Hawt Gadgets

Do you ever get that sinking feeling when your car stops working and your check engine light goes on? You know the drill - you don't know anything about fixing cars and are at the mercy of whatever auto repair shop that happens to be in the area. You hope that they won't rip you off and will actually tell you what's really wrong with your car, but you really don't know. Of course, you could take your car to multiple shops and hope that you get the same answer, but who really has the time?

The good news is that there is a new and relatively inexpensive product introduced this year that can help with this dilemma.

This Pioneer in-dash auto A/V system plays DivX video files from CDs or DVDs on its 480p 7" WVGA screen. Yep, so you can burn your own movies and then play them back in your car. [If you're driving, you can't watch!] Naturally, it plays other formats as well, including MP3, WMA, AAC, and even JPEG. If you have an iPod, you can interface it with this receiver via an adpater and then have control of your iPod via the touchscreen. The AVH-P7800DVD is also Satellite Radio ready for either XM Radio or Sirius Satellite Radio; nice to see a vendor not take sides here.

One other very nice feature is its Bluetooth capabilities - you can tie your Bluetooth cell phone via an adapter to the AVH-P7800 and control it via the touchscreen. Integration means that you can listen to/talk on calls via the headunit (it has a microphone), audio is automatically muted during incoming/outgoing calls and you can store the phone book and access it by voice or the touch screen display.

1.5 years ago I published the original ‘Top 10 weirdest USB drives‘. Over 500 000 people have visited the original page, and it included all of the sushi drives, the thumb drive and the now classical barbi drive. I’ve received quite many comments and emails about the list, and I know that some of you guys wants an updated list. So here it is - Top 10 weirdest USB drives, Part II’. All new drives!

Ok, I admit - this isn’t a complete USB drive - it’s only a masquerade costume for your boring typical, standard USB drive. Quite weird design, ey?

The USB Puppet Bags [everythingusb.com]

How about a nice little metal Altoids box sticking out of your computer? This nice little USB drive is designed by Phillip Mates.

The Altoids USB mod [flickr.com]

Check out this incredible detailed and accurate mince pie reproduction. I wonder why they placed that little LED on top, as I think it would be even cooler without it.

The USB mince pie [flickr.com]

I really like these wooden USB drives from the dutch company oooms. They are quite expensive (about $90 for the 1GB version) but they are all made out of real wooden pieces by hand.

Wooden memory sticks< [oooms.nl]

This USB drive comes with the bible on it. The connector is hidden inside the bible so you have to use a little sliding switch before you can use it. I wonder if you’ll go to hell if you store prOn on the holy bible?

The holy bible drive [davidsteele.com]

This freaky little rabbit USB drive is designed by Micah Laaker, the design manager for Yahoo!’s personalization, RSS and membership teams. Cool one, right?

Rabbit usb drive [Flickr.com]

Ok, now things are really getting weird. How would you like to drag around on a full weigh (16 pounds / 7 kg) ten-pin bowling ball? This one is actually a fully functional USB drive that is capable of breaking your little laptop into pieces. It’s designed by Chris Spurgeon.

The Bowling ball USB drive [spurgeonworld.com]

Jeremy Harrington is the man behind this really nice Star Wars Chewbacca USB drive. It’s not a geeky little Chewiw mimobot - this is the real thing! Yeah! Hear me roar!

Chewie USB drive [flickr.com]

Yes! We’re finally getting closer to the number one position, only one mor to go. Here’s a really weird little USB drive that has one thing that is really unique - it features moving parts. As soon as you plug the humping dog into your computer it starts humping it. Check out this video clip to see it in action! Who! Who! Who let the dogs out!

The humping dog USB memory [digitalworldtokyo.com]

Drumroll please! Tada, here’s the final winner. It’s a bit different than the last winner (the USB Barbie drive) but it’s still a really cool and weird USB drive. You just rip the head off and plug it in! It’s designed by Sergio de Ana and as it doesn’t look like a typical USB drive, it’s probably quite safe to store data in it as long as you keep it’s head on! I bet you have to be careful with this one to not scare the kids, hehe.

The Teddy USB [flickr.com]

And here’s a few that didn’t make it into the final list, but still are worth a link.

The Tako Yaki looks so yummy that it deserves an honorable mention.
Tako Yaki USB Drive [flickr.com]

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They say that a woman's best friend is her dog, and those dogs deserve a drink every now and again. A nice young lady from Holland brewed up a nonalcoholic beer for her Weimaraners as a treat for a day's hard work, and now she's selling it as "Kwispelbier" after the Dutch word for a wagging tail. Technically, it isn't a beer at all but more of a non-alcoholic malt liquor flavored with beef extracts. Either way, the dogs love it.

Those of us in the states can purchase doggie beer from the original purveyor: Happy Tail Ale from Dog Star Brewing. The two companies have very similar stories: Young women who loved their dogs and started out brewing small batches on their stovetop that are now selling cases. There's actually a very good reason for going to the trouble to make a beer especially for your dog. The general consensus is that alcoholic beverages designed for humans aren't good for a dog's digestive track, and their smaller size makes them highly prone to alcohol poisoning. However, dogs love the grain flavors in beer.

My girlfriend's dog is perfectly trained, but still has a bad habit of diving face first into any cocktails left within her reach. With these doggie brews I'll be able to teach her to fetch me a beer and she can get one for herself, too.

I've always believed that a good product is one that combines elegance and simplicity while offering common sense functionality. This modular shoe rack, aptly named Footprint, can claim to be one such. This product has been designed by young UK-based designer Charlotte Tangye, who believes in design that engages the user with a sense of poetry and at the same time tackles the space problem in urban apartments. Footprint promises to catch the attention of visitors to your home with its unique feet-shaped design, and at the same time saves valuable floor space since it can be mounted on any wall.

The basic inspiration behind the design seems to have been shirt and coat hangers that are shaped like shoulders - having the rack shaped like feet seems to be a natural and effective extension of that idea. Made out of 4mm powder coated steel, the rack will be able to handle all varieties of shoes and sandals quite easily. There is also a special rack designed exclusively for children's shoes. The only problem that I see with this product is the likelihood of ruining your walls while inserting and removing shoes.

Available for around $65 (includes international shipping cost) in white, fuchsia pink and powder blue colors.

For a pretty penny, you can get Plen, the skateboarding robot, to stave off boredom when you're snowed in or to wake you up when you're dozing off in front of your computer. Tiny Plen skates around on your desk, and can even use its balancing skills to skateboard. Watch the YouTube video below -- this little guy's movements are impressive, if a tad expensive at over $2,000. The Plen website's gallery page has additional videos of this hobby robot in action.

I love Vincon. They're the only site in the world that has a link to their "least sold" products. Good on them! They probably have it to embarrass the person in the company who put in that bulk order of left-handed potato-peelers. There are some gems to be found in there though, like GarlicCard - a credit card with a special garlic grating design. Think about it, we've all been caught out without a garlic grater at some point in our lives. I don't know how I ever lived without one.

Anyway, I actually started this off wanting to write about the Incense House, also from Vincon. Stick a piece of incense in this miniature metal mansion, and watch the smoke billow from the chimney. You could even sit and imagine the lives of the tiny people who might live in the house. About how they don't need to buy air-fresheners, but have probably developed acute emphysema.

The GarlicCard is €4.27($5.54/£2.80), while the Incense House is €21.59 ($27.99/£14.80).

Now this has to be the KING of all pool toys! Inflating up to 15 feet above the water, the Inflatable Iceberg is like a water park without the admission. Three of the sides of the iceberg have grips for climbing and are of various stages of difficulty, from beginner to expert. The fourth side is a gigantic water slide to send you zipping back into the pool.

Of course, in the recent weather it would be more like scaling an Arctic Iceberg. Only $8,860. Swimming pool not included.

Via Sci Fi.

It looks like the guys who cracked the code for HD DVD a couple of weeks ago now also have cracked the code for blu-ray discs. Apparently they used the same plaintext-technique to solve the mystery. I guess some people in Hollywood aren’t too happy about this…

Decrypting Blu-ray and AACS [doom9.org]
via [Engadget]

If you’re a real Microsoft fan you might be interested in this Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate edition signed by Bill Gates himself. It’s a limited edition of 20 000 and the package will cost you $259.00. The package will be released on January 30, 2007.

Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate UPGRADE Limited Numbered Signature Edition [Amazon.com]
via [digga.se]

In Logitechs marketing material for the new diNovo Edge keyboard, you can read that it’s supposed to be The world’s most advanced keyboard. With a price tag that reads $199 it’s for sure one of the most expensive ones. Check out our little unboxing procedure of this slick keyboard….

Inside the box you find the keyboard on top. The glossy plexiglass and aluminum frame is covered by protective plastic.

Underneath the keyboard you’ll find a CD, manual, charger, AC adapter and a small bluetooth USB connector.

It sure is a beauty…

A review will follow in the next couple of weeks.

Logitech® diNovo Edge™ [Logitech.com]

Jeff over at Techlore writes about the emerging efforts of a new consortium of (mostly) Japanese and (some) American companies, looking to make universal their design (currently being built by Maxell) for a 3.2" by 0.5" by 4.3" shock resistant, hard plastic removable hard drive. The group pushing this idea is called iVDR.

The goal is to have something pocket-sized and tough that you can pull out of your laptop, and stick into your TV, then into your car, then into your DVD player, etc.