Hasta La Gadget!

Redditor yoshiwars wanted a portable gaming machine but he didn’t want to spend a fortune on a high-end laptop. So he stuffed a desktop computer’s parts into a briefcase. Looking at it, you wouldn’t mistake it for anything else. But I think the mouse pad balances out the junkyard chic.

Inside the briefcase is a 15″monitor, a Gigabyte motherboard, a Core i5 2500K CPU, 16GB RAM, an XFX Radeon HD 6670 and two solid state drives. One drive has a 30GB capacity and holds yoshiwars’ Windows 7 setup and the other is a 90GB drive that runs Mountain Lion. That’s right; as if a briefcase computer wasn’t impressive enough, yoshiwars also made it a dual-booting Hackintosh.

You know yoshiwars, if all you wanted was to play Uplink, you could’ve gotten an iPad. Seriously though good job. With the mouse pad.

[via Reddit via Computerworld]

Before anything else, yes, her name is Beautiful Existence, and yes, she might not have a very beautiful existence if she goes through with her challenge of chowing down on nothing but Starbucks food for a year.

I’m not saying Starbucks doesn’t serve stellar sandwiches, donuts, or coffee, because they do. Heck, I love their hot chocolate to pieces and it’s a drink I turn to when I’m feeling particularly down or homesick (when I’m away for work.)

However, living only on Starbucks food for a year doesn’t sound appealing, even to a fan like me. Beautiful isn’t being sponsored by Starbucks or any other company, and if you do the math, she’ll be spending close to $7,000 the whole year due to this ‘resolution.’

Beautiful explains her motivation behind the challenge: “The company pays good benefits for part-time workers. That’s where my money is going… We’re really lucky and I would say actually spoiled as Americans because we have all these different eating options…You go to all these other countries and they don’t have these luxuries. Really? Is it really going to be that hard for one year of my life to limit my menu? We’ll find out.”

Sounds like a plan but I wonder what this is going to do to her health? We all saw what happened to that guy who ate nothing but McDonald’s for one month (remember Morgan Spurlock and his Super Size Me documentary?)

All I can say is… Good luck, Beautiful!

[via Buzz Patrol]

I never expected to find Bluetooth connectivity in a AA battery, but not only does this device now exist, it also seems quite practical. Once it infiltrates the battery compartment of your gadgets you can remotely toggle those gadgets on or off and more. This smart battery is called the Tethercell.

The inventors of the Tethercell – Trey Madhyastha and Kellan O’Connor – chose to make their device in the size of a AA battery because they claim that 60% of “primary battery-operated devices” use that size. Aside from the Bluetooth radio, the Tethercell is packed with other electronics, like a microcontroller, a temperature sensor and a voltage comparator. In turn, the Tethercell is powered by a AAA battery. So what can it do? Together with an iOS app and a Bluetooth 4.0-enabled iOS device, you can use the Tethercell to turn one or multiple gadgets on or off from up to 100ft. away. You can also schedule or set a timer to power off your gadgets and monitor your gadget’s battery level.

Pledge at least $35 (USD) on Indiegogo to reserve a Tethercell. Although it does reduce the available power of a device – you’re essentially replacing one of its AA batteries with a AAA that’s also powering something else – the convenience it provides could be worthwhile for many people – especially adults who want to limit their kids’ playtime with electronic toys. Not to mention its potential for pranks is quite high.

[via Ubergizmo]

YouTuber morishowta is working on a wrist-mounted holder for his iPhone that quickly pushes the phone to his hand when he thrusts his arm forward. It’s like the hidden blade in Assassin’s Creed, or Travis Bickle’s gun in Taxi Driver, except it hides a smartphone.

But the gadget is just a small part of Mori’s video. His hilarious trial and error process and his other antics make his video even more worthwhile:

Here’s his follow-up to that video. It includes a newer model of his iPhone holder. He also tries to make one for his tablet. Guess how that works out.

Moshi moshi. I need to learn Japanese so I can appreciate Mori’s videos more.

[via Reddit]

Are you handy with tools? Well you could head to your workshop and make yourself a lamp, I suppose, or you could buy one that’s actually made out of a power tool.

These unusual lighting fixtures are made by Aaron Jarry of JEngineering using pneumatic nail guns mounted to an ebony-stained oak base, and come with an appropriately masculine black lampshade to top them off. Aaron cleverly conceals the power cord inside the air hose to complete the look.

I’m guessing that they no longer function for firing nails or staples, but it would be cool if that’s how you attached them to your table. You know – press the trigger and it nails itself in place. That’d be cool.

DIYers and Tool Timers can improve their home with one of these lamps over on JEngineering’s Etsy shop for $180 to $200 (USD).