Cardboard robotic arm

This was a pretty neat Kickstarter that ran over the summer, at the end of the day it's about a $200 computer controlled robotic arm made of cardboard.  The usefulness is somewhat limited, but the materials and relatively low cost ($200 for a 4 axis control board and 3 stepper motors is pretty decent) would make it a fun electronics project for learning with children.  Best part is that you could turn them loose with it when they are done, I don't see them killing themselves with cardboard.





Via engadget

Wireless charging

In a general sense I'm interested in seeing inductive charging in devices particularly entertainment devices.  The ability to lay a device down and have it charge for the next time I want to use it and not have to fuss with the cord to make sure it is charged up (I'm looking at you Barnes and Noble Nook Color).  These devices (phones, iPads or other tablets) are powerful and great to use for consumption of media, the instant on and ready to go nature makes them preferable to other devices (like netbooks) for quick access to information.  The trouble with wireless charging is it typically has to be built in by the manufacturer, which is why I'm excited for this Duracell powermat card.  It offers a retrofit option for devices you already own and gives manufactures a way to do what they do and let the customer make the choice on what inductive charging solution fits their needs best.

1.5 mile wifi booster

This sounds a little like snake oil, but I'll bite Engadget posted a link to a Wi-fi range extender.  The claim is that is can boost the signal up to 1.5 miles!!!!  For the price of $180 I'm inclined to give it a whirl (Though from my understanding of wireless you would need one on both ends of the connection to make this work).  My parents have a few acres and the shop that is far enough from the house that it doesn't get signal from their access point in the house.  I had considered a number of solutions for this, but the one that was the least work was burying some fiber in a conduit and getting 2 fiber to copper adapters (I am actually qualified to terminate fiber so this is less insane than it might sound).  Wireless would be a hell of a lot less work, but something about this makes me not believe it will work.

What do you think?

Eco Kitchen concept

Via Engadget

I don't know why I find this so interesting, even when some shortcomings jump out quickly. The smell of decomposition is very hard to contain, especially if you continue to add to it over time. Even with great venting, and tight seals there will be some smell. The compost tea harvesting for watering plants is really a neat idea, and as drawn might even be workable. I am less sure about the integrated recycling, especially the glass breaking part. I just see that piece needing very careful maintenance, and I don't believe that my recycling provider would appreciate the broken glass. If the broken glass went into some sort of container that was refillable or replaceable that I could put into my recycle bin that might be more tolerable for current urban recycling programs. Either way I think it looks neat, and think some of the ideas could be rolled into real kitchens with a little work.

EKOKOOK

Wireless video transmission

After watching the Engadget Show EP5 I was reminded of the Intel wireless display technology demoed at CES recently. This is using some custom drivers for the wifi chip in the laptop to switch quickly between the Wireless network for internet access and a PAN link to a television set/ or display device. There are have been some rumblings about the limitations of the 2.4ghz spectrum being saturated, but I think that this technology shows that there is still a ton of opportunity for innovation in how we use that spectrum. Saturated or not, the ability to sling the images from your laptop to your tv without having to purchase another STB ala The Boxee Box or a popcorn hour is a pretty neat feature, but it would make it hard to surf the while you are image slinging. So rather than getting a dedicated box to use while you surf the internet, you have to get another laptop. Oops, guess Intel forgot that people actually watch tv with a laptop on their lap now to distract them from their distraction.

Airstash external storage for wifi equiped devices

As someone that recently passed on the Palm Pre because it lacked the ability to expand it storage I can personally attest to the importance of ever growing storage options for your mobile experience. In my case it was a phone, but with the Airstash I think that we could see a day when you load your media, neigh your whole computer environment and run it from a device that can be connected to sans wires. I really dig this devices potential for other markets than the Cellphones, but think that the expanding iPhones and Pre's will be the first order of business for these devices. Breaking into that market would give them a lot of clout to pursue other markets with this class of device. If the experience can be as slick as the Zune wireless sync is (not the slow social, but the home syncing) this could easily be a hit.


Gizmodo via Engadget

Mobile DTV for wifi devices

There you have it a device that gives Wifi Devices access to DTV, is it me or does this tech seem like a solution looking for a problem? I have watched daytime TV and lets just say it leaves much to be desired, I suppose it could really kick up the rerun market on some stations, but the times that I would use this are in the morning, sometime over lunch and in the early evening. Currently there is basically nothing interesting on the TV at those times, but the existence of the potential market could push some demand for good daytime television.

If your interested in watching DTV on your mobile here is the link via Engadget

Hopefully this proves to be the egg to the metaphorical chicken of good daytime programing.

I think everyone agrees you suck labels

Electronista, Crunch Gear, Engadget, Gizmodo and I all agree trying to revive the album is dumb. You have been focusing on singles for so long now, this smacks of desperation to not be irrelevant.

Also to all the above, it doesn't have to be about Apple making a competing product, this product sucks on its own.

Bravo gizmodo

Gizmodo is a blog about gadgets; gadgets and anything that is slightly perverse, often behaving like hooligans, or badly mannered children it is the blog that I begrudgingly read for some balance to Engadget's breathless gadget whoring. I won't say that I find them to be an upstanding member of their community, nor would I say that they don't like to lord secrets over their readers in a nahnah nah fashion, but I will say that they offered the most sincere and human reaction I can imagine to the iPhone suicide, and have been hard at work digging up the back story of a major manufacturer of goods bound for US shores.

This last week Gizmodo, may well have been your finest hour. If you could carry some of this startling behavior into an everyday reporting you well could be considered journalists, not mean, weed smoking, pervs with a technology fetish.