by Techno Witch on July 28, 2008
By Andrew Liszewski
Worried about those no-good neighborhood kids crashing your pool at night? Just install a bunch of these RC surveillance camera + floodlight combos around your backyard and you’ll be one step ahead of them, even in the middle of the night. Other than requiring a power cable, the camera is completely wireless and will broadcast a 510×492 pixel video signal right to the TV in your living room (via an A/V receiver) as long as it’s within 300 feet. The camera also includes a light sensor which will automatically switch on a night vision mode allowing you to see what’s going on up to 23 feet away in complete darkness, or a bright 150-watt halogen bulb which also serves as a deterrent to unwanted visitors.
You can actually install and monitor up to 4 different cameras from a single TV, with each camera being assigned its own channel, or having them all cycle through on a single channel in 5 second intervals. It even includes a remote allowing you to dim, brighten or flash the floodlight as well as pan the camera 330° or tilt it 110° providing a greater view of your property. You can get it from Hammacher Schlemmer for $399.95.
[ Remote Controlled Outdoor Camera And Floodlight ]
by Techno Witch on July 28, 2008
The Apple iPhone 3G is out and is very popular and very hard to get hold of, but the talk at the moment is not the 3G but the most expensive old school Apple iPhone, you know the old one without 3G or GPS.
Welcome to the all new Amosu Ultimo Diamond, the Amosu Ultimo Diamond to us is more like the ugliest iPhone in the world.
Technology! Forget that, Looks! Forget that as well because it is hideous, the Amosu Ultimo Diamond iPhone is for the mega-rich and with a price tag of $177,300, you have to be either rich or totally thick to buy it.
The Amosu Ultimo Diamond has 1,179 diamonds weighing in at a whopping 16.18 karats. This phone has been splattered with so many diamonds that each individual iPhone is a custom handset.
The brilliant movie ?Blood Diamond? comes to mind here. Anyway, if you have the money and funny eyes then buy it.
by Techno Witch on July 28, 2008
We talked about the Nokia 5800 Tube a few times and still there is no release dates other than sometime in 2008 and no prices either.
The mega Batman movie the Dark Knight got to see this mobile phone briefly so when will we get to see it? this is what many readers are asking.
The Nokia 5800 Tube seems to be a pretty cool mobile phone with the main features consisting of a stunning 3.2 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optical lens and autofocus, plus dual LED flash, it also boasts a nifty touchscreen and the Fifth edition of Symbian S60, and it also sports a 16:9 display mode and a 640 × 360 pixel resolution.
Other specs include weight of only 104 grams and the size is 111×52×14.5mm, plus a BL-5J 1150mah Battery, 140 MB RAM, 3.5 mm Headset interface, TV-out interface, Built-in GPS, Bluetooth, HSDPA, EDGE, GSM, WLAN, WCDMA and GPRS. Check out the newly release photos below.
by Techno Witch on July 28, 2008
We all know that the Apple iPhone is one of the best mobile devices to hit us, well sit back and think about the Samsung Anycall Haptic for a little bit. People are calling it the Samsung Anycall Haptic but the models real name is called SCH-W420, we talked about this mobile phone way back in March this year.
The Samsung SCH-W420 has a large touchscreen like the iPhone, but the Samsung model goes one step better with its haptic feedback. The main features on this phone include a 3.2-inch touch-screen, 2MP digital camera, Full Internet browser, Bluetooth 2.0 and Terrestrial digital TV reception.
Check out the three videos below this article and see if you like the Samsung Anycall SCH-W420 haptic feedback mobile phone. Personally we prefer the Apple iPhone but everyone has their own opinion as they say.
by Techno Witch on July 27, 2008
By Jonathan Kimak
I love my dogs, I really do. But sometimes when it’s quite late and I’m tired I would much rather let the dogs go out themselves and come back on their own. Dog flaps in the door aren’t an ideal choice since any critter can come in through something like that.
But this electronic dog flap from Pet Doors USA looks interesting. The flap is made of shatter proof materials and an aluminum frame. You put a RFID tag on your dog’s collar that will send a digital code to the doggy door to open when they approach it. It will close once the dog is no longer near it. It won’t close if there is anything obstructing it which means no snagged tails or paws.
These go for $6397 and additional RFID tags cost $30 per unit in case you need extras for multiple dogs. Just be sure your dog is trained to come back when it’s finished its business and not wander off through the neighborhood.
[ Pet Doors USA ] VIA [ Locks and Hardware ]
by Techno Witch on July 27, 2008
By Jonathan Kimak
A new type of armor is being researched by engineers at MIT and will try to emulate the scale armor of a fish. The fish species Polypterus senegalus is believed to have been around for 100 million years and has evolved a very durable armor to withstand attacks from predators. The armor is so effective because the scales have the right chemicals in the right amounts that make each scale very sturdy.
The research was funded by the U.S. Army and when developed is hoped to be used for soldiers, first-responders and even on military vehicles. The analysis of the fish scales is detailed in the July 27 issue of the journal Nature Materials.
So instead of sneaking into abandoned mines with misguided dreams of finding mithril, we should have been out fishing.
VIA [ Live Science ]
by Techno Witch on July 27, 2008
By Andrew Liszewski
Since sitting in an office chair in front of a computer doesn’t seem to be the most natural position for the human body, it’s not surprising that so many people suffer from back pain these days. But instead of popping pain killers all day, or sitting on a large inflatable ball to ease the pain, you might want to see if your doctor will prescribe you a TENS unit from Empi.
TENS stands for Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation, and that’s basically what the device does. It uses a set of electrodes attached to the skin that deliver up to 60 milliamps of current into the nerves where the pain occurs. This jolt serves to disrupt the pain signals coming from those nerves, and instead of hurting, the area ends up feeling tingly or even numb.
The output current can be adjusted, so you really only want to dial in enough juice for the pain to disappear, and it seems to include individual settings for the knees, shoulders, lower back & hips, upper back, and your hands & wrists. Normally I’d raise an eyebrow or 2 at an electronic device that promises relief from pain, but according to Joel Durham Jr. who writes for ExtremeTech, the TENS was quite effective at relieving his own back pain. And while this doesn’t seem like the kind of device you should use without the approval of your doctor, they do appear to be available for sale online to the general public, but expect to pay upwards of $800 if you’re interested.
[ Empi Select TENS Pain Management System ] VIA [ ExtremeTech ]
by Techno Witch on July 27, 2008
By Andrew Liszewski
I don’t know about you, but as soon as the fireworks are extinguished at the beginning of July, I’m ready to haul out the Hallowe’en decorations. Sure pumpkins might be next to impossible to find in the middle of Summer, but if you plan ahead and throw a couple in the freezer come October, you’ll be ready for an early start next year. But why stop at just a pumpkin on the front porch when you can give your whole house the macabre treatment? Even your bathroom can now be dressed up for Hallowe’en with this Bloody Serial Killer Shower Curtain.
Taking a cue from Hitchcock’s Psycho, the curtain features the silhouette of a knife-wielding maniac (though without a wig) and enough blood splatters to take it well beyond the point of being a subtle gag. But there’s more! The shower curtain also features a sound and motion-activated speaker that plays the famous Psycho music as well as a clip of a woman screaming. It’s powered by 3 AA batteries which I’m sure you’ll be removing once the novelty wears off. (My guess is about 3 minutes into your first actual shower with it.)
The Bloody Serial Killer Shower Curtain is available from Things You Never Knew Existed for $19.98.
[ Bloody Serial Killer Shower Curtain ] VIA [ Nerd Approved ]
by Techno Witch on July 27, 2008
By Andrew Liszewski
I’m sure we’ve all seen those long-exposure photos where someone is writing or drawing in the air with an LED which produces cool looking streaks of light in the final shot. Well that’s basically the same idea behind the Flowlight concept, except that it happens in real time without the need for a camera. The base of the unit tracks the tip of a special pen as it moves through the air, and by focusing a laser beam 100 times a second where that tip is located, the Flowlight creates small plasma points that appear to hang and glow in mid-air. As the pen moves, the laser creates a series of plasma points which are close enough together to look like glowing streaks. While the d-Vision Design website suggests the technology could be used in various applications from medicine to architecture, I don’t think it will be replacing the traditional whiteboard for sketching out ideas anytime soon. (Sadly.)
[ d-Vision Design Flowlight ] VIA [ DVICE ]
by Techno Witch on July 26, 2008
By Andrew Liszewski
I don’t know if any of you caught the 2-hour ‘pilot’ episode of NBC’s updated Knight Rider series, but I did, and all I can say is that it was pretty… pretty… terrible. When I was younger I occasionally watched the original series, but it wasn’t until the ratings started to dip and they introduced the ‘turbo boost’ mode that I really became a Knight Rider fan. There was just something about seeing KITT transform with all those extra fins and flaps that sucked me in as a kid. Well, clearly the producers of the new series felt the same way, and at this year’s Comic Con they unveiled the new KITT’s ‘Attack Mode’ which quite honestly makes the vehicle look like it just drove off the set of the latest Fast And The Furious film. I’m not going to pretend that the ‘turbo boost’ mode on the original KITT was practical or anything, but at least it kind of fit in with the design of the rest of the car, as opposed to this which looks like a random collection of after-market body accessories. Oh well, I guess there’s always Knightboat, the crime-solving boat!
[ Attack KITT Reveal - Knight Rider at Comic Con ] VIA [ Autoblog ]