iFusion SmartStation Makes iPhone a Desk Phone

The iPhone has many advantages over standard office phones, but one of them isn't comfort. Spending a large portion of your work day on the phone requires a decent desk phone that can be easily held. For those looking to integrate their iPhone with an office phone, AltiGen Communications showed off their iFusion SmartStation at the Macworld Expo.

The dock comes in white or black and instantly converts your iPhone into a standard desk phone. With a built-in USB cable the iPhone can be charged and synced while docked. Bluetooth connects the iPhone and with A2DP streaming iPhone music can be played using the SmartStation speaker.

iFusion SmartStation for iPhone

Of course the SmartStation sports a full duplex speakerphone, and can be used with its own companion PBX app which provides eneterprise level phone management features. The accessory is compatible with the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4. Using a Bluetooth earpiece, VoIP or SIP applications and even FaceTime is possible while docked in the SmartStation. For connection to external speakers there's even a stereo mini jack.

This isn't the first iPhone desk phone dock we've seen. The KEE Desk Phone Dock was announced early last year and will be shipping sometime in the next few months as well.

Besides having all of the features of your iPhone and Contact list available in a more comfortable to use, ergonomic desk phone, the SmartStation should reduce iPhone SAR levels. More distance between your ear and the iPhone antenna means less radiation is absorbed by your noggin.

Turn Your iPhone or iPod Touch Into a Universal Remote

The VooMote converts your iPhone or iPod touch into a universal remote for all your electronic devices including your TV, DVD player, stereo system and so on. It may be a horribly named iPhone accessory, but it sounds like a great gift for people who are always losing their remote controls.

What separates the VooMote from other iPhone universal remote adaptors is the "Room Control" feature. This allows you to set up individual room profiles on the device. For example, you can have a bedroom setting and living room setting to make it easier to turn on your TV without getting confused. The "One View" feature makes switching from device to device easier, allowing you to mute your stereo so you can quickly turn up your TV, or DVD player. This sounds like a great tool for people who like to watch sporting events muted while doing other things. No fumbling with various remotes while trying to catch the latest injury update.

The VooMote captures more than 30,000 infrared codes and comes with a free app for updates to the VooMote One code library. It retails for around $100, and available since August 5th at Zero1.tv and BestBuy.com. The app can be downloaded at the iTunes App Store for free.

You can easily download VooMote application for your iPhone by clicking on below given button

Download VooMote

iDoorCam - Review and Features

The all-seeing iDoorCam is a pretty ingenious little gadget. Designed to work with your current doorbell setup — it connects to the transformer that powers most in-home doorbells — this simple button replaces your current doorbell and allows you to see who is at the door and even turn off your doorbell when the baby is asleep or you just need a little peace and quiet. It even transmits video and audio to your cellphone so you can deal with visitors while away from home.

The project comes to us from the team of Andrew Thomas and Desiree Mejia, two product designers from California. They have built hardware for Apple and they've taken their skills and expertise to corner the doorbell market. They are looking to ship in October.

The doorbell costs $127 for early adopters, and they’re looking for a pledge of $100,000 to complete the first batch. It will cost $150 retail when it officially launches.

Sadly, unlike the Lidless Eye of Sauron, lieutenant to the Dark Lord, Morgoth, the iDoorBell will not allow you to take over the minds of weak-willed hobbits who may come by your hole for elevenses. However, you can carefully explain to the UPS guy that leaving a huge package under your doormat is not actually “hiding it.”

Pico-Projector Powered By Android

It might not look like much, but under the hood of the absolutely tiny Epict EPP-100 projector is a fully-fledged Android system that you can quickly throw up on a wall to browse the web, watch YouTube or even play Angry Birds on. Office presentations just got a little more fun!

Measuring up at just under three-inches on each side, the tiny Epict EPP-100 is more than your standard pico-projector. You’ll find the tiny little gizmo packs Android 4.2.2, a dual-core processor paired with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. There’s also a microSD slot that supports up to 32GB of extra space for all your movies and photo slideshows that you’ll be throwing onto a huge wall.

Wondering how you’re going to control it? Thanks to its connectivity options spanning USB 2.0, microUSB and Bluetooth, you can hook up your own keyboard and mouse to point and click your way through Android, while there’s also Wi-Fi onboard to get you connected to the web. If you’re interested in taking a tiny Android pico-projector on the road with you, PandaWill has it up for pre-order for $221 (£141) and it’s set to ship at the end of the month.

Do you fancy a tiny Android-powered projector, or would you rather stick with a pico-projector to pair up with your phone? Let us know your thoughts in the comments and check it out in action in the video below.

7 Waterproof Bluetooth Speakers For Smartphones

Whether you like singing shanties in the shower or bellowing ballads in the bath, we have found the perfect gadget accompaniment with our selection of 7 waterproof speakers.

Boasting the ability to either pair with your iPhone or other Bluetooth-enabled gagdetry, or to wirelessly stream your audio from a docking device, nabbing one of these speakers will mean you'll be enjoying tunes in the tub in no time.

1. ION Audio Sound Splash

Designed to hook over your shower-head or sucker to your bathroom wall, the rechargeable "Sound Splash" will stream music from any Bluetooth player. Thanks to the built-in mic, it also doubles as a speakerphone, so you can answer calls mid-shower, if that's your wish. - Cost: $69.99

2. iDuck

You can plug any music player into the iDuck's egg-shaped wireless transmitter and the audio will be broadcast to the floating yellow speaker. Perfect for kids -- and big kids too! - Cost: $29.99

3. iShower

The battery-powered iShower will pair, via Bluetooth, with up to five devices, so it's perfect for busy family bathrooms. The useful clock display means you can keep an eye on the time whilst bathing too. - Cost: $99.99

4. Hipo by Ivation

This shower-friendly speaker boasts up to 25-hours of battery life, meaning you should be able to croon along to a fair few albums between charges. With speakerphone capabilities, there's also the option to answer calls while you're lathering up. - Cost: $99.99

5. Blue Splash Shower Tunes

Another speakerphone-slash-music-speaker, this rotund Bluetooth device boasts easy-to-use buttons for simple music control or call answering. If you're not feeling the blue hue, it's available in a range of bright colors. - Cost: $59.95

6. ION Audio Water Rocker

With a 100-foot range, you can place your iPhone safely in the Water Rocker's dock and enjoy streaming music from the fully waterproof, floating speaker. As an added bonus, the Water Rocker also offers a built-in FM radio. - Cost: $79.99

7. Kohler Moxie Showerheads

Finally, if you want to go all-out, consider the Moxie shower-head speaker system. The special showerhead docks a pop-out, rechargeable Bluetooth speaker so you can immerse yourself in your choice of audio as you shower. - Cost: From $199

via: mashable

20 Creative Alarm Clocks To Surly Wake You Up

We certainly love to sleep – to some of us, sleep is a luxury, to others, it may even be a hobby or a favorite pastime. A common problem for almost everyone you know in this generation would probably be to wake up in time! Be it for work, class, meetings, or the day’s activities, the alarm clock is a must-have item in the bedroom. But if you’re bored with the mundane ringing, hand-sized clocks that you can easily throw out the window to shut up, then you are going to love this list.


Heavy sleepers and late night gamers, pick your challenge from the alarm clocks below. No matter what has been keeping you up late at night, we have for you 20 creative alarm clocks that will help jolt you out of dreamland in very unorthodox ways. Some of these clocks can be found online while others are merely concepts at this point. Loads of evilness after the jump!

Defusable Alarm Clock

One of the conversation-inducing alarm clocks on the list, if a friend were to find this baby on your desk, you’d have some explaining to do. It’s not as difficult to disarm as a real life bomb (I suppose) but the defusable alarm clock does tick down to ‘explosion’ within 10 seconds. And even then the beeps are not really earth-shattering but seriously, that’s one nice decoration piece to put on your desk. [$32.95]


Nixie Ramos Alarm Clock

The Nixie Ramos alarm clock will ring for ten seconds, then give you one full minute to figure out the code (hint: it is the date) before the alarm goes all out with the task it’s made to deliver. The defuse panel can be placed anywhere, so it’s best to put it far from the bed. No more deactivating of alarm clocks straight from the comforts of your bed. [$350]

Clocky Robotic Alarm

What better way to wake your sleep head up than to make you run around after a small, fast, noisy thing like this little gem. Clocky, with its all-terrain features, will escape from your night stand, and run around your room while making the annoying beep-beep sound until you catch it and turn it off – or kill it with fire. For the heavy sleeper, you’d probably need more than one. [$49.99 - $59.99]

Flying Alarm Clock

Here’s one to make you at least open one eye at the sound of the alarm. Why? You need to watch where the key to the alarm clock is propelled to, silly! Flying alarm clock is committed to wake you up by making its propeller fly off the alarm. With the frightening alarm sounds blaring throughout your room, and possibly your flat too, you have to quickly retrieve the propeller (the key) to lodge it back to the clock to make the sound stop. [$19.99]

Shape Up Alarm Clock

Ladies, this Shape Up alarm clock is absolutely the best gift for your lazy partner. Work out while you try to wake up by swinging this heavy little friend up down 30 times to stop the alarm. I’m not sure how long this one will continue being your daily alarm clock before ending up thrown out the window. [$14.13]

Sonic Bomb Alarm Clock

If you think that you can still out-sleep most of the alarm clocks above, you’d probably have to crank the sound up a notch or two. The Sonic Bomb alarm clock is intentionally designed for mega-heavy sleepers because if 113 decibels (louder than a rock concert) isn’t able to wake you up, nothing will. Note that regular exposure to these levels of loudness can make you permanently deaf so you might want to go further down the list for a better alternative. [$49.99]

Banclock

Here’s another creative way to wake up. The Banclock will only stop ringing if you put a coin in it. It’s the perfect way to make sure that you save some money every single day. Honestly, I don’t know how this could wake you up but it is a great alarm clock for kids who are finding it hard to save their pocket money. [$81.22]

Target Alarm Clock

If you are a sucker for shooting games, you must try this Target alarm clock. The rules are easy: the clock will sound the alarm based on the time you set, and you need to stop it by using the laser target gun to shoot the bulls eye. To help make you aim better, you should try putting your ex’s photo there. Just a thought. [$17.13]

Danger Bomb Alarm Clock

That bomb alarm too easy for you? Then try this Danger Bomb alarm clock. Cut the right wire to stop the alarm, or else your mornings will be announced with a kaboom sound. The wires are changed randomly every morning so you best be alert to cut the right wire. Don’t look at me, the manual for this thing is in Japanese language.

Mr Bump Off The Wall Alarm Clock

Bored of buying tons and tons of alarm clocks that you keep smashing against the walls? Then, get Mr Bump Off The Wall alarm clock, Just throw the alarming clock at the wall to silence it and go back to sleep… no, wait, that can’t be right, isn’t the alarm clock supposed to wake you up? [$16.00]

Finger Dance Alarm Clock

Say hello to dance dance revolution for the finger! The Finger Dance alarm clock wants you to play with it until the music stops! It’s probably a really fun way to wake you up, but make sure that you don’t treat it like Mr Bump Off The Wall clock if you cannot follow the steps. [$26.78]

Money Shredding Alarm Clock

Oh gosh, make it stop, make it stop! This is too much to take. Shredding a hundred-dollar bill in an effort to wake up is seriously only for the hardcore sleeper. Thank the stars that this is only a concept alarm clock, and the best part is nobody knows who thought of this crazy idea. Mind you, destroying cash intentionally is a federal crime for countries like the US of A. Hmm, it actually adds to the urgency of the alarm now, doesn’t it? (Image Source: acidcow)

SnūzNLūz

If shredding bills is not feasible, maybe having your online bank account connected to an organization you absolutely despise can help you avoid that snooze button. Get this SnūzNLūz alarm clock, connect via Wi-Fi and never ever sleep in again. Think of it, the longer you stay in bed, the more that organization you hate benefits from you, financially. Think this is too horrific to be real? Yeah, it’s actually an April Fools’ joke!

Bacon Alarm Clock

If anything can pull one out of slumber, it would probably be the mouth-watering aroma of food. In this case, it’s bacon. The Bacon Alarm Clock hasn’t turned into a product yet, but it could possibly be the best-selling clock of the year if it did! Rather than wake you up with a noisy alarm sound, it lets the smell of bacon do the work.

Coffee Time Alarm Clock

Not a fan of bacon? Try coffee instead with this Coffee Time alarm clock. Wake up to the sound of coffee drips, the strong aroma of coffee beans and if the alarm doesn’t wake you up, just let the coffee do the rest. Too bad it’s just a concept alarm clock. For now.

No Snooze Alarm Clock

Once this alarm clock rings, you have to lift the strap and twirl the strap for 90 seconds, managing two rotations for each second. The No Snooze Alarm Clock will not stop if you go too slow or if you stop completely halfway through. In fact, you have to make the full run again if you fail halfway. No snooze button included. This is a cruel one.

Sfera Alarm Clock

Want an alarm clock that allows you to snooze then get this Sfera alarm clock. When the time has come, you can tap the alarm to stop sounding. If you go bak to sleep, the clock will start to rise up towards the ceiling; steal an extra 5 or 10 more minutes, and you’d need to prepare yourself a ladder so to reach the ceiling, because that’s where the alarm clock will be! Drag it back down to your bed to fully deactivate the alarm clock.

IQ Alarm Clock

Here’s one for Mensa group members; the IQ Alarm Clock doesn’t take a snooze for an answer. To make it stop ringing, solve an IQ question, and this is not the riddle me this type, it’s a standard IQ test. I would love to hate this clock, but the design is so sleek that I wouldn’t mind to have one in my bedroom – without batteries of course.

Water Spray Alarm Clock

Trying to sleep in for 10 more minutes? Expect the Water Spray alarm clock to launch a water attack on you then. It not only does ranged damage but splash damage as well, so either wake up at the sound of the alarm, or prepare to towel off the pools of water all over your room. Beats being woken up with a pail of water, I guess.

Chirp Alarm Clock

Here’s an interesting one. If you are a light sleeper, and you sleep with a roommate or bedmate, then waking up is a pretty sensitive issue. While the other alarm clocks in the list would send your roommate smashing them to pieces if you don’t wake up before they do, this one, can selectively wake its owner by vibrating his or her pillow until they are up. Put the clip back into the alarm clock to make it stop and your roommate will not be the wiser. It even beats the conventional alarm clock system.


via: hongkiat

VOX amPlug AC30 Guitar Headphone Amplifier

For years, practicing electric guitar or bass at home has been a quiet activity for me. Since I don’t want to annoy the neighbors, the wife, or the cat (especially the cat), plugging my Fender Stratocaster into an amplifier and cranking it up to 11 has just not been an option.

But I love to play, and since I’m in two bands, I need to practice and keep up those chops! But what to do?

Well, the typical solution has been to just go unplugged … and hear what I’m playing just a little. Solid-body guitars and basses have barely any acoustic properties—just the resonance in the wood—so when you strum or pluck them, you’ll hear a faint sound, a weak note that’s barely representative of the rawk n’ roll awesomeness that will come forth when you go up to 11.

There are solutions I’ve used that won’t bother anybody. I have couple of guitar and bass processors—all-in-one units that, in addition to providing a ton of effects, also can serve as a mini-amplifier that you can listen to on headphones via the output jack.

But that’s not ideal, since the output jacks are mono and usually just send sound to one ear. Plus, they’re not exactly portable—hard to walk around the house and practice your rock moves when your headphones are connected to a pedal on the floor plugged into an AC outlet.

Plus, if I’m trying to learn a new song from a recording, there’s no way to hear it if I have the headphones on.

The solution to all of these problems has arrived in one compact item, the VOX amPlug AC30. This little beauty gets its name from the VOX AC30, one of the company’s classic guitar amplifiers. It’s so named because its sound is intended to emulate the sound of the original amp.

It’s a simple little unit, but it delivers exactly what I—and, I’ll bet, many of my fellow musicians out there—need to practice without bothering anyone.

And you can learn new stuff, thanks to one fantastic feature—the auxiliary jack! With this, I was able to plug in my iPod and listen to it in-line along with my guitar. Awesome!

Getting started with the amPlug AC30 was a snap. I put in the two AAA batteries (included—thanks, VOX) and then inserted its ¼-inch plug directly into my Strat.

Then I plugged my headphones into the appropriate jack, and flipped the on switch. The light indicated we were powered, so I turned up the guitar volume, and did likewise on the amPlug, which has Gain, Tone and Volume controls. It was obvious what Volume and Tone did, but Gain actually cranked up a little distortion, giving the sound a little edge, which I presume is evocative of the original AC30 amp.

It was equally easy to add my iPod to the party. A simple stereo male-to-male audio cable plugged from the iPod right into the amPlug, and the song I wanted to practice with—the killer instrumental “YYZ” by Rush—came through beautifully. I could adjust the song’s volume on my iPod, and then control the entire mix through the amPlug’s knobs.

The sound is very good. Is it the equivalent of what you’d get from a full-size amp? Of course not, but I never expected it to be. The amPlug delivers exactly what it’s supposed to: good practice sound—clean with the option of a little “amp dirt” if you want it—in the privacy of your own head.

And that’s really it in a nutshell. The amPlug does exactly what it’s supposed to, delivering clean, accurate amplification—with the option of mixing in another audio source—in a quick, efficient way that won’t disturb the neighbors (or the cat), all for one low price (it lists for $56, but can be found online for around $40 from a number of sellers).

The amPlug comes in a series of models, including Acoustic, Classic Rock, Metal … even a Joe Satriani model, and a Bass version, providing different sounds for whatever style you want to play in (prices vary for the different models, but most range from $40 to $50 at retail). If you’d rather play without the headphones, VOX also has a mini amPlug Cabinet (lists for $50, sells for around $30) with a 3-inch speaker and .7 watts of output.

Did I mention that the amPlug is cool-looking? Modeled after the look of a VOX amp, it’s a little plug-in with style.

This isn’t the first product of its type. The Rockman line of headphone amps have been around for a long time, but they don’t have a direct guitar plug-in (you have to connect your guitar with an external cable) and they cost about twice as much. Other companies also have their own comparable products. But I haven’t encountered a line that offers such an irresistible combination of features, compact size and ease of use at such an affordable price point. This is a winner.

[via: technologytell]

NFC Ring To Unlock Cell Phone and Door Lock

The tech world may be hoping for Apple to unbox some wearable technology in the near future but who cares about the iWatch when an NFC ring is a thing? NFC fans — you know, these sort of folk — hankering for the convenience of having the wireless transfer tech always on their person should point their eyes at this U.K.-based Kickstarter project.

The NFC ring is designed to be used in conjunction with NFC-enabled gadgets — such as smartphones and tablets, NFC door locks and so on — so the wearer can perform tasks such as unlocking their phone, unlocking their front door or sending their contact info, personal website or Bitcoin address to another smartphone user by either fist-bumping or using an open-palm gesture.

Provided you’re happy to wear a bit of bling, the relatively slimline ring gets around some of the awkwardness associated with bumping and grinding NFC phones together to do data transfers (aka ‘phone sex‘). Being passive NFC, it also doesn't need any battery power to work. And all the programming is done via apps, including third party apps if you want to use it to unlock your phone.  The NFC ring creators have also made their own open source software for writing actions to the ring.

The ring actually has two NFC inlays, with a larger ‘public’ area designed to worn at the top for sending things like contact data via a fist bump gesture, and a smaller ‘private’ area designed to be worn so it can be concealed in the palm and only activated via an open palm gesture. This area is intended to store more sensitive data such as front door and phone unlocking info, says creator John McLear.

The dual NFC design is intended to help keep a ring owner’s most sensitive data from being slurped by nearby NFC readers. But it’s worth pointing out that jewellery rarely stays put so NFC ring bearers are likely to end up spending a lot of time checking their precious is correctly aligned. Or drunkenly failing to send contact info to the person they are trying to chat up in the bar, and trying to unlock a non-existent front door instead. That’s a whole new level of geek faux pas.

The NFC ring is basically a more convenient (i.e. wearable) version of the NFC tags that are sometimes shipped with NFC smartphones. But since awkwardness is a barrier to more widespread NFC use, anything that helps reduces friction is a welcome development for the contact-less fraternity.

The NFC ring is fast approaching its Kickstarter funding goal of £30,000 — with close to 1,100 backers pledging almost £29,500 so far with 27 days left on the campaign. The creators say rings are due to ship in late October, if all goes to plan. Cost per ring is around £25/$38 but the creators have also released a CAD design so the basic ring form can be hacked, customised and 3D printed. They are then offering cheaper pledges to just ship the NFC inlay for fixing inside these 3D printed rings.

It’s worth flagging that the “normal size ring” (which is ~7mm wide) doesn’t work with all NFC phones — notably the Samsung Galaxy S4 and BlackBerry Z10 won’t play nice. For those devices the creators warn “you will need an alpha size ring”, which they add is “really only for chaps with big fingers”.

[via: techcrunch]

The Memoto Lifelogging Camera - World’s Smallest Wearable Camera

Never miss another of life’s special moments with the Memoto Lifelogging Camera that you wear as it creates a continuous life log that you can go back to and relive the memories. Said to be the world’s smallest wearable camera, the Memoto Camera does everything a regular camera does, such as taking pictures and registering GPS position, yet it has no controls. 

Instead, it automatically takes photos as  you go, then the Memoto app seamlessly and effortlessly organizes them for you. As long as you wear it, it’ll constantly take pictures. The camera takes two, geotagged photos a minute with recorded orientation so that the app can show them upright no matter how you are wearing the camera. 

And don’t worry about it getting damaged in weather since it’s weather protected. The app itself provides you pictures of every single moment of your life while wearing it and provides info on when you took it and where you were.

Batteries can last up to two day of  use and to recharge them, you connect the camera to your computer; at the same time the photos are automatically uploaded to Memoto’s servers. It comes in three different colors: Arctic White, Graphite Grey and Memoto Orange and retails for $279.

GooGo Camera Is Essentially A Spy Camera For Your iPhone

We have all got things we’d like to keep an eye on when we’re not around. Puppies, children, sandwiches in the break room that you know you didn't eat and that somebody keeps stealing…hey, we've all got something we’re concerned about. And now, with the GooGo Camera, you can keep an eye on it remotely for relatively cheap.

The GooGo Camera is far from the first remote camera you can access with your smartphone, but it’s one of the few that’s effectively cross-platform: Both iPhone and Android users can get in on the fun, although Android users report the app can be a bit variable. The  GooGo Camera has both WiFi and app access, so in theory, even across the country you can check out what’s happening at the work fridge. Just boot it up, enter your password, and you’re seeing what the camera sees. In a nice touch, you can access it directly with WiFi, no router necessary.

The camera itself is fairly standard, and in fact is a little bit low end; at three megapixels, and a maximum video resolution of 640 by 480, you aren’t going to be capturing the rich glory of human experience. Also, the GooGo Camera has a fairly obvious weakness; it’s got a fairly standard lithium battery that has to be recharged via USB, so you’re not going to be able to plant it somewhere and leave it for a few days. 

One assumes that the more functions you use, the faster the battery drains, so if you’re planning on getting a lot of video of Herman from accounting eating your Twinkies, you might want two of them.

On the other hand, it’s probably a good thing that a small, portable, non-obvious camera that costs $70 or even less from various Internet outlets needs to be recharged constantly. Otherwise, we suspect we’d be seeing these things turn up in locker rooms and Victoria’s Secrets across the nation.

[source: gadgetreview]

The iPhone Photo Printer

This is the compact, portable printer that produces photo quality pictures directly from a docked iPhone 4 or iPod touch. Also connecting to iPhone 5, Android phones, and iPads (using your existing Lightning, Micro-USB, or iPad cable), the printer requires no computer or software, and is controlled from your device via a free downloadable app.

In less than 59 seconds and without ink cartridges, it prints crystal-clear 300 dpi resolution pictures with vibrant colors, thanks to patented paper embedded with yellow, magenta, and cyan dye crystals. The printer can produce one, four, or 10 smudge- and tear-proof, fade- and water-resistant images on each 4" x 6" border-less sheet. 

It prints panoramic shots from a connected iPhone 5 and prints from Pict Bridge-capabale digital cameras. It also charges an iPhone 4, iPad, or iPod touch via the built-in 30-pin connector. Includes one thermal paper cartridge that makes 12 prints. Plugs into AC. 4" H x 7" W x 6" D. (3 lbs.)

Power Dock 5 - A Family Charging Station

When you have a lot of USB-chargeable portable devices to charge then you either have USB chargers scattered all round the house or a single location with a potential tangled nest of cables. 

The Power Dock 5 from Griffin can tame the charging cables into one neat, sleek charging station with room to corral and charge five devices at once. This station takes up about the same area as a tablet, but it has five charging bays with USB ports. Each port provides 5V at 2.1A, so each can handle even a power-hungry tablet. 

The bays are large enough to accommodate devices in their cases. Because you provide your own cables, you know the Power Dock 5 is compatible with any USB-chargeable device you own now or in the future. The Power Dock 5 is available now at Griffin for $99.99.

Aqua Farm Gadget for the lazy green-thumb pet owner

What if the “chores” of maintaining a fish tank and herb garden suddenly took care of themselves, allowing you more time to, well, do just about anything else? 

The Aqua Farm from Back to the Roots is a closed loop eco-system that does just that! Your fish does his little fish thing on the bottom and the filter recycles the fish waste, water, and tank scum up to fertilize the fresh herbs and plants growing above. It’s aquaponics in action! That just leaves you to admire and feed your fish, while eating your new supply of organic herbs.

source: the-gadgeteer

Hacked Microwave Scans Food Barcodes for Cooking Instructions

Tired of keying in commands for his microwave to follow, Nathan Broadbent decided to program his so it could accept voice commands — as well as scan product barcodes to determine how long they should cook.

Broadbent is a Ruby On Rails developer in his professional life, as well as his personal life. These skills combined with the hacker's favorite micro-computer (Raspberry Pi), was what allowed him to turn a regular microwave into something special.

A couple of the Raspberry Pi Microwave's features include voice commands, a clock that updates itself using the Internet and even custom sound effects for those who don't find the factory-set beep all that palatable.

The most impressive of these, however, is the barcode scanner that can pull cooking instructions from an online database, meaning you don't even have to set the microwave half the time. What's more impressive is the fact that there was no such database in existence, so Broadbent decided to build one of his own.

While it would have been enough to include all these custom features, Broadbent also made it possible to control the microwave using your phone.

One possible use is pre-loading a meal that you can start cooking when hunger strikes from another room. The microwave will even send you a Tweet when your food is ready, just in case you don't hear the beep.

There's no denying this is a complicated project to pull off, but the convenience could be reason enough to give it a try. There's even a video on Broadbent's of explaining some of the finer details and cooking — wait for it — a raspberry pie.

via: mashable

MaKey MaKey Turns Anything Into A Computer Key

Maybe you've never thought about playing piano on a bunch of bananas or turning Grandma into a space bar, but once I saw this cool new gadget that lets you turn (almost) anything into a computer key.

Think of it as one Father's Day gift that will bring your family a whole lot more fun than a tie. Unless you also turn that tie into controls to play Pacman.

Working on the principle that ordinary objects can still conduct electricity, the MaKey MaKey Invention Kit allows you to connect things like play dough, food, or even a pet to the little MaKey MaKey board.

With that board plugged into your computer, you basically "trick" your computer into thinking the objects are your keys or mouse.

It is so cool, I watched the demo video with my mouth hanging open. One warning: Unless you don't mind hearing your kids beg, don't watch it with them in the room.

Created by two graduate students at MIT Media Lab, MaKey MaKey is one of those computer gadgets that someone with very little by way of super technical computer smarts (i.e. me) can figure out. And if you've got a real techie in the house, they'll love exploring all the many capabilities, like the area for using the expanded keyboard ports and Arudino mode compatibility.

[source: coolmomtech]