TikiTag RFID Tag Programming Kit Gives You Wireless Powers [RFID]

View original post found on Gizmodo authored by Adam Frucci

RFID tags are everywhere these days, from your passport to your anti-theft devices, but now you can use them for your own good or evil projects with this easy-to-use kit.

The TikiTag RFID Tag Programming Kit is a simple kit that includes a USB RFID reader and a bunch of RFID stickers. You can program each sticker to trigger any number of actions on your computer, allowing you to do things like swipe your phone over the reader to bring up your address book or your iPod to open iTunes. Really, it’s up to you to come up with the most creative ways to use this thing. [ThinkGeek]


Some Movies Would Be a Lot Shorter if the Characters Had Cellphones [Movies]

View original post found on Gizmodo authored by Adam Frucci

You know what’s annoying? When movies are all built upon some complicated premise that would be completely unhinged if a single character had a cellphone. I mean, come on, it’s 2008. Everyone has cellphones and nobody gets lost. Luckily, our friends over at CollegeHumor decided to show us just how short many movies would be if their main characters had cellphones, and it’s awesome. Check it out after the jump.

[CollegeHumor]


How Android Will Help Google Profile You [Humor]

View original post found on Gizmodo authored by Adam Frucci

The first Android phone is dropping next week, and the people who pick it up will be toting around mobile Google software in their pocket wherever they go. They’ll be using mobile Google apps, probably in concert with using Gmail, Gcal and Google Maps on their normal computer. We know that Google is tossing out all user data after 9 months, but you’ve got to wonder what kind of a picture Google is getting of its heavy users like that when it’s only getting info from how its apps are used. After the jump, an imagined day in the life of a Google user, as recorded and perceived by the Googleplex itself.

07:36:04: Application — Gmail
User reads 1 new emails
Keywords: dinner, match.com, reply, date

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male/Female

07:43:38: Application — Search
Search Term: italian restaurant upper east side manhattan
Search Term: italian restaurant upper east side manhattan cheap
Search Term: creampies

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker

08:31:17: Application — Gmail
User sends 1 new email
Keywords: dinner, meet, Ford Fiesta

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income

08:40:03: Application — Search
Search Term: vern troyer sex tape

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist

11:01:12: Application — Google Reader
Feed read: Gizmodo
Feed read: Kotaku
Feed read: Cute Overload
Feed read: Gothamist
Feed read: Gizmodo
Feed read: Kottke
Feed read: Boing Boing
Feed read: Fleshbot

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller

12:14:30: Application — Google Maps Mobile
Search Term: SuperCuts
Near: Current Location

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate

12:59:08: Application — Mobile Search
Search Term: slimming pants

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure

13:01:56: Application — Google Maps Mobile
Search Term: H&M
Near: Current Location

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy

13:42:12: Application — Google Maps Mobile
Search Term: Florist
Near: Current Location

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative

14:19:31: Application — Search
Search Term: dating tips
Search Term: first dates
Search Term: halitosis cure
Search Term: bang bus

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative, Virgin

14:55:00: Application — GCal
Reminder: Sales Meeting in Five Minutes Sent via: Text

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative, Virgin, Boring Job Holder

17:13:49: Application — Google Reader
Feed read: Gizmodo
Feed read: Fleshbot

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative, Virgin, Boring Job Holder, Porn Addict

18:51:10: Application — Google Maps Mobile
Start Location: Current Location
End Location: Olive Garden

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative, Virgin, Boring Job Holder, Porn Addict, Fat, Not Italian

19:15:03: Application — Mobile Gmail
User sends 1 new email
Keywords: date, forgot, still here

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative, Virgin, Boring Job Holder, Porn Addict, Fat, Not Italian, Pathetic

19:20:41: Application — Mobile Gmail
User reads 0 new emails

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative, Virgin, Porn Addict, Fat, Not Italian, So Pathetic

19:26:11: Application — Mobile Gmail
User reads 0 new emails

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative, Virgin, Porn Addict, Fat, Not Italian, So Pathetic, Desperate

19:31:55: Application — Mobile Gmail
User reads 0 new emails

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative, Virgin, Porn Addict, Fat, Not Italian, So Pathetic, So Desperate

19:40:21: Application — Google Maps Mobile
Search Term: Strip Club
Near: Current Location

Current Demographic Profile: Benny Goldman


Slow Motion Lightning Video is Mindblowing, Will Sell a Thousand Slo-Mo Cameras [Science]

View original post found on Gizmodo authored by Adam Frucci

Well, this is just about the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. It’s a lightning bolt that’s shooting down from the sky, shot in slow motion. I’m not sure exactly how fast this camera is, but it’s got to be shooting at a speed faster than the Casio EX-F1 can shoot at, at least at a resolution this high. Whatever, who cares? Just watch this and prepare to be blown away.

[Today's Big Thing]


GoateeSaver Ensures Your Goatee Looks as Good as a Goatee is Ever Going to Look, Which is to Say Not That Good [Personal Grooming]

View original post found on Gizmodo authored by Adam Frucci

Ah, goatees. The preferred facial hair of nerds, fat guys, bikers and Mark Wilson. If you’re looking to make sure your goatee is as neat and even as possible, you’re going to need a little assistance. Say hello to the GoateeSaver.

The GoateeSaver is a little contraption you use by putting part of it in your mouth and biting down. This leaves the bulk of it on your face, making you look like you’re wearing a robotic respirator of some sort. This chunk covers up your goatee, allowing you to shave around it and achieve the perfect shape every time.

It seems effective enough, although it clearly wouldn’t work with more adventurous goatee shapes. What if you want to make it pencil-thin? You know, for the ladies? And what if you want to let your goatee go down your neck under your chin? Well, in that case you’ll need to just rely on your steady hand. [Product Page via Las Vegas Sun via Dvice]


Radiohead’s Camera-Free, Laser-Made Music Video Hits the Web, Lets You Manipulate it in Real Time [Radiohead]

View original post found on Gizmodo authored by Adam Frucci

The Radiohead video for “House of Cards” that used no cameras or lights, only fancy lasers, just hit the web, and it’s just as crazy and trippy as the screenshots suggested. Above, check out the video, while after the jump you’ll find another video that details just how it was made. Did I mention that because this video is pure data instead of images you can manipulate it in real time using a visualizer? Because you can.

Also be sure to check out the awesome visualizer, which lets you manipulate the data to adjust the image and rotate around the objects in real-time. The most fun time waster you’ll find all week, guaranteed. [Radiohead]


Tiny Bluetooth Microphone Goes in a Hole Drilled in Your Teeth [Dentistry]

View original post found on Gizmodo authored by Adam Frucci

How dedicated are you to using a Bluetooth microphone with your phone? Are you dedicated enough to drill a small hole in your teeth to install a tiny mic? Well, if so, here’s one for you. Hit the jump for a picture of it in-mouth and a word of warning about DIY dentistry.

dental-mic2.jpg

The durable composite resin filling is designed to fit in a hole 2.2mm in diameter and 1.7 mm deep and will pick up sound and vibrations from your mouth to produce incredibly clear sound.

I don’t know about you, but I think I’d rather stick with a regular Bluetooth headset, especially when this thing still requires you to wear something in your ear so you can hear what’s going on. But hey, it’s up to you. And as Chinavasion, the seller, reminds you, don’t go drilling holes in your teeth yourself. “All dental work should be performed by a qualified dentist, Chinavasion does not take responsibility for injury resulting from the installation of this product.” Yikes. [Product Page via Geek Alerts]


Popcorn Hour Does Just About Anything a Set-Top Media Streamer Can Do [Home Entertainment]

View original post found on Gizmodo authored by Adam Frucci

ph_a-100.jpgThe Popcorn Hour is a surprisingly robust little network media streamer that does pretty much everything you could want a set-top box to do. In addition to streaming from your home network, attached USB storage or the internet, you can set it up to download torrents directly to an attached hard drive.

It looks like it can handle pretty much everything you throw at it, handling nearly every major codec and network protocol. It’s got a bevy of connections, including HDMI out, component out and S/PDIF coax digital audio out (although no gigabit Ethernet and no built-in WiFi is a definite drawback). For a mere $180, it looks like it could be a great AppleTV alternative for people who don’t mind their products coming a little cheap and with a few quirks. [Product Page via Boing Boing Gadgets]


Magnetic Curtains Retain Whatever Shape You Put Them In [Home Decorations]

View original post found on Gizmodo authored by Adam Frucci

kraeutli_magnetic_curtain_3.jpgI can’t say that I’ve seen too many great innovations in the world of curtains lately, but these Magnetic Curtains actually get me excited about something I previously thought only moms cared about. They’re big ol’ curtains, but they have small magnets embedded throughout, allowing them to be bunched up and stay together. If I had gigantic windows in a hip loft like the example above, I would be all about these. I somehow don’t think they’d be as cool on normal-sized windows though. Oh well, they seem to just be a concept design anyways. [Product Page via MoCo Loco]


EMI Selling WAVs of Radiohead’s Back Catalog for a Mere $167 [Anti-Dealzmodo]

View original post found on Gizmodo authored by Adam Frucci

radioheadusb.gifRadiohead made waves with their latest album, selling it in digital form for whatever price you wanted to pay for it. Now EMI, their old label, is looking to hop on that bandwagon of goodwill by offering a set of all of the band’s past studio albums and one live album in a number of formats, including uncompressed WAV files on a custom Radiohead Bear USB drive.

In case you've been living under a rock for the past 14 years and don't own a single Radiohead release, now's your chance to get on board. The first way to buy it is in a set with all seven discs in digipacks with original artwork. That'll set you back £40, or about $83, which isn't much of a discount (thanks mostly to the insane exchange rate).

The next option is to buy all seven albums as digital downloads, all encoded as 320kbps MP3s, along with digital artwork. The price for this is an unforgiving £35, or $73.

The last option is probably the most appealing to Radiohead die-hards, as it comes with a limited-edition USB drive. The 4GB drive will come loaded with the seven albums encoded as uncompressed WAV files as well as digital artwork. The price for this "strictly limited edition" piece of hardware? £80, or $167. Yes, $167 for a thumb drive loaded up with WAV files.

So, how many of these sets do you think EMI will sell? You’ve got to appreciate the choice of encoding options, but those prices are beyond insane. And the real problem is that only the most devoted of fans would even consider spending this kind of coin on RH materials, and they obviously own all the back catalog already. So, uh, what the hell, EMI? [Product Page]