We’ve been spending most of the fall fighting the dreaded H1N1.  People are lathering up with hand sanitizer, and the smell of Lysol is in the air whenever another person in the office is reported as out with Swine Flu.  Well, Think Geek has the H1N1 that you don’t want to go away.  It’s the plush version of the H1N1 Virus, and it’s only $7.99 from Think Geek.  Doesn’t this plush version look cute?

I have often wanted to buy one of those Ambient Devices Judie blogged about a few weeks ago.  I’ve also wanted a Nabaztag as well, since they are cute and can do some really cool stuff like play mp3 files or provide e-mail alerts.  I don’t want either anymore, thanks to kysoh.com who sent me a Tuxdroid that is not only very cute, but is also based on open source software. Continue Reading

Looks like the Light Brite toy I played with as a kid has gotten a major hi-tech overhaul.

Sketch Art from Hi-Tech Art allows you to make your own art by sticking LEDs.  You use the included background to stick LEDs into and watch them light up.  The board has no circuitry, no soldering, no resistors.

It includes eight differently colored LEDs to choose from.  It runs on batteries, wall power or USB, so you can take it pretty much anywhere.

The Sketch Art is available here, at a price of $49.95

Remember Pleo that Judie and her kitty played with a while back?  Well it appears to be coming out of extinction and is now for sale at the Pleoworld web site!  So if you did not get a chance to order your own life-like dinosaur, then now is your chance!  He’s currently $349.  Continue Reading

My son and his Boy Scout council did something really cool at their Day Camp this year.  They made water powered rockets from two liter bottles and launched them in the air.  I don’t know what kind of launcher they used, but odds are it wasn’t the Aquapod.

The Aquapod is a futuristic, one piece design plastic bottle launcher made of highly durable ABS plastic. It needs no assembly, just an ordinary bicycle pump, a bottle and water.

The Aquapod launches ordinary plastic soda bottles up to 100 feet in the air and is the only launcher available with a built in solid brass check valve to prevent overpressurizing.  All you need is a empty 2 liter bottle, some water and a bicycle pump.

The Aquapod is available now from theaquapod.com for $24.99.

Legos are for the little ones, now MicroRAX are the Tim “The Toolman” Taylor version for us big guys(cue the grunt)!  TwinTec, Inc.out of Washington has just announced the release of pre-cut MicroRAXkits that are compatible with Erector, Meccano and Eitech construction sets. MicroRAX are made from high-strength precision extruded aluminum, in other words MicroRAX is much stronger than plastic building systems or thin punched sheet metal. From taking a look at the website the only limitations to what you can build is based on your general engineering skills, so for me I guess I will only be making a box! Some if this equipment has been used in the Space Elevator Games, for those of you not in the aerospace or engineering fields get back to me on what you think about that, I’m still trying to figure it out.

MicroRAX a light weight miniature T-Slot framing system. Suitable for use on your desktop or bench top to build science, engineering, or advanced hobby and DIY projects. This small rugged framing system is ideal for use in machines, school science projects, robotics, design houses, workshops, prototypes, repair, models, gadgets, maintenance, etc.

MicroRAX are available directly from the manufacturer here. Prices vary based on need and kit.

When I got this  airplane in the mail, I was shocked that this little tiny thing can actually fly.  I am happy to say that this little airplane not only flew, but flew very well even outside where I tested it. Let’s go over all the pieces of this  plane.

The plane itself is constructed mainly of a carbon fiber wire for it’s fuselage and durobatic foam for it’s wings, horizontal and vertical stabilizers.  It doesn’t sound like much, but the plane is very durable even though it looks like you could and can crush it.  In normal use, it should last for years.  Just don’t step or sit on it! Continue Reading

Next year the Rubix Cube turns 30, so the fact that I was working part-time in a retail department store to support school / books / music / games / friends/ etc when it came out means a couple of things. First it means that there is a certain nostalgia attached to the Cube. OK, so it also says I’m old! Anyway, when I had the opportunity to try out the SphereXYZ, a challenging puzzle that invokes the spirit of the classic Cube, I jumped! So let’s find out of the game lives up to the classic and if it is ready to inspire a new generation of puzzlers! Continue Reading

This Lego Headlamp with dual action “foot lights” would be the perfect device for a children’s doctor to use in the examining room. If you’re a true geek at heart you could also wear it trick or treating but only if you want your kids to stay way far away! It clips to any headgear you choose and is available for about $13 starting mid September.

Nerd Approved

The Gadgether.com has compiled a really interesting list of 25 of the most untraditional Russian Nesting Dolls you’ll ever come across.

This list spans touches the geekier side of all us but the dolls stay true to a form that would do grandma proud.

The list includes Star Wars, Star Trek, The Linux Penguin, Batman, The Beatles and more.

Check out the entire list here.

I recently started a series on how products change over the years.

Based on this next post perhaps it’s time to do an article on the Rubik’s cube.

This weekend TV retailer QVC will be premiering the The Rubik’s Touch Cube.  The puzzle will be available for order for the very first time during the channel’s “Christmas In July” segment.

Fans of the iconic Rubik’s Cube will now be able to experience the new game play of the Rubik’s TouchCube’s touch sensor technology.

Want  to be one of the first gamer’s to own one of these hi-tech toys?

Head to the Rubik’s Touch Cube home page for more details.

In this month’s issue of Mac Life I spotted a write up on three different shareware screen savers.  One in particular caught my eye.

I’m willing to bet if you’re a gadget head now as an adult chances are as a child you played with Legos.

I know I did!  I think my mother still has a bucket full of them in her basement.

Now you can relive the Lego experience on your desktop with a fun screen saver.

Available for both Mac and PC the Briblo screen saver features of tower of Legos which fall like bricks to the bottom of your desktop.  You can even guide them to the bottom by using your keyboard’s arrow keys.

The screen saver is free and available to download from 9031.com

Oh to be one of those geeks who can effortlessly start up a remote control helicopter and make it fly, but alas. When I play with those type toys I am the one who will almost always immediately crash and burn…assuming I can even get lift off. It’s okay, though; I have found a flying toy which I can operate, and that doesn’t come complete with the same frustration I’ve discovered in others of the type: the WowWee Flytech Bladestar. Built for those who are eight years old and up, it’s even fun for those of us who have hit the big 4-0 (plus one).

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Robert’s at it again; today he has information on Mr. Personality, WowWee’s new omni-directional entertainment robot. Why might you want one? Read on…

Hello Judie,

Reminiscent of one of the robots at the robot carnival in the movie A.I., Mr. Personality is a unique interactive robot companion that talks up a storm. He’s a natural joke teller, a fortune teller, and will even give you whimsical answers about your future. Instead of a featureless face Mr. Personality has an animated face which is displayed via a head mounted full color LCD.

Features

* Can move in all directions using a unique three wheeled mobile base
* Tells stories, jokes, and fortunes and will talk to you too
* Full color head mounted LCD screen display an animated face with synchronized facial expressions and sounds
* Has several distinct play modes including: Bits, Crystal Ball, Fortune Cookies, Demo and others.
* Detects and avoids obstacles and will let you know if he has fallen over or if his batteries are getting low on juice

Official WowWee YouTube video:

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When I was a child, I absolutely loved stuffed animals; I had such a massive collection residing on my bed that they threatened to push me off should I stretch out or roll over in the middle of the night. One of my fondest wishes at that time was that some of my favorite stuffed animals could be more life-like and animated. Granted, this was in the 70s, and the closest things we had to robotic toys back then were those obnoxious stuffed dogs that came with a wired battery pack so that they could walk a few steps, bark, and then walk a bit more. These toys certainly weren’t huggable, you wouldn’t want to sleep with them, and once the initial trill of watching them do their “thing” wore off, they would invariably wind up in the bottom of a little girl’s toy bin.

Fast forward thirty plus years (ack! did I just admit that?) and we find that little girls still love their stuffed animals, they still hug on them and sleep with, and they still long for a more realistic “pet” experience. Gone are the wired yap-dogs, and in their place we now have much more life-like and animated animals such as those in the new WowWee Alive series.

I was sent their Lion Cub, and from the minute I opened the outer box, I knew exactly who I would employ as its primary “testers”. My boyfriend has two daughters, ages 5 and 9, and they both love stuffed animal; their beds bear silent testament to this fact. Would this particular toy get any type of special treatment once they had discovered its capabilities? Or would it end up in the bottom of their toy bin like the yap-dogs of yesteryear? There was only one way to find out…

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