Hasta La Gadget!

Once all fiat currencies collapse, relegated to the trash heap of paper money throughout history, we will inevitably be forced back to using sound money backed by something tangible. It may be through direct exchange of commodities, or a paper currency backed with gold, but a forward-thinking Japanese monetarist would stockpile vaults full of cuteness under Tokyo, package it into individual bars, and then distribute the resulting Hello Kitty Money to the masses, perhaps by helicopter in true Bernanke style.

The Asakusa shopping and tourist area of Tokyo is going partially in that direction as it’s going to be soon issuing real Hello Kitty Money that can be used in the area for exchange. It’s more of a marketing gimmick than an attempt at a real local currency, but with 500 participating shops it’s at least going to be widespread enough to make sense as a way to engage tourists and get them into the shops.

Asakusa is known for being a “traditional” part of Tokyo, and the temple and old-style shops there draw in crowds of visitors every weekend. These coins capitalize on another thing that Sanrio does very well, which is localize its products even down to particular train stations. Carrying around a coin with President Kitty on it basically puts her in charge.

Come to think of it, Hello Kitty Money that is backed by nothing but good feelings and an iconic character isn’t a whole lot different from U.S. dollars!

Meysam Movahedi’s latest concept certainly isn’t the first revolutionary tweak to the tried-and-true power outlet, but it’s easily one of our favorites. Put simply, the Rambler Socket is an in-wall box that contains 1.5 meters of extra cabling along with a traditional AC outlet. Granted, you’ll need a pretty deep wall to make something like this work (in theory, of course), but the result is nothing short of brilliant. If your AC cord is long enough, you simply plug it into the socket per usual; if you need a little extra length, the built-in extension cord pulls out with a gentle tug. Once you’re done, you simply tug on the cable once more and watch as it recoils back within the wall. GE, or someone — can we get a contract to this guy, pronto?

Rambler Socket tucks a recoiling extension cable, pinch of genius within your AC outlet originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Dec 2009 01:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Moe, who is dead-set on snagging a 13-inch machine just as soon as a model is decided upon. Help a brother out, won’t you?

“I’m in the market for a new laptop, and I want a 13-incher. I need something with a great keyboard for typing, as this will mostly be used for note taking in class. I am absolutely smitten with the XPS 13, but I’m afraid that with its age Dell is going to give it an update soon. Any advice for someone in my shoes? Thanks!”

There’s no doubt that an update is around the corner, but there’s no telling how far that corner is from being reached. USB 3.0 updates are unavoidable, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see a few new SSD options creep up, either. That said, there’s nothing quite like the here and now, so if any of you ultraportable owners wish to help out, you know where to head.

Ask Engadget: Best 13-inch laptop on the market? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Dec 2009 22:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This article was written on January 11, 2007 by CyberNet.

One Laptop Per Child, also abbreviated and known as OLPC could possibly be going retail in 2008.  BBC originally posted that they had confirmation the OLPC would be selling to Western Consumers in 2008.  They quickly retracted that and came back saying that there is a possibility that the OLPC organization will be selling these machines to the public.

The rumored idea is that retail consumers would buy two, and get one– with one of the machines going to the developing world.  Already, five million machines are slated to be delivered over the Summer to countries like Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Nigeria, Libya, Pakistan, and Thailand.  They were designed to be low cost, durable, and simple to use, and so far they have proved to be all of those.  Originally, the organization was aiming at $100 per machine, but the current cost is around $150, still an amazing price.

Built with education in mind, they include built-in wireless networking and video conferencing so that groups of children would be able to work together.  Michalis Blestsas, Chief Connectivity Officer of the project says, “I’d like to make sure that kids all around the world start to communicate. It will be a very interesting experiment to see what will happen when we deploy a million laptops in Brazil and a million laptops in Namibia.”

eBay has also been named with the recent talk, mentioned as a possible method of purchasing.  The goal would be to connect the buyer of the laptop with the child in the developing world who received the machine.  I’d assume that when you purchased the laptop, eBay would then be responsible for shipping the computer to the receiver in the developing country.

Obviously, this is an important part of the OLPC business plan, particularly if they get eBay involved.  By selling in the retail market, they’ll need to be looking at ways to do this without adding cost.  I think eBay sounds like a great route to take as a possible method of purchasing.

The OLPC has always been a project for developing countries, and I think it’s great to give the gift of education to children who have never had the chance to use a computer, as a tool for growth and learning. At the same time, only because I have seen from first-hand experience, I wonder why there aren’t similar programs for developed countries. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of technology available to kids for the purpose of education, however there’s a gap, and it’s not even across the board.  There are still plenty of kids in the U.S. (and I’m sure elsewhere) who haven’t ever used a computer, and that to me, is something that needs to be addressed. 

Thanks for the tip Jack of all Trades!

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From 1966-1989, New York’s WPIX broadcast footage of a Yule log burning in a fireplace each Christmas day. Today, a bunch of channels do the same. Now, Gawker is taking the Yule log into the Internet Age. Behold!

To use the Gawker Internet Yule Log™:
1)On Christmas morning, press “Play”.
2)Bask in its glory.

Merry Christmas, you ungrateful wretches.