Jul 31 2006 Egg tells you when it's done being cooked
The people at British Lion Quality Eggs have developed eggs that let people know when they're done. The new eggs are sold in three varieties: soft, medium and hard. A hungry moron need only buy the egg type that corresponds with his preference and place it in boiling water. A special heat-activated logo appears when the egg is cooked to your liking. It even reminds you how it is that you've cooked your egg so there are no unpleasant surprises when you crack it open.
At least these guys didn't waste their lives developing something useless. Because the number one priority in the world today is making sure people are able to properly cook their eggs. I'm not sure I'd be willing to buy a $5 egg though, even if it was gauranteed to cook perfectly.
Jul 31 2006 U-Boat Worx C-Quester personal submarine
U-Boat Worx, a company based in the Netherlands, created the C-Quester submersibles for private and commercial users who require a small, easily operated submersible for pleasure or work related activites. U-Boat Worx designed the C-Quester as a one-atmosphere submersible. This means there is no pressurised atmosphere inside - it's the same as the atmosphere outside. Because of this the C-Quester can dive to its maximum depth of 50m (150 ft) and return again at the operators discresion, without the need for decompression. The time spent underwater is only limited by the life of the electrical power supply.
I don't know what occasion wouldn't call for the need of a personal submarine. Although if you tried to take this thing deep enough to be interesting you'd be squashed like a bug. And I'm not sure you want to be exploring the depths of the ocean in a vehicle that looks like it'd break if you leaned on it too hard.
Jul 28 2006 Another Dell explodes
Not sure what's going on with Dell lately, but not only has their customer service and support gone to hell, but now their computers are exploding on a regular basis.
Jul 27 2006 Kotarou robot responds to touch
“Kotarou” — developed at the University of Tokyo — stands 133cm tall and weighs approx. 44-pounds. What sets this robot apart from others is that it actually responds to human touch — grasping of the hand, etc. It features multiple processors and an external power source.
I dunno man. Judging by the video the scientists didn't put enough effort into this thing. It barely moves and if I hadn't been told it was a functioning robot I would've just assumed it was a really fancy looking doll. One more video after the jump.
Jul 25 2006 Logos redone Web 2.0 style
What do you get when you mix the biggest logos in the world with some Web 2.0 designers? A bunch of rainbow colored gradients, that's what. I tried doing the same thing with my house but the home owner's association sent me an angry worded letter. Those stupid bastards just don't know how to appreciate rainbow colored walls when they see it.
Jul 25 2006 Morph pad is the most amazing note pad ever
Sick of your boring old note pad? Then order some of these Morph pads, which are custom built depending on the number of sheets you want. Although I don't see how you could bring yourself to actually use one. It'd be like using the back of a Picasso to take down some notes. Only afterwards you wouldn't kill yourself because you just wrote on the back of something worth a gazillion dollars.
Jul 24 2006 License plate blurring device
Some people who enjoy driving fast have developed a device to blur license plates at the flick of a switch. It was originally produced for participants of the cross country race Bullrun, but is perfect for anybody who just really hates obeying the law. Like bank robbers. And pirates.
Jul 24 2006 Device writes on water
Researchers at Akishima Laboratories (Mitsui Zosen), working in conjunction with professor Shigeru Naito of Osaka University, have developed a device that uses waves to draw text and pictures on the surface of water. The device consists of 50 water wave generators encircling a cylindrical tank 1.6 meters in diameter and 30 cm deep (about the size of a backyard kiddie pool). The wave generators move up and down in controlled motions to simultaneously produce a number of cylindrical waves that act as pixels. The pixels, which measure 10 cm in diameter and 4 cm in height, are combined to form lines and shapes. The device is capable of spelling out the entire roman alphabet, as well as some simple kanji characters. Each letter or picture remains on the water surface only for a moment, but they can be produced in succession on the surface every 3 seconds.
I don't see a use for this but at least it looks cool. And once we perfect writing on water we can work on more important things. Like writing on the moon. With a giant laser. To carve my name.
Jul 24 2006 Monopoly replaces cash with Visa debit card
Monopoly board game players can now pay for properties with debit cards. Game makers Parker have phased out the standard multi-coloured cash in a new version. Players will instead use a Visa mock debit card to keep track of how much they win or lose. It is inserted into an electronic machine where the banker taps in cardholders' earnings and payments. Parker said replacing of cash with plastic showed the game was moving with the times. Spokesman Chris Weatherhead said: "The new electronic Monopoly reflects the changing nature of society and the advancement of technology."
It's about time they got rid of the cash system. Not only is it horribly annoying, but it's tough to use when you can't count. Or read. Or eat without spilling half the food on your lap.
Jul 20 2006 Tesla Roadster is coolest electric car ever
The Tesla Roadster, powered by more than 6,800 lithium-ion batteries, can go from zero to 60 mph in about four seconds with a top speed of 130 mph. The design actually looks really good too, so you won't have to look like a dork just because you care about the environment. Although with that kind of power I get the feeling the car won't go more than three miles on a single charge. Maybe four if you turn the air conditioning off.
Jul 20 2006 China builds replica of Chinese/Indian border
China has put together a scale model of the disputed Chinese/Indian border on one of their military bases in Huangyangtan. This is presumably for training their helicopter pilots to become familiar with the territory in case a battle ever ensues. Or maybe they just really like building scale models. I put together a pirate ship in a bottle once and I gotta admit it was pretty sweet.
Jul 18 2006 Self destruct button USB hub
Nobody has ever put much thought into USB hubs so it's pretty cool to see somebody come up with something like this. It'd be even cooler if they made the button work though. I don't know how many times I've wanted to push a button that would explode my computer and me with it. Oh wait, yes I do. Zero.
Jul 18 2006 Wal-Mart launches The HUB
It looks like a MySpace competitor but I'm pretty sure it doesn't actually work and all the users were created by the Wal-Mart advertising gurus. Because all the people stupid enough to actually use probably aren't capable of using a computer. Or reading. Or even being able to eat on their own.
Jul 17 2006 USB meets the power of wood carvings
Sao Tome e Principe is a West African country with a population of about 150.000, located on the Guinea Gulf along the Equator. SEED 2006, a Design and Social Economy project financially supported by the Portuguese Cooperation and developed by designer Pedro Alegria, introduced USB flash card design to local craftsmen, all of whom had never seen or heard of such things before. The end result merges traditional "forgotten" craft with hot technology on the rise, sustaining the working families' needs and offering unique craft-designs to the masses.
Plus you'll be the only person you know who has a USB drive made out of wood.
Jul 17 2006 Dell and Alienware put together XCS concept
Alienware probably has the greatest computer cases available. Dell not so much. Put the two together and what do you get? The weirdest looking computer you've ever seen. Dubbed the XCS, the case seems to use peripherals like cartridges, possibly allowing for the swapping of harddrives or anything else you might want to swap. Although I doubt this case is ever going to actually make it to consumers. It's too different from current systems to ever catch on. They might as well be presenting a raw fish and saying "This is the next generation of computer!"
Jul 14 2006 The Bombarider Embrio is unicycle of the future
The Bombadier Embrio was designed as an insight into the future of transport circa 2025. Bombadier drew on its experience with recreational vehicles when it came to design of the Embrio and it is intended for people who enjoy transport, this is evident in the styling and the necessity to lean into turns similar to a motorbike. The Bombadier Embrio uses gyroscopic technology to balance itself and the rider on one wheel, however the smaller front wheel acts as stability control when the Embrio is stopped or traveling below 12mph.
I don't know what the top speed on this thing is, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to take it above 8 mph. Motorcycles are dangerous enough, but this thing is like gauranteed death.
Jul 12 2006 FINGER mouse is super small mouse
LG International is introducing a new portable finger mouse 'FINGER', where the top button acts as the left button and the rear part acts as the right buttone. A wheel at the right side is used to scroll. I guess this is perfect for anybody out there too lazy to use their whole hand when browsing the web. Or needs those four other fingers to do whatever it is you can do with only four fingers. Play the piano?
Jul 12 2006 Google erases Malta from world
Google Maps has apparently removed the island of Malta from their maps, taking you to the location where it should be but replacing it with a huge body of water. Additionally Google Earth has apparently placed the city underwater. Although now that I think about it, I pretty much never question where Google Maps tells me to go. If they ask me to drive off the road through a windy forest and then launch my car into the ocean I'd probably wind up underwater and wonder when the next left is.
Jul 11 2006 How to make sinking ice
If your'e anything like me you've spent the majority of your life trying to figure out how to make your ice sink. Well turns out there's an easy solution: you buy heavy water and freeze it. No seriously. Heavy water is the same as regular water except it uses different isotopes of Hydrogen making it up to 10% heavier than regular water. You shouldn't actually drink it because who knows what radiocative water will do to you but now you finally have an advantage in all those ice fights you have with your friends. Ice fights? What the crap am I talking about?
Jul 11 2006 Chinese gamers protest in online game
Over 10,000 players of "The Fantasy of the Journey West" in China showed up for an online protest in the game when one of the players noticed an image on the wall resembling the "Rising Sun" Japanese flag. Check out the screenshots of the madness.
Jul 10 2006 Laser saber
Laser saber is a fake light saber which uses magnets and a laser pointer to create a neat lightsaber effect. The most unique aspect of this light saber is that you can actually see the light grow, like a real lightsaber. Although it doesn't make the cool swishing noises and using it in combat will still get you laughed at and then beat up. Unless you really believe, in which case maybe the Force will help you. Help you get beat up again that is.
Jul 7 2006 PS3 site shows Apple logo
There was a bit of speculation as to why the official PlayStation 3 site was flashing the Apple logo in the opening animation, but turns out it was just because they were using a trial version of Apple's Shake which displays the logo because they were too cheap to pay for the retail version. So there's no conspiracy between Sony and Apple and it was just a simple case of a multi-gazillion dollar corporation being too cheap to pay for some $500 software. Although they've already gone in and fixed it so that it no longer shows up on the site.
Jul 7 2006 "Google" added to dictionaries
The word "google" has officially been added to Webster's dictionary, with the definition: "to use the Google search engine to obtain information … on the World Wide Web." As in, "Let me google that." The problem is, if the word becomes too embedded in everyday speech then Google can lose its trademark protection and other companies can start using the term "google" when referring to their search. It doesn't sound like a big deal, but "cellophane", "aspirin", and even "escalator" used to be trademarks.
Jul 6 2006 Redesigning the barcode
It seems like a waste of time, but if somebody wants to go through the trouble of making barcodes look pretty then all the power to them. Next they can get cracking on adding some flare to warning labels and the small print on legal documents. You know, the ones that say you've inadvertently sold yourself into slavery when really all you wanted was to open a checking account.
Jul 6 2006 Sony puts together controversial Black and White ad for PSP
Sony has put together a series of billboards for the PSP featuring a white woman dressed in white fighting it out with a black woman dressed in black. I'm not sure how that's supposed to sell PSP's, but at least they're offending a whole bunch of people. And really, isn't offending an entire group of people the same as selling a portable gaming console? It sure is. More shots of the different ads after the jump.
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Jul 6 2006 Lingerie Body Computer Mouse
I don't know what kind of freak would want to wrap their mouse in something like this, and I hope I never find out. If you're so desperate for loving you have to dress up your computer mouse maybe it's time to consider hitting up Vegas for some prostitutes. Sure, it's sick and disgusting, but at least you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you've never dressed up your mouse in lingerie.
Jul 5 2006 Magnetic floating bed
A Dutch inventor has created a floating bed that uses magnetic levitation to float in the air. It's ridiculously impractical and costs either 115,000 euro or 1,200,000 euro (I don't read Dutch so I'm not sure which), but those are the reasons why I want it so bad. Plus I've always been a fan of anything that levitates. Cars, magicians, you name it. Except maybe sharks. Let's just keep those sons of bitches in the water.