Hasta La Gadget!

The Raspberry Pi computing platform definitely has some interesting applications. This project is no exception, because it will allow users of all ages and experience to assemble a DIY computer. A Raspberry Pi is used as the brains of the operation.

The MAP Project Office collaborated with Kano to create this DIY computer kit. It’s a complete computer system that its makers claim is as easy to assemble as LEGO.

The system comes with a two-part bumper case for the computer board, as well as a custom wireless keyboard, with a built-in touchpad and color-coded buttons, making it kid-friendly. It connects to any monitor with an HDMI port, and comes with an 8GB SD card pre-loaded with the Kano OS and tools to help learn how to program. The open source computer can run pretty much any Debian Linux package, and will come with easy-to-use software for creating and playing simple games.

The KANO KIT DIY Computer is being crowdfunded via Kickstarter. You’ll have to pledge at least $119(USD) to get yours. With nearly a month of funding left, the project has amassed more than $560,000 against a goal of just $100,000. Needless to say, it will go into production.

[via Kickstarter]

Xi3 Corporation is the company behind the cool and interesting little Xi3 Piston console. The Piston is actually a small gaming computer more that it is a game console like the Xbox or PlayStation. Xi3 Corporation has announced that it will be launching its first retail presence in a Utah mall just in time for […]

Imagine for some strange reason that you have to abandon the bulk of your possessions—maybe you’re on the run, or just trying to live a simpler life. What single gadget would you keep?

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Back in April, we saw the first Iron Man 3 computer mouse turn up for gaming geeks who also happen to be comic book geeks. The mouse is made by a company in a Hong Kong called E-Blue. That company is at it again with an updated version of the computer mouse with a few changes .

Under the red and gold Iron Man armor exterior, the mouse has the heart of an optical gaming peripheral. It has onboard sensitivity switching ranging from 500 dpi up to 4000 dpi. It also has six buttons that use mechanical switches. Gamers can also choose their own polling rate using a switch on the bottom of the mouse.

The polling rate can be switched from 125 Hz all the way up to 1000 Hz. Keep in mind that this mouse does use a USB cable rather than being wireless – which is best for gaming. If that wire isn’t a deal breaker for you the mouse is available now for $73 over at Brando.

Let’s hope the mouse has better quality control than the bad translations and typos in the descriptions above.

Just how smart can computers get? Will we ever see the kind of apocalyptic future tushered in by the Red Queen of Resident Evil fame, or will an equivalent of Skynet eventually come and bite us in our rear end? How about HAL9000 and its homicidal tendencies? I am quite pleased to report that computers have yet to achieve such levels of audacity in terms of intelligence, but there has been progress somewhat. Artificial and natural knowledge researchers at the University of Illinois (UIC) at Chicago claim to have tested one of the best AI systems out there just to see how smart it really is, and it turned out to rank on a scale that is that of the average 4-year old. Yes, you can all return to your normal lives now, as there is nothing quite like the looming threat of an evil computer AI hell bent on destroying mankind just because it sees us as a “virus”.

ConceptNet 4 basically did extremely well on a vocabulary test and on its ability to recognize similarities, but it underperformed when it came to comprehension­ on ‘why’ questions, which makes perfect sense. After all, one of the most difficult issues in constructing an AI would be to work on it being able to arrive at sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts, which is what we humans like to call, common sense. Looks like the looming AI apocalypse is still far away.

Press Release
[ Computer smart enough to go toe-to-toe with a 4-year-old copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]