The Gadgets Page

I found this blog entry about misleading advertisements and it made me feel nostalgic.

• As Seen on TV: The 10 Most Laughably Misleading Ads | Cracked.com

I think my first love of gadgets came from watching television commercials like these. For example, the commercials for Miracle Blade have been on since I was a teenager. I love to watch how they cut on television.

I LOVE it when he starts hacking away at the table with the knife, cuts into a solid rock, the aluminum can, and even the sledge hammer. He then immediately goes back to cutting the tomato in thin, beautiful slices. Some of the best salesmanship is on infomercials. They really show their product very quickly and efficiently.

Just like this commercial, they used to cut through aluminum cans with the knives on the commercials they showed when I was a kid. The sight of cutting something that I would NEVER try cutting with a knife burned itself so much into my mind that I can still see it today.

It’s not like these knives are any better than the Henckels knives in my kitchen. They are just demonstrated in such a way that makes them look smooth and amazing.

I truly think that my love of gadgets came from the likes of Ron Popeil and other infomercial greats.

Via: AdFreak: Cracked’s 10 most laughably misleading ads

Okay, perhaps smackdown is a bit of a stretch when comparing what are perhaps the most milquetoast and genteel electronic devices ever made, but there is a battle of the heavyweights going on for control of the eBook buying public (all fifteen of them). The Sony Reader, weighting in at slightly less than an actual paperback, is the reigning champ, and the Amazon Kindle—bigger, heavier (at almost 11oz), and stronger—is the contender. It’s actually pretty easy to tell whose going to win, but the fight isn’t as one-sided as the recent press around the Kindle might make it seem.

(Continue Reading…)

Whenever anyone gets excited about an electric car, I cringe. Electricity isn’t free and it certainly isn’t “green.” Why do electric cars get to call themselves “green” when electricity is created by burning coal in some cities? With all the excitement about electric cars, it seems like we are going to have a surge in demand for electricity.

Fortunately, companies like Finavera are working on creating electricity from less polluting sources. They are harnessing the power of the ocean to create electricity.

• Wave power to go commercial in California | CNET News.com

They use Aquabuoys to create electricity:

Finavera makes a device called the Aquabuoy, a buoy connected to a long underwater piston. As the buoy bobs up and down on the waves, it pushes the piston, which pressurizes a chamber filled with seawater. The pressure cranks a turbine and electricity is made.

This sounds great, but what about the cost? The reason why companies burn coal or natural gas, is because it’s cheap. How much with Ocean Power cost?

Finavera’s long-term goal is to have the Aquabuoys produce power at 5 to 8 cents per kilowatt hour. That’s more expensive than coal (3 cents) or natural gas (4 to 5 cents) but less than offshore wind turbines (15 cents) or solar (18 or more cents, depending on the circumstances.)

That’s a lofty goal considering how temperamental the ocean can be. Finavera lost their prototype buoy to the ocean. All of it sounds like pipe dreams right now, because they aren’t planning to be online until 2012. By then, we may be desperate for ANY clean electricity, despite the price.

Here’s a video from Finavera about their Aquabuoys:

Via: Wave power to be put to use in California – Engadget

If you have ever wanted a computer at your treadmill so you can walk and type all day long, Steelcase is catering to your needs:

• Starling Fitness » The Walkstation from Steelcase

I have fantasized about working and walking at the same time and looked into outfitting my treadmill with a desk to hold my laptop. At the rumored price of $6500, I think I can do it on my own, thank you.

A special thank you to Ballard Street for recognizing the hackers and the makers.

Owen Thomas from ValleyWag has written a scathing critique of print magazines and suggests that they are unable to keep up in our ever changing world.

• Media: Why print magazines should stop covering gadgets – Valleywag

But the painfully slow publication cycle of monthly magazines is crashing into the ever-faster world of gadgets — with embarrassing results, as seen in the October issue of Entrepreneur.

He goes on to talk about the October issue of Entrepreneur magazine and how they provided a review of the Palm Foleo, which was squashed by Palm before ever hitting the stores. My instinct was to agree with Owen, but anyone who is getting their gadgets advice from Entrepreneur magazine probably won’t be bothered by an inaccurate article.

What do you think? Do you like to read the gadget articles in magazines? Do you think they’re outdated? Are they good enough for light entertainment?

No, this photo hasn’t been squashed. This is a one-person scooter that protects you from the rain and snow. With a top speed of only 10 miles an hour, however, the Shoprider Flagship falls into the Segway category of usefulness, but it’s a great start:

• OhGizmo! » Archive » Shoprider Flagship Combines Mobility With Style

Sadly, it will cost you almost as much as a “real” scooter that can hit speeds of 40-50 mph. For $6595, it’s merely a toy, but it looks so cute I just want to get it! Red, please!

Via: Popgadget Personal Technology for Women: Shoprider Flagship: Tiny scooter car

The concept of mailing something and someone receiving it within minutes is commonplace now. I can email a letter using my Treo and my mom can get it, even if I am across the country. What email does for us everyday, the proponents of rocket mail tried to bring to the 1940’s:

• Damn Interesting » One Small Step For Mail

When I was a child, I would watch the Disney cartoons that promised that I had a big bright future ahead of me. Rocket mail is just the kind of thing that they promised me. It never came to pass, but its surrogate is far more efficient and safe. I wonder what the surrogate for flying cars will be…

This is what happens if you drop your iPhone the wrong way. If you remember correctly, Kevin Rose is the founder of Digg and Pownce. He “leaked” some of the iPhone details on this famous Tech Den video. Considering how little he actually said, all he did was verify that Apple was working on a phone.

Sadly, it looks like he has permanently damaged his precious iPhone.

I’m so clumsy, I’m sure I have dropped my Treo the wrong way a hundred times, but it doesn’t have a glass screen. When I finally trade in my Treo for an iPhone next month, I’m going to insist on a super bouncy case.

Have any of you dropped your iPhone? Did the glass shatter like Kevin’s did?

Via: Caption Contest: Kevin Rose cracks his iPhone – Valleywag

Thom Allen tried the Headblade System and was nice enough to tell us how it worked. He has been shaving his head for years, so the opinion of an experienced head shaver is great:

• My experience with the HeadBlade system | Thom Allen Weblog

Unfortunately, the cool design of the product didn’t protect him:

By the time I got to the back of my head my hands were pretty slippery from water and shave cream. the razor kept slipping out of my hands. I managed to cut my self in several places. One of the cuts was pretty deep. They were caused by the razor sliding sideways or at an angle.

I can’t really say it was the fault of the razor, but I have never cut my head in all the years I’ve been shaving my head. The HeadBlade razor is a great shape but it slips out to easy. It’s a great idea, and in general worked, but I wasn’t too happy that I cut my head.

Go to his review to see the pictures of his poor, injured head. If you regularly shave your head and are considering using a Headblade, you might want to just stick with the Schick razors for now.