USB Photo Frame Speakers Are Classier Than The Original [Usb Photo Frame]

We’ve seen photo frame speakers before, but this Brookstone version looks much, much classier. Gone is the birch-colored 1970s-style wood, and in is a dark, black finish. The principal is the same: two photo frames that hold a 6″ x 4″ photo each, that also plug into your computer’s USB port and act like speakers. Audiophiles won’t enjoy the sound quality at all, but it’s a neat integration of two things that are already on your desk. [Brookstone via Everything USB]

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Maker Faire Hits Bay Area May 3 and 4 [Gadgets]

Maker Faire is in town again, hitting up the bay area with their ridiculously dangerous projects and robots and flaming robot projects this May 3 and 4. If you’re in town, you should stop by and see what the crazy doctor Phil Torrone has cooking for you. At the very least, you can stop by and say hi to the Giz folks that are going to be down there. Maybe even buy them some soda. Trying to take pictures of stuff next open flames and wildly careening robots is thirsty work. [Maker Faire]

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Filed under: Robots, Wearables

After launching its world-beating i-LIMB prosthetic hand last year, Touch Bionics is taking things in a different direction with feeling some competition from the “Fluidhand.” The new hand uses miniature hydraulics to flex the fingers, and can better interact with objects — like grasping things with irregular surfaces — than the five motor i-LIMB. Fludihand is also designed to have a more natural feel than previous prosthetics, and gives feedback to the stump to let the user sense the strength of the grip. Currently Fluidhand is just in the prototype stage, with one patient so far testing both prosthetics against each other in a battle to the death.

Update: Sorry for the confusion, Fluidhand was built by a some researchers in Karlsruhe, Germany, not by Touch Bionics.

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Via [Engadget]

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T-Mobile’s Shadow II revealed in spy pic

Filed under: Cellphones

Just when we were getting used to T-Mobile’s Shadow, it appears we’re going to have to make room in our pockets for its successor… the Shadow II. Picking up almost exactly where the first iteration left off, this grainy spy shot reveals that its going to be more of the same for the revamp, save for some new rounded edges and oh-so-chic reflective finish. We’ll assume the company is sticking to the plan with a slide out numeric keypad, but you never know; they could be hiding a QWERTY under there… or some kind of weird Gremlin.

[Thanks, Jason]

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Dealzmodo: Noise-Isolating Earphones for $7 [Dealzmodo]

HandHeldItems has black iSolate noise-isolating earphones on sale for $6.99, a savings of $44 according to the site. As an added bonus, they come with a plastic fish to wrap the earphones around when not in use. Sure you can go for much more expensive (and proven) options, but for $7, what do you have to lose? Get ‘em while you can; they’re already 91% sold out. [product page via Crave]

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Filed under: Robots

Uh oh. Best hide the nuts and urinal cakes ’cause a herd of baby blue elephants with little yellow hats are on the loose in Japan. Meet the Urinal Elephant, otherwise known as the Dasubee toilet scrubbing robot. Back ‘er up to a ceramic throne of human effluence and watch big blue wipe down your man-stew with the lumbering grace of a robotic elephant. Video? You betcha, right after the break.

Continue reading Video: Urinal Elephants invade Japan

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Via [Engadget]

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FCC gives national SMS alert system stamp of approval

Filed under: Cellphones

As expected, the FCC today approved plans to roll out a nationwide SMS-based alert system, which is now all but certain to be adopted by all four national carries, and no doubt most regional carriers as well. As CNN reports, under the new plan, the FCC will appoint a federal agency tasked with creating the messages, which will in turn be passed on to participating carriers (which will have ten months to comply with the system once the agency is named). Those messages will be limited to one of three categories of emergencies, including disasters like a terrorist attack, ongoing threats like hurricanes or earthquakes, or child abductions or amber alerts. Also as we had heard before, individuals will be able to opt out of the system if they so desire, and carriers will be required to provide distinct vibration and audio alert options for people with disabilities.

[Thanks, Ron]

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3K Longitude 400 Mini-Notebook — you’ll never guess what this reminds us of

Filed under: Laptops

Alright peoples, how many Eee PC knockoffs do we really need? Is 10 enough? How about 100? There seems to be no end in sight, and here comes the relatively unknown 3K Computers to give it a whirl. We’d say the first mistake is the 7-inch screen, gotsa stay ahead of the curve. Pair that with the 400MHz processor and a $400 pricetag and we haven’t the slightest idea why we’d go in for this little Linux-based boringbook. Oh, wait… nope, we got nothing.

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Crafty Vendor Sells Solar-Roasted Chickens [Earth Day]

Happy Earth Day everyone! Instead of urging you to recycle all those gadgets that will otherwise leak poison into our planet, we’d rather offer you a more positive, less obvious story to whet your Earth Day appetite. Sila Sutharat runs a Thai chicken stand outside of Bangkok. He roasts 50 chickens a day. And he does it completely through the sun.

Apparently Sutharat uses a complex array of mirrors and glass to focus the sun’s rays into one spot a la magnifying glass. As you can see, he wears big goggles and covers himself in white clothing. On a sunny day, the light is so intense that it can cook a 1.6kg chicken in 10 minutes. On an overcast day that number jumps to 20. But on a rainy day, that number drops to never.

He sells the chickens for $5 a pop.

While it’s an amazing story, we can’t help but consider the amount of time it takes to cook whole chickens on our grill—over the sun’s flames. We’re guessing that Sutharat’s marinade is heavy in acids, allowing him to almost precook the chickens a bit before roasting them like ants, leaves or your buddy’s pants when he’s not looking.

In the meantime, if anyone would like to try this at home, feel free to send pics of your failed contraptions, but we’re having nothing to do with your burns—on the arms or in the intestines. [bangkok post via inventorspot]

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