Entries Tagged 'gear' ↓

If mosquitoes find you delicious, this gadget can help you find relief. Apparently, holding its heat source over the bite “helps neutralize the insect-injected proteins that cause itching and swelling.”

Something tells me that good old scratching is still the best medicine—that and avoiding bananas. I seem to recall Mr. Wizard saying something about how mosquitoes love banana-scented blood or something. If that isn't true, Mr. Wizard has screwed me out of a whole lot of tasty summer treats over the years. [Improvements via 7Gadgets via OhGizmo]

The Gadget: Ideative’s Socket Sense surge protector that expands in order to fit more bulky AC adapters all on one strip.

The Price: $29.99

The Verdict: One of the best expandable surge protectors we’ve used yet. It’s incredibly useful on road trips (CES) as well as at home, and beats even the Power Squid in our eyes in a general comparison.

The special thing about Socket Sense is that it can be expanded from 13 to 18 inches and has 6 angled outlets, allowing you to fit more adapters on one strip. Because of this, the Socket Sense is significantly bigger than a lot of other power protectors—fully extended, it is the length of a 5'4'' female's arm—and weighs a lot more too.

However, compared to squid outlets, the design and size of the Socket Sense gives it a heavy, flat bottom, which makes it easier to use without having to deal with bundled up cords and cables all over the place. Moreover, surge protector allows you to individually extend each outlet when needed, allowing you to adjust how much space it takes up to some extent. Also, there is enough tension on extender so that the strip doesn’t flimsily slide open or close, but it doesn’t give off so much resistance that a relatively weak girl can’t extend it easily.

Overall, Socket Sense is a reliable piece of hardware for those who need a power strip that offers more space between each adapter. It has 2160 joules of surge protection, compared to the 540 joules of the $30 power squid (the $50 squid offers 1080 joules and the $70 squid offers 3240 joules). For $30, it’s hard to find a better overall surge protector with this amount of space per socket, although the EZSpace UFO is pretty good as well. [Ideative]

Large enough to allow you to plug in six of just about anything in the strip

Slightly larger than a normal power strip

Slightly pricier than a normal strip at $30

Instructables has a great hack to turn an old Power Glove, that triumph of silliness, into an Arduino-controlled, Bluetooth-and-accelerometer-sporting modern peripheral.

The new and much-improved Power Glove is positioned as kind of a 20th anniversary present to the original Glove. The video below gives a pretty detailed instruction for how to tear apart your own Power Glove, presuming you can find one, and also shows him using it with an iPhone boxing game he’s developing.

Power Glove 20th Anniversary Edition — Build Video from Matt Mechtley on Vimeo.

Finally, the future looks like we imagined it would in 1989. [Instructables, creator's blog]

This AC adapter from Brando is pretty nifty. Not only can it power five USB devices, the adapter can also be used worldwide.

With internal voltage regulation (100-240V) and a number of travel plug adapters, the $22 “AC to 5-USB Power Adapter” should keep your USB devices fully charged through the US, Europe and Asia. It also looks a lot like a MacBook charger, which you may or may not love. [Brando]

This 5-in-1 Spy Pen is every secret agent’s wet dream. It functions as an audio and video recorder, USB webcam, 2GB USB flash drive, and works as a fully functioning pen too.

Using a single rechargeable Lithium-ion battery, the pen can record up to 60 minutes of color video, and can be charged using a USB charging cable or an emergency AC power adapter. Also included is a special stand, which converts the Spy Pen from a simple video recorder into a webcam. And as for hiding all your important documents? Simply unscrew it in the mid section, and voila! The Spy Pen is now a 2GB USB flash drive.

It’ll cost you $99 for the 5-in-1 Spy Pen, but if you pay just 10 bucks more, you can own one with 4GB of memory. Listen and sniff closely, do you hear/smell that? It’s a collective orgasm from millions of spies around the world. [Product Page via Red Ferret]

Ecamm Network have announced the world’s first webcam with Bluetooth wireless technology. The new BT-1 webcam combines top-notch video and sound with complete freedom from wires. This is the first Bluetooth webcam supported by OS X, and will be priced at $149.99 when launched in a few months time.

Technical Details

The BT-1 streams H.264 video and AAC audio, taking advantage of Mac OS X’s rich media capabilities to provide a truly seamless experience. The detailed specifications are:

• 640×480 H.264 video and 48 kHz AAC stereo audio
• Compact 2″ x 2½” x 5/8″ design
• Compatible with iChat, Skype and more
• Standard tripod mounting screw
• 4 hour talk time
• Includes a flexible mini-tripod and USB charging cable
• Works on all latest Macs with Leopard and Bluetooth v2.0+EDR or better.

(more…)

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While we’ve already seen older iterations Netgear’s powerline-based networking products, it’s just today that the new Powerline HD Plus Ethernet Adapter Kit ($170) and Powerline AV Ethernet Adapter Kit ($150) have become widely available. Both systems transfer data at 200 Mbps over your home’s electrical wiring, but the big difference is that the Powerline HD Plus system includes a socket so you don’t miss out on the plug space. Now if only my apartment’s electrical were as reliable as its airspace, I might consider the purchase. [Netgear]

Rumors of a RED DSLR had been confirmed a long time ago, but what of the Scarlet and EPIC übercamcorders? On the REDUser forums, RED CEO Jim Jannard has explained it all: Scarlet and EPIC are the DSLR — all cameras are "part of the same DSMC system", so each and every camera will be part of a modular, build-your-own, still and video product line based on the Scarlet and EPIC 'Brains'. To do this, RED has furnished an insanely diverse new collection of components, with sensors ranging from the $2500 3k Scarlet to the $55,000, 28k EPIC 617 Mysterium Monstro.

The core of the new line is made up of the new ‘Mysterium’ brains, pictured in the gallery above and detailed in the gallery below. These boxy sensors can be built up into 5D-esque DSLRs, compact prosumer camcoders, full-fledged professional video cameras or even a 3D unit with a new line of lenses, flash storage, frames, mounts and other add-ons, outlined with the new sensors below. In addition to their own lenses, the new cameras mercifully support gear built for Nikon and Canon standards with mount adapters, so you don’t have to re-buy all of your optics. In spring, when the first of the new units are intended to ship, RED One users won't be left out in the cold — they'll get purchase credit towards new cameras, or if they'd just like to throw one of the new sensors into their existing rig, credit towards that. I guess this is what Jannard meant when he said RED had a 'new vision'.

For the full release, click here. Warning — comically giant JPEG. [RED]

In case you’re looking for a stylish and sturdy third-party keyboard option for your Mac, try out Logitech’s new diNovo Keyboard Mac Edition. The peripheral features a full-size layout, nineteen shortcut keys for direct access to Mac programs, an integrated number pad, no cords (using 2.4GHz wireless) and a 3-year battery life. We reviewed the diNovo Edge keyboard in August and loved it. This one, at $99, is about $60 cheaper without sacrificing too many of the features of its more expensive bigger brother.

Logitech Unveils Elegant diNovo Keyboard, Mac Edition

Cordless Keyboard Provides Exceptional Comfort of PerfectStroke
Key System, Convenience of 3-Year Battery Life, Integrated Number Pad

FREMONT, Calif. — Nov. 11, 2008 — Logitech (SIX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI) today unveiled the newest addition to its line of award-winning diNovo keyboards – the Logitech® diNovo Keyboard, Mac® Edition. In addition to offering the exceptionally comfortable typing experience of the Logitech PerfectStroke™ key system, the cordless diNovo Keyboard, Mac Edition provides the convenience of a 3-year battery life and an integrated number pad.

“With the recently released diNovo Edgeâ„¢, Mac Edition, and now this diNovo Keyboard, Mac Edition, Logitech is giving people more options when it comes to choosing a keyboard that perfectly complements the Mac design,” said Denis Pavillard, vice president of product marketing for Logitech’s keyboards and desktops. “While the diNovo Edge keyboard is rechargeable and includes a TouchDiscâ„¢ and touch-sensitive volume control, our newest diNovo keyboard has a full-size layout and nineteen shortcut keys that provide quick access to Safari®, iTunes®, Expose®, iChat® and much more.”

Featuring the classic diNovo design language, the sleek diNovo Keyboard, Mac Edition – with its high-gloss, semi-translucent Plexiglas® frame, sharp angles and thin profile (.87 inches or 22.10 mm from base to key caps) – is an elegant, modern accompaniment to any Mac computer. Plus, when it’s time to rest between typing sessions, the built-in, brushed-aluminum palm rest provides a stable, satin-touch base.

For a typing experience that’s comfortable and fluid, the diNovo Keyboard, Mac Edition features the Logitech PerfectStrokeâ„¢ key system. PerfectStroke is designed to create longer key travel – 3.2 mm compared to 2.2 mm – than that of typical notebook keyboards, which means that the distance your fingers have to travel to activate a key is optimized for your comfort. And because micro-scissors distribute force evenly across key surfaces, even if you strike the edge of a key, the key stroke still feels the same.

Getting to your favorite applications is as easy as pressing the appropriate F-key. The diNovo Keyboard, Mac Edition delivers one-touch access to Mail, Safari, iTunes, Exposé, Cover Flow®, Dashboard, QuickLook and Spaces. In addition, Play, Pause, Mute and Volume buttons simplify media control. (Logitech Control Center software installation is required for some features.)

Because you often use your Mac computer in busy wireless environments, the diNovo Keyboard, Mac Edition employs Logitech’s advanced 2.4 GHz wireless technology, which dramatically reduces interference, effectively eliminating delays and dropouts. And by optimizing the power management system, Logitech’s improved wireless technology enables an impressive 3-year battery life – Logitech’s longest.

The diNovo Keyboard, Mac Edition can be used with any Mac computer, including the MacBook Air™, iMac®, MacBook® or MacBook® Pro.

Pricing and Availability
The Logitech diNovo Keyboard, Mac Edition cordless keyboard is expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe beginning this month for a suggested retail price of $99.99 (U.S.).

About Logitech

Logitech is a world leader in personal peripherals, driving innovation in PC navigation, Internet communications, digital music, home-entertainment control, gaming and wireless devices. Founded in 1981, Logitech International is a Swiss public company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI).

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Logitech, the Logitech logo, and other Logitech marks are registered in Switzerland and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. For more information about Logitech and its products, visit the company’s Web site at www.logitech.com.