Hasta La Gadget!

Pwnie Express first made waves in the hacking and cybersecurity community when they released the Pwn Plug, a device that looks like an electric air freshener but is actually a computer used for penetration testing, i.e. assessing a computer network’s security by attacking it. Their latest product is much bigger, but still covert.

The Power Pwn is a fully functioning power strip, with eight 120/240V AC outlets. But it’s also a “fully-integrated, enterprise-class penetration testing platform.” It runs Debian 6 and is loaded with tunneling and snooping software. It has internal Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antennas, as well as a 3G external antenna for long distance pwning.

If you understood the previous paragraph – I certainly didn’t – you might want to head to Pwnie Express for more information or to pre-order the Power Pwn. It costs $1,295 (USD) and should be available by September 30. Meanwhile I’m going to check my power strips for Ethernet ports.

[Thanks, Sir Mason!]

NASA is milking the coming landing of the Curiosity rover for all it’s worth with numerous videos to get people excited about the Rover landing on the surface of the red planet. The nuclear powered Curiosity Rover is set to touch down on the surface of Mars, if all goes well, at 1:31 AM EDT on August 6, 2012.

To promote the landing, NASA has offered up a pair of new videos called Grand Entrance that guide viewers from the entry to Mars’ atmosphere through the descent of the Rover until it’s ready to conduct its mission. The videos have the same exact content and the only difference is the Star Trek actors that narrate. One video is narrated by William Shatner and the other is narrated by Wil Wheaton.

If you can’t see the videos above, you can view Shatner’s video here, and Wheaton’s here. Which one do you prefer?

Whenever I want to spend some time alone to mull things over, I trek off to this park I like, find a bench, and literally just stare off into space. There’s just something relaxing and comforting about an overlooking mountain view that puts my mind (and heart) at ease.

Unfortunately, not all of us have the time to take regular trips out of the city (or even to a city park) just to calm our minds. But thanks to design students Matt Batchelor, Amitra Kulkami, and Emma Laurin, your commutes are about to become more relaxing.

They came up with the Canopy concept, which uses a curved display to show an animation of the sky or surface landmarks as the train or subway you’re riding in passes them. Think of it like a sun roof of sorts, only the digital kind. Though the prototype appears to use some sort of projection system, the concept calls for large, flexible electrophoretic e-paper displays.

Mass transit operators can also choose to monetize on the added comfort by adding unobtrusive digital ads that interested commuters can check out by scanning the ad’s QR code.

It’s definitely a bright idea that will give people more things to look forward to for their long, dark underground commutes.

[via PSFK via Dvice]

NASA is trying to bring it’s equipment into the 21st century and that includes updating its spacesuits. Scientists and engineers at NASA have been working to develop the new prototype called the Z-1. This is the new spacesuit that is being developed to replace the twenty-year old model that was first put into service in 1992. Is it just me or does this look like Buzz Lightyear’s suit?


Right now it is undergoing heavy testing. The Z-1 prototype spacesuit and portable life support system has its own airlock. With this new design, an astronaut crawls into the suit from the back, near the top. This is done through an airtight hatch that can latch on to a docking terminal or other vehicle such as a smaller spacecraft or rover unit. This design of course has many possibilities that the previous suits didn’t have. It is also more flexible and cuts down the amount of oxygen that an astronaut uses while in the suit.

I’m not sure why they are bothering since we don’t seem to want to send humans anywhere in space other than space stations, but hey, at least we have new suits if we change our minds. You can find a more detailed image of the Z-1 spacesuitover at Popular Mechanics.

[via Gizmag via Geek]

I’ve always thought that hardcore Apple fans were so serious about their dedication to the brand that it’s almost like a religion to them. So when I saw these shrines made for the iPad and iPod nano, I thought they were very appropriate.

The ornate TonSchrein for iPad and iPod nano were created by Georg Dinkel, and they clearly elevate these gadgets to a level of fanaticism not seen before.

The intricate details of the two shrines were made using polymer clay, and the iPad version houses a 2.1 sound system, while the iPod nano version is just a two-speaker mono setup.

While the iPad version would work well as a mantle clock, the iPod nano version seems even more ridiculous to me, adding substantial heft to Apple’s diminutive music player, as it hides behind the doors of the shrine.

You can check out more photos of the TonSchreins over on Dinkel’s website.