Hasta La Gadget!

Most physical keys have been chased off phones, thanks to the rampant rise of touchscreen technology, but here’s a Kickstarter project that wants to bring smarter kind of physical key to your phone. Pressy is a hardware button that plugs into the headphone jack of your Android phone and can be customised to trigger a range of functions.

So, for instance, if you always wanted a shortcut to snap a photo and upload it straight to a social network you could create that function in the Pressy app. Of course there are apps that can do this sort of thing, but the point about Pressy is that it’s a chunk of hardware that sits within easy reach of your fingers — thereby cutting down on the number of actions required to perform the function you’re after.

The (free) Pressy app will apparently allow a range of shortcuts to be created, based on a combination of short and long presses of the Pressy key. Which all sounds great, so long as you don’t get your shortcuts mixed up — and end up turning on your flashlight instead of taking a sneaky photo, say. Or sending an SMS to your mum saying ‘I’m on my way’, instead of toggling on your Wi-Fi.

The app will also allow for app settings to be customised too, so in addition to a basic photo snapping shortcut you could set up a specifically sneaky photo shortcut that keeps the phone’s screen and flash off and kills the shutter noise. If you wanted to be really, really creepy.

What if you’re using your headphone jack for, y’know, actual headphones? Pressy’s makers have thought of that. The key can be clipped into a small key chain housing, rather than plugged into your phone — and the button on your headphones then doubles as the Pressy key, so you don’t have to fish your keys out of your pockets to trigger your shortcuts.

How much does this smart micro button cost? $17 will get you the basic Pressy. You’ll have to be pretty patient though, as it’s not due to ship til March next year. The project is at least well on its way to hitting its goal of $40,000, with more than $30,000 raised and still 46 days left to run on its funding campaign. Hardware hacking FTW.

The Digitizer is about the size of a portable 45 rpm record player — with a laser-shooting accessory attached to the back.

Let’s suspend disbelief for a moment and pretend that you’re willing to drop a grand on your PC’s cooling system — that’s the kind of cash you’ll need to set aside for the HydroLux from Digital Storm. The system combines liquid and air cooling, a control board and a bevy of sensors, along with custom software that puts you in command of your PC’s thermals. High-flow pumps will push over 300 gallons of cooling fluid across the CPU and graphics cards every hour, which is augmented by an airflow system that can adjust dynamically, operate quietly or act as a wind tunnel. As a nice touch, you’ll also find LED lighting throughout the rig that serves as a quick visual indicator of the heat levels within your PC.

The HydroLux is a new upgrade that’s exclusive to custom PCs from Digital Storm, and it’s available immediately across the company’s desktop lineup. You’ll pay $1,084 for single graphics card setups, on up to $1,994 for monsters that rock four GPU cards. Feel free to check out Digital Storm’s website and peruse the system; you don’t have to return to reality just yet.

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming, Peripherals

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Source: Digital Storm

A three-button mouse that doesn’t actually have any buttons sounds like an oxymoron or some sort of geeky riddle. However, that is exactly what Logitech has created with its new Ultrathin Touch Mouse T630 and T631.

These two mice are absolutely identical in functionality – the difference between the two is that the T630 is black and the T631 is white, though Logitech is targeting the T630 to Windows 8 users, and the T631 to Mac users. Logitech offers software to support gestures for both operating systems.

Since the smooth top of the sleek and portable mouse has no buttons, it can be used for multitouch navigation. The mouse connects to your computer using Bluetooth and features sleek lines, brushed aluminum, and a thin profile that makes it highly portable. It can also be paired to multiple devices and can switch between those devices with the flick of a switch thanks to Logitech’s Easy-Switch Technology. The sounds like the perfect mouse for on-the-go types who value looks and performance.

Both the T630 and T631 can be pre-ordered for $69.99(USD).

While the creators of this “Black Betty” device maintain that it’s not a camera at all, you’ll find shooting, editing, and uploading video on it to be included, all in the same amalgamation of plastic, metal, and glass. This is the first Black Betty custom camera housing, and it works with an Apple Mac Mini […]