I have a question. Can you understand what dogs are saying?

You can’t huh? That’s absolutely crazy you say? I see, I see.

Well until very recently I would have agreed entirely. However, that was until a project called “No More Woof” exceeded its funding goal on indiegogo and got me thinking that perhaps we have all been too quick to jump to such a seemingly obvious conclusion.

“No More Woof” is an EEG reader and speaker system that your dog wears around their neck and on their head. From there it is able to read their neuro signals and brain waves in order to form and relay a basic idea of just what is going through their mind. Now while that does mean you won’t be having a conversation with your dog regarding the modern societal relevance of “Catcher in the Rye,” the device will be able to tell you if your pooch is tired, hungry, curious, and some other basic thoughts.

Believe it or not the technology fueling this idea is actually very much legitimate. However it has never been put together in such a fashion, for such a purpose, and on the consumer level. You’re perfectly justified then for maintaining a skeptical outlook regarding the prospects of this device’s functionality. However, there is enough in place to hint that this device may just be feasible, though on an admittedly simple level.

With 48 days left during its funding period, “No More Woof” is already $5,000 over its asking goal. If you want to get in on it early, the basic model is still available for an $85 contribution.

Way back when during a less hi-tech time of car ownership, if you wanted to impress someone with your car keys alone they either had to have a Ferrari logo on them, or had to be accompanied by a particularly humorous key chain attachment. Otherwise, they weren’t likely to generate much of a reaction on their own.

The new BMW i8 key, though, is more than capable of doing just that.

Resembling your basic smartphone design, the i8 key features a built in LCD screen which relays some vital information about your car when in use. As the i8 is a hybrid, its main purpose is to relay how much charge and fuel is left in your car, which is a handy little trick that isn’t hard to imagine becoming standard in the near future.

Function aside, though, the real selling point of this key is honestly its uber sleek looks. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the car its attached to looks to be one of 2014’s best and among the more exciting hybrids released to date.

Now, its very much worth noting that this doesn’t appear to be an official design at this time, and more of a highly circulated rumor of what the official model will look like. In any case, even if this is just an enthusiastic fan design, its not hard to imagine this being a good representation of the future of this technology and a very exciting one at that.

When famed game company Valve announced the introduction of the open source linux based “Steam OS” earlier this year to compliment their new line of Steam Machines, they made it clear that they have every intention of bringing PC gaming to the living room in a way never thought possible.

While nobody who’s ever glanced at their success record would ever doubt Valve’s ability to accomplish this goal, the lack of specifics on the subject at the time of announcement left some questioning just how they’d accomplish such a herculean effort within the industry.

Since then, however, the unveiling of a few Steam Machine prototypes to go along with some additional details regarding the OS, have cleared up the picture somewhat and rightfully raised expectations.

However no prototype has personally intrigued me more than the recently announced Jetpack PC from PiixL.

Described as a slimline PC, the Jetpack is capable of sliding into your TV frame whether it is mounted or propped up on a stand. Once installed it allows you to instantly start using your TV as a PC that can support either Windows or Steam OS. While the specs are not currently available, PiixL has said the Jetpack has universal GPU compatibility and looks to be more or less as customizable as a standard desktop (though some parts like power supplies are likely not interchangeable).

Starting at a $1,000, the practicality of the Jetpack as a gaming PC solution is going to depend largely on whether or not on the built in specs and exactly how customizable and accessible it is.

Regardless of the specifics though, the Jetpack is an amazing example of the creativity inspired by Valve’s big move into the living room. If this is only an early example of the technology that will be fueling that move, then the coming years should be very interesting for the PC gaming revolution.

Whether you find them behind suspiciously hollow walls, buried in suspiciously placed staircases, or at the end of a suspiciously long corridor filled with more enemies from hell with the capability to rip your throat out through your feet than you knew could ever exist, it has always been a constant joy to discover video game treasure chests.

Unfortunately treasure chests in the real world tend to be far more rare, meaning the joy of discovering one doesn’t really enter your day to day life. You can let this fact bum you out, or you can do something about it by picking up one of the 8-bit treasure chests available from Think Geek.

This 4” wide box painted in a pixelated art style runs off of two AA batteries, and stores the various items you can fit into it. Adding to the video game motif is a “Pulp Fiction” style glow that emits when you open it, along with an 8-Bit style tune that plays when you do the same (though it sadly isn’t the “Legend of Zelda” secret discovery tune).

Sure it’s not exactly discreet, but many things that are bad ass rarely are. At $29.99 this is the perfect gift for the gamer in your life, even if it does just serve as a desk decoration.

Originally this was going to be something about Black Friday sales, but whilst browsing the interweb I came to two conclusions.

1. Nearly every site on the internet advertises Black Friday sales right on their front page.
2. The sites which do directly feature sales, collect the best Black Friday sales from said sites.

So, with approximately 100% of the internet already on top of this Black Friday thing, I thought I’d focus on something that traditionally goes completely ignored on Black Friday.

Safety.

Yes, since today is the day millions of shoppers will be packing stores and attacking their wares without a single regard towards basic decency and safety, why not highlight a product aimed at providing just that?

The turn signal gloves from Zackees are aimed at providing bicyclists and skateboarders a much needed alternative in making their intentions known to pedestrians and motorists around them. It gives the non-motorized street travelers of the world an electronic turn signal of their own, and requires little more than a hand movement in the appropriate direction to activate.

Even better, knowing their product will primarily be bought by hipsters, Zackees paid special attention to the style of the gloves, so wearing a turn signal on your hands looks as un-nerdy as humanly possible.

There’s no guarantee for success in the gadget market, but when you create something that is practical, useful, stylish, clever, and innovative it’s usually a good sign that your product will find an eager market. We’ll see if that holds true when the turn signal gloves start crowdfunding on December 9^th through Kickstarter.