Hasta La Gadget!

Have you ever wanted to control the lights with your smartphone? Now you can, thanks to LIFX Smartbulbs. There have been already some LED lightbulbs that could be controlled by a remote. Now, you can use an app to control the mood of your room – or your entire house – from the comfort of your phone.

LIFX Smartbulbs are naturally energy efficient. One LIFX smartbulb will last 40,000 hours or 25 years, and reduce power consumption by up to 20% from conventional bulbs. Bulbs can be turned off and on, and change the color of the glow to suit your mood. And unlike some remote bulbs, you can control multiple bulbs and multiple locations from a single smartphone iOS or Android app. The app can also match the mood of your tunes, wirelessly. It will beatmatch the music that you are listening to.

The bulbs are also able to detect when you arrive home and turn on the lights for you, and can even be programmed to wake you up naturally, gradually glowing brighter and brighter.

LIFX was launched as a Kickstarter project, and at the time of writing, it had amassed over $1,100,000 of a humble goal of $100,000 – with 55 days of funding left. Needless to say that this project will be made. You’ll have to pledge $69(USD) to get one bulb, or $119 for a pair, or $196 for four bulbs. Further discounts are available for larger quantities. Expected delivery for the LIFX smartbulb is March 2013.

Many uses for this hilly house in Poland: In the summer, you can host Slip ‘n Slide races. In the winter, you have a bunny slope. And year-round, you have a clandestine Batman-style hideout for your car. More »

Working on your parkour skills?  Going over to the local playground and kangaroo kicking kids off of the monkey bars?  Flying down the slide face first into a diving roll faceplant?

If so, you and me aren’t so different after all.  The thing is, these failed stunt attempts feel much more awesome when you’re sporting a jacket that looks like the one himself Ezio would wear!  Check this out – there’s no way you can resist putting this on your Christmas list!  And this year, we’re finding Santa and giving it to him.  Personally.

The Asssassin’s Creed Jacket is modeled after the one that Connor Kenway’s going to wear in the newest Assassin’s Creed title.  It was designed by Volante Designs, and you can buy it for $320.  Well, actually, he’s had a gigantic influx of orders due to the media attention, and you have three options.  One: whip out the sewing machine and make one yourself.  Two: pay extra and get one of the first jackets.  Three:  fill out an order form and wait an un-specified period of time while he hires more employees to increase production speeds.

You can get this jacket in any color combination you want, but I would probably just go with the classic red and white.  Scratch that – neon green is my favorite.

This is undoubtedly the most awesome jacket I have ever seen, and it is a must have for any serious Assassin’s Creed fan!  Let’s be honest – dressing up like an assassin may be a way to get the whole subdivision to think you’re a freak, but it’s a great way to get in shape and show off your geeky tastes at the same time!  And that’s rare, since my geeky tastes usually just involve bacon.

If you’re not willing to fork out the cash and pick up one of these, then you should take a look at some other awesome Assassin’s Creed stuff!  Take this Hidden Blade Gauntlet Replica, for example, or this Assassin’s Creed Tomahawk Replica!  Both of which are dangerous, but we all know that it’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt – then it’s run from the police and blame Todd.  “Seriously, bro?  Pinning it on me?”

[via Geekologie]

In the realm of awesome computer peripherals, I think the new MakerBot Replicator 2 desktop 3D printer is probably the most epic of all. After all, it’s a peripheral for your computer that you can actually use to make 3D objects you can hold in your hands. It’s like an action figure creation station.

The MakerBot Replicator 2 features a 100-micron layer resolution – about as thin as a sheet of paper. That means it’s able to produce true-to-life replicas, without those ridges you’re accustomed to seeing on cheap desktop 3D printers. Plus, you can build large objects of up to 410 cubic inches in volume, so you can print something measuring 11.2-inches by 6.0-inches by 6.1-inches.

The 3D printer is optimized to use MakerBot PLA Element, which is a renewable bio plastic, available in numerous colors. That material is popular for 3-D printing thanks to its strength and its ability to make large objects without cracking or warping.

The device also comes with new and updated software to make printing easier and faster, and it works with Windows, Linux or Mac OS X. The biggest downside to the Replicator 2 is the cost, at $2199(USD) it’s not exactly something we can all have at home.

HTC and Microsoft have been cautious about what they’ll let us see of the software on the Windows Phone 8X and its 8S counterpart. Apparently, they don’t have any such compunctions about leaving the phones’ naked components hanging in the breeze. Along with outlining the essentialist, Metro-inspired philosophy behind the Windows Phone 8 devices’ design, HTC’s new behind-the-scenes video (after the break) shows the internals without that extra-colorful shell getting in the way. The exposé is more about the sheer demand for customized hardware to match those distinctive enclosures than anything too scandalous — that tapered shape requires some finessing on the inside, we’re told. Whatever you think of HTC’s guided tour, the company has at least learned its lesson and decided against including any unexpected prototypes this time around.

Continue reading HTC shows design work for Windows Phone 8X and 8S, strips them bare (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

HTC shows design work for Windows Phone 8X and 8S, strips them bare (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 20:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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