GadgetReview

While some buy water others invest in precious metals during times of possible apocalyptic turmoil.  The TG-Gold-Super-Markt is the first gold, yes gold vending machine.  In order to take it for a spin, though, you’ll have to travel to Germany’s Frankfurt Airport.  So if you happen to be in Terminal 1 sometime soon, drop in $49 and you’ll have yourself a 1g wafer of gold, or for $400 you can pick up a 10g bar or coins.  But unlike your local laundromat’s quarters machine, each piece of gold comes with a certificate of authenticity and the machine is jacked into the Frankfurt gold market so it can update its prices every few minutes.  After that it tacks on a 30% fee, which all said and done is a hell of a lot, but so is any tourist piece of crap.  Expect 500 more of these machines to pop up throughout Germany in the near future.

[via Uniquedaily]

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Generally speaking I turn a blind eye to late night infomercials and products that make guarantees that are just too good to be true.  Magic Jack appeared to be one of those products, but apparently the company has turned itself around since launch and sold over 3 million devices.

If you’re not familiar with Magicjack it’s a small device that lets you place VoIP (like Skype) calls from a regular landline phone through your computer’s broadband connection. It plugs into your computer’s USB port and for $40 includes unlimited calls to the US and CA with no monthly charges or minutes for up to 1 year.   After that it’s just $20 a year.

Now the company has plans to expand and perhaps even take on the big guys, such as AT&T.  Arriving sometime between Q3 of 2009 and Q1 of 2010 the company will introduce a femtocell product that lets you wirelessly reroute your cell phone calls through the MagicJack.  Apparently, the Femtocell MagicJack will be slightly larger than the current device and cost only a few dollars more.  AT&T and others carrier have plans to roll out a femtocell device sometime later this year (Verizon already released theirs), but their devices are said to be retardedly expensive but lack a monthly fee.

You can also expect the company to roll out number porting in the next 60 days, which will enable consumers to port preexisting numbers over to the MagicJack.  They’ve also got plans make the MagicJack Linux compatible by Q3 of this year and possibly roll out a mobile phone application similar to Skype that appeared on the iPhone recently.

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Panasonic announced the launch of Amazon’s Video On Demand on their Panasonic’s VIERA CAST enabled HDTVs today.  Here’s a glance at what they’re offering:

• Shop from their TV for their favorite movies and TV shows, selecting from Amazon Video On Demand’s massive selection of more than 40,000 commercial free titles including over 500 titles in HD.
• Enjoy instant playback, no downloading, no waiting and no subscription fees.
• Enjoy Amazon Video On Demand’s high-quality video through its use of the advanced h.264 codec and an automatic bandwidth detection feature that seamlessly plays back the best quality file at either 300, 600, 900, 1200, and when purchased or rented in HD, at 2500 kbps.
• Access and add to their virtual library of purchases via Amazon Video On Demand’s Your Video Library, and re-watch them anytime on their Panasonic VIERA CAST ® enabled HDTV or online with a PC, MAC or other compatible device.

Full release after the ‘leap’ …Continue reading: Amazon Video On Demand Now Available On All Panasonic VIERA CAST TVs, Includes 500 HD Titles

Now this might not be as ridiculous as it first sounds.  This human washing machine could actually have some benficial uses.  From homeless shelters to military outposts, showers and clean flesh are always hot topics of discussion when they are unavailable.  Aptly titled, the Avant Santelubain 999 is sort of like a contained carwash that cleans the human with spraying soap and water and uses infrared lights for steam heat.  Other features include audio and aroma therapy and seaweed wrap options.  Say what now?  That is yet to be explained but could it actually save water if the operation times were short?  Sterilizing itself after each use, it still seems too expensive and bulky at this point to be incorporated at the places where it would be needed the most.

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A new technology that is set to begin in the next 12 months will be able to track if you took your meds or not.  Attached to a pill, a small microchip is activated when consumed sending a harmless signal to a patch located on the patent’s back or stomach.   Time and date of consumption are captured as is heart and breathing rate, which are then subsequently transferred to a near by cell phone that uploads the information to a secure site for doctors or nurses to review.  Not only can the technology be used to monitor the elderly or mentally sick who often are challenged with a pill regime, but the tech can be used to track a drug’s effectiveness and the patients well being during the time of prescription.

Developed by US-based Proteus Biomedical, the technology will go into trial in the UK in the next 12 months.

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Probably the most believable thing about the movie “Minority Report” was the personalized billboards that popped up when people walked past them.  Yahoo Japan, who believe it or not is the most popular search engine in Japan, is set to launch 500 personalized billboards in malls and train stations in the southern city of Fukuoka this fall.

Basically the billboard machine will use facial recognition cameras to determine a persons vital marketing statistics as they walk towards it.  When they pass by a personalized ad pops up and the civilian is affected appropriately.

Tokyo-based company called Comel is teaming up with Yahoo to provide the hardware and NEC Soft is bringing the Facial Analysis Software.

Intrusive or cool?  What if the camera knows you have a yeast infection and offers up a vagisil ad?  And you’re a dude?  Some things are best unshared.

[CrunchGear]

Now this has “Risky Business” written all over it.  Letting you use your keyboard, Jam Legend promises “more songs by more artists with more friends.”  The best thing about this program is the simple fact that it is free.  All of it.  Jam Legend is in Beta form right now, and is like a Guitar Hero/Rock Band type of music/guitar game mixed with a social networking site.  Awesome idea considering the unmatched popularity of these two things. Makes me think about that part in Family Guy where the two motorists crash into each other, the one with chocolate in his hand and the other with peanut butter. Using your keyboard as a fretboard, the pic shown here shows how simple this is.

A look at the site suggests total social networking with high scores, profiles, and even the chance for independent musicians to get their songs coded for the game.  I can see this catching on with people turning their old keyboards into axes of pure shred and posting videos of themselves going AWOL.  How many people have already been busted at work playing this?

[JamLegend via CoolestGadgets]

Taking one look at the NetFlix Blog and it’s easy to tell how pissed people are about the recent announcement to upcharge the customers renting Blu ray movies.  In a time where every dollar counts, people are only seeing this as a greedy move by NetFlix.  While we know that NetFlix mass produces the normal DVD’s, I have yet to see a copied Blu Ray disc.  This probably means that NetFlix has thrown down a lot more money to buy “more of the more” expensive disc to meet the demands.  People may also not figure in all the endless movies they can watch via computer or Xbox and all the new sources that NetFlix is bringing the streaming option to.  That in addition to what I imagine to be extremely high server costs, NetFlix is still a great service.  Below are some good rants from the blog.

Anonymous said…
Show me the numbers. I said it once I’ll say it again. Show me how you loose money if you don’t charge more for Blu-Ray.

Will my extra money GUARANTEE that I wont wait days/weeks for a New Release blue-ray? (like I do now?)

You mention the 30% more for blue ray disks, that make up, what…..5% of your library? How about the 1.99 bin DVD’s in Netflix’s library?

Gary Jr. said…

It is quite ridiculous to increase blu ray access when there aren’t enough blu ray titles to rent out. Very disappointed to see such an increase so quickly. I’ve opted to remove my blu ray service and I’m pretty sure many others will as well.

Anonymous said…
I am a stalwart Netflix fan, but this feels distinctly like BAIT-AND-SWITCH.

I only watch DVDs through Netflix and I recently spent $200 on a Blu-Ray player. The reason I did so, is because I did the math and decided that the cost of the machine, plus the extra $12 per year, was worth it. Now, suddenly it’s an extra $48 per year!

I’m sorry, but I don’t believe that Netflix was blindsided by “rising costs.” This feels decidedly like Bait-and-Switch, Netflix. And after already spending my money on that Blu-Ray player, I just have to sit here and take it like the fool I am.

Guess it happens with every company, sooner of later. But I no longer trust Netlfix one iota.

hawkster27 said…
As a 10-year-long Netflix customer, this is the first major aggravation I have experienced from them. I was irked by the initial $1 blu-ray surcharge, but the new one is simply a bald profit grab. The math doesn’t support the “blu-ray is more expensive than DVD” argument. Netflix claims to have 60,000 titles available, but only 1,300 blu-rays. That represents only 2.2% of their inventory. However, under the new surcharge, I will be billed $5 on top of my $18 basic plan, or an increase of 28%, over ten times Netflix’s claimed increase in overhead. And, let’s face it, Neflix doesn’t buy these discs retail. They no doubt negotiate very attractive discounts with the studios. So it’s good bye to blu-ray on Netflix for me.

[Gadgetell via NetFlixBlog]

I can remember countless times I’ve pitched my Party Blimp idea to anyone who’d listen.  I still day dream about it.  Anyway, totally upping that idea is the recently announced Hotelicopter.  Soon to be featured in the next lame ass T-Pain video, the prototype you see here was designed off the specs of the Russian Mil V-12 from 1968.  Austin Powers would have shagged apocalyptic if he had gotten his randy on this party beast no doubty.  The hotelicopter will massage the egos of up to 18 passengers and offer five star accommodations like big ass beds and WiFi for twittering. The hotelicopter will have its maiden voyage this summer with ticket prices yet to surface.  I am imagining scandalous happenings on this thing.  Get to the Party Choppa!

[OhGizmo]

In the past year, Twitter’s user base has had an unprecedented leap from 475,000 users to over 7 million! Those are some crazy figures which makes the 1,374 percent increase sound even crazier.  According to the blogs blurbs of the day, all these new Twitter heads are really clogging up the birdhouse and producing more “Fail Whale” sightings.  The “OG” Twitterers think all the new users are a drain on the system and are trite and exploitive by nature, and they are making the “coolness’ of Twitter less exclusive.  Far weirder has been the recent development of this “Fail Whale” subculture that has been gaining steam in the recent weeks.  People are becoming obsessed with the logo, (see above tattoo) and embracing the symbol of failure through parties and specialty cocktails.  What I don’t understand is that I Tweet most everyday and have never seen this fabled whale?

[CNN]