Hasta La Gadget!

When it comes to superlative adjectives, gadget mavens Hammacher are pretty good at it. Case in point, we have this $399.95 The World’s Lightest Packable Electric Guitar – which is definitely something when you think about it. Tipping the scales at a rather impossibly light 3 pounds, this self-proclaimed musical instrument is touted to be the lightest packable acoustic/electric guitar to date, and while it might be small in size, it definitely does not lack anything where performance is concerned, delivering a somewhat similar authentic feel and sound just like its full-sized counterpart.

Measuring a mere 28″ long, The World’s Lightest Packable Electric Guitar is a full-scale length 24.75″ guitar with 22 frets, allowing seasoned guitarists to enjoy accurate chord and finger placement without having to adjust one’s playing style to the instrument. It even comes with a detachable lap rest frame so that you can rest the guitar on your knee if the need arises. Half a dozen recessed chrome tuning pegs will ensure the half dozen D’Addario EJ15 Phosphor Bronze round-wound extra-light acoustic strings remain at the proper pitch at all times. Each purchase comes with its own soft carrying case for added convenience.

[ The World’s Lightest Packable Electric Guitar copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

There has always been a long list of items that aren’t allowed to be sold on the auction website eBay. These items span everything from hazardous materials to medical devices requiring a prescription. EBay has announced that it is adding more items to the list of products that can’t be sold on the auction site. The products include anything classed as metaphysical.

Metaphysical covers many items and basically includes anything such as advice, spells, curses, magic, blessing services, healing sessions, work from home businesses, and a number of informational lists. The items will be banned starting on August 30 of this year. The ban will affect people who sell services and items that have to do with psychics such as tarot cards and other items.

Some people are unhappy about the new rules that seek to ban intangible items and items of an occult nature. Some believe that eBay is banning items based on witchcraft or pagan beliefs. These people point out that eBay is still allowing products such as rosaries, crucifixes, and religious medals to be sold along with items like crystals and magnetic therapy jewelry.

Some users who don’t agree with eBay’s new bans have started a petition called “Don’t ban our psychics on eBay.” So far, the petition has 1009 signatures and seeks to challenge eBay’s perceptions of what makes an item intangible. What do you think about this ban?

[via Wired]

EBay bans the sale of metaphysical items is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

While some commercials might be entertaining and amusing, for the most part we’re sure that many of you guys out there switch channels when your TV show is on a break and commercials start playing. The same could apply while listening to radio which is why plugging in media players into vehicles or popping in a CD would be a more attractive alternative. However if you’re too lazy to switch channels or the radio station, a recently discovered patent by Apple has revealed a system where users can switch away from commercials either from radio or video and replace it with stored media instead, like a song on your phone.

This switching is done automatically, and if you’re wondering how this is achieved, it actually uses metadata  from assets like the Radio Data System, broadcast listings or published third-party schedules to help determine when an upcoming content might not be of interest to you, the listener/viewer. The system will then switch to your stored media until the content has been passed and will then resume regular radio/video services again. The system will also be able to determine what the user likes or dislikes through a system similar to Pandora, where users can like or dislike a song and the system will then “learn” your preferences. No word if Apple has plans to incorporate this patent into any of their upcoming products, but being able to skip ads and whatnot sure sounds like a great feature for Apple’s rumored iTV!

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Apple patent reveals possible plans for an illuminated touchpad, Google files patent for microphone/speaker orientation,

If your favorite audio or video broadcasts are spamming you with obnoxious ads (or anything else you don’t like) an Apple patent describes a process to cut them out — then substitute your personal content. First, the system would check media in real time through audio analysis or metadata scanning. Then, it would determine if it’s “of interest” to you by checking it against a profile based on your listening habits or personally defined preferences. Finally, if it thinks you’re into a particular stream, it would continue playing it, and if not, it could blast something from your own collection. The patent claims even describe a TiVo-like time-shifting function — ensuring you’d catch that entire guitar solo while not missing a single word from your favorite show.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablet PCs

Apple gets patent for process that replaces unwanted media with user content originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 07:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Earlier today we reported that photos of Sony’s upcoming NEX-5R and NEX-6 cameras had leaked. Well if you thought that the photos did not do the camera justice, the folks at Sony Alpha Rumors are back and this time with alleged press shots of the NEX-5R. Details of the cameras remain somewhat of a mystery, although according to the rumor mill, both the NEX-5R and NEX-6 could sport WiFi connectivity, allowing users to transfer photos wirelessly, phase detection AF pixels on its image sensor and, with the NEX-6 sporting a brand new 16MP sensor as well. Of course since none of this is official, it should be taken with a grain of salt, but what do you guys think? If you’d like to see the rest of the NEX-5R photos, head on over to the source link below.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Sony NEX-5R rumored to feature phase detection AF pixels on its sensor, Sony Xperia T “Mint” photos surface ahead of its announcement,