I’m not the biggest fan of computer mice. I’m an average gamer who accepts that not all the DPI sensitivity in the world is going to improve my kill rate or reduce the speed at which my ass gets fried in online Halo 2.
Still, I’d have this mouse in a heart-beat, if only to look at all day long. This is The Bug, a cracking Steampunk mouse by the talented Jake. Other Steampunk inventions I’ve enjoyed recently are the Steampunk Laptop and Steampunk keyboard. Check out this clever ‘Ye Olde Worlde’ description of The Bug.
“One holds the device in a manner similar to the way a wood-worker holds a sanding block. The palm rests upon the “ball” in the foreground, with the fingers extending forward. The middle digit is placed upon the spiked cog, while the pointing-finger and the ring-bearing finger sit on the studded levers on either side. The thumb and small-finger rest comfortably on the side of the cylinder, helping to grip the contraption. The “Bug”, as the Professor calls it, is slid about upon a table top–thusly controlling a mobile indicator upon the Telecalculograph’s display. Push the device away from one’s self, and the arrow “moves” towards the top of the viewing window. When the arrow has been positioned appropriately so that it is pointing at the desired “item” on the glass, the user pushes down upon the various levers to elicit his desired effect. Turning the wheel in the center produces an action similar to turning a page in a book, or cranking a kinetoscope.”
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
The Steampunk Mouse: Groovy
Lego Lunchbox, One More Step Toward the Lego Singularity
If you just can't seem to get enough Lego, now you can pack your lunch in one, available in your choice of pink, brown or blue. Unfortunately, that Lego cheeseburger isn't included in the box, and there's no word whether the lunchboxes interlock with each other.
Get yourself some Lego furniture to go along with this lunch carrier, and then all you need to do is build a Lego house and drive a Lego car, and the entire Lego illusion will be complete. – Charlie White
Elios RescueBot Uses its Spider Arms to Save Lives
It's one thing to be rescued by a robot like this, but it's a completely different ballgame to see one of these creepy bots crawling your way when you're in need of help. Designed by Marcos Nolan, the Elios is a spider-like robot with 10 arms (carried in its belly) designed to lift people from harm's way and into safety. Optical and biometric sensors ensure Elios keeps on target whereas its rugged shell keeps it from being damaged. I admit, it looks cool as hell, but I'd probably faint if I saw one of these crawling my way
BT's Trials Motion Sensing For Handhelds
The Wii has a lot to answer for, apart from broken TVs and injured relatives. Not to mention healthy and fit gamers - who ever heard of such an outrage!
BT has started trialling motion sensing technology in the shape of a small adaptor that connects to a mobile device – laptop, tablet, handheld etc. – that will allow you to interact with menus and applications by just tilting or moving the device.
Dubbed BT Balance, it is based around an accelerometer chip like that found in the Wiimote. The idea is to allow people in the field or in difficult conditions to use a mobile device without having to use a keyboard. It’s in testing now but don’t expect to see it out on the streets for at least three years.
You’ll know it’s arrived when all new laptops and handhelds come with wrist straps.
Corsair Launches The SAS Of USB Sticks
Corsair has been plugging away steadily on the tough-USB front for some time now but this time it’s pushing things to the extreme with the Flash Survivor USB 2.0. Claiming to be the toughest stick in the world, the new drive is certainly built for taking more crap than the one in my pocket right now, which sports two dents [small] and more scratches than a cat’s play toy. Just check out the key features:
Water Resistant to 200 Meters (650 Feet) / 20 Atmospheres
Shock Proof – Triple Point Protection: Flash Survivor features triple-point protection against shock and impact. Encased in CNC (Computer Numerical Control) milled aluminum (as found in aircraft part production) ensures consistency in material quality, thereby guaranteeing the USB drive’s toughness.
Additional protection from shock and vibration is achieved through the use of rubber molded collar shielding. When dropped, the durable rubber absorbs the impact force to prevent damage to the inner drive and the USB connector.
Engineered outer metal tube with two end caps provides enforcement to the hollow tube and prevents it from collapsing when abused.
5 Times faster than other drives (GT version).
Pre-loaded with a security application with 256bit AES encryption, the most secure encryption algorithms available.
It comes in 4GB and 8GB versions which cost around £30 and £65, respectively. You might not be heading into a war-zone anytime soon, but the trip home from the pub can be quite treacherous.-Martin Lynch
Maplin Does £100 GPS
Sat-nav systems don’t have to cost a fortune according to Maplin, which has just launched a budget sub-£100 offering.
The AO5GW boasts a decent 3.5in touch-screen display and a built-in MP3 player – something that’s becoming increasingly common in GPS devices. It uses the Sirf Star III antenna for its GPS tracking and offers full UK mapping with 7-digit post code on the bundled SD Card, with Tele Atlas maps. It supports 2D and 3D views in day/night mode.
The AO5GW comes with a useful remote so that anyone in the car can use it, or the MP3 player, without yet another driver ditching their car while concentrating on the sat-nav instead of the road.
The battery life is three hours and the unit has 64Mb of internal memory. Tunes can be added to the unit via SD Cards. At a penny under £100, this really is a pocket-friendly, entry level arrival on the sat-nav scene.-Martin Lynch
£1.25bn Wasted On Gadgets Every Year
A survey commissioned by Scooter Computer has claimed that people waste £1.25bn every year on gadgets that are never used. Fear and ignorance are classed as the top reasons why we don’t get on with our new toys. And, why we tend to dump them in a corner, never to be seen again. The average cost of these unwanted gadgets is £120.
In numbers terms, it means that one in every five gadgets is not used. Top of the list – surprisingly, I guess - is the iPod, followed by digital cameras, software, sat-navs and mobile phones. The survey was commissioned to see just what we do with gadgets we get as gifts and the worst offenders are 35-44-year olds.
Even sadder for them is that pensioners often fare better with iPods and cameras because they have more time to work them out. -Martin Lynch