All day today, Metallica’s “Wherever I May Roam” was playing in my head.  (Perhaps the song being listed 10 times on my On-the-go Playlist had something to do with that.)  While I was enjoying the music and the words as I roamed the streets of a strange city, my back was telling me just how much of a hassle it has been to lug around my laptop and all the other stuff that usually go with it.  Then I had to deal with the fact that the battery died on me after sitting at Starbucks all afternoon.

That “ordeal” led me to looking up backpacks that might make it easier on my back, and look what I found!  Up there you see what they call the Trek Support Backpack.

Obviously, the backpack is meant to provide comfort and safety – not for you, but for the precious babies that you have inside.  This backpack can fit a laptop (up to 15 inches) and four other gadgets such as iPads, iPhones, e-book readers, MP3 players and so on.  Two reasons I decided to take a closer look at this bag – in spite of the many other options out there:

1. It has a built-in rechargeable battery, which is supposed to last 7 hours and can charge whatever gadgets you have in the bag.
2. It is designed in such a way that it can be easily opened for security checks, can be seen below.

For any traveler, these two things are essential.

The drawbacks?

1. That built-in battery is sure to add more weight (which is what I was avoiding in the first place).
2. I am not sure the looks appeal to me.  The blue could be darker, for sure.
3. It doesn’t look like I can put anything else in the bag.  Then again, with all those gadgets, do I need anything else?

Oh, and did I tell you that this backpack has NOT been manufactured yet?  The idea is that they makers are getting people to commit to purchasing the bag (crowdsourcing anyone?), so it is currently only on pre-sale for $130.  If you can’t wait to get a travel bag for your gadgets, then forget this.  If you really like the idea though, head on over to the site.  Me, I think I’ll go look around for something else.

Printing technology, then, continues to evolve. Yet while most people are looking for better laser and inkjet performance, Hoyoung Lee has designed a printer that works using pencils.

Seriously.

OK, the first time I saw this printer I was hoping that the pencil was controlled on some kind of robotic arm in order to form the letters by drawing them (logical, right?). In fact, the concept would grind up old pencils and then use electrically charge the wood and graphite dust and fuse it to the paper.

As if that notion wasn’t just a little surreal, there’s also an eraser section that — yep, you guessed it — grinds up pencil erasers so that previously ‘printed’ documents can be erased.

The mind boggles.

Via

If you tend to buy ready-brewed coffee at Starbucks, buy ready-ground beans for use at home, or (shock) drink instant coffee, you might wonder what all the fuss is about.

However, if you take the trouble to roast your own beans, you might actually need some way to cool them down afterwards (they continue roasting for as long as they’re hot, apparently).

Well, EMS now uses two hot-air popcorn makers. One roasts the beans and the other has been modified to cool them down afterwards. I’m sure you can get dedicated machines to do all this, but what would be the fun in that?

The great thing is that hot-air popcorn makers aren’t really good at making popcorn (oil and pan method makes proper though slightly less healthy popcorn) but they sound as if they’re great at cooking up coffee beans!

You see what we’ll do for a decent cup of coffee?

The M&M Dispenser Maze features a classic wooden labyrinth around which you must guide an M&M without it falling off the edges.

It uses 8-bit Nintendo buttons for resetting and starting the game, and the joystick from a PlayStation for controlling pitch and roll of the table.

Fantastic idea. Now can we have a version with more obstacles and items to control?

Via

Evil Mad Scientist has done just that and come up with Tabletop Pong.

It’s a definite work in progress, but you can read the fascinating journey including photos and descriptions of the construction process.

Check out the video of it in action:

Obviously, some real world elements have crept in to the design — because the table isn’t quite level gravity takes its toll on the ball. Perhaps this makes the game even more playable (or fun, at least)?

In order to keep the ball moving (or to encourage it along) the paddles are powered and can detect when the ball has hit them. The play area is acrylic and the walls are beryllium copper finger strips which help the ball to bounce.

I definitely want one of these!

Via

(If you think this is the best gift ever, you need to read our 12 tips for buying geek Christmas presents)

Right, so what is it?

Forget dictaphones and other recording devices. Nothing says “I’m a geek making it in the business world” more than turning up with one of these pens, recording memos on it, and then pretending you’re an ace ventriloquist by playing it back, at which point the creature on the end of the pen moves its mouth in sync with the audio.

Honestly, you’re definitely going to be the office fun guy with this. Colleagues will be itching to spend time with you just so they can see your hilarious act one more time.

$12.99 is a small price to pay for such amusement. Heck, why not get all four — frog, dinosaur, parrot, dolphin.

Product page

The Great British public has no imagination.

It has plumped for the technological equivalents of underwear for its top ten list of Christmas presents this year.

Name a really exciting gadget that you would really like for Christmas, and it won’t be on the list. Not the list compiled by publisher CNet UK, anyway.

1. Ooh, look, Sony has brought out a slim version of the PS3. That’s number one. Don’t worry that you’ve already got a PS3.

2. The iPhone isn’t on the list, but the HTC Hero smart phone is. Maybe it’s because it’s cheaper.

3. Those who don’t want a PS3 Slim still want the Blu-ray player, and have picked the LG 370. Honestly, the present is a boring as the name.

4. The Kodak Zi8 camcorder is for people who suddenly think they need to shoot in high definition (it’s in, right?) and yet don’t realise that with this sort of equipment their videos aren’t going to be much better than with a more feature-rich standard definition camcorder.

5. People who want to pretend they’re good at photography yet won’t invest in even a basic DSLR have been wowed with the megapixel count of the Samsung ST1000 and its touchscreen. Yawn.

6. I’m not a fan of Acer laptops, and sticking the name Ferrari on it doesn’t make it any better. If anything, it cheapens the name of Ferrari (not in reality of course).

7. I do like Sennheiser, but I’m surprised to see the cheaper end of their range (CX400s) in the top 10. Given that many people have said they are going to be spending more this Christmas, at least pick some Sennheisers higher up in the range.

8. When memory storage cards appear on a top ten list, we really are in trouble. OK, so the Eye-Fi card works over wireless, but when was it really a hassle to plug in a camera via USB or card reader. Anyone who says they need to share photos online instantly, without editing (censoring), is just asking for trouble. Especially over Christmas.

9. I predict a lot of disappointed people who get their 46-inch Panasonic Viera G15 home and then realise it’s too big for their front room. Honestly, most Brits don’t live in houses big enough for such a huge TV. Take a wander down a typical suburban street of terraced or semi-detached houses, look at the gargantuan monsters of black plastic and metal hogging the wall or window space, and then tell me I’m wrong.

10. Finally, we have the mutant pairing of an 8GB iPod Touch (whoa, don’t overdo the capacity) and a 5GB MiFi (wireless modem) that gives it Net access. One word. iPhone. OK, the iPod Touch is faster, but just use it with Wi-Fi.

Come on Britain. Let’s abandon our “sensible gadget” heads and stock our Amazon Wish Lists with more exciting gizmos.

Can you believe it? Are we users so addicted to Twitter, tweets, twittering and retweets enough for an electronics manufacturer to  consider releasing a Twitter stand-alone device?  Believe it or not but it’s true, the TwitterPeek gadget was made for the sole purpose of doing all your Twitter activities.Even more interesting is the fact that TwitterPeek is not yet officially announced by the manufacturer and yet it is already listed at Amazon for $199.

Details about TwitterPeek are pretty interesting:

• World’s first Twitter mobile device
• Unlimited tweets and direct messages
• Nationwide coverage. No wifi signal necessary
• Includes service for lifetime of device
• No contracts or hidden fees
• “Always on” instant tweet delivery
• Full QWERTY keyboard, large color screen, click scroll wheel
• Long battery life lasts up to 4 days

Obviously TwitterPeek wants to challenge smartphones and other mobile devices in offering a gadget where you can stay connected on Twitter, tweet and reply on the go and without the hassles and costs of maintaining a mobile phone or mobile internet device.

But the question is – does the price justifies what TwitterPeek can actually do?

via LiveDigitally

So now we know what Mario looks like with different moustaches, it’s time to combine our love for the Italian-American plumber and USB with these Mario themed memory sticks.

All with 4GB storage, we have Mario, Shroom, Goomba, Koopa, and the Mario question mark (which is actually a USB extender). There used to be a Luigi too, but perhaps he got sold.

The USB sticks are all $55 and the extender is $19.

For good measure, there’s also a Mech USB thumb drive for $49.

Not only does it serve a dual purpose (not at the same time, obviously) but it looks pretty good too.

The bottom hotplate takes care of tea, coffee and other drinks you want to stay hot by maintaining them at a constant temperature.

If you want it cold, the top section contains an impeller and motor for pushing out cold air.

To make it really obvious which function is being performed, the LEDs in the top section turn either red (for heating) or blue (for cooling).

The only problems are that this is currently a concept from designer Dmitriy Shcherbakov, and that it will only handle one cup at a time. A dual unit would be great, though I wouldn’t mind having a couple of these sitting next to each other on my work surface. Maybe they could even start communicating with each other via Bluetooth?

This one doesn’t even have a fancy name – it’s just a watch-style USB 4-port hub. Let’s face it (err, sorry) this gadget definitely does exactly what its product description says.

Oh, except it’s totally useless as a watch. Take a closer look at that picture and you’ll see the roman numerals I, II, III and IV simply mark out each USB port.

And the wording on the fake hands? It says “USB 2.0 HUB” and “HIGH SPEED”, which I would have thought was pretty self-explanatory, but there you go.

What does it do besides transporting your data around at up to 480Mbps speeds? It lights up in fluorescent blue when it’s plugged in, that’s what. Wow… you know for $14 you really want one so badly now, I can tell.

Now if they just did a FireWire one too…

USB Fever (via TechChee)

Though I don’t need half the functions on the cool watches I’m showing off here (it’s a simple left turn from my bedroom to my computer room, after all, so getting back must be a right turn…) there’s still something makes me want to wear them. Not both at the same time obviously…

Anyway, these beauties are from Casio. First up is the PRW-1500-1VER. Not a good name at all, but cut it some slack for the feature list is fairly impressive.

First up, it’s made from Mineral Glass Hard glass which keeps it scratch free, is water resistant to 200 metres and temperature resistant to -10?C, features a solar rechargeable power cell, and has an electro-luminescent backlight with afterglow.

Other functions include barometer, compass, altimeter and thermometer. It can handle the time of 30 cities in 29 time zones, has numerous alarms and stopwatch functions, plus moon phase and tide graphs.

There’s a choice, though, because next up is the EQW-M1000. Yeah, the name’s only marginally better – actually, no, it’s just as bad – but it’s still a great watch.

It uses Casio’s Wave Captor technology – in other words, it updates itself up to six times a day for precise timekeeping. This one is a watch, pure and simple, without all the additional features of the PRW-15… the first watch, but it’s got a classy look.

More info on these from Casio

Well, now it’s 2009 and the second generation Pacemaker is less than a month away.

This one will contain a 60GB hard drive for music storage, plus a range of features including auto beatmatching, on-screen “beat graph”, timestretching, key changing, a range of new effects including crush, wah, delay and trans, plus fast scrolling and improved track listings.

Anyone who doesn’t already have a Pacemaker will be able to pick it up from 1st May for around ?369 (around $540). Those already owning a device can get the free firmware upgrade to access all the new features.

Here’s a nifty intro video

and you can get a load more info from Pacemaker.net

Enter the Danger Bomb Clock.

This alarm clock is nothing like I have ever seen before. It seems that the traditional metallic ringing and clanging alarm clock has nothing on this one. You see, this alarm clock is a bomb – in a good way, that is. When you set it to a specific time, instead of emitting an irritating beeping or a nerve wracking ringing, the Danger Bomb Clock will EXPLODE! Well, make an explosive sound, at least. I am pretty sure that that kind of sound will be beyond irritating or nerve wracking – it should simply wake you up, yes?

What is cool is that you cannot turn it off by simple pressing a snooze or off button. It has three “codes,” which is randomly set when you indicate an alarm time. And you have to be able to choose one of these “codes” in order to diffuse the bomb. That means a little bit more of mental work, which may very well be what wakes you up.

All this for only $28 – a good investment if it will wake me up in time to do more work.

Rumors are circulating in your division that there would be cuts, some have to be let go while some would probably need to punch-in a little less than the usual 8-hour day. You’re not alone, it’s happening worldwide.

If you see your cashflow in the possible decline in the next few months, it IS wise to start monitoring money going out. A big chunk of your budget goes to home energy, and you’ve got to begin monitoring that area right now.

The Efergy eLite Wireless Energy Monitor attaches easily to your power meter AND is able to wirelessly send data to a portable receiver (200 ft away) telling you how much the cost of electricity per hour you are currently using.

You can check it out right here. Available only for the UK but hopefully will hit the US and other markets soon.

Troy Rogers, Steven Kemper and Scott Barton of Expressive Machines Musical Instruments, that’s who.

They’ve created Madi (the Multi Mallet Automatic Drumming Instrument) which uses various brushes and sticks connected to a controller to beat out one heck of a cacophony of noise.

“We are a group of composers seeking new modes of acoustic sound generation. Our goal is to develop and compose for instruments that maximize temporal, timbral, dynamic, and harmonic possibilities. This quest has led us to create robotic musical instruments.”

Nice work, guys, and I’m sure you could get it to calm down a bit for more genuine performances. In the meantime, you’ve built a great device for getting your own back on those neighbors in the next block who woke you up at 4am with their drunken hollering.

(Via Hacked Gadgets)

Well, they were boring and not necessarily the best way for kids to learn. Thing is, multiplication is pretty useful, even if these exercises did only go up to 12 (what’s that all about? Did teachers have a fear of the number 13… oh hang on…)

Anyway, a British inventor has come up with The Maths Wrap that is designed to turn multiplication exercises into a physical game. It doesn’t need batteries – in fact in its simplest form it’s just a board with some notches cut top and bottom and a piece of string.

Kids insert a card for whichever times table they are trying to learn. At the top is a row of numbers to multiply by, from one to 12, and at the bottom are the answers. The aim is to connect the numbers on the top with the correct answers on the bottom by passing the string through the notches. When done, the device is flipped over, and if the strings match up with the lines printed on the back, the kid got his sums right.

There’s also a deluxe edition that includes cards for fractions, decimals, percentages,
addition and subtraction, though as far as I know there’s no binary, hexadecimal or octal editions yet. Still, I guess you could make your own cards.

Now… “once twelve is twelve, two twelves are twenty-four, three twelves and thirty-six, four…”

While I’m doing that, why don’t you watch a video demo of it:

MatshWrap.co.uk

Still, the retailer has launched a high-end iPod dock made from environmentally-friendly material.

M&S reckons the BLOK comes in at an “affordable must-have price”, though my wallet shrivelled at the sound of £229 ($321). Mercifully it’s not called an iBLOK.

So what do you get for that? Sound-wise, you get 40 watts of sound from the Class D amplifier – not huge but far from pathetic. The eco-warrior in you can relax because the casing is made from natural, chemical-free bamboo, while the aluminium is 100% recyclable.

It works with all iPod models, and probably the iPhone as well if you turn it to airplane mode. It’ll be available from next month, and you can get it shipped to the States too.

Marks & Spencer

This is the Gota dishwasher designed by Ibsen Caldas and is made from ABS polycarbonate. It has the single geek in mind. Washing dishes will thus become very easy as all you need to do, like standard dishwashers around is to put dirty dishes in, plug the Gota and see it work through the see-through plastic top.

It does its job by using steam blown directly at your dishes, it later uses the residue steam to give your plates a final rinse.

My personal opinion is that this may be perfect for plates a little cleaner from grease. Probably the geek who loves sandwiches. And by the looks of it, it’s just really plates to wash here. Hmmm… well, at least eh?

No word on availability just yet, we’ll post it as soon as it hits the stores.

Swiss luxury watchmaker TISSOT has just shown off the SEA-Touch dive watch. It has many of the features a diver would need, including a diver’s log book for tracking previous dives, dive depth and speed displayed on its luminescent hands, thermometer and compass. There’s also an alarm, calendar, stopwatch and time zone function.

What’s cool, though, is that it’s touch operated. Yeah, I know companies will stick a touch screen on anything these days, but this is the first dive watch (which naturally has to be much tougher than an ordinary one to withstand the underwater pressure) I’ve seen to use the technology.

It’s not the cheapest dive watch on the block by any stretch of the imagination. It’ll happily grab £610 (about $860) from your wallet.

Based on the divers I know (unfortunately, I’m not one because I wimped out in the swimming pool the first time I went under) they’d probably rather buy a less expensive dive computer and spend the remaining cash on other gear, but I guess if you’ve got the money and like the style, Tissot will be happy to sell you the SEA-Touch.

Can’t find out to what depth you can take this watch down to, but at this price it had better be very deep.

TISSOT