Tag: Gadgets (Page 10 of 27)

      Volvo’s Demonstration of Their New Automatic Braking System is a Must-See

      July 5, 2013 /

      brake

      As a rule I like to be in control of a car completely while I’m driving, to the point where I often don’t even use cruise control. While some of that is wanting to experience the thrill of driving completely, there is a small part in the back of my mind that doesn’t trust leaving something so potentially urgent in control of a machine.

      When it comes to features like self-parking cars, or even self-driving cars, then, I tend to steer clear.

      However, looking at it practically, automated cars are the wave of the future, and will in some measure become commonplace in all models. Technicians at Volvo are working to make sure that inevitability isn’t one driven entirely by consumer curiosity and vanity, but rather filling basic needs to enhance driving for everyone.

      Specifically, they are trying to perfect an automated braking system in commercial trucks that would allow them to avoid major collisions should the driver be dozing off at the wheel, or otherwise unable to properly react in time. Unlike some other “innovations” in the field like self-parking cars, this design appears to be frighteningly effective.

      The truck in that video is moving at a steady pace of 40 MPH, and is about to hit two vehicles (one completely stopped, and the other moving much slower). In both cases though the automated braking system kicks in completely outside of the influence of the driver,once its realized the driver is not reacting, and brings the truck to a stop right before it collides with the vehicle.

      What’s really impressive, yet somewhat scary, is the reaction time of this system. Obviously not wanting to “jump the gun” so to speak on stopping a vehicle automatically, the system waits until the last possible moment to initiate braking, and as such stops the truck mere inches away from danger, making the results look like something that wouldn’t be out of place in a Hollywood driving sequence.

      While no specific plans regarding the implementation of this system in future vehicles are present as of yet, with Europe requiring similar systems to be mandatory by 2015, you can expect to hear more about this soon from Volvo and more manufacturers.

      It might be scary to essentially trust your life in the hands of a system, but if they can really get it to perform as well in real road environments as they do in these situations, this could be the start of a safer, though still almost too close for comfort, future

      News

      The Qlocktwo Aims to Make Letters the New Numbers

      July 3, 2013 /

      QT_frontal_black-ice-tea_screen_EN

      Do you know what an “Oh wow, that’s really cool!” buy is?

      It’s something you buy that’s not necessarily of strong particular use, nor do you have a strong personal desire or need for it, but instead you purchase it just so when someone sees it, you get to hear them say “Oh wow, that’s really cool!” This mostly extends to home or office decoration, but many cars, clothes and other goods have been purchased with the sole intention of producing that effect.

      The Qlocktwo from German designers Biegert and Funk (which is just a fantastic 70’s soul band name) definitely accomplishes that, as evidenced by the fact that it was my exact reaction upon seeing it.

      In case it wasn’t clear from the picture, the Qlocktwo is a wall clock (with a wristwatch model available) that foregoes the old fashioned number system (which in turn replaced that weird reading shadows thing that apparently was once the rage), and instead tells you the time in a series of phrases like “Half past Two” or “Quarter to Six,” making its communication closer to the same methods we often use to relay that information amongst each other.

      Made of wood, available in several languages, and featuring a bright display visible in most any light conditions, the clock updates its message every five minutes, and comes in a variety of models including the mentioned wristwatch Qlocktwo W, an alarm clock compatible Qlocktwo Touch, and a Qlocktwo Large which is an as advertised larger version of the regular model.

      It’s a fairly reasonable way to tell the time (because really, who needs to know if its 3:33 exactly?), but this is truly meant as an eye-catching piece you’ll have around the house to show off to anyone who may come through, or in an office when trying to impress guests or just improve the décor for your employees.

      Running north of $600 depending on the model and vendor, the Qlocktwo might be expensive eye candy, but it’s some damn fine eye candy and one of the coolest clocks available.

      News

      The Gadget Hall of Fame – Legos

      June 28, 2013 /

      Some posts back I vaguely mentioned the idea of a gadget hall of fame. Now, I’m thinking it’s about time certain gadgets got the recognition they deserve.

      Because it’s not often a gadget comes around that truly changes the world, and when they do, it’s not always the case that everyone is necessarily fully aware of their influence, or have properly paid them the attention required, which are hopefully problems that can be remedied in some way here.

      With that in mind, there is only one gadget I can think of that could possibly start this idea off and set the standard for what is to follow. That gadget is…

      Legos

      Lego_at_MoA

      What is a gadget?

      Well if we go off of the strict definition, we’re looking for “a small mechanical device or tool, esp. an ingenious or novel one.”

      Considering only that definition, Lego’s aren’t technically a gadget. Well, at least not if you exclude the more technologically advanced newer models, and just talk about the classic, standard, multi-colored building blocks we all know.

      However to me a great gadget is more than that definition. A great gadget is really an item that inspires as well as entertains. It’s an item that not only makes an impact on the user’s life, but can change the entire game. A great gadget is an item that you can use as a landmark in your life, and note the time before you had it, and the time afterwards as two completely separate entities.

      But most of all, a great gadget is one that makes it’s greatness evident based on its function alone. From the time you begin using it, it leaves no doubt that you have something special.

      Now, going off of that definition, Lego’s were one of the first gadgets any of us owned.

      Lego_Chicago_City_View_2001

      The word Lego stems from a Danish phrase meaning “play well,” and have always existed under a company motto that the “best is never too good” as laid down by Lego’s founder Ole Kirk Christiansen since he started making them back in 1947. While always interconnecting blocks, Legos used to be made of wood before moving on to the modern (but, back then, controversial) plastic design. It was in 1958 though when the traditional design we know now was patented. In fact, Lego bricks from that year are still compatible with modern bricks today.

      From there Lego’s creativity knew no bounds. Building sets were released encompassing every theme from pirates to space, and by the 70’s, little Lego characters named minifigures were included so that Lego worlds could be created in full. Lego didn’t just rely on generic themes though for their sets, and soon took to creating bundles based on licenses like “Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones,” “Toy Story,” and too many to list here.  Shortly before the millennium, they unveiled their Mindstorm series that allowed for essentially the creation of mechanical robots based on the same basic building block design they’ve always employed.

      But this isn’t about the abundant creativity exhibited by Lego as a company, but rather the even greater creativity shown by the users of Legos. Uses of Legos range all the way from the loose representations of a design idea we all created when playing with our first set, to an over 5,000,000 brick recreation of an X-Wing made by professionals, to absolutely amazing modern mechanisms created entirely out of, or largely around, standard Lego blocks, all the way to a modern art exhibit featuring a variety of works built entirely from Legos.

      425px-LEGO_Building_At_KSC

      Legos have not only inspired the creativity out of every child that played with them regardless of ability, but were also likely the first tool that many modern inventors and artists had available to them to help expand their blossoming talents. For proof, look no further than the modern game “Minecraft” which made millions off a similar, but virtual, idea of providing building blocks and letting users do the rest.

      Again though it doesn’t matter if you ever went on to create the next big thing just because you started with Legos, as their true value was the ability to not only draw the full creative potential out of any person, but to allow them to have fun doing it as well. It’s not often that anything comes along that is educational, entertaining, revolutionary, timeless, inspires decades of creativity, and provides a shared experience for all of its users the world over across generations, but that is exactly what Legos did, and continue to do today.

      It is in that spirit that Legos may not only be defined as a gadget, but allows me to name a random assortment of colored building blocks as the first entrant into the Gadget Teaser gadget hall of fame.

      General Gadgets

      Imgur’s New Meme Creator is Easy to Use, Comprehensive, and about to Takeover the Internet

      June 27, 2013 /

      y6HgAE5 (1)

      Memes are essentially the ultimate guilty pleasure of the internet.

      We may mock them openly, and the people who go on about them publicly, but we’re all guilty of laughing at them, or even hunting them down when no one is watching. There’s something immensely satisfying about these simple, themed photo and text combinations that keeps them alive as the dominant form of humor online.

      And now, as the late Ned Stark alerted you in the meme above, more memes are coming.

      That is because Imgur, also known as where most of the internet’s photos stem from one way or another, has just released a meme creation tool of their own, not long after the popular program quickmeme was banned from Reddit for allegedly using bots to downvote any memes not created through them, and upvote their own.

      Reportedly though, this program has been in the works long before that, and it shows in how easily it functions, without sacrificing anything in the way of ability. You simply have to pick the background image from your favorite meme, fill in the traditional top and bottom text fields, and in under a minute you’ve got a meme of your own to troll the internet with.

      Of course, easier meme creation means both an influx of inspired memes, and even more really, really crappy ones. So if you think you’ve got some text that can make “Not Sure If Fry,” “Pepperidge Farms Remembers Guy,” or “Socially Awkward Penguin” humorous again, be sure to give Imgur’s new program a shot, and help combat the tides of people who will be filling the internet with easy bake humor soon.

      News

      Samsung’s New Tablet Hybrid May be The Most Exciting Tablet in Years

      June 22, 2013 /

      sub01_0

      With their Galaxy line, Samsung became one of the few, if not only, companies to truly give Apple a run for their money in terms of popularity and performance in the smartphone market.

      However, the tablet market is a different story.

      Sure, Apple’s iPad Mini might not be top of the line, but the full size tablet game still belongs to the iPad, as no company has really been able to produce a worthy technological challenger, despite some fine efforts.

      Samsung might just have thrown their hat in the ring in a big way though with their unveiling of the ATIV Q. While actually a tablet/laptop hybrid (a design with a shaky history of past successes), ignore the pull out keyboard, and you’ve got a tablet that not only sports one of the clearest screens available thanks to a 3,200 x 1,800 resolution, but also has an i5 processor under the hood that insures it backs down to no one when it comes to pure power.

      Of course since looks and ability oddly don’t mean everything when it comes to purchasing a tablet, the ATIV Q has an ace up its sleeve in the form of its dual OS capabilities.

      Running off of both Windows 8 and Android, you are able to switch between the two at will, or allow them to run at the same time since they are designed to work together and share files, information, and the general workload. The idea behind this unique approach is that the presence of both systems will turn the tablet into a true all in one machine capable of performing the best that both have to offer, while using the advantages of one to compensate for the weaknesses of the other.

      Or, most likely, a Windows laptop when you need it, and an Android tablet otherwise.

      Sadly for the moment, that is an idea not much more than hypothetical, though, as Samsung has yet to set a release date or price for this hybrid, and few have had the chance to test it extensively enough to see if it stands the test of time to emerge as a true all weather machine.

      In the meantime then we all just have to wait and see if Samsung really can breathe new life in the tablet wars.

      News

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 Gadget Teaser

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑