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Multi Task Light Gloves »
Carrying out small tasks around the house and at work are easy for people in warm countries like Australia, Jamaica, Brazil and Hawaii. Changing the tyre of your car, or fixing the outside light are basic tasks that are carried out without much hassle at all. However, for people in much colder climates where snow [...]
Kindle DRM hacked »
A hacker, Labba , and his buddies have cracked the Kindle’s ebook DRM, essentially allowing folks to extract the text of Amazon’s AZW files into a PDF for viewing on any reader. The hackers have reverse engineered the ebook code and very close to a formal, software-based solution. It took the hackers only nine days to strip the DRM although there is no formal piece of software for the hack. But before you hack, think about it: these are ebooks. Do we really need to steal every living thing under the sun? via BGR
Robocops to roam the streets of San Jose »
According to the Mercury News , cops in San Jose will soon be wearing head-mounted video cameras to record their interaction with civilians. The devices will sit above their ears and they will be activated whenever they speak with a citizen or suspect. The videos will then be uploaded to a central server. Presumably these things turn off when the officers are in the toilet. Why is this happening? Because people don’t trust cops right now. The system, called AXON, can also attach to other parts of the body. A leading critic of the department welcomed the cameras as a tool to provide useful evidence, but dismissed their significance as a solution to rocky police-community relations. “The AXON project is unfortunately a positive thing right now because the level of distrust is so high,” said Raj Jayadev, director of the community organization Silicon Valley De-Bug. “But it doesn’t address the more fundamental problem: What stereotypes police may carry when they see people of color on the street and make assumptions about The kit also includes a computer that hangs from the officer’s belt. Thanks, Thomas!
The Kindle DX is out of stock at Amazon, ships in 4-6 weeks »
Hoping to snag a Kindle DX as a last minute Christmas gift? Sorry, pal, you’re out of luck. The large-screen Kindle now has an estimated shipping date of 4 to 6 weeks according to its Amazon product page. It looks like ebook readers are the hot item this year, eh? It’s kind of ironic that I found this TechFlash story minutes after I stated at the bottom of the latest Nook story that we haven’t heard of any Kindle shipping issues. It seems like I need to get another monitor just for ebook news these days. That will make a total of five.
Identify this thing, win a $50 gift card »
What is it? I thought a thorn or something at first, but now I’m thinking… bee leg? Well, one thing I can say for sure is that it’s a scan by that desktop SEM machine we mentioned a few weeks back. They’re running a contest to win a flash drive and an Amazon gift certificate; all you have to do is go over there and comment what you think is pictured above. Not exactly a gadget, but I’ll be glad if a CG reader takes home the fitty.
Christmas shopping at Amazon? Better finish up today »
You know that Christmas is next week , right? That means you only have eight days left to finish your shopping. If you planned on using Amazon though, today is the last full day that the retailer will guarantee its free super saver shipping will get your product to you by December 25. So go, my friend, go order your girlfriend a cubic zirconia earring set. She’ll love it.
Someone call the RIAA: Amazon accidentally sends out Lil Wayne album despite the fact that it’s been delayed till February »
Oops! As I’m sure you all know, famous rapper Lil Wayne has a new album in the works. It was supposed to come out next week, but was pushed back for whatever reason. No big deal, albums get pushed back all the time. (See: Detox. We’ll have flying cars by the time that comes out.) Anyhow, apparently Amazon didn’t get the memo since it sent out copies of the album to about 500 people who pre-ordered it. And as if you had to ask: yes, the album has already been pirated. I guarantee you can find it on Canal Street (to say nothing of “the Internet”) by the end of the day today. The album, Rebirth, has been pushed back to February 1, primarily to give its first single, “On Fire,” some more time to get heat. Amazon hasn’t said anything about the accidental release yet. If you were to ask me, and you’re not, I’d tell Lil Wayne’s record label, Universal, to just release the album now. It’s all over the Internet, so anyone who wants to download it can—why wait till February to buy it? And once it hits the Internet, it’ll hit the streets (Canal Street, and your local city’s equivalent) by the end of the work day today. Best use this little snafu to your advantage. Besides, it’s not like you need to market or advertise Lil Wayne. The guy is huge. I can’t speak to the latest album, but the comments I’ve seen aren’t exactly glowing…
Gift Guide: Gadgets for the Home »
Gadgets need not be relegated to the darkest corners of your home office or rumpus room. There are plenty of options that can easily blend in to the less techno-centric areas of your humble abode. In that spirit, here’s a list of relatively inconspicuous gadgets for the home. Digital Photo Frames Digital photo frames have come a long way in terms of style and features. And while you can purchase inexpensive frames in just about any store that sells electronics, I’d personally recommend splurging a bit for one with a wireless connection of some type. A wireless frame allows you to do a few things that you can’t do with standard frames. For starters, you can put it just about anywhere since you’ll be updating it wirelessly. With a standard frame, you need to make sure it’s placed in an accessible area so you can get at the memory card to add new photos. Secondly, many wireless frames let your family and friends add their own photos to your frame from anywhere in the world. And finally, if you’re interested, wireless frames can often showcase information like weather and news. A few wireless frame choices for your perusal: HP DreamScreen ($200 to $250) eStarling TouchConnect ($200) Toshiba Digital Media Frame ($180 to $230) Kodak EasyShare ($100 to $230) IPEVO Kaleido R7 ($150) Solar Lighting Solar-powered lights are slowly finding their way into the realm of normal-looking items. With the exception of not having a cord protruding from the base, there are more and more solar lamps coming out that’ll fit in just about anywhere. I’ve been using the $17 solar lamp from Geeks.com seen on the right here and it’s been working pretty well so far. The batteries take a while to fully charge but once they’re ready to go, it’s nice to be able to use this lamp anywhere I need a little extra light. And aside from the little square solar panel embedded in the top of the lamp shade, it looks just like a regular lamp (again, without the cord, or course). You’ll want to make sure to place your lamp in a spot where it’ll get decent sunlight and remember that these lamps are basically collecting sunlight and using it to slowly juice up rechargeable batteries, which are then used to power little LED bulbs. Current charge times may be long (9-12 hours) and actual usage time may be short (3-6 hours), but sunlight is free and free is good. Can You Imagine LED Solar Lamp ($17 at Geeks.com) Sunnan Work Lamp ($20 at Ikea) Smart Solar Powered Table Lamp ($80 at Amazon) For the Kitchen There are hundreds of potential kitchen gadgets, but here are a few I’ve personally tried and can recommend. As far as coffee goes, some people get intimidated by fancy coffee makers. If there’s someone like that on your list, these Keurig machines are tough to beat – any of the coffee machines that use “pods” are actually pretty good . You fill the machine’s reservoir with water, pop a coffee pod into the machine, and put your cup or mug underneath the spout. Press the button and you’ve got near-instant coffee that tastes far better than instant coffee. And there’s basically no cleanup other than throwing the empty pod away. Another fun idea, especially if you have kids, is a home soda-making machine. They can get a bit expensive but the idea is that you’ll save money in the long run, and the soda mixes for this Penguin machine I reviewed , for instance, don’t contain high fructose corn syrup. For the germophobe in your life, there’s a new crop of touchless faucets on the market ( see John’s review here ) — “touchless” is a misnomer, but you’re able to control the thing with your wrist, forearm, or elbow. And last but not least if you’ve got a pancake lover in your life, you’re left with little choice than to spring for a $5 can of Batter Blaster pancake mix. They’re pancakes in a can. Again, they’re pancakes in a can. See my review here . Keurig Brewing Systems ($90 to $250) Home Soda Machines ($90 to $200) Delta Touch2O Faucet ($400) Organic Batter Blaster ($5)
Lord of the Rings Blu-ray trilogy on track for April release, but don’t buy it »
Too bad the upcoming $99 Blu-ray release is just the theatrical edition and not the extended-cut version. It’s not even worth the $69 price Amazon has it set at for pre-order as you know the other version will come out eventually anyway. New Line just wants fans to double dip. Fail. Amazon via High-Def Digest
Zink 2.0 inkless printers beginning to trickle out »
Zink stands for “zero ink.” It’s the name of a company that has created a new way of printing that uses, yes, zero ink. It’s all in the paper , hoss. The paper has three layers of cyan, magenta, and yellow crystals layered over each other. You roll the paper through Zink printers, which then heat specific areas of the sheet, creating an image. The first version of Zink’s technology was hobbled in that the paper was too big, only 2