Gadget Day
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I used to love gadgets and the coolness of technology. I still do a little, but as I've aged, I'm a much more practical guy. Most things are just tools to me and so I'm not awed by every new design. As a matter of fact I rarely see something that I think is amazing or really cool. I have to say the Sharper Image catalog, once a bunch of fun to read, is now not so intersting.
I saw this list of the top 10 strangest gadgets of the future and for some reason checked it out. The fact I needed this poll might have helped. There are some strange ones in there, and some that are cool. The toaster is neat although that appliance is a tool for me and I have no interest in watching it. The DVD player is probably the most practical for me with kids. And of course in sunny Denver, that beer can might come in handy. So I wonder
What's the coolest gadget you have or want?
Anything goes. Futuristic, prototype, etc. Give some ideas for everyone out there that might want a little distraction today.
I had to really think about it because most things I see as practical and going to Best Buy, CompUSA, Circuit City, etc. doesn't really get me that excited. Actually I tend to go and see what my kids like more than I want anything. So I surfed around a little to see if anything caught my eye. Once again a poll came to me without an answer
I saw one of these coffee makers a few months ago when my wife and I were buying a few appliances. They demo'd it for us and it was pretty cool. We drink a little too much coffee to make this an economical choice, but I thought it was cool and actually ended up getting one for my Mom recently. If you haven't seen one, check it out next time you're in a store that has them.
And share some cool gadgets with me. Maybe you'll find something I can ask the kids for this Father's Day
Steve Jones
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Cool – a transparent toaster! Until you read, “Unfortunately, the glass does not reach a high enough temperature — at this time — to actually toast the bread.”. Hmm… good work, guys. So what exactly is it that you’ve built??? Two bits of glass that hold bread and dry it out over a period of several hours???
Seriously, though, I like the self-chilling beer can. Too many times have I turned up at a party where everyone brings beer, but you rapidly run out of chilled beer. No more filling up the fridge quickly at the start and keeping it filled, maybe having to suffer a couple of warm beers. Just keep all the beers in a pile and twist & chill as you drink. Brilliant!
Let's hope it goes into production and lasts longer than those self-heating coffees. Did you guys get those over there? They were great - coffee anywhere, just take the tin with you and when you want to drink it, press the button on the bottom, give it a gentle shake and hey presto - warm coffee. It seems to have disappeared off the shelves here, which is a shame, as I quite liked it.
I think the coolest gadgets I'd like to see in the future are more home automation things. The ability to control household appliances through a web interface to your home computer, set your Sky+/TiVo box remotely and such like (with everything in your home talking over wireless), would be cool.
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I've always thought the aqueon fireplace was a cool idea. Apparently it is a fireplace that uses water as the fuel. It takes 220 volts, and uses electrolysis to separate the hydrogen from the oxygen, then ignites the hydrogen to produce heat, and the extra oxygen gets released into the room. I've never seen one in action, but the concept is intriguing.
http://www.heatnglo.com/products/fireplaces/aqueon/aqueonhome.asp
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Some of the coolest "gadgets" I've seen are ones that people cobble up in their skunkworks barns or garages. For example, my wife's uncle made this really cool cat door, an elaborate mini revolving door with a hidden system of pulleys and counterweights so Kitty could gently nudge the door and the whole thing would rotate 180 degrees as Kitty demurely padded into/out of the house a hundred times a day.
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I want to buy a cat door that transports my wife's cat to another dimension, never to return.
Live to Throw
Throw to Live
Will Summers -
The neatest thing I have is the PS2 Eye Toy. There is something just fun about playing a video game that you actually have to get up and move and jump around. You get a great workout too! I know, it is just a video game, but it is unique in the market. Nintendo is coming out with a new controller that will also allow the user to get into the game, and I can't wait!
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TV Be GONE !!!
Brilliant idea.... ever sat in a pub where someone has left a TV on even tho nobody is watching it? Its sooo distracting when you are sitting and trying to listen to someone talking .. but the TV in your eyeline keeps attracting your attention...
And you just wish it would go away... well now you are in control!
TV-b-gone is a remote control... with only ONE button.. the OFF button....
It will turn off ANY tv...
Looks like a key fob for central locking on you car... so fits on a keyring...
basically when you press the button this device will cycle through the off codes for all known brands of TV....
I have one and I get great use out of it...
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Now that sounds like it would be fun when out walking the dog... and walking past people's houses...
... or (in the UK at least) in the bookies, when a horse race is just finishing and a few people have a bet on it... OOPS!!
Brilliant. I'm going to order one now!
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Hey there....
Love the kitty door... so how do I get a hold of your uncle to get one for my cat?!??!
I like gadets, but there is point where you need to get away from the computer and technology and do things for yourself too...
Although, household stuff that "multi-tasks" is good and space saving as apts get smaller and we have less space over all. I.e. I would never buy that glass toaster, even if it worked, I have a toaster oven instead of a toaster b/c it does so much, is in a cabinet off the counter, so no counter clutter, etc and you can make tons of stuff with it! Haven't had a toaster in 10 years and would never buy one again!
Anyway.. cool link/article... all the geeks (me include) I know will love it.
Cheers,
Michelle.
"Work like you don't need the money;
dance like no one is watching;
sing like no one is listening;
love like you've never been hurt;
and live every day as if it were your last."
~ an old Irish proverb -
Wishing in the present for a reality out of one possible future ... I'd opt for a device worn on the ear (or someplace fairly inconspicuous) that could serve as an interface between your mind and a computer. Imagine how fast one could think commands as opposed to typing or mousing them. Naturally this would be a one way interface out of concern for ones own mind being inundated and possibly 'fried' by the return stream of information at computer speeds.
The fireplace sounds cool as well. However the extra oxygen created from the electrolysis is reused when the hydorgen is 'burned' creating water vapor ! SO if you buy this product thinking that youy are getting additional oxygen in your home you're mistaken. If you want that either buy oxygen tanks or better yet, plants !
RegardsRudy KomacsarSenior Database Administrator"Ave Caesar! - Morituri te salutamus."
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Dyson, definitely the Dyson. You know, I thought it was all hype. I thought it was all marketing fluff. I was very, very leery of having to drop $500 for a freakin' vacuum? That was, until, we got it home. We didn't buy the most expensive one. We went middle of the road. My wife was very skeptical too. I broke it out. I snapped those things that required snapping on, and plugged 'er in. With a great sigh I said "Alright, here goes...." and turned her on. It was all over. After no more than 30 seconds, my wife said "Gimme that!!!!!" and proceeded to vacuum the whole house. I was in my office, and she was upstairs with the thing. About every minute or so I heard her exclaim "Oh my god!!!!!" I went upstairs to see how she was doing with it. She had thought that all of the dust particles in the receptacle were larger particles that were being pulverized by the "Cyclonic Action." I said "no honey, that's all of the construction dust that was lying deep in the bottom of the carpet." Our house is brand new. We're the first owners. This thing is the most amazing piece of modern machinery I think I may have ever encountered, and it looks good too! When my wife vacuums, our carpets look like they were just put down last week. If you don't have one, buy one. It's definitely worth the $$
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On the mind activated computer theme, didn't the US air force develop missile systems that could be activated by the pilot thinking 'fire'.
I think my award for the most amazing, and possibly the least ethical gadget has got to be the 'ratbot', a living remote controlled rat, created by putting electrodes into the parts of the rats brain that receive information from it's whiskers. by fooling the rat into thinking it's face is touching an obstacle, they can make it turn left or right as they wish.
I can't wait for the day when every computer comes with a wireless mouse and a wireless cybernetic ratbot, controlled by the power of my own mind. Prepare to be assimilated by your computer?
Must go now, got a sudden inexplicable craving for cheese.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guided_rat
http://www.af.mil/news/airman/0296/look.htm
David
If it ain't broke, don't fix it...
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