Hasta La Gadget!

I was always pretty good at the Tony Hawk: Pro Skater games, pulling off mad combo moves thanks to generous use of manuals between tricks. Unfortunately, the second I hop on a real skateboard, forget about it. A 200-pound guy falling face-first off a skateboard isn’t a pretty sight (thought it could be popular on YouTube.) For those of you who’d rather keep the skate trucks off the ground, maybe you should go for one of these instead.

This whimsical skateboard ceiling lamp is actually designed for a kid’s room, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work for anyone into ‘boarding. Though with its thin 24″ acrylic deck and narrow aircraft cables suspending it from its chrome canopy, I wouldn’t recommend trying to hop on it, unless you’re a hamster – or maybe a kitten. A skateboarding cat – now that’s something I’d like to see. Oh, Internet.

Skatepunks can Ollie on over to ELights, where you can grab one of these boards for about $178(USD).

Yes, we’ll admit that we borrowed that pun in the title. MooresCloud founder Mark Pesce’s Xzibit reference is still a very apt description of the Light, his company’s Linux-based LED lamp. The Australian team’s box-shaped illumination runs the open OS (including a LAMP web server stack) on an integrated mini PC with an accelerometer and WiFi. The relative power and networking provide obvious advantages for home automation that we’ve seen elsewhere, but it’s the sheer flexibility of a generalized, web-oriented platform that makes the difference: the Light can change colors based on photos or movement, sync light pulses to music and exploit a myriad of other tricks that should result from a future, web-based app store. When and how the Light launches will depend on a Kickstarter campaign to raise $700,000 AUD ($717,621 US) starting on October 16th, although the $99 AUD ($101 US) cost is just low enough that we could see ourselves open-sourcing a little more of the living room. At least, as long as we don’t have to recompile our lamp kernel before some evening reading.

Continue reading MooresCloud Light runs Linux, puts LAMP on your lamp (video)

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MooresCloud Light runs Linux, puts LAMP on your lamp (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Oct 2012 10:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Assuming you have shared all there is to know about the Doctor Who series to your little one, hoping that your interest in the sci-fi series will rub off on him/her, how about being a wee bit more persuasive through the purchase of this $14.99 Doctor Who TARDIS Night Light? Yes sir, let the good Doctor provide some light in the dead dark of the night, ensuring that the pathway to the bathroom or hallway is always lit, making sure that monsters hiding underneath the bed will remain where they are supposed to be.

I suppose on a more psychological level with an overactive imagination in tow, the Doctor Who TARDIS Night Light would also be effective in discouraging nocturnal Dalek attacks, but that is another adventure to share with another time. The Doctor Who TARDIS Night Light will be able to plug into any standard outlet, where it will shine from both the windows and top in order to deliver an adequate amount of illumination for late night bathroom trips. You can always replace the 7 watt bulb inside when it blows.

[ Doctor Who TARDIS Night Light copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

So the new Kindle devices have just been announced, where you can now have another option to read late into the night without disturbing your already snoring partner. However, for those of us who still stick to traditional paperbacks and hardcovers, you would need to enlist the help of a bedside lamp. Some of the bedside lamps do not have that many lighting options, but not so for the $129.95 Brightness Zooming Bedside Lamp.

The name itself does give the game away somewhat – this bedside lamp comes with an additional directional light which is capable of widening or narrowing its beam in order to deliver optimal illumination for reading. When you slide the supplemental lamp’s head, it intensifies its light from a diffused glow to a focused beam. Want to redirect the focused beam over to where you are able to get a better look? Use its flexible gooseneck and you have pinpoint control. The clear, white light hails from a 50,000-hour rated LED that makes it perfect for reading an irresistible page-turner. Of course, it is of not much help if the book you hold in your hands is a dozer.

[ Brightness Zooming Bedside Lamp copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Now here is a lamp that you might want to consider getting to spruce up that rather drab living room of yours. Basically, this bitplay BANG! lamp  might look rather ordinary at first glance, but upon closer inspection, you would realize that it comes with a “gun”, so to speak, that you use to “shoot” at the lamp in order to turn it on and off. Sporting designer quality finishing that is complete with an innovator’s twist, it will definitely be a gift unlike anyone has ever seen – unless of course, the recipient himself or herself already has one in their own home.

The bitplay BANG! lamp will come with a pistol-type remote control as mentioned, complete with its own battery, although it is rather strange that you would need to purchase your very own light bulb. Expect the remote control to work within a range of 15 meters, although I would not want to test the limits of the range by using it at the very edge of its reception.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: SM-1 project churns out Ikea Robot Lamp, Evul Todai Lamp premium relaxation light,