Hasta La Gadget!

Did you know that some cats sleep up to twenty hours a day? No wonder some of them can grow as fat as forty pounds (that’s what the world’s fattest cat weighed before it up and died of pulmonary disease). Given their usually laid-back nature, the perfect gift you can get your cat is probably this cat hammock.

So it’s called the Cat Crib, but it looks like the cat version of the hammocks many of us lazy humans enjoy, especially on those warm summer afternoons.

It looks pretty cool and it also saves you space at home, since you won’t need to get a cat bed anymore. Just attach the hammock on anything that has four legs (chairs or a coffee table, maybe?) and you’re all set. Unless you’ve got a 40 pound cat, of course.

The Cat Crib is available online for $29 (USD) in black, purple or a neutral colors.

[via Oh Gizmo!]

The world seems to have gone a little Kickstarter crazy lately, with new and interesting projects popping up all the time on the crowd-funding site. It seems that things have gotten a little out of hand though, as Kickstarter has announced that it will be implementing a few new rules those hoping to get a project funded need to follow. The new rules were announced in a Kickstarter blog post titled “Kickstarter Is Not a Store,” so right away we get an indication of the problems Kickstarter is facing.

Obviously, one of the biggest issue is that many people pledge money thinking they’re buying a product, when really they’re helping fund the development of that product, and that development process may end in failure. To counteract this notion that backers are buying a product, Kickstarter now requires that all projects have a “Risks and Challenges” page. It’s there that project creators have to talk about the risks associated with their project, letting potential backers better determine if the project in question will ever see the light of day.

The next new rules only apply to hardware and product design projects, but they’re big rules nonetheless. Staring immediately, product simulations are forbidden, meaning that creators can no long show video of what their product could potentially do. Instead, Kickstarter says that products “can only be shown performing actions that they’re able to perform in their current state of development.” Creators can no longer show renders of their product too, and have to show images of the current prototype instead. That one is pretty big, considering that all of the images we saw of OUYA during its Kickstarter campaign were renders.

Finally, hardware and product design Kickstarters can no longer offer multiple quantities of a reward. Kickstarter has put this rule in place to combat the implication that products seen on the site are “shrink-wrapped and ready to ship.” All of these rules have gone into effect already, so Kickstarter obviously wanted to get them on the books as fast as possible. Have a look at our timeline below for more posts on Kickstarter!

Kickstarter implements new set of rules for project creators is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
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They may look as ridiculous as they sound but Phoropters are essential eye-doctoring devices. These overgrown binoculars have helped optometrists measure an individual’s refractive error, more commonly known as your eyeglass prescription, since the 19th Century. Our friends at Oobject have collected the very best examples of phoropters since the Victorian Era. More »

There are plenty of Bluetooth speakers around, but not many are capable of being used outside, at least without suffering damage from the elements. The Turtle Shell is pretty durable, and it will play your music almost anywhere.

Outdoor Technology’s Turtle Shell is a rugged Bluetooth-enabled speaker made to handle plenty of rough situations. It’s shock-proof, dust-proof and water-resistant. The underside of the shell has a threaded mount for any standard tripod and a reinforced latch to attach carabiners too. The controls are pretty simple. It has three buttons, which allow you to change songs. It also comes with a built-in microphone to receive and make calls.

The rechargeable lithium-ion battery lasts for 9 hours and comes in a number of different colors. It was launched over on Kickstarter, and has already amassed about $9,000 of it’s $40,000 goal with 17 days of fundraising left. You’ll have to pledge $99(USD) to get yours.

[via Cool Hunting]

I love it when people come up with designs and gadgets that make it easier and convenient to do stuff that would normally take a while, like grill a burger. But the Exhaust Burger – I don’t love.

From the name and its shape, you can probably guess that this thing is supposed to be attached on your car’s exhaust pipe. So as you drive to your office and back, you can stop by the roadside and grab the burger that’s cooked to perfection from the heat of your car’s exhaust.

It is supposed to isolate the smoke from the cooking surface, but it still doesn’t sound very appetizing, does it? Thank goodness it’s just a concept for now.

The Exhaust Burger was designed by Roohollah Merrikhpour, Mina Mirzahossein, Narges Alam, Hani Saghaiyan, Elmira Manafnejad, Sanaz Ghaem Maghami, and Navvab Bahreyni.

[via designboom via Incredible Things]