Gadgets Future

Toyota is the first in the world to release a car seat fabric which prevents mite allergens from becoming active in a vehicle’s cabin. Those who want this new fabric will have to wait for vehicle models that are released in Japan in the near future. The new seat fabric comes with an anti-allergen agent which envelops nearly 98% of the mite allergens that settle on a seat’s treated surfaces. It does so without affecting the color or texture of the seat fabric. Is there any fabric that helps secrete chemicals to keep backseat drivers quiet?

Now how about this concept of a cell phone that comes with a detachable display? That’s what Sony Ericsson has thought up in their clamshell idea, described in a patent application as “Detachable Housings for a Wireless Communication Device “. You get a couple of detachable connected housings, where one of them holds the user interface devices for data input and control while the other carries a display with several user input buttons and the relevant phone circuitry, application processor, memory, and battery. When detached, they can “talk” with one another thanks to Bluetooth connectivity, and the housings were specially designed to be joined in different orientations. Sounds pretty much like the perfect handset for folks who like to customize the features within. Do you think the world is ready to accept such an idea?

Wipeout Pulse is Sony’s latest lighter-than-air racing effort on the PlayStation Portable. The game is still about two weeks away from its official release date, but some near-finished review code showed up at my doorstep a few days ago. Read on to find out whether you should get in the anti-gravity race or stay off the track.

I first got a look at Wipeout Pulse back in December during Sony’s Spring 2008 Preview Event. At the time, there wasn’t much for me to say about the game, because I didn’t spend terribly long with it. But now that I’ve run through the game, I have a much better idea of what the series is about and how this game fits into it.

Graphically, Wipeout Pulse looks futuristic, and each part of the track glistens and sparkles more than the next. It’s not the most visually impressive game on the PSP, because many of the features that make it look good are repeated over and over again in the title. Still, it looks outstanding, and I don’t think anyone could fault Sony’s effort in this one. Even the load screens are awesome. Gamers will most appreciate how smooth the framerate is.

Considering how good the game looks, the sound is nothing special. Actually, I’d say that the techno vibe is repetitive and frustrating. I know not to expect the vroom of the engine exactly, but I’d like something more than ootis-ootis with the occasional donk when my vehicles smashes into one of the sides. Actually, much more than occasional, while I was getting used to the Airbrake. Luckily, those with discriminating musical tastes can play your own MP3s if you have any loaded onto a memory stick.

The main thing to focus on in Wipeout Pulse is the racing itself, and in this area, the game is a major success. The controls are pick-up-and-play easy, and it’s fun gliding around the twisting, shiny maps. You hover through the courses, and as you drive through lit-up gates on the track, you hit speed powerups and get to use different weapons. There’s a special magnet feature, which keeps the racers on the track even through out-of-this-world loops that would ordinarily see the vehicles flying off the course. Rollercoaster-like pretty much sums it up.

You’re going to need some serious skills for this title, because it’s challenging even on Easy. Hairpin turns force you to quickly become an Airbrake master. I expected it to be tougher with enemies shooting things at me, but I still had trouble even in the Time Trial mode.

I didn’t get a chance to mess around in the multi-player modes, but if the robust single-player mode is any indication, then there’s nothing to fear.

A couple things bothered me about this otherwise excellent title. There are loyalty bonuses for using the same vehicle over and over again, which basically takes care of any desire for me to experiment with other cars. I also question the inclusion of track descriptions in this mostly word-free title. They’re basically written in gibberish, as far as I can tell.

All told, Wipeout Pulse is a solid racing game, through and through. I would have liked it to have been a little easier, but I understand why it’s not. This series has been out for awhile, and it had to be a step up from the Wipeout that was one of the first PSP titles to come out. 3… 2… 1… GO!!!

Plants, just like humans, require oxygen in order to survive. While they release oxygen during the day whenever the process of photosynthesis occurs, they do require oxygen when there is no sunlight. Why not give them the very best with the ENKI Super O2 Watering System?

Grow greener, bigger and brighter plants with this unique watering system! The Enki Super O2 water system super-oxygenates water, so your plants produce more flowers and blooms than those watered with regular tap water.

Marketing gimmick or the real deal? At $99.95, it had better work or I want my money back.

Posted Jan 31st 2008 11:31AM by Donald Melanson
Filed under: Misc. GadgetsThey’re about as far from myths as you can get, but MythBuster Jamie Hyneman nonetheless took it upon himself to explore seven tech headaches that many of you are likely all too familiar with in the latest issue of Popular Mechanics, and he’s offered a few suggestions on how companies could fix ‘em. Those headaches include the ever-popular cordless tools with endless varieties of battery packs and chargers (which he suggests should be replaced by stackable 6-volt modules), fancy flashlights that use pricey batteries (which he thinks we’d be better off without), and cars with obnoxious electronics and near-impenetrable encasements. Of course, cellphones and their myriad of charges and connectors aren’t spared either, although Hyneman sees some hope in the Open Mobile Terminal Platform that aims to make micro-USB the standard, and, as you might have guessed, he pays particular notice to computers that come pre-loaded with scores of unnecessary software. On that last note, he also offers some action consumers can take themselves: switch to Ubuntu.

[Thanks, Niall]

If more relationships than you care to admit have ended because of your unreasonable greed when chocolate-covered Rolo caramels are involved, then I think it’s time to stock up on these sterling silver My Last Rolo keepsakes. At £35 (about $70) apiece, it may seem ridiculously pricey, but when you actually sit down and do the math, it’s quite a steal.

Think about it. Rather than have to actually give up your last Rolo or (heaven forbid) buy another roll to share with your significant other, you can just hand over this inedible life-size silver version and be done with it for good. Not only have you just saved your relationship from ever being in candy-related peril again, you’ve also just done something symbolically romantic and given him/her precious-metal jewelry with no ulterior motive (that can be proven) to boot!

This upcoming spring, Puma will release the Puma Glow Rider, the third version of its Urban Mobility city bike line and the first with a glow-in-the-dark frame that is certain to attract attention.

The Puma bike has a single gear, includes an integrated wire lock system for safety, disc brakes, anodized silver alloy rims from Jalco, and a carbon steel chain. It’s also part of the recent folding bike trend that we’ve followed for over a year. But its key selling point is that it glows like Slimer, especially if it is left out in the sunlight all day. The bike will probably be really easy to see at night, especially when combined with its regular head and back lights. But what’s the best thing about its availability? Hopefully, fewer ill-fitting reflective safety vests on old sweaty bikers.

There’s also a 100% chance that this bike will appear in Kanye West’s latest tour, called (we’re not making this up), The Glow in the Dark Tour. Kanye gave a shout out to the Puma Bike in his very own blog, and did so with an honest sentiment: ‘I’m posting anything that glows.’ 

The Glow Rider is expected to be higher than its predecessor’s $1600 price tag.

These have got to be the craziest T-shirts I’ve ever seen (even more zany than the wi-fi detecting shirt), the Proximity Based Geek Lovin’ 8-Bit Dynamic Life Shirt, the hearts on your chest indicate how close you are to your loved one.

Buy one of these glowing shirts for yourself, and gift one to your significant other (boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, fembot 2000…). During your normal activities two and a half pixelated hearts will light up on your shirt. Hey… you’re depressed and in need of a recharge. But get within hugging distance of your significant other wearing the matching shirt and suddenly the hearts on both of your shirts start to light up until you’re fully powered up. Go too far astray from the source of your affections and you’ll drop back down to two and a half hearts again. Got it?

Just in time for Valentines (Think Geek has a marketing department then) you can buy the t-shirts for $24.99 each, show someone you love them.

Gregory Piccionelli has the best job in the world. According to Reuters, he is “a lawyer specializing in adult entertainment”. He also predicts that North America is on the verge of a mobile smut-flood.

Piccionelli foresees free porn on cellphones, something that is a lot more attractive with large, high resolution displays like that of the iPhone. The porn industry is, as ever, ahead of the game, and realizes that giving away content will drive sales of other services, like live video feeds and “adult dates”, which is a euphemism for “prearranged sex with strangers” (a lucrative cottage industry, no doubt).

Worries about children getting access to adult content has until now held back the industry in the US. In Europe, however, mobile filth generated $775 last year. We predict a growth in the sales of cellphone blockers for use in bathrooms across the country.

Porn to spice up cell phones [Reuters]

Mysterious folks in the iPhone hacking scene are claiming to have snagged the key for Apple’s yet-to-be-released software development kit, a major feat if true. Says iPhone developer "Zibri:"

Since all iPhone applications must be properly signed for iTunes to process them and for the iPhone to load them, this key suggests that hackers are closer to creating compliant IPA application bundles for home-brew iTunes distribution. With the proper key, developers can create and distribute applications that load through iTunes without Apple’s blessing.

iPhone Rumors: iPhone Application SDK Key leaked? [iPhone Hacks]