Tech & Gadget Stream

Anyone who doubts Japanese technology isn't more than a few years ahead of the rest of the world had better think again. Color-changing furniture? A done deal, as the "Fuwapica" table & chairs set to be unveiled at this year's SIGGRAPH 2007 in San Diego. Fuwapica, which means "soft and flashy" in Japanese, was developed several years ago by staff and student's at the curiously named Mongoose Studio at Japan's Osaka University. Early designs for inflatable chairs incorporated weight sensors that acted to change the color of the chair in response to the weight and positioning of the user. One wonders, though, if those who are a little self-conscious about their weight might be put off by a weight-sensitive chair. The studio's "Ice" chairs are things of beauty that resemble glowing ice cubes suffused with fruit syrups of various colors, er, flavors. Yummy! The new Fuwapica Suite takes the concept even further, into the realm of thought...

The embedded video (after the jump) makes this look so awesome I can’t even qualify for words. The person’s face after getting zapped? Priceless. I can only hope that he was compensated justly for being shot at with electrified bullets while being videotaped. He is being shot at with the brand new X-Rep, a self contained arrow-taser-bullet with a range of up to 100 feet. Popular Mechanics says “The XREP punctures the target with multiple probes, and then unspools to dangle from the unfortunate belligerent’s body, all the while applying Taser’s infamous rapid-fire electrical pulses. As an added bonus, any helpful passerby trying to yank the XREP out of the target before the 20-second discharge cycle is finished will also get zapped, thanks to a ‘hand-trap wire’ that’s nestled in among the other hanging cables.”

Imagine a brand new laptop that retails for just $150 - that's less than a Sony PSP, and it can certainly do more than the latter. An Intel Celeron 1.5GHz processor takes charge of the proceedings, where you view information on the 14" LCD display while chugging along on a Fedora Linux operating system with 256MB RAM running in the background. In addition, you also get wireless connectivity to keep you hooked up to the Internet. Touted to be a "laptop for everyone", this laptop has been christened "Celebrity". I suppose this is great for just basic word processing and casual surfing, but anything more than that and you'll have to look elsewhere.

Robotics fans who are also entomologists should get a kick out of the latest high-tech machine from Japan – a shiny multi-legged robot that can walk like an insect. Although the Halluc II from the Future Robotics Technology Center ( Furo ) at Chiba Institute of Technology and Leading Edge Design in Tokyo has eight limbs, one of its three modes of locomotion is based on the way some insects walk. The other two see it move on wheels like a car and in a way similar to a quadrupedal mammal, albeit with twice the complement of limbs. The point of developing a robot that can get around in such differing ways is to create machines that can traverse any kind of surface. Halluc II can’t handle stairs when trundling around on its wheels, but break out the crawling insect legs or stepping mammalian feet and it can scurry or stomp with the best of them. If all that sounds a little esoteric, we advise you to check out the excellent videos over at Japanese site Robot Watch , particularly the insect...

Western Digital has just unveiled its dual-drive My Book external hard drive that comes with a mammoth 2TB of storage space, more than enough to appease even the most hardcore downloader. It will be available in My Book World Edition II , My Book Pro Edition II , and the My Book Premium Edition II models. These dual-drive systems can be set up for RAID 1 data mirroring, giving you the advantage of real-time data redundancy by sacrificing half its space. In addition, the World Edition II lets you access your files remotely over the Internet without the need for a host computer. The Western Digital My Book II 2TB series will retail between $749 and $799, depending on where you pick yours up.

These bartop arcade machines are usually relegated to pubs and greasy cafes where the selection of entertainment is limited at best. But apparently they’ve become popular enough to warrant a home version too and I’m sure kids will gladly put down their Wiimotes or 360 controllers to fight over who gets to play the Megatouch Gametime first. In fact the system comes with 100 built-in games and who wouldn’t walk away from Grand Theft Auto for a chance to play titles like Strategy or Quiz & Word? On the plus side though the home version of the Megatouch Gametime offers similar network functionality as the pub versions and even allows you to surf the web and send emails as long as you have an existing broadband connection. But what’s sure to guarantee the Megatouch Gametime’s runaway success is the $3,795 price tag at Frontgate . You read that right, this thing costs more than the Nintendo Wii, XBox 360 and PS3 put together.

This car is made entirely out of wood, except for the engine and other mechanical parts. This car is produced by a local furniture maker in Maniwa city - and like all small companies in Japan, they don't have a website. The "Wooden Supercar" is 1.3 meters wide x 2.5 meters in length x 1.1 meters high and has a max speed of 80km/h. This wooden car costs $32,000, and is probably the most dangerous car ever. See video after the jump.

Moller Industries, the brainchild of inventor Dr. Paul Moller, announced recently that production would begin on the company's M200G volantor, a UFO-esque hovercraft that apparently can "glide over terrain at 50 MPH." Moller, long known for his work in both hovercrafts and flying vehicles (see the dubious Skycar), has been working on alternative forms of transportation for 40 years. The futuristic looking craft is driven by the company's Rotapower engines, and can allegedly operate up to 10 feet in altitude. Of course, while Moller Industries offers lots of exciting talk about the future of transportation (as well as t-shirts, models, and investment options) to its customers, the company has never brought a vehicle to market. Clearly, the announcement of a "Jetsons-like" craft may fuel enthusiast's hope (and pull in some escrow cash), but the actual production and sale of the $90,000+ vehicle has yet to be seen. Check the video after the break to see D...

Kanguru claims that by reducing power consumption by up to 75%, it can both extend the life of your hard drive and be eco-conscious at the same time. The Eco Drive works by going into an idle mode after three seconds of inactivity, which has 80% of normal power consumption, and standby mode after three minutes of inactivity, which works at 10-20% of normal power consumption. And when you don't touch it for five minutes, it goes into power-down mode and uses 5-10% of the normal power. Even if you don't care about the environment (who does?), this is a good way to preserve your laptop's battery while you're on the go.

Viewed from the wrong angle, this Oryx bike could look like something from the perv-o-licious Sex Museum in Amsterdam. Designed by a guy called Harald Cramer, it's a custom-made time-trial cycle with all sorts of weird and wonderful innovations. Made of carbon composite, the handlebars, stem and fork are all one piece, with the ergonomic seat post and saddle integrated into the frame. Handlebars connect to frame via a pivot, and the seat even has a hole in it to keep you cool while you work the pedals. The Y-frame shape means that the Oryx is shock-proof and keeps you in contact with the road at all time, and there is a one-sided fork and chain-stay. The crank is designed like a ring and mounted inside the frame on a couple of ball bearings, and the wheels detach from the bike at the push of a button, a useful time-saver for competitions.

Gamespot just nabbed a first hands-on with the Xbox 360 Messenger Kit. It's essentially a QWERTY keyboard add-on for the 360's controllers, offering better support for Xbox Live's MSN Messenger update. Here are their impressions of the product, in brief. - "...snaps on with a satisfying click..." - "The keys provide adequate, clicky feedback and are spaced well enough for fast typing..." - "...the pad also has a messenger button that can open up the messaging window onscreen..." - It doesn't work with PC users with USB controller (yet at least) - "...solid product..." A new headset comes free with the package since the old headset is not compatible. For $30, we just might try it out. Though we're curious as to how much (if any) battery life the glowing keyboard will drain from our frag time.

Video iPods are all well and good, until you actually try to watch a video on them, I find. Then, you dice with losing your eye site, headaches and other fun things, as you try to squint. As much as I bemoan the lack of feature films on the UK version of iTunes, I really couldn't sit through a whole one. Unless you've got some way of making them bigger... such as the inMotion speaker screen from Altec Lansing. Essentially, it's some top quality speakers combined with a screen on the front, which will play which ever video you've got on your iPod (I'd recommend the Take That music video 'Shine'). This system comes with a remote, and unlike several similar systems, you can navigate your way around the entire iPod menu with it, which means you can change from a song to a video, rather than just skip forward and backwards between songs. Very useful. The speakers are also top notch, with some proper bass (you really feel it if you put it on the floor!) and the fa...

Do you take your laptop camping with you? Or live in fear of a blackout? Either way, Earthtech Products is offering a solution: a combined Solar Laptop Charger and Portable Power Kit . The foldable solar panel takes about 11-12 hours to charge the 300W PowerPack, which can then provide up to six hours of laptop runtime. Ahh, clean energy. And it's not just for laptops, of course; according to the website, PowerPack can run a "hand-held blender"--one can only imagine why you need to do this in an emergency-or jump-start a car. Excellent. Other uses come to mind: charging cameras or cell phones, for example. All for only $478.95.

First we had desktops that we played games on. When they couldn’t keep up with the demanding needs of the current games we put in dedicated GPUs. Then the same happened with laptops, we wanted to take our gaming on the go, so we put dedicated graphics cards in our laptops too. Now Toshiba wants to put a dedicated graphics chip inside of cell phones. The new chip is made up of the separate processors, one is the 3D GPU, another is Toshiba’s Media Embedded Processor for sound and the third is a WVGA LCD controller for the nice big mobile phone displays. It is promised to bring more realistic graphics that previously possible to the mobile phone platform. We’ll start seeing the first of these produced in October of this year. They won’t, however, be mass-produced until sometime in Q2 of 2008.

Not so long ago the only way to share your music with the great outdoors was to lug a ghetto blaster around the garden or buy a really long cable for your stereo speakers and pray for dry weather. But not any more, because the nifty Wireless Solar Speaker renders the aforementioned practices obsolete. Simply plonk this discreet device on the grass or hide it in the hedge and its 5w speaker will pump out up to 70dbs of punchy music al fresco. How? Easy, because the speaker itself contains an eco-friendly solar panel to charge the onboard battery directly from the sun's rays and an accompanying mains-powered transmitter plugs into your MP3/CD player/radio and beams the music to the speaker from up to 150ft away. Brilliant! Whether you're chillin' in the garden, partying on the patio or boogie-ing round the barbecue, the Wireless Solar Speaker is bound to become an indispensable outdoor accessory. Yes, you can listen to your MP3s outside via headphones but that's no good w...

While changing light conditions can be an issue in most sports it’s particularly problematic when you’re out skiing or snowboarding since all that white snow works like a giant reflector. It usually means you have to carry a second pair of ski goggles or even sunglasses for when things get too bright but Uvex has now made that unnecessary with their Uvision line of goggles. The ‘magic’ used in the pair pictured above is actually liquid crystal technology that is applied to a double lens allowing the goggles to instantly switch between a high-contrast or darker setting with a simple push of a button. The goggles are powered by an easily replaced single AAA battery providing up to 200 hours of use which will probably keep working well after the snow has melted. The Uvex Uvision Magic goggles will be available starting in September for $230 and there other slightly cheaper versions also available.

For the sake of the environment, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd is announcing development of a 125cc fuel cell scooter called the "FC-AQEL". Using a hydrogen fuel cell system, it will include a pair of 35 MPa high-pressure hydrogen tanks, a Lithium ion secondary battery and more. This technology will be compacted in an ultra flat brushless DC motor. The transmission will be neatly contained in the hub section of the rear wheel. Now of course we know that hydrogen is really only a storage medium for energy. We will really have to work on green ways to create energy to make some gains and reduce the use of fossil fuels.

Caller ID is a great feature, but if your phone is across the room it still makes you get up and walk over to see that it's your ex calling and you don't want to answer. The Color-Call system lets you see who's calling from afar by assigning different people specific colors that flash when a call comes in. So you can have it flash green if it's a member of your family, red if it's someone from the office, or blue if it's the delivery guy downstairs with your pizza. If it's a number you don't have stored it'll display a bunch of colors, letting you know to just let the machine get it. Someone should combine this with the phone that lights up, then you'd be able to see who was calling from across the room and not even hear the phone ring. Boy, wouldn't that be something? The Color-Call is available online now for $30.

Now that the iPhone is out, and some of you lucky ones might have even gotten your hands on one, let’s take a look at the accessories you can get for your new baby. Apple USB Power Adapter Charge your iPhone even without a computer with this USB Power Adapter. This is already included in the iPhone package. It comes with an Apple Dock Connector to USB Cable. Price: $29 iPhone Bluetooth Headset Bluetooth headset. How can we ever live without one? It keeps your hands free for PSP’ing, blogging, putting on make-up, or even picking your nose. It offers 5.5 hours of talk time and up to 72 hours of standby time with its built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery. The headset comes with a iPhone Dual Dock and an iPhone Bluetooth Travel Cable. Price: $129 iPhone Dock Docks are great. They allow you to put your phone in an upright position to easily glance at who called or sms’ed. They allow you to simply slot your phone in instead of fumbling with cables. The iPhone Dock also has built-in power...

A waterproof wallet that isn't plastic-looking like the Jimi and even has a certain space-age suaveness to it (which I think appeals to women too). The brainchild of Australian designers Henri Spalle and Mark Armstrong, the Dosh wallet is made of a blend of flexible and semi-flexible polymers that makes it not only waterproof but also fairly hardy. At the same time, its sleek design proves that form doesn't have to be sacrificed for function. As if that those weren't sufficient selling points, the wallet also carries not only (as one would expect) credit cards, notes and coins, but also an integrated compartment that's designed to hold a lot of the odds and ends we tote around in the modern age: SIM cards, keys and security keycards. Plus the billfold area is supposed to be able to fit all currencies, including US dollar bills and Euro notes. Happily, the Dosh wallet is constructed from recyclable materials. It comes in four certifiably modern colours: white, red, choco...

Have you been hankering for a really tiny DVR with a wired, hidden camera attachment? Have you had trouble finding one for less than three large? Well fret no more, because Mini Gadgets Inc. has got you covered -- and by covered, we mean they make what you're looking for, buddy. The Black Box DVR is a personal video recorder which features a tethered camera, and can utilize a miniSD card up to 4GB. The company's website claims it's the world's smallest DVR under $3000, and we're inclined to agree -- at 2.28 square inches, it doesn't get much smaller. The device can record 640 x 480 video at 30fps, and includes a "long lasting" Li-Ion battery, for when you're on the go... shooting secret videos. Available right now for the shockingly low price of $499.95.

No, it’s not a concept. This is the production model of the Logitech MX Air mouse, a dual mode laser gyroscopic mouse. Excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor. This mouse is built of beautiful curves accented in black and chrome, but it doesn’t have to rely on its looks to win your heart… On your desk, it works as a conventional cordless laser mouse, but pick it up, and its Freespace motion control technology lets you mouse in midair from up to 30 feet away. The Air Mouse includes built-in support for midair mouse gestures; for example, to increase the volume on your computer, just push the volume button on the mouse and flick your wrist to the right. It’s got a bunch of backlit media on top along with a touch sensitive scroll pad, and an integrated rechargeable li-ion battery. Now, I do (of course) have some legit quibbles with this piece of candy… Firstly, it’s targeted at the PC home theater market with a dedicated play/pause and volume buttons. Although the buttons are progr...

This Ain Supplio pencil lead from Pentel uses nanotechnology to release allegedly mind-expanding aromas, letting you smell your way to smartness while you scribble your meandering prose on a piece of paper. The pencil leads sell for two bucks a bag, and you can get them in three different scents, Refresh, Healing and Positive, which aromatherapists say can deeply affect you with just a few whiffs. Yeah? The fragrance is encapsulated using nanotechnology, where microscopic bubbles containing the fragrance are blended in with the lead. When you write, the fresh fragrance pops out of those tiny nanocapsules, filling the room with sweetness and enlightenment for all within noseshot. The company says the fragrances are shelf-stable for three years unopened, two years in the plastic case you see above, and three months out in the open. But aromatherapy? That's a great idea: Make up a word, "aromatherapy," and then build an entire industry around it. It just sounds so effective ...

Every now and then, R&D departments spew out prototypes that look promising enough that we can imagine them making their way into finished products one day. Recently, Olympus has announced the development of an “Axial symmetrical free curved surface lens”. This lens is capable of gathering light from 360 degrees horizontally and 45 degrees vertically, and focusing it on a CCD without the use of other lenses. While only a prototype at the moment, possible uses for the lens include security cameras… and extreme sports. Yeah, there are other 360 cameras on the market. But if our understanding is right, the innovation in this case is that the one lens does all the focusing, negating the need for extra lenses, and allowing the manufacturing of more compact devices. Of course, we’re gleaming this from a Spanish article, and a translated Japanese page. So if any Japanese native speakers can help us out, you’d enlighten a whole bunch in the process.

Watch with artistic design definitely fails to tell time properly, at least kind of confusing or simply hard to find where the moving arms or the digital display are. Here is another designer watch, Veiled Watch, which the idea is probably to let guys enjoy wearing those shiny things. As it doesn’t look too outstanding while worn on your wrist so you wouldn’t be considered as one from the non-manly group. The Veiled Watch was created by the designer Philippe Starck, which is a continuous silver bracelet that has a nearly invisible analog watch face concealed on it. It’s definitely not a reliable source for telling time during emergency. Perhaps, it is a bit of fun to deceive your friends that you can tell time so precisely as if you’re not wearing a watch or carrying any gadget that tells time.

You always want that you can use your mobile phone to post your blog. So, anytime and anywhere you have little free time then you can write posts and record down on your blog the very fresh idea that just flashes across your mind. This is possible by using the newly introduced Samsung’s cellphone, SGH-L760. It’s a cellphone that lets you post directly to your blog without the need of a computer. The handset supports 3G high-speed network, equipped with a 2 Megapixel camera, Bluetooth and UMTS connectivity. Of course, it supports all the necessities for blogging such as RSS and compatibility with sites including YouTube, UBlog and Buzznet. Well, it wouldn’t be fun at all having to blog using its small screen and keypad. So, patience is a must or keep your blog post short.

Here is another all-in-one gadget, it’s a combination of a digital microscope, web cam and also a USB 2.0 hub. Of course this three-in-one gadget takes power from your PC’s USB port. So, when you miss some of the Biology classes that you’d attended during school time, and feel like acting as a Biologist for just couple of minutes or you simply have too much curiousity about those circuit boards of any unused PC peripherals. Then just pick up this gadget to scan and capture some high quality images and videos for another great collection. Once you get bored with all these overly geeky stuff, you can then switch it to a web cam, start streaming your cool look, socializing and even flirting around over the Internet. Again, fed up with the web cam? It’s got two USB ports for you to hook up more USB gadgets to have more fun.

Robot dogs these days seem to be experiencing a resurgence, and the BJ dog robot is yet another addition to a growing list of electronic pups. For those who want to take care of an electronic pooch without the hassle of sending it to the vet for jabs, bathing it, and even cleaning up after its poo, the price of such convenience would be $4,900. Then again, it won't do much good when there's a thief trying to break into your home. In the robotic era, everything needs to go robotic, even your lovely puppy. Keeping a robotic dog, such as the BJ would be very much easier to handle than a real dog. As you don’t have to be tied down with the hassle of having to clean its waste and mess. For a robotic dog such as BJ, maybe you’d be worried that it’d go malfunctioning one day due to the infection of virus or failure of its operating system. But, no worry, BJ should be quite safe from virus attack or any common OS failures, as it runs on Linux instead of Microsoft Windows.

Similar to LG Prada phone, the KU990 is a keypad-less phone with a big 3" touch screen. While it is not sure if it is the next LG Prada phone, the new KU990 support HSDPA data connection now. Inline with the recent LG announcement on YouTube support, this phone will let you watch YouTube on your phone or submit video to Youtube from your phone directly. The LG KU990 has a giant 5 megapixel camera with built in flash module (Xenon Flash?). It looks like you can switch between macro or normal mode on the camera itself, but the best feature on this camera will be the capability to record video at 320 x 240 resolution and 120 fps. Memory storage will be supported by the microSD card slot. The phone will also let you listen to FM radio, or use the Muvee video editor to edit your recorded video. Other than the nice features, the site dislike the thickness of the LG KU990, which make it un-comfortable to slot into your pocket.

Trusted sources informed MacScoop that Apple is headed towards the release of a notebook that is so small and light that it could redefine the standards of ultra-portable computing. The new notebook is likely to complete the MacBook Pro line-up with a smaller version featuring a 12 inch display — a form factor that was formerly used on the PowerBooks' entry-level but was discontinued when the line-up made the switch to the Intel architecture in 2006. Compared to the original 12 inch PowerBook, which is Apple's smallest notebook released so far, the new notebook is said to be half as thick, or something between 0.6 and 0.7 inch (15 to 18 millimetres). It will also be, by far, the lightest computer Apple ever released, or less than 3 pounds ( The company's current MacBook Pro line-up features 15 inch and 17 inch models with respective weights of 5.4 pounds (2.44Kg) and 6.8 pounds (3.08Kg). Both of the current form factors offer 1 inch of thickness (25 mm). The 12 inch PowerBo...

A new feature in Google Maps, Mapplets, places data overlays onto your map - like movie times, crime rates and real estate prices. We've covered dozens of Google Maps mashups since Maps launched, and Mapplets just makes those mashups available on Google Maps proper, instead of having to go to another site to see them. Mapplets have graduated from the developer preview and are now live on Google Maps. To add multiple layers of data points to your maps - like information about real estate prices, weather, earthquakes and movie showtimes - from the "My Maps" tab hit "Add content," and watch all those third-party Google maps mashups get consolidated onto GMaps proper.

Inside the Exomos showroom at the Jebel Ali Free Zone, customers in the market for a personal submarine can choose from 14 luxury models. Currently there are about 100 wealthy individuals around the world who own their own submarines, and there are 26 clients awaiting delivery on subs at the Dubai-based Exomos alone. A 10-passenger model costs $15 million, and prices rise from there. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen recently paid $12 million for his 40-foot long sub. (It’s yellow. It’s a yellow submarine.) More economical models that seat only three-people are available for as low $350,000.

Following up our list of features the iPhone was finally confirmed not to have, here's a comprehensive list based on the four reviews currently out detailing everything we know about the iPhone so far: what it has, what it doesn't have, its known problems and what we still don't know. What it has: • Built-in iPod with Video playback • Intelligent predictive typing • Multi-touch interface (fast) • Great scratch resistant screen (easily cleaned with your sleeve) • Tilt sensors that lock the screen when up to your face, but unlocks it when you lower it to type numbers • Screen that's visible in direct sunlight • Software upgrades over time • Decent voice quality • Call and song control from its headphones • Viewing Word, Excel and PDF documents • Free live traffic in Google Maps • Turn by turn directions that simulate a GPS (need to tell the phone when you're turning) • Dedicated volume control and mute switch • Microsoft Exchange support if your IT staff enables a set...