Gadgets Future

… Gets you Best Buy’s 404 Not Found.

Gadget mavens Firebox has finally made available the Tengu USB desktop toy which is guaranteed to add a whole lot of excitement to your world. Perfect for folks who have very few or no friends at all, Tengu will be able to keep you company at the office by making different faces according to its mood. In addition, he isn’t as tone deaf as you might think despite the lack of biological ears - Tengu is smart enough (or at least he was programmed to be) to lip sync according to the music that is played, making it look as though he is singing his heart out with you as the only sad audience!

There are several innovative ways to interact with Tengu - you can choose to blow on his face to rouse him from his slumber, play your favorite tunes and see him join in on the fun, or even blow on the microphone to change his facial expression. I guess I’d wake up from my sweet dreams too if somebody was daft enough to blow on my face, but I sure as heck won’t be as forgiving as Tengu who lacks the limbs to retaliate after leaving some spittle on his face. I guess this highly interactive toy won’t make your bosses too happy, since it will most probably lower your productivity as you spend more and more time with it instead of churning out those numbers on a spreadsheet as required by the upper management.

I suppose for £19.95, there really isn’t much to ask from Tengu. So what if he can’t bring in the paper, transfer files from a memory card to your computer or speed up the time so that you can clock out and hit the local tavern for some winding down drinks. At least Tengu shares your musical preference without ending up being a critic like those nasty colleagues of yours, and best of all is you will be able to share your deepest, darkest secrets with him without having him ask you to shut up or charge you by the hour. Of course, should the situation actually whittle down to that, I’d strongly recommend you make an appointment with the nearest qualified shrink. Pronto.

Walter L. Wagner and Luis Sancho of Hawaii seem to have been smoking too much stuff lately. I’m saying this because on March 21, they filed a lawsuit in a district court in Honolulu, Hawaii against the European Center for Nuclear Research or CERN. This lawsuit seeks to place a temporary restraining order on CERN’s latest and greatest project ever: the Large Hadron Collider. And what is it that the L. H. C. does, you ask? Oh, nothing. It just recreates the Big Bang. You know, that awesome explosion that started the Universe?

For those that don’t know (or haven’t read Dan Brown’s Angels & Demons), a large hadron collider has the ability to supercharge protons up to seven trillion electron volts and then afterwards let them collide to recreate the energies and conditions resulting from a “Big Bang.” CERN aims to further understand these forces and presumably apply them for the good of mankind, but the two concerned complainants are worried about something else occurring in the aftermath: black holes that could quite possibly eat up the earth, and even the whole universe. What?

CERN says it has done a lot of previous testing and can attest to the L. H. C.’s complete harmlessness. And the Safety Assessment Group was even set up to do another anonymous review of the said project last year. But still, Wagner and Sancho won’t give up easily, even though the party they are trying to shut down is at least a few thousand miles away, in Geneva, Switzerland.

Now I know most people would have mixed views regarding this matter, but judging from the popularity of Sci-Fi pop culture movies and the like, I think more people would agree with the complainant’s arguments, at least at first. And from what most of us were taught back when we first learned of it, isn’t a Big Bang supposed to naturally cause a black hole to appear anyway? I’m no Physics major, but judging from the facts, I think it’s quite safe to say that there really will be a black hole after the blast. But then again, people at CERN say that there should be absolutely no cause for panic, as the large hadron collider is tested to be problem-free (both by in-house physicists and trusted third-party experts). But for now, no one can say for sure what the effects will be after this projects is initiated. Will a black hole grow and eat earth, or worse, the universe? Will the colliding particles release so much energy that will it tap the inner core and send all volcanoes across the world exploding? No one really knows. Maybe it will just turn out the lights.

Read [NY Times] Image [Valerio Mezzanotti for The New York Times]

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Said to replace the Treo 700wx is the new Treo 800w. No official word yet from Sprint as this is a mere speculation as only a release chart has already been leaked.

July is reportedly the release date of the long awaited Treo 800w, but let’s hope Sprint releases it as soon as possible. Rumored features include EvDO Rev A, Wi-Fi, Windows Mobile 6.0 and A-GPS among others. Camera and non-camera versions of the Treo are expected to become available.

Looks like the Treo 800w will the dethrone the 700w as Treo’s flagship Pocket PC with Windows Mobile Professional. Still only a rumor, there is a big chance that this could be true as Palm’s Ed Colligan recently stated that the company will be releasing their new smartphone line up before the end of summer.

Via [gadgets on the go]

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Programming has never been my forte. While I can do enough HTML to put together a very basic website, however, I couldn’t code my way out of a wet paper bag. Now had this board game been out when I was younger, that might be a different story.

The C-jump Computer Programming Board Game teaches kids 11 and up the basics of C, C++ and Java coding. The “game helps to develop understanding of a complete computer program, formed by logical sequences of commands.”

Some people push their kids into singing or dancing when they are kids, so why not push them into programming? No word on pricing or availability.

Source: GearFuse

Urban Outfitters have just unveiled a couple of headphones that are really too large for their own good, making an extremely pronounced stand where music playback is concerned. The Grande headphones will ship in a neon pink and green color or just plain black (which always stands against the test of time), accompanied by a coiled cord that makes carrying it around a whole lot less bulky. In addition, you can use the Grande headphones with your cell phone, allowing you to listen to your mom with greater clarity as she nags you on the umpteenth time to clear the room. As for the Stiloso headphones, they’re even more retro looking, so it really depends on your budget as to which headset to pick up. The Grande and Stiloso will retail for $70 and $52, respectively.

Product Page via Chip Chick

Binary Clock
The Binary Clock, the ultimate gizmo for people who laugh in the face of time, play tiddlywinks on the lap of destiny, and boil bratwurst in the kitchen of fate.

You can have this for £29.95

The Mr Jones Accurate watch will be the perfect gift for yourself, your lover, or your mortal enemy. That’s because the Accurate watch’s casing is made of stainless steel, it has a black leather strap with white stitching, it’s waterproof up to 5ATM, and best of all, the hour and minute hands are fitted with legible words. And not just any ordinary words. Mind you, these words seem very well researched. The hour hand says “remember” while the minute hand says “you will die.” Perhaps the best reason why this is perfect for giving out death threats! And while some people might question the taste of the maker Crispin Jones for his choice of words to implement on the clock hands, he had this to say: “I… work very hard to make them beautiful objects in their own right.” Uh, right. Beautiful in the eyes of the Grim Reaper? You bet. You can get one of these for only $145 a piece, which I believe is more than enough to remind you of “it.”

Via [Watchismo] Via [Oh! Gizmo]

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You got to give credit to these guys who have such sharp eyes that they can see even the smallest details of approval documents coming to the FCC. These guys must have really sharp eyes or the FCC is intentionally disregarding confidentiality of information with regards to documents submitted to them by manufacturers seeking their approval.  Thus, we keep on discovering information about new devices even before they are released for official announcement by their manufacturers.

The latest of these FCC sightings is an entry bearing the mark OZ2, and the manufacturer happens to be Pantech, who is the maker of the Helio Ocean. The Ocean had the same mark when it its prototype was submitted before the FCC prior to its release as Helio Ocean. Naturally, we can’t help but deduce that this FCC entry is for Helio Ocean 2.

According to the picture accompanying the document at the FCC site, OZ2 would have a camera, Bluetooth, microSD below the battery slot, and it is definitely made by Pantech. These features are also found in the original Helio Ocean. Aside from this, there’s nothing much to see about this alleged Ocean 2 from the FCC entry.

The Helio Ocean may not be the most advanced mobile phone when it was released, but it had the distinction of being the first phone with dual slider. We’ll see if Pantech would come up with something better and more innovative in Ocean 2, granting that the FCC documents were indeed for Ocean 2. With the current crop of high-end mobile phones today, a touch-screen feature seems to be the only way to go for the Helio Ocean’ successor.

Via [Heliocity]

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MicroBlast - Xtrememac MicroBlast Speakers for iPod nano 1G

Portable and versatile compact audio system. The first portable speakers designed specifically for iPod nano 1st Generation, MicroBlast is style, portability and protection-all cleverly rolled up into one lightweight, package. Simply slide your iPod nano into MicroBlast’s dock and crank up its four great-sounding, amplified stereo speakers. It’s powered by four AA batteries or an included AC adapter that enables you to play and charge your iPod nano at the same time. Better yet, MicroBlast’s crystal clear protective cover allows you to safely leave iPod nano docked while on the go, and doubles as its base when the unit is open. MicroBlast includes both black and white interchangeable frames to match the color of your iPod nano, as well as a travel pouch. Designed exclusively for iPod nano 1st generation Transportable with iPod nano in place Lightweight & compact design (only 1″ thick) Charges iPod nano while it plays (when using the included AC adapter) Two interchangeable color frames (black & white) Aluminum speaker grill Four individually powered speakers Clear folding base/protective cover AC or battery operated (batteries not included Speakers Dimensions Mid-range: two 2.5-inch speakers Tweeters: two 1-inch speakers Bass: 4-inch downward-firing subwoofer High quality neodymium-magnet drivers (all) Width: 14.35 inches / 364.4mm Height: 5 inches / 127mm Depth: 10 inches / 254mm * Will play 3G model ipod, but will not charge it. Not compatible with iPod nano 2G

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