USB Powered Lunch Bag: Keep Your Bento Lunch Hot!

Hungry for a hot lunch at your desk every Monday through Friday, but don't want to stand in line for the microwave? The USB-powered heated lunch bag is probably something you'll want to look into, then. It apparently keeps your food at a steamy 140 degrees Farenheit all day, though it gives us pause that we're warned to "make sure the plastic container that you store your food in is of a certain grade and quality" to ensure that there's not "an adverse chemical reaction," but we figure that's probably a minor concern. We don't know if the bag will ever be available in the US, but we have a feeling that if it is, it'll be at least double the size of the current iteration.

RFID "virtual walls" could keep tabs on hospital assets

A new system that allows hospitals to track equipment using RFID down to a section of a room is being introduced by GE and CenTrak.

GE Healthcare, through a collaboration with CenTrak, Inc. of Newton, PA, today announced the availability of a new RFID technology capable of dividing a room or segmenting a bay by creating radio frequency identification (RFID) “virtual walls.” The technology was developed to meet the needs of healthcare providers to track tagged mobile medical equipment down to portion of a single room. This sub-room-level distinction in certain areas of the hospital provides an important enhancement to RFID room-level accuracy. The Asset Optimization System gives hospitals the ability to accurately locate assets within a monitored area as small as 6’ x 8’, which is the size of a typical small patient bay, whether curtained off or wide open. “Our customers tell us that reliable accuracy, along with cost, are the two most important factors in choosing among current RFID systems,” said Bret Barczak, general manager of Services & Solutions for GE Healthcare. ”Most systems capable of providing higher than room-level accuracy, like ultra wide band, traditionally have been cost prohibitive. The Asset Optimization System allows healthcare providers to create virtual RFID rooms where higher level intelligence, tracking and reporting are more valuable, particularly in places like the OR and ED.

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Evolta robot climbs Grand Canyon cliff

On May 24, a 17-centimeter tall, 130-gram Panasonic Evolta battery mascot robot scaled a 500-meter cliff at the Grand Canyon in a publicity stunt to showcase the endurance of the Evolta AA alkaline battery, which the Guinness Book of World Records recently recognized as the longest-lasting of its kind. Powered by a pair of Evoltas, the robot hoisted itself up a 530-meter length of rope suspended next to the cliff, reaching the top after a grueling 6 hours and 45 minutes.

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X-Arcade Tankstick Arcade Controller Review

If you are a fan of old school arcade games or just want a joystick that actually feels like a joystick we have just the thing for you. Today we are going to put the X-Arcade Tankstick through its paces and see if it really makes a difference. Read on for all the details on the X-Arcade Tankstick.

Blooming Bidet, Because You Deserve a Remote-Control Toilet

We know all the toilets in Japan that have built-in bidets, but how many come with remotes? With Blooming Bidet, you activate all the functions of the toilet, even adjust the intensity of water spray or hot air aimed at your posterior, from the handset. Note the big STOP button, in case things get out of hand. And it's no accident you don't see any FLUSH button—flushing happens automatically. (The downside there is that you'd have to trick it into a mercy flush.) Other features include a gentle LED underwater nightlight, a pressure sensor that keeps you from accidentally spraying your eye, built-in controls at your right thigh should your remote's battery die when you're in the moment, and analyzers in the bowl to check your bidness for signs of sickness.

Aliph's new Jawbone (the sequel) hands-on and unboxing

We got to spend a little bit of time with Aliph's new Jawbone headset, and we'll confess we're a tad smitten. The headset is considerably smaller than its predecessor, and the improved earbud design gave us a comfortable fit right out of the box -- with other options waiting in the wings. That old overly-complicated ear hook is gone in favor of a simple, slightly flexible one, clad in leather with the intention of an eventual worn-in feel, but thanks to the new light design we're actually planning on going hook-less -- we haven't managed to shake it off yet, and have already probably caused considerable brain damage in the attempts. The interface is the same invisible one of its predecessor, but the first time you turn it on it's in pairing mode so we had no trouble there. We'd be hard pressed to notice a sound difference either way, but that was never the original's problem. The smaller design does mean a reduction in battery life, which could be a deal breaker for some, but if you're not going to be yapping away constantly the new Jawbone is a useful bit of "earwear," as Aliph would like to call it.

Takara Tomy Air Guitar Pro from Japan

Takara Tomy introduced the fun Air Guitar Pro in Japan last year. In the wake of Guitar Hero: On Tour I stumbled over them again and also found a must see Japanese video review of these Air Guitar gadgets.

This toy consists of the upper neck of a guitar featuring an infrared sensor that senses your air guitar moves. The guitar had has seven buttons on the front to press to hold down chords and also buttons on the side to identify the chords as major, minor, augmented, or diminished.

It is best to watch the video below even if you do not understand Japanese, it still explains the Takara Tomy Air Guitar Pro very well and in an entertaining way. Why the reviewer has something sticking out of his nose - I do not know.

The Takara Tomy Air Guitar Pro comes as Electric, Acoustic and as Ukulele of Lilo and Stitch. Gadget shops Himeyashop and Audio Cubes export them world-wide. Prices range from $32 to $55.99.

Cool Gadget 2008

Cool Gadget 2008 - The best home videos are here
you will see the cool gadget 2008 above :)

Optimus Tactus & Optimus Maximus

Artemy Lebedev’s Optimus keyboards offer an unusual approach for a traditional input device. A small OLED-display (Organic Display) is placed beneath every key to enable users to define displayed characters and the keys’ functionality manually. In other words, with Optimus the placement of labels on the keyboard can be varied at any time.

Optimus Tactus does not have physical keys, which means there are no restrictions on their shape and size. Any part of the keyboard surface can be programmed to perform any function or to display any images. Production date and price: unknown.

Optimus Maximus (Demo). Each of the 113 keys is a stand-alone display that shows the function currently assigned to it. Optimus’s customizable layout allows convenient use of any language — Cyrillic, Ancient Greek, Georgian, Arabic, Quenya, hiragana, etc. — as well as of any other character sets: notes, numerals, special symbols, HTML codes, math functions and so on to infinity. Production date: the end of January 2008, price: 460$.

The Keyboard Configurator. You can assign any images and characters to display on your Optimus keyboard.

via smashing magazine

How to surf the web even if Internet Explorer is disabled

Ever find yourself sitting in front of a computer that's been locked down by an overzealous IT administrator who won't let you install any software or even open Internet Explorer or Firefox? If that PC is running Windows XP, there's a good chance you can still visit Download Squad (or other sites if that sort of thing appeals to you).

All you have to do is launch a Windows application like Calculator, and then click the Help button. Under Help, click "Help Topics," which will bring up a help window. Next, all you have to do is right click on the title bar and select "Jump To URL." Now you can type in any web address you like, but make sure to include "http://" at the beginning. Basically what you're looking at is Internet Explorer 6 inside a help window, but this version of the program isn't quite as smart as IE6. It won't automatically add the http:// for you. And of course, there's no bookmarking feature.

The Greener Gadgets Conference!

Inhabitat is excited to announce the Greener Gadgets Conference!

On February 1, 2008 industry leaders, entrepreneurs, journalists, and product designers will gather in New York Cty to discuss the growing need to green the consumer electronics industry. This one-day Greener Gadgets Conference will take place at the McGraw-Hill Conference Center in midtown Manhattan.

GREENER GADGETS CONFERENCE >

Why are we doing this? . The green movement has taken off significantly in virtually every industry. Visible examples include the success of hybrid vehicles, alternative energy, and green building. The fashion, food, and building industries are all embracing sustainable design with fervor, so why is the $150 billion dollar consumer electronics industry lagging so far behind? We believe that the consumer electronics industry is poised for rapid transformation, and we want to help usher in this new era with smart and innovative product design.

GREENER GADGETS CONFERENCE >

The agenda of the Greener Gadgets Conference is to uncover green design and technology innovations that will open new business opportunities and shape the future of the consumer electronics industry.

Inhabitat is working with Marc Alt of MAP to put together a top-notch, dynamic program of consumer electronics industry leaders, innovators, artists, and environmental experts. Speakers include:

Mary Lou Jepsen
Chief Technology Officer, One Laptop Per Child Project

Natalie Jeremijenko
Inventor, Engineer & Technoartist, Director of the xDesign Environmental Health Clinic at NYU

Chris Jordan
Digital Artist, Environmental Advocate

Markus Terho
Director of Environmental Affairs, Nokia

Renee St. Denis
Director of Product Take Back and Recycling, HP

Douglas Smith
Director, Corporate Environment, Safety, and Health, Sony

Jeff Omelchuck
Executive Director, EPEAT
Director, Green Electronics Council

Generous exhibitors and sponsors for the event include: HP, Nokia and BusinessWeek, as well as media sponsors Earth2TEch.com, and Engadget.com

Additional speakers and sponsors will be announced in the coming weeks.

Learn more about the Greener Gadgets Conference by visiting:

http://www.greenergadgets.com

For information about exhibiting, attending, or sponsoring the Greener Gadgets
Conference, please contact:

Marc Alt
Co-Chair, Greener Gadgets Conference
(917) 621-6501
(917) 207-5387
marc@marcalt.com

Press inquiries:
info@greenergadgets.com

“CELL PHONES” Depicts 426,000 cell phones, equal to the number of cell phones retired in the US every day

via inhabitat and greenergadgets

Best of 2007: 8 Coolest green gadgets

by Brad Linder

2007 could go down in history not as the year when consumers started paying attention to the environment, but the year when companies started marketing all sorts of useful and completely useless green-theme gadgets to the public. Here are a few of our favorite gadgets released this year that will lower your electric bill and save a tiny bit of planet earth.

Click here to see our picks

Or jump ahead:

via greendaily

Countdown To New Year 2008

Countdown To New Year 2008 description
Google gadget that will show on your desktop the numbe of days remaining until Christmas and then until the New Year

Countdown To New Year 2008 is a gadget that will add to your desktop a Calendar and Countdown to the New Year!

Download Countdown To New Year 2008

via softpedia

Sony Ericsson New gadget 2008

Sony Ericsson are very focused on the web, and how the web has changed the way in which we work and play. The web has now become a way of life to many consumers, and with this in mind they are launching new web based phone and a new PC communications device.

The K660i

Aimed at the youth market, the Sony Ericsson K660i is designed for using the web, with HSDPA. It also comes with four 1-touch illuminated shortcuts for web browsing. You can view the web in landscape or portrait and the central navigation key becomes they mouse when in web mode. Sony have also for the first time on a generic Sony Ericsson handset enabled Google maps. It comes in two colours, Lime on White and Wine on Black. It comes enabled with instant messaging, RSS feed reader and desktop, Email Client, 2MP camera with 4x digital zoom, Bluetooth, and a music player complete with FM Radio, TrackID, PlayNow and MegaBass.

MD300 USB Modem

Sony Ericsson also launched their first USB Mobile Broadband Modem. It has quad band EDGE and tri band HSDPA. It can operate on Mac-OS X and Windows 2000, XP and Vista. It also has a 128MB internal memory for storing files on it. It has Sony Ericsson wireless manager on it and comes with auto-installation and auto-configuration making it quick and easy to get up and running.

W380i

August 2005 is an important date in many consumers’ lives; it was the date when the first walkman phones went on sale. Since then over 45 million walkman phones have been shipped. The walkman phone is a phone which combines more storage, better battery life and different accessories. However, Sony Ericsson have now realised that the consumer expects more; more music, more ways of playing the music and more ways to share music. With this in mind, they launched two new walkman phones.

The Sony W380 is the successor to the W300 and comes in a clamshell design. Aimed at the youth market, it comes complete with many unique and original features such as gesture control, which mutes calls or silences the alarm with a wave of your hand. It also has the walkman controls on top of the phone, so that you can easily manage your music. The slogan for this handset is ‘ hear, see and feel music’ which is accurate, as the handset comes with a media manager, that means you can easily share and transfer music, photos and videos between your computer and phone. The W380 comes with TrackID, PlayNow, FM Radio, 512MB memory stick, Bluetooth, MegaBass, 1.3MP Camera with 4x digital zoom, RSS reader, Web, GSM, GPRS, EDGE and comes in Electric Purple, Magnetic Grey and Champagne Black.

Sony W890i

The W890 comes with the slogan ‘Design for music’ which is exactly what this phone is, complete with a 2 GB memory stick that can store up to 1800 tracks, you will never run out of songs to listen to. The handset itself is really slim and stylish, and is as thin as a CD case. It comes in three colours, Espresso Black, Mocha Brown and Sparkling Silver. It comes with a headset in the same colour to keep the style flowing. It comes complete with FM Radio, PlayNow, TrackID and MeagBass, along with many of Sony Ericsson’s other music features.
The 3.2 MP camera comes with a digital zoom, and is also enabled for video recording, and picture and video blogging. It also comes with an RSS feed reader, the web, email, Bluetooth, HSDPA, EDGE and GSM.

via app4mobile

Inkel intros the W-700 PMP / GPS navigator

We see a ton (literally) of PMPs and GPS units these days, and nearly all of them seriously lack style. As far as we can tell, the same can't be said for the Inkel W-700, a combo satnav and digital audio / video player that really makes us wish we were in Korea right now. With a dual core CPU setup, 128MB of RAM, T-DMB support, the trusty SiRF Star III GPS chip, a spacious 7-inch 800 x 400 Samsung LCD touchscreen, and a price tag hovering around $500, it sounds like a steal, right? Still, we're going to wait for US maps and a demo of the OS before we plunk down any cold, hard Engadget dollars for one.

via engadget

Flying Robot Revolution: WowWee FlyTech Dragonfly

FROM GIFTS.GIZMODO.COM: In the same category of the enormously popular toy R/C helicopters is WowWee's FlyTech Dragonfly. Rather than a propeller, this guy flaps his wings furiously to fly around. It has a remote and can be controlled in two different modes — beginner and expert.

via [gizmodo]

Panasonic DMP-BD30 with BD Profile 1.1 Support ships

The DMP-BD30 is shipping now on Amazon.com for $417.88.

In Germany the first Blu-ray Movie Disc has been announced that actually makes use of the Blu-ray PIP feature. The comedy "Neues vom Wixxer" (do not ask...) has video commentary that can be switch on during playback showing in a small window. Via Heise (German).

The Sony PS3 is also supposed to get BD Profile 1.1 support still this month. We already reported about that in October.

Unless you have a PS3 and want to wait (there is no hurry) to get Blu-ray profile 1.1 suppor the Panasonic DMP-BD30 is a great choice.

more information via i4u

Honda's 1981 Electro Gyrocator: vintage navigation at its finest

the prices automakers are charging for integrated navigation systems, you should really take a look at what ¥300,000 ($2,746) would buy you in 1981. That atrocity you see above was an actual option in Honda's Accord during Ronald Reagan's presidency, and while it didn't sync up with any satellites, it did help to guide you along in some form or another. The Electro Gyrocator, as it was so eloquently named, accepted transparencies of maps and utilized a gas gyroscope that allowed the map to move with the motion of the car and plot your progress. Once a certain map ran out of road, you just popped the next one in and kept on cruisin'. And here we are kvetching about whether our portable navigator has 10 or 11 million POIs

via engadget and Autoblog

Black Friday Giveaways: Neuros OSD + 160GB drive

This time we're got a Neuros OSD and 160GB Lacie Mobile Disk bundle. This is the second to last round, you ready? Here's the deal.

Some big ticket gadgets we'll leave open through the weekend, but the rest you can only enter until the next gadget lands (usually within a couple of hours). If you miss your shot, sorry, we're moving on to the next gadget. Good luck!

Oh, and don't forget the rules. (Yeah, there are always rules.)

• Leave a comment below. That's it! Who loves you, baby.
• You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.) You can enter different giveaways in today's Black Friday giveaways, but you can only enter this one once.
  
• If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine.
  
• Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers or US contest laws if you have to be mad.
  
• Winners will be chosen randomly.
• Entries can be submitted until Sunday, November 25th, 11:59PM EDT. Good luck!
• Full rules can be found here.

more information via engadget

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