Hawt Gadgets

We've covered several New Year's Resolutions so far (increasing personal productivity, learn something new, save money, work on addictions) but now "the Geeks" are tackling "losing weight".

As an example, our first Gizmo of the Day helps calm the cravings of someone with a taste for a particular flavor. This is one huge step closer to food that tastes great but won't contribute to the fast slide towards death: Flavor Sprays! Just spray the flavor onto whatever you're eating to add that spray's flavor to the food. For example, let's say you want chocolate covered something, without ruining yesterday's hour at the gym or your latest attempt at dieting, then you could take some rice cakes and spray on the Chocolate Fudge spray or perhaps the Banana Split spray. The flavor sprays contain zero calories, zero fat, zero cholesterol, zero carbohydrates and are FDA-approved. Flavor Sprays are the creation of New York City Chef David Burke.

Tammy Plotner and Universe Today have released an updated edition of her book, What's up 2007: 365 days of Skywatching as a free download. Tammy does a great job of explaining the history of astronomy while showcasing some remarkable phenomenon that can be seen with the naked eye. The book is set up like a daily study reader with an entry for every day of 2007, and starts off with simple exercises that slowly progress in complexity with each day of the calendar. Tammy's book is a fantastic resource for the astronomically curious, and includes all the maps and information that you'll need to get started.

An example from May 31 of 2006:

Tonight we’ll begin our studies by checking out the slender crescent of the Moon. To the north you will see the eastern edge of Mare Crisium beginning to emerge. The bright point on the shoreline is Promontorium Agarum with shallow crater Condorcet to its east. Look along the shore of the mare for a mountain to the south known as Mons Usov. Just to its north Luna 24 landed and directly to its west are the remains of Luna 15. Can you spot tiny crater Fahrenheit nearby?

The previous version was available as a blog, RSS feed, and PDF download from Universe Today, and the 2007 edition should be available via the same avenues throughout the year. If you need a little celestial example to get your motor running, Bad Astronomy has a top ten list of the most amazing celestial images of the year, and they are truly breathtaking. (Number eight is my favorite).

German company Tree AG is working on a concept for a Desert Liner. This vehicle is supposed to travel the deserts of this planet although it is obvious, that the developpers are aiming at the rich oil distributing countries and the tourism sector. The Desert Liner can host up to 16 people (excluding the crew), has got an internal swimming pool and an interactive cinema. Buggies to conquer the close environment are on board, too.
Interesting: Each wheel can be controlled seperately to ensure stable driving at about 50 km/h. The incredible heat of up to 70 degrees (C) is used to produce cool air inside the vehicle by using a special chemical process. To minimize damages on the outer skin, nano technology will keep the Liner clean (via tree-ag).

Completing the trifecta of addictions that many seek to cure themselves off in the New Year is gambling. There aren't a whole lot of gadgets short of something to electrically shock you that can help curb your gambling problem, but there are a slew of books that you can read. We'll feature just a few of these, but feel free to search Amazon or other bookseller for books on the subject.

John Eades, a recovering addict himself, wrote a book on the problem as well as how to recover. Read on for more books.

Artists from the late Medieval period through the Renaissance used a small, sharpened metal rod for drawing precise compositions on paper or parchment. While the metal could be lead, silver, copper or gold, silver was used most often due to its suitability for permanent drawing. Using the same technique (without the silver part though), Grand Illusions has come up with an "inkless" pen that can write on virtually any type of paper.

The pen looks like any other normal stainless steel pen but the difference is visible when you unscrew its top. The solid metal 'nib' is made of a metal alloy and is capable of leaving its mark on most types of paper. On normal paper, the pen leaves writing similar to that of a pencil. However, there' no chancesof the writing getting smudged or being rubbed out. Theoretically, the pen can last infinitely since there is no ink to dry out, but I would expect the nib to wear off after a few years of grinding against paper.

Currently out of stock, this pen is available for $29.38.

Via Newlaunches.com.

When I first heard LG was coming out with a Prada phone, I yawned, "So"? But as it turns out, this isn't like the recent D&G phone which was just a dressed-up Razr, but a unique looking new handset. Check out the photos -- there's no keyboard, instead, it sports a sleek touch screen display which changes with the application.

The basic handset is the LG KE850, but with a Prada design and packaging, and white on black Prada user interface. As might be expected, it comes with a swanky leather Prada case. No word on the cost, but rumor is that it will be released in Europe in late March or early April.

Via dial-a-phone uk.

For more photos check out the Hungarian (?) site, Moblie Portal.

All my gadgets are tricked out, from my Nano in it's stylish tokidoki iSkin, my laptop in it's Nucleus PC Portfolio (pink) Pacific Design's laptop cover, but what about my most indispensible item, my 8700 Blackberry? It sulks around in a boring black case from T-mobile.

Now I can satisfy the fashionable girly girl in me with a pink leather case from Inkerman, a classy British site, priced at £47.00 -- and yes, they do ship overseas.

ViaShiny Shiny.

Ok, this gadget is something we were looking at yesterday at work and is really cool. I don’t have a need for it at this exact moment but I can tell you right now that if I can find ANY reason to buy it, I will. Its that cool. What is it? Read on. I copied the whole overview page here because it explains it very well. If it is something you think you could use, it is on sale right now too! The 256 mb one is a very reasonable $199.99.

OVERVIEW

BlackDog offers open source developers an exciting new platform for mobilizing software applications. BlackDog represents a new breed of device that redefines what a ‘computer’ is. It can be programmed to carry your applications, data, web sites, desktop look and feel, with you, wherever you may go.

Develop applications and deploy them on BlackDog then launch and automatically project them onto a Windows XP host. Configure your BlackDog using our SDK, and the applications and interface will appear the same on many flavors of Linux. Design an interface, spin and run a web site, run a video game.

Program It – Port It – Plug It – Pull It, throw it in your pocket and do what you will with it – With BlackDog you ‘can’ take it with you!

HOW IT WORKS

BlackDog is a fully self-contained computer with a built-in biometric reader and a host of other powerful features. Unlike any other computing device, BlackDog is completely powered off of the USB port of your host computer – no external power adapter required!

To access and use your BlackDog, you merely plug it in to your host computer’s USB port and BlackDog takes over! Your host machine’s monitor, keyboard, mouse, and Internet connection are taken over by BlackDog for the duration of your session, when you are done, you simply remove BlackDog and everything on the host is returned to its original state.

HARDWARE

• Dimensions: H: .50” W: 1.75” L: 3.5”
• Weight: 1.6 ounces
• 400Mhz PowerPC Processor
• 64MB RAM
• 256MB or 512MB Flash Memory
• USB 2.0
• Biometric Scanner
• MMC Expansion Slot
SOFTWARE
• Debian-based Linux with 2.6.10 Kernel
• Software Development Kit
• Sample Applications

REQUIREMENTS

• USB 1.1 and 2.0 Compatible
• Linux or Windows XP Operating System

ROBUST FEATURES

• Plug and Play Power. BlackDog is completely powered by the USB port while connected and requires no external power adapter.
• Network Access. BlackDog can access any network available to the host computer that it is plugged into.
• Universal PC Access. With BlackDog, developers can access all applications and data on the device from any compatible PC.
• Designed for Mobility. The design of BlackDog makes the device durable and easy to carry.
• Robust Linux OS. BlackDog runs a Debian-based Linux operating system and comes with a variety of useful applications and utilities.
• Complete SDK. Includes environments that run on both Linux and Microsoft Windows systems.
• Multi-Factor Authentication. BlackDog uses two strong authentication factors – “what you have” - the BlackDog device, and “who you are” - your biometric signature.
• Platform Independent Graphical Applications. X11 applications running on BlackDog will look the same on Windows and Linux hosts.
• Automatic Application Deployment. BlackDog can be configured to launch applications on the host PC when it is plugged in.

PACKED WITH BENEFITS

• Broad Application Support. A wide assortment of applications can be ported to run native on BlackDog.
• Leaves No Trace. BlackDog leaves no trace of your application or data on the host computer.
• Fast Boot Time. Boots fast at under 2 seconds, complete with high bandwidth file system.
• You Can Take It with You. With BlackDog, you can port and access your applications and data from many flavors of Linux (depending on user configuration), and Windows XP.
• Lock Down Your Applications and Data. With BlackDog’s built-in biometric scanner, you can secure your stuff from prying eyes.

You can go see it all yourself at BlackDog!

I admire the simple beauty of low tech innovations that remind me of simpler days when I read books and didn't check my emails 99 times a day, like this Booksling from Everyday Innovations. I still have the habit of marking up books as I read (on the rare occasion when I do read), using pens as awkward, lumpy bookmarkers. The Booksling holds your pen outside the book while marking the page where you left off. Nothing more to it than that -- comes in mango, grape or cranberry for $5.99 each.

Well, not quite a device to help you completely stop drinking, but the Breath Alcohol Detector will at a minimum tell you whether it's safe or not to get into your car after you've had a few. Naturally, you can adapt it to become a tracker, and over time reduce the amount of alcohol you imbibe. The Digital Breath Alcohol Detector meets Department of Transportation (DOT)/National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) standards as a breath alcohol screener. One-button operation: the detector tests your breath alcohol in seconds and even checks that the sufficient air volume is exhaled.