Author name: William Appleyard

Article Recap for the Week Ending Apr 10, 2009

Audio/Video, Home Theater, Cameras and Photo, Computers, Gaming & Toys, Gizmo of the Day, Portable, Site News, Software / By /

Here’s some of the notable articles and gadgets from this past week:

A few weeks ago we reported on Legacy Locker asset access scheme in case of death, well now it’s live. Residents in Broughton, UK, decided that they didn’t like Google’s StreetView intrusion, and got a bit angry with the StreetView driver. In some positive Microsoft news, downgrades are going to be available for Windows 7, much like the XP downgrades from Vista.

Back to tangible gadgets: Guitar Hero enthusiasts will like these new Guitar Hero cufflinks (no batteries needed!), and Flip has a new tiny HD camcorder.

We made an attempt to answer the question “What is a Gizmo?” (a.k.a “What is a Gadget?” ).

Last but not least, the Conficker worm has gone live so it’s important to get your computer and security systems up-to-date.

OfficePOD Personal Office

Miscellaneous, Tools, DIY, Home, Office / By /

OfficePOD

No, this isn’t another April Fool’s joke – the OfficePOD personal office takes working from home to a new level. More and more people are working from home these days, but many find they get put off by distractions around the home, such as noisy pets and noisy children. The OfficePOD allows you to have your own office just outside your home giving you the best of both worlds; you don’t get distracted and you can get to your office in 10 seconds!

The innovation is made out of luxury materials and will be available primarily for the UK market to rent for abut $7100 a year – you’d definitely want your company to be paying for this. I can, however, see one major flaw – where do you go for your Starbucks on your way to the office?

Pizza Vending Machine

Miscellaneous / By /

Pizza Vending Machine

Crazy – you can now get pizza out of a vending machine! This huge monster is the latest fast food craze to hit the Trentino Mall in Italy. The machine allows you to choose the ingredients you want on your pizza, where it cooks it all from scratch in front of your eyes – in under 3 minutes. The pizza base is made from scratch and the flour and water are kneaded to dough in front of your eyes, you then get a choice of toppings included tomato, ham, bacon and some fresh vegetables – none of the ingredients are frozen. You can’t grumble at the price either – only $5 for a pizza, and just based on looks, it doesn’t look half-bad.

For a video, hit the source link below.

via CNET.

Flip MinoHD

Audio/Video, Home Theater, Gizmo of the Day, Portable / By /

Flip MinoHD

Huge camcorders are a thing of the past, but now so are HD camcorders. Flip MinoHD presents what they claim is ‘the world’s smallest high definition camcorder’ – just take a look at the photo and see how it compares with the size of the USB connector on the end!

The Flip MinoHD records in full HD 720p and has enough built in memory for 60 minutes of recording (4Gb), but it doesn’t allow for memory expansion. Installation isn’t necessary either, as Flip have designed their very own system known as ‘FlipShare’ which automatically loads the files onto your computer when you plug it in, without the need for lengthy drive installation. For people wanting to upload directly to Youtube HD, it supports one-click uploading to there, Myspace or even via email to your friends – simple drag-and-drop video editing is also included. Perhaps this is a sign of things to come (we hope!).

Buy now!
More info from the manufacturer

Price: £169.99 (about $252)
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

What Is A Gizmo?

Miscellaneous / By /

The Nokia Morph Concept

We often use the words Gizmo and Gadget here at Gizmos for Geeks (as the name suggests), but what do they mean? The first thing is that “Gizmo” and “Gadget” pretty much mean the same thing, so this post could easily be titled ‘What Is A Gadget?‘

Princeton defines gizmos as ‘devices or controls that are very useful for a particular job’. A good starting point, although Answers.com defines a gizmo as something ‘whose name is forgotten or unknown’ or a ‘novelty item used as a gimmick’. These definitions echo around the internet on various dictionary sites.

So a gizmo/gadget can be one of 2 things: something that is really helpful and useful to get a job done, or something that is completely useless and is just made for the novelty factor.

But, we like to think a gadget is anything that’s technologically cool, like most of the stuff we feature here on Gizmos for Geeks!

Guitar Hero Cufflinks

Gaming & Toys, Gizmo of the Day, Miscellaneous / By /

Guitar Hero Cufflinks

What more could a Guitar Hero enthusiast like more than these trendy, superbly designed, Guitar Hero cufflinks? Shaped like the guitar featured in the game, these chunky cufflinks will make a subtle but stylish addition to your shirt wherever you happen to be, and let people know about your love for Guitar Hero!

$50 gets you some unique looking cufflinks.

Buy now!

Price: $49.95
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

via Trendy Gadget.

Super Mario Bros Russian Dolls

Miscellaneous / By /

Super Mario Russian Dolls

Russian dolls have been around since around 1890, so it’s about time they were updated slightly. ‘Cmsturmhous’ (Flickr username) has done just that and crafted some rather amazing Russian dolls based on characters from Super Mario Bros. In this amazingly-well painted set are Mario (largest), Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Bowser, and all the other enemies we’ve become oh so found of over the many years since their birth.

Russian dolls are skillfully crafted, as their dimensions have to be precise in order to fit perfectly inside each other, so it can only be the case that Cmsturmhous has painted over some original dolls (amazingly well done if not) – but still, kudos on the designs. Head over to the Flickr Stream for some more pictures.

Article Recap for the Week ending Apr 3, 2009

Computers, Gaming & Toys, Gizmo of the Day, Home Automation, Networking & Internet, Site News, Tools, DIY, Home, Office / By /

Here’s our usual weekly summary of featured items from Gizmos For Geeks:

Starting off the week were a set of novelty Stone Ice Cubes – just the ticket if you worry about harming the planet when making ice cubes. We also featured a set of kitchen scales that has a neat pull out display.

We wondered out loud about whether or not you should jump on the Twitter bandwagon.

For those of you worried about security or just like the added conveniences and coolness factor, this doorlock might just be for you, or maybe you could just travel to the future to see if you’re going to need one with this Flux Capacitor!

Jobs have been in the news recently, so it seemed fair to post an interesting video about the Job Market and reported that workers who are allowed to surf the web at work have increased productivity!

Finally,  poor ol’ Silicon Graphics Inc. has filed for bankruptcy once again and has been bought out by Rackable Sytems.

Multi-Accessible Combination & Key-fob Doorlock

1 Comment / Gizmo of the Day, Home Automation, Tools, DIY, Home, Office / By /

iButton Doorlock

Keys have been around a very long time now and so have numerical door locks, but this device takes security to a whole new level. This is essentially a normal door lock handle combined with a numerical door lock, allowing you to open it with either key, a code, an iButton or a combination of these. Multiple people can be given access by giving them different iButtons. You can also restrict access based on certain times of the day and it will even lock the door behind that forgetful person.

The iButton is basically a computer chip in a key-fob sized piece of plastic that allows you to swipe against a sensor in the lock. Finally, if you’re thinking this isn’t quite good enough for you, then consider this – the U.S. Mint actually uses iButtons.

Buy now!

Price: $179.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Oxo Food Scales

Gizmo of the Day, Miscellaneous / By /

Oxo Weighing Scales

This set of food scales is something a bit out of the ordinary – instead of having your display on a little screen under that big mixing dish where you can’t quite see it, it pulls out to allow for easy reading.

Apart from the pull-out, backlit display, the scales are pretty much like any other electric scales – they support zeroing so that you can put a dish on the scales, zero them, then weigh the weight of whatever you put in them. They can also take up to 11 pounds, which should be more than enough for the domestic baker.

via Kitchen Contraptions

Buy now!

Price: $47.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

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