Submit your breaking news stories and original articles to us by contacting us

If you want to take up a lot of counter space for the purpose of cooking your frozen pizza in an oven that simulates the authenticity of a brick pizza oven, then this little device is going to be right up your alley. This little bugger will cook your pizzas and…um…well nothing else. It’s a pizza oven, after all, and that’s what it does…it cooks pizza. It sort of looks like what a brick oven pizza might look like in a classy pizza joint.
No word on price or availability.
via Gizmodo

Want to spend almost $1,000 on a bike who’s front wheel has been replaced with a roller skate? Well fella, have I got the item for you. The StreetSurfer is just such a device, and it appears to…well…be a bike with a roller skate for a front wheel. I have no idea why you would want this, or how high the hospital bills will be after you fall off of it (unless, of course, you are a properly trained StreetSurfer master). Still…if you want one…don’t hold your breath. They aren’t available world wide…particularly not in the US.
via Oh Gizmo

Some of you may or may not know that I am a graphic designer as well as a blogger (although I bow down to Bloggy Network designer Elena – I am not in her league, nor shall I ever be). So, in that capacity I use a Wacom table almost every day. I love Wacom tablets. To me, the tablet is superior to the mouse in every way, and combining the use of the two results in the ultimate computer experience. I LOVE my Intious3…but I understand that the price tag on them can be a bit out of range for the casual users.
So, I’m very excited to hear that Wacom is releasing their inexpensive Bamboo input tablets in the US. The line starts at the $79 price range for the casual user, and goes up to $99 and $199 for the two Bamboo Fun models. The $199 model is slightly bigger, and both of the Fun tablets come with a mouse. Personally, I find the Wacom mouse to be completely useless…but that’s just me.
Either way, I highly recommend picking up a tablet if you do any kind of photo retouching or graphics…even in MS Paint.
via Macworld

Remember that “$100 laptop” from the OLPC Foundation? Well, it’s not coming in at $100. In fact, it’s coming in at almost double that – and in some cases MORE than double that.
The latest price bump by the Foundation has pushed the overall cost of each XO-1 up to $188 – which is up from the previous bump of $176 back in May. In some countries, the cost is even higher. In Uruguay the XO-1 is up to $205 due to a partnership with Brightstar Uruguay SA.
While the device is a steal even at $205 in my opinion, this has really got to be bad news for the Foundation. That “$100 laptop” tagline has got to go for starters. When you set the price on something ahead of time like this, you set its value. When the Foundation started this thing, they created the value of this machine – it was $100. Now they’re more than doubling that price in some cases, and no matter what they do to it, it now seems devalued in the eyes of most people.
That’s unfortunate.
via Engadget

I love this case mod. It’s amazing that this guy has managed to squeeze an entire Xbox into this beautiful little package. This is slick enough to where if Microsoft actually released it, I might be willing to buy it. When you think about how bulky the original Xbox is, it’s truly an amazing little mod. Kudos.
via Gizmodo

At just 1.7 inches long and a half-inch wide, Zicplay’s DAP seems to actually have a claim at the title “World’s Smallest MP3 Player”. It packs 1 GB of storage, and doesn’t seem to require any additional software. It simply shows up as a USB drive when plugged into your PC or Mac.
No pricing has yet been reported.
via Engadget

Nasa has unveiled it’s logo to celebrate 50 years. While in recent years it seems like people are less and less interested in NASA and what they do, I hope that this 50th Anniversary celebration will put the spotlight back on the group, and help them to continue to go boldly…

Well, the answer is actually enabling easy Video Calls…although it might be stealing your soul as well, I really have no way to prove or disprove that.
Regardless, the Lifecam VX-7000 and NX-3000 don’t really do much different than any other Web Cam out there, but they do have one cool button. That button is one touch access to Windows Live Calling, which brings Jetsons like full screen video calls onto your Windows PC. Of course, we all know that we’ve been able to do that for years, but maybe a camera like this will make Grandma feel like she can do it. I don’t know…either way you can pre-order them from Amazon for $100 and $160 respectively.
via Crunch Gear

The Nokia 6555 is now available from AT&T, and I have to say, it’s a pretty slick looking flip phone. The phone is 3G, and all kinds of sexy looking, so if you’re out for an inexpensive, stylish flip phone, the Nokia 6555 is all yours for $49.95 after mail-in-rebate.

While it’s overseas brother has been available for a while now, those of us in the US that are looking for DAP devices that don’t have Apple logos on them should be excited to know that the 8gb iRiver clix is now available in the US. The device features a 2.2-inch AMOLED display, an FM tuner, integrated voice recorder, up to 24-hours of battery life, and USB 2.0 connectivity….and it can be yours for the price of $239.99.
Click Here for product info

It’s not often that I see a gadget that I just can’t wait to try out (well, that doesn’t come from Apple, anyway), but the iWear VR920 is one of thse products. The iWear is a PC and Mac-compatible device that features progressive scan LCDs, a 32 degree field of view, head tracker, 3-D support and a virtual 62” screen…so…it’s essentially VIRTUAL REALITY for your PC or MAC.
It Features:
* VGA progressive scan LCDs with support for up to 1024 x 768
* 32 degree field of view
* The largest virtual screen, 62 inches from 9 feet
* Built in microphone for VOIP communications
* Adjustable headphones
* Three degree of freedom head tracker
* 6 ft. slim cable with included miniature USB & VGA connector
* iWear® 3-D enabled for automatic switch between 2-D & 3-D
* Visor weighs 3.2 ounces
Now imagine playing World of Warcraft or Bioshock with this thing on…if it works as advertised it’s going to be a well worth the $399 price point.
You can find out more about it here.
So the Sony Rolly is coming to Japan on the 29th of September. It’s a rolling speaker light up…thing…
The device is essentially a wireless speaker/audio player with stereo speakers, with an internal flash memory of 1GB and about 5 hours of battery life. It can also link to your computer via Bluetooth, allowing it to receive new dance patterns and songs. That’s not all: there’s tactile volume control (control the volume by turning the unit clockwise) and an alarm clock. Above all else, it also dances and grooves along with you and your music, as you can witness in the below video.
It’s going to cost about 350$. There is currently no word on a US release…but I’m honestly not sure why anyone would want this thing, so I don’t know that it will matter.

The TicTalk is a fully working GSM/GPRS capable cellphone that is similar to the Firefly cellphone that is also designed for kids. Parents can purchase a pay as you go plan for the phone that cost about $25 a month for 100 minutes. The minutes can be limited to only a certain amount per day, and as you can see, there is no number pad on the phone – which prevents the child from dialing anything but a person listed in the contact menu.
It also includes a collection of Leap Frog games to edu-tain the kids.
The phone will run you $99 – click here for more.
via Oh Gizmo

Sooo….it looks like there is a BLUE version of the Zune now. If you were on the fence about getting one of the new iPods, or…if the color BLUE has been what’s holding you back from getting that Zune you’ve always wanted…you can…oh hell…who cares?

Yesterday, I saw a post on Gizmodo calling the silver version of the “transformer” pictured above as the “Most Disappointing Transformer Ever”…because he “transforms” into a cube (which was later changed to rectangular solid – since, you know, it’s not a cube).
The poster of the article, no offense intended, did no research on the character…but once I saw this thing, I had to know what it was, and why someone would make an 18k Gold robot that turns into a box.
It turns out that the character’s name is Golden Lightan, and he’s not turning into a box, he’s turning into a lighter. You know, a cigarette lighter. Because nothing in the 1980s said fun for kids like smoking. Golden Lightan was the star of a 1980s anime series that ran for 52 episodes. In addition to Lightan himself, there were other transforming robots on the show. The turned into things like a Scope, a Timer, a Magnifying Glass and Compass, a Tool Chest Box, a Coin Case, a Print Stamp, a Light, a Measurement Device, a Processing Unit (whatever that is) and – you guessed it – a Pencil Sharpener.
So – the robots on this show turned into some pretty damn lame things, to be sure – but here’s what’s cool about Golden Lightan. Most anime robots had a “finishing move” during these old shows. For example, Voltron had the “Blazing Sword” – well, Lightan had one too, and it makes him a certified bad ass.
What did he do?
When he was ready to finish off an opponent, Golden Lightan would burst through their chest with his fist, and pull out their robotic heartboxes.
Oh HELL yeah. I have to see this show.
The series was apparently released on DVD recently, but I can’t seem to find it, and searches online have turned up nothing but the intro video, which you can watch after the jump. I’m very intrigued by this series – the animation in the opening looks excellent. Maybe one day I’ll get to check it out.
If anyone knows where I can find it – send me an email at michael (at) apple gazette (dot) com. Or leave a comment below.

It takes a lot for a USB drive to matter these days. There are so many of them, and it’s really hard for them to stand out. However, Zip Zip has managed to do the impossible…they have merged the worlds of Lego and very small USB drives into…well…you saw the picture up there, didn’t ya?
It’s awesome. I want two.
Click Here for more info
Five concept watch designs that make you calculate the time
Steam: Diplomacy of Digital Downloads over Retail Boxes
Best of CES 2010 (Part One): 3DTV, Audio, Display, Processors, Gadgets
A Decade of Zombies IV: Epidemic Rooted in Society