Best Gadgets World

Posted Mar 6th 2008 11:06AM by Darren Murph
This one’s been swirling around for a tick, but Leviathan Energy’s brilliant new turbine is just too good to pass up. Showcased at the Cleantech Forum in California, this contraption would reportedly generate power from the downward movement of water through pipes in a municipal system. In other words, there’s potential to conjure up energy from simply flushing one’s toilet. Of course, there’s nothing revolutionary about yet another hydroelectric generator, but using such a device to grab power from such a dirty place takes things to a whole ‘nother level.

[Via Inhabitat]

Posted Mar 6th 2008 10:23AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Desktops
Typically, when you think case mod, you wonder just how tweaked a six-walled chassis can get. For Ville ‘Willek’ Kyrö, he figured that approach was much too constrictive. Instead, he used an array of heavy-duty heatsinks to actually build the frame that held the innards of Project: Passive. Needless to say, more heat pipes than we care to count were used along with what was likely miles of cable wrap, but hey, it’s hard to complain with the end result. Hit up the read link to witness this thing’s entire journey — seven whole pages worth — and make sure you’ve got a substantial chunk of unused vacation time before you even think of doing something similar.

[Via Hack N Mod]

Posted Mar 6th 2008 11:49AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
Given the finality of the format war, we can’t say we’re totally shocked to hear that Samsung will be pulling the plug on its recently announced BD-UP5500 hd dvd / Blu-ray combo player, but still, it’s not good news for folks planning to pick it up for kicks (or watching their library of HD DVDs). Interestingly enough, Sammy had already planned to axe its current flagship hybrid player — the BD-UP5000 — this May, just months after it went on sale and began taking heat for not meeting expectations. On the plus side, the firm’s latest BD-only player was a real gem, so hopefully we’ll see lots more where that came from in the future. Oh, and if you’re weeping this very moment at the thought of never getting to see one in person, feel free to click here and live vicariously through us.

If you have an enemy who’s threatening to you with anthrax, the last culture of smallpox, and the likes, you definitely need this.

Developed by the scientists in MIT, PANTHER, which stands for PAthogen Notification for THreatening Environmental Releases, could detect pathogens in the air for a mere 3 minutes while machines of similar function take up to 20. Its licensor Innovative Biosensors has released a product called BioFlash with the PANTHER technology last January. PANTHER could detect up to 24 pathogens in the air including anthrax, E. coli, tularemia, plague, and, if you know someone who happened to keep a culture of it somewhere after its eradication, smallpox. The PANTHER technology is especially useful in congested and depressed areas where contaminants are rampant, although it could also be used for medical diagnostics.

via

Posted Mar 6th 2008 6:29AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Robots
Believe it or not, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen robotic falcons used to chase off actual birds, but rather than keeping pigeons at bay, the Falco Robot GBRS is reportedly able to keep pestering birds clear from airports and the like. Humorously hailed as a “Gregarious Bird Removal System,” the creature is reportedly a result of ten years of experimentation, and word on the street proclaims that the remote-controlled device was able to scare off a thousand seagulls at a Genoa airport. Mum and dad would be so ashamed.

[Via CNET]

Posted Mar 6th 2008 9:22AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio
Whenever your baby monitor isn’t pulling in live NASA feeds (or making sure all is well in the life of your child), why not let it really wail? An ingenious hack created by jovial_cynic has us all too excited to snag a Safety 1st monitor of our own, as he’s figured out a way to convert it into a low-fi wireless guitar amp. Granted, Mr. Cynic uses a mandolin to demonstrate, but everything from an electric banjo to a Les Paul Custom could take advantage. Hit up the read link to see how it all came together, and peep the in-action video after the break.

[Via MAKE]

I have a girlfriend who will only hit the gym if she has an appointment with her trainer, or take a run if she has a partner. (And I have another girlfriend who’s a gym rat but we’re planning an intervention, so that’s a different story.)

Girlfriend #1 needs the new Adidas miCoach system which is like having a coach or trainer constantly pushing you to new levels (”Come on, just one MORE MILE!”).

Unlike the devices that collect data for your workout, miCoach claims to be the the first system that actually coaches by turning your data into a personal training plan based on your fitness level and goals (”LAZY BONES, speed it up!”).

Created as a partnership between Samsung and Adidas, miCoach uses your cell phone as a personal trainer, the first “fully–featured, fully-reactive and adaptive personal trainer mobile phone.” This means there are some unusual features such as a heart rate monitor, a pedometer which works by attaching a “foot pod” to your laces (or if you bought the matching runners, there’s a spot specifically for it) and measures the distance you’ve travelled and how fast you’re going.

Meanwhile, since you inputted all your data, the domineering phone is supposedly motivating you by pushing you to your own personal fitness plan. Perfect for people who need a personal trainer or coach. Me? I would have trashed my phone after the first mile.

Scheduled to be released next month, there’s no pricing information available yet.

Posted Mar 6th 2008 5:15AM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Digital CamerasCanon just updated the official status on the auto-focus issue plaguing the EOS-1D Mark III. According to Canon USA, “After the AF mirror Adjustment, including the updated firmware version 1.1.3, the EOS-1D Mark III AF function performed better in our tests than all previous EOS camera models.” Unfortunately, they made no comment about those other fixes supposedly in the works. Sounds like Canon is washing their hands of the topic at least until they make the jump to the next EOS-1D product iteration.

[Via DigitalCameraInfo]

Microsoft has just released Internet Explorer 8 in beta mode and ready for download.Although the IE8 beta was geared for web developers, Microsoft does not restrict its download status. In fact, it is even encouraging everyone to try it out and see for themselves how useful IE8 is. But like all other software that comes out in beta stage, users are still advised to exercise caution when downloading IE8 and installing it on their machines.

So what can loyal users of IE expect from the latest version of Microsoft’s browser? IE8’s new features can actually be categorized into three: interoperability and compatibility; built-in tools that help both first time and experienced developers and designers get pages built right;browser capabilities that enable innovative experiences.

Putting those features in layman’s terms, here are some new features of IE8:

• Crash recovery feature similar to Firefox - IE8 will attempt to restore the last open tabs before system crashed.
• Activities feature - simplifies various tasks such as sending links, web pages, images or snippets to Digg, Windows Live Maps, Facebook, Dictionary.com and other online services sans copying and pasting.
• Web slices - lets users to subscribe to just a portion of a web site, web slices can be embedded into web pages as well as be added to IE8’s favorites bar.

A few hours after its release in beta mode, there were already mixed reactions from people who have installed IE8. Some had experience more browser crashes. While others think that there was not too many new features in IE8 compared with IE7.

But the most important question to ask before IE8 becomes official is, could it get back its old users who shifted to Firefox?

Read [Microsoft IE8]

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Sony Ericsson has their hot Windows Mobile 6.1-based XPERIA X1 handset on display at CeBIT and it seems to be giving a nice clue as to what carrier we may be able to grab this on when its released later this year.

As seen in the images, there is a clear AT&T logo in the center of the display. While it could just merely be a coincidence or possibly someone making an attempt to build speculation, or even Sony Ericsson trying to drop a hint to AT&T, only time will tell just which it is. As you would expect, there has not been any official confirmation of which carrier the X1 will hit upon its release.

Keep reading for a few more images of the XPERIA X1, along with the AT&T logo, the image appears to be showing off a nice shot of the UI in action.

Via [PhoneMag]

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