Wearable Projected Touchscreen

This is a cool gadget. A shoulder mounted projector and sensor, projects menus images and programs then senses your finger position in relation to the projection. This system creates a projected touchscreen on any surface. The prototype is bulky at best, but when they slim it down, hopefully into a set of glasses or hat or something easy to wear, it should be an interesting user interface for a variety of products.

Mind Games

Here is a game that someone put a lot of thought into. Well, it takes a lot of thought to play, that is, you think it the game does it. This is the Emotiv Epoc headset and game. This reads your brain waves just like an EEG, electroencephalogram, and translates those brain waves into game commands. I have been telling people about this for weeks, and no one will believe me so, here it is.

Transparent Battery

Some time ago, I posted about a transparent laptop screen. This may raise a question of the possibility of a completely transparent device. Well, we are one step closer with this transparent battery developed at Stanford University. These batteries are also flexible. So, imagine a device that is totally transparent and flexible with a user interface like the flexible OLED screen with flex control I have posted about previously.

Super Cool Tech

Now that's what I'm talking about! I am in love with an electric vehicle. I would have never thought I would be. Say, hello to the Orphiro electric motorcycle.  This is a beautiful example of design and function. At 60 miles to a charge, you won't do much touring, but it does reach 75 mph which will quicken your pulse. This would be a great, fair weather, commuting vehicle. Just make sure there is an outlet near your parking space.

Bees?

That's right bees. In my rambling around the internet this morning I found lots of cool gadgets to post to this blog, but the coolest thing I have seen this morning is a bee hive built for a city apartment. It is still in development, but it may be coming soon. This thing has a plant pot on the outside with a small hole for the bees, and on the inside, well check out the picture, this awesome looking bee hive.

Turntable

This post is for my good friends Mr and Mrs Farmer. They have been looking for a turntable that will play 78speed records, and save them to USB. I have a turntable but it only plays 33 1/3 and 45 speeds. All my vinyl are 33 1/3 speed, and I just love to listen to them.

Link to site

 This looks good, I even went to check it out in the store. The price looks good to, but I must confess, I did not look far for a better deal. There are some better machines out there but the price jumps considerably.

Video

I found this video on Gizmodo, and I loved it. I hope no one is offended, but this video illustrates the problems developing in technological society. People really are ignoring the real world in lieu of digital communication. Besides all that, the video is hilarious. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Link to video

Waterproof USB Drive

My son is learning how to surf. He is excited about going to surf camp next year. So, when he saw a waterproof USB drive, on my computer, over my shoulder, he insisted that I put it on my blog. Once again, being the best father in the world, I agreed. Sellout.woot has it for $49.99, but I don't know how long they will have it. It is on eBay for $67.99. Barnes & Noble has it for $158.37. That may sound expensive, but it is 64 gigs and waterproof.

Nokia Meets Windows

I have always liked Windows based phones. I greatly enjoyed my first smart phone, the ATT Tilt.Windows does, however, under-perform when compared to other mobile operating systems, but the new Windows mobile promises to be much better. I like Nokia phones as well. All the Nokia phones I have owned, have been reliable. This phone may be the best of both worlds. I am currently using the Motorola Atrix with Android, and I love it. But if ATT picks up this phone, I will consider the upgrade.

Nokia Lumia 800

Tailgater

My daughter asked to borrow my generator to power her boyfriends amplifier so they could play music in a parade for her dance club. I of course said yes because I am the best father in the world. We tested the generator, then hooked up the amp and speakers, and proceeded to fill the neighborhood with music. It worked fine but it is very bulky. Today I found a simple rechargeable amplifier with an music player dock and microphone. I found it at Staples but they don't offer it online, but that's OK it is cheaper at BJ's.

Flexible OLED screen with flex control

Link to video


This is a cool piece of tech. You control the device by twisting it and flexing it. This is not for sale or even set for production for a device as far as I know. It is interesting, however, the things people dream up.

Hp Triple Core 17.3" Laptop

I enjoy checking www.woot.com everyday. The great thing about woot is the way they tell you about their products, they tell funny stories while giving you the information. For those of you that don't know, Woot is a website that sells only one item per day until it sells out or the day ends. Check them out and don't forget to read the product description, its entertaining.They usually have reasonable deals but I haven't bought anything until now. I just couldn't pass this one up.

HP Pavilion Triple core notebook with 17.3" BrightView LED.

Specifications:
Processor:	AMD Phenom II P860 (2.0GHz)
Processor Core:	Triple-Core
Screen Size:	17.3"
Aspect Ratio:	16:9
Resolution:	1600 x 900
Display Type:	High Definition+ HP BrightView LED
Graphics:	ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6370 (512MB)
Memory:	6GB DDR3 (expandable to 8GB)
Hard Drive:	640GB (5400rpm)
Optical Drive:	Super-Multi DVD±RW with Lightscribe & Double Layer Support
Network:	10/100/1000Mbps
Wireless:	802.11b/g/n
Card Reader:	5-in-1 Card Reader (SD, MMC, MS, MS Pro, xD)
Battery:	9-Cell Lithium-Ion
Subwoofer:	Triple Bass Reflex
Sound:	Beats Audio
Webcam:	HP TrueVision
Microphone:	Integrated
Keyboard:	101-Key Island-Style
Pointing Device:	Clickpad

I/O Ports:
HDMI:	1
USB 2.0:	4 (1 shared with eSATA)
VGA:	1
RJ-45:	1
Microphone-in:	1
Headphone-out:	1

Operating System:

Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Security:

Kensington MicroSaver lock slot Power-on password Accepts 3rd party security lock devices

Power:

90W AC Adapter 9-Cell 93WHr Lithium-Ion Battery

Dimensions:

16.35"(L) x 1.46"(H) x 10.8"(D)

Weight:

8.19 lbs I bought this for $399.99 plus $5 shipping and handling.

Halloween Lights

This may be a departure from my normal hardcore technology rant, but there should be some decent hardware pushing this awesome display. I am unsure of the tech behind the lights and music, but I speculate that it is computer controlled. In any case I really enjoyed this video and chose to share it with all three of my subscribers.



http://www.youtube.com/embed/UfcNoMnKjrY

Online Auction

Everybody knows E-bay, but have you ever looked at any other online auctions. I was interested when I saw that an I pad 2 auctioned for $42. The site was www.dealfun.com and I wanted to see how that could be possible. To bid on items you must purchase bids in bundles and they cost from 40 to 60 cents depending on the amount you purchase. The price on any item starts at 1 cent and increases by 1 cent for every bid. Wait a minute, that means I can only bid one penny at a time and it cost me 40 cents to do it. In the last 15 seconds of bidding each time someone bids the time resets to 15 seconds, this is the online version of going once going twice. So, as long as someone is bidding, the auction continues, sometimes for hours. This is where I lost interest in even trying for the I pad 2. But, I became interested in the math behind the $42 I pad 2. There are other factors like bidding on packs of bids and spinning a wheel to win bids and possibly unseen factors also, but this is the basic math. It took 4200 bids to reach $42 dollars, at 40 cents per bid that is $1680.00, at 60 cents per bid it is $2520. The last I pad 2 sold for $248.71. You do the math.

Hardware Love Affair

In this digital age it seems that many people form a relationship with their hardware. Some people almost live online, staying connected with desktops at home, laptops or tablets at school and smart phones on the go. Have you ever payed attention to how they talk about their hardware? "I don't know what I would do without my smart phone." "I love my laptop." "My desktop is the bomb." "I hate my computer." For better or for worse many people develop a bond with their hardware. I know I have.

 

Transparent screen

Transparent laptop screen, that's right I said transparent laptop screen. Is this insane or what. I stumbled across this while searching for a monitor for my latest build. I could not believe my eyes. This would look great on a tablet, but where would they put the electronics. Gizmodo says that Samsung will be selling this within a year but I'm not sure. I guarantee you wont see it on my desk until the price drops about a year or so after it is released.

Motorola Xoom

New products are not the only ones that catch my eye. A product that has been out for a while but is offered at a good price can be just as exciting. After a little research however that excitement can fade. For example this Motorola Xoom for sale on www.woot.com has a great price compared with the last time I saw it, but is it really a good deal.

Motorola XOOM 10.1” 32GB Android Tablet with Wi-Fi

$349.99

• + $5 shipping

CONDITION:

Refurbished

PRODUCT:

1 Motorola XOOM 10.1” 32GB, Wi-Fi, Android 3.1, NVIDIA Dual-Core, Flash, microSD, 5MP & 2MP Cameras

10 inch tablets, I want one. I want one now. But, I want a good deal and I am willing to wait for just the right tablet at just the right price. This Motorola xoom caught my eye. But after checking some mainstream online vendors this price is nothing to scream about. The prices I have found are as follows:

www.newegg.com $379.99 re-certified

www.tigerdirect.com $399.99 refurbished

www.amazon.com $448.01 new

www.staples.com $499.98 new

amazon.com had some refurbished for a cheaper price but I did not recognize any of the vendors. I never purchase from a vendor I have not researched thoroughly. Also note that the price jumps up from the refurbished to the new products. The price difference of $30 dollars for a refurbished is good if this is exactly what I want and I am going to buy it anyway. If I was planing to buy it new the price difference of about $100 might tempt me to buy refurbished. But I am holding out for a significant price reduction on the Acer Iconia w500. For anyone that wants a low end 10 inch tablet with no frills I found this Arnova tablet at tigerdirect. You should check the specifications and reviews but at $169.96 it is an affordable tablet.