Toilet 2.0 — The New King of Thrones

For as much time as people spend on the toilet, you'd think someone would have rectified the glaring design issues with them by now. What? The Toilet 2.0 by David Hakkens did?

The Toilet 2.0 has been redesigned from the bathroom floor up. It's constructed of Corian, a composite material created by DuPont, that's lighter, thinner, and stronger than traditional porcelain.

The master stroke is the design of the bowl itself. The shallow-bottom, wide-body, lipped design not only aids in self-cleaning but it keeps you from experiencing the dreaded "impromptu bidet" action of a seated flush. The system will even reuse grey water from your sinks and dishwasher to flush its lines behind the wall (fresh water is still used to clear the bowl). The Toilet 2.0 is still in the design stages, so you'll have to keep shelling out $6400 for your game-changing cans for now.

 

 

Virgin Media Testing 1.5Gbps Internet for Lucky Londonites

Jealous of Comcast customers with their 105Mbps cable hook ups or those lucky residents of the Kansas cities relishing in Google's 1Gbps service? Well add Londonites to the list of people that drive you to indulging in one of the seven deadly sins. Virgin Media has finally started testing its DOCSIS2-powered1.5Gbps network in the heart of merry ol' England. Right now it's being enjoyed by a group of test sites around Old Street that also get a 150Mbps upload connection.

Virgin claims it's the fastest broadband in the world, which may be true if you're not counting lab experiments. The really good news is that it's based on the same tech already delivering 100Mbps to residents across the country so, if the trial goes well, it should be trivial to deliver these mind numbing speeds to the rest of its customers.

 

 

Voomote One Universal Remote For Your iPhone

It's not the first universal remote adapter we've seen for the iPhone and, unlike the Surc IR case, you probably wouldn't want to leave this bulky add-on attached to your handset when not in use. But, the app does have some convenient features, like the ability to create custom layouts that can easily be switched based on the devices in a particular room. 

So you can setup a living room profile to control your big screen and cable box, and a separate bed room one for your more modest set and a stereo. You can also create command macros that fire up multiple devices with the tap of a single virtual button. The Voomote app is available for free in the app store, but the actual IR-blasting sleeve will set you back $99. 

 

 

Sony Cyber-Shot TX55 Packs 16.2-Megapixel Sensor

With point and shoot cameras apparently now up against a megapixel wall, manufacturers are focusing on adding quirky new features to keep you hooked on the upgrade cycle. Sony's new Cyber-shot TX55 includes several such additions, such as 'amazing' 3D image capture, 'extremely low' noise, and a new digital zoom technology, which promises to double the camera's 5x optical zoom range while still capturing 16.2-megapixel images at full quality.

 If the $350 camera really can deliver on its promise, then we may just have a winner. Sony says there's also high-speed autofocus that can lock onto subjects in 0.1 seconds, optical image stabilization, a 3.3-inch OLED touch-screen, and 1080i AVCHD video. It also includes some features found on the higher-end NEX-C3, such as Picture Effects, and a Panorama mode. Sony has yet to completely nix the Memory Stick slot, including one with the TX55, though there's also MicroSD support for those who prefer to take advantage of that more affordable memory card standard.

iCam Bypasses Clunky Factory-Installed Camera Interfaces with an iPhone

Zeki Ozek wants to complement your current camera with an iPhone and eliminate SD cards, clunky factory-installed interfaces and whatever else attaching Apple's smartphone to the back of your rig might accomplish.

He proposes we do it with iCam, a camera with a dock in the back that syncs up with an iPhone courtesy the 22 pin connector. The concept won a Red Dot Design Concept award this year, based on the design's incredibly broad potential. Strapping a powerful, portable touchscreen computer to the back of a custom-built camera can do that for you. Plus, wireless connectivity. Cannot understimate the convenience of that.

Cameras will be wireless, hyper-connected, uber-customizable devices in the near future anyway, but there's no denying the iPhone's potential in this early, specific case.

 

 

AT&T Google Nexus S on Sale Today, Exclusive to Best Buy

If you shelled out 600 clams for an unlocked Nexus S, buyer's remorse starts now: the subsidized AT&T version is out today. 

Available exclusively from Best Buy (and exclusively in black), the AT&T Nexus S will set you back only a paltry $99 with a two-year contract. Is the loss of color choice (and that whole "SIM-locked to AT&T" thing) worth the savings? We'll leave that up to you and your (Google) wallet.

 

 

MP3 Players That Look Like Bullet Shells

These cylindrical, bullet shell looking like device is actually an mp3 player that can double as a speaker. It's about 3 inches tall, 1.3 inches in diameter, supports microSD and plays MP3, WMA, APE, etc.

The speakers that come in the Singbox SV-606 are just mono, so you're not going to get any real punch behind it (which is not unexpected given the size, I guess) so you'll probably have to plug in some headphones. I wish it looked more like a bullet shell though. Get them here.

Oh No, Instagram Has Just Been Bieberized

Yep, that's right. Justin Bieber has joined Instagram and tweeted his first image. Yay? Within minutes, Bieber started gaining 50 followers a second and six comments a minute. And yeah, this first photo already accrued 300 likes.

One piece of good news for the geek crowd — Instagram is holding up under the strain of thousands of pre-teen girls flooding the service. That's something worthy of a good ole pat on the back.

Space Invaders Have Infiltrated Our Tools

While using the Space Invaders multi-tool you may think you are the master, bending it to your will, but think again. The Space Invader is crafty and patient. Methodical. It is gathering intel. It is only a matter of time.

In the meantime, though, this is a pretty geektastic way to screw things in (or up, depending on skill level). Just remember it is you who will be screwed in the end. Perhaps literally. These are aliens we're talking about. LINK HERE: You can get it here for $24. 

Google Acquires PittPatt, Wants to Know You on a Face-to-Face Basis

Google's quietly pitter-pattering its acquisitive ways back into the controversial realm of facial recognition technology. To do that, the company busted out its oversized wallet to fold Pittsburgh-based PittPatt into the Mountain View borg. Founded by a trio of PhD's from Carnegie Mellon University, this three-man strong outfit specializes in the sort of object recognition software you've come to know as "tagging." Is this a reversal of the Do No Evil tech giant's prior waffling on the dubious visioning tech, or just another massive weapon in its social networking crusade against Facebook? 

The company's new employees aren't exactly playing their cards for us to see. A brief statement on the triumvirate's site makes vague mention of "computer vision technology" being core to Google's products and points to the tech's planned integration in photo, video and mobile applications. So, basically, expect to see Picasa, Goggles, YouTube and Google+ watch you as you flaunt your internet celebrity ways to that front-facing camera.

 

 

Porsche’s Compass Watch

The compass-in-a-watch concept isn't exactly a breakthrough in functionality, but my goodness is Porsche Design's P'6520 compass watch pretty. Its black titanium case splits in two, with the Swiss movement timepiece on the top half and a removable liquid compass on the bottom.

The compass is viewed through mirrors on the compass face and the bottom of the watch half, and it works in both hemispheres. It's also waterproof to 50 feet. No word on the pricing just yet, but expect it to cost about what you paid for your car.

 

 

Apple: One million Lion downloads in first day

A cool one million downloads of Lion have been registered in the first day of availability. That's faster than any other OS release in the company's history, which lends perhaps a bit more weight to Apple's "best OS we've ever made" claim.

 

 

Android's UK Market Share Explodes as Apple Overtakes Symbian

Look at the chart above and you'll see two things happening. First, Apple has overtaken Symbian to become the top smartphone platform in the UK (with a 27 percent market share). And secondly, Android has grown 634 percent year-over-year to shoot into second place, with less than half a percentage point keeping it from the top spot (other reports already place it ahead). 

As you might expect, much of that growth isn't coming from folks switching from one smartphone to the other, but from new smartphone users -- Comscore found that 42 percent of all mobile users in the UK used a smartphone in May of this year, compared to just 27 percent a year ago. Of course, that also means that 58 percent of UK cellphone users are still potential smartphone users (to say nothing of those that still don't have a cellphone at all), so there's certainly still plenty up for grabs for all involved.

Who Is Alexander Calder and Why Is He Part of a Google Doodle?

Today's Google Doodle is a mesmerizing geometric mobile that slowly spins above the search box. The Doodle commemorates the 113th birthday of Alexander Calder, an American artist and sculptor famous for inventing the mobile sculptures.

Calder was a life-long artist who studied in New York and Paris. As his artistic talent flourished in the early 1930s, he became interested in wire sculpture and kinetic art. These two interests merged to create what would be called "mobiles," a French term that refers to both "motion" and "motive."

Originally these kinetic structures were moved by cranks and pulleys, but Calder developed a delicate touch and harnessed the natural air flow of a room to spin his creations. Calder's largest moving sculpture, a 76-foot-long mobile, hangs from the ceiling of the East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.

Calder continued to develop sculptures both large and small, mobile and stationary until his death in 1976 at the age of 78.

Google+ Racks Up 20 Million Uniques In 3 Weeks

Google+ is hot, hot, hot. The social network has pulled in 20 million unique visitors in a mere three weeks. Leading the way is the US with 5 million and India with 2.8 million uniques.

It'll be interesting to see if Google can expand the service fast enough to keep up this momentum. I like chatting it up in 140 characters or more and Google+ is just so light, fresh and fun. It's like Happy Hour all day long.

 

 

Go Green With The Sprout Biodegradable Watch

Watches are one accessory that's crying out for some green love. They're worn daily, changed often and killed frequently with an accidental bump. Sprout understands and has developed a line of fashionable timepieces that can be tossed away without remorse.

These watches are great. They are good-looking, colorful and 80-93% biodegradable. They are made of wonderful materials such as bamboo, organic cotton, mineral crystal lenses, and mercury-free batteries. Sprout has even managed to sell them at a reasonable price. The entry-level model starts at $30, while the top-of-line model climbs to a pricey, but not exorbitant $75.

Elecom’s Origami-Inspired Mouse Can’t Possibly Be Comfortable to Use

My eyes love the geometric nature of the Elecom Orime mouse. Something tells me my hands would not. Complete with five buttons (concealed by the mouse's design) and laser tracking, this RF wireless mouse is available for $85.

 

 

Panasonic Reveals Lumix FZ47 Superzoom, Lets You Shoot 1080i Video With Full Manual Control

Sure, these days nearly all digital cameras can shoot video, but only a small handful give you the power to manually select aperture and shutter speed while doing so. The Lumix FZ47 is Panasonic's latest high-end point-and-shoot to sport this functionality, providing full control over both video and still photo capture with its Creative Control mode. The 12.1-megapixel superzoom can shoot 1080i HD at 30 fps, though it's notably lacking in the 1080p department.

There's also a 3-inch LCD, 24x Leica zoom lens with a 25mm wide-angle focal length, and an option to shoot 3.5-megapixel stills while recording video. For photographers wiling to settle for a good deal less power, Panasonic also just announced its entry-level Lumix LS5, which includes a 14.1-megapixel sensor, optical image stabilization, and 720p video, all powered by a pair of AA batteries. The $400 FZ47 will ship next month, while the LS5 hits stores in November.

Bill Gates Wants to Build a Better Toilet

Bill Gates, nowadays basking in the accolades his philanthropy provides, noticed that toilets kind of suck in the developing world. Wanting to help stop the spread of communicable diseases, he's ready to put down $41.5 million for potty advancements.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is prepared to give that huge sum of money to universities that push poor nations' toilets into the modern era. They don't have to have ambient lights or mini-tablets. Rather, they should reinvent the concept by being sustainable, not relying on a sewer connection or electricity. Proposals have drawn up toilets powered by heat, microwaves, or solar panels, all to help prevent bacterial and parasitic infections.

I can't imagine what a microwave powered toilet would even look like, but any idea that shields you from diarrhea is a good one.

 

 

Scientists Genetically Engineer Mice With Super Endurance

How do you build a mouse that can run six-times farther than its average bretheren? Take away all its fast-twitch muscle fiber, along with its ability to contract its muscles.

According to ScienceNow, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found the gene receptor that controls the protein responsible for muscle contraction. When they engineered mice to lack that protein, all the muscle in their body converted any fast twitch muscle (which is more powerful, but fatigues quicker) to slow twitch muscle fiber, which provided endurance gains.

But these behavioral quirks weren't quite enough to convince Khurana of the effect on muscles. Lack of the IL-15Rα gene could just be making the mice jittery or giving them extra energy. So the researchers dissected muscles from the longer-running mice. The muscles sported increased numbers of energy-generating mitochondria and more muscle fibers, indicating that they tired less easily. And when the researchers stimulated them with electricity, the muscles continued to contract for longer than normal, taking longer to use up their energy stores, the team reports in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

The discovery of this gene could explain why some people are better endurance runners than others, and if discovered in humans (or any other animal, for that matter), could be used to create a human that could run and run and run and run. Although, the absence of speed and power might not be worth it.