Hasta La Gadget!

We all go through phases where we feel like we’ve seen every possible Kickstarter project that we’d ever want. And then one like Mycestro comes along and reminds us that this is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s a 3D mouse that you strap to one of your fingers and it looks like it could become a huge asset for multi-tasking.

If you think about how you use your computer, be it a desktop or laptop, you know that your hands move from the keyboard to the trackpad or mouse constantly, over and over again. It’s wasted movement for the most part, especially when you see the possibilities that Mycestro unlocks. The only thing left is for it to get funded, because it looks like all of the prototypes work perfectly.

Its founder and creator, Nick Mastandrea, has been tinkering on this project for quite a while, having been featured in Engadget a few years ago, but it looks like it’s ready for primetime. You’ll be able to pick one up for a $79 pledge in white, or $99 with your choice of color. The estimated shipping date is sometime in October of this year, if all goes well.

Have a look at some of its features, which include touch buttons that allow you to navigate your computer without the need for moving your entire hand to a dedicated area on a computer, thanks to 3D technology and space recognition:

Here are the specs for the 3D Mouse:

– Size of a wireless earpiece.
– Light, weighing next to nothing.
– Internal battery can be charged via USB.
– Battery life is estimated to be eight hours depending on usage.
– Two different replaceable clip sizes.

This isn’t a completely perfect situation though, as you’ll have to re-learn how to use a mouse. The other thing is that if you’re in a coffee shop or somewhere in public, people are going to look at you like you have some issues. The thing is called the Mycestro for a reason; it looks like you’re conducting your own private orchestra. In other words, you’re going to look weird. If you’re okay with that, then the benefits outweigh the public shame and looks you might receive.

The device works from 30 feet away from your computer, thanks to Bluetooth, so you could use this for presentations at work. The touch technology it has reminds me of Google’s Project Glass, which allows you to tap a panel on the side of the wearable device to make things happen, like a mouse or trackpad. The other plus is that it’ll work with any iPad or iPhone, with Android support coming by the end of the year. This could be a nice way to have a lean-back experience with a tablet, or do the driving while someone else holds it.

Check out this demo using it with an Internet-enabled TV:

It reminds me of the Xbox Kinect a little bit, but it’s in your hand and requires no setup.

With 38 days left to go on its Kickstarter campaign, Nick Mastandrea and his team has raised $39,735 out of $100,000. I think if people can look past the Mycestro as a curious oddity and understand how this could make them more efficient on the computer, this thing will get funded, and then some. The team says that a version for lefties will come a bit after the original model. Personally, I use the trackpad and mouse with my right hand, even though I’m a lefty.

So who cares if people think you’re making hand gestures into thin air to nobody in particular. Aren’t people who use Bluetooth headsets already weird? Exactly.

Are you unimpressed by the current crop of portable battery chargers on the market? Boy, you’re hard to impress. But even with your high standards, there’s a good chance you’ll be interested with the Epiphany OnE Puck. It doesn’t need electricity, light or salt water. All it needs is a hot or cold object, and it’ll pump out electricity in return.

Epiphany Labs claims that its device is a Stirling engine, which works by cooling down fluid trapped inside it. In the process of cooling, some of the thermal energy from the heat source is eventually transformed into electric energy. The company didn’t go into details about the specific components of the OnE Puck, only that if you apply sufficient heat – say, from a cup of steaming hot coffee – on its red side or if you significantly cool down its blue side – as shown above – then it will be able to generate up to 5W of power, enough to charge most smartphones.

A pledge of at least $115 (USD) on Kickstarter lets you reserve your own OnE Puck. As of this writing, the fundraiser has already raised more than half of its $100,000 target with 55 days to go. But if I were you, you might want to wait until Epiphany Labs provides more details about the device before pledging. After all, they haven’t answered the most important questions: What are its minimum and maximum temperature tolerances? Can you hang it over a bonfire or place it in your freezer? And exactly how hot (or cold) does an object have to be to cause the device to generate enough charge? Can Lambert of Technabob get one for free? So many questions.

[via CNET]

Scavenger hunt-loving hacker, Yusuke Katayama was arrested today after months on the run. Disgruntled for some reason, he sent viral death threats, and while evading Japanese police, he mentioned that information about his virus was strapped to a cat roaming Tokyo. Months later the cat was found, leading to his arrest. More »

So these air-conditioned shoes from Chiyoda don’t exactly come with an actual air conditioner, but they’ll have to do for the moment until someone figures out a way to do that. Not like the latter sounds like a very practical idea, but if there’s a market for it, then why not?

Chiyoda’s air-conditioned shoes follow the same concept used by makers of breathable sneakers and running shoes. You’ll find not one, not two, but six air vents on the shoe’s sole to facilitate air movement from your feet to the outside world.

But the added airiness comes with a price: you run the risk of dirtier soles (your actual soles, this time) because of the openings. You’ll also have to wary when it’s raining, because the water will probably creep up the holes and into the shoe itself.

They’re being sold for 7,245 yen (~ $78 USD) on Chiyoda’s site.

[via Bit Rebels]

In a way, Google already is a porn machine; it is what you make of it. But it turns out that a handful of bizarre, technically impossible search queries turn the raunchiness up like 20 notches and cause the engine to return porn results almost exclusively. The searches themselves aren’t dirty in the slightest, either. It’s ridiculous. More »