Aug 10 2006 EarMecca is earring earphone
Korean company EarMecca has developed an earphone that passes as an earring. I'm sure it's not the best of either, but those crazy girls can finally listen to their Backstreet Boys albums without looking like a total square. Oh, girls. They're so silly!
Aug 9 2006 Virtual girlfriend/boyfriend ensures you'll never have a real one
These Tamagotchi-style gizmos feature 8 LCD characters, all with their own distinct personality. The idea is to keep your randomly selected cyber partner happy by taking them out, complimenting them, buying them gifts and doing naughty things with them. Although for $40 you'd be better off just buying a few bottles of wine and crying yourself to sleep.
Aug 8 2006 Skyacht makes blimping accessible to all
The Skyacht is the world's first personal blimp, using hot air to provide lift and silent electric motors for propulsion. And just for good measure the designers even added some cool fins and wild colors to let everybody know you're not just a guy in a blimp. You're a guy in a blimp with attitude.
Aug 7 2006 Table Top Fireplace perfect for nothing
For only $340 you can own this miniature fireplace that goes on your desk. It burns oil and has stainless steel logs and a slate base, although I can't imagine who would ever need something like this. Are there really people out there so desperate for fire they'll pay $340 for a little miniature fire lamp on their desk? Let's just lock them away now so we don't have to deal with it when they flip out and start burning their office building to the ground because they wanted to see the pretty fire show.
Aug 7 2006 Virtual keyboard played with lasers
Digital Information Development (DID) has developed a virtual piano that is played with a keyboard consisting of projected laser beams. The box-shaped measures about 10 x 3 x 3 cm and weighs about 100 grams and projects a 25-key 2-octave keyboard onto the surface in front of it. A CMOS camera and infrared semiconductor laser module detect which keys are touched, and the corresponding notes are emitted from speakers built into the device. So finally you have a piano that'll work perfectly for all those Tron reenactment you do in your basement. Yeah I know about those. I've got eyes everywhere, you little weirdo.
