Tech Gadgets Reviews

April Fool’s Day is over, however, that doesn’t mean you can’t start planning ahead for next year. Heck, who says you can’t prank your co-workers just for the fun of it? If you’ve got some spare time on your hands and want to have a few laughs at the expense of a friend, here’s a fun DIY project.

This probably isn’t the best project for beginners, however, the end result is well worth it. This tiny device you see here will fit snugly into a USB port and reek havoc on someone’s day. It accomplishes this by randomly turning on and off the Caps Lock key at 30 second to 8 minute intervals.

Here’s a bit of advice though, don’t let them call the IT department for this one. Once they reach for that phone, you’ll want to step in and own up to your prank because IT guys generally don’t take kindly to strange USB devices on company computers. For an extra laugh, convince your friend to take a break for a few, then remove the device. Just plug it back in every now and then for weeks of fun.

Source: EverythingUSB

Geek.com is looking for a few driven individuals for our newly-launched summer internship program. If you are interested in technology and you want to write about it someplace aside from your Facebook wall then this could be your chance.

The hours will be long, and the work thankless, but you’ll have access to some cool gear and as many press releases as you can handle. If you are in the NYC area then there will be a few events as well. We need people who have an excellent understanding of current technology, strong writing skills, and at least a basic understanding of HTML and image editing.

If interested send us an email with “Intern” somewhere in the title. Send along a resume, a link to your blog (if you have one), and a sample post that is up to 300 words. Candidates can be based wherever, but NYC would be ideal.

If you live in a place like mine, you find that space is a necessity that you simply do not have. Therefore, it might be good to take what little space you have and make it multi-functional.

This is where the TurnOn Multi-Functional Spinning Wall comes in. Basically, it is a room that uses the one part you never use: the ceiling. All you need to do is get into this giant wheel and roll it into place.

As you can see, it can function well as a table for two. Spin it again, and it is a lounger. It looks like that is about all it can do unless you want a bigger wheel.

I’ve seen a lot of people who complain that this device is impractical, but I don’t think so. The problem is that we may need to become a society who needs to conserve space.

Anyone remember a movie called The Fifth Element? In that flick, Bruce Willis played a futuristic taxi driver in a cheap New York City apartment that was completely modular. The refrigerator became the shower, and the bed became the couch. All designed to conserve space in a greatly overpopulated society.

In other words, we might not like the Spinning Wall, but if space is limited, it might have to be used. Perhaps we should all get used to it. Let us see what the future will bring.

Source

The Internet as you know it is set to become a lot faster. The Organisation européenne pour la recherche nucléaire, more commonly known as CERN, is widely recognized as world’s largest particle physics laboratory. And while these atom smashers are better known for creating anti-matter and breaking apart the building blocks of the universe, they have also been hard at work improving the performance of Internet.

CERN’s ambitious Internet project is called, “The Grid” and uses dedicated fiber along with modern routing centers to create a new faster Internet. Just how fast? According to CERN, the new Internet will be 10,000 times faster than existing broadband connections and would permit high-definition live video communications and the transmission of holographic images.

CERN plans to start using “The Grid” on the day the world’s largest particle accelerator a.k.a. CERN’s Large Hadron Collider is activated later this year. While the new “Grid” Internet will be limited to only eleven data centers around the world, it is eventually expected to replace the existing Internet backbone.

Read more at Engadget.

It seems Motorola believes it still had some house cleaning to do after announcing plans to split into two separate companies with one company being a mobile handset business. The news of the split up came after it was announced that Carl Icahn was suing Motorola to release documents. Icahn was also threatening a proxy fight to put some of his own representation on the company’s Board of Directors.

It seems that Motorola and Icahn have now come to an agreement which will put their fight at rest. Motorola will be nominating two new directors to their board under the agreement. The directors include William R. Hambrecht, founder, chairman and CEO of WR Hambrecht & Co. and co-founder of Hambrecht & Quist. The second director will be Keith Meister, a managing director of Icahn investment funds and principal chief officer of Icahn Enterprises. In addition to being nominated for election to the Board during the 2008 Annual Shareholder Meeting, Meister will also be appointed to serve on the Board immediately.

As a result of the agreement, pending litigation between Icahn and Motorola will be dismissed. Motorola also agreed to get input from Icahn in reference to the spin-off of the Mobile Devices business and the search for a new CEO to head it. The Icahn Group owns 6.4% of Motorola’s outstanding shares.

Read more from the Motorola press release.

Brian’s Opinion

Motorola was really in no position to deal with litigation from Icahn let alone a proxy fight over candidates to the company’s Board of Directors. Icahn is no stranger to driving change at companies. Therefore, he knows how to fight and I don’t think Motorola wanted to put up the money nor the resources to do that.

Ultimately, Icahn got what he wanted. He got directors he approved of to be nominated to the Board. He got the Mobile Devices Business spun-off. He also got input into the selection of a new CEO for the stand alone company.

Once all of this mess is behind it I believe Motorola will be well positioned to take back some of the market share it has lost to other competitors. I believe Icahn was just making sure that this opportunity isn’t squandered. The company really has an opportunity to rise from the ashes.

Blogging may be fun for some, but it can lead to some serious health problems according to an article by the New York Times. According to the article, bloggers are under a great deal of stress due to the need to to break the latest facts and news before their competitors do. Some health problems reported by bloggers include weight loss, weight gain, sleep disorders and exhaustion.

The problem has come to light recently due to the death of two well-known bloggers including Russell Shaw and Marc Orchant. Both died of a heart attack. A third well-known blogger, Om Malik, also suffered a heart attack back in December, but survived.

Like most things in life, the issue at work here is stress. Stress to be the one to break the latest and greatest story is what is driving some writers to stay up late, sleep little and miss meals. That is just a lifestyle which can not be sustained especially as you get a little later in years.

I’m happy to say that the only stress I feel is ensuring my writing stays up to par for the readers. In order to be a blogger or online journalist you have to love it. If you don’t it shows up in the writing. Still, it gives me some pause to see the toll the profession has taken on some in the industry. Good thing I’m going on vacation in a few weeks.

Read more from the New York Times article.

Posted Apr 7th 2008 6:37AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Misc. gadgets

var As expected, Yahoo has responded to Microsoft’s 3 week ultimatum this morning. The bottom line is pretty clear in a letter signed by Jerry Yang (CEO) and Roy Bostock (chairman). In the “Dear Steve” response to Ballmer they state, “we will not allow you or anyone else to acquire the company for anything less than its full value.” They go on to state that, “We consider your threat to commence an unsolicited offer and proxy contest to displace our independent Board members to be counterproductive and inconsistent with your stated objective of a friendly transaction.” Make no mistake about it, this is corporate war and will likely end with Yahoo’s best engineers working for Google.

In a couple of decades, normal beds will become something of the past, and everyone will start using the Sphere. But for now you can only dream about it…

This advanced sleeping system consists of a huge bed that has some goodies in the inside, those being a 32-inch TV with the option to install a theater system, a massage system to relax after a long day of work, and a champagne holder if you want to go crazy.

The Sphere was designed by Karim Rashid, and will be made in cooperation with Hollandia International. Sadly there is no information about the price.

- Covered LED Florescent canopy-top lights
- Outside back vanity mirror

Product Page

via

Overview

Apple iPhone, as the name suggests, is an amazing combination of an iPod and a cell phone. Sporting a stylish 3.5-inch widescreen display, Apple iPhone comes packed with a variety of innovative features. Just like Apple iPod Nano, Apple iPhone is both slim and sleek in shape and design. Come and redefine yourself with the trendy Apple iPhone.

Features

• Built-in Sensors.
• Intelligent Keyboard.
• Touch screen.
• IPod functions.
• Enables SMS Text Messaging.
• 2.0 mega pixel camera.
• Up to 5 hours of talk time.

A perfect cell phone cum ipod for music lovers, Apple iPhone lets you hear your favourite music with just a touch of a finger. Its cool display of album artwork lets you use Cover Flow for browsing the music library by album network. With Apple iPhone you can easily sync all your contacts from an Internet device, PC or Mac. If you like multi-tasking, then Apple iPhone is especially meant for you.

Box content

The box comprises of Apple iPhone, Dock, Dock Connector to USB Cable, Stereo Headset, USB Power Adaptor, Cleaning Cloth and Documentation.

Price

Apple iphone is available at a price of $ 399.99.

Source: Apple

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Overview

Gift your kids with a digital watch that your kid would love to wear this birthday. Sporting a sweet pink color, Casio BG1220-4AV Watch is truly an ideal watch for kids. Apart from being just a cute watch, Casio BG1220-4AV Watch for Kids is a solid watch with all the advanced features.

Features

• Hourly Time Signal.
• Auto Calendar.
• LED Light with Afterglow.
• Shock Resistant.
• 4 Daily Alarms and 1 Snooze Alarm.

You can easily watch out for time of 29 time zones meaning 48 cities on the beautiful Casio BG1220-4AV Watch for Kids. This watch for kids works just fine even 200m under water. Casio BG1220-4AV Watch for Kids comes in 12/24-hour formats and a battery life of 3 years. Kids can easily wear this wristwatch weighing just 42 g.

Box content

The box comprises of Casio BG1220-4AV Watch for Kids and Warranty Card.

Price

Casio BG1220-4AV Watch for Kids is available at a price of $ 79.00.

Source: Casio

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