Boing Boing » gadget

Debut of the Picturephone

David Pescovitz — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:32:10 +0000

In this press conference, Microsoft finally reveals its plans for Skype.

Hubble Space Telescope control console on eBay

David Pescovitz — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 17:36:44 +0000

Want to build a DIY version of the Hubble Space Telescope? I posted last year that the Vehicle Power Interface Console used at the Goddard Flight Center during pre-launch testing of the HST was for sale on eBay for $75,000. Well, now the seller has significantly sweetened the deal by throwing in this stately and elegant two-person HST control console presumably also used during pre-launch testing. "NASA ARTIFACT VPI Vehicle Power Interface Rack & Console Hubble Space Telescope"

Hand-shaped iPhone "case"

David Pescovitz — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:58:06 +0000

The Hand iPhone Case is totally impractical and not really a case. But it's absolutely fantastic! You can choose between an adult or child-sized hand. (via Gadget Lab)

Portable organ, radio, phonograph from 1976

David Pescovitz — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:33:19 +0000

From the @boingboing Instagram feed, my snap of a Silver Star ORP-1803 organ, radio, phonograph (c.1976) at Groove Merchant, SF.

Funny French toilet paper TV commercial

David Pescovitz — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:13:13 +0000

Clever TV commercial for Le Trèfle toilet paper by the Leo Burnett ad agency. (Thanks, David Steinberg!)

BoomCase suitcase speakers/amp

David Pescovitz — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 23:17:28 +0000

BoomCase transforms classic old luggage (and lunch boxes) into one-of-a-kind, er, artisanal amps/speakers that run on batteries and accept any audio input. The BoomCase (Thanks, Patrick!)

Vintage boombox with vertical turntable

David Pescovitz — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 20:36:49 +0000

Many of you were intrigued by the $50 Ion IT34 portable USB turntable/cassette deck that I posted about a couple weeks ago. If you don't care about USB and have $700 or so to spend on your mobile vinyl needs, might I suggest you seek out the legendary Sharp VZ-2000 boombox from 1982. It features a linear tracking vertical turntable that plays both sides of a record without having to flip it.

Mouthstick: mouth-held touchscreen stylus

David Pescovitz — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 21:07:06 +0000

Griffin Technology, makers of a slew of iPhone accessories and other gear, just announced the Mouthstick, a capacitive touchscreen stylus for people who can't use their hands. It's $29.99.

Google Glass demo video

David Pescovitz — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:01:07 +0000

This promotional video apparently demonstrates the Google Glass experience. The video itself reminds me of one of Hollywood's cliche friends-having-fun-day-out montage, only this one doesn't end with a pillow fight. Probably because it might damage the Google Glass.

Portable USB record player/cassette deck combo

David Pescovitz — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 22:43:47 +0000

I can't vouch for the sound quality of the Ion IT34 Duo Deck USB turntable/cassette deck but I sure dig the design. It runs on four AA batteries, fits in a backpack, ~~and plays 78s~~ -- perfect for a real old timey picnic. Would also be fun to build it into your auto's dash, like this fine car audio system of yesteryear! $50 from Amazon. "Ion IT34 Duo Deck Ultra-Portable USB Turntable with Cassette Deck"

Space Age bachelor pad hi-fi

David Pescovitz — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 21:39:23 +0000

If my home was the Discovery One, I would listen to my space age bachelor pad music on this Rosita Stereo Commander Luxus stereo paired beautifully with Grundig Audiorama 8000 HiFi speakers, both c.1975. This particular set is from the Aediorama blog, but I learned about the Rosita Stereo Commander Luxus from Spencer Hickman of Death Waltz Recording Company who recently acquired one with which to better enjoy his label's freaked-out horror soundtrack reissues.

The phone booth as "last vestige of privacy"

Rob Beschizza — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 17:43:47 +0000

Ariana Kelly: "Between 1997 and 2000, when Pacific Bell retired the number at the request of the Mojave Forest Service, the phone received thousands of calls, dozens each day. When asked why they called, most of the callers’ answers could be distilled to this: Because there was a chance someone would pick up." [LA Review of Books]

Real history of the Fisher Space Pen

David Pescovitz — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 18:11:37 +0000

I've carried a Fisher Space Pen Bullet on and off since I was a kid. ("Write underwater and upside down!") I usually lose them in a matter of weeks, but while I can manage to hold on to one I do appreciate its minimalist design, small size, and great "fiddleability." Of course, the Space Pen is surrounded by some epic marketing and myth. Did NASA really invest millions to develop a perfect pen for astronauts? No, apparently, Fisher had developed the pen technology and later brought it to NASA. Following two years of testing, the space agency bought 400 of the pens at a 40 percent discount. And on October 11, 1968, Apollo 7 astronauts carried Fisher Space Pens, model AG7, into orbit.

"The Fisher Space Pen Boldly Writes Where No Man Has Written Before" (Smithsonian)

Fisher Space Pen AG7 (Amazon)

Ambient jam from Buddhist chant boxes and electronic tanpura

David Pescovitz — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 19:23:25 +0000

On Monday, I posted about FM3's latest Buddha Machine, their wonderful music loop player. The FM3 Buddha Machine was inspired by the cheap electronic Buddhist chant boxes sold in China and India that play infinite prayer loops. The video above is an ambient "jam session" between three of those chant boxes and a Raagini Electronic Digital Tanpura laying down the drone. The result is a kind of "generative art," unique work created by computers from fixed parameters defined by a human artist -- a concept I wrote about in Wired back in 1998.

Universal remote control pillow

David Pescovitz — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 20:14:38 +0000

If your remote control vanished as often as mine, you wouldn't dismiss this admittedly ridiculous Universal Pillow Remote out of hand. (Thanks, Charles Pescovitz!)

Buddha Machine 4 now available

David Pescovitz — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 20:00:03 +0000

FM3 has released the fourth (ahem) incarnation of its wonderful Buddha Machine, the classic ambient music generator loaded with loops by Christiaan Virant and Zhang Jian. Above, listen to the lovely "hao" loop from Buddha Machine 4. I've gifted many previous models of Buddha Machines and they are always happily received. You can get the device in green, red (pink?), yellow, or orange from Forced Exposure.

In other Buddha Machine news, Virant's "Fistful of Buddha" album is now available too! Here's a taste:

iPhone case allows you to take photos with phone held horizontally

Mark Frauenfelder — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 20:55:31 +0000

The MirrorCase for the iPhone lets you take photos while holding the phone flat, like an old-timey camera. It seems like a good way to shoot video of yourself, too - just set it on a table and do your thing. At $50, it's a bit pricey. I wonder if there's a DIY version? (I think this is the gizmo used to secretly tape Mitt Romney declaring that 47% of Americans suck.)

Attractive, simple table top radio: Sangean WR-11

Mark Frauenfelder — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 01:23:52 +0000

After futzing around with various streaming radio apps and bluetooth speakers, my wife told me she wanted a real tabletop radio for the kitchen. Here were her requirements:

1. No buttons - knobs only.

2. Two knobs preferred. A maximum of three.

3. Pretty.

4. Easy to use.

I immediately thought of the Tivoli Audio Model One, but the $150 price tag kept me from getting it. Then I saw the wood-cased Sangean WR-11 for $85. Not quite as good looking as the Tivoli, but almost. Certainly attractive enough to be called pretty. No buttons: check. Three knobs: check (the third knob turns it on and selects AM or FM). Easy to use: It sure seemed like it would be. I bought it.

It arrived yesterday. The sound is rich and deep, even when the volume is turned up, and the tuning and volume knobs are pleasantly viscous when you turn them. Not much more to say about it -- my wife likes it, and so do I.

Sangean WR-11

Companion Cube ice-trays

Cory Doctorow — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 19:30:29 +0000

Wow 'em at your next Portal-themed cocktail party with ThinkGeek's Companion Cube ice-cube molds, at $12.99 per.

Portal 2 Companion Cube Ice Tray (via Geekologie)

McIntosh compact AirPlay stereo system

David Pescovitz — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 16:56:24 +0000

The McIntosh McAire is a standalone stereo system designed for Apple AirPlay. It also is a fine hardware complement for the McIntosh AP1 Music Player app, digitizing those iconic blue meters (although these sadly don't actually respond to the music). The app is free but the McAire is $3,000 -- real blue meters are expensive!

LovePalz teledildonic sex toy

Mark Frauenfelder — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 16:27:27 +0000

An early 1990s magazine called Future Sex was all about teledidonics - devices that allow people to have sex with each other even when they weren't close enough to have sex. But in the early 1990s, there weren't any real teledildonic devices. Future Sex closed down after a few issue

In 2012, a couple of designers are hoping to make teledildonics a reality with LovePalz, an iPhone sex toy that allows you to "remotely control your partner's device through your body movement." They were rejected from Kickstarter (Kickstarter won't say why), so the designers have launched their own Kickstarter-esque website. They've received 2223 pre-orders so far.

LovePalz

(Via HuffPost)

Gadget to shoot 360° panoramic video on iPhone

Mark Frauenfelder — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 20:42:39 +0000

The Kogeto DOT is a $49 gadget that lets iPhone users shoot 360° panoramic videos.

(Via Blame it on the Voices)

Toddler kicked off plane after iPad deprivation tantrum

Xeni Jardin — Thu, 31 May 2012 19:37:37 +0000

A family from Washington state had to cancel an island vacation when their flight was grounded after their 3-year-old son pitched a tantrum.

The toddler had been quietly playing with an iPad while waiting for the plane to take off, the father said. When the iPad was taken away—you know how all electronics must be stowed during takeoff and landing—all hell broke loose.

Alaska Airlines says the matter boiled down to a security issue: the child became so upset, he would not sit up straight and keep his seatbelt on, and the father could not control him. The airline offered the family a later flight, but the toddler isn't interested.

"I'm not sure how the kids will feel about flying next time," said the dad, Mark Yanchak. "As soon as we got of the plane he was like, 'Dad, no fly, go home, let's go home. I think the whole ordeal just scared him off. He didn't want to fly again."

I dunno. The FAA's in-flight gadget restrictions are nonsensical, but I'm calling this one as parenting fail. As BB commenter angusm rightly notes, "Children should be switched off during take-off and landing. And at all points in between."

More: NY Daily News, citing a local Seattle radio news report. (image: KIRO, Seattle)

iPod Body Mod: magnetic wrist piercings become mount for Apple iPod Nano

Xeni Jardin — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:45:42 +0000

REUTERS/Keith Bedford

Tattoo artist Dave Hurban displays an iPod Nano which he has attached to his wrists through magnetic piercings in his wrist in New York, May 14, 2012. Reuters has an interview with him here.

"I just invented the strapless watch," he said on Monday of his Apple Inc device, set to display a clock.
Hurban cheerfully recounted how he mapped out the four corners of the iPod on his arm and then inserted four titanium studs into his skin. Once the incisions healed, he popped on his iPod, which is held in place magnetically.
"It's way simpler than you think it is," said Hurban.

Below, Durban's HOWTO video for the project he calls "iDermal," explaining how he pulled it off. Not that he can just, you know, pull them off now.

Gendered toy-ad remixer

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:57:47 +0000

Zarkonnen sez, "The Gender Remixer lets you set the video of one toy ad to the audio of another aimed at the opposite gender, with hilarious/disturbing results." It's true. The heavily gendered world of toy ads are as formalized as a legal proceeding. Hearing the audio for one and seeing the video for another is incredibly and wonderfully discordant.

The HTML5 Gendered Advertising Remixer (Thanks, Zarkonnen!)

DODOcase's new iPad covers: pretty sweet

Xeni Jardin — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:34:09 +0000

I'm a big fan of DODOcase's handmade-in-SF iPad cases, and the classic, restrained minimalism of their basic black line and "Essentials" collection. They've just announced a Spring/Summer series for the new iPad with vibrant two-tone colors, and the option of adding foil or black personalized lettering. And, if you like, a little hole for the iPad camera to peek through.

Report: iPad 4G to be offered by Verizon, AT&T

Xeni Jardin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 07:01:52 +0000

The Wall Street Journal was first to report that Verizon Wireless and AT&T will offer the next edition of Apple's iPad to run on their newest 4G wireless networks.

The Marimba ringtone heard 'round the world: symphonygate update

Xeni Jardin — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:58:03 +0000

The 60-or-70-something businessman and symphony-goer whose iPhone halted Mahler? Don't hate on him, hate on bad UI. The ringer mute switch on iPhone doesn't silence alarms. (via @jswatz)

In former Soviet state of Georgia, an iPad knockoff for police

Xeni Jardin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:20:03 +0000

An employee demonstrates a "Police Pad" at the Algorithm factory in Tbilisi, Georgia, on January 11, 2012. Five thousand police officers will receive portable field computers, equipped with features that will assist them with their work, assembled at this factory, according to local media.

Update: An official response to this blog post from the government of Georgia is here. And a response from a Boing Boing reader who is a Georgian native is here.

From the Tbilisi-based Georgian language news organization Rustavi 2:

Five thousand police officers will be handed over portable computers. New police pads were produced in Georgia by the Algorithm Company. Minister of Interior Vano Merabishvili observe the process of police pad production in the factory personally. `I have an honor to inform Georgian society and the officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, that in a few days five thousand police officers will be equipped with such field computers, which will allow the citizens and the police officers to provide services offered by the ministry to our citizens more comfortably,` Minister said adding Georgian police would soon become the most developed and modernized police in the world.

Says a friend who travels to the region often: "100% guaranteed those crooked, fat, lazy cops will be using these devices primarily for porn and russian gambling services."

Update: A counselor from the Georgian embassy to the United States has contacted Boing Boing to express disappointment that the quote above was included in this article. The remark is unfair, the official says, and it's something of a sore point for a country that has done so much to address the issue in recent years. They direct our attention to the Georgian government's efforts to reform police and fight corruption—with results, they say, that are a global example of success for an emerging democratic state. We've invited the government of Georgia to share those comments in longer form, and we'll gladly post them here as a guest opinion piece in entirety. It should also be noted that the source of the critical quote in this article loves Georgia, its people, and its culture, and travels there frequently to this day. Some who applaud the success of reforms still argue there's more work left to do.

(photo: REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili)

Quack upside-down hammock gadget, 1920s

Cory Doctorow — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 19:17:01 +0000

This 1920s ad for a Molby "revolving hammock" promises to "make your spine young" and give you "a full chest and a small waist."

My cup runneth over - with poorly named products!