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We couldn’t leave the Neiman Marcus Catalogue without including one more item that we found especially intriguing. The Swami Conversational Robot knows who you are individually, carries on conversations, develops a rapport with you, and answers questions. He has micro-camera eyes, more than 30 robotic micro motors and runs off an (included!) PC laptop.This bot makes Zoltar look like child’s play, but then he is available for about 10 times the price at $75,000.00.
Read More 
| Neiman Marcus
Gallery: Swami Knows All, Tells Most
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Turn your Cell Phone Into a Telescope
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Cameras, Smartphones, Handhelds, Misc. Tech, Science,
Skygazers, you can now turn your cell phone or PDA into a cell phone into a 7 x 18 telescope. The Generic Mobile Phone Telescope will fit most models that are 91 to 109 mm length and tested specifically on the Nokia N95, Sony Ericsson K810i and W810i, HTC P4350, and ASUS P535. You simply mount the adapter, align the attachment base with the camera lens, and screw on the telescope. The lens rotates for adjusting the image through the LCD display. The gadget is availiable with neckstrap and adapter for $22.00 at Brando.
(Thanx, Fanny)
Read More | usb Brando
Gallery: Turn your Cell Phone Into a Telescope
DIY Features Halloween Projects
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smart Home, Misc. Tech, Science,
There are only about 3 weeks left until All Hallows Eve, so if you want to get adventurous this year be sure to check out the Special Halloween Edition from the editors of “Make” and “Craft ” for the holiday. Inside, you’ll learn how to make flaming LED skulls, laser jack-’o-lanterns, and mechanical ghoulies. You can also find makeup and a recipe for blood-spurting wounds as well as DIY coffins, tombstones, and decorations. All this (and a trip or two to Radio Shack) is available for $9.99.
Read More | Make
Gallery: DIY Features Halloween Projects
First Captain Kirk is given his own star, and now Star Trek’s Mr. Sulu has an asteroid with his name on it, located between Mars and Jupiter. Discovered by two Japanese astronomers in 1994, the 7307 Takei joins the list of other asteroids that have been named after Gene Roddenberry, Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura,) and writers Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov. There are about 165,000 asteroids that have been discovered and numbered, 14,000 of which have been named. While star naming is generally done by pay-per-star on the Net, the International Astronomical Union selects and chooses its honorees at no charge. Congrats, George.
Read More | MSNBC
Gallery: Mr. Sulu Honored in Space
Keep Those RC Toys at Home
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Editorial, Misc. Tech, Science, Toys,
Next time you take a plane trip, don’t bring your RC gadgets along with you. The Transportation Security Administration said this week, “It appears that terrorists may have an interest to use these remote-control toys as a means to initiate devices used in a terrorist attack.”
A Congressional Research Service claims that the toys have been improvised by both U.S. and Iraqi troops so that they can be run into unsuspecting areas and explode insurgent bombs, while the remotes can be set to trigger explosive devices. The only problem we see with this is that every time we are told that we cannot bring something on an airplane, those that make the announcements tell everyone, including the potential bad guys. Perhaps we should also caution Radio Shack not to open an outlet in the Middle East.
Read More | Reuters
Gallery: Keep Those RC Toys at Home
Son of Astronaut Seeks Space
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Misc. Tech, Science, Video Games,
Richard Garriott is blasting off to space next year aboard a Soyuz rocket for a week-long trip aboard the International Space Shuttle. This makes him the first son of an American astronaut to go into space (there have already been three cosmonauts’ sons.) His father is former Skylab and Spacelab scientist, Owen Garriott.
Richard, creator of the computer game “Ultima,” paid $30 million to Space Adventures for the privilege and figured that if he was going to have his chance in space, he had better grab it now through private means. The 46 year-old man will be leaving October 2008. If you want to keep track of his journey, visit Richard in Space.
Read More | ABC
Gallery: Son of Astronaut Seeks Space
Celestron Honors Captain Kirk
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Misc. Tech, Science,
We’re not quite sure why we were notified about this, but we’re for anything that has to do with Star Trek and it’s first commander, Captain Kirk. William Shatner was recently honored as a favorite in a poll taken by Celestron, home of the SkyScout, the personal planetarium, as part of their Ultimate Backyard Adventure Sweepstakes promotion. He received more votes than other nominees which included Carl Sagan, Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, and The Simpsons.
His prize was not only receiving one of the systems (which retails for a whopping $429.00,) but also to have an actual star named after him. After being told he would now be a permanent part of the Final Frontier, Shatner replied, “I believe that you head toward the North Star and turn left, the one on the right is mine.”
(Thanks, Bethany)
Read More | Celestron
Gallery: Celestron Honors Captain Kirk
We just saw one of our fave spokesbots in a cameo on television. Asimo recently made an appearance in Honda’s latest commercial. We also understand that he is streaking across the stage at Disneyland in a mini-demo designed to get the greater public used to the idea of bringing robotics into the mainstream. The robot is becoming so famous that he even has his own website. Kudos to the company for knowing that robots can make an impact on sales without petty demands and/or the high salary of celebrities.
Read More | Honda
Gallery: Asimo Makes Commercials
Masayuki Sumida and his team at Hiroshima University’s Institute for Amphibian Biology have developed a transparent frog. They say that being able to see past the skin can aid them in disease studies by watching the internal organs and blood vessels without the necessity of dissection. The creatures were created by mating two specimens of Japanese Brown Frogs with the mutation of pale skin. We just hope that the poor amphibians remember to put on their sunscreen before they go for an outside dip in the pond.
Read More | Pink Tentacle
Gallery: Scientist Develop Translucent Frogs
Lockheed to Develop NAVs
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Cameras, Corporate News, Portable Audio / Video, Science,
Lockheed is pleased to announce that the Pentagon is using our tax dollars to fund the development of a small rocket-thrusted spy cam based on the design of a maple seed. The mini-copter houses communication, navigation, telemetry devices, along with its own imaging sensors and power source.
The NAV (Nano Air Vehicle) could be used for biological or chemical detection, evidence of humans via body heat and breathing, or maybe even seeking out elusive WMDs. We suspect that the term “released in swarms” refers to dispersing them by air, although they might consider the fact that many of these NAVs will look somewhat foolish because we don’t think there are a lot of Silver Maples trees in deserts.
Read More | Scientific American via The Raw Feed
