Hasta La Gadget!

ThinkGeek’s IRIS 9000 turns your iPhone 4S into HAL

I don’t know how they keep doing it, but noveltyware purveyors ThinkGeek have just knocked another one out of the park. And I for one welcome the new IRIS 9000 voice control module for Siri, which pretty much turns your iPhone 4S into HAL 9000.

The module consists of a dock with speaker, microphone and ominous glowing red eye. It also comes with a small remote. Hit the button on the remote and Siri is triggered from afar, allowing you to ask her to set a timer for your broiling steak without greasing up your iPhone with beef fat and bacteria.

The IRIS (Siri backwards) speaker then amplifies Siri’s answer, and the red LED flickers along with her voice.

At just $60, it’s hard to come up with a reason not to buy this. However, there is bad news. Don’t worry — the pod bay doors are still open. The problem is that these won’t be shipping until 2012, although you can pre-order today.

IRIS 9000 voice control module for iPhone & Siri [ThinkGeek]

See Also:

• HAL 9000
• Happy Birthday, HAL – Wired
• Siri Is Stuffed With Hilarious Easter Eggs

Take down aggressors in style with this handy, wallet-sized weapon kit

Protecting yourself was never so stylish. Look good whilst messing people up with Hoang Nguyen and Anh Nguyen’s Tha Business, a designer self-defense kit.

As every action movie fan already knows, the best defense is offense, which is why Tha Business’ feature list reads like the contents of an urban ninja’s purse.

Inside the box you’ll find wallet-friendly, credit-card sized versions of pepper spray, brass knuckles, whistles and pocket knives. You also get a couple of pens, presumably for poking people in the eyes.

The imperiled owner simply slides the appropriate card from the deck and takes down their assailant. The concept is slightly tongue-in-cheek, and no part is funnier than the promo poster, featuring an American Red Cross Special Edition.

Tha Business [Creative Session via Yanko and Bruce Sterling]

See Also:

• Unbreakable Fighting Umbrella Splits Watermelons, Defends …
• Diving Knife Pumps Out Explosive Ball of Gas
• Porcupine Flashlight Weaponized For Your Pleasure
• Taser Combines Electrocution With Music
• Stun Gun Shoes Dominate Aggressors

The Tilt stand will tilt your MacBook Pro, amongst other things

Tilt is a mishmash of notebook accessories, shoved surprisingly neatly into a sleek plastic box. This box then clips onto your MacBook Pro, and provides more functions than you’re likely to need.

The first is the most obvious. Tilt will tilt you computer slightly forward. Some say this makes for easier typing, some says that the increased angle causes more stress on the wrists. You probably already know which one you believe.

Next is an integrated cooler. Pop the USB cord from the side, plug it into the Mac and the fan will spin up and keep things cool. This may not be the best option if you’re running on batteries. Then again, if it stops the Mac’s own fans from spinning up, the overall power drain might not be too bad. The Tilt also has its own plastic feet for better airflow.

Finally, the base of the case has a tripod screw hole. This will be either completely useless, or amazingly handy. If you are a DJ, photographer, videographer, musician or anyone else who uses a computer in conjunction with other gear away from the desk, this function alone might be worth the $55 asking price.

Tilt is currently seeking funding on Kickstarter, where a pledge of $45 will get you a Tilt when they ship. Things are looking good, too. the designer — madMINDS — only wants $8,000 to get started, and there’s over a month left.

Tilt product page [madMINDS. Thanks Spencer!]

Tilt Kickstarter page [Kickstarter]

Earn points as you save the planet with the Changer charger

Powering your gadgets with solar power is seeming to be a better and better idea. The gear is getting cheaper and better looking, and now — with Changers — you even get rewarded for doing it.

Changers has two parts. The hardware part consists of a solar panel and battery. It takes about four hours to reach a full charge, and this gives you enough juice to charge an iPhone, twice. Of course you’re not limited to iPhones. Anything that charges over USB will work.

The second part is the social and software aspect. The Changers device records the amount of energy you are creating*, and lets you share that with a community, as well as Tweeting the information. If that sounds a little too much like smug, do-gooder behavior to you, then you’re probably right. But there’s a good reason to participate. Converting energy earns you credits, which can be redeemed on various hippy services and goods.

I think I might sign up. Not only does the gear look fairly good, but Barcelona, Spain (where I live) is sunny pretty much all year round, even in the cold winter. Ideal for solar power. Plus, who doesn’t love a gadget that has an input socket marked “Sun”?

The Starter Kit costs $150, or €120.

Changers product page [Changers.com]

*I know energy can’t be created or destroyed, but you know what I mean.

See Also:

• Quirky's 'Ray,' a Solar-Charging Suction Cup
• Ralph Lauren Solar-Powered Backpack Is Predictably Expensive …
• Solar-Powered iPhone Battery Case: Apple Approves

Small and simple, the tiny Twist is a minimal pencil sharpener

Sometimes a gadget can be almost ridiculously simple, and yet still be very useful indeed. This may be the case with the Twist, a pencil sharpener less complex than the pencil it sharpens.

The Twist is just that: nothing more than a sheet of sharpened steel, twisted to put the blade inside and leave a small handle on the outside, giving you something to push against. Elegant, effective and — sadly — non-existent. Despite being an entry in the iF Concept Design Award 2011, the Twist is just a model inside a computer.

Ironically, given the elemental simplicity of the design, the piece is the product of a team of four; Tianyu Wu, Yinbin Shuai, Mingya Wei and Zhengyu Lin Zhejiang University.

I want one. Even though I use a tiny, folding Opinel knife to sharpen my pencils, the Twist would look great on my desk. Right up until I succumb to the temptation to stick a finger inside.

Sharp Twist [Yanko]

See Also:

• Eraser Pencil Ditches Wood
• Video: Inside a Pencil-Making Factory
• Continuous Pencil Means No More Stubs
• Mechanical Pencil Sharpener Disguised as Cute Retro Camera …
• Eight Cylinders of Pencil-Sharpening Action, And a Pizza Cutter …
• Gory Doll's Head Pencil Sharpener
• Drill-Mounted Pencil Sharpener: What Could Possibly Go Wrong …