Hasta La Gadget!

Buildings in America consume nearly 40% of our energy each year along with emitting tons greenhouse gases and other forms of waste. Some people have looked to making buildings self-sustainable such as placing solar panels on the sides of the buildings, but this can be expensive and doesn’t always provide the amount of energy as planned. A group of Thai architects have submitted an idea at Evolo for a very interesting barnacle like apartment that would live off the waste of the rest of the building.

(more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Apple is considering fuel-cell-powered MacBooks, 3D Solar cells will make solar energy efficient,

Two brothers from San Francisco have brought new meaning to the expression “working on the go” with their latest product, the Open Aire laptop bag. The bag serves a dual purpose. In one instance you could use it to carry your laptop around with you wherever you go. In another you could use it as a personal desk in the park. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Haglöfs Laptop Drybags, P@W laptop bag carries pooch as well,

Pocket TV is a simple concept: what if a smart HDMI dongle could turn your TV into an Android device? As you have guessed, the idea is that Pocket TV is a Micro computer that runs on Ice Cream Sandwich / Android 4.0. It looks like a USB memory key, but it is a real Android computer.Now, the idea of having a micro-computer doesn’t stop at making TVs start. You can also take it with you anywhere, and as long as you can connect it to an HDMI port, you’ve got your computer with you. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google TV gets more (paid) content, ADB-01 Android Set Top Box ,

How many books do you usually read in a month? Do you usually find yourself buying a new book only to leave it unfinished a few days after getting it? Well, Argentinean independent publishers Eterna Cadencia were able to develop a special ink that will reportedly disappear once it comes in contact with light and air. The special ink is a trade secret of course. But the publishers are publishing an anthology of new Latin authors using the ink. According to Eterna Cadencia, the book’s words and letters will disappear within two months after the reader opens its pages.

“Books are very patient objects. We buy them, and then they wait for us to read them. Days, months, even years. That’s OK for books, but not for new authors. If people don’t read their first books. They’ll never make it to a second,” the publishers said. The book, dubbed as “The Book That Can’t Wait”, hopes to provide a solution for half-read and unfinished books on your shelf. Moreover, it’s also aimed at helping first-time authors getting their stuff read more often. Eterna Cadencia has partnered with DRAFTFCB Buenos Aires to promote the innovation.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Author Terry Deary writes a novel for cellphones, Booktrack adds soundtrack to your eBooks,

When it comes to FPS gaming, I don’t think anything can top the ol’ mouse and keyboard combo if we’re looking at functionality. The sheer number of keys plus the accuracy of the mouse just can’t be beat. But if we’re talking about comfort, you can’t beat the console’s sidekick, the gamepad. What if there was a controller that combined the best of both worlds?

Sadly, Peter Von Buskirk’s Trackball PC Game Controller is not that perfect amalgam. But it is a compromise with potential.  If you’ve used either a gamepad or a trackball then you know what to expect from this concept.

I like the controller a lot, but I have two complaints about it. First of all, why is this only being made for the PC and not for consoles? I think this will benefit not only the fans of the annual Shoot of Shooty: Men of Shooting fps games, but also strategy games and other games that require lots of pointing and browsing, games which are hard to implement on the console partly because of the lack of a mouse.

My second complaint is the location of the trackball. By placing it on the right, it exacerbates the weakness of gamepads – now you’ll have access to even less buttons because your right thumb is making sweet love to that sexy trackball. It would be fine if the left half of the controller had buttons, but there’s still a D-pad there.

Von Buskirk setup a Kickstarter fundraiser for the controller; unfortunately as of this writing he’s only managed to raise about $12,000 (USD) out of his $125,000 goal, with only 8 days remaining to fulfill the quota. You can still pledge for the controller if you want – $36 is enough to reserve a unit – you won’t be charged if the fundraiser doesn’t meet it’s quota anyway so you don’t have anything to lose. I hope Von Buskirk keeps working on his controller even if his fundraiser fails. Maybe he’ll find the perfect compromise someday.