Chick.

Unfortunately it can handle only two players--hence the name, which refers to a one-on-one game. But it certainly beats that other wireless poker game, … Read more

MP3 Insider 96: Fun with cars

Car tech editor Kevin Massy drops by to chat about head units that play nice with your MP3 player. Plus, what exactly is this "Sony Rolly" thingie? Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 96

Sony Rolly: http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9770142-1.htmlDLO TransDock III: http://reviews.cnet.com/power-protection/dlo-transdock-iii-with/4505-14102_7-32959363.html?tag=prod.txt.1Alpine iDA-X001: http://reviews.cnet.com/car-electronics/alpine-ida-x001/4505-3424_7-32425827.html?tag=prod.txt.1Blaupunk Brisbane SD48: http://reviews.cnet.com/car-audio/blaupunkt-brisbane-sd48/4505-3425_7-32957749.html?tag=prod.txt.1

David Byrne and Brian Eno: together again

David Byrne appeared with Paul Simon recently at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and according to a report in the NY Daily News, the former Talking Head announced that a new Byrne/Eno album is in the making. "Brian had written a lot of music," Byrne is quoted as saying, "but needed some words, which I know how to do. What's it sound like? Electronic gospel. That's all I'm saying." … Read more

High-end headphone mania hits New York

On Sunday, I went to a meet organized by Head-Fi, a national headphone club.

The vibe at the Bayside, New York, event was relaxed as I sampled the mind-expanding sounds of Grado, Sennheiser, AKG, and Stax headphones, driven by awesome headphone amplifiers, some of which were commercial products. Some were one-offs, built by their proud owners.

A few of the amps were portables, and the standout was the superslim MiniBox D ($79) from Head-Direct. This little thing pumps up the power of iPods with amazing gusto, and while listening to Head-Direct's Yuin PK2 earbuds ($79), the sound was remarkably … Read more

Gardening by remote control

Our appreciation for "Chia" nightclubs notwithstanding, we've never been much for gardening (desktop or otherwise). But we just can't pass up anything with a remote.

For that reason alone, this self-contained garden from the unfortunately named Smeg piqued our interest. No ordinary terrarium, the Smeg Home Garden is a mini-greenhouse that features three micro-climates that can be controlled by the remote, according to OhGizmo. The system can determine the levels of light, humidity, and temperature.

Be careful not to keep the remote too close to the plants, however. Some species apparently have the ability to control their own destiny.… Read more

Army tests head-aimer

For Army researchers looking to give robot operators new ways to "see" via unmanned ground vehicles on the battlefield one thing is clear, legacy video doesn't cut it anymore.

It's not just broadcast quality or resolution that needs improvement, but the level of "telepresence": the sense of increased situational awareness that allows a robot driver to shoot and move and make fast decisions.

One possible upgrade is the three-axis Head-Aimed Remote Viewer (HARV), a dome enclosed, three-axel gimbal-mounted camera that slews around to match operator head movement. Wherever the soldier/operator looks, the unit … Read more