Hasta La Gadget!

There are no hard and fast rules in the gadget game, but there is one bit of wisdom we generally stand by: everything benefits by being ruggedized. Sure, we know this speaks to a deep-seated need to smash things, drown things, run ’em over in a truck or shoot them — and we’re not making any excuses. Housed in vandal resistant stainless steel, the Stealth KYBX-400-DT-BL-TB-USB keyboard feature an optical trackball mouse, and NVIS-compliant red adjustable backlighting (just the thing for when you dig out the night vision goggles). If that weren’t enough, the whole thing is environmentally sealed to NEMA 4, 4X, IP65 specifications (whatever that means). Yours now for $695! Get a closer look below.

Stealth’s rugged USB keyboard is extremely tough, extremely pricey originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fridays before long weekends are the worst. It’s not even 10 AM on the East Coast, and I already feel like I’ve put in a full day’s work. Thankfully, this video is exactly what I need to make it, well, to noon, at least.

It’s the result of an “informal Rube Goldberg summer camp for kids ages 3-8,” which, frankly, sounds a lot more exciting than the Jewish and Boy Scout camps that I went to, growing up.

This video has all the makings of a viral hit for the sleepy long summer weekend: an involved Rube Goldberg-esque machine and a lot of really, really excited children (not to mention, perhaps most importantly of all, a plug on Boing Boing). The goal was to put a rubber ball in a pail, and the device succeeds with flying colors.

There’s not a lot of information about this “informal summer camp,” which, honestly, seems to be a bunch of kids hanging out at house building neat stuff, but hopefully they’ll extend the age range by a couple of decades next summer.

The Energizer Inductive Charger keeps your phone going, and going, and going, just like that rabbit!

A wireless induction pad, the charger works with all Qi-enabled devices. Not quite a square, the charge plate measures about 7-inches by 8-inches, and is less than a half an inch thick. With two large inductive charging areas on the pad and one USB charging port, the cord-free station can power three devices at once.

You can place the phone anywhere on the circles that mark charging area. There are no magnets or hidden docks, or rules about where exactly the phone needs to be within the circle. Put it down and you are set.

The Qi-enabled sleeve for the iPhone 3G/3GS and batery door for the BlackBerry Curve 8900 are also available separately.

Pricing and availability information has not been disclosed.

I’ve long held that ROMs are the biggest selling point for Android phones that no one wants to talk about (or are at least neck and neck for those of you who absolutely need your porn on the go). If, after a few drinks, I start having a good natured debate about smartphones with an iPhone owning friend (which does indeed happen more often that I’d care to admit), I’ll usually break out my Droid and start playing a round of Super Mario 3.

However, the Droid QWERTY keyboard is okay–but not great–for such gaming. In fact, I’ve actually worn down some of the keys on the thing playing Super Mario Brothers. And, all things considered, I’ve actually got it good. There are plenty of Android handsets that rely entirely on the touchscreen for control–a pretty miserable way to play a console-formatted sidescroller.

Game Gripper offers a decent and intriguing answer–a controller that slips right over the keyboard of a number of handsets. But let’s be honest–you’re still not playing the way that god (and Shigeru Miyamoto) intended.

With that in mind, I submit to you my nominee for hack of the day. Using an HTC EVO 4G, a BlueSMiRF Bluetooth module, an Arduino board, and, of course, an original NES controller, this fellow designed what is quite possible the ultimate Android/Nintendo hack.

The final product ain’t all that pretty–and, let’s be honest, you’d look pretty dumb playing it on the subway (where most of my own handset gaming occurs)–but damn it if it doesn’t work like a charm

Laser power specialists Lasermotive has recently demonstrated the ability to keep a flying vehicle powered for up to two hours via a laser beam as its only power source.

Aside from keeping helicopters whirring about, this remote laser power tech has several interesting theoretical applications. Since it can send power infrastructure-free to remote locations, it could bring electricity to rural or underdeveloped communities around the world. It could also be used to aid exploration in hazardous locales–both on and off of the planet.

On a related sidenote, the other day I lamented that NASA had completely run out of ideas as far as getting into space and was just wasting taxpayer money with big stupid rockets.

Apparently I was wrong–NASA is seriously getting behind the idea of space elevators, and it looks like this sort of laser-energy transfer might be a key ingredient.

Sorry for doubting you, NASA. We cool? Don’t send any laser helicopters to come after me.

A corporate propaganda video goes into some of the tech deets after the jump.