Tag Archives: gadgets

engine john’s goggles

Posted on by June 15, 2012
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Just last week I had my students discuss in class Alex ‘↑Rex‘ ↑Golub‘s excellent ethnography-based article ‘↓Being in the World (of Warcraft)‘ (2010). One of the points Rex powerfully makes is that it isn’t ever more realistic (or: naturalistic) graphics and supposedly intuitive interfaces that guarantee deep immersion into computer games and so-called ‘virtual worlds,’ but social relationships (a point that I do second fully). Hence the vision of ↑VR pioneers/evangelists like ↑Jaron Lanier and the prospects fostered by cyberpunk were somewhat misleading: No sooner had text only worlds blossomed before it appeared they would be replaced by immersive “virtual … Continue reading →

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evil overlord workstation

Posted on by April 21, 2012
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Way back in 2008 I reported on attempts to cyberpunkify ergonomic solutions for computer workplaces: see ↵laid back and ↵laid back flagship. Now MWE Lab has driven it to new heights in every respect … the ↑Emperor 200 comes with a lavish price-tag of $45,000. Roberto Baldwin at Wired’s Gadget Lab ↑has commented perfectly: Upon sitting in the Emperor 200, users tap on the touchscreen to lower the monitors and nestle themselves into a computing bubble worthy of a Bond villain. Because each workstation is built to order, MWE labs can customize each installation to handle different computing platforms, even … Continue reading →

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apocalypse kit

Posted on by December 1, 2011
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Merchandising is a strange beast. Manufacturer ↑Gerber Legendary Blades has issued an ↑Apocalypse Kit “as seen in” the TV-series ↑The Walking Dead, based on the ↑comic book series of the same name. I perfectly do understand that this is a limited edition (only two batches of 200 sets) directed at a niche collector’s market. Nevertheless I’m not sure what to think about it. Especially as I always associate Gerber not with tools (which is their absolute main line), but with the ↑Gerber Mark II fighting knife, which not only was identified as the killing-instrument of choice in the infamous and … Continue reading →

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thai flood hacks

Posted on by November 16, 2011
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↑Thai Flood Hacks is a wonderful collection of pictures showing off ingenious technical contraptions cooked up for dealing with the flood in Thailand. With their ↑truck-canoe hybrids [still only at ye ole xirdalium] the people of Bangkok already have shown their skill in dealing with water and in the active appropriation of technology—now they drive it to new heights. Also very worthwhile in these respects: ↑afrigadget and ↑street use. ↑thai flood hacks via ↑entry at ↑ethno::log … Continue reading →

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flying sphere

Posted on by November 17, 2011
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Star Wars fans (like me) will get a vague sense of deja vu when they see this flying sphere in action. Weighing in at about 12 ounces (350 g), the 16-inch (42 cm) diameter flying ball can launch and return vertically, maintain a stationary hover and zip along at up to 37 mph (60 km/h). Coupled with the ball camera we reported on earlier this month, it could become a valuable reconnaissance platform. Who knows? In time, more advanced autonomous versions might actually be used to train would-be Jedi knights. Once again, life imitates art.     Announced last summer … Continue reading →

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wireless

Posted on by November 4, 2011
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These days the telephone turns 150 … if, without any reservations whatsoever, you accept ↑Johann Philipp Reis (1834-1874) as its inventor. German media during the last weeks were inclined to accept it that way, naturally. Alas, a short glimpse on the ↑timeline of the telephone teaches us that we can not anymore write histories of technology by constructing absolute origins and godlike inventor personalities. Nevertheless does it seem above dispute that Reis coined the term “telephone.”     Be all that as it may, I take the ample opportunity to have a look on how the future of the telephone … Continue reading →

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stim-u-lax

Posted on by November 4, 2011
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Back in April this year we one night spotted the above pictured device in a Stuttgart shop window, of which we couldn’t make neither heads nor tails—of the device, not of the shop window, the latter was clear as glass. It wasn’t long before midnight, naturally the shop was closed and hence we couldn’t ask what the thing was. So we took a row of pictures and decided to track the thing down, which isn’t an easy matter if you have absolutely no clue about what it could be.     Well, some days ago we were watching ‘M*A*S*H,’ season … Continue reading →

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shanzhai

Posted on by November 4, 2011
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‘Maxpy,’ a 22-year-old programmer from Shenzhen, PR China, has developed and built a device which makes an iPod Touch into an iPhone. The ‘Apple Peel 520‘ is a case fitting around an iPod Touch, containing a battery, dock connector and SIM card. What’s more is the Apple Peel also illustrates the evolution of China’s massive “shanzhai,” or black market, phone industry. Based mostly in Shenzhen, it is an industry characterized by the massive production of copycat mobile phones and other devices, which are sold at lower prices and often with more localized functionality than global brands [bold emphasis mine]. via … Continue reading →

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