Be Smart

I'm a sucker for pretty much all home decor that looks like it was inspired by the 1970s disco era, but even I would draw the line at a flashing dance floor in the middle of my living room. On grounds of cost if nothing else.

A good compromise would be this groovy multicolored light-up table which looks expensive but is actually a DIY project involving a $50 Ikea table and a lot of LEDs.



Make one of these (or get someone to make one for you), then you can turn off the lights, turn on the table, crank your Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, kick back with a snowball (that's a cocktail, in case you're too young to remember) and you have yourself a party.

Just don't try to dance on the table, will you?

Via Unpluggd.

When Marc Stephens and his wife Jo decided on a home birth for their fourth child, the expectant father thought it wouldn't hurt to watch a few YouTube videos about worst-case scenarios: what to do if your midwife doesn't arrive in time, that kind of thing.

When Jo woke up one day with very strong contractions and that worst-case scenario came true, he had to step up to the plate and try and remember everything he had learned from the Internet.
"The videos gave me peace of mind. I think I would have coped, but watching videos made things much easier," Mr Stephens told the BBC.

Thanks to Marc's help, Baby Gabriel (5lbs 5oz) arrived safely and both Mom and boy are doing well. Although I suspect Dad may still be a little dazed...

Welcome to the next generation of shooting video. Pure Digital, maker of the popular Flip Ultra Camcorder has just released the Flip Ultra HD. The compact cutie is designed for one thing and one thing only -- to take record awesome video on the fly with amazing playback quality. Best of all, it does it with relative ease and doesn't break your pocket while you're getting that all-important money shot.

The recent high profile bankruptcies of retailers Circuit City and Steve & Barry's meant the closure of 567 US big box consumer electronic and media stores and 175 mall based clothing stores, respectively. Further, sub-prime mortgages fueled a housing bubble, whose aftermath leaves real estate developments half sold, or worse half built. In the wake of these events, Ellen Dunham-Jones, AIA, and June Williamson have recently published the timely, and on-point book, "Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs" published by John Wiley & Sons. Dunham-Jones directs the architecture program at Georgia Tech and studies urban development and architectural theory. Williamson teaches at the City College of New York, and consults on urban and town planning.

Now that we think of it, it seems rather unfair that the advancements in the field of navigation systems have long been confined to cars, while their less endowed vehicular kin - such as bicycles, for instance - have been subjected to scant attention. Well, the Velocity Cycle Route Guide is a totally cool design concept that has been drawn up by designer Ross Kemp, and exclusively for the bicycle.

Ths futuristic-looking gadget can be hooked to your computer to download the desired route maps and then clamped to the bike's handlebar. And that just about ends your intervention. As you ride along, the Velocity GPS system lets you know the directions you need - by voice as well as by the map displayed on its screen. Taking into account that biking is almost always associated with sports or fitness, the gadget also gives you performance data that you can analyse on the PC. Personally, not only do I think that this is the most good-looking navigation system that I have seen, but I also see several bicycle enthusiasts queuing up to get one, if and when this product gets on the shelves.

Via Yanko Design.

Tired of typing on that same old drab keyboard day in and day out? Put a splash of color into your routine with the ultra-cool, ultra-colorful Luxeed U5 LED Keyboard. The 2009 edition of the keyboard has some noted improvements including a reduction in ghosting, more responsive keys and a firmware updater utility. Best of all, it's now available for Mac and Linux, so everyone can have fun with this programmable peripheral.

Expect an extremely interesting USB drive to make its debut during the first quarter of 2010 - the USB flash drive with integrated OLED display from Ennova Direct Corporation. The company has recently announced that it has received a patent for the unique design of this USB drive. The flash(y) drive not only incorporates an OLED screen that scans/stores the user's fingerprint, but also has a sliding mechanism which encloses the OLED display within a protective shell when the drive is not in use. Open the shell and out comes the retractable USB connector at your service.

And while we are still going ga-ga, let us also spread the word on the fact that the OLED screen even takes in inputs from the user - such as file selection or intiating specific actions. To let my imagination soar a bit, it would be kinda nice if the device will also let us have picture previews on its tiny screen just to maximize on its exclusivity quotient.

Since there are no other details available as of now, you can keep your guesses going on its capacities and pricing.

Via OLED-Display.net.

Just when you thought you've seen just about everything when it comes to USB flash, another design comes along just in time for Mother's Day. Gadget4all.com is selling a charming Heart Handbag necklace with a hidden flash drive that holds 2 GB worth of data. Retailing at an recession-friendly $23, the necklace is available in pink and white. Show that tech mom in your life how much you care with the gift that keeps on giving -- more memory.

With computer manufacturers putting more and more emphasis on laptop design, the battle for beauty is getting a little ugly, forcing designers to push the limits of the imagination. We've seen notebooks made with faux crocodile skin, fabric, and pressed aluminum to name a few. Asus, the makers of the drool-worthy Lamborghini VX3, have come up with something pleasing to the eyes and the olfactory system.

The new Mvix Nubbin Wi-Fi adapter is so tiny that you will have a tough time getting it back once you have misplaced it. And apparently, it is the world’s smallest Wi-Fi adapter as well, with a protrusion of just around 2cm from the USB port.

The Nubbin is capable of delivering data at 150Mbps and supports 802.11n (and 802.11b/g), USB2.0 and high encryption standards (WEP 64/128, WPA, WPA2). To complete the pretty picture, the little fella fits in easy with your wallet too. At just $39.

Via The Gadgeteer.

If you go out to work (what's that like? I can't remember) you're probably not splashing out on lunches in coffee shops or restaurants in the same way you used to (not unless someone else is paying, at least). But not only is taking a fresh brown bag every day not so stylish, it's not so good for the environment either - even if you do recycle it afterwards.



But a good-looking resuable organic sandwich bag is another matter. This one from Bebeloosh on Etsy is just $5.99 and is stylish and cute, so should appeal to adults and children alike.

Via Mighty Goods.

We'll have to wait and see what customers think of Amazon's new model of Kindle, the DX, but we can take a look at the specs right now. Unlike past models, the DX is designed to make it easier to read newspapers and magazines on a digital device.

Of course, this new gen e-reader can also be used for books - up to 3500 of them, in fact - that's 2000 more than its predecessor (275,000 books are available for the Kindle so far - and counting). But while it's very slim (just over 1/3 of an inch) and the new screen allows for more reading space, it does take up a bit more room.

Whether you'll be splashing out on a $489.00 pre-order or not, we'd be interested to know if you are willing (in theory) to give up a little more room in your travel bag (and a few more dollars) for a bigger screen... or do you prefer the original shape of the Kindle?

Amazon is obviously hedging its bets on that one, as both will be available for a while. (Although not outside America, darn it.)

Just holding this sleek camera in your hand is bound to lift your spirits even before you have witnessed its mean functionality for yourself. The Canon IXUS 100 IS is a 12.1 MP camera with 3x-optical zoom, 2.5-inch PureColor LCD II screen, and anti-blur plus face/motion detection technology. What is of real interest however, is the "HD Movies" capture mode that allows you to create high-definition movies at 1280x720 resolution, 30fps and then play them back on your plasma or LCD HD TV for some royal viewing pleasure. The camera delights in several colors - energizing red, stylish black, traditional silver, flashy gold - and you can pick one that most suits your personality.

We think this might even be the perfect gift for your mother if you are still looking for one. And you will always be credited for giving her a hand in creating high-quality family memoirs, we promise. All yours for $445 from Canon UK.

Via Chip Chick.

Last year we brought you news of the PoGo, the printer which made use of Zero Ink to print out your pics in a matter of seconds - without the use of cartridges or dyes. Now Polaroid has cleverly combined that technology with a 5 megapixel camera to bring us a good-looking gadget which takes pictures and prints them too. Like an old-style Polaroid camera, but without the waiting around, waving the picture in the air until it dries. And a whole lot cuter and more compact. You can even crop and edit pictures prior to printing.

It will be available from 26 May from Firebox.com.

It's a good job I don't have a garden, or I would become seriously obsessed with getting one of these home offices:



Called an OfficePOD, it's the new way to work at home: a dedicated workspace where you can focus on business without getting interrupted by family demands, friends who fail to understand that "freelancing" doesn't mean sitting around doing nothing all day... and, um, daytime TV. It's also an easy commute and drops right into place.

The design is cute yet elegant and I think the glass would stop it from feeling claustrophobic. I wish I could get one in bright pink. Maybe I could rent a garden?

Via Smitten.

I found this story interesting, considering Rosie O'Donnell starred in television shows for around twenty years: she now doesn't allow her children to even take a look at a small screen, in fact, she's signed a contract with their school saying that they won't watch TV or use computers (or presumably, any other gadgetry).

I'm all for allowing children to grow up in their own time, and can definitely see that limiting gaming, Internet and TV use and encouraging exercise and family time is a good idea. But none of these technologies at all, ever? Not only will her kids feel out of step with the rest of the world, won't they be at a huge disadvantage as they get older?

At it's best, good tech makes our lives easier and more fun and teaches us about all the fun, inventive, exciting applications of math and science. It seems a shame to demonize children's use of technology when we particularly need to encourage girls into the tech arena. Could this just be a clever way to get out of sitting through Blue's Clues (or whatever stultifying kids' TV is popular now)?

I think the news has finally gotten out that tanning (even if you use an SPF and don't burn) is really bad for the skin and can cause cancer. (Right?) That makes fake tan the only viable option for adding a bit of pre-beach color to your look. But oh man... that SMELL. Only old-style depilatory creams have a worse stink, but the fake tan one lasts longer, as it's the chemicals causing the smell which make the tan sink in.

Thankfully, the tan fans among us may not need to put up with that rancid odor much longer.

New Scientist reports that researchers in Bishop's Stortford, UK have found a way to capture the molecules causing the smell and neutralize them by making larger modules which appear less smelly.

Apparently, "professional sniffers reported a 70 per cent reduction in their perception of the unpleasant smell on users' skin". (Wouldn't you love to do that job?)

Look out for Aromaguard technology if you want a less stinky tanning experience in future: San Tropez is the first brand to incorporate it into their products.

At last the days are beginning to get longer in the Northern Hemisphere. The winter solstice took place at 12:04UT on Sunday, December 21. And not a moment too soon.

Cue: George Harrison. This strikes me as a bit mournful. It's from a Brit concert about 20 years ago, with trombones and assorted luminaries: Richard Starkey, and is that Elton on piano? See if you can identify the others.

No ID necessary for the incomparable Nina Simone's smoky-but-welcoming version.

I will leave it to Ann-Marie Imbornoni of Infoplease to explain the winter solstice a bit. Here's a somewhat more technical version from Eric Weisstein's World of Astronomy.

The US's National Aeronautics & Space Agency is collaborating with the European Space Agency to study the sun. The project is called SOHO, the Solar & Heliospheric Observatory. The photo (above) was shot October 10. It's striking all right, but I picked it largely for the title: Unfurling Prominence Eruption.

If you're like me and bring your laptop with you when you travel, you've probably spent a lot of time hunting through the terminals for power sources and wi-fi service.

Here are a couple of sites to visit before - or during- your next trip. Hint: with airline delays at ridiculous levels, and with holiday and weather delays an almost certainty, you should check them out even if you think your layovers will be short short. You may spend more time in the airport than your ticket indicates.

The first site, atlarge.com, offers ratings and discussion of the essentials at airports around the world: internet and cell service and power points. It allows users to rate the location based on comfort (how comfy it is, but also how safe you feel in the area and what other services are nearby) and value per cost of the services offered. It looks like most people offer information about the various wifi services, the connection reliability, and cost. For example, atlarge users have pointed out one of my favorite things - free wifi in the JetBlue terminal at New York's JFK airport.

As of this writing, there isn't a lot of discussion about where to plug in, but that's where the second site comes in: a wiki site called the airpower wiki. This site works like any other wiki, so you can read, add, or update the information about a given airport's power sources, or add a new airport to the list. This site is a little easier to navigate quickly - which is important if you're on a smartphone or need to find the power source before your laptop battery runs out - and I like that you can scratch out incorrect information.

Finally, check out flyertalk.com for every type of info you might need about travel in general. You won't find what you're looking for when on the run, but it's a great resource to check out before you hit the road...er, terminal.

I'm still looking for a really good wiki site on places to sleep in various airports (I've been stranded more times than I care to count), but in the meantime, at least I'll know where to park myself and surf the hours away while I wait for my next flight.

No, me neither... I mean, with the impressive MP4 capacity provided by manufacturers like Apple and Archos, I'm happy to keep my TV/video/music player in my bag and keep what I'm watching to myself. But perhaps not everyone is like me and bags with inbuilt TV screens will soon be a huge trend. A company called Bag TVcertainly hopes so, as they're selling bags with inbuilt TV screens in black, white, red, pink and tan (all in matte or patent leather) for around... take a deep breath... $440.

If you're tempted, you'll get a 7-inch flat screen tablet with a DVD and MPEG player, USB port and SD card slot.

The Bag Lady points out you could have a nice photostream going as you walk along (which would certainly be better than some logo-strewn designer bags I've seen, but feels a little too private to be displayed for all the world to see, if you ask me).

What do you think?

The 1000 Things That Matter project is a film about the changing nature of technology, and also about what matters to us as humans.

Explains the blogger who has organized the project: "We're making a film, essentially about the future of telecoms, but really it's a film about what's important. What kinds of conversations and exchange of ideas will we need over the next decade? What are the issues we should be looking to our technology providers to help us overcome?"

Go to the website if you would like to contribute words or pictures which express what matters most to you.

Via In Search of Adam.

Lenovo has finally (officially) launched the world’s first dual-screen laptop, the ThinkPad W700ds, putting some of the mystery around it to rest. The limelight is obviously on the two screens – the main display being 17-inches, with a second 10-inches slide-out screen. And no, the second screen doesn’t weigh down badly on the laptop – just expect the ThinkPad W700ds to be half an inch thicker than its predecessor W700. The spring-loaded secondary display is housed within a “pocket door” configuration and can be angled upto 30-degrees.

The other specs include a NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700M graphics card, 8GB RAM, WiFi, support for Dual-Link DVI, Display Port and VGA, a 7-in-1 multicard reader and five USB ports. Some select models also offer WiMAX and an optional fingerprint reader, a smartcard reader and hard drives with full-disk encryption. The device is priced starting at $3,663 and according to Lenovo, it is to be available immediately from the Lenovo website, though a search on the site stills reveals no information on the availability. A must dekko if you are in the field of graphics design or the likewise.

Via Electronista and Engadget.

I know what you're thinking: you already have a TV, why do you need to watch TV via your PC... right? But what about when you're not at home, and don't want to pay to download something, or wait a day until your favorite show arrives online?

In that case, AverMedia's AverTVHD Volar USB TV tuner for the bargain price of $25 shipped (from newegg.com) starts to seem like a very good idea indeed. If you're confused by the concept, don't worry: it's simple enough. You just plug the tuner into a spare USB port and it allows you to watch TV on your computer - and Windows Media Player will even let you pause and rewind live TV.

Make sure to use discount code EMCABAGDJ before January 12 to get that final price - and check out The Cheapskate blog for other great deals.

Via CNET News.

Now that I think about it, my purse is perhaps one of the most abused and neglected denizens of my accessory world. There are "things" in there that get carried around for months without ever being used - medicines, a spare (dead!) cellphone, keys that open unidentified locks, unused jewelery. And the list gets faithfully updated as I discover one more useless item to thrown in and arm myself for an imagined emergency.

Given this background, accepting a purse like the Bucklette is a really big deal for yours truly. The Bucklette, designed by Sandy Alexander, is a stylish hands-free alternative to a purse that clips on to your belt and has room only for the bare essentials- a lipstick, couple of keys, some cash and ID. With the Bucklette you can get really minimalistic - atleast during those times when you want to roam really light.

Available either as a belt buckle ($112) or as a clip-on ($92). Now someone convince me that my purse is indeed passé.

Via Core77.

This is one of the coolest tech things I've seen in a while: The SPLITVIEW COMMAND display from Mercedes-Benz.

Starting in the Summer of 2009, Mercedes S-class drivers will be offered a display system that allows driver and passenger to view two different things on the same display simultaneously. So the driver might be looking at the navigation system while her passenger watches a DVD - on the same screen!

How does it work? Why, with pixels and filters, of course! The two images will be arranged on adjacent pixels, and a filter directs the images to the right and left, allowing both occupants to use the same 8-inch display with no overlapping.

And as a safety measure, the passenger has the option of using headphones, so the driver won't be distracted by whatever the passenger is watching.

So now, between dual-climate zones and the SPLITVIEW display, S-class occupants can enjoy their own environments without irritating each other. Will these help bring back the days of the American road trip? Probably not, but we'll definitely be more comfortable for our trips to the outlet malls.

via emercedesbenz.com

This year's CES is noticeably more subdued, smaller in scale, but... I don't care, I've just been waiting to hear what Palm was announcing. I've been using the Palm OS for so long, been through so many Treos and Centros that I refused to believe that there wasn't a cool smartphone left in Palm that would outsmart the iPhone. Maybe, just maybe, they've done it.

The Palm Pre. There's a big beautiful touchscreen, and a slider QWERTY keyboard. A brand new OS, the webOS. 3 megapixel camera with flash. There's a "gesture area" which eliminates buttons and lets you touch-scroll through apps and menus. EVDO-REV A (meaning this will be on Sprint, most likely, and on their fastest 3G network), and GPS (probably with Sprint Navigation, which is full turn-by-turn).

The OS keeps your contacts organized in a new way- all your texts, emails, calls, web searches (cyber stalking, anyone?) with someone is consolidated into one conversation.

Very exciting. This is probably THE product of CES 2009. Details still breaking, so updates will be coming with full release information, and pricing and availability.

Photo from Engadget's always top-notch coverage.

The Grand Poobah of Sony, Sir Howard Stringer, introduced this product himself, the much-rumored but never seen before, DSC-G3 Cyber-shot Digital Camera, the world's first Wi-Fi camera with a built-in browser.The "Easy Upload Home Page" allows you to directly upload your pictures and videos on popular sharing sites via any public Wi-Fi hotspot.(It has free access to any AT&T hotspot until 2012, says the Sony press release.)



The Cyber-shot DSC-G3 model is also a “photo album in your pocket”, enthused Mr. Sony, with an 4GB of internal memory that can store approx 1,000 full-resolution or 40,000 VGA-quality photos. Nice. Comes with a 3.5-inch wide touch panel LCD screen Xtra Fine LCD screen, bigger than most cameras, and the already standard features: "Intelligent Scene Recognition" (automatically picks the best automatic scene setting), "Face Detection", "Smile Shutter" (it snaps when people smile) and "Dynamic Range Optimizer", which automatically balances contrast and detail.

Do we want one? Of course, but not until this Cyber-camera gets a work out in the real world. For instance,how accessible are the free Wi-Fi spots? How reliably does it upload to say, YouTube? Before we plunk down $500, we want to test this baby. Leave that to us. Oh, yeah, and here's a photo of the Sony Booth at CES, the next thing to being there.

We were surprised to hear that Swiss Army (Victorinox) was showing at CES. What, they developed a crazy small cell phone to slide into one of the slots of their famous knives? Not quite, but the SwissFlash features a removable 32GB USB drive with fingerprint authentication, laser pointer, and Bluetooth remote control for Windows-only PC or laptop presentations. You still get the key ring and plus a handy-dandy blade. Not shipping till May, it will cost you a cool $330. Call me old-fashioned, but I still find the corkscrew opener the most valuable tool on my ancient Swiss Army.

In 2009, there's a high probability that any mother-to-be will be within reach of a computer when labor begins, so the Contraction Master website is a genius idea. Instead of having to time contractions yourself, you simply go to the website, click your spacebar when a contraction begins and again when it ends, and the site lets you know how far apart your contractions are, how long they last, and all that other important info. And all for free.

I just wish the name didn't have that ring of the patriarchy to it... would Contraction Mistress have been so out of line?

Via Bloom.

After endless press conferences and logging booth miles, we wanted to show you something really frivolous -- but great fun for the car aficionado: Road Mice, designed by Four Door Media, makes wireless optical car shaped computer mice, officially licensed by some of the biggest auto manufacturers. Utilizing the latest RF and optical technology, all of the sleek car mice designs feature the look of a replica automobile, even down to the functioning headlights.

The mouse functions by using a USB receiver and has 800-dpi resolution for enhanced accuracy and precision. All Road Mice are PC and Mac compatible, cost $44.95 and includes a six month limited warranty. So far, they make : Chevrolet Camaro Concept; Corvette Z06; Dodge Charger SRT8 and SRT8 Super Bee; Dodge Viper SRT10; and the classic Ford Mustang GT. (I'm waiting for them to make the Mercedes Benz stationwagon.)

You can even get individual (VIN) serial number, built-in automatic timer shut off, on/off switch for LED headlights, and personalized registration and title. Ok, tell us that didn't make you smile:)