Hasta La Gadget!

Anyone can make a USB hub, and anyone can make a cable management gadget, but the Quirky Contort brings the two together in an elegant and functional package. The Contort is a 4-port USB hub in the shape of a spool, with a thick flexible neck that keeps the Contort from bending or flexing too much around your computer’s USB port. You can plug your keyboard into the Contort and then spool excess cable around it so you only leave as much as you need on your desk, and then plug in additional peripherals to the USB ports on the sides.

If you’re not familiar Quirky, members of the community discuss which products they really think should be real, design them, and design and fund the build of the product from the ground up. If there’s sufficient demand for the product in or outside of the community, the product starts shipping, and the people who pre-ordered it are first in line.

The Quirky Contort is in the “Presale” phase, which means Quirky is seeing if enough people are willing to pre-order it before they start manufacturing it. You can pre-order one now for $29.99, but if you wait until the product starts its first run, you’ll pay $34.99, so you might want to order now.
 

If you’re looking for high-end audio quality without running wires all over your living room, you don’t have too many options. Usually wireless sound suffers from terrible compression and signal loss when you send it through the air. Aperion Audio wants to fix that problem, and promises audiophile-grade sound quality with its new Zona Wireless Surround Sound Speaker System.

Simply plug the speakers into power and plug the wireless transmitter into your audio source, and the speakers automatically sync with one another and stream from the base station. Aperion specifically created the system so setup was simple, and the transmitter even has a USB port on it so you can use the speaker system as a wireless set for your home computer. The speakers have a range of up to 150 feet from the transmitter. If you’re interested, the set is available now for $499 list, and includes two speakers and the wireless transmitter.
 

This article was written on October 30, 2007 by CyberNet.

The last time we wrote about the One Laptop Per Child program was late September when it was announced that they’d go on sale starting November 12th.  Consumers who want to buy one will be required to actually purchase two — one for them, and one to give.  This “Give 1 Get 1″ program will cost $399, and is still set to start on November 12th. Despite the fact that there are about two weeks left before the launch to consumers, the foundation has already started to sell the laptops, but only to those who are wanting to donate.

As BetaNews reports, it’s all about donation at this point. If you visit the foundation’s site, you’ll see that there are three options. Someone can donate 100+, 1000+, or 10,000+ laptops with the price fluctuating based upon the number donated.  For someone who decides they’d like to give 100 or more laptops to the location of their choice, they’ll be charged $299 per laptop with $99 from each laptop going to fund another 50 laptops that would be sent to a country that the foundation chooses.  For those giving 1000 or more to the country of their choice, they’ll pay $249 per laptop with $49 from each going to fund another 250 laptops.  For those wanting to give 10,000 or more, they’ll be charged $200 per laptop and can choose where they’d like the laptops to be sent.

Seeing as the purpose of the whole program is to provide children in lesser-developed countries with a tool to learn, I think it’s great that they’re starting out with a “donation” drive before they start the Give 1 Get 1 program. They’ve had their fair share of setbacks and delays, so it’s exciting to see the sales of these computers finally start.

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She called it a date, but as far as we can tell, the meeting between MSNBC reporter Stephanie Pappas and soon-to-be the first humanoid robot in space Robonaut 2 was a bit of a one-sided affair.

A joint project between General Motors and NASA, Robonaut 2 is expected to help astronauts perform repairs and other maintenance on the International Space Station. This model, Robonaut 2B will travel on the very last Space Shuttle mission; Originally scheduled a November 1 launch, fuel leaks have delayed the Shuttle Discovery blast-off until Tuesday of next week.

Pappas, who met the robot at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, reports that the 330 pound automaton was a little intimidating and looked as if it might be “ready to throw a punch.” It does look a tiny bit like a giant version of one of those punching puppets (our favorites were always the nun and ET) . Though only a torso, Robonaut 2 can replicate human hand and arm movement and perform tasks such as drilling and painting. During Pappas’ date, however, Robonaut didn’t paint, throw a punch, speak or even move. To be fair, Pappas’s date is not the robot heading into space. The final model, Robonaut 2B, has new fire-proof skin and a few space-ready parts. Plus, as Pappas notes, it doesn’t have any smell. (Now you know the answer to the age-old-question, “Do things still smell in space?”).

As Pappas’ date neared its conclusion, the reporter did manage to make brief contact with the humanoid robot’s arm. She reports that it felt like a “cross between a memory-foam pillow and a well-muscled human arm.”

We’re taking bets on whether or not Robonaut will call Pappas, or at least text her.

Experian Hitwise’s annual tally of the top costume searches of the season indicates that over-the-top reality show and pop stars are still the most common routes for adult Halloween apparel.

Originally posted at The Social