Tech Gadgets Reviews

If you’re an advocate for public transport and car pooling over a one-driver-one-car policy, then you’ll definitely love the eROCKIT electric-assist bike. This human-hybrid machine will use the cyclist’s pedaling motions to get the motor going, which in turn will multiply the rider’s effort by 50 times - this means the faster you move those legs and start to sweat furiously, the faster you will be able to go. The nano-phosphate lithium battery used has a life expectancy of 10 years or 50,000km of use, whichever comes first. The eROCKIT is able to hit 50mph at full stride, and a maximum charge ought to keep it moving anywhere from 60km to 80km, depending on the terrain travesed. The only drawback? Manufacturer RockiT wants to release just 10 of these machines next year for a jaw dropping $44,000 apiece.

As if starting a Twitter account wasn’t enough, Senator Barack Obama has released an iPhone application to recuirt supporters as part of his presidential campaign.

The application is actually much more sophisticated than it looks. The "Call Friends" feature doesn’t simply open your contact list; it "organizes and prioritizes your contacts by key battleground states, making it easy to reach out and make an impact quickly." On my iphone, the app listed my Florida contacts on top and my New York contacts toward the bottom.

And to ensure you don’t keep bugging the same friends over and over, the app notates each person you’ve contacted with a "Called" tag.

The "Get Involved" button uses the iPhone’s GPS or triangulation feature to find the campaign office nearest to you. Other features include a campaign news feed as well as additional videos and photos — all about Obama.

The app is available for free through the App Store (although there is a Donate button if you wish to chip in to the campaign).

Official Site [Barack Obama]

Why do I get the impression that this is just going to be Windows with some ‘cloud computing’ window dressing (pardon the pun)? Steve Ballmer says they’ll show it off at their developer conference this month.

Yup, it sounds like an attempt to cash in on the buzzword du jour. I’m not slighting ‘the cloud’. After all, we all already do so much completely online (ex: e-mail, address books, social networking, to do lists). I’m just wondering what an OS brings to the table, when all you really need is a good Web browser. Who cares about OSes any more?!

Posted in Miscellaneous

Sarah Palin had at least 10 other secret email accounts aside from the one that was hacked into last month, according to an ITS technician who worked with a Palin aide to set them up.  The McCain campaign admits this but, of course, put their own interesting spin on it.

“As a champion of government accountability and transparency, Governor Palin was exercising an abundance of caution to ensure that all state and personal business matters were being kept separate,” said spokesperson Meghan Stapleton. “Governor Palin is committed to serving with the highest regard toward ethics”

Keeping state and personal business separate?  Then why did the hacked account contain family photos, personal correspondence and official state correspondence regarding pending legislation?  That’s the complete opposite of separation.

Interestingly enough, the accounts were set up at the height of “Troopergate,” the name given to the scandal involving allegations that Palin tried to pressure officials into firing a state trooper who just happened to be divorcing her sister.  One can assume they were meant to be used to hide potentially incriminating information from investigators.

The McCain camp ordered the accounts closed once the news of the hacked account broke.  However, Ryan Gattis, the ITS tech, says the accounts were archived which means they can still be accessed.

Read[ZDNet]

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The "ham" in ham radio doesn’t refer to meat, but a carnivorous gadget lover might have taken the term literally.

Your eyes don’t fool you: Some artsy fartsy weirdo out there sculpted these gadgets out of the flesh of animalia. It’s like a cross between a Michel Gondry music video and a Japanese horror film. The ipod nano gets my vote for "most revolting" with that ring of fat used to craft the click wheel. Bleh.

Photo of gadgets Made of Meat - Art for Carnivores [TrendHunter]

Photo: TrendHunter

Granted, one look at the Ego Cup FM and you’ll probably give yourself a nice slap on the forehead, wondering why didn’t you think of this before. This device will turn an unused cup holder in your vehicle into an instant Bluetooth hands-free car kit, and you do have the flexibility of mounting it elsewhere as well. The Ego Cup FM will feature the following :-

• A2DP music streaming
• Caller ID display
• Echo and noise cancellation technology
• Compatible with an FM transmitter

You can pick up this gizmo for $159 and finally put that cup holder of yours to good use.

At first look, Griffin’s Airbase seems to be a $25 block of plastic which is nothing more than a fancy extension cable for the Airport Express. A second look confirms this to be so. Here are the specs. Notice that the claimed increase in signal strength is due not to any circuitry but achieved “by raising the base station up into the room”.

* Stylish enough to display anywhere in your house

* Elevating the AirPort Express increases effective range and efficiency

* Gives an excellent view of the status light, allowing the user to check the wireless connection at a glance

* Built-in cable management

Older British readers may remember “Not the Nine O’Clock News”, a comedy sketch show which ran from 1979 to 1982. An accompanying book carried a spoof ad for an add-on to stacking Hi-Fi systems, which was full of flashing lights and promised nothing more than to add a few inches to the height of your stereo. The Griffin Airbase offers an eerily similar experience.

Product page [Griffin via Ubergizmo]

Has it been that long already? Space Invaders has just hit 30, and the Taito Station at CEATEC’s showfloor offers a minimalist arcade machine with just one button - where all you need to do is push it in order to make as many hits as possible within 10 seconds. I suppose corresponding to your score, you will pick up some goodies like Kit Kat chocolates and the like.

Take a look at your car’s dashboard and chances are you won’t be able to garner anything more than the basics, including speed, fuel, odometer, and engine temperature. For those who thrive on numbers, figures and schematics, that’s just not enough, which is where the Car Chip Pro Engine Performance Monitor comes in handy.

Just plug Car Chip Pro into the OBDII port (easily found under the dashboard or steering wheel) and it reads and stores data from your car’s on-board computers, continuously logging driving and engine performance. On-board diagnostics (OBD) data was once available only to professional mechanics. With Car Chip Pro, this same data is now in your hands. The data logger will start collecting data as soon as you start driving. Connect the Car Chip to your computer via USB and download the data.

Too bad the Car Chip Pro Engine Performance Monitor works with Windows platforms only, so that rules out Mac and Linux petrol heads. You can pick up this geeky device for $119.99.

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I always go nuts over Halloween, I love all the spooky decorations and of course the candy. Now, I happen to be one of the weirdos that all year round I will leave out a small zombie on my desk. Just because it gets around to Christmastime does not mean I will put all things dark and spooky back in their box where they belong. Well it looks like USB Geek has decided to release yet another spooky item that I wouldn’t mind using all year. That or I suppose you could have a seasonal USB drive.

I imagine the USB Human Skull Drive would be better for people like me who would use it year round. It seems silly to use a USB drive for all of a month or so, then toss the USB drive into a box along with the rest of the Halloween decorations. The thumb drive I’m sure would also make a fun gift for science lovers as well. To pick one up it will cost you $19 for a 2GB drive.

Source: GeekyGadgets

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