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Latest Gear Live Videos
Drive Alert Master: Keep Yourself Awake, Alive Behind the Wheel
Posted by Dave White Categories: Accessories, Transportation,
Now here’s something we can really get behind. It’s a device that will wake you up when you start to fall asleep at the wheel. Insurance companies will love this one, we predict.
It’s the Drive Alert Master, and it looks like a Bluetooth headset but is so not for talking on the phone. Rather, it keeps a virtual eye on your head, looking for clues to your level of drowsiness. If your head tilts downward a certain number of degrees (as in when you’re drowsy and you do the dunking flamingo maneuver), the headset beeps loudly right in your ear. You can program the number of degrees of tilt to allow, from 15 to 30.
The manufacturers say it doesn’t slurp up the battery power very fast, and they certainly have priced it to ship. You can get one for just $14.99 USD.
Read More 
| SmartHome
Gallery: Drive Alert Master: Keep Yourself Awake, Alive Behind the Wheel
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2 CD Racks With Style from Creative Motion
Posted by Dave White Categories: Accessories, Home Entertainment, Portable Audio / Video, Storage,
The folks at Creative Motion know how to light up a room. Check out their latest home entertainment offerings, a pair of CD racks that will have your friends and family looking twice (or maybe shielding their eyes) at the brilliance.
The item on the left is the Glitter Rack, and the title is very descriptive: It can certainly hold up to 32 CDs, but its main claim to fame is the sparkling glitter chips floating through the space of the center glass. On the right is the one for all you DNA fans out there. It’s the Kinetic Blacklight CD Rack, and the center of this one is a spinning colorful helix lit up by a blacklight bulb in back.
Pricing varies a bit between the two racks. The Glitter Rack goes for $29.99 USD. The Kinetic Blacklight Rack holds 36 CDs, and you can get your hands on it for $39.99 USD.
Read More | ChipChick
Gallery: 2 CD Racks With Style from Creative Motion
ZScanner 700: Handheld Continuous 3D Hi-def Imager
Posted by Dave White Categories: Accessories, Design, Handhelds, Peripherals, Science,
Now this is a powerful device. The ZScanner 700 looks heavy-duty, and it certainly is. It will also take a toll on your finances.
The handheld unit can make a three-dimensional polygon mesh of anything in just a few minutes. The ZScanner 700 comes with a set of reflective markers, which you attach to your target. Hook up the scanner to your laptop and sit back and watch. Using lasers and dual cameras, the scanner will zip a scan of the object to your computer. Once you have the image, you can do everything you’d expect to be able to, including rotating, burning and dodging, reducing resolution, and all kinds of other fun tricks. It’s all 3D, and it’s one continuous scan.
Designed primarily for the medical community, ths ZScanner 700 would also fit well in the hands of a heavy-duty graphic designer.
You’ll pay a pretty penny for this one, though. Pricing starts at $39,000 USD.
Read More | Zcorp via Medgadget
Gallery: ZScanner 700: Handheld Continuous 3D Hi-def Imager
Aiptek HyperPen 12000: Tablet Drawing Without a Big Price Tag
Posted by Dave White Categories: Accessories, USB, Design, PC / Laptop, Peripherals,
Cool technology doesn’t always have to be expensive. That’s the case with the Aiptek HyperPen 12000. It’s a tablet for your PC. Use the pen to create artwork, make virtual signature, touch up photos, or whatever else you can create. The pen needs no wires to make its impression known on the tablet, which recognizes 512 levels of pressure. The tablet also has 24 keys, enabling you to basically avoid the keyboard if you want to. A full nine of those keys are customizable.
Aiptek will send you a software application to guide you through the rigors of pen-based artwork, if you need them. My guess is that if you’re buying this tablet-and-pen combination, you’re an artist at heart and in deed and you’re just looking to save money. You can pick up one of these for just $131 USD.
Read More | Gizoo via Coolest Gadgets
Gallery: Aiptek HyperPen 12000: Tablet Drawing Without a Big Price Tag
Knock-Knock Door Chime: No Doorbell Needed
Posted by Dave White Categories: Accessories, Smart Home, Wireless / WiFi,
When is a door chime not a door chime? When it’s a knock.
Check out the Knock-Knock Door Chime, a device that doesn’t show itself off as itself. You install it on the inside of your front door, on an adjoining wall, or up to 100 feet away, and let the chime do the rest. When a friend or neighbor or door-to-door salesman knocks on the front door, the chime sounds inside the house, alerting you to the presence of someone you do or do not want to see. No wires are needed, and you can pick one up for $49.99 USD.
Read More | Gizmocity via Coolest Gadgets
Gallery: Knock-Knock Door Chime: No Doorbell Needed
Lexon E8: Count the Dots to Tell the Time
Posted by Dave White Categories: Accessories, Wearables, Design,
Recent studies have shown that many of today’s youths can’t tell time on a traditional clock because they rarely see one. This watch, the Lexon E8, might just help that problem, if only partly. See, you tell the time by counting the dots. You don’t even need to count to 10. The only thing you really have to remember is which column you’re looking at.
Four columns exist on this display. The first two are the hour, and the last two are the minutes. Give it a few hundred looks, and you’ll be able to tell what time it is with just a glance. You can get one of these E8s with orange, green, or just grey dots for just $137 USD.
Read More | Lexon E8 Product Page via Gizmodo
Gallery: Lexon E8: Count the Dots to Tell the Time
Hoverstop Mouse Reminds You of Repetitive Movement
Posted by Dave White Categories: Accessories, PC / Laptop, Peripherals,
We all know that using a computer all day is bad for us, yet we do it anyway. Even if you’re just surfing away and typing in a Web address here and there, you run the risk of getting carpal tunnel syndrome. Here’s a device that can help you, especially when you’re in the depths of concentration. The Hoverstop mouse tracks how long your hand grips the mouse. If you go over 10 seconds, the mouse vibrates, reminding you to either wake up or get up and stretch.
This device won’t necessarily get you to adopt a more ergonomic posture with your hands and with the rest of the your body, but it can indeed help remind you that you’re putting your body through repetitive-motion stress, even when you’re just moving the mouse.
The 800dpi mouse has to plug in to your computer in order to power the built-in motor, and it can be connected to a USB port or via PS/2. You can get one of these at ThinkGeek for $69 USD.
Read More | ThinkGeek
Gallery: Hoverstop Mouse Reminds You of Repetitive Movement
iBlueTube Accents iPod Tunes with Blue Light
Posted by Dave White Categories: Accessories, Apple, Home Entertainment, Music, Peripherals,
We see a laser light show in this device’s future. It’s the iBlueTube from Thanko, and it is an iPod dock that has two full-on vacuum tubes, one sticking out each side of what is an extended docking mechanism.
The middle part of the dock looks normal enough, with the iPod resting in a small circular dock populated with buttons and cord slots (including hookups for real speakers, and even viewscreens). Zoom back out again and you’ll see a triangular backlighting system that lights up blue via the LED vacuum tubes.
The main appeal of this item seems to be the cool factor, although the speakers are said to pump out 12 watts of power, which is more than your average iPod dock. Plop one of these docks down on your mantel and have a few friends over, and you’re sure to have some appreciative audience in no time flat. Of course, you’ll pay for the privilege: The iBlueTube, which is scheduled for release in Japan sometime in the next few weeks, is projected to cost the equivalent of $566 USD.
Read More | New Launches via Gizmodo
Gallery: iBlueTube Accents iPod Tunes with Blue Light
Saitek Mouse Comes in Vibrant Colors
Posted by Dave White Categories: Accessories, Design, PC / Laptop, Peripherals,
So you have that boring white or black or silver computer and you’re looking to liven up your desk a bit? Well, the good folks at Saitek have the answer for you. It’s a mouse that comes in a series of vibrant colors while still packing up a punch on the technical side.
First of all, the mouse does look like a certain Apple mouse from a few years ago. That’s okay. It was a good product then, and it’s a solid option now. The scroll wheel is rubberized, for ease of use. Unlike that all-white Apple mouse of yore, however, this one has the heavy-duty 800dpi optical sensor, so even the slightest movements are tracked and translated into commands or movements onscreen. Use this mouse for spreadsheets or shoot-‘em-ups.
The mouse also has two buttons and has been ergonomically designed to fit either the left or the right hand. The four available colors are yellow, pink, soft orange, and lime green. The one possible complaint you could have is that the cords are a little short. They’re made that way, though, so what can you do?
Price tag is $20, and you can get one here. BTW, Saitek is marketing these as laptop-specific products, but we see no reason why you can’t buy one for each computer you have.
Read More | Saitek Notebook Optial Mouse via Outblush
Gallery: Saitek Mouse Comes in Vibrant Colors
Plantronics Debuts Fall 2006 Blueooth Headset Line Up
Posted by Nino Marchetti Categories: Accessories, Smartphones,
Plantronics unveiled their fall line up of Bluetooth enabled headsets today. Five standard headsets, ranging in price from $149.95 to $79.95, as well as a stereo headset model priced at $139.95 were showcased.
The top of the line for Plantronics’ non-stereo Bluetooth headsets is the Discovery 655. This model features what Plantronics describes as a fashionable look and ergonomic fit while weighing a mere nine grams. It uses digital signal processing to reduce background noise and has an AAA charging pocket which provides up to 10 hours of talk time. The other most interesting model is the Pulsar 590E Stereo Bluetooth Headset which, like the name implies, is designed to work with music-enabled mobile phones for wirelessly listening to music and answer/end calls without needing an adapter.
Read More | Plantronics Fall 2006 Line Up Web Page
