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Posts with tag creative

A Lawn Mower That Flies


Leave it to our friends up in Canada to spend their long winters coming up with creative modifications and twists on the familiar.

Two Canadian radio control enthusiasts have made a business out of making bizarre things fly. Things not shaped like planes. Not shaped like birds. Not even shaped like a moth or a dragonfly.

So, the next time you find yourself in a park on a warm sunny day, and you hear that high-pitched buzzing you expect comes with a remote controlled plane, look closely and you may see a flying witch, a flying doghouse, or even a flying lawn mower.

Yes, the inventive guys at Flying Thingz have put a lawn mower in the sky. Brilliant, we say.

Think you want to mow the sky yourself? Order one up. They're selling the kits to these choppers for $149 a pop.

From Revver.


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New Video Phone Coming from Creative

Creative's Video Phone Unveiled

So, you know the ubiquitous video phone that's been a staple of science fiction since the early days? We live in an age where the technology to make the things is not only possible and inexpensive, but still nobody has them. Of course, people are chatting with video online via iChat, Skype, Yahoo Messenger, and AIM already, but the link between video and phone has failed to happen.

Creative is looking to finally change that with the inPerson video phone, shown in a pic above as snagged from the FCC by Engadget.

Details are scarce, but the device will tie into the SightSpeed video conferencing network, which currently offers video conferencing via a software client available for Windows and Mac computers. This means that Creative's device will not just work over a phone line (it includes Wi-Fi support and an Ethernet network jack for connecting to the Internet) and will require a SightSpeed account to use. But, thankfully, you can use SightSpeed for free, so that's something.

What we don't know yet are price and availability, given that Creative hasn't officially announced the inPerson.
From Engadget



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iRobot Create



Essentially a highly modifiable Roomba for the programming set, the iRobot Create (starts at $130) is a fully programmable (small, circular) robot. The Create's 10 built-in demos and 32 built-in sensors allow for experimentation with robotics; an open cargo bay and 25-pin expansion port allows you to add your own sensors, grippers, wireless connections, computers, or other hardware to fully trick it out. You'll need Windows XP to communicate with it (robots don't speak English, duh), but otherwise this is the perfect gift for budding robot developers, tech students, and really nerds of any variety. Plus it can clean your floor! Bonus.


From iRobot

The Trippiest Optical Illusions on the 'Net

Instant Test: Are You Creative or Logical?

This silhouette wins the award for coolest thing we've seen all day -- and it's not just because the tiny dancer above is in the buff. This is a little test that will tell you whether the left or right hemisphere of your brain is more dominant.

Instead of concentrating on her chest, concentrate on the woman's movement. If you see her spinning clockwise, that means you're using the right side, or more creative side of your brain. If she appears to be moving counter-clockwise, then that means the left side, or more logical side of your think muscle is superior.

At the Switched office, some of us see her going clockwise, others see her spinning counter-clockwise. At least one of us claims to see both, while another one of us opened this animation in Adobe ImageReady in order to isolate the frames to see if there's any direction-changing funny business going on. There isn't.

Take the test for yourself. Then, if you have time for a 50-question survey, compare these instant results to a more thorough diagnosis.

From Gizmo Watch

But wait! We have more optical illusions for you!


Creative's Swanky iPod Docks



For the classy iPod listener, Creative is releasing a series of fine-looking docks and speaker sets. It starts with the X-Fi Sound System i600, a beautiful piano-black docking station that wirelessly connects to two satellite speakers and a subwoofer. Next is the Playdock i500, an integrated solution with speakers and a remote, and then the TravelSound i, a similar, though smaller, package for hotel-room listening and the like.

Finally, there's the xDock Wireless, a $199 docking station that lets you pipe music wirelessly from your iPod to your surround sound home-theater system (you'll need the extra $99 X-Fi Wireless Receiver to do so). All have the same simple but sophisticated look that should complement both your iPod and your living rooms. We saw this last system back in January (at CES) and were impressed with the 5.1 sound coming out of our iPod.

The xDock Wireless is due out in May. Of the other systems mentioned here, only the i500 has an official U.S price: $199. However, given the announced prices for the other units in Singapore, expect the i600 to cost about $400, the TravelSound about $130, and the Xdock about $220.



From Engadget


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