By Vic DaSilva
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews
Proving that sometimes the best gadgets do not need batteries (sometimes), comes this great space-saving Bottle Opener/Fridge Magnet. Made of stainless steel with non-scratch magnetic back. Now you won’t have to use your teeth when you can’t find the opener.
Price: $33
Vic DaSilva
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews
Do you ever wish of having your own keyboard layout, take that QWERTY system and throw it out the window. Well, thanks to DX1 Input System now you can design your own keyboard layout. For a cost of $150(OK I meant $149.95), you get 25 loose unlabeled keys, a 11-inch x 9-inch “DX1 Pad” and two sheets of labels (one with printed labels, the other sheet blank which is printer friendly). If 25 keys aren’t enough, you can purchase another 25 keys separately, giving users up to 50 configurable keys for any one setup. To setup you place as many of the keys on the DX1 Pad in any way you see fit, then with the included software assign a single or multi key macros to each one. It unfortunately only works with Windows 2000 or XP(sorry MAC heads). Each key communicates with the DX1 pad wirelessly and sticks to the pad firmly through an adhesive, which can be easily removed with a simple twisting motion.
I could see this unit being popular with three crowds:
1. The Old school gamers who love using there keyboards especially the ones who love first-person shooter style games. Making the keys more efficient may take you to a higher level.
2. Lefties who would finally like to get something “right” for a change.
3. People with a small hands
Personally at $150 bucks it seems steep.
Review:
ExtremeTech
Hello everyone my name is Vic DaSilva and I work over at the Uber-Review. Our motto over at the site is reviews,reviews and uber-cool gadgetry. I am looking forward into jumping into some Real Tech News for a change and promise to do my best to inform and to entertain while Alice is away. I don’t think I will attempt any Alice style Rant’s while she is gone after all that is her signature. So what to expect? Well you can expect stories of news, wired madness, gadgets and of course reviews. I look forward to reading your comments and I can reached anytime via email: review@uberreview.com
Vic
Here’s the latest Google Maps mash-up: gCensus, and a bit about the guy who created it.
Why Did You Create This?
“I recently completed my Masters of Science in Computer Science at The University of Mississippi. One of the classes I took during my last semester was a course concerned with processing large quantities of data. Specifically, the course focused on scientific data collected in such fields as fluid dynamics, physics, and weather. The class was small, about a dozen people, and this allowed the class to be somewhat informal in nature. We read two or three published research papers per week and discussed the papers in round table discussions during class meetings.
“One of the assigments we were given was open-ended. The assigment was to “do something interesting with a large data set“. I looked around at possible datasets and came across the census data. At approximately ten gigabytes, I thought it qualified as a large data. At the same time, spring 2005, Google had just released its map technology. I thought the two were a perfect match and gCensus is the result.” Source: gCensus.com
Our verdict: Count us in!
This week were all saddened by the news that the solar sail craft crashed, failed booster rockets were apparently the cause. Why not take to the shelter and comfort of your very own Space Capsule, replicated in detail down to every last dial and flashing light?
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Own your very own detailed replica of a Mercury spacecraft. This is a detailed exterior replica of Friendship 7, the Mercury spacecraft that put the first American, John Glenn into earth orbit. It will be detailed to the EXACT configuration of Friendship 7.
Purchase price is $8,995.00. Plus shipping and handling charges. Charges will vary on customer location.
You will not find a more accurate and highly detailed replica mercury spacecraft produced on the market. If you require a detailed interior, please call for specifications and a price quote. Also please contact us for your rental needs and price quotations.”
We also offer a one half full scale cutaway model that could be hung on a wall. Call for pricing.
You can also order a custom replica of the Deluxe Apollo Space Suit:
Buy a complete space suit with front back pack, helmet, boots, gloves and more.
Price: $1,895.00
Source: Moon Space Suits
With so many websites and blogs adding RSS feeds, it’s only natural that someone devised a way to track down them all. The newest kid on the block is Search4RSS.com, which boast a directory of nearly 140,000 feeds.
The site also contains a Podcast jukebox, and easy way to add your own feed and rate others, and of course a simple way to build a custom selection of your favorite feeds.
Try Search4Rss.com
See RealTechNews on Search4RSS.com < ---Come find us
Who knew that bullet making was quickly becoming an old fashioned activity? I you want a low tech how-to, this one’s for you:
“Like darning socks, making bullets is a dying art. Used to be just about everyone with a need for ammo poured their own, using iron or even wooden molds. These days only a few diehard hobbyists still do it, and they use aluminum molds. But even fewer people still make silver bullets.
“Actually, not many people ever made silver bullets. It’s a difficult process, and their efficacy against werewolves has never been scientifically proven. I suppose their renown came from the perception that silver was a distinguished metal, often spoken of in connection with its higher-class cousin, gold. But today silver is far more common, and it tarnishes over time, primarily because of sulfur pollution from power plants. (By and large, it didn’t tarnish before the Industrial Age.)
“I couldn’t find any references describing real historical silver-bullet-crafting techniques. At 1,764°F, molten silver would ruin traditional and modern bullet molds. They could have been fashioned using jewelers’ methods, but that would require a new plaster mold for every bullet. Frankly, I think people spent a lot more time talking about silver bullets than they did turning them out. I don’t like legends that are all talk, so I decided to see what it takes to produce a real silver bullet: not plated, not sterling—pure silver.
“To create the mold, I first had to construct a bit. I used a lathe to turn a steel rod into a bulletlike shape, then used a milling machine to cut away a quarter-circle wedge of the rod, leaving a sharp cutting edge. Basically I had built a router bit shaped like a bullet. (I’ve fabricated bits like this freehand with a file; which works fine, it just takes longer. Much longer.) After using the bit to machine the graphite bullet mold, I used an electrically heated graphite crucible to pour in 0.999 fine liquid silver at about 2,000°F, which is 230°F above its melting point. The mold must be preheated with a blowtorch to keep the silver from solidifying before it fills the whole cavity. One of the benefits of using graphite is that it keeps the silver from oxidizing, so bullets come out bright and shiny.” Source: Popular Science
Why do we mention something as low-tech as DIY bullets? Perhaps as a counterpoint to the bizarre Bluetooth Pistol mouse we saw on Gizmodo. I think I’d rather work next to the kindly old timer making his minnie balls in the garage, than the scary guy in the cube with the pistol mouse. But maybe that’s just me…..
Maybe it’s just me, but this phone looks pretty ugly. The gang at Popular Science decided to design their dream phone.
CAMERA MODE
A tiny liquid lens with 3x optical zoom and auto-focus will give handsets true digital-camera functionality. An oil-and-water solution between two glass plates changes shape and thus focal length when electric current is applied. Varioptic has shown a version of this lens that can focus on objects as close as five centimeters. The autofocus component will be in Samsung phones this year.
VIDEO MODE
Tune in a local TV broadcast with the phone’s radio anywhere you travel, or stream pay-per-view movies from the Web. This year Nokia begins trials on Crown Castle’s terrestrial TV network, which broadcasts a Digital Video BroadcastñHandheld (DVB-H) signal for cellphones equipped with a 1,670-megahertz receiver and DVB-H tuner. Streaming TV-quality video over cellphone networks is a few years out, as carriers finish building out their high-speed data networks and application developers iron out content deals. Source: Popular Science
Our Verdict: Sounds neat but keep your day jobs boys! The thing looks like a $5 pocket calculator.
And for a real-life puzzler, check out the Nokia’s baffling 7280. We still can’t figure it out.
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