Wondering if you’re consuming a bit too much power at home? Well thanks to the “Wilting Flower” concept by Carl Smith, you can visually “see” how much power you’re guzzling up. The concept’s actually quite simple and innovative at the same time. When you’re using small amounts of power, the flower stands tall, bright, with open petals. As you consume more and more power, the flower begins to close up and effectively wilt.
How does the Wilting Flower know how much power you’re consuming? The flower receives wireless signals from a transmitter connected to your household electricity supply. Pretty simple eh?
Too bad it’s all a concept right now but Crave hears that production units might be a possibility someday for around $92 dollar.
[Check it out via Crave]
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Written by flung on December 2nd, 2008 with comments disabled.
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If you want to purchase a new HD media streamer, then check out the SageTV HD Theater a.k.a. SageTV HD200. It is actually a successor to the SageTV STX-HD100 HD Media Extender. Priced at $199.95, the HD Theater comes equipped with a remote control, USB ports (front and rear), Ethernet connectivity, S/PDIF audio port, Network/local media streaming capabilities and SageTV Media Center for Windows software bundle. Other features include HDMI, component, S-Video and composite video outputs. The device supports most of multimedia file formats including MPEG 1/2/4, H.264, WMV9, VC1, MKV, MOV, AVI, FLV, AAC, MP3, WMA, FLAC and JPEG. [Product Page]
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Written by Johan on December 1st, 2008 with comments disabled.
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A few weeks back, I came across these cool looking Nanovision Mimo mini computer displays. At the time, there was no way to buy these minuscule monitors outside of Korea. Now, for the first time, you can buy these displays in North America. And thanks to the guys over at The Gadgeteers, I’ve now had a chance to put one of these little LCD screens through its paces.
While Nanovision is making several models of these diminutive displays, the one I got to try out was the UM-710, which is the most basic of the three models available stateside. While the UM-710 ($129 USD) only works as a secondary monitor, the UM-730 ($169 USD) adds a webcam and microphone, and the UM-740 ($199 USD) ups the ante by adding a touchscreen.
The model I tested came in a high-gloss black plastic that’s reminiscent of the exterior of the Playstation 3. The black model is definitely a bit of a fingerprint magnet, so you might want to check out the white model if you’re anal retentive about those things. Personally, I prefer the black model, as I think it looks cooler on my desktop. (Plus, it’s the only color currently available outside of Korea).
Setup of the Nanovision screen couldn’t be much easier. Just attach the display to the included stand with a simple turn of the shiny chrome thumbscrew, install the included driver software, and plug in the included USB cable between the display and your computer (the display comes with a dual USB connector in case one port doesn’t provide sufficient power). Thanks to the USB 2.0-based connection, you can connect multiple monitors without need for an additional video card. Keep in mind that each display you add will eat up somewhere around 50 to 75 MB of your system memory.
The drivers I tested were a pre-release of the English language version of Nanovisions DisplayLink Core software. I only got to test the Windows version, but OS X support is also supposed to be included. The software installed easily and without much incident on my Dell Latitude laptop, running Windows Vista Pro. The only challenge with the driver was that after installation, it messed with the resolution of my main display, and I had to reboot. After the reboot, all went smoothly, and the mini Mimo display started to work as a mirror of my main screen. A simple tick of the “Extend” option on the included task bar application turned the external display into its own unique desktop. You can decide whether the screen is extended from the left, right, top or bottom of your primary display. For more precision, you can tweak this using the Windows standard multiple monitor properties controls.
When I first connected the display, I was immediately impressed by the sharpness of the 7-inch 800×480 widescreen display, which packs a singnificantly higher pixel density than typical PC monitors. There was a little bit of flicker when I first plugged in the display, but bumping up the backlight control on the side of the display by one or two notches immediately resolved this issue. The photo below doesn’t nearly do justice to the sharp focus of the diminutive screen.
The Mimo displays all feature a pivot feature, which lets you rotate the monitor from landscape to portrait mode with just a simple twist of your wrist. It took me a few minutes to figure out that the display doesn’t auto-sense the pivot. Even though the box says “auto-pivot”, it turns out that you do need to go into the task bar app and set the rotation manually. It’s unclear to me if there is or isn’t a motion sensor inside the screen and if this is a software bug or just bad labeling on the box. Either way, the display worked quite well in either orientation once I figured this out.
I did find that off-axis viewing angles of the screen were quite a bit better in landscape mode than portrait mode, however, so you’ll need to make sure the display is oriented properly if you’re operating in portrait mode for optimal brightness. After playing with both modes, I decided to stick with landscape since I could watch videos or open web pages most efficiently on the screen in that orientation.
A couple of minor things to be aware of with the Mimo. First off, I couldn’t find a way to apply color correction to make the display match my primary screen. While there might be a way to do this with Windows color profiles, I couldn’t figure out a way to make that work. Nanovision should consider including color correction software to make this possible. One other minor issue is the stand. The arm only has a single pivot point, which somewhat limits the angles you can set the display to. Also, if you swing the arm back too far, it’s very top-heavy and can easily tip over. That said, with proper adjustment of the arm, it’s not a big deal. There’s also no cord-control for the small USB cable, so it does interfere a bit with the sleek lines of the monitor.
At first, I wondered how much I’d use a display like this. But after just a few hours with the Mimo, I was hooked. I pawned off all of my Windows Sidebar gadgets, instant messenger windows, and used the display as a holding place for extraneous palettes in Photoshop whenever I worked on larger images. The mini-screen is exceptionally sharp, so it’s even possible to read entire web pages on the display while working on other documents on your larger screen.
Overall, I was really impressed with this pint-size monitor. It took just a couple of minutes to get set up, and it looks really great (especially in landscape mode). While you probably wouldn’t trust the color accuracy of the display for image retouching work, it’s more than capable of handling the secondary display usage that it was designed for. And while I wondered about USB’s ability to handle fast-motion data, I managed to play back full-screen video clips on the display with not the slightest stutter.
If you’ve ever find yourself running out of space on your computer screen, you need one of these. If you just want a cool toy for your desktop, you need one too. I’m already feeling like I can’t live without one, and want to order the touchscreen UM-740 as soon as its available. It’s already made me more productive, and it just looks really damned cool sitting alongside my other monitor. To get your hands on one, head on over to The Gadgeteers, who have worked hard to bring these slick little displays to North America for all of us to enjoy.
Written by technabob on December 1st, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on 7 inch and Gadgets and LCD and Technology and digital imaging and display and korea and mimo and monitor and nanovision and small and video.
The Italian police have recently recovered a gun disguised as an ugly, outdated, monochrome-screened phone. That’s right: monochrome. James Bond would rather have his testicles torn off, boiled and then fed to him than be caught using this ancient tech.
The phone was seized in a raid of the Naples-based mafia group Camorra. According to BBC, the ugly outdated monochromatic phone gun can shoot up to four .22-caliber bullets out of its antenna ”in quick succession”. Look at that abomination. In a world filled with iPhones and Blackberrys, how the hell is that a disguise? What’s next? Pager Grenades?
[via BBC]
Written by lambert v. on December 1st, 2008 with comments disabled.
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It’s a good week for saving money while playing games. If Tetris and Breakout aren’t your bag, you might want to try something even simpler, like Bankquest or Jinsei Ginko.
It seems that piggy banks that double as tiny gaming machines are quite the happening trend in Japan these days. These simpler banks offer a variety of money-saving experience for the gamer who doesn’t need much razzle-dazzle. The Jinsei Ginko, shown above, is like a Tamagotchi or other virtual pet: you “feed” your tiny stickman your cold, hard cash. The more he “eats,” the more he succeeds. When your little guy gets enough money, he’s rewarded with a sweet crib and a loving sticklady. If only real life were so simple.
If the idea of a virtual pet makes you want to bury your money in the backyard instead, you could try Bankquest, a simple RPG, or Ikemen Bank, a heart-shaped bank with a dating sim.
Of course, in order to actually use these banks, you’ll probably need to convert all your money to yen. At least that will make you less likely to spend it… unless you happen to be in Japan.
[Wired via Kotaku]
Written by alisha k. on December 1st, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Gadgets and RPG and Simulation and Technology and bank and bankquest and change and coins and cool toys and game and ikemen bank and jinsei ginko and money and savings and video games and yen.
That’s right! Here are three new USB and eSATA HDD Enclosures from Owltech. Dubbed as the OWL-EPS25/EU series, these enclosures are available in variety of colors including Black, a flashy Green, and Orange. The device supports both SATA and USB2.0. They don’t require any screws and easily fit any 2.5 inch HDDs. No word on pricing at this time. [Akihabara]
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Written by Johan on December 1st, 2008 with comments disabled.
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UK-based Battech offers its iPower SX solar-powered charger that is perfect for those who are always on the go. The iPowerSX features an indicator light that shows the power remains in its battery. and relies on a 5.5V, 80mA crystalline solar panel that has a 5.3V, 500mA output. I think this gadget is best used when the skies are clear during the day. However, you can also recharge its internal battery via a USB port. The iPower SX retails for around $62 in the UK. [Electronista]
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Written by Johan on November 30th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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If you are super rich person, then you can buy the Harion Glass Speakers. These speakers were made of Heat-resistant glass manufactured by Hario, a glass maker in Tokyo. Priced at a hefty 16 million yen or approx. $168,000, the speaker system consists of a center speaker, a sub woofer, a couple of tweeters and mid-range speakers. The company also announced that if you order a minimum of ten units of these speakers then you may be able to receive a lower price tag at around $105,000 per unit. However, there is no info about the sound quality of these super expensive speakers. [GearLog]
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Written by Johan on November 30th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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