Gadgets Blog

Smoke jumpers. They are some of the bravest first responders in the world. With forest and brush fires blazing, these firefighting special forces parachute ahead, and often times in the middle of, forest fires and seek to create a bulwark to stop fires in their tracks. And often times, tragedy ensues and they become overwhelmed by fire conditions and die horrific deaths, leaving the fire to blaze on. So it makes sense that governments would seek to maximize the survivability of their firefighters. Enter the Bush Bunker.

The Bush Bunker is a portable bunker which is designed for “maximum survivor ability no matter the intensity or type of fire” for over 4 hours of direct exposure to flames. Think of it as a panic room for forest fires. Made of 300mm of steel reinforced fire retardant concrete, these fire pods can be produced in one piece making them structurally stronger as well as water and air tight. Standard models would accommodate up to six adults for more than four hours and would be equipped with compressed air cylinders to maintain positive air pressure and a breathable atmosphere to keep fresh air in and noxious gases and smoke out.

And an airlock with two fire doors will also product against radiant heat, keeping fire fighters in a comfortable temperature inside. The Bush Bunker will also come with bench seats, battery powered electric lighting, UHF Radio and emergency transponders, as well as fire blankets and fire aid materials. And for around $20,000 AUD, it’s a bargain in today’s cash strapped firefighting budgets.

Hat Tip â€" Gizmag

Honestly, as of now, I couldn’t possibly justify having a 16 port USB hub.  However, now that I know there’s one out there I’m itching to make up reasons to use it.  With this around, you could buy as many pointless USB accessories as you could possibly want.  Be it sparkling lights to hang around your monitor or a little man that sways to the beat of your tunes.  Of course, you can also use it for the practical USB gadgets too, but where’s the fun in that?

Not only can you hook this up to your main PC, but for those of you that have more than one PC running at once, you can hook it up to your spare as well.  Then when needed you can choose which PC you want it hooked up to.  You can’t have it running on both at once, but it saves you the effort of unplugging and replugging gadgets when you need them on the other computer.  Since it does have a whopping 16 ports, it is a little expensive.  It’ll cost you $104 from GeekStuff4U.

Source: Technabob

With as many gadgets as most of us cart around, finding ways to charge them in your car becomes an issue.  You could just attempt to spread them out so that you don’t have to have as many things plugged in within your car at once.  However, sometimes you really need your cellphone that happens to be dead and your GPS.  Well this In-Car Splitter would likely be plenty for even the most gadget addicted person out there.

It has 2 regular cigarette lighter sockets as well as two USB ports.  Giving you enough room to keep four gadgets powered up at all times.  The arm on the splitter can be angled in different directions, making it so that it’ll work in any vehicle you own now or in the future.  It also has a replaceable fuse as an extra safety feature.  You can read more on it on Santok’s website, but unfortunately they don’t give any pricing information on the splitter.

Source: GeekAlerts

We have reported on many a USB gadget on Coolest Gadgets. Some of them are practical, and some are just plain fun. Guess which category Pepe the USB Parrot falls under.

All the user has to do is plug in Pepe the USB Parrot in the USB port or keep it running on batteries, and it will “repeat what you say at random intervals” as it flaps its wings, just like a real parrot!

Actually, I don’t know if a real parrot will do that, because I’ve never really spent time around one of them. From what I have seen on most situation comedies, parrots have this innate ability to repeat exactly what you don’t want repeated. Like this episode of The Love Boat where Gopher inadvertently taught a parrot to say: “Captain Stubbing is a jerk”. Classic.

Pepe The USB Parrot also comes with that warning. Yeah, you don’t really want the guy with the Tourette’s Syndrome anywhere near this thing. However, if you suspect that the compulsive cursor is doing something he shouldn’t at your computer, perhaps Pepe could be the evidence that you need to bust him.

Still, if you want to get this for your office, or as a gift for a friend, feel free to lay down £15.24 at Amazon for it.

Source

Even before the recent Star Trek reboot, we were always fascinated by the technology from that science fiction franchise. It wasn’t just the warp drives, food synthesizers, and transporters, but something all too simple: self-opening doors.

Yes, for some reason, the United Federation of Planets outlawed the doorknob sometime before the 23rd century, and all doors must open with an odd swish sound effect, provided the user is in close proximity.

This is very similar to the Blueguard, which is able to open your garage door when you get 33 feet of it. It uses Bluetooth wireless technology on your cellular phone to detect when you are close. It has the capacity to obtain a signal from 10 cellular phones.

So you don’t have to hit a button or use RFID or access cards when you approach the garage. You can even set it to work as you walk up to the door, or make certain the user is in a vehicle before the garage opens up.

For some reason, I cannot find a price for this item, even on the Product Page. Too bad there isn’t a way to put a Blueguard on every door in my house, but none of them slide open like my garage.

Source

During my early attempts to cook real food, such as things besides Ramen, I set off the smoke alarm on a regular basis.  I even kept around methods to blow smoke outside around in the kitchen.  Thankfully, I at least got slightly better, but now the sound of a smoke alarm going off is like nails on a chalkboard.    If you’ve heard your smoke alarm just one too many times, but don’t want to take out the batteries, this is a nice gadget to have handy.

It just attaches to your fridge and while you’re cooking something rather smokey, you can shut off the sound to your smoke alarm remotely.  When you’re not using that function, you could also use this as a regular kitchen timer.  So you won’t have to have an extra one cluttering up your counter.  Of course this also could work for underage smokers attempting to hide what they’re up to from their parents.  This was designed by Beth Fuller and isn’t out just yet.  As of now, it’s still in the design stage of things.

Source: OhGizmo

I have a five-year old boy, and he loves to play the Wii. I don’t think I have ever had a problem with him playing the games too much, but if I did, I would probably use the GameDr.

The GameDr is a simple little apparatus that connects to the power cord of any video game console. The parent or guardian of the video game addict can set a specific time that will countdown when the device “pulls the plug”.

By the way, the device will give 10 minute and 1 minute warnings, so the sudden switch-off will not come without a warning. I suppose this means that your child will have ample time to save his or her game.

At least, most of the time. Many games will allow you to save, but usually only at times it deems convenient. For example, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess allows you to save at any given time in a dungeon, but you always have to start off in that dungeon at the beginning when you come back. Getting back to the point in time where you were before would take valuable time from the GameDr.

I can imagine all sorts of arguments that will occur between junior and his or her parents over the GameDr. “Can’t I play just for a few minutes? I’ve almost got the boss defeated. Please?”

Yeah, kids love to find the flaw in any electronic product. However, you have to admire the creators of the GameDr for stopping video-game addictions in one step instead of 12.

If there are any parents out there who want to give this guy a try, feel free to go to the DigitalInnovations site and lay down $29.99.

Source

ATEN is first off the blocks in the industry to offer a touchscreen, dual-rail LCD KVM switch which enables users to securely access up to 16 servers with support for both USB and PS/2 connectivity in a 1U rack configuration.

Based on a dual rail design, the Touch Screen LCD KVM features a high-resolution 17″ touch screen LCD monitor and keyboard with built-in touchpad. To optimize server room real estate, the keyboard can slide back while the touch screen LCD panel remains in plain sight to monitor and troubleshoot servers - even with the server rack door closed. By daisy chaining additional serial KVM switches, the KL3116T can control up to 512 computers or servers from a single keyboard, touch screen monitor and mouse console.

The new Touch Screen LCD KVM switch (also known as model number KL3116T) won’t come cheap though, as it will retail for $3,499, accompanied by a three-year warranty program.

Press Release

Are you one of the many who are looking forward to Terminator Salvation as it hits theaters tomorrow? Well, folks who are heading towards the cinema at Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. will experience a surprise that most other cinemas don’t have - the audience can feel as though they’re living the action on the silver screen courtesy of their own motion-activated seat.

Moviegoers will encounter gripping explosions and suspenseful fight scenes as each seat moves “in perfect sync” with the onscreen action; creating an unmatched immersive experience. With its unique, patented technology, D-BOX Motion Code uses programmed motion effects embedded and specially programmed for each film, which are sent to a motion generating system integrated in a platform or a seat. While audience members will experience motion during action sequences, the seats will remain still during quieter scenes. It also comes equipped with adjustable settings so individuals can customize the experience.

It would be interesting to see whether the movie tickets for such a cinema will experience a price increase or not, but hopefully you won’t be sitting next to someone with a full stomach when the show starts - you might end up with some less than desirable processed food on your lap once the show is halfway through.

Press Release

Dell is a name synonymous with notebooks and now, netbooks, but they have yet to break into the school environment by offering something functional without breaking the bank. Stepping into OLPC XO laptop territory, Dell’s latest effort is the new Latitude 2100 which was specially designed to help cater to the needs of K-12 students, coming in a ‘student rugged’ design with five colors to choose from to keep kids happy. Features include wireless connectivity that can be monitored by educators with a network activity light so that they know whether the kids are actually paying attention in class or not. More on this new notebook right after the jump.

In addition, Dell went as far as offering an optional touchscreen display, making this a first for education netbooks. Schools as well as other educational units will be able to include a custom-built Mobile Computing Station that equips classrooms with a cart to store, manage and network up to two dozen netbooks with a solitary Ethernet and power cord. The Dell Latitude 2100 will not be limited to just classrooms as it can also function equally well in public-sector and enterprise customers who are in the market for a netbook for uses from employee training to order fulfillment, or perhaps other organizations that want to pick up a secondary system for their workforce.

Other interesting options that can be added onto the Latitude 2100 for your benefits include a keyboard featuring antimicrobial protection (this is available in the U.S. only), solid state drives for more stable data retention, quick-connect handles and shoulder straps for carrying and a webcam to keep in touch using video conferencing software. Just because the Latitude 2100 targets less conventional markets, that doesn’t mean it is not backed by Dell’s award-winning business service and support.

Press Release

I used “most people” in the title as I suspect that there will be a large amount of iPhone fans who will do all that they can to prevent the Palm Pre from being an almost guaranteed runaway success after seeing how Palm has wowed everyone at CES with the Pre announcement along with a short demo on the smartphone’s capabilities. Sprint will be offering the Palm Pre this June 6th on an exclusive basis - at least for a while, where you can purchase it from Sprint stores, Best Buy, Radio Shack, select Wal-Mart stores and online at Sprint.com as long as you’re willing to pony up $199.99 with a two-year service agreement and after a $100 mail-in rebate.

The Palm Pre will be powered by the new Palm webOS mobile platform, where it is able to bring together all of your important information from where it resides, regardless of whether it is on the handset itself, at work or on the Web into a single, consolidated logical view. Sprint is also proud to offer the Palm Pre which will run on what they dub “America’s most dependable 3G network”, where it will be bundled with Sprint’s industry-leading, value-oriented Everything Data plans which is able to save you up to $1,430 over two years compared to comparable AT&T and Verizon plans for smartphones and PDAs.

According to Ed Colligan, Palm president and chief executive officer, “Pre is truly a new phone for a new web-centric age. We’re a mobile society, and we want our people, calendars and information to move with us. With Pre’s exquisite design and the unique webOS software, running on Sprint’s fast broadband network, we’re changing the perception of what a wireless phone can be.”

Apart from the handset itself, you can also purchase the Palm Touchstone charging dock which will retail for $49.99, while the Touchstone back cover retails for $19.99 a pop. Would you be lining up for a new Pre?

Press Release

Iomega is back with yet another portable hard drive from their eGo series, and it is no surprise considering just how well the eGo line has served them in the past. This new eGo portable hard drive will feature a redesigned exterior to keep up with the times, and are powered using USB 2.0 connectivity. Each purchase regardless of capacity will be accompanied by a three year limited warranty, where you can choose from a quartet of colors according to your liking. Granted, we would have liked to see more color choices thrown in this time round but hey - beggars can’t be choosers, right? Well, the new eGo line will max out at 500GB capacity and will offer superior ruggedness alongside a broad suite of bundled data protection software in the industry.

One of the things you can look forward to in this new line would be the Iomega Protection Suite which contains McAfee VirusScan Plus, the market-leading anti-virus, anti-spyware software to make sure that your precious data stored within will remain safe behind the walls of such software. After all, there is no price attached to sentimental photos as well as important data files, right?

From the four colors mentioned earlier in the post, those who opt for the bright Ruby Red model can choose from 250GB, 320GB and 500GB capacities; while should you fall under the sparkling Silver category you can only choose from 320GB capacity. As for folks who love deep Midnight Blue, they will also be limited to just 320GB. An anodized aluminum shell offers protection from external knocks and drops, and the entire 2.5″ eGo portable hard drive weighs no more than 200 grams while measuring slightly mor ethan 16mm thick. It comes with Iomega’s very own Drop Guard feature that protects data on the new eGo drive from drops of up to 51″, which is a stunning 40% above the industry average.

Press Release

Acer is no stranger when it comes to netbooks, and here they are with a spanking new model to tease our wallets further, testing the limits of just how many netbooks we’re willing to have under a single roof. The model in question would be the first 11.6″ Acer Aspire One netbook that comes with a full-sized keyboard - something many other netbook manufacturers cannot tout for their respective releases. Not only that, the 11.6″ display sure comes in handy as more viewing real estate is always welcome by any computer user. By the way, forgive us for not furnishing you with a model number after reading thus far - the 11.6″ Aspire One AO751h is its name, and it is accompanied by a smaller 10.1″ Aspire One AOD250.

First off, let us take a closer look at the new Aspire One AO751h which is thinner compared to its previous generation (which is only natural I would say), boasting an LED-backlit widescreen display with 16:9 aspect ratio that makes it infinitely more enjoyable to view movies over such a size compared to other 4:3 screens that many of us still “suffer” from. In addition, the 11.6″ screen is a boon for those who are too used to 9″ and 10″ netbook sizes, since the larger display translates to an easier experience on your eyes in viewing multiple windows while reducing the need to scroll to view Internet sites. Touch typists will also appreciate the full size keyboard, although they might want to hook it up to a 21″ monitor when they’re working at home.

As for the smaller Acer Aspire One AOD250, this model will target the needs and demands of mobile consumers who want a compact, light-weight netbook for Internet access and communications. It is also lighter and thinner than its predecessor, featuring a 10.1″ display that makes it the perfect candidate for those who are looking for their first netbook purchase.

You can remain connected to the Internet with either model via Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, and the lack of 802.11n support isn’t disappointing at all since these netbooks were not created to cater to the whims and fancies of power users. Depending on the model you choose, you can have Intel’s Atom N270 or Z520 processors, alongside the choice of a 6-cell battery for the AO751h that offers a whopping 8 hours of operating time compared to just four hours on the 3-cell version. The Acer Aspire One AO751h and D250 will retail for $349.99 and $298 upwards, respectively.