(Credit:
Yanko Design)
Place this one in the "interesting idea, bad execution" category.
Label With Green is a concept design by Shao Wei Huang, Chia-Yi Cho, Yu Pei Kuo, and Chung Kai Chiang that I spotted on Yanko. The idea is that you'd get a package of solar stickers, each of which powers a separate gadget component such as the display, speaker, keypad, camera, or solar battery.
Adding more stickers manually is supposed to make you more aware of how much power your device is taking up and presumably train you to adjust your behavior accordingly--whatever that might mean.
It's a cool idea in theory, but it's impractical. As fellow post fellow blogger Jaymi Heimbuch of Treehugger notes: "This idea has its heart in the right place, but unfortunately completely ignores human nature." That's entirely correct.
It's good these designers want to help the world become a greener place, but there are probably better ways to do it, especially since gadgets already in use would probably need to be re-engineered to get their power from the stickers. That, of course, could lead to more upgrades, which could lead to more e-waste, and so on and so on.
(Credit:
Yanko Design)
Not on my head.
(Credit: Think Geek)The headline on this Dvice post about Think Geek's Wi-Fi-detecting hat says the cap will make you "king of the geeks." And maybe it will. But you can have that title, my liege; I'd rather get dates.
Not to say your crown isn't cool, technically it is. I mean, it has a fully functional Wi-Fi detector built in. So while you may never know if you've found decent coverage (unless you're staring into a mirror), at least all the girls around you will know. But since they won't be talking to you, it doesn't really matter.
OK, maybe I'm being a little hard on this thing, but again, I'm not cracking down on the hat, just on those who'd wear it around. It's really just a $14.99 way to advertise, "Look at me, I'm a geek! Ha! Look, geek here!" But if you're the type who'd wear this, I'm fairly sure the Utilikilt and BlackBerry holster would give it away anyway.
A couple of weeks ago I got to attend a press screening of "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" a week before the general American release. There was only one trailer before the film, and that was for G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, which launches August 6.
I have been to many press screenings, but I've never heard professional movie critics--my colleagues--heckle a trailer before. The movie looks amazingly bad in every way. That's why I'm not surprised Paramount is taking the viral route to try to gain public interest in what will no doubt turn into a multimillion dollar crapfest.
This is one such video. Sadly, it highlights one of the most loathsome inventions of the film, the so-called "accelerator suits" that the Joes don and that apparently give them all superpowers so they can fight Cobra while running in slow motion. Or something. Those who've seen the trailer know what I mean.
The idea behind this viral video is decent, I suppose, but I'm really hoping it was put together by interns from the catering department. If the not-so-special effects in the finished film look anything like this, I'm tempted to break out a VHS camcorder and my old action figures and remake it myself. I think my version would make more sense and be truer to what G.I. Joe was all about.
I can't wait to see the actual thing. That review is going to be fun to write. Also, I wish we had a category for "bad ideas."
Badassery.
(Credit: TechEBlog)I had a fairly good shop program in high school (what's up, Tumwater T-Birds!). Instead of making rickety chairs for our mothers to injure themselves on, or fire-prone wooden ashtrays, our class concentrated on technology. That's where I got to play with my first industrial laser, built my first robotic arm, and designed my first circuit board. It was pretty great.
But not as great as the work of this kid, who, as a side project, built a six-round, bolt-action, high-powered coil gun. For those who don't play video games, a coil gun is an electronic weapon that uses a series of magnetic coils to accelerate a magnetic projectile--like a bullet--to a fast, destructive speed.
We're not sure what school this kid goes to, but that's not important. What we'd like to know is: which teacher signed off on the project that was likely titled "Making a magnetic silent death device"?
You can see a video of the thing in action at TechEBlog.
Evil incarnate.
(Credit: Digital Innovations)Parents, I've found a device that you will love and your children will hate. Just don't tell them you heard it from me, I have my geek cred to look out for. It's an evil video game timer called the GameDr.
It attaches to the power plug on your kid's console via a combination lock. Then you can program the amount of time left until it kills the power, losing your child's progress, and making him or her resent you. It will give them 10- then 1-minute warnings, so that's something.
Sure, they'll get their homework done, but is the rage they'll feel toward you for all time really worth it? We don't think so. But for $30, you're free to disagree.
On Monday, Sony announced a $100 price cut for the 60GB PlayStation 3, taking the console's retail price down to $499. Since many gamers saw the PlayStation 3 as too expensive at its previous retail price of $599, Sony's decision was widely praised. Unfortunately, the $499 60GB PS3 isn't going to last, because Sony has just confirmed that the company is no longer producing 60GB PS3s.
On the same day the price cut was announced, Sony announced a new 80GB PS3, a console that will be bundled with Motorstorm and will retail for $599, the same as the first. The price cut for the 60GB PS3 was never intended to be a permanent cut for the product; it was only intended to clear out stock for the new version to be sold at the old price. GameSpot has reported that Kaz Hirai, Sony Computer Entertainment's CEO and President, has confirmed in a video interview that the 60GB PS3s are no longer in production, and that all new PS3s will be 80GB models to be sold at $599.
When E3 kicked off, everyone was pretty excited about Sony and the new $499 PS3. Sony had a $499 PS3 before, but it was a slightly scaled-down, 20GB version that was discontinued back in April. Now it seems like Sony's doing the exact same thing with the 60GB PS3 (originally the high-end model) that they did with the 20GB: kick it out the door and make sure the only available PS3 will sell for $599 a pop. Considering the biggest complaint leveled against the PlayStation 3 has been its price, this was simply a terrible decision.
Sony Computer Entertainment of America's director of corporate communications David Karraker told GameSpot, "This is absolutely not a bait and switch," he said. "We are offering a full-featured PS3 for $100 lower than the original price and will do so for months to come, allowing consumers the opportunity to acquire this model at this adjusted price."
For many gamers, even $499 is too much for a console. The Elite version of the Xbox 360 retails for $479, and it includes a 120GB hard drive (though it lacks the PS3's Wi-Fi support, Blu-ray drive, or media reader). The Premium version of the Xbox 360 only costs $399, and the Nintendo Wii only $250. The supposed $499 price was seen as a concession by Sony that, yes, the PS3 cost too much. Suddenly saying that they're just clearing out stock and that the only PlayStation 3 they're currently producing will still retail for $599 is utter madness.
The decision alone is made even worse by the timing. Today is the last day of E3 2007, and the entire expo is being capped off by confirmation that the PS3 price cut won't last. Nearly every media outlet is going to mention the price uncut in their expo wrap-up. Everyone is walking away from Santa Monica with the $599 PS3 back in their heads.
It's also Friday the 13th, but that might just be coincidence.
(Credit:
Gadgets Weblog)
Sometimes, when parental fogyism gets the better of us, we just have to ask why. Why, for example, would you want to encourage a child to learn text messaging before they need to? Won't they be retreating to their secluded corners with device in hand soon enough?
Mattel apparently wants to accelerate adolescent isolation by introducing the $65 "IM-Me," kind of a training-wheels version of a texting phone or SMS device that we spotted on Gadgets Weblog. About the only good thing we can see is that it doesn't require a two-year contract, working instead only within the range of an accompanying USB dongle that connects to a parent's computer (presumably so you can monitor what the kids are doing).
We have another idea. If you want kids to experiment with short-range communication projects, how about trying two cups and some string?
(Credit:
E-blue)
The almost-comically named "La Feel" from E-blue combines two bad trends: overthinking the mouse and cramming too many functions into one device.
It's hard enough to find a mouse that's ergonomically correct; but this one would seem to beg unnatural contortions by building in "a four-way scroll wheel, Internet forward and back buttons, Play/Pause/Volume control keys, (and) forward and backwards music track keys," as described by Ubergizmo.
Our wrists are getting sore just thinking about it.
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