Category: Gadgetry

There are three main scales of electrical power generation: Large-scale generation is what we’re most familiar with, using centrally-located power plants and wide-spread distribution systems. Micro-generation is when you locally or home-brew power, via say, solar cells, wind, or small hydro generation. The third type is known as nano-generation, which is when the devices that would normally draw power from a large-scale or micro operation, generate their own juice. As solar photovoltaics and power storage technologies improve and come down in price, nano-gen will increasingly become a viable option for some types of devices. Read more in this piece on Treehugger and this Clemens Betzel (of G24 Innovations) opinion piece at BBC.

Here’s an amazing solution for casting WiFi through a neighborhood, rural locations, etc. It’s a weatherproof repeater station that sells for US$99. It has an omnidirectional range of 700 feet. An optional antenna can boost that range up to 18 miles. Also, an optional solar panel can make the station self-powering.

[Via Sci-Fi Tech]

We’re big fans of the squid cable arrangement here at the Labs. Now the concept comes to the USB hub, with the USB Squid offering four USB cables split from one. US$20 from ThinkGeek.

[Via Gizmodo]

To paraphrase Crocodile Dundee: “‘At’s not an Access Point, *this* is an Access Point.” Geektechnique has the skinny on their fat pipe sucker (ah, so to speak). Called the Slurpr, it has six mini-PCI cards in it (and 4GB of CompactFlash) and is designed to lock onto six WiFi signals and aggregate their bandwidth into one “FreeLoading Broadband Canal.” Sadly, I rarely see six open access points in my neck of the woods anymore and using someone else’s broadband connection is tantamount to a crime. Mark at Geektechnique plans on selling the Slurpr for €999.

[Via Boing Boing]

Street Tech co-founder, and resident cranky ol’ d00d, Peter Sugarman, gets all uncharacteristically warm ‘n fuzzy over the Bose SoundDock Digital Music System for iPod. Okay, so this isn’t the newest, sexiest piece of gear on the shelves of your local Circuit City, but we’re not about what’s new, we’re about what works. And if Peter’s heartwarming testimony is any indicator, this speaker system rocks hard. Alright, we might be exaggerating a bit about Peter’s effusiveness, but we just don’t get to see Mr. Cranky with this big of a smile on his face every day, especially about tech!

Here’s an interesting new product line from Belkin. Maybe inspired by a number of the projects that are floating around, where people either use the cable hole (a.k.a. “Grommet Hole”) in their desk or cut their own to build in-desk iPod docking stations or USB hubs, Belkin is now selling the same thing ready-made. They have several models of the USB port, designed for different size grommet holes (2″ or 3″) with four USB ports, and an iPod model that fits all Pods. They all sell for US$40 each.

Well, that didn’t take long. Unless this is an April Fool’s joke, this YouTube vid appears to show how this feller got OS X running on an Apple TV (for what that’s worth). And, it doesn’t involved much more than installing an HD formatted with the OS, the Semthex Kernel, and removing the Nvidia Kext files (which interfere with operation). The site AppleTV Hacks even has a how-to on it.

Zink (Zero + Ink) is a new start-up built around a new inkless printing technology. “Dye crystals” are contained in special paper, so that the printer doesn’t need to carry ink or a print head. Heating the paper/crystals reveals the colors. This technology could allow for printers to get very small, small enough to fit in cameras, phones, etc. Zink is already showing off a camera with built-in printer (seen here) and a stand-alone pocket printer. Both are reported to be available in late ’07. The website has more (tho not much more) detail.

The Consumerist continues to coax the confessions out of wireless carrier sales reps, now putting Sprint under the harsh lights, in a room with one table, one chair, and all the time in the world to sift through the guts that get spilled. Highlights:

•Get the Sprint Employee Referral Offer: “Get on the SERO plan! Sprint Employee Referral Offer. It’s a nice little plan designed specifically for friends and family of Sprint employees. They require that you have an email address of a Sprint employee, but that’s simple to get. Remember that business card the sales rep gave you, or should have given you if they’re were good. Take that name and use it, john.x.doe@sprint.com. To see the plans themselves or sign up, go to www.sprint.com/sero ($50/1250 minutes/7pm nights/unlimited vision)”

•Get a big discount for working for a big company (or saying that you do): “Get a discount because you work for the man! Are you an employee of a major organization? Tell Sprint you work for them then! You’ll get anywhere from 7-28% off of your monthly bill. Tip, Chase bank employees get the highest discount (I believe it was 28%). Even if you don’t work there, they don’t ask for proof that you do. ”

Previously, on Street Tech:

Cingular and VerizonRep Tips
T-Mobile Rep Tips

At first I thought this was a joke, but it’s not. CineMassive sells multi-screen display systems, from two-screeners to six. They even have portable multi-screen units for mobile computers. This sorta screen real estate don’t come cheap. You could certainly do your own for cheaper, but it wouldn’t have the NORAD charm of this monster. It actually does make me sort of wistful for the time I had a dual display on my desk.