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In the arsenal of devices to get rid of pesky mosquitoes and flies, two of the most effective are the electric bug zapper, and the good old fashioned fly swatter. The problem is that the bug zapper relies on the insect flying into it, so it's really most effective after dark when its light attracts the prey, while fly swatters require a good thwack against a hard surface.
The Bug Bat spins these two time tested methods into one killer device, which is essentially a battery powered hand held bug zapper that lets you practice your forehand as you swat those flies. Selling for about 12 bucks from vendors like Amazon, I would stock up now before some poor kid gets zapped and the safety nannies want to have them banned.
Gizmag, via Coolest gadgets
I like devices where it's hard to figure out what they actually do, and the Octocube from French designer Vivien Muller is a fine example. Built entirely from 90 degree copper tubing elbows, the Octocube is actually a radiator for a hot water heating system. Within the 14 inch cube, there's enough copper tubing for it to actually become the radiating surface without any need for traditional radiator fins. The only thing that isn't clear is why it's called an Octocube, seeing as like all cubes it has six rather than eight sides.
For now the Octocube is only a design idea, and is not available commercially.
The Wachowski brothers' mind-blowingly colorful remake of the 1967 anime classic, Speed Racer, is rolling through theaters, bringing Speed's Mach 5 to the silver screen. So what would it take to make the Mach 5 a reality? Is it even possible? A group of design students at the University of Cincinnati say it is.
The Mach 5 has a list of special features that would make even Bond swoon, including morphing treads for different terrain (from grass to climbing cliffs), a bulletproof escape capsule, rotary saw, periscope (for when it's underwater, of course) and even a robotic assistant that'll summon help when Speed is in trouble. The Cincinnati design students say with the level of technology we have today — UAVs, ejection seat technologies, amphibious sports cars — all of this could be reproduced.
But unless you're sitting on an enormous trust fund you don't mind blowing, chances are you won't be able to develop a Mach 5 of your own. We've got you covered, though — click Continue to see five ways to enjoy some personal Speed Racin' action.
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We love high-def video. We love it so much, we hate when it's compressed all to hell. We also hate getting overcharged for it, like when NetFlix decides to charge more for Blu-ray discs. Fed up with getting short-changed, one of us disconnected his cable service, eschewed satellite, and stopped his NetFlix subscription, becoming a Video Rebel to see how much content he could get for free. The first of his weekly updates, about HD available on the Web, posted Tuesday. Stay tuned during the coming weeks for more dispatches!
Beyond sticking it to the high-def man, we gave the final word on plasma-TV burn-in, and its close cousin, image retention. Vanessa found out that wearing a solar backpack is a good pickup tool (for picking up tools, anyway), and for anyone looking to buy a last-minute Mother's Day gift, here are some items not to consider. The rest of the week's top stories:
Pleo robot dino further humiliated, destroyed in the ring by Vicious Verdict, the killer ComBot
Yet another victim of robot-on-robot violence.
Tivoli gives Internet radio another shot with NetWorks 2.0
Will this one be worth tuning into?
Canadian government wants army of Iron Men
Really, what government wouldn't?
HTC takes on the 3G iPhone with the Touch Diamond
Rivals to the new iPhone begin to emerge — well before the product is even officially announced.
Navy launches U.S.S. Independence, first of new class of weapons-bristling speedster trimarans
A speedy new warship puts to sea.
Transparent Post-Its let you see what you're editing
About time these were invented.
Getting all tangled up in wires when playing games or making a call on Skype is not our idea of fun. Bluetooth headsets can help, but they have an annoying lag that gamers and phone talkers won’t tolerate. That’s where the Logitech ClearChat Wireless USB Headset, which uses a proprietary wireless tech instead of Bluetooth, can help. We tested this walk-around headset with its noise-canceling microphone for lag, sensitivity and sound quality, and even put it to our supreme test: speech recognition.
New York State is home to some impressive waterfalls, New York City, not so much. The city is planning on changing that this summer with the New York City Waterfalls project. It's a big, expensive undertaking: $9 to $10 million dollars to make four waterfalls rise from the East River and New York Harbor. As you can see from the gallery below, right now the project is just a work in progress. The Public Art Fund and City of New York, both sponsors of the Olafur Eliasson-designed installation, plan for the waterfalls to run from late June through October of this year.
The City hopes that tourists will flock to see the waterfalls from water taxis. We think that the idea is pretty cool, but we also know that the East River is nowhere near as clean as it looks in the concept pictures. The water will be filtered before it goes through the falls. We just hope that the city filters it well enough that it will be safe to breath in the East River mist that they'll create.
The military is experimenting with replacing inert metals in munitions with reactive materials to create enhanced "superbombs." By replacing the inert metals in Explosively Formed Penetrators, the resulting explosions is much larger and is more able to get through rock or concrete.
It looks like a way to blow up buildings or caves with devastating effect. Unfortunately, it's also something that isn't exclusive to our military, with Iraqi insurgents using EFPs as their roadside bombs. And that begs the question: will simply making these things more powerful solve our problems? I guess time will tell.
Via Danger Room
While this almost-clever handbag resembling a pair of riveted blue jeans might look ordinary, inside it’s stuffed with helpful tech. Much better than some of the silly, pseudo-tech handbags we've seen lately, its interior is lit up by LEDs in your choice of seven wild colors, giving you easy access to all your secrets even in total darkness. But the best feature is its GPS unit tucked away in the seams that lets you track your belongings if they’re lost or stolen.
Better yet, if you’re in trouble, push the Marilyn Light Bag’s panic button and the cops will come a-runnin’, that GPS-enabled transmitter alerting them to your exact position. This is but one of the variety of faux-designer styles available starting at a mere $30, and it includes the first two months of the GPS rescue/tracking service free. After that, it’s $15 a month. Might be great for an accident-prone, absent-minded mom.
Marilyn Light Bag, via Shiny Shiny
This First Light lamp might looks like some sort of contraption from an alien hair salon, but it's actually an eco-friendly lamp that doesn't need to be plugged into provide a warm glow. Instead, much like a grandfather clock, it relies on a weight that's wound up every day to provide it with the energy to keep shining.
There's no word on pricing or availability for this unique object, unfortunately.
Postfossil, via MoCo Loco
What do you want from a lamp? Light, right? Maybe good looks? With Ralf Zoontjes's Luxalive lamp, you've got all that, but also a friend — one that's maybe a little needy.
The Luxalive reacts to your position to give you the best light, reading over your shoulder and increasing its brightness ever so often. Sounds nice enough, but the Luxalive also craves your attention, coaxing you to play with the glowing red nub at its end if you want it to keep the lights on. Neglect it for too long and it'll fall asleep, leaving you to read in the dark.
Click Continue for a video of the Luxalive lamp pestering some poor man who's trying to read.
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It's not often you see an innovative twist on an already good idea, but 3M's done it with their transparent Post-It notes. Called Sheer Colors, the see-through notes have a host of uses — from highlighting borrowed books to marking up photographs without actually defacing them. They also might be a decent choice to cover the eyeholes in your Iron Man mask.
3M, via Cool Hunting
Volkswagen has plans to produce a 1-liter car by 2010 that'll get a whopping 200 miles per gallon, making it one of the most fuel-efficient cars on the road. It's not going to come without its drawbacks, however, as reaching a figure like that isn't going to happen with a car with any substantial weight.
First of all, it'll be a two seater, with the passenger sitting behind the driver. As for trunk space? Forget it. And if you're hoping to jet around quickly, accept that this guy will top out at 75MPH on the highway. But hey, you'll have to stop for gas like once a month, which would be pretty great seeing how ludicrous gas prices have gotten. It's all about compromises, people.
Poor little Pleo. The innocent and uber-cute robot dinosaur suffered at the hands of your DVICE narrators, sure, but that mild session of humiliation pales by comparison to this ass-whipping Pleo took at Maker Faire last weekend. What could the next event be? Pulling the wings off live insects?
Pleo is going to have to get him some defenses, perhaps at least a laser and a few ominous noises. We’re not quite sure what the point of this drubbing is, but one thing’s certain: You don’t want to find yourself on the wrong side of Vicious Verdict, the highly destructive ComBot predator rolling around the ring and ripping little Pleo to shreds. Or get in the way of whoever’s idea this was, either.
Re-live even more of the mayhem in the gallery below. Commenters, what do you think? Act of cruelty to a robotic lifeform, or just desserts to a too-cute mechanical annoyance?
What if you could control everything in your home with a little handheld gadget? That's what this universal remote by David Chacon got us thinking about, with its roomy screen — a nerve center right in your pocket.
Simply called the Universal Remote, the device would be flash capable so it could display anything from channel listings to more elaborate menus. With a touchscreen, the right frequencies and support from outside companies, the remote would allow you to change your television's volume to turning on the oven or dimming the lights — and companies could create custom graphic user interfaces for a product, too.
Check out the gallery below for more views of the universal remote.
Although Transformers movie mania has long past, the sweet geek pleasure of the mega-hit Iron Man has sharpened our robo-lens. Hiding in plain sight is the ultimate iPod dock that serves as a mini-speaker system as well as a bona fide Transformer toy (specifically, Optimus Prime Convoy, one of the good guys). Sure it's kind of retro, but true Transformers fans know that this kind of stuff never gets old. Originally offered by Takara Tomy, buried on its Japanese site, you can now pick one up for $145 here.
Via JList
editor@dvice.com
Yahh, not news, these have been arou
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