Skateboards have been the single most important symbol of pop culture that is rooted in youth, health and preference for sunny climates; however, with the growing geekish lifestyle, the days of sun, fun and skateboarding seem to have been replaced with long hours in front of the laptop or the desktop. Thus, the keyboard has almost replaced the skateboard in a figurative sense. Thus, artist Tobias Leingruber has created the Skateyboard, which is a skateboard that looks like the computer keyboard, in fact with all the keys.
I am not really sure if one can actually balance on this and I am not aware if this piece of artwork has hidden ports to which you can connect to the PC. Either way, it seems like a keyboard that you can’t use, and a skateboard that you can’t ride on. However, it certainly underlines the importance of fun and frolic in an otherwise dreary lifestyle that we have come to live.
Perhaps the Skateyboard would encourage all the geeks out there to get off their bottoms and start rolling on the boards, while enjoying sun, adrenalin pump and excitement. You could also take a look at Jud Turner’s Tribute to the Fallen Skater, which is also an artistic representation of how skating has slowly started to fade away from popular culture, and how it needs to be brought back in a big way!
Transformers fans who are interested in a challenging game of Chess would be happy to hear about the new Transformers Chess set that was introduced.
Unlike the fictional Mac Vs PC Chess, this is a true Chessboard that comes out with all the continuing Transformers hype of the two movies, a third perhaps on the way, and in addition to all the newest Transformers toys released already.
The Transformers Chess Set includes 32 pieces and allows you to have a battle of Chess representing the Do gooders Autobots with Optimus Prime as leader or take the Evil route with Megatorn and the Decepticons. Whichever you choose, you must know what ccharacters are on your side:
Autobot characters include Ironhide, Jazz, Bumblebee Transformer and Ratchet Decepticon pieces include Starscream, Blackout, and Bonecrusher
The pieces are not made of real pewter, and you would have figured it out already by seeing the inexpensive price tag of only $20.99, but it would still be a great gift idea for Transformers geeks across the globe.
If you got your hand on this Transformers Chess set…which side would you fight for? The Autobots or Decepticons?
What you see in the picture here is the iTwin. It isn’t a thumb drive with two USB connections, but a way of transferring your files from one computer to another.
Sure, you could just set up a mainframe network, send a file as an attachment, or just put the file you want on a thumb drive and plug it into another computer. Yes, there are a lot of ways to do file transfers from one computer to the other, but iTwin makes the process a lot easier.
Here’s what you do. The iTwin comes apart into two equal parts. You stick one USB thumb into one part, then the other thumb into another computer. From there, you can drag and drop files from one computer, and it will automatically appear on the other computer.
Yes, the iTwins are connected wirelessly via the Internet, just like the bond between two twins. At least the ones that are psychic.
The creators of the iTwin hope to have this out on the market sometime early next year for a price of $99. You might think that is a lot to spend for this file-sharing device, but you should ask yourself how much you would spend to make your life easier.
When one hears of a soap mouse, most would just figure it’s some geeky mouse shaped soap. After all, there have been a few different mouse shaped soap bars that have hit the market. Well this mouse is the exception to the rest, it’s a mouse made to resemble soap. You might be wondering why someone would create a mouse that looks like soap and it’s a valid question. Although, finding out just where this mouse is being sold, pretty much explains everything.
Yes, this is another strange product straight out of Japan. To be a touch more specific, these are coming from Japan’s Elecom. This USB mouse won’t make your computer gadgets sanitary, but it does function just like any other normal mouse. It appears the design is actually pretty new, so there isn’t a whole lot of purchase information out there. Even if there was pricing info on it though, it’d be difficult to get your hands on if you’re living outside of Japan.
Some of you might remember when I reported on that Japanese horror novel that was written on toilet paper. It would appear that some company has come up with the perfect audio track for reading that novel with toilet paper roll holder that can play zombie sounds.
Yes, I don’t know why they made it either, except for some cheap Halloween gag. Can’t get enough of those.
Still, you got to admit that would be a Punk’d episode to talk about. Perhaps Ashton could rig up these zombie sounds for George A. Romero the next time he sits on the toilet.
I’m not certain what type of zombie noises that this makes, but I imagine that there is a lot of moaning involved. I would think that zombies work more as a sight gag rather than sound.
While I’m on the subject of zombies, I will have to say that I don’t really see the point of zombie films. I mean, there are armies of undead coming at you at slow speeds, and you can’t simply outrun them? You can then take out a few from a safe distance, and by the time you have gone half a mile, the whole army of undead will be down to nothing.
Still, I like the idea of toilet paper rolls that makes sounds. Maybe they should make one with an microSD slot.
This Pac-Man arcade machine, built by Samuel Seide, just might be the world's smallest. It's powered by a Jakks/Namco 12-in-1 TV Games and boasts an LCD display from a portable DVD player. Continue reading to see it in-action.
It is the remote control for the couch potato who finds coping with lots of buttons out of date or just too complicated.
The new uWand developed by Philips allows users to switch the channel, adjust the volume or contrast with the flick of the wrist.
While the technology can even be used to run the entire living room, whether it is dimming the lights or moving an image from the TV to a digital frame on the mantlepiece.
The remote control has many similarities to Nintendo's Wii game controller, which is now familiar to millions of children and adults.
The uWand contains a small infra-red camera which links to two beacons that are either built into the TV set or a detachable bar that sits beneath it.
The wand then creates a cursor on the set that is used to swipe through a TV channel menu or access the settings such as sound and colour.
Effectively the remote control has been turned into a flying computer mouse that can be waved in the air rather than tracked across a mouse mat.
Clicking on a channel will call it up on to the screen. Turning the uWand to the left or right will adjust the sound or colour.
TV broadcasts and the internet are increasingly being married together, delivering the ability to watch a favourite channel or surf the web through either a TV set or home PC
The computer chip company Intel has developed technology that allows TV sets to be used as home computers and, potentially, control appliances around the home.
In the future, for example, the uWand could be used to turn on the kettle in the kitchen by clicking on an icon on the TV set.
Photographs uploaded onto the home PC can be watched on the family TV set, while the uWand has the ability to drag them to appear on a digital picture frame in the room.
While Philips has developed the device it is not proposing to sell them direct to the public. It says they will be manufactured and sold by partner firms, such as Intel, that are developing the technology and software to turn home TVs into PCs.
Philips said: 'uWand is a new market solution that supersedes the traditional remote control to give users fluid 3D gesture control of electronic devices.
'Consumers sitting on a sofa simply point the uWand in the appropriate direction, click to make selections and move the uWand to interact with screen menus, and manipulate objects such as photos, as if they were actually touching them.'
uWand general manager, Navin Natoewal, said: 'The traditional remote control, with its 50 or more buttons, simply isn’t keeping pace with modern interactive television.
'uWand’s gesture-based control removes the need for all the buttons yet provides a much expanded range of interaction.
'Internet based television services no longer need to be restricted to simple ‘up, down, left, right’ control. Menus can be accessed intuitively, without having to remember the right button, and a whole range of applications are made possible - all from the comfort of the sofa.
'uWand is the control device that releases the potential of lean-back interaction.'
The uWand is to be demonstrated at the IBC technology exhibition which starts in Amersterdam tomorrow. They are unlikely to be available to the public until next year at the earliest.
