Hasta La Gadget!

We caught wind of an internal GameStop memo this morning announcing the discontinuation of Nintendo’s DS Lite. The memo (pictured above) asks employees to remove displays of Crimson, Black, and Metallic Rose models, once they’ve burned through their stock — we’ve since confirmed the fact with an employee of the gaming chain. Not a huge shocker, of course, given the fact that the five-year-old system has since been eclipsed by 2009’s DSi and, more recently, the company’s glasses-free 3D portable, the 3DS. We have reached out to Nintendo for comment on the matter and will update this post with official word once received.

Update: We heard back from Nintendo, receiving the usual “Nintendo doesn’t comment on rumor and speculation.”

DS Lite discontinued at GameStop originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 09:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink SlashGear  |  GoNintendo  | Email this | Comments

You’ve been looking for a way to spend your spare time. Why not restore a historic Route 66 motel like the Wagon Wheel in Cuba, Mo.? It will only take two years, your entire savings, and your every waking moment.

The Engrain keyboard is as individual as the fingerprints that touch it

After sticking seemingly endless textured objects onto the tops of keycaps, designer Michael Roopenian came up with this gorgeous wooden keyboard, called the Engrain. The idea is that — apart from looking damn hot — the individually textured keys make touch typing easier. As each and every key feels different to your fingers, you will always know exactly where your hands are.

The texture was achieved by sandblasting a single plank of wood so its natural grain became more pronounced, and then painstakingly chopping the individual keycaps out and laser-etching the lettering onto them.

This proof-of-concept model has the keycaps glued to the keys of an Apple aluminum keyboard, a suitably cold and minimal contrast to the warm wood, kind of like cold ice cream and hot apple pie. I imagine a purpose built version, without the double height keys, may be easier to actually type on.

Roopenian’s Engrain is likely to remain forever a one-off. A shame, as I could totally see one of them under my iMac screen, sat on my chipped old marble-topped desk.

Engrain Keyboard project page [Coroflot via Twitter]

See Also:

• Deal: Cheap Wooden Keyboard and Mouse Set
• Doc Datamancer's Scrabble Keyboard Gets Triple Word Score
• Bamboo Keyboard Defines Plasticky Tat
• 'Eco-Friendly' PC Cases Made From Endangered Wood

Blink and you might miss it: hard-to-see turn signals built into a bike helmet

The Blink Helmet may have won a prize at the 2010 Seoul Cycle Design Competition, but it still doesn’t impress me. At first, the helmet seems like a great idea: It integrates flashing turn signals into its sides, and has red and white lamps rear and front for safer nighttime riding.

But then we find out how it works. To signal, you reach up and touch the lamp, whereupon it starts to flash. Then, once you have completed your turn, you need to reach up again to switch it off. This, remember, takes the place of a traditional hand-signal which only requires you to remove your hand from the bar once.

And those side-mounted lights don’t look too visible from the front or the rear, which is where the people who need to see them will be.

I can’t help but think that the kind of person who would buy and use this lid is the same kind of person that already makes clear hand signals whilst in traffic. And if you say that hand signals are hard to see at night, then you should just go buy some reflective cuffs for your arms.

But never mind. The Blink concept still hasn’t moved beyond the stage of CG mockup, so there’s little danger of it making it into stores anytime soon.

Blink project page [Seoul Cycle Design Competition via Gajitz]

See Also:

• Cyclists' Backpack Shows LED Turn Signals
• Sprocket Pocket: iPad Turn-Signal for Cyclists
• Indicator Bike-Lights Will Probably Be Ignored
• Cycle Law: Should Bikes Be Treated Like Cars?

As many self-healing polymers as we’ve seen roll across our screens, we never really tire of them — chalk it up to our unending quest for perfection, but we like our gadgets devoid of nicks and scratches. Lucky for us, a team of scientists that shares our need for clean has produced a material that fixes its imperfections in a mere 60 seconds when exposed to UV light. The typically rigid material basically melts down when exposed to rays of a specific wavelength, allowing it to fill in any nicks or dings. When the light is lifted, the polymer goes back to its original form, and voila — the surface is like new. Its creators say the material could be used on everything from cars to dining room tables, but we’ve already come up with laundry list of devices that could do with a truly scratch resistant surface. Video of the stuff in action after the break.

Continue reading Self-healing polymer serves up quick fixes under UV rays (video)

Self-healing polymer serves up quick fixes under UV rays (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink ars technica  |  Nature  | Email this | Comments