Archive for May 18, 2008

PC for teens

Apparently HP’s gotten so desperate to connect with the youth market that they’ve actually hired on a “teen council” to help design a new line of products — likeliest PCs — from top to bottom. Will it be another bomb like the hip-e? Guess we’ll find out when the line launches this fall.

Illuminating shoes

The shoes feature a pattern print with “neon green light-up lateral sides that either blink or glow.” The lighting on each shoe gets powered by a single AAA cell, and you’ll even get a free “custom box” with your order. And considering the $400 price tag and two to three week wait time, we wouldn’t expect anything less.

Nanosoccer at 2008 US RoboCup Open

All your unicellular buddies are just going to love this. The National Institute of Standards and Technology is rallying a trio of student-built nanobot teams to compete at the world’s most popular sport, which will be the second time nanosoccer has accompanied the RoboCup Open. The difference with this year’s competition is that the public will be invited to watch. Of course, with a playing field the size of a grain of rice, a microscope will be used to show the crazy antics of the remote-controlled robots as they bat around nanoballs the diameter of a human hair. Sounds harmless, but just you wait: before you know it these little bots will start marrying Spice Girls and faking on-field injuries just like the pros.

Gadget charging handbag

Bags that charge your gadgets aren’t exactly a new concept, but that apparently hasn’t stopped Philips from trying to patent the idea, as evidenced by its recently-revealed application for a so-called “Smart Handbag.” This bag is somewhat unique, however, in that it has separate compartments for your various gizmos, each of which contain their own electric conductive circuit that’s used to top off the devices as needed (the bag itself is apparently charged simply by plugging the strap into a power outlet). As if that wasn’t enough, the other end of the strap would apparently be outfitted with a USB connector, which’d let you plug the bag into your computer and instantly have access to all the devices contained within it. Of course, that’s assuming computers still have USB ports whenever this thing actually makes it off the drawing board.