iPod finally in bath on The MP3 Mirror

Music, thanks to lots of modern-day portable MP3 players, can stay with us wherever we go and as far as we go from our home PCs. However there are still places unreachable for digital music and they are closer than you might have imagined. The territory of our baths, where all the electronic gadgets and gizmos are banned, is at the same time exactly the place where we want them to be. Long and boring minutes while staying in the bath are best for watching TV or listing to the music. But waterproof TV will cost a fortune, so here is a way out as Antonio Lupi sees it. This is a mirror, equipped with an iPod. Finally, we can use it safely in the bath!

This gadget came out from AL studio labs and is called The MP3 Mirror. But don't be fooled. They haven't designed a mirror, they have designed a waterproof dock for your iPod. It is made from steel and keeps all the electronic and potentially dangerous parts inside. Such a way, and this is the best of what I like in The MP3 Mirror, is that it can be attached to any mirror and you don't have to change it. Also, iPod will be perfectly seen in it in the dark - lighted by a Touch Led. No info on price but once again should be cheaper than a TV.

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Peddle YoGen MaxT to keep your laptop alive

Earlier on we noticed that alternative energy source battery chargers are steadily gaining their popularity. Under alternative energy source battery chargers I mean of course those which use any energy source except for the one coming from the plug. Hence the most popular sources are wind power and solar power. Mechanical (kinetic) power is a bit less popular in portable gadgets but is used widely in modern-day hybrid vehicles. However wind and solar power sound odd in winter so Easy Energy decided to step in with a kinetic power charger. They call it YoGen MaxT and it is up to charge your notebook for a period limited only by your personal physical abilities.

Well actually even when the foot needs some rest, YoGen MaxT can help it with some rest. The paddle it has charges AA batteries, and they in turn power the notebook so it doesn't shut down as soon as the paddle stops. Easy Energy has its proprietary chargers which are very thin. On the picture their cover is seen as two jutting out parts at the both sides of the foot. Underneath the foot there is a tunable high ratio micro-transmission device. The tuning range of power output it provides is a really good thing to have if you are using different electronic gadgets and each requires its specific power input.

The YoGen MaxT folds in a handy box and will not be abusive in a trip even in a short one. In a folded form its dimensions are 170 x 184 x 49 mm. The width and height increase little bit when YoGen MaxT is set to work. Also the number of AA batteries is optional - up 12 of them and in standard it has a number of adapters for the plug and a battery indicator.

It really seems to me that YoGen MaxT is a quality product and as a portable charger will be great at least until it is worm enough for solar chargers. But also it might look hilarious to peddle the box on public and in a video Easy Energy has presented, YoGen MaxT is clattering loud which sure is not good. Such a way then its future will be defined by its price.

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Camera hidden in a belt buckle

When you are up to a secret video and audio recording, you have a full set of possibilities. Every modern cell phone has a voice recorder inside, many of them have cameras. However, it would be clearly obvious that you are recording if you are holding phone in your hands. There are some special gadgets that are carefully designed for making discreet recordings, so it would be smart to use one of them. Usually they look just like ordinary things - pens, pencils, watches… This one looks like a belt buckle, and it really is a buckle - however, not the simple one. Details follow.

This buckle has a secret hidden inside of it - tiny video and audio recorder. While looking like a usual accessory, it turns out to be an ultimate spy tool. Inside of this buckle rests a useful gadget that can record video and audio, and is beautifully camouflaged! Wireless cameras are a no-go in places where they can be detected by wireless camera detectors, so when you are forced to use another way of recording - put it on your belt and it will film everything you want, with practically no risk of getting caught. Miniature camera records video in 3GP video format (176x144, QCIF) with sound, which can be saved on the microSD card from 128 MB up to 2 GB. After that, recordings can be played on PC or on your mobile phone. It can live 3 hours on one battery charge, but if you want to record a 3 hour length video you'll need some spare cards - 1 GB microSD card can only take up to 33 minutes of video. It is available in two models: classic one, called Buckle DVR, and strangely shaped one called Obaba DVR.

This gadget, named Ajoka Obaba Buckle DVR Camera, will be very useful for investigation or evidence collection. It can't be seen by wireless camera detectors, it is comfortably hidden inside your belt buckle - a perfect companion in such missions. However, not everything is so bright. Camera records in a very small resolution - even modern cameraphones can do much better. It will be very difficult to see small details, if not impossible at all. Quality was sacrificed to the size and comfort - so if you want almost invisible camera that is not detected by any sensors then you can give this gadget a try.

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European researches are preparing a new voice recognition system

European researches are preparing a new voice recognition systemDevices that are able to recognize human's speech and identify it are not particularly new. In fact, they are very common. Some mobile phones have voice control features, so do automatic teller machines and recently we have found out a new voice controlled remote control for home media center. The last one is very interesting and we will come back to it later. However most of them are quite simple. Usually they have a number of words preinstalled, which correspond for example to its menu and they have to ask user on every step of the navigation or whatever the voice recognizing software does. To make things better, European researches have come up with idea of easing up the whole process, making it faster. In turn, voice recognition becomes more complicated from the inside. Nevertheless it didn't stop them trying.

For about three years already there is a project going on under the name of "LUNA Project" developing spoken language understanding in multilingual communication systems. They have come up with a lot of different stuff during these years. The one thing that will be borrowed for the recent study is the SLU - the Spoken Language Understanding system. Unlike the majority of voice recognition systems, this one will not have to ask for an action to do at every particular moment while surfing the menu. SLU provides recognition of every word said, and then filtering it. All the interjections like "hmmm", "oh", etc. will be thrown away, the rest of the words will be analyzed and configured into a command for the device. Such a way user can instantly access needed submenu without getting acquainted with all the peculiarities gadget might have. This is actually the same thing that Amulet Remote we have remembered earlier does successfully.

The conclusion is that if Amulet Devices managed to create a usable voice recognition system, no wonder European researchers will not fail. This is now only the matter of time. The best part of the system is that it will be translated in all European Union languages. The final version of it should aid tourists, take orders at fast food restaurants, help with ATM and in fact be useful at any public location out there.

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NVIDIA Quadro NVS 420 fuels four displays simultaneously

As is turns up, graphic cards have to do a lot more than just support latest DirectX 10 games and playback HD quality content. For instance, it would be great for a modern GPU to meet needs of a businessman who has to do presentations at work on big screens or plausibly uses more than one screen at the same time every day. All these via a laptop, or why not, a small form factor PC. Such a way GPU developers have a little bit different target group to satisfy, and here is what NVIDIA got for them. This is an upcoming NVIDIA Quadro NVS 420 graphic card. It will come out in February for 499 USD as manufacturer suggests.

NVIDIA Quadro NVS 420 GPU may be aimed for multi-display functions and to fit some small dimensions, but of course it has enough guts to for almost any PC game out there. In fact, it has 512 MB in it and 11.2 GBps bandwidth speed, so, should be enough for a couple of years. However the main thing still is how it handles a number of widescreen displays. Thanks to NVIDIA nView display software, Quadro NVS 420 can support up to four 30 inch displays at 2560 x 1600 resolution. More specs are: 4 x DisplayPort, 4 x Dual Link DVI and CUDA Parallel Computing Processor with 16 cores. This is how NVS 420 comes up to 499 USD, but I can easily find a whole new small form factor computer for that kind of money. I think Quadro NVS 420 is utterly expensive even though it can be a good value for money with all that gear stuffed into SFF GPU. And here is one more issue. How it is going to be cooled down by a small-sized fan and yet be quiet enough not to be annoying?

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ED-E robot goes from toy store to school

School is the place where most people start getting into their future hobbies, interests and other stuff that floats their boat. That's why educational programs are so important and educational results can tell a lot about the whole country. Recently a robotic enthusiast Dr. Jim Wyatt has offered his creation as a trainer for schools. Wyatt's well known ED-E robot, you could see him at CES 2009 presented by Kablamm Ltd. ED-E can be a great educational aid at physics and mathematics classes. ED-E robot is also available for individuals and will be a great fun for kids and their parents.

There is a number of reasons why ED-E was promoted from, basically, a toy to educational equipment. First of all, it will attract positive attention of 100 percents of students. As a toy, ED-E can do a lot of things like brake dancing, balancing on one leg, hopping, etc. do complex moves overall. The educational part of all this process consists in programming ED-E's 17 servo motors to perform any of that on a given task or on student's free will. Such a way kids can learn basic mechanics, mathematics and three-dimensional programming. The best of all I think is that they will see the result immediately with no scholasticism students have to deal with most of time.

However I can hardly imagine how ED-E will fit in educational programs and how lectures with the robot will be held, but I find it an exceptionally good idea. A standard ED-E is sold to individuals for 400 quid, but the package for schools will be a little bit expensive. An additional programming tool will add 28 quid more to robot's price.

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Laser LightLane eases bicyclist's life

Bicycle is the answer to several modern life issues. The most obvious one for the end-users is of course costs. Bicycles are much cheaper than cars as they are not so complicated, don't have to pay fees as they enter city centers and don't use any kinds of fuel. They are more mobile than cars or public transport as they don’t get stuck in traffic jams and are emission free. However, many citizens, who are currently using bicycles everyday, say that they will buy a car as soon as possible because they want to travel in more comfortable way and they want to feel themselves safer. The last issue is now one more step closer to its final solution. The LightLane concept provides rider with some extra space and outlines him with a virtual bike lane.

Altitude Inc. designed a gadget that is attached to the bike and is equipped with a number of lasers. Lasers draw shape of the bike lane on the road. Such a way rider is now visible in the dark and drivers will probably not brake into his own space. Red lines on the road also look nice but how helpful are they? Laser light will probably grow dim in the lights of a vehicle or street illumination. If we dive into Highway Code, we find out that bicyclist is a participant of the road traffic, which means he can use a full lane. Why to bother with gadgets and confuse drivers in this case? Anyway, if LightLane helps to avoid accidents on the road, it will by highly appreciated. LightLane shouldn't be an expensive device, so why not to reinsure then?

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