The world’s fastest Internet connection - owned by and old woman!

Sigbritt Löthberg, a 75-year old woman from Karlstad in central Sweden has made IT history. Her home is now connected to the Internet by a 40 Gbit/second pipe. Yes, this is 5 GB/second. So, in theory, a DVD would take less than a second to download. Or, put another way, it could hold 1500 simultaneous full HD streams.

The woman is the mother of Peter Löthberg. Peter is a famous network technician, and works for Cisco. He collaborated with Karlstad Stadsnät (The arm of the local administration who’s concerned with the city’s networking) to get this gig going.

Peter Löthberg and his mother

If you’re wondering if this is practical, or just want to know WHY this has been done, read on.

Sigbritt Löthberg did not even have a computer until recently. Her son, together with Cisco and the Stadsnät wanted to demonstrate a new technology, and show people that they can all get extreme speed for relatively low costs.

The data is transfered exclusively via optic fiber wires. A new modulation technology allows transferring data at these blazing speeds without any repeaters for thousands of kilometers. Peter states that the maximum distance is virtually unlimited.

Of course, there’s yet no practical need for such speeds. No hard drive or SSD can write or even read at such speeds. Their regular data throughputs are mere fractions of what the connection can do.

As stated by Peter, the hardest part of setting up the connection was installing Windows on his mother’s new computer.

it’S A GUY thiNg

I was recently approached by Scott Seegert and asked if I’d like to review his new book, it’S A GUY thiNg. It’s the first time I’ve ever been contacted by a published author and as I’m not renowned for saying no to freebies I was more than happy to accept.

I received my signed copy of it’S A GUY thiNg last week and have flicking through it and giggling to myself ever since. The book is all about the crazy things that oddballs guys have registered patents for in the past. There are such gems as the “Helmet mounted Pistol” which incorporates a neck support so as not to strain your self when it fires. Patented in 2002 is “Tom’s Buttocks Cleavage-Revealing Pants” which are special pants for the ladies with a certain area of material removed in a nice fashion conscious pattern.

Scott’s writing style suits the subject material perfectly and if he ever fancies blogging he is more than welcome here. He’s given me permission to reproduce a couple of his patent posts here, so enjoy:

George’s Golf Practice Apparatus Patented 1956

Every guy knows that the length of his drive is directly proportional to the length of a specific anatomical member which, for the sake of being discrete, we shall refer to as “Mr. Johnson”. Suffice it to say nobody wants to hit a limp dribbler up the fairway. This explains why the typical guy will spend up to 83% of his pre-tax income on assorted equipment which promises to improve his golf swing.

Well, the best of this equipment, as determined by total weight, is George’s revolutionary golf practice apparatus (GPA), a device once described by Rube Goldberg as being “a bit complicated”. The GPA will allow any run of the mill guy to increase the length of his Johnson, err, drive right in the comfort of his very own structurally reinforced den or recreation room. For those interested, the GPA comes unassembled and all that you’ll require to put it together is a ¾” box wrench, an acetylene torch and Stephen Hawking. Once assembled, simply lubricate twice daily at points 1 through 203, and the GPA will stand ready to offer years of faithful service.

Jack’s No-Slip Hairpiece

If you’re a guy who wears a hairpiece, you’re all too familiar with the situation: one moment you’re showing off for the ladies by executing a perfect half-gainer into the clubhouse pool, and the next you appear to startled bystanders to be a man in a flesh-tone bathing cap trying frantically to rescue what seems to be a large guinea pig from the pool’s filter. That’s right – that darned hairpiece has fallen off yet again, supplying onlookers with another great anecdote at your expense.
Well, wind, water, starved predatory birds – nothing, and we mean nothing, is going to tear the no-slip hairpiece from its wearer’s dome. The secret lies in the plastic horseshoe-shaped component which is permanently, that’s right – permanently, attached to the head at the existing hairline via adhesives or braiding. The hairpiece itself contains a matching component that fits up to the head-mounted piece like a door hinge. Once aligned correctly, flexible pins are inserted through the hinge tunnel and the removable portion is rooted firmly in place. The result is a hair replacement system in which the wearer, after careful and meticulous grooming utilizing the latest advancements in hairstyling technology, could easily pass for a guy with a small cat asleep on his head.
As Jack points out, the non-permanent portion of the hairpiece may be quickly and easily removed “when conditions of privacy prevail”. Oh, we have a feeling they’ll prevail, all right.

You can buy It’s a Guy Thing from Amazon for $11.16 and it’s worth every penny.

Tagz - Geeky LED Dog Tags

Want to stand out at the next geek party and make people remember your name? Tagz the animated geek tag does the trick.

Stand out in the crowd, and make an impression with this customizable scrolling LED dog tag. They look awesome in the dark and are great for nights outs, whether you use it to pull or to offend. It is completely programmable to say what you want, with messages being easy and fast to enter using three button on the back.

You can get a Tagz for £10 (~$20) from the Red5 Gadget shop.

Concept cellphone take Transformers route

The folks at Parkoz Hardware must be smoking some pretty strong stuff to come up with this Transformer-inspired cellphone, changing from your average clamshell handset into a bi-pedal mini weapon of mass destruction which looks like the ED-209 of Robocop fame. A pair of miniguns are more than enough to shred away anything in its path though, and could work great when it comes to threatening your boss for a pay raise. I wonder what the battery life is on this thing, and what do the miniguns actually use as bullets? Broken pieces of plastic?

Source: Gizmodo

Beurer PM 100 heart rate monitor looks like a watch

For those who are serious in their fitness training, a heart rate monitor is definitely something they on of the devices at the top of their shopping list, ensuring that these athletes remains within the optimal BPM range in order to maximize the effectiveness of their cardio training or weight loss program. While most of us are familiar with chest-strapped heart rate monitors, these aren’t exactly the most popular devices in the world because short of being uncomfortable to wear, they are also annoying and get in the way as you go about with your fitness regime. Beurer hopes to solve this problem by coming up with a watch-like device in the form of the PM 100.

What makes the Beurer PM 100 different from the rest other than its form factor? Before we continue, let’s take a look at how other companies have approached this matter. Adidas, the sporting apparel giant, did try to build this sensor into a tight training shirt before while NuMetrex has incorporated the heart rate monitor into a sports bra for women, but I still think the watch form factor of the PM 100 is the most convenient. You wear it as half a glove, where it will obtain your heart rate from your index finger by using photoplethysmography.

There’s one snag though - it probably won’t be a fan favorite with those who need to use their hands in a sport, but for the majority of the rest who perform running or other pure cardio exercise will find this to be an extremely comfortable solution. Photoplethysmography is a process that shines a red LED on the surface of your index finger, and measures the reflected light back to a photodiode. The changes in reflective light will be calculated to give you the final reading. The PM 100 also tells you your calorie consumption and acts as a watch, alarm, and stopwatch simultaneously. There is no word on pricing as at press time.

Source: Gizmag

Autobot Keychain Light

Remember the Fantastic 4 signal as well as the Batman signal that drew those superheroes out from their respective pads during times of trouble? The Autobot Keychain Light attempts to do that, but unfortunately you’ll have to break it to little Johnny that Optimus Prime is probably rusting, er, resting away happily on Cybertron so he cannot attend to this distress call. You can only view the Autobot logo in pitch black darkness. The Autobot Keychain Light retails for $8 a pop and could go a long way in placating your Transformers-mad kid.

Product Page via Nerd Approved

AirDrives for safer hearing

There is nothing quite like having your own private space while tuning in to your favorite music on your iPod. Most of us tend to ditch the standard pair of headphones that come with our iPods, investing a little bit extra for that upmarket pair of earbuds to give us a better bang for our buck. Unfortunately, most people these days equate loudness with the quality of a pair of earbuds, and younger folks tend to crank the volume all the way up while rocking to the latest Top 40 hits. This doesn’t bode too well for your ears, and it could certainly be a health hazard especially when you’re walking or jogging around in public as being tuned out from your surroundings could result in a nasty accident. The AirDrives from Mad Catz aim to prevent that from happening. More details after the jump.

While most designs these days come in cupped headphones or in-canal earbuds, both of them encourage the listener to zone out. The AirDrives takes a whole new spin on the situation, marrying the best qualities of both camps by giving us small speakers with an over-the-ear clip which make them extremely portable due to their small size. A new technique known as InAir has also been incorporated into the AirDrives, letting these buds sit over the ear canal instead of inside. This change in placement not only produces a more natural sound, but it also prevents the buds from tuning you out from your surrounding environment by letting in some ambient noise. While audiophiles will launch a vehement protest, it must be said having an idea of what’s going on around you is important especially when you’re on the road.

The AirDrives will be available in two flavors - the regular Adult-sized model and a Kids model which will retail for $100 and $70 respectively when they’re released this September across all retail stores.

Source: Electronista

Concept video camera transfers data wirelessly

Designer Johan Frossen has come up with this concept video recording device that seems to jump out of a sci-fi movie. The user wears this over their eye, letting it record whatever they see, making this a truly cool hands-free video camera. You wear this camera around your neck, where a semi-large lens and microphone reside on one end. There is no need to stuff memory inside this thing though, since it will upload all your video in real-time wirelessly to a nearby computer, but the downside would be remaining within the vicinity of a wireless network. Wish I could beam one of these from stores.

Product Page

Mathmos Light Charms for your cellphone

Turning your cellphone ringer off is a given whenever you enter a library, museum, cinema, or church, but more often than not we tend to miss out on calls as the vibration of the handset itself isn’t too strong by any means. The Mathmos Light Charms for your cellphone solves this problem, blinking crazily whenever there is an incoming call courtesy of radio frequency emissions. You can choose from a mini light bulb version or a mini lamp lava version in white, blue, or red colors. They retail for approximately $12 a pop. Be forewarned though – these can be rather blinding especially in a dark place like the cinema.

Product Page via Technabob

Logitech’s MX Air is out and it’s looking good

Back in June, we reported on Logitech’s new MX Air mouse. Now, in mid-July, it’s finally out and the reviews are in. So far, they’ve been excellent. For those wondering why a mouse is even remotely interesting to them, you should know that the MX Air lets you control your computer using hand gestures in the air. The best part of this though, those hand gestures actually work.

Just like the iPhone’s flicking and pinching, the MX Air uses fairly natural movements to control your home media, meaning when you use this in the air, it’s generally for controlling a home media PC. A wave to the left or right will adjust the volume, and flick will skip to your next track. Once you’re done listening to some tunes or watching a video, you still need a high quality mouse. There, the MX Air is great as well, with a standard laser tracker and good ergonomics (although it looks odd, eh?).

Besides the interesting Freespace commands and stylish design, this mouse is fairly boring. Rather than going completely wireless with Bluetooth, the MX Air uses a 2.4 GHz receiver, leaving you with an annoying USB dongle to plug in. Other than supporting the fair bit of users without Bluetooth, this seems silly. I would think anyone paying $150 for a mouse would have some for of Bluetooth. . . There’s also an equally stylish charging station for the Li-on battery.

Those nifty little hand gestures and cool yellow lights are really going to cost you. For the privilege of owning the MX Air, you’ll have to fork over $150. I’m still happy with my $50 Mighty Mouse or a standard USB mouse.

Product Page

HP invents color matching technology

Most men face the day by slamming the alarm off, getting out of bed and hitting the showers straight away while getting rid of whatever whiskers that have grown overnight. Not too long after that, they just pick from a whole row of suits and dress up, ready to head off to work. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for women - they seem to have a whole ritual to go through before stepping foot out of the door. One of them includes putting on makeup, and boy are you in for a tough time when the lady of your life asks you whether her makeup matches or not. A makeup mismatch is more often than not a major social faux pas for any lady, but thankfully help is coming our way in the form of a text message.

Hewlett-Packard has successfully developed a new service which is capable of receiving photos from cellphone cameras, putting them through sophisticated image-processing algorithms, and coming up with scientifically based recommendations for the shade of foundation, lipstick, blush and eye shadow that best suits a person’s skin tone. Sounds like beauty has been given a modern thrust, enabling modern ladies to look their best by sending a mere MMS to the service provider.

While all of this sounds as though we’re already living in an Utopian era, it does make me wonder whether meticulous females who think that they themselves can’t find a perfect color match would be willing to fall back on a decision made by a machine that does nothing but process 1s and 0s. I say when it comes to beauty and color matching, everything is relative, and you’re sure to find a group of people on either end of the bell curve while the rest of the population agrees on a certain match.

Source: Scientific American

3.9G network hits 300Mbps

So this Swedish lady might hold the world record for the fastest home Internet connection on the planet, but you can bet your bottom Torrent that such technology, while workable in theory, won’t be making its way into your homes anytime soon. Forget about watching up to 1,500 High Definition channels simultaneously when a TV can’t even display that many screens, and your brain won’t be able to handle such information overload. What we have today is something much more achievable and will be made available to ordinary citizens like you and I when 2009 rolls around. Of course, this is currently limited to those living in the Land of the Rising Sun, but rest assured the Super G cellular service will be available worldwide after its debut in Japan.

The Super G cellular service that will be first tested in Tokyo is capable of hitting speeds of up to 300 Mbps - that is roughly up to 100 times faster than what the fastest 3G network can offer. What does this mean for the average Joe? No more lag when it comes to downloading and streaming videos, although I wonder how content will be charged with such ease and convenience to the end user. Apparently NTT DoCoMo has christened this new network Super G or 3.9G (the answer to why not move on to 4G directly still eludes me) and will be used as an intermediary before moving on to 4G. What’s 4G then - holograms ala Star Wars?

Tests of the Super G network will initially be confined to single base station and phone pairings, but will slowly expand to include multiple base stations performing hand offs. In due time, both stations and client side units will utilize a quartet of MIMO antennas each when nudging data along at upload and download speeds of 80Mbps and 300Mbps respectively. The Super G network uses several frequency bands, where some of them are 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15 and 20 MHz. If you’re interested to know, standard 3G in Japan uses just the 5 MHz band.

Source: TG Daily

New Faucet Design can save up to 70% on water bills

Water waste is rather common in your average household. Water running while brushing teeth, water running while washing hands, water running just to get the cold water out of the way to get to the hotter water in a bath tub. And all that wasted water is money down the drain. So when a sub-fifty dollar gadget that can reduce water bills by up to 70% arrives on the scene, it can be very attractive addition to the home.

Last year we featured it, but with Summer heating up and water bills on the rise, we thought it was a good time to reintroduce the EZ Touchless Infrared Sensor Faucet. Attaching to your kitchen or bathroom sink, this gadget relies on Point-N-Lock technology which allows infrared sensors to detect movement as hands reach under it. This turns turns the water on and off automatically.

Powered by 4 AAA batteries (not included) which can last up to 18 months, the EZ Faucet is fully automatic – but users can override that with a manual override on/off switch.

Other features include: adjustable temperature and pressure settings, complete hands-free operation which avoids germ transmission, universal fittings that allow it to go on any existing sink’s faucet, ease of installation, and manual control of temperature and water flow.

To save 70% of wasted water? That makes it not only good for the environment, but at around $50 pricetag, a sure fire investment for the home.

Intel jumps onto OLPC bandwagon

Looks like the suits at Intel has rescinded on their previous decision and decided to hop onto the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) bandwagon, putting aside petty differences that arose initially when the huge processor company decided to come up with its own cheap and affordable piece of computing for developing countries throughout the world earlier this year. This has opened up a whole new world of possibilities, where both the non-profit group and Intel will begin collaborating on technology and educational content in an effort to raise the computer literacy rate around the world.

According to CEO of Intel,”Joining OLPC is a further example of our commitment to education over the last 20 years and our belief in the role of technology in bringing the opportunities of the 21st century to children around the world.” This means that the immediate target of this partnership would be to reduce costs further, from an already rock bottom price of $175 to approximately $100 when volume shipping begins this September. It is interesting to note that Intel’s own budget laptop dubbed the Classmate retails more than $200 while running on windows. Some people see this as a merger, claiming that the more powerful party would be 800lb gorilla Intel.

With Intel’s seemingly bottomless pockets to fund research of the OLPC beyond the latter’s wildest imaginations, things could go awry in the end as both parties are bound to have a head to head clash over the final form of the project, with the microprocessor used being the main concern here. There is the potential for AMD to end up as the big loser in this scenario, but let’s hope that Intel’s intention of joining is noble and not just meant to reap a handsome reward at the expense of others. Others see this move as a very clever one, especially when it comes to building brand loyalty in the younger ones. What do you think of the entire situation at the moment? A pure stroke of corporate genius?

Source: Linux Insider

Pocket-sized tunes with this saxophone

If you’re musically inclined and want to take some stress off a hard day at work, what better way than to belt out a few tunes with the Maui Pocket Saxophone?

“This is the pocket saxophone that is handmade from bamboo cut from groves in the rainforests of east Maui and dried for six months before construction begins. Each stalk of bamboo can vary in wall thickness, resulting in a unique instrument each time one is made. About the size of a standard recorder, the instrument is tuned to C and can play a two-octave fully-chromatic scale. The large round mouthpiece is fitted with a tenor saxophone reed, which gives the instrument its unique rich deep sound, two octaves lower than conventional flutes of the same size, nearer to a clarinet. It is small enough to fit in a backpack or purse.”

Each of these tiny musical wonders measure 13″x 1.5″ and weighs 3 oz. You’ll have to fork out $79.95 for one of these (musical lessons not included).

Product Page

XCM Mini Guitar for pint sized gaming

Guitar Hero 2 was definitely a big hit on the previous generation of consoles (specifically the Xbox and PS2), but sometimes we just want to laze on a couch while going through the motions of Guitar Hero 2. Unfortunately, the full-sized guitar doesn’t allow you that luxury, which is why this XCM Mini Guitar enables you to do exactly that by coming in a palm-friendly size. The body is made from actual wood like a real guitar, so you don’t have to worry about cheap plastic parts. Additional features include a heavy duty metal whammy bar and buttons located along the guitar’s neck that light up.

Product Page via Technabob

Brando readies USB Can Cooler And Warmer

Brando has yet another interesting yet useful gadget to have by your computer, and this time it is the USB Can Cooler And Warmer. Perfect for people on either spectrum who want their hot drinks to remain just that - hot, while folks who love a cold can of cola wish to maintain that coolness minus the diluting effects of ice. The USB Can Cooler And Warmer fits the bill perfectly, marrying chilling and warming technology using USB power without the need for an external adapter. This $32 device can cool your can below 18 to 20 degrees of the ambient temperature, while heating a drink up to 65 degrees more thanks to the set point thermostat.

Product Page

Plaxo,, or, you have the option of never consolidating your contacts,,

Wow,, so many of you may have tried Plaxo,, back in the day (it was a Wednesday,, about 3 or 4 years ago I think). Well, they’re back,, and surprisingly,, they’re great!

I’ve been wrestling with organizing and consolidating my contacts for years,, I’ve got hotmail, gmail, yahoo-mail, and more,, plus my old Palm Pilot data too. Since my pilot died,, ugh,, (still waiting for you Gandalf (or iPhone)) I haven’t been happy at all with my contacts and scheduling, and as my phone isn’t particularly web savvy well, let’s just say I’ve been vexed with integrating everything. It seems those worries are coming to an end.

Yeeehaww!!

Testing: In no time at all I had brought my Palm data into my yahoo account (just click on the sync help button in yahoo mail and it brought all my Palm Vcard data in (it’s not too hard,, select all your contacts then export vcard)). Then in Plaxo, I selected, Yahoo-mail,, then Gmail, then Hotmail.

Voila!! All my woes,, gone!!! check the Plaxo video!

I was actually a little shocked at how well it worked. I had well over 1400 contacts, and it all went through in nearly no time at all. There are a bundle of other options available with Plaxo too. Their Calendar portion looks smooth and works like all the others you are used to. I’m limited as to getting my calendar data in, since Scrybe (you may remember I joined the beta a while back when my Palm died, it has worked well, but not being able to access it in real time (Palm Pilot/smartphone style, it’s been really frustrating after being spoiled like that for so long). Once Scrybe hits phase 3 in their beta they will be able to export and I’ll be able to Plaxo all my actions for the coming year (phew!)

There’s also provisions for a lot of web 2.0ish stuff in Plaxo as well. There is basically a feed reader keyed to your contacts, so you can track what is going on with people you know,, if you’re into that. I myself, don’t feel that I know enough people that are out there posting,, taking pictures and generally updating their sites enough, nor, quite frankly, am I bothered to. Since I switched over to Google Reader, I’ve been pretty much on there for all my info, and whenever I really need to go out and get more info, I read through my friend’s sites.

The one or two drawbacks that are there, are my regular complaints, they don’t integrate the other features I really enjoy. I want to bring my del.icio.us tags in,, and though I’m still resistant to doing it (like I need my head plugged in more) Twitter. The one drawback that really torques me out is the note-taking. They simply refer to them as notes, with tagging, and linking to both Plaxo groups (think Microsoft OneNote style, time stamping, and link and image capture it could really be the end all be all,,, (I hope you guys are listening!) ) Also more finite selections for tasks. I can only assume more task data will be coming, as there is a percentage shown,, yet there is only a checkbox to indicate completeness.

I know that’s asking a lot,, but they’ve done so much so well, it’s hard to believe it won’t be there soon.

Seriously folks, this is a solution that’s free (I’m really staring at upgrading to their premium account to link my linked in account too, but for now,, it’s an expense I won’t be incurring)

Go to Plaxo Here’s the link to the video demo.

MusicPal brings free music wirelessly to your room

The MusicPal from Freecom really lives up to it’s namesake, giving you access to 5,000 stations through the Internet. If you prefer to ‘craft’ your own station, just do so with your personal collection of MP3s. This piano black audio device sports WiFi connectivity, hooking up to live RSS or blog feeds while displaying such data on a 128 x 64 LCD display complete with a Favorites button and scrolls wheels. The Linux Kernel 2.6 runs the whole show, where additional features include an alarm clock, a loudspeaker, and WiFi connectivity. Interested parties can pick the MusicPal up this August for $178 a pop. Let’s hope Internet radio doesn’t die by then.

Product Page via Gear Live

The cruel, cruel Demon Dialer

You may not know this, but I’m a big fan of the daily gadget podcast known as Daily Giz Wiz. It’s a show that covers the not-so-covered gadgets; you’ll hear about gadgets you never thought existed. Now, to end this little plug, let me just say that if you like this site and like a good laugh, check out the Daily Giz Wiz. I brought this up because, on a recent episode, they covered a gadget from the past, known as the Demon Dialer. Take a guess at its cruel, cruel purpose in life.

If you didn’t guess a device that could redial a certain number up to 25 times a minute (yes, minute!), you should’ve, as that’s exactly what the Demon Dialer does. Granted, there are real reasons to use this device, but the malicious ones come to mind a lot quicker. This device was used when you would call some big company and often get the busy signal, so the Demon Dialer would simply keep calling until you got through. At that point, it would alert you so that you’d pick up the phone and start yalking. Although the Demon Dialer has been discontinued, there’s a product known as the PowerDialer that’s exactly like it– it keeps calling until it gets through.

If you really want the modern-day Demon Dialer, it’s going to cost you $250. I’d rather just wait the 10 minutes it takes to get through, especially when it means saving $250.

Fabric by Sprout Design

Wouldn't a bolt of this look great nestled between two sheets of plexy and put up on a stark wall? Modern mixed with vintage? From Australian designer Pamela Walker comes fabric showcasing a Skipping Girl in chocolate brown just in time to put a smile on my face. There's also the Skipping Boy in blue, in case you were wondering.

Via Bloesem.

Bosie-Boo Child Out of Distance Monitor

Here's a half-way step between reins and letting your child run completely free: the Child Out of Distance Monitor.

The child wears the smaller unit, and the parent sets a distance he or she feels safe with, from 5 to 50 metres. An alarm then goes off if the child wanders out of this radius.

That all sounds fine, except that it doesn't actually tell you where your child has gone - and with a fifty metre radius, I can imagine that might be a slight problem.

wallpaper tree by inke heiland

Birds and trees, birds and trees - my house can't have enough of these...or at least that is how my signifigant other feels. But the wallpaper tree in particular I really like too. Dutch designer Inke Heiland came up with this idea while creating her son's room. Each kit comes with the tree in five pieces, 84 leaves, a brush and hanging instructions. You can also add a birdhouse that lights up if you'd like a nightlight built-in, and of course you can further customize it by adding birds. Choose from: spring, summer, fall or winter.

The set is hand cut from vintage 60s and 70s wallpaper and since you have so many options of how to arrange the leaves and birds, each one will look different. The entire family can help put it up, making the room distinctly yours.

Gotta Getta GittaBag

The brainchild of industrial designer and mother for three Hagit Neeman-Gorny, GittaBags is a diverse line of extremely stylish AND functional bags designed specifically for parents. Ranging from a multi-pocketed weekender to diaper bags, to sachets, and even kids' packs, the company has the most extensive inventory of chic choices I've ever seen. Each is constructed from rugged materials and meticulously sewn for style that should last a while. Functional and sophisticated? I really wish I'd known about them sooner! Available piccolinionline and gagonline.

PS I picked very bold items to highlight, but GittaBags has hues to match every style or mood.

Bambu's Baby Fork and Spoon

If the simple life with kids could be interpreted into utensils, it would look like this baby fork and spoon set by Bambu. Streamlined, unfussy, casual, utilitarian, durable. Each piece is made of 100% organically grown bamboo that is then coated with natural food safe wood oil and has curved edges for easy gripping. To note: a package comes with two sets for $12. A nice alternative to the silver spoon.

There's also a kid's fork and spoon, for the older ones.

Plane lights and dinosaur lights

There's just something so delightful about these strings of lights from Tots' Planet.

The aeroplanes glow in the dark for a while even after they have been switched off, and give you some of that very special feeling you get when you're flying late at night, looking down at all the lights below. Or looking up at the stars from the ground.

It makes sense for aeroplanes to be strung in the air, but there's less logic behind a string of dinosaurs. Nevertheless, I like their jellified looks.

Both sets of lights are suitable for children's rooms, since they remain cool to the touch and conform to safety standards.

Wanart Lunar signs

Do you know your kids' lunar signs? My kid is a monkey and the baby is a dog (like me). These sweet illustrations of the lunar animals by Wanart can be found on totes, onesies, greeting cards and other stationery goods. I especially love the tote bags and would love to get the girls a bag each with their respective animals.
source: Babygadget

klt:kids (mobiles+onesies+plush)

Kristin Loffer Theiss's has a great line of products on her site Kltworks. We are always on the hunt for interesting handmade baby products. In addition to her watercolors and drawings in thread, she also makes one of a kind toys and mobiles for babies. You can get the mobile pictured above in color or in high contrast black and white (pictured below) - baby's favorite.

source : Babygadget

Samsung introduces new L-series cameras

Samsung has today announced three new L-series digital cameras. The 7MP L730 and 8MP L830 both feature a 3x optical zoom and 2.5" LCD alongside Samsung's Intelligent Face Recognition Technology and ISO1600 capability. The L83T meanwhile adds ASR (Advanced Shake Reduction) - Samsung's pseudo-stabilization system which detects camera movement and applies an inverse correction during image processing. All three are due to arrive in the UK in August with price tags between £119 and £179.

Hop into the driving seat with Kangaroo.tv

Here’s one for live motor-sport fans: Selectable camera feeds of the event you’re at plus real time statistics and team-driver communications, all on a hand-held package that you hire for the day and take around with you. How cool is that?

Kangaroo.tv have partnered with various broadcasters and racing organizations to arrange live coverage of Formula One, Nascar and Le mans events on their hand held device, ensuring that when you’re at the event you never miss a thing.

The package includes the portable TV viewer and a pair of ear-defender style headphones. The really neat thing is the control you get; you can select from 10 camera feeds, including a mix view that keeps you with the action and various in-cockpit cameras for that immersive “drivers-eye” view. You can also get statistics on teams and drivers (race position, top speeds, lap times etc), all updated in real time as the race progresses. For audio you can listen to the standard PA commentary or any of the available team-driver communications.

The package is available for rental on race days at the Kangaroo.tv stand - at the British Grand Prix this weekend it was £50 for the 3 days which seems pretty good value to me, considering what you get out of it.

Rock Festivals give student a disposable idea …

According to organizers of the annual Glastonbury Festivals, concert goers who spend the week rocking out tend to abandon the tents they sleep in during the rockfest. And it’s growing from 10,000 abandoned tents in 2005, to 15,000 this year. Not very environment friendly in these globally sensitive economic times.

But what seems like a budding ecologic disaster in Glastonbury, turns into an economic opportunity to Designer James Dunlop, who’s Myhab disposable habitats can solve the problem of what to do with tens of thousands of barely used, yet abused, tents left behind. “People use and abuse their tents because they are so cheap,” Dunlop said, “they are just tired and want to go home after festivals. They do not want to mess about putting their tent away.”

That’s why myHab was born, but that’s not the only use Dunlop envisions. There’s also disaster relief and with 2012 Olympics coming to London, and possibilities for incoming sports fans are endless.

Made out of waterproof, yet disposable cardboard and plastic, the MyHab has enough room for two, can easily be erected and dismantled in a few minutes, and contains ammenties like a cushioned sleep pad, a locker secured by PIN number, and even lighting. After use, myHab will be dismantled by the company and properly recycled.

And not only did venture capitalists recognize the potential and help Dunlop create Myhab Limited is based in London, but the myHab also recently won an award at the New Designers Exhibition.

No word on sale or rental rates, but Dunlop hopes to launch myHab next year.

Help me, I’m falling and I can’t get up!

Jokes aside, falling down is something everyone experiences as they grow up, as well as old. While little kids tumble and fall about due to their carelessness or less developed physique, they recover pretty fast from each fall only to come back stronger. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for older folks since falls can kill an elderly under certain cases (sharp edges around furniture, knocking one’s head on the floor, broken bones that cannot heal, the list goes on). The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) has just released a statement, mentioning it has successfully developed a cellphone system for elderly people, sensing if they have already toppled over and subsequently informing family and medical providers instantly.

This is made possible as the cellphone is equipped with a sensor carried on the belt that is capable of detecting sudden movement such as a fall, sending a signal to a computer in a hospital. Not only that, the computer will then call the person to see if he/she is hurt. Should the patient require some form of assistance, the computer will report that need to the hospital’s emergency center and family. Through the clever use of GPS technology, the device can now pinpoint the exact location of the patient for hospital workers to rush to the exact location within a short time. Due to a transfer of technology to communications companies last month, this new system is expected to go online sometime next year.

According to the ETRI Bioinformatics Team leader Park Soo-jun, “When the size of the sensor is reduced, seniors will be able to carry it in the form of a belt buckle or a brooch. They’ll be able to download a program that senses the signal from the sensor to any mobile phone they’re using.” This system looks like a prime candidate to be used in nursing homes and hospitals that are endowed with an Internet connection, letting users carry nothing more than the sensor instead of a cellphone. Like anything and everything good, this can’t roll out fast enough.

Source: Digital Chosunibo

NASA buys space station toilet

I suppose it takes more than just unzipping one’s fly when trying to relieve oneself in the gravity-less environment of space. Since drinks in a glass often end up as globules of water in space, it just makes me wonder what a stream of urine will look like. Tiny droplets floating around? Anyway, I dare not carry my imagination further and leave the thinking to those who are paid to do so - the brilliant folks at NASA. Apparently, after whipping out their calculator, it seems that NASA concluded paying $19 million to purchase a Russian-built international space station toilet system is by far more affordable than building one from scratch.

According to Lynnette Madison, a NASA spokeswoman, building a space station toilet system is somewhat the equivalent of building a municipal treatment center on earth, which is no mean feat by any standards. Another notable advantage would be the familiarity of the astronauts navigating their way through the system when using it, since it is similar in nature to the current one in place at the space station. What’s more, this new system is more than capable of producing pure drinking water after processing the urine collected in a device. It is expected that this space station toilet system will arrive sometime next year, offering a whole lot more privacy to a crew that is tipped to double from three to half a dozen by 2009. This system will be installed on the American side, whereas the current toilet system on the Russian side will continue operating.

For the benefit of those on earth, the space station toilet physically resembles those found down here, save for the addition of additional leg restraints and thigh bars that prevent astronauts from floating away while performing their “business”. Fans will suck any sort of waste into the commode, and each crew member has individual urine funnels which are attached to hoses. So while Americans won the race to the moon first, I presume Russian cosmonauts were the first to have a better time relieving themselves in space.

Source: Xinhua Online

Girlfriend Bikini Pillow

We’ve had the lap pillow for the women and now it’s time for us blokes, here’s the girlfriend pillow.

The girlfriend pillow is suitably attired in a bikini, and won’t complain when it is forced to watch the original Star Wars trilogy for the umpteenth time. It also has the ability to vibrate, though why you’d want a vibrating torso with one arm I’ll leave to you.

The girlfriend pillow is expected at Collections etc. in 2008, found via Funniest Gadgets.

Absurd: The Giant Swiss Army Knife

Even the Swiss are going crazy! Usually, a swiss army knife can be described by one short phrase: minimalistic and practical.

This means that you get a bunch of useful functions out of a small and simple to use device. Well, now, the ’small’ part seems to be totally out. How about 9 whole inches of width?

Of course, there’s an awful lot of functions in there (85 fully functional implements), but none of the tools is now practical, simply due to the ginormous size of this. This really deserves to be categorized as a ‘Wacky Gadget’.

Click on for an extensive list of features. Hell, there’s even a tire pressure gauge in there!

1. 2.5″ 60% Serrated locking blade
2. Nail file, nail cleaner
3. Corkscrew
4. Adjustable pliers with wire crimper and cutter
5. Removable screwdriver bit adapter
6. 2.5″ Blade for Official World Scout Knife
7. Spring-loaded, locking needle-nose pliers with wire cutter
8. Removable screwdriver bit holder
9. Phillips head screwdriver bit 0
10. Phillips head screwdriver bit 1
11. Phillips head screwdriver bit 2Flat head screwdriver bit 0.5mm x 3.5mm
12. Flat head screwdriver bit 0.6mm x 4.0mm
13. Flat head screwdriver bit 1.0mm x 6.5mm
14. Magnetized recessed bit holder
15. Double-cut wood saw with ruler (inch & cm)
16. Bike chain rivet setter, removable 5mm allen wrench, screwdriver for slotted and philips head screws
17. Removable tool for adjusting bike spokes, 10mm hexagonal key for nuts
18. Removable 4mm curved allen wrench with philips head screwdriver
19. Removable 10mm hexagonal key
20. Patented locking philips head screwdriverUniversal wrench
21. 2.4″ Springless scissors with serrated, self-sharpening design
22. 1.65″ Clip point utility blade
23. Philips head screwdriver
24. 2.5″ Clip point blade
25. Golf club face cleaner
26. 2.4″ Round tip blade
27. Patented locking screwdriver, cap lifter, can opener
28. Golf shoe spike wrench
29. Golf divot repair tool
30. 4mm allen wrench2.5″ blade
31. Fine metal file with precision screwdriver
32. Double-cut wood saw
33. Cupped cigar cutter with double-honed edges
34. 12/20-Guage choke tube tool
35. Watch caseback opening tool
36. Snap shackle
37. Mineral crystal magnifier with precision screwdriver
38. Compass, straight edge, ruler (in./cm)
39. Telescopic pointerFish scaler, hook disgorger, line guide
40. Shortix laboratory key
41. Micro tool holder
42. Micro tool adapter
43. Micro scraper - straight
44. Micro scraper - curved
45. Laser pointer with 300 ft. range
46. Metal saw, metal file
47. Flashlight
48. Micro tool holderPhilips head screwdriver 1.5mm
49. Screwdriver 1.2mm
50. Screwdriver .8mm
51. Fine fork for watch spring bars
52. Reamer
53. Pin punch 1.2mm
54. Pin punch .8mm
55. Round needle file
56. Removable tool holder with expandable receptacle
57. Removable tool holder
58. Special self-centering screwdriver for gunsights
59. Flat philips head screwdriver
60. Chisel-point reamerMineral crystal magnifier, fork for watch spring bars, small ruler
61. Extension tool
62. Spring-loaded, locking flat nose-nose pliers with wire cutter
63. Removable screwdriver bit holder
64. Phillips head screwdriver bit 0
65. Phillips head screwdriver bit 1
66. Phillips head screwdriver bit 2
67. Flat head screwdriver bit 0.5mm x 3.5mm
68. Flat head screwdriver bit 0.6mm x 4.0mm
69. Flat head screwdriver bit 1.0mm x 6.5mm
70. Magnetized recessed bit holder
71. Tire tread gauge
72. Fiber optic tool holderCan opener
73. Patented locking screwdriver, cap lifter, wire stripper
74. Reamer/awl
75. Toothpick
76. Tweezers
77. Key ring

Though this list is huge, cramming so many tools in a swiss army knife is overdone to say the least. I really hope it’s not designed to be a practical tool, but just a collectible or something to brag about.

The price isn’t small, as well: it retails for £499,99 (yup, one thousand bucks) at FireBox. Found via GeekAlerts.

AMD unveils TV Wonder products

AMD aims to please those who use the computer as their primary means of entertainment, and this time it is the ATI TV Wonder range of products that bring both the analog and digital worlds together. Both resemble that of a USB flash drive, plugging into your desktop or notebook to bring the world of high definition TV (HDTV) into the comfort of your living room, complete with digital video recording capabilities. What are the two devices being paraded today? Why, the ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo PCIe and the ATI TV Wonder 600 USB, of course. Read more about the specifications after the jump.

The ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo PCIe , being the top of the line device, is a combination tuner DVR that comes with ClearQAM tuning, enabling computer users to be on the receiving end of unencrypted digital content which is available from their local cable television provider. Not only that, users get the ability to switch between analog and digital TV to watch and record a digital TV program while watching or recording another analog TV channel simultaneously. I guess the bigger headache would be finding the time to watch all the recorded shows, but that’s definitely a good problem to have. As for the external plug-and-play ATI TV Wonder 600 USB, this device turns your computer into an instant DVR complete with a bunch of features that will keep any multimedia buff happy.

Both devices will feature AMD’s very own Catalyst Media Center software that works seamlessly with Windows Vista Media Center and Windows XP Media Center Edition. AMD hopes to make the computer as the digital hub in all living rooms in the future, and this is one step towards realizing that dream. The ATI TV Wonder 600 USB comes complete with a credit card-sized IR remote control, an A/V input adapter for video capture from a camcorder or VCR (what - people still use these things?!), as well as the above mentioned bundled software. Both devices are expected to hit North America by September at a yet undisclosed price.

Source: Gizmag

Big Brother in New York keeping tabs

While you might hear horror stories about the Big Apple, with the rising rate of crime at every nook and cranny, breathe easy as news of the New York Police Department (NYPD) trickles down to us plebeians, informing us that the NYPD is currently working on building a web of surveillance throughout lower Manhattan. The project is extremely ambitious, with word that the final effort will see more than 3,000 public and private security cameras working in tandem to track terrorists as well as criminal suspects. In addition to that level of surveillance and security, around 116 license plate readers will be in place, ready to monitor cars moving through the area which consists of the city’s financial district - making it a prime target for terrorists.

Troublemakers will definitely have to be more careful now, as there are digital eyes watching their every step whether they know it or not. It seems that footage collected by the NYPD’s cameras will be stored, but not indefinitely. Once the 30-day period is over, it will be discarded or recorded over - a wise decision else they will be faced with a serious lack of storage, or even data storage location problems considering the magnitude of video captured over time. Rest assured that these cameras will be used to intercept threat(s) that are imminent, but won’t be used for more nefarious purposes such as collecting data indiscriminately on Joe Public.

There are currently nearly 4,200 public and private surveillance cameras located in downtown Manhattan, whereas other cities (including Chicago and Los Angeles) have taken steps to expand their use of public surveillance cameras for security reasons, and have come up with some rather positive results. They claim that the community loves these cameras as it makes them feel all the more safer when walking about. These cameras don’t come cheap though, costing up to $60,000 each and boast night vision capabilities and can be remote controlled to pan, tilt, zoom, and rotate.

Source: ABC News

For nostalgic techies: Steampunk Watches

There are pretty many fans of Steampunk, including me. Some die-hard fans have created modern tech disguised under Steampunk masks.

Also, most of today’s watches are quite boring, and follow the same design line. A clean, simple bezel with a leather or metal armband, seamlessly fit most of the time. Some are nice to look at, the others are dedicated to just being practical.

A Japanese company has decided to cater to our taste and manufacture a whole range of steampunk-themed watches. They all respect the intricate, aged theme of the genre, but are powered by modern Seiko or Citizen machinery.

The company offers 30 models of clocks. Some are classically wrist-worn, some fit the back of your palm, one is for a finger (!), and some are classic pocket watches.

What they have in common is the design: everything looks old and worn, but mysteriously advanced. Intricate models and accessories are omnipresent (in fact the only ‘conservative’ model is just to the right of this text). You’ll get to see hinges, screws, springs, all of them left bare for your viewing pleasure.

I’m not sure that all of these are comfortable to wear, but then again these are just for fans and for the pleasure of the eye.

The manufacturer’s site features a nice gallery of all watches (the text is Japanese). By the look of the forms, they are all custom-made when you order them. I couldn’t find any information with regard to pricing.

Found at Akihabara News.