Gadgets Blog

I’ve said before that I’m not a fan of most wearable USB drives.  Usually they just aren’t well done and come off as cheesy.  However, having a drive that is adorned with pretty designs or jewels isn’t so bad, as long as it’s just to carry around.  Well this thumb drive comes sweetly decorated with a little gold butterfly.  It has enough storage that it’d make for a great drive to have, plus would appeal to the ladies that enjoy feminine gadgetry.

The drive is small and lightweight, only slightly longer than a quarter.  With the added strap, it makes it perfect to attach to your keys or cellphone.  It comes packed with 8GB of storage, which is enough to satisfy most people.  Although the gold butterfly is a little cheesy for my tastes, I’m sure some women will enjoy the gold coloring of it.  You can pick it up through Brando for $32.

Source: GeekyGadgets

It says Diaper Dude Messenger Bag, but let’s face it, it will work for either sex.  It’s great bag to make sure you don’t have to carry four different bags anytime you go anywhere.  Instead of carrying a frilly pink diaper bag and your laptop bag, just carry one bag that is more in your style.  After all, your kid doesn’t know or care if there are Disney characters on the diaper bag, so you might as well carry something you don’t mind carrying.

It has three large compartments with a Velcro closure.  It has an insulated bottle holder, padded strap, a padded changing pad, interior key clip, cell phone holder and mesh padding.  All around, it has all of the features of your average diaper bag, but adds in a laptop compartment and doesn’t force you to carry a pink bag.  It doesn’t say what size laptop will fit, but the bag itself is 17 inches wide and 14 inches tall.  You can pick it up through Think Geek for $97.99.

Source: Crunchgear

I’m sure that you probably have heard of the Surface, Microsoft’s touchscreen table. I believe they cost about $10,000, and I’m not certain how much they are worth it. However, you got to admire its Picture Manager that allows you to group pics as if they were all on the table.

I had a chance to use one at a Sheraton in Seattle. They had them in the waiting room, and it was fun to find places to visit in the city, and there was a feature that allowed me to make a map to wherever I wanted to go.

It would appear that Microsoft has upgraded the Surface with version 2.0, or as they like to call it, the SecondLight. Surface 2 has a second projector, which allows the Surface to layer one screen over another. This will allow a satellite overlay to be projected onto a city map, or render a completed building over a set of blueprints.

I’m not certain why a second projector is needed for this sort of thing. I’m guessing the projections won’t be hovering over the Surface table like holograms or anything. By the way, the SecondLight plans to have high definition cameras and infrared sensors, so it can detect hand gestures. That’s right, you won’t even need to touch the table on the Surface 2.

All this new technology sounds pretty neat to me. It reminds me of the scene in Iron Man where you see Tony Stark assemble the blueprints for his armor with holograms and gesture-based controls.

We will see what kind of use the world can get out of the Surface 2. I can honestly say that I am looking forward to it.

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I know this is hard to believe, but that little bracelet that you see there is saying “I believe in you”. Actually, it is what you would happen if you spoke into a microphone, printed out the waveform of the message, and cast the waveform in a bracelet.

This bracelet is made by The Sound Advice Project, and it is a nice way for a parent to send a message to their kids and put it on their wrist. I have to admit that I would never have thought of that.

Apparently, it is a way to prevent teen drug abuse. So when your kids are offered to do a line, or smoke a joint, then he or she will look down at his or her wrist and think: “Wait! My parents believe in me. I can just say no”. Yeah, I really think we are pretty naïve to believe that would work, but it is a nice gesture.

Why should this bracelet be limited to parents and their kids? Heck, I would be glad to give one of these to my wife. A message like “I will always love you” could be one of the most romantic things any woman would want to hear.

Hey, I got another use for this. Make it so the bracelet is a key. So if you have some secret place where you need to hide your valuables, only a special phrase on a Sound Advice Bracelet can open the safe. Yeah, that sounds like some sort of Da Vinci code thing, but if Sound Advice can think outside of the box, then so can I.

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I think we all know that what the world needs now, is solar power, sweet solar power. Yeah, I probably shouldn’t be stealing old classic songs and adding green messages to them, but what the heck, it is quite true.

Scosche has recently unveiled a new solar-powered endeavor with the SolCHAT Bluetooth Speaker phone. It is designed to be used in the car, so you can chat and drive without breaking any new laws.

It has a built-in lithium ion rechargeable battery with a solar panel. I’m not certain how efficient this is, as many solar-powered gadgets that I have seen in the past have been historically inefficient.

Fortunately, if there is no sun out, you can recharge the SolCHAT via USB. Of course, a lot of cars don’t have USB ports in them, but times are changing all the time. After all, most new cars have responded to consumer needs and added an iPod dock, so why not a USB port as a new standard?

Perhaps a solar-powered Bluetooth Speaker Phone should be a new standard feature in this age where most chatting is done “on the road”. You should be able to get the solCHAT for about $99.99 which includes the USB charging cable and car adapter.

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Here’s a device that I’m actually in complete shock that it took this long to come out.  We’ve gotten to the point where grills are being sold with speakers built-in and playing music while playing basketball is extremely common.  Making the obvious next step to put speakers in a basketball hoop.  Well now they finally have and it’s the first of its kind.  With this you’ll be able to hook up your iPod or MP3 player through the jack and play music loud enough for both you and your friends.

The iHoop has built directly into the base a 30” watt 2.1 audio system with a 5” subwoofer.  It’s made with marine grade speakers to make sure that the speakers are weather resistant.  It also has a suspension cradle that is meant to keep your iPod protected.  All around it’s a great solution to keep music going while you play.  It’s far better than the obnoxious sports bands or a pair of portable speakers that you have to worry about breaking.  So far there is no word on pricing for the Spalding iHoop Speakers or when these will become available.

Source: Newlanunches

Picnics and pot luck dinners share something in common - plastic utensils and paper plates. Not the kind of equipment if you’re seeking to make the dining experience a little more classy. Fundraising dinners, for example, which don’t have the budget of a political campaign can’t really make an elegant impression and still keep the costs low. Enter Snap and Dine

With a design that rather reminds me of a snap kit plastic model car, Snap and Dine uses a single plastic injection mold process to create a complete, yet recyclable, table setting to make such culinary endeavors a little more elegant and yet, provide for the convenience of a portable or temporary meal. It offers a complete 3-course setting with a very ornately designed plastic plate and recyclable plastic cutlery designed to look like elegant silverware.

Snap and Dine is not only an affordable way to make an impression on a date or fund-raising benefactor, but is both easy to use and dispose/recycle at the same time and reintroduces a disposable society into the notion that dining can be an elegant experience now matter where the table is set.

I don’t know why someone didn’t think of this sooner.

Hat Tip â€" Tech Blog