Music Studio Stripy Portable Speaker System
July 31, 2005
I’m on the verge of changing the caption on top of this page to "Technology, gadgets and speaker systems from a girl’s perspective." Yes, I’ve discovered yet another unique speaker system. Unlike the Pig Speakers and the Hello Kitty Speakers, this speaker system is portable and fashionable. The Music Studio Stripy speaker system is a set of portable speakers with an aluminium finish. Apart from the two speakers, the central half sphere serves as a control knob which glows a different color depending on what you want to adjust - i.e. pink for voulme, blue for bass, and green for treble. The speakers also have swivelly tops which allows you to orient the sound in whatever direction you choose. These Music Studio Stripy speakers have 4.5 watts of power blasting out of them and are great to tag along with a laptop, ipod, discman, or PSP. These classy portable speakers retail for about $123 USD. (Source: Stuff UK Magazine, August 2005).
Fashionable Laptop Sleeves from GYMSPacific
July 29, 2005
Laptop sleeves are essential because they help protect your notebook from falls, spills and other calamities. It’s a shame that most of them tend to be boring and black. GYMSPacific has a couple of stylin’ laptop sleeves. They have the Asterisk Notebook Sleeve (Top Left) that comes in two versions that each fit the 12 and 14 inch Apple ibooks. The Asterisk comes in dusty pink, silver grey and black and retails for $36.00 on Ebags.com. There is also the Poppy Apple (Bottom Left) that comes in tangerine, black and white, retails for $36.00, and has two versions to fit the 12 and 14 inch Apple ibooks.
Girls’ Gadgets of the 1920’s & 30’s
July 28, 2005
Lately some companies have been pushing
out Digital Cameras geared towards women such as the recent Harajuku
Lovers Digital Camera from HP.
At first I thought that it was about time that companies had started taking notice of the females in the
gadget universe. Little did I know that as far back as 1928 there was a
company producing cameras geared towards a female audience. From 1928 to 1933,
Kodak manufactured several colored and deco-styled cameras that were designed
to attract women. Among the camera kits designed was the Vanity Kodak Ensemble
outfit, which included a color-coordinated camera, lipstick holder, compact,
mirror and change purse in a fitted case. Similar models included the more
common Ensemble, and the
very rare Coquette. There was
also the Series III
Vest Pocket Vanity Kodak, a metal and embossed leather camera came in
Bluebird (deep blue), Cockatoo (green), Sea Gull (gray), Redbreast (red), and
Jenny Wren (brown). There was even a Girl Scout camera, and
Camp Fire Girls’ Kodak camera that were each
manufactured with scout logos imprinted on the body and cases. For more
information on these fashionable cameras of yester year check out http://www.digitalfxinc.com/kodak.
FlyDVB-T-Duo: Analog and Digital TV via CardBus slot
July 27, 2005
Adding a TV Tuner to your laptop usually means buying a bulky external USB
device. Lifeview now has a TV Tuner made for the PCMCIA CardBus interface, so that you can slip the TV Tuner right into your Laptop’s PC Card Slot. The FlyDVB- supports digital
and analog TV and weighs just 65 grams so that it wont add significant weight to your notebook case. It also has composite and S-Video outs, and picture in
picture capabilities. And amazingly, this small card can also serve as a digital video
recorder which supports time shifting, and recording of video in MPEG-2 format or
analog video in MPEG 1/2/4 formats. For $99.95 this Tv
Tuner is a good value, and those who have Windows
Media Center Edition will especially appreciate it. (Source: MobileReview.com)
Yet Another Hello Kitty Cell Phone - The V501SH and other Hello Kitty Gadgets.
July 27, 2005
The V501SH from Vodafone is already the fourth Hello Kitty Edition Cell Phone
that I’ve come across. The V501SH has been transformed into a Hello Kitty approved device via a Hello Kitty themed menu system, and
Hello Kitty Themed videos.
In case you missed the previous Hello Kitty
Edition Cell Phones, check out these links: Cingular’s Hello Kitty
Edition Cell Phone, and two more
Hello Kitty Cell Phones available from DreamKitty.com.
Kitty Themed electronics including the Hello
Kitty 256 MB USB 2.0 Flash Drive for $89.95, Hello
Kitty MP3 Player with 512MB for $299.95, Hello
Kitty 3.2 Mega Pixel Digital Camerafor $349.95, and the Hello
Kitty Digital Cam for $349.95 as well. Hello Kitty seems to be on her
way to taking over the world, or at least dominating a small segment of the
electronics world. (Source: Akihabara News)
Konfabulator is now Free!
July 26, 2005
A while back I posted about Konfabulator, Konfabulator is software that allows you to customize your desktop with
working "widgets" such as an RSS reader, an Itunes Remote, today’s
weather, and other adorable yet functional widgets that’ll clutter your
dull desktop. On monday, Yahoo purchased Konfabulator, and as a result Konfabulator is now free to download and install, as oppose to its previous $19.95 price tag. Konfabuator is also a great alternative for Windows users who might be jealous of Mac OS X’s Dashboard Widgets. Not that a Windows user would ever be jealous of anything Mac related ~cough~.
The Mus Computer Mouse that looks like a Cursor
July 25, 2005
The Mus one-button computer mouse looks like a cursor that fell off of your monitor. It also makes you wonder why it took so long for someone to come up with this clever, yet obvious design. Overall, I like this mouse, so as long as this mouse is ergonomic then I’m sold. Unfortunately, Artlebedev, the design company in Russia behind the Mus mouse’s design, doesn’t mention on their site when and if they will be selling this mouse at all. (Source: Akihabara News)
More Affordable & Fashionable Cases
July 25, 2005
WomeninBusiness.com has a selection
of four different laptop cases designed for women. What’s extra impressive about
their cases is that not only are they fashionable, but they are affordable as
well. "The Shuttle" bag is
just $24.95 and comes in pink, light blue, red, and black. Then they have "The Metro" which comes in black,
and red. "The Metro" comes with a matching quilted detachable cosmetic case. "The liberator" comes in red,
black, pink and leopard print, and includes an Detachable Accessory Purse for just
$49.95. "The
Boardroom" case comes in black or beige and is made of suede and Napa
leather, it’s priced at $99.95. Keep the affordable and fashionable cases coming!
How to be Your Own Hotspot
July 22, 2005
Popular Science Magazine has an article explaining how you can be your own hotspot. You’ll need a Junxion Box, EV-DO PCMCIA card, a solar-charging backpack and a few other items in order to get your portable hotspot up and running. This gig will end up costing over the one grand mark, but it’s the only way to get a hotspot connection when you’re in the middle of nowhere - which is exactly why I refuse to ever get stuck in the middle of nowhere.
Haute Couture for geeks
July 21, 2005
GeekCulture.com has a selection of beanie’s with propellers. Amongst them is the Jaguar Beanie with leopard print on its brim which just might appeal to some lady geeks. The Jaguar Beanie costs $56.95 without the propeller and $66.95 with the propeller.
USB FlowerPot Speaker
July 20, 2005
Forget the stereo Pig Speakers and the Hello Kitty Plush Doll Speakers. Instead feast your eyes on the Thanko USBFLOWW FlowerPot Speaker. It’s available for $59.95 USD from AudioCubes.com and it comes in white, yellow and red. Oh, and being that they’re USB powered, you’ll never have to water them or worry about them dying.
Stereo Pig Speakers
July 18, 2005
It was just a few days ago that I assumed that the Hello Kitty Plush Doll Speakers were the most unique set of speakers I’d ever seen. Well that statement is short-lived because GirlsStuff.co.uk has a set of battery powered speakers shaped like pigs! Each pig measures 16 x 11 x 10cm and uses 4 triple AAA batteries. Unfortunately there is a measly 1.6 watts per speaker, which is barely enough for a good squealin. These are priced at $24.97 USD.
Ipod Mini Case with Secret Cosmetic Mirror
July 18, 2005
Fling from Digital Lifestyle Outfitters is not your ordinary ipod case! Aside
from coming in the colors psychedelic pink or green, and metallic green or
pink, these ipods cases are extra special because underneath their flap hides a cosmetic mirror so that you can check if food is stuck
between your teeth as you scroll through your playlist. You
can also store your headphones, lipstick, or cash using the included elastic
storage band. These cases are available for $34.99 at everythingipod.com
JVC Everio Camcorders with 30GB
July 17, 2005
JVC is known for manufacturing excellent digital camcorders. Their Everio series stores MPEG-4 video on a hard drive. Until recently the Everio models have had a 4GB microdrive inside. Now JVC is producing Everios with 20gb and 30gb hard drives. Remarkably, these camcorders may have a large storage capacity yet they are still small in size. Plus the camcorder comes in 4 colors to choose from - black, silver, blue or our favorite - pink/violet. No word on when these will reach the states, which is a shame because not only are these camcorders powerful - they are cute as well, and that is a rare combination. (Source: Akhibara News)
Hello Kitty Plush Doll Speakers
July 14, 2005
Sanrio keeps pumping out Hello Kitty gadgets for us to play with. One gadget that caught my attention is their pair of battery operated Hello Kitty Plush Doll Speakers which have the volume and power controls placed directly on Hello Kitty’s head. I imagine that the sound quality coming out of these can’t be too good, but for $28.00 they are an affordable novelty. Either way these sure are the most unique set of speakers I’ve ever seen.
Keeping your Pet Safe with the GlobalPetFinder
July 14, 2005
They say that a dog can be a man’s best friend, well our little furry friend’s
can be a gal’s best friend as well, which is why the thought of your pet getting
lost is terrifying. Have no fear, now the GlobalPetFinder can come to your
rescue. The Globalpetfinder is a GPS collar that enables you to track your
missing dog via cell phone, PDA or computer. It’ll even
monitor the environmental temperature so that you can be alerted if
temperature conditions become dangerous for your pet. This extra special collar
costs $350 and there is a monthly fee of $18 to $20, but in the end this gadget
is priceless if you have a pet that likes to wander off often. Now if only this
thing could walk the dog at 2 am…
Media Gear USB Keychain
July 13, 2005
Most of us have some old flash memory cards lying around, so why not put the cards to use by transforming them into thumb drives? For just $9.95, you can recycle your old memory card using the Media Gear USB Keychain. Media Gear makes usb keychain adapters for Secure Digital, Compact Flash, SmartMedia, xD and Memory Stick formats, so that you’ll have no excuse for leaving that memory card lying around collecting dust. (Source: Maximum PC Magazine, August 2005)
Fashionable Ladies Laptop Bags at Target for under $30
July 12, 2005
Two years ago there was a very limited amount of notebook cases available to purchase that were designed for ladies. Nowadays, plenty of companies have taken notice that women like fashionable cases to carry their laptop in, so that there is a pretty big selection of stylish laptop cases out there. Unfortunately many of these companies charge exorbitant prices for these cases.
Video Game Papercrafts
July 12, 2005
Here’s an activity for a rainy day. GotOrion.com has a whole bunch of video-game-themed papercraft projects to print out. They’ve got Mario, Luigi, Pikachu, Yoshi and some other classic video game icons.
Old School Video Game Art Exhbit
July 11, 2005
If you’ve ever thought that Video Games are potentially Art, then you’re not the only one. A group of about 100 artists have used paint, plastic and other mediums to recreate their childhood gaming memories. Even if you couldn’t make it to the "I Am 8 Bit" opening night, you can check out some of the art in their online gallery or purchase some reprints in their online store. These are some truely geeky masterpieces, definately stuff I’d buy to decorate my home.