For some time, all the back issues of National Geographic have been available on DVD. Now there’s a better way to browse the back catalog or search for a specific topic – a 160GB USB hard drive with 60GB dedicated to a high-resolution digital reproduction of each page of every back issue (going back 120 years). For $200, you can use a sleek user interface to search or browse to your heart’s content. If you would like to give the National Geographic hard drive as a gift, you can have the recipient’s name printed on the cover. The disk also provides 100GB for personal use.
The phrase “building a better mousetrap” is often used to describe an invention that provides a better way to perform a simple operation. This YouTube video shows what may be the ultimate “better mousetrap,” designed and built by a tinkerer named Jake Easton:
The mousetrap’s polished aluminum case contains both mechanical and electronic systems, including controllers, circuit boards and a pneumatic actuator. You can read more about this electronic mousetrap in Wired’s Gadget Lab.
The Blendtec blender company has a fun way to demonstrate its products. Their “Will it Blend?” videos show company founder Tom Dickson successfully blending all kinds of things, from entire McDonald’s meals to golf balls. One of their most popular videos is The CoChicken – a coke blended with a cooked rotisserie chicken (bones and all). After it’s blended, you may be shocked by what happens next:
To see some high-tech blending, check out another video where an iPhone 3G undergoes the “Will it Blend?” test.
The Apple mobile application store continues to ban adults-only (i.e., porn) apps. Since the Android OS is open-source, there has been nothing to stop a third party vendor from creating an app store that sells explicit content developed on the Android platform. That’s just what a company called MiKandi has done. The MiKandi Market will sell adults-only apps that will run on Android OS mobile phones. This includes the T-Mobile MyTouch 3G, the Samsung Hero and the Motorola DROID, among others.
There currently is very little content in the MiKandi Market. The website has announcements that encourage developers to upload both free apps and apps for sale. Besides porn apps, the biggest development about MiKandi is that it may serve as a test bed for 3rd party app stores. If it proves to be popular, it may open the door to other Android app stores and may even lead to 3rd party Apple app stores.
In the continuing saga of the availability of digital versions of The Beatles catalog of music, EMI has announced that the complete remastered catalog will be available on an Apple-shaped USB stick starting December 7. The 16 GB USB will contain all 14 Beatles albums along with a collection of documentaries, photos, album cover art and liner notes. The good news is that the cost will be less than $300, but the bad news is that only 30,000 Apple USBs are being produced. Perhaps this release will decrease the demand for The Beatles songs in the iTunes Store, since there seems to be no plan to make them available there. True Beatles fans can find out more on The Beatles website.
A federal court has awarded Facebook $711 million in damages from spammer Sanford Wallace, who was convicted of hitting the social networking site with millions of spam messages staring in November of 2008. Wallace, notoriously named the Spam King, accessed members’ accounts without their permission and created phony wall posts and messages. The judge in the case requested that Wallace also be prosecuted for criminal contempt. Facebook’s legal team said they don’t expect to collect the full award but hope this will serve as a deterrent to other spammers. This was the second large award Facebook has received in a court case with a spammer. Read more about it in the Computerworld website.
The Air Board personal hovercraft is the newest entry into the catalog of expensive and impractical transportation devices. The Air Board really does travel up to 20 mph on a thin layer of air, but the only way to steer it is by leaning and it has no brakes. See a demonstration of the personal hovercraft in this YouTube video:
The Nikon Coolpix digital camera is more than a 12.1 megapixel digital camera. It’s also one of the first working microprojectors to hit the market. Prototypes of tiny LED projectors have been shown over the past couple of years, but Nikon beat everyone to the punch by including one in the Coolpix S1000PJ. The digital camera projector is capable of projecting large, clear images from the camera onto any wall or screen. The Coolpix may lead the way in a rebirth of the family slideshow, without the hassle of the slides. Popular Mechanics has voted the Coolpix projector camera as one of the “10 Most Brilliant Products of 2009.”
Sometimes the simplest things are the most ingenious. If you’re always looking for a place to put your phone while it’s charging or feel like the charger cord is always in the way, then the Socket Pocket could be the perfect solution for you. This inexpensive electrical socket cover has a pocket to hold your cell phone while it’s being charged. Now you can eliminate cord clutter and have a handy storage location for your cell phone, PDA or MP3 device. Simply remove your existing socket cover plate and replace it with the Socket Pocket. You can set the Socket Pocket in tan or white for only $4.99 at ThinkGeek.
The Fitbit tracker is an advanced pedometer that promises to track, in addition to number of steps taken and distance traveled, the calories burned and even the amount of sleep you got. The wait for Fitbit, which has been under development and eagerly anticipated for about a year, is finally over and units will soon begin shipping for advance orders. Using technology similar to that found in the Nintendo Wii, the Fitbit tracks motion in three dimensions and then silently uploads the information to Fitbit.com. The Fitbit looks like a small clip that can be attached to any article of clothing. A wireless base station is included that the Fitbit uploads to whenever it’s nearby. The price is $99, not much more than traditional electronic pedometers.
The Blendtec blender company has a fun way to demonstrate its products. Their “Will it Blend?” videos show company founder Tom Dickson successfully blending all kinds of things, from entire McDonald’s meals to golf balls. One of their most popular videos is The CoChicken – a coke blended with a cooked rotisserie chicken (bones and all). After it’s blended, you may be shocked by what happens next:
