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SII has come up with two new dictionaries designed to help the Japanese learn German and French. Featuring a 5.2-inch screen and a 240 x 320 resolution, there is a Native Voice mode to record words or expressions and a Text-to-Speech (you write, it speaks). How can this benefit those of us who do not speak Japanese? For starters it comes with a Japanese/English dictionary. Once you learn Japanese, you can move right along to French. Then again, since everything eventually gets to this side of the planet, we can save our 35,000 Yen (~$293.00) until the Japanese come up with one that will teach the rest of us.
Read More 
| SII (translated) via Akihabara News
Gallery: SII Devices Teach Foreign Languages
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How to Be a Success at Your Kid’s Next Birthday Party
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Smart Home, Misc. Tech, Videos,
Dave Spencer is such a good dad that he decided to create a super volcano cake for his son’s fifth birtday. Spencer said that he wanted the cake to produce smoke, erupt with “lava,” vibrate, and make volcanic noises. Four months later, having combined items such as a chocolate fountain, an iPod nano, and some speakers, with about $200 worth of supplies that included 7 cake mixes, 11 cans of frosting, cocoa powder, and frozen strawberries, this is the finished product. We’re sure that Dave would be glad to share his design with you and might even be convinced to rent you his contraption, as long as you don’t offer him dessert with the deal.
Read More | Instructables
Gallery: How to Be a Success at Your Kid’s Next Birthday Party
U-Consento Remotely Controls from Cell Phones
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smartphones, Home Entertainment, Smart Home, Internet, Misc. Tech, Wireless / WiFi,
NTT-Neomeitt has developed a system to remotely control home devices from cell phones. To utilize the U-Consento, users access a web page on their phone which signals a wireless router in the home or business. The signal then goes to an infrared transmitter, which acts as a universal remote. This carries out operations by an easily installable switch-on power outlets connected to home appliances, lighting, A/C, or A/V equipment not normally equipped with remote.
The U-Consento also gives the status of each device and keeps a record of operation status. Due for pilot testing from May to August, the company hopes to launch in September to NTT subscribers for a monthly fee of 500 Yen (~$4.18.) We are thinking we could hook up with someone there who could turn on our lights, turn up the heat, and make sure our crock pot is still preparing dinner as we battle our long drive home from work.
Read More | Pink Tentacle
Gallery: U-Consento Remotely Controls from Cell Phones
Belkin CushTop: A Laptop “Desk” for Your Lap
Posted by Lolita Beckwith Categories: Accessories, Smart Home, PC / Laptop,
If sitting on the sofa with a laptop while watching “Dancing with the Stars” is my
your idea of “Life is Good”, then we have something for you. It’s Belkin’s CushTop, an ergonomically-angled, hard-ish pillow for your notebook that rests on your lap. The CushTop is covered with “furniture-like upholstery” and has a pocket in the middle to store small laptop accessories, and measures 14.5” wide by 12” deep, with a slope from 3” to 4”. The best part? It’s a fantastic way to keep your laptop from melting through your flesh. It’s available now for $35 USD. In their positive review of the CushTop, the folks at Cnet.com found it too small for 17” laptops, but perfectly sized for smaller machines.
Read More | Cnet
Gallery: Belkin CushTop: A Laptop “Desk” for Your Lap
Corn Resin Bottle Can Help Save the Planet
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smart Home, Misc. Tech, Science,
In honor of Earth Day, we have chosen a product from New Wave Enviro Products that, if everyone could adopt, could help save the planet. The Corn Resin Bottle is made of PLA (polyactide), which is a polymer that acts like P.E.T. (petroleum-based plastic,) but can biodegrade in 80 days. Fill the bottle with ordinary tap water and its cartridge will filter out the impurities for over 2 months. It also frees you from that foul plastic taste that most bottles have after sitting out too long.
Enviro will also and let you know when its time to change your cartridge via postcards and offers a 30-day guarantee. We think that this idea is a bargain for ~ $8.99. You can find them at non-discount chains and online outlets, for New Wave believes in actual customer service.
Read More | New Wave
Gallery: Corn Resin Bottle Can Help Save the Planet
It looks like an ordinary bookcase, but on closer inspection Woodfold has created a door that completely seals off a back room. They come in 54 and 66-inch wide models and feature steel rollers and piano hinges that run the entire length. The doors can hold up to 500 lbs. of weight, and have 2 fixed shelves at the middle and bottom, and four that are adjustable. You will have to contact Woodfold for a price, but by now we know what that means.
Read More | Woodfold
Gallery: Woodfold Bookcase Door Creates Hideaway
Bernina Artiste 730E: Windows-Powered Sewing Machine
Posted by Lolita Beckwith Categories: Smart Home, Microsoft, Misc. Tech, Software,
OK, people…Mother’s Day is just around the corner. Need a gift idea? We suggest the new low-priced PSP Core System for Mom (trust us, it’s been done before), but if you prefer a more traditional gift—and have $8200 lying around—we propose the Bernina Artista 730E, a Windows-powered sewing machine. It comes complete with a large color display that offers tutorials, on-screen help and a library of over 850 stitches. There’s even a “My Artista” portal, where you can swap designs with other Artista users. And the 730E doesn’t just sew: it can also be used for quilting and embroidery as well. The Artista 730E has been selected as a “Best Buy” by Consumers Digest magazine, so you can plunk down that $8200 USD with confidence.
Read More | Bernina via ChipChick
Gallery: Bernina Artiste 730E: Windows-Powered Sewing Machine
NYC Mortgage Calculator Advises Buying or Renting
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smart Home, Misc. Tech,
With the real estate market being as poor as it is in many areas, it sometimes costs more to buy a car than a house. Want to know if you should sell yours and get a new one, stay where you are, or rent? The NYT calculator can tell you how much you can afford to spend based on the amount of money you should borrow. It also determines your current home’s value and how much your loan really costs in terms of APR.
Just for the fun of it, we plopped in our own house to see if we should put it on the market and move on, but the calculator decided that we were in the bottom 6.3% of all home values, so we think we will just stay put for now.
Read More | New York Times
Gallery: NYC Mortgage Calculator Advises Buying or Renting
Webkinz Welcomes Toddlers to the Internet
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smart Home, Internet, Toys,
In a rather odd attempt to combine the real world with the Internet for younger children, Webkinz is hoping that their idea is the ideal prequel to MySpace. After purchasing one of their stuffed animals, your child registers it online with its secret code. As your kidlets play games, answer trivia, and care for their virtual pets, they earn KinzCash which can be traded for furniture, clothing, etc.
The company will also be setting up the KinzChat Plus for your toddlers that restricts messages so that they cannot post or receive proper names, mispelled words, or innappropriate language. We appreciate the efforts to teach newbies the Internet ropes, but can’t parents do that without the commercialism?
Read More | Webkinz
Gallery: Webkinz Welcomes Toddlers to the Internet
Titanic-DNA Literally Marks Histoy
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Smart Home, Misc. Tech,
Geneva designer Romain Jerome has designed a line of watches for Basel that are actually fragments of time. He gained access to a 3 lb. section of the Titanic hull from an anonymous donor and has taken pieces from it to create what he calls the “essence” of the sunken oceanliner. The hands are inspired by its anchor and the black dial is colored from the coal from the shipwreck.
“So many rich people buy incredibly complicated watches without understanding how they work, because they want a story to tell,” Basel chief executive Yvan Arpa said. “To them we offer a story.”
Basel is selling the the line for the incredible price of between $7,800.00 and $173,100.00. They will be in a limited edition of 2,012 to commemorate the centenary anniversity of the Titanic’s sinking. We think we will just keep our old Timex wristwatches that miraculously just keep on ticking, even when wet.
Read More | Romain Jerome via Reuters
Gallery: Titanic-DNA Literally Marks Histoy
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