Hasta La Gadget!

LaCie rolled out a new wireless storage device aimed at iPad users that need to offload content without deleting it. The original LaCie Fuel had 1TB of storage inside. It has now doubled the capacity of that drive with a new 2TB version available.

The Fuel is able to wirelessly stream content to up to five devices without an internet connection. When a Wi-Fi network is available, the Fuel can be connected and used as a hotspot to provide those same devices access to the internet.

The Fuel is also AirPlay compatible and and has a battery good for ten hours of use per charge. The company bills it as the Fuel for the iPad, but it works with the Seagate media app so it should work with the iPhone, Android, and the Kindle as well. Pricing for the 2TB Fuel is $249.99(USD) and it will ship this month.

It’s April Fools day already and what better way to ring in Spring than by hurling outlandish pranks at one another, all for the sake of good fun?  The celebrated holiday is center stage for web and tech companies looking to add a little satire to their products, and today was no exception.  Cast your gullibility aside and join me as we take a look at a round-up of 2014’s best tech April Fools Pranks.

The driverless car hovers in our midst as the vehicle of tomorrow. What are the implications, however, when the driver’s attention doesn’t have to be focused on the road? Technology has developed some amazing diversions to help riders pass the time. Read on for more about this most interesting phenomenon.

Any new parent develops the ability to hear a baby cry no matter what they are doing. You could be cutting tile with a 50hp saw while a jet taxies in the background and if the baby cries, you hear them. Once the second kid rolls around you don’t even get up when the baby pukes on you. A new feature has turned up on the Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone that helps parent hear their baby that could be useful if you have any hearing issues.

The feature is called the Baby Crying Detector and for it to work, you’ll also need a Galaxy Gear smartwatch. With the S5 and the Gear synced, you leave the phone within one meter of the baby. When the baby cries, the phone will vibrate and send an alert to the Gear watch. That way you know the baby is awake.

Samsung wisely warns you not to use this feature in lieu of actually watching your baby. I can’t think of too many parents these days that can be away from their smartphone games and social apps like Facebook long enough to leave the phone in the baby’s room.

[via Soyacincau]

3D modeling software is often used to visualize and develop concepts – anything from a piece of furniture to a video game. Those programs make it easy to transition from idea to prototype and to refine or duplicate sketches, but they require a lot of practice and training to master. A new company called Gravity thinks it can make sketching in 3D almost as easy as doodling with pen and paper.

Gravity uses an infrared pen, a control pad with sensors and a pair of augmented reality glasses. You use the pen to sketch in midair, just above the control pad. You won’t need to be M.C. Escher to start creating 3D models though, because Gravity only allows for sketching in one plane at a time. A switch on the pad lets you switch planes, rotating your virtual object to the side where you want to draw. Your sketch will then be visible to anyone wearing the glasses – it could just be you, or a roomful of people.

The founders of Gravity believe that “CAD [computer-aided design] generates perfect shapes that don’t leave room for the imperfection of your early modeling to allow imagination to keep influencing the idea. CAD requires thinking in terms of functions and variables. This is where imagination is defeated. There is much lost in the process of moving from 2D to 3D.” I’m not sure I buy that. Sure, making complex technology user-friendly can help drive innovation and speed up the development of concepts. On the other hand, professionals need the precision and the shortcuts that CAD and other 3D modeling software provide. For example, will Gravity users be able to cut, copy and paste an exact part of a sketch, and will the commands for those features still be intuitive without being tedious?

Sketching in 3D looks cool, but I’m going to let the pros decide if this is just a high-tech whiteboard or a legitimate alternative to 3D modeling software.

[Gravity via Gizmodo]