Find Our Latest Video Reviews on YouTube!
If you want to stay on top of all of our video reviews of the latest tech, be sure to check out and subscribe to the Gear Live YouTube channel, hosted by Andru Edwards! It’s free!
Latest Gear Live Videos
Now that you have ordered your folding Carvin, your next purchase should be a matching foldable Pinel & Pinel Bike-in-a-Box. The design company has made it available in 51 colors so that you can match it to your new guitar’s pic or shoulder strap. The wooden trunk is covered in leather, is 25 x 25.2 x 6.7-inches in size, weighs about 66 lbs., and comes with a Brompton M6R bike, in a choice of ten colors. Contact Pinel & Pinel for price.
Read More 
| Pinel & Pinel
Gallery: Bike in a Box is Foldable
Advertisement
Need a new home but can’t afford the rising costs of housing? Englishman John Forth of the University of Leeds has invented Bitublocks, made of recycled glass, sewage sludge, and incinerator ashes. The engineer is hoping that his creation will provide a replacement for concrete blocks.
“Less energy is required to manufacture the Bitublock than a traditional concrete block, and it’s about six times as strong, so it’s quite a high-performance product,” Forth said.
Bitumen, a substance used in road paving, binds the trash together in a mold which is then heat-cured into a solid. Forth also has future plans to develop Vegeblocks, made of waste vegetable oil. While we applaud the concept, we just aren’t sure we want to live in a house made of discarded Skippy peanut butter jars.
Read More | Live Science
Gallery: Bitublock Makes Trash Buildable
GMC Displays Triplet Concept Cars
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Design, Transportation,
Making their mini-debuts at The New York Auto show going on April 6 to 15, are GM’s three concept cars designed at their South Korean studio. The Beat is a three-door hatchback designed for personalization. The Groove is “retro-inspired” with fender flares and the Trax is an “urban crossover.”
GM will be showing the “Triplets” at other car shows and are even asking online voters to choose their favorites. At present, Groove is ahead by about 8 percent. While it remains to be seen whether the American car company will start producing these mini-cars anytime soon, we appreciate that the idea is being considered.
Read More | GM
Gallery: GMC Displays Triplet Concept Cars
Ford Unveils Redesigned Fairlaine
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Design, Transportation,
At this week’s New York Auto Show, Ford unveiled its Flex, which is slated to go into production next summer at their Ontario plant and will become a part of their 2009 automotive family. Mark Fields, head of Ford’s North American ops, said that the redesigned Fairlaine was meant to be comparable to Honda’s Pilot, Chrystler’s Pacifica, and GMC’s Acadia. Based on the Freestyle wagon, the Flex seats seven and offers an optional mini-fridge and mood lighting. Aside from the roof color, just where do those similarities to the Fairlaine begin?
Read More | Detroit Free Press
Gallery: Ford Unveils Redesigned Fairlaine
Carvin NS1 Allows MIDI Synth Access
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Misc. Tech, Music,
Carvin, in cooperation with Graph Tech, recently released its Nylon String guitar which gives you the option of MIDI synth access. The NS1 features the usual classic sound and design of their other acoustic guitars, but if you plug in a cable you can play through any PA or Amp. Utilizing a 13 pin cable, its Graph Tech Hexiphone pickup sends a signal through not only the entire instrument but each string as well, providing both acoustical and synthetic sound.
Also featured on the Carvin guitar are stacked volume controls, treble and bass cut/boost knobs, mid cut/boost and mid-sweep controls, and a mini-toggle switch for scrolling MIDI synth patches. The NS1 has a body thickness of only 1.95-inches, a width of 14-inches, and weighs 6.75 lbs. Contact Carvin if you want in on the musical action for $1299.00, but expect a waiting period of 8 to 12 weeks before delivery.
(Thanks, Stace)
Read More | Carvin
Gallery: Carvin NS1 Allows MIDI Synth Access
Tahoe Prepares for DARPA Race
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Science, Transportation, Wireless / WiFi,
This is one remote control vehicle we just can’t wait to try out. Carnegie Mellon’s Tartan Racing team, in cooperation with GM, is preparing a Chevy Tahoe for a November outing sponsored by DARPA (Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.) The desert race consists of navigating vehicles through a 60 mile course that resembles a city street.
The Tahoe will be equipped with automatic steering, brakes, and throttle, and its challenge will be to stay on the road while avoiding obstacles such as other vehicles and oversized cacti. The winner of the race collects a cool $2 million. DARPA foresees this as a way of improving humans’ safe driving habits in heavy traffic conditions. We just see it as an expensive Hot Wheels racetrack for bigger boys and wonder what connections you have to have to become a team member.
Read More | CMU
Gallery: Tahoe Prepares for DARPA Race
Get Ready To Rokenbok Rumble
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Misc. Tech, Toys, Wireless / WiFi,
If you haven’t quite reached the stage of true robotics competition, you can still have your own robo-truck wars with the Rokenbok Defender Duel. Build your own Lego arena and let loose the two RC Police Defender vehicles. Capture your opponent’s flag or try to knock your offensive combatant out of the ring. Included in the 2-player set are the two vehicles, control pads, and a Radio Control Center. Recommended for those physically over the age of 6, the Duel requires 1 9-volt and 6 AA batteries (not included.) For a price of $159.99, you can let the destruction begin.
Read More | Rokenbok via Kiddlywinks
Gallery: Get Ready To Rokenbok Rumble
Toaster Pops Sideways
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Smart Home, Misc. Tech, Science,
Consider no longer having to deal with excess crumbs, burnt Pop-Tarts, partially-frozen waffles, or oversized bagels stuck in your toaster. Alas, it is still only a dream. Designed by Turkey’s Atil Kizilbayir, this ingenious device won the recent 2007 Immib Product Design competition. Put your bread in it at one end and a few seconds later the carriage pops not up, but out of the hooded toaster. Props to Atil, and here’s hoping that his concept will become reality in the near future.
Read More | Atil Kizilbayir via Design Spotter
Gallery: Toaster Pops Sideways
We wanted to create something truly preposterous for April Fools’ Day, but we know how much you take us seriously. Instead, we just thought we would let you know that Duck Dodgers and our favorite Martian were spotted on Mars. Really! Okay, you don’t buy it, but we swear that a friend of ours saw them there today.
Alex Boese, curator of the online Museum of Hoaxes, claims that there is a decrease of genuine hoaxes that people will believe, such as a 1962 report by a Swedish TV Station that said you could color your black and white set if you just put a nylon stocking over it. We personally don’t think anything could possibly be as scary or believable as Welles’ “War of the Worlds” radio show from 1938. So happy Fools’ Day, Gear Livers.
Read More | MSNBC
Gallery: Famous Duck Spotted on Mars!
Soldiers Test Bomb-proof Vehicles
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Misc. Tech, Science, Transportation,
Soldiers at Ft. Lewis, Washington have gotten to test two prototype utility trucks and two maneuverable sustainment vehicles as part of the Army’s new $60 million modernization program. These vehicles come equipped with remote weapon systems, video cameras, touch screen control, night vision capability, and what they feel is enough strength to sustain a concussion of a roadside bomb. They also feature diesel-electric hybrid engines.
Tim Conner, the Defense Department contractor who is overseeing the project says, “If you want to sneak up on someone, you turn on the electric ... which also boosts the horsepower,” he said.
The Marine Corps is also planning to test the vehicles during the last two weeks of April, then they will be displayed at the Pentagon. Look for them soon in a war near you.
Read More | Live Science
