Filed under: Peripherals

For the individual first on the waiting list for inflatable garb (and the average traveler looking to trim down that carry-on), the Jelly click is quite the dream come true. Granted, it seems as if this blow-up critter is merely a concept at the moment, but that's not to say some unorthodox peripheral company out there won't grab hold of the idea and run with it. In case you couldn't piece it together based on the photo above, this mouse lays perfectly flat for intercontinental jaunts, but a few light puffs turns it into a tool your hand can really get along with -- until it brushes up against a sharp object, that is.

[Via Yanko Design]

 

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

Step on down into Nikon's booth with us. Lots of goodies on display here, but what really struck us was how much the central section of the booth was taken up by (gasp!) photos. Seriously, it had a bit of a gallery feel, except with way more people. But we're here to get our geek on, so it's over to the gear counters we go! The stripped-down D3 body was nice, and Nikon showed off one in cross section as well, just so you don't have to cut your own in half.

 

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When the pressure's on, it can be difficult to remember to hit every talking point highlighting why you deserve that big raise or pitch a new client in just a few minutes. To ensure you don't forget, weblog LifeClever recommends getting used to putting together a prep card.

Take a 3" x 5" index card and write down 3 key points you want to mention in simple clear language, nouns and verbs. At the bottom, give yourself 2 reminders to avoid your bad habits.

By making the prep card as integral to your life as your wallet or cell phone, you'll be taking huge strides toward eliminating missed opportunities during important interactions.

I can't say for certain how NASA comes up with its designs for lunar rovers, but my guess is that the LEGO Space system plays a big part in it. Today we're looking at Chariot, a 12-wheeled space SUV designed in 12 short months specifically for a proposed 2020 moon landing.

Lucien Junkin, chief engineer, told ABC News:

"Our mandate was building a truck that could go to the moon...Our crew members will stand up, and we can carry more than two astronauts. The Chariot can move in a crablike motion from side to side as well as forward and reverse. It has six wheels instead of four wheels."

Speaking of crablike motions, what ever happened to ATHLETE, the other lunar rover that had LEGO influence written all over it? Chariot does look a tad more practical, if not half as fun.

See? LEGO inspired, or I'll eat my space helmet:
Check out a full gallery and story at the ABC News website. [ABC News]
Thanks Paul!

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Here's twin brother to Pentax's K20D DSLR, the Samsung GX-20. It looks like a nice bit of kit, and we're really curious to see if any differences between the two as a result of Samsung doing its own thing with the JPEG processing. If you've been watching either this model or the K20D, you know the specs: 14.6-megapixel CMOS, live view LCD and ISO that you can crank up to 3200. Note the Pentax KAF mount, so you can put Pentax glass on this body; and there are some nice lenses in the Pentax stable to be sure. Also, Samsung was showing off their extended grip with wireless capability.

 

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Impressive. I didn't think GE had it in them to meet the regulars of the camera world with popular features like smile detection, higher ISO support, and even a touchscreen, built in GPS and blink detection. There are mew low end A series, the slim G series, and midrange E series cameras, too..[BW]

Filed under: Cellphones

Rumor no longer, Motorola is taking a hard look at its Mobile Devices unit and might very well give those slackers the ol' Freescale treatment and spin off the division as a separate company. This sort of love 'em and leave 'em tactic is oddly a bit of a habit with Motorola when times are bad, and times certainly have been better -- Motorola's phone unit lost $388 million this quarter, compared to $341 million in earnings a year ago. Motorola may sell the unit or spin it into its own company, which would leave Motorola with precious few intersections with the RAZR-saturated consumer, and as more of a government and enterprise business. Says Greg Brown, current president and CEO: "We are exploring ways in which our Mobile Devices Business can accelerate its recovery and retain and attract talent while enabling our shareholders to realize the value of this great franchise." It's a pretty odd statement for any company to make, and considerations may be further along than they sound, but either way we'll be keeping an eye out for any developments.

[Thanks Stasys; via Unwired View]

 

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Filed under: Digital Cameras, GPS

The highlight of an otherwise lackluster PMA 2008 came not from Nikon, Canon, or any of the other big name companies, but rather General Imaging: GE's new camera division announced that it will release one of the world's first point-and-shoots with embedded GPS. Well, to say that the E1050 has true GPS would not be totally accurate -- but the very features it lacks are what make it possible to incorporate geotagging capabilities in the first place. You see, this model only contains a GPS radio courtesy of New Zealand-based Rakon, but no baseband chip to process the data in order to create a "fix"; rather, an NXP Semiconductor spinoff called Geotate provides server-connected software that does the heavy-duty calculations once photos have been transferred over. This results in almost no hit to battery life or endless waits for a solid fix.

It works like this: every time the shutter is triggered, the camera's memory card briefly captures the raw data from the GPS radio, associating it with each photo. Then, once the pictures have been imported into Geotate's proprietary client, auxiliary location data is downloaded from a central server, which is then synthesized with the camera data using local resources to establish actual coordinates. What's more, the Geotate software hooks in to Wikipedia as well as the popular mapping and photo-sharing services, giving you real-world information about your shots while also allowing you to map them out and upload to Flickr, Picasa, and friends.

Geotate tells us that besides the E1010, we can also expect to see the platform incorporated into future cams designed by Taiwanese OEM Altek, with such a reference design pictured in the gallery below, along with one for a geotagging peripheral that snaps into a DSLR hotshoe. In the longer term, Geotate hopes to embed its low-cost solution (all that's needed is a small radio and some flash memory) in all sorts of products, from PCs to sneakers to soda bottles. And that's where the name of the company comes from: Geotate stands for "GEOgraphic noTATion," with the ultimate goal being the creation of an ecosystem in which we search not by "what," but by "where."

 

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Had enough of the heat? How about sitting in a snowy room where it is 10 degrees below zero? Now that is what I call relaxing. As stupid as this concept sounds, the "Snow Room" exists, and it was recently showcased in a Hotel Equipment Fair in Turkey. Plus, it will go on sale to all luxury hotels and spas starting this year.

The Snow Room was developed by MNK—a company that has made a name for themselves developing saunas. While the idea does seem strange, it appears that hot/cold therapy is common in northern European countries. So the idea of sitting in what is essentially a meat locker for relaxation (and to watch your penis die) may not be so far fetched after all. [Trendhunter via DVICE]

Had enough of the heat? How about sitting in a snowy room where it is 10 degrees below zero? Now that is what I call relaxing. As stupid as this concept sounds, the "Snow Room" exists, and it was recently showcased in a Hotel Equipment Fair in Turkey. Plus, it will go on sale to all luxury hotels and spas starting this year.

The Snow Room was developed by MNK—a company that has made a name for themselves developing saunas. While the idea does seem strange, it appears that hot/cold therapy is common in northern European countries. So the idea of sitting in what is essentially a meat locker for relaxation (and to watch your penis die) may not be so far fetched after all. [Trendhunter via DVICE]