Gadgetstronics

by Darren Murph, posted Nov 29th 2008 at 8:33PM
We know, the last thing you want to hear of right now is more food, but we just couldn’t resist. Anna Gram’s artsy Citrus Clock combines the magic of stellar design with basic science in order to create a timepiece that’s powered by lemons (or the citrus fruit of your choosing, presumably). Reportedly, a single juicy lemon will keep the seconds ticking for a fortnight (or two weeks, if you’ve got an inexplicable problem with said synonym), which ain’t half bad if we should say so ourselves.

[Via Unplggd]

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Filed under: Household

by Jacob Schulman, posted Nov 29th 2008 at 12:09PM
Admit it. You’ve got an old GameCube from yesteryear laying around, and the slow economy (and fear for your life) is holding you back from running to your nearest brick-and-mortar to pick up a Classic Controller for your Wii. You know you want to play Super Mario 64 to work off that turkey, but you can’t justify laying out the cash. Fret not; YouTube user marcan42 has you covered, courtesy of a PIC18F4520 microcontroller and makeshift GameCube connector, along with a chopped off Nunchuk extension cord. Of course, you could just pick up a different model, but that would be way too easy. We didn’t say it was pretty, but if you’re still intrigued, check the full vid after the break.

Update: As a bunch of commenters have pointed out, this can be done already by plugging the GameCube controller directly into the Wii. However, this mod lets you do it wirelessly — err, if you don’t count the big microcontroller and mess of wires.

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Filed under: Gaming

by Paul Miller, posted Nov 29th 2008 at 1:48PM
“Cyber Monday.” You probably couldn’t pick a worse name for a day of conspicuous, retailer-defined consumerism, but you’re welcome to try. SanDisk decided to forgo the Black Friday insanity and instead run with three days of Cyber Monday sales, with up to 60% off those boring, ever-necessary flash memory products it’s so well known for — and Sansa players aplenty.

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Storage

It’s not uncommon to see a shiny mouse, decked out with some overly feminine design.  However, there is rarely a mouse seen that uses decals that are just cool as opposed to pretty.  Well this pirate mouse will help you on your way to any devious planning.  The seemingly evil mouse would also be a great tool to pwn noobs and leave angry comments on YouTube or your blog of choice.

Sadly, this mouse doesn’t look quite as menacing as one would hope for with a skulls and crossbones mouse.  Between the teeth and the cartoonish eyes, it doesn’t look like it’d strike the fear into anyone.  Actually, your Great Grandmother might even call it cute, which is never a good sign.  Luckily though this mouse does have one perk, it is actually optical.  The mouse is also compatible with not only Windows, but Mac OS X and Linux as well. You can pick up the USB mouse on BBMoon for $27 a piece.

Source: ShinyShiny

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by Darren Murph, posted Nov 29th 2008 at 4:18AM
It’s been a nice little while since we’ve seen any new navigators from Medion, but the outfit’s hitting back with its relatively forgettable GoPal P5430. The European PND sports a 5-inch touchscreen display, integrated TMC antenna, fingerprint sensor, text-to-speech functionality, an inbuilt FM transmitter and pre-installed NAVTEQ maps of Western and Eastern Europe. Like we said, forgettable — but you should know it’s priced at £175 ($269) just in case you’re tempted.

[Via NaviGadget]

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Filed under: GPS

by Darren Murph, posted Nov 29th 2008 at 1:55AMIt’s not often that you find a webcam that’s multifaceted, but Earth Trek’s webcam is just that. Dubbed the “hottest webcam” this world has ever seen (um, no), this unit packs a 1.3-megapixel camera, VGA capture abilities, auto focus / auto brightness and the real kicker, a 2-port USB hub. Probably still a ripoff at $45, but if you need those extra peripheral ports bad enough, who knows what you’d be willing to do.

[Via Pocket-lint]

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Filed under: Digital Cameras, Peripherals

by Donald Melanson, posted Nov 28th 2008 at 9:34PM
We caught sight of Psyclone’s WildCharger-based TouchCharge kit for the Xbox 360 a few weeks ago but, in case you missed it, the company is also offering similar kits for the playstation 3 and Wii. At $49.99 the PS3 version is actually the cheapest of the lot, due to the fact that it’s able to use the controller’s own rechargeable battery, while the $59.99 Wii version and $69.99 Xbox 360 version each include some rechargeable batteries of their own courtesy of Psyclone. The charging pads themselves are, of course, interchangeable, and you can even charge more than one device on a single pad, although finding the necessary controller adapters separately seems to be another matter.

[Via The gadgets Weblog]

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Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

If your love of cars isn’t being expressed quite enough in your current home décor, you might check out this alarm.  There have been other alarms similar to this one, but luckily this one is a little cheaper than the others I’ve seen.  If you’re on the lookout for a gift for a guy impossible to buy for and he has a love for cars this would be an easy gift to pick up.  I’m sure he’d get a kick out of waking up to the sound of a high-powered V8 engine.

Although frankly I’m not sure how easy it would be to wake up to the sound of an engine.  It’s not that it couldn’t possibly be loud enough.  The issue more is if you live in the city, the sound of your alarm might blend into the traffic noise you’re used to hearing outdoors.  Luckily the engine noise will grow in pitch and intensity until you turn it off.  The clock also includes an AM/FM radio and can be powered by either the AC adapter or AA batteries.  You can purchase it for $29.95 on Hammacher Schlemmer.

Source: Bookofjoe

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Want to do your bit in keeping the earth green while decorating your home? Well, there are many ways to do so, including solar-powered fairy lights, solar-powered lawnmowers and the like, and today we have yet another idea for you to consider - the Firewinder. Let’s face it, any product named like it will definitely be interesting to look at, and the Firewinder certainly doesn’t come up short when it comes to looking cool! This decorative outdoor light is able to visualize the wind’s energy, turning just about any breeze into light to give your garden a lovely glowing ambience.

100% wind-powered, Firewinder is unlike anything we’ve ever seen. By day it’s a relatively unobtrusive dangling corkscrew doodah that spins in the wind. But when night falls and the wind blows, it lights up, creating a beautiful spiraling effect. The faster the blow the greater the glow, so in a real gust Firewinder becomes a pulsating pillar of light. It’s truly spellbinding and eco-friendly to boot. Firewinder’s helical wing captures the wind from any angle, and it’s so light it will catch the lightest of breezes. Simply attach it to a tree, roof terrace or wall using the included hanging kit (featuring sturdy stainless steel quick release fixing points) and wait for the wind to blow.

The Firewinder was specially designed to spin clockwise, so those who wish it to do so otherwise are out of luck. Small issue that, though. It is also nice to know that the Firewinder has been specially engineered to withstand just about any kind of inclement weather, capable of offering year after year of mesmerizing entertainment without adding to your home’s carbon footprint. Firebox is currently carrying the Firewinder for £99.99 a pop. Why not go green this holiday season instead of further burdening the earth with more plastic devices that do more than just sip power?

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by Darren Murph, posted Nov 28th 2008 at 7:51PM
This one’s been a long time in the making, but the deal is finally done. Clearwire and Sprint Nextel have gleefully announced that the transaction to combine their next-generation wireless internet businesses is complete, and beers are on the two of ‘em this evening. On the real, the agreement dictates that Sprint hand over all of its 2.5GHz spectrum and WiMAX-related assets (including XOHM) to Clearwire; additionally, Clearwire has received a $3.2 billion cash infusion from Comcast, Intel, Time Warner Cable, Google and Bright House Networks. Details beyond that are scant, though we are told that the terms “originally announced on May 7, 2008″ are the ones being abided by, and the new company will retain the Clearwire name and its Kirkland, Washington headquarters.

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Filed under: cellphones, Wireless