Gadgets Blog

The winner of last week’s coolest gadget competition is the Great Pyramid PC.

This has to be one of the coolest PC case mods we have seen so far here at geeky gadgets, the Great Pyramid PC Mod, made by modder polo360x from the Techpowerup forums.

This amazing case was made from a customized Luxor Pyramid case, which was made from laser cut aluminum, and is a combination of black and silver aluminum, the base measures 19 by 19 inches and the case stands 25 inches tall (there were only ever 200 of these cases ever made, and it looks like there is one less).

Congrats again to Geeky Gadgets.

In second place we have the Tiny worktop dishwasher.

This tiny dishwasher is small enough to fit on your worktop. It prides itself on being green and saving on energy and water and is ideal for people living on their own or for couples. Whoever uses it, it certainly beats washing up.

Finally in third place comes the Dolphin Monofin.

If you ever imagined what it must be like to swim like a fish, you may just get your chance. Engineer Ted Ciamillo has come up with a carbon fiber and fiberglass monofin, allowing a swimmer power through the water at 8 mph, twice the speed of Michael Phelps.

Thank you to everybody who voted, submitted, commented or told a friend. The randomly drawn winner of the $50 Amazon vouchers is:

Brandi (hamrickb@…), congratulations.

Thanks again everybody and good luck with the next CGOTW contest which will be posted shortly.

Want to hear about future contests first? Subscribe to our daily digest via email or RSS.

If you write for a gadget themed blog and wish to be included in next week’s contest check out the CGOTW instructions page.

Many of us own a laptop and love it to bits. In fact, when we first got our hands on it, we’d make sure it receives the best treatment possible, safe from all sorts of knocks and drops while ensuring it remains cool at all times. What better way than to purchase a viable laptop cooler from Logitech? After all, these peripheral masters are no slouch when it comes to product quality, so let’s take a look at the Logitech Cooling Pad N100 and the Logitech Notebook Riser N110 in greater detail right after the jump.

The laptop is definitely a much more convenient tool to have around the house as it is highly portable, but plenty of users are concerned about laptop heat with the common belief that the hotter the laptop gets, the slower it will perform (not to mention damage the innards as well). Logitech hopes to combat these problems by offering its Cooling Pad N100 and Notebook Riser N110. The former aims to improve airflow around your laptop, regardless of whether you’re using the device on a couch, bed or at a desk with an external keyboard and mouse. It comes with a slotted surface that helps protect you from heat thanks to the USB-powered fan which distributes air quietly and evenly. A rear air intake is used to create a steady, unobstructed airflow. It is enclosed in a durable chassis that protects the internal fan from dust and damage. Don’t worry about the Cooling Pad N100 sipping up even more juice from your laptop when connected - it relies on a low power-consumption USB cable so that it will have a minimal impact on your laptop’s battery life.

As for the Logitech Notebook Riser N110, this peripheral is meant to elevate your laptop to improve your comfort level whenever you’re working at your desk. After all, it boasts an ergonomically designed riser which will elevate your laptop display to an optimal viewing position. The Notebook Riser can be used with an external keyboard and mouse, where each peripheral will be arranged individually so that your typing posture can be enhanced. In addition, it comes with an adjustable tilt â€" with 20-, 30- and 40-degree angles â€" complete with a rubber-soled swivel base. The Logitech Cooling Pad N100 and Notebook Riser will be out in US this March and Europe next month, retailing for $29.99 and $39.99, respectively.

Press Release

Mosquitoes have long plagued mankind from the very beginning, and even dinosaurs were not exempt from their irritatng bites. These tiny bloodsuckers are more annoying than anything else, with their rather stinging bite (for some, anyways) leaving a rather itchy reminder afterwards. In addition, there are some deadly diseases that these insects carry including malaria and dengue fever, and both can be fatal if left untreated with the proper medical care. Mankind has failed to actually combat mosquitoes effectively to date - the best we can do is take some preventive measures and perhaps even get a bug zapper in our home, but that is still no guarantee against a bite. Nice to know human ingenuity has managed to take the fight to another level as researchers in the US are currently hoping to develop a laser system that will zap these tiny bloodsuckers to death.

The idea comes from the Reagan era Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI - also known as Star Wars) concept and miniaturizes it to a level where mosquitoes are neutralized in the same manner that Soviet missiles would have received. This idea was mooted when former Microsoft executive, Nathan Myhrvold,

The technology has already been demonstrated by researchers, where they use light from a series of flashlights to illuminate mosquitoes within a fish tank. These mosquitoes’ silhouettes are then projected onto a reflective material located right behind the tank, where a zoom lens will capture the shadows and send the relevant data to a computer. The computer will then control the laser appropriately while firing it at the bug - non-lethal lasers were used in the demonstration, but the video did show the mosquito burst into flames in a future simulation model when hit by a laser. The laser is also smart enough to tell the difference between male and female mosquitoes, targeting the latter only as they are the ones who feed on our blood while carrying diseases.

Source: Gizmag