Hasta La Gadget!

All work and no play makes Jack (as well as Jane in this politically correct age) a dull boy, and just in case you were wondering what kind of gift you want to give to your little one for his or her birthday, here is a clue. Forget about video game consoles or anything electronic, since these tend to make your little one use less of his or her imagination, but rather, it will make the mind lazy. How about exploring their creative side with the $22.99 Kid O Magnatab? This unique toy, so to speak, comes with a magnetic stylus that is capable of pulling beads up to create lines, and it will be a decent way to help kids learn how to hold a writing tool.

If your kid makes a mistake, fret not – erasing is easily done with the tip of your finger. The Kid O Magnatab is one great educational toy that will do a decent job of teaching your kids in writing all the letters of the alphabet, and as they write, the lines will start to fill in with silver beads so that they will be able to keep track of whether they are on the right path or not.
[ Kid O Magnatab copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Last week Google announced Chromecast, a new $35 HDMI dongle that lets users “cast” content from their mobile devices and computers to a TV over Wi-Fi. Now if you travel a lot, you might have though about carrying Chromecast with you, because hotel TV can sometimes be very boring, particularly if you’re travelling in a country with little or no channels in your language. John Affaki, the engineering manager for Chromecast developer experience, has confirmed that Chromecast unfortunately will not be supporting public Wi-Fi networks.

He describes a number of problems that users will face when trying to use Chromecast with public networks. Most hotels disable peer-to-peer communication on their networks, so users won’t be able to control the dongle. Moreover, Chromecast doesn’t have support for captive wireless networks right now. Captive networks are those which require you to log in through a browser prior to letting you access the internet, most hotels have these as well. One could set up a personal hotspot through their laptop or smartphone, but the data costs alone would make anyone shudder with the thought of streaming a high definition video over the network.

Like It , +1 , Tweet It , Pin It | Chromecast Won’t Get Support For Public Wi-Fi Networks original content from Ubergizmo.

Kindle Worlds has become unstuck in time. Amazon announced this morning that it has wrangled a license for Kurt Vonnegut’s work, bringing Cat’s Cradle, Breakfast of Champions and the like to the world of paid fan fiction. One rep from the author’s trust called the deal a “natural extension of his legacy and a testament to the enduring popularity of his characters and stories.” At the very least, it marks a turn toward more classic literature (and, arguably, legitimacy) for a program that thus far includes the likes of Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries. And certainly Vonnegut’s vast catalog offers plenty of fodder for the prospective novelist, * and all.

Filed under: Software, Amazon

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Makers and 3D designers who want to replicate the shape and colour of real-world objects in their creations clap your eyes on the above gizmo. The Fuel3D is a handheld, high resolution 3D scanner, which captures 3D photos of real-world objects/subjects and, in conjunction with its creators’ software, turns them into a 3D model with accurate geometry and colour.

With 3D printers taking off, the demand for object scanners is likely to rise — especially affordable scanners, and the Fuel3D’s creators are aiming to ship this high resolution 3D scanner with a sub-$1,000 price-tag. Or that’s the plan, if it achieves its Kickstarter funding goal of $75,000 — all but certain, given it still has 31 days left to run on its campaign and less than $10,000 required.

A sub-$1,000 price-tag is not as cheap as the Photon 3D scanner we covered back in April — which was on Indiegogo for $399 — but that scanner was specifically focused on object scanning, with a small turntable design. Whereas the Fuel3D is more freestyle in what it can scan, allowing for human faces to be captured by holding the device up and taking photos in conjunction with a small target placed next to the face.

Its high resolution 3D capture also allows for detailed textures to be captured, providing a variety of use-case scenario for animators, game developers and 3D artists. In other words, this could be a handy office gadget for your gaming startup.

It’s very likely that we’ll see an updated iPad mini later in the fall, but rumors about whether or not it will include a Retina display have been flying around like swarms of flies. However, another report claims that a Retina-equipped iPad mini will arrive sometime in the fourth quarter, with the display being made […]