Archive for the ‘For the Home’ Category

The Math Clock Makes Telling Time Fun For Geeks

There’s no denying it, math makes the world go round. Even if it was your worst subject in school, there’s no avoiding math in everyday life. Math is even seen inherently in time, so why not have a wall clock to exemplify that correlation?

The Math Clock for Geeks is a wonderfully geeky timepiece that displays the numbers in complex mathematical equations. (more…)

LiquidTV Brings Your TV and PC Together

Besides the advent of HDTV, the biggest technological addition to the realm of television has been the DVR, or Digital Video Recorder. DVR technology allows you to pause, rewind, and record live TV for later playback. It gives you the functionality of a VCR without the extra equipment and hassle.

The most popular brand in the DVR market is no doubt TiVo. Not only were they one of the first ones to take advantage of the technology, but the TiVo name has become synonymous with DVR in general. Well, the next evolution of TiVo and DVR technology has come and it is the Nero LiquidTV. (more…)

The Tomy Dustbot: The Original Autonomous Vacuum Cleaner

Way before the Roomba automated vacuum robot was cleaning up after us there was another robotic house slave that was already doing that job: the Tomy Dustbot. First debuted in 1985, the Dustbot predates the Roomba by more than a decade. It features a built-in vacuum cleaner and edge detection to avoid obstacles, the Dustbot made use of a technology that is barely even in use today. (more…)

This Solar Powered Automower Mows Your Lawn Automatically

Anyone who has a lawn to mow knows just how tedious it can be. Now that chore can be delegated to man’s new best friend: robots.

Standard lawnmowers are generally very clumsy, heavy, and not to mention messy. The Husqvama Automower is a Roomba-esque type of robotic appliance that is solar powered and zero-emission. (more…)

19 Weird and Wacky Gadgets That You Will Probably Never Need

There are handy gadgets on the market these days that serve as a benefit in one way or another, and then there are the gadgets that satisfy some aesthetic but serve no other purpose at all. There are dozens, if not hundreds or even thousands, of gadgets out there that provide no benefit other than being cool, or funny, or even oddly disturbing.

Below we’ve got a list of gadgets that are superfluous in function, yet fun and entertaining. We present to you 19 weird and wacky gadgets that you will probably never need.

  1. RSStroom Reader

    The RSStroom reader by Yi Tien Electronics is a news ticker style printer that will print your selected RSS feeds directly onto rolls of toilet paper. Read your news while you’re in the restroom, and then put your news to good use when you’re done.
  2. Rubiks Cube MP3 Player

    The Rubik Cube Mp3 Player has the appearance of the classic Rubik’s cube puzzle, and even has a similar function, requiring that you solve different parts of the puzzle in order to operate the player. Each layer you solve has different functions, such as play, pause, and skip. You must completely solve the puzzle in order to turn off the player. Impractical? Yes. Entertaining? …Maybe.
  3. Ashtray Smoke Sucker

    In order to accommodate non-smokers, smokers could make use of the ashtray smoke sucker, a small USB powered device that acts as an ashtray but also contains an internal fan that sucks in cigarette smoke, running it through a carbon filter.
  4. Aquaduct Bike

    The Aquaduct bike by IDEO is a fully functioning tricycle with a built-in tank of water. Once you fill the tank and operate the bike, it will begin to purify the water. It’s handy for outings when you have to fill up the tank at a questionable public water source.
  5. Anti-Theft Car/Bike Stickers

    This sticker set is designed to be used to make your vehicle appear rusted and undesirable, so as to prevent theft. How effective that is, I don’t know, but it sounds pretty weird and wacky. (more…)

WD ShareSpace: The 4 Terabyte Network Storage Solution

As files continue to grow in size and number, and demand for easy accessibility to these files begins to take hold, people are turning to networked storage solutions.   The WD ShareSpace by Western Digital is one such solution, providing ease of use and flexibility in one useful package.  It is available in 2TB and 4TB models ($700 and $1000, respectively). This raid 5 configured system comes with a host of useful features.

The system connects to your network via USB 2.0 or Firewire 400, making it compatible with Vista or Mac OSX.  You can directly attach other storage to the box and with one push of a button instantly copy all the data from the attached drive into the shared network storage.  (more…)

FUZEbox HD DVR – A Powerful Entertainment Solution

Make no mistake, this is a premium home entertainment solution for sure. This very capable entertainment computer that provides you with all the options you could want from a networked DVR. Spec-wise, the FUZEbox starts at $1995, comes with 4 GB of RAM, an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, and a 750 GB hard drive. Add $249 and you’ll bump your storage up to two Terabytes!

Not only is it able to stream media all around your home, acting as a sort of central media server, but the FUZEbox checks your networked drives for pre-existing media which it can then play back. This includes unencrypted DVD and Blu-Ray rips. (more…)

The “Magic Mirror” Alarm Unit

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

The mirror in question is the M30P, an AV display that displays a talking face to let you know what’s going on in your house.  At normal times you see a real mirror that reflects your face back at you, but when the alarm sounds, the face in the mirror will come on to tell you where the security breech is.

Of course you have to have the security system already in place, this is just the magic mirror.  By adding cameras and sensors to your current home security system, virtually any area in and/or around your home can be revealed. (more…)

The Leica Pradovit D-1200: The Premium Digital Projector


Leica, the lens-maker from Germany, has entered the digital projector market with the Leica Pradovit D-1200. It’s the first digital projector with released by Leica for high end applications.

Every thing played through the Pradovit D-1200 projector is claimed to have optimal color management for photorealitstic image and video reproduction, thanks to its actual resolution of 1920×1200 pixel, and a contrast ratio of more than 2500:1. (more…)

  • Published in For the Home on 09/20/08
  • Posted by Kristian I.

The iPod Meets the Fridge: The Gorenje Ipod Refrigerator

Apple, the proud papa of the iPod, and Gorenje, a long time maker of household appliances have gotten together to produce… wait for it… The iPod Refrigerator!

That’s right!  Now you too can get a refrigerator with an iPod dock.

While docked in this sleek black fridge, your iPod can charge it’s batteries, play your music or videos and connect to the internet.  All at your refrigerator. (more…)