New Windows Computers Will Get a $15 Upgrade to Windows 8

With Ivy Bridge out, there's a ton of great new desktops, ultrabooks, and gaming rigs coming out over the next few months. But they're all under the shadow of the other major release, Windows 8. Good news for anyone taking the plunge, though: Windows 8 upgrades will be available for just $15 if you buy a Windows 7 machine after June 2.

For previous updates to Windows, Microsoft had given free upgrades to late-cycle buyers. But Microsoft megablogger Paul Thurrott dug up the $15 price, and it seems fairly legitimate. The upgrade will also only cover Windows 8 Pro, not the standard version that most users would probably buy on their own. More here.

Customizable Sleeping Bag Lets You Peel Back Layers to Stay Cool

It turns out the tried-and-true technique of simply unzipping a sleeping bag when it gets too hot inside wasn't good enough for some people. Someone, somewhere, demanded more options, which led to the creation of this vented bag which looks like it's endured a bear attack or two.

In addition to a long zipper running up the edge, this $120 sleeping bag has four or five additional zippers running across it allowing a finicky camper to decide how much of their body they wan't to leave exposed. The creation looks like it would function better as a straight jacket than a way to stay warm when roughing it, but it's got enough micro-fiber insulation to keep you toasty down to 20º F. More here.

Apple's iPad WiFi + 4G renamed 'iPad WiFi + Cellular

Remember Apple's new iPad WiFi + 4G? Well, forget that moniker, as this variant of the company's latest slate has been quietly re-dubbed as the iPad WiFi + Cellular. As noticed by 9to5Mac, the change occurred within the last "24-48 hours" across many of Apple's region-specific webstores (update: and retail locations), including (but not limited to) those for the US, UK, Australia, Canada and various countries in Asia. 

In many regions the best you'll get out of the slate is HSPA-connectivity, even though it's also equipped for LTE -- something that Apple itself had considered good enough to market it as 4G despite offering refunds to customers in Australia who (like many others) couldn't officially partake in its LTE. Interestingly, 9to5Mac also notes that a similar change hasn't made its way over to the iPad 2, which still has its cellular-equipped variant named, iPad 2 WiFi + 3G. More here.

Could You Live Without Broadband at Home? Steve Wozniak Does!

Could you live without broadband at home? I don't know if I could, but Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak can. That's what he has recently said in Australia talking about his home in Los Gatos, California:

I don't have broadband at my home. I, Steve Wozniak, don't have broadband at my home. I live one kilometre out of the main part of town. Broadband is a monopoly in my town—that means you can get it from a cable company, but I don't have cable. There are 50 companies that want to sell me DSL, but they've all got to go through the Horizon wires—the local phone company—and I've got one of the two worst Horizons in the country. And so I can't get broadband in my house.

So how does the Woz live without wired internet access? More here.

Tesla Coil Gun Exists, May Shoot Lightning

Inspired by the graphic novel "Five Fists of Science" -- and perhaps encouraged by the plucky MIT student who made his own Tesla coil hat and survived -- a DIYer named Rob designed a Tesla coil gun, which he says is fully functional. 

Rob used a Nerf gun cast in aluminum for the housing and created a high voltage switch with a 3D powder printer. The gun is powered by an 18V ion drill battery and a flyback transformer housed inside a PVC plumbing end cap. Though Rob has yet to fire the gun, photos show what he says are sparks from the setup, and a demo clip is on the way. While video proof is always nice, so is preserving your life. More here.

Why Weren’t Hammers Designed With Magnetic Handles In the First Place?

Designer Jung Soo Park has managed to drastically improve the functionality and capabilities of the lowly hammer. But he didn't accessorize it with useless add-ons only good for attacking non-existant zombies. Instead, he added a magnet to the handle for wrangling nails. Genius.

And while Park's Neo Hammer isn't available for sale—it's just a concept—even the most inept handyman should be able to hack their own tool with this functionality. Just find yourself some strong glue, and an even stronger magnet, and you'll never have to hold another nail in your mouth again. More here.

Expanding Aluminum Picnic Table Is the Optimus Prime of Summer

Inspired by awkward picnics where a poor sap stands because there aren't enough seats around the table, the Expandable Portable Table's aluminum construction allows it to pull off an nifty eponymous trick: it can almost double its length to accomodate up either four or six guests, so everybody can have a place (if everybody is six people).

Its aluminum construction also adds two major features: no splinters, because rotting wood tabletops are the worst. And when the picnic is over and the table is sticky with ketchup and mustard, you can simply hose down the surfaces. Then it's pretty easy to carry home, because it packs flat. More here.

iPhone Unlock Screen Business Cards

There's nothing quite like a first impression, is there? That one chance to announce that hey, this is me. Do you present yourself as funny? Kind? Knowing? Blasé? Or maybe just as the special kind who thinks these iPhone unlock screen business cards are a swell idea.

Credit where it's due: These are very well-executed facsimiles. But when you hand someone a business card with an iPhone unlock screen with your picture on it on the front and personal info iOS-style on the back, you're giving them more than just your phone number. More here.

Dirt-Cheap Touchscreen Tech Means They’ll Be Everywhere Soon

You can operate your tablet and your smartphone by touch, but what if you could do the same with say, nutritional labels or price tags?

A research team headed up at Harvard University has developed paper electronic touch pads that cost just 25 cents per square meter. That means a small screen would be so cheap you could throw it out when you don't need it. Not exactly something people are doing with their iPads.

These inexpensive displays are made out of paper that has been coated in aluminum and a transparent polymer. With the aid of an external circuit, the metallized material becomes a capacitive surface. While the paper is super cheap, the challenge now is in finding equally affordable power sources, as well as reasonably-priced, flexible electronics.

The fields where this invention could be used run the gamut from entertainment to medicine to education. Imagine answering multiple choice questions on a test printed on touch paper. The researchers have already come up with a secure box with a keypad that makes you type in a code in order to enter it. More here.

iPhone 4 Mirror Back Replacement Is Perfect For Both Makeup

This is going to be a huge hit: an iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S back replacement. Not a case, but a real mirror that replaces your current iPhone's back cover. And they are only $30! More here.

Nike’s Dimpled Tracksuits Could Help Athletes Shatter World Records At This Summer’s Olympics

Usain Bolt is Jamaica's not-so-secret weapon for shattering track and field records. But at this summer's Olympic games, Nike's cooked up its own secret weapon—a track suit dimpled like a golfball—that will help athletes from countries like the United States, Germany, and Russia chase him down.

The Pro TurboSpeed, as Nike calls it, leaves no doubt as to what the suit is designed to do. Taking inspiration from what is probably the world's laziest sport, golf, the suit is covered in hundreds of tiny dimples designed to reduce its aerodynamic drag. And after thousands of hours of testing in a wind tunnel, Nike claims it can cut 100-meter dash times by as much as 0.23 seconds compared to the company's previous generation track suits. Which of course could easily be the difference between a world record, a medal, or not placing at all.

The suits are also designed to be as comfortable as possible to not hinder an athlete's performance. They're created with fabrics that are lighter than ever, and have all of the elastics and edge finishes placed on the outside so there's nothing rubbing against their skin that could distract them. More here.

Wi-Fi-Blocking Wallpaper Protects Your Web Fortress by Keeping Neighbors Out

Scientists from the institut polytechnique Grenoble INP and the Centre Technique du Papier have developed a novel new product so gratuitous, it almost seems necessary: a silver-crystal coated wallpaper that can block neighbors from freeloading off your Wi-Fi network. The silver crystals are arranged in such a way that they are able to block certain wireless frequencies, not least of which is the same frequency as a WiFI router.

But, what about just setting up a password-protected network? I don't know. You most certainly can—and should—do that. But if, for whatever reason, an open network is what you desire, this silver snowflake-speckled wall-covering will have your back. Unless you have windows. They're still working on a clear coating with protective power equal to that of the paper.

Also, there will of course be somebody out there who will buy this, someone who both delights in a room covered floor-to-ceiling in metallic snowflakes and believes said remediation is superior to setting a password (which is free, mind you—this wallpaper, when it's released in 2013, will cost about as much as mid-grade conventional wallpaper). More here.

Hundreds Of Balloons Fall Victim to a Giant Laser

The laser in this video, not surprisingly, comes courteous of Wicked Lasers. Specifically, its 1W Spyder III Krypton which blasts through these specially weighted balloons like they were well: inflated balloons. But it's still fun to watch it tearing through 100 of them one after the other. And maybe next time they can fill the balloons with something more volatile than just air.

Your Chariot Awaits Your Snacks

Imagine loading this table up with snacks on the top shelf and beverages on the bottom, then rolling it out to your immaculately decorated modern living room for some serious hedonism—maybe a long movie marathon or a serious gaming session. Sure, there are lots of glorified TV trays that can do that. But few do it with the grace and sophistication of the Chariot table.

Designed by Italian designer Gam Fratesi for boutique Casamania, the Chariot's visual differentiation comes from its simplicity. There are few parts; the entire piece is comprised of acetate shelves, wooden wheels, and a metal handle to keep it together. But it's still visually striking: most food trolleys minimize the wheels, but this piece of furniture has wheels are comparable in diameter to your car's. It's available now, but the price is only by request. More here.

You Can Get Your Face Frozen In Carbonite Now

You no longer have to be a smuggler who drops his shipments at the first sign of an Imperial cruiser to be frozen in carbonite. As part of its Star Wars-themed weekends, Disney World is now offering that service to all of its guests.

But you don't have to worry about how you're going to get home afterwards because they don'treally freeze you in carbonite. Instead, when you enter the 'Carbon Freezing Chamber' several cameras capture your facial features from all sides, and the resulting 3D model is used to create an eight-inch carbonite figurine featuring your likeness.

At $100 it makes for one expensive souvenir, and it takes four weeks for it to be delivered. Which makes sense given how long it takes to print a 3D model, but having to wait is still pretty lame. You can also order additional copies, but they'll set you back $75 each. More here.

Ruin Your Kid’s Rep with This Nerdalicious Math Sweater

For the parents who have obviously forgotten that most children are borderline sociopaths when it comes to teasing one another, this sweater will pretty much guarantee your kid will be bully fodder until he graduates from high school—probably college.

The Seven/Eight Year Math Sweater is hand-knit of machine-washable wool and designed to fit the average 1st or 2nd grader. According to Etsy shop proprietor Amarinalevin HandKnits:

The main body of the sweater is a pattern of adding numbers in block shapes. There are also little x's in black. Circling the bottom in green on a dark blue background are Fibonacci numbers. Also circling the bottom and wrists in dark blue on periwinkle is the symbol pi. The back and front are identical. The sleeves have descending and ascending blocks with the prime numbers. Circling the wrists in green on a dark blue background are the various mathematical functions of add, subtract, multiply, and divide. The neck, wrist, and bottom trim is varying shades of green with blue stripes.

It retails for $130 on the amarinalevin Etsy page.

The Future of Grocery Bags Is Here and It Involves Pockets

They might be helping the environment, but with everything banging around in that large re-usable shopping bag, your fresh fruits and vegetables don't always get from the store to the stove unscathed.

Made with a strategic combination of cotton, canvas, and nylon mesh, the Mercado bag's got six interior pockets and three large compartments so you can separate softer delicate items like produce, from harder items like cans and bottles. It's probably also the perfect bag for the obsessively organized, since you can spend hours at the checkout resorting your groceries until you find the perfect arrangement to get everything home safely.

But the best feature of the $25 bag is the adjustable over-the-shoulder strap that lets you carry everything home while keeping your hands free to answer the phone or fumble with keys. Why do most re-usable bags assume that everyone only has to carry them from the driveway to the kitchen? More here.

Fuel Cell USB Charger Resurrects Your Dead Phone Up To Fourteen Times

Unlike backup batteries which have to occasionally be plugged into a wall for hours like your various devices, the fuel cell charger uses small cartridges—about the size of a cigarette lighter—filled with butane to generate power. Pricing for the charger hasn't been revealed just yet, but the replacement fuel cartridges are expected to sell for roughly the same price as a Starbucks coffee. Possibly forcing you to choose between your addictions: caffeine, or browsing Facebook.

Each cartridge is able to fully recharge a dead iPhone from ten to fourteen times, which helps make the cost of the replacements more reasonable when you break the down the per-charge price. The charger should particularly appeal to those who travel a lot, since the fuel cartridges are allowed on planes just like cigarette lighters. And a few dollars to recharge your phone again and again is a far better solution than scouring airport lounges looking for an available outlet. More here.

Is Telephobia Really a Thing?

It's no secret that people are talking on the phone less. We're texting, we're emailing, we're Gchatting, we're Facebooking. There have been many articles bemoaning the death of the phone call in recent months, and Nielsen said in a December report that voice calls have dropped by 12 percent since 2009, while text messaging has absolutely blown up.

With no dearth of mediums on which to communicate, our attentions are divided. But is it possible that we've developed an actual fear of talking on the phone?

Salon's Sarah Hepola argues that this so-called Telephobia is a very real thing.

It's just plain scary to talk to other people. We avoid it not because people don't matter—but because they do. And each of us brings emotional baggage to to these interactions. when my phone rings, and I don't recognize that number—forget it. I'm too scarred by the years I spent dodging credit card companies to take that kind of dare. I also don't jump off cliffs, or do cartwheels on the highway. In fact, it's amazing to me that there was a time when the phone rang, and someone just answered it. Who could it be? Could it be the guy who was currently making your heart pound? Oooh, let's pick it up and find out! Now, when I see an unfamiliar number, I feel nothing but outrage.

A good portion of that is, in fact, crazy talk. We are constantly inundated with information about other people. Pictures from their vacations, posts about their ailing grandmothers, rants about their horrible bosses. Sometimes you just want to flip off the noise. Are we over-saturated? Yes. But are we actually so scared of human contact that we can't stomach a phone call?

Telephobia is hogwash. The truth is, it's an excuse for the fact that communicating has gotten easier, and a by-product of that is we've gotten lazier. More here.

The Real Reason the Avengers Assembled Was To Help Back Up Your Files

In The Avengers movie, S.H.I.E.L.D. has a hell of a time assembling the superheroes to battle an alien army attacking the planet. But convincing them would have been far easier for Nick Fury had they all known that joining forces would have spawned these awesome flash drives.

Available in four different versions including Thor's hammer, Captain America's shield, Iron Man's helmet, and the Hulk's decapitated fist, the 8GB flash drives include retractable USB connectors and can be yours for $40 a pop. Sadly, both Hawkeye and Black Widow are once again left out of the party, proving that unless you've got super powers or billions of dollars, you're just too hard to market to the masses. Get them here.