LED Illuminated Message Board makes ordinary messages psychedelic

Kids these days, they’ve got it made — wouldn’t you agree? While our tot-hood was filled with low-end luxuries like Etch A Sketch and Lite-Brite, our offspring are expanding their minds with things like the LED Illuminated Message Board. Much like a traditional dry erase board, those with the appropriate pens can simply draw up whatever they please on the white display, but flip a switch and the whole thing goes psychoactive. Talk about getting the message across. Slap one on your own refrigerator right now for around 20 bones.

[Via ChipChick]

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LED Illuminated Message Board makes ordinary messages psychedelic originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Jul 2009 02:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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R2D2 Toilet Paper Dispenser

star_wars_tissue_holder_wxp.jpgTopless Robot: R2D2 has done many things in his storied career. Carried Death Star plans. Slaughtered battle droids. Shot lightsabers out of his head. Served booze.

But now, thanks to Japan, he can help keep your anus clean as this toilet paper cozy, which… I don’t know. I’m just too dead inside today to feel much of anything. I wish it were because I want to already be on holiday, or because I’m still sleepy, but no. I know what’s coming up. The Pokémon story.

R2D2 Assists Number Twos [Topless Robot]

Ruckus brings Wireless-N outdoor the smart way

The Flexzone 7741 outdoor Wireless-N access point

(Credit: Ruckus Wireless)

Wireless-N has gone outdoor for a while now with Meraki and Tropos having taken turns to release their their products.

However, Ruckus Wireless on Monday announced new outdoor wireless products it claims to be “world’s first and only outdoor …

Gateway joins the $299 Netbook club

(Credit: Gateway)

The $299 Netbook club is getting a little bit bigger with the announcement of Gateway’s 10.1-inch LT2000. Gateway calls it “a sleek and compact,” system that will, “let mobile customers maximize their time on the go to stay connected and productive.” We call it a Gateway-branded version of corporate-cousin Acer’s popular Aspire One (also available for $299).

Like the Acer models, the Gateway LT2000 supports some basic multi-touch gestures on its touchpad, and it will be available in red and black (sorry, that’s actually “NightSky Black and Cherry Red”).

Look for it to be available to order starting today. Click through for more pics and specs….

Nokia throws “Xseries” into the ring, too?

You know the saying “where there’s smoke, there’s fire”? Yeah, well, this is kind of like that, except its.. uh, “where there’s Cseries, there’s Xseries.” Stay with us: on Saturday we reported that Nokia had filed for a trademark on the “Cseries” name, ostensibly for a new line of smartphones, MIDs, or netbooks to complement its existing Nseries and Eseries lines. Now it seems the intriguing-sounding “Xseries” is in the mix, too, thanks to details coughed up by the EU’s Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market. This particular mark was filed in Switzerland, but something tells us they don’t just plan on selling some crazy new line of devices in the Alps, if you know what we’re saying; like the Cseries, though, the question of what the Xseries is exactly remains to be answered.

[Via digitoday, thanks Pasi]

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Nokia throws “Xseries” into the ring, too? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gateway gives Intel a go with Atom N270-equipped LT2000 netbook

After giving AMD the first crack, Gateway is issuing its second bona fide netbook with an Intel Inside(R) sticker instead. The LT2000 is a 10.1-inch machine with a list of specifications that any avid netbook follower could spout off in their sleep. For everyone else, here goes: a 1.6GHz Atom N270 CPU, LED-backlit 1,024 x 600 resolution display, 1GB of DDR2 memory, 160GB 5400RPM hard drive, GMA950 graphics set, a card reader, built-in webcam, twin stereo speakers, a trio of USB 2.0 sockets, three-cell battery and a chassis that tips the scales at 2.62 pounds. Gateway’s making these available as we speak for $299.99, with the LT2001u receiving a NightSky Black coating and the LT2021u arriving with a Cherry Red outfit. The full release is after the break.

Continue reading Gateway gives Intel a go with Atom N270-equipped LT2000 netbook

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Gateway gives Intel a go with Atom N270-equipped LT2000 netbook originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Crapgadget: “USB, meet animals; animals, meet USB” edition

Hey, real quick — are you a registered member of the Sierra Club? What about PETA? If you answered yes to either, we’re going to kindly ask that you continue scrolling down the page while whistling heartily and “looking the other way.” This week’s roundup of horribly crappy gadgets involves far too many innocent animals, from a USB-infused tortoise that doubles as an ashtray to a tank of jellyfish that only receive their nutrients when the USB cable is connected. And then there’s the Elmo that’s forced to do sit-ups while your data transfers onto his feeble brain. It’s sick, really. Once you’re over the shock and horror, feel free to cast your vote below for the lamest of the lame — and feel free to consult and / or hold a friend if necessary.

Read – USB tortoise hub / ashtray
Read – USB jellyfish tank
Read – Panda USB hub
Read – USB Crunching Elmo
Read – USB Chocolate Popsicle drive

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Crapgadget: “USB, meet animals; animals, meet USB” edition originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Jul 2009 22:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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1979: The Golden Age of Lego

1979 was the beginning of Lego as we know it today, the year when they took over the world, the year of the Galaxy Explorer. I photographed all the classic sets in my Lego trip. Here’s the never-released gallery:

The Lego bricks were invented a lot earlier, but 1979 was the year of Legoland Space, Legoland Town, and Legoland Castle. Those three are the Lego universes that started it all. They were first introduced in 1978—except for the Galaxy Explorer—but it wasn’t until 1979 and the few following years when they really took off. More importantly for me: It wasn’t until 1979 when I actually build them.

During 1978, 1979, and the beginning of the 80s, Lego had its Golden Age. For sure, now they sell more than ever and they have a huge army of followers. But that was the true Golden Age, with the very best sets ever developed by the Danish company.

Many great ones came later, but I was lucky enough to play with all those original sets back in 1979, when I was a little kid.

Here you have my favorites, straight from the official show room on top of their secret vault, in the original Lego factory.






















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OLPC Retail Price: $399 (Give 1 Get 1)

This article was written on September 24, 2007 by CyberNet.

OLPC Christmas Buy One Give One

The OLPC price talks have subsided, and consumers that want to get their hands on an XO laptop will have to fork out $399 (£200/€225) on the November 12th release date. What was once considered to be the $100 laptop now actually runs $200 to manufacture, and therefore with every retail purchase an XO laptop will also be donated by a campaign known as “Give 1 Get 1.”

Nicholas Negroponte, the founder of One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), had this to say about the big news:

Starting November 12, One Laptop Per Child will be offering a Give 1 Get 1 Program for a brief window of time. For $399, you will be purchasing two XO laptops—one that will be sent to empower a child to learn in a developing nation, and one that will be sent to your child at home.

OLPC Specs While I know that the extra $200 will be going to a good cause, I still can’t help but think that you can get a “real” laptop for a similar price. Maybe it’s worth it if you’re looking for a laptop with a swivel screen, but you should know some of the specs before committing to one of these:

  • 433MHz Processor
  • 256MB RAM
  • 1GB Flash storage (serves as your hard drive)
  • 7.5” display (1200 x 900 resolution)
  • Dual touchpad supports written-input mode
  • Integrated 802.11b/g (2.4GHz) interface; 802.11s (Mesh) networking supported
  • Integrated color vision camera (640×480 resolution at 30FPS)
  • Three USB 2.0 ports
  • About 3.5lbs

So who plans on buying an XO laptop at $399? If you do decide to get one you’ll need to be one of the first 25,000 buyers on November 12th if you want to receive it before Christmas.

Give 1 Get 1 [via Engadget]

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Integrated circuits with no standby power could be in use by year’s end

There’s certainly no shortage of company’s working to make electronics of all sorts more energy efficient, but NEC and Rohm Co now say that they’re on the verge of a breakthrough that could change things in a big way, and we could possibly see it in “practical use” by the end of this year. As Tech-On! reports, both companies are hard at work on integrated circuits that consume no power at all when they’re in standby mode, and turn themselves on only when power is needed. That’s apparently possible by making the entire chip nonvolatile, as opposed to many current chips that only use nonvolatile merged memory. According to NEC, that’ll let them “cut dissipation for digital consumer electronics in the standby mode to just a few percent of what it is now,” and at no expense of convenience. While NEC isn’t making any promises for the near future just yet, Rohm says that it’ll begin shipping its first custom ICs in the second half of this year, and that the first products using them could start showing up by the end of 2009.

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Integrated circuits with no standby power could be in use by year’s end originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Jul 2009 20:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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