Hasta La Gadget!

So, we’re not really sure what’s going on here, but three people have been killed by mis-using a Japanese foot massager. We’ve only got specific details about one death, which happened when a woman removed the protective cloth cover from the machine — called the Shape-up Roller 2 — then strangled herself when it got caught on her collar as she tried to use it on her neck. The manufacturer, Matoba Electric, issued a warning against removing the cover or using the device other than as directed, but has not yet recalled the device, which seems to be powerful enough to massage the tension out of a T-Rex’s feet. We’ve got a feeling there won’t be a Shape-up Roller 3 anytime soon. Video of a Japanese news broadcast about the accidents after the break.

[Thanks, Mechelle]

Continue reading Japanese foot-massaging machine pleads innocent to killing three people

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Japanese foot-massaging machine pleads innocent to killing three people originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Jobs won’t be delivering his famous keynote at Macworld Expo 2009, and an analyst believes this means the CEO will soon be replaced.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster told clients Wednesday that Jobs’ absence from Macworld likely signifies a "leadership shift is underway."

Munster added that Phil Schiller, Apple senior vice president of worldwide
product marketing, and Tim Cook, Apple chief operating officer, participated heavily in sharing the stage with Jobs at Apple’s October MacBook event. That, combined with Jobs’ absence at Macworld 2009, makes Munster believe that Apple is preparing to dethrone the CEO.   

Apple on Tuesday announced that Schiller would be giving a keynote instead of Jobs. Apple also said 2009 would be the corporation’s final year participating in the Macworld trade show. The paired announcement revived rumors about Jobs’ deteriorating health.

See Also:

• Steve Jobs is Not — Repeat, Not — Dead
• Steve Jobs Is Still Not Dead, Take II
• Steve Jobs Urges Apple Shareholders to ‘Hang in There’
• Teen Posted Fake iReport of Steve Jobs Heart Attack: Report …
• Apple’s Earnings Are Healthy — But What About Jobs?

Piper believes leadership shift at Apple is underway [AppleInsider]

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

If you don’t know the IT Crowd, get up to speed pronto, because you are missing a lot. It’s hilarious, as this clip from the lastest episode shows. [Thanks Addy—yeah, the zowielala Addy]

Bonus, completely unrelated clip with Richard Ayoade as Dean Learner.

Move over, Rockefeller Center: even though that’s where Jack Donaghy calls home, his homeboys at GE’s OLED research labs in Niskayuna upsate are gunning for Xmas tree fame with the first-ever flexible OLED tree.

The tree is rolled up from a 15-foot by 6-inch scroll of OLED panels lit green. Since I’m kind of scared at the scruffy mountain men types that tend to descend on NYC as part of the migratory holiday Balsam Fir Trade, this might just be what I need for my apartment.

[GE Press Release]

It’s about a week to Christmas, and once again, you can’t figure out that perfect gift for a loved one. Luckily, we’ve found the item that will offend any member of your family equally.

The $226 Blood Bucket Lamp (our name) celebrates the holidays with flowing crimson that’s in the perpetual state of just almost spilling all over your floor. Sure, you could pretend that it’s supposed to be paint—there’s a bucket and everything. But when you wake every night in a cold sweat, your face glowing red from the nightlight…well, we told you so. (After all, there’s good reason we don’t watch those gross iPod nano commercials after ten.) [Blood Bucket Lamp via Rinkya and Crunchgear]