GadgetReview

Chances are you’re going to wonder why I’m even bothering to talk about a Sega Saturn joystick at least ten years after the system went the way of the dodo, but I tell you that there’s a very good reason.

Because, you see, in the grandest old tradition of original Nintendo belt buckles, someone’s taken that old device and made it into something new and interesting: art.

James Ian Killinger took apart an old Sega Saturn joystick and noticed that, if he just added a few extra screws–three, to be exact–we’d get the thing you see above, a giant space bug.

Let that sink in for a second.  That’s a big bug sculpture made from only the parts of a Sega Saturn controller and three extra screws.  No extra parts were brought in, nothing was taken out.  That thing is just a Sega Saturn controller with three screws.  It’s easy to wonder what Killinger could’ve done if he’d had a FOURTH screw.

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If you’ve looked at your job and thought, you know, it’s great here and all, but what we need are more random Jedi duels, then do I have the gadget for you!

Five words: Star Wars Lightsaber Laser Pointers.

I know, I just said a whole volume of geektastic joy in one handy little five-word burst, but it is exactly what I said it is, a red laser pointer (what, no color options?  Can’t I have something other than Sith Red?  Why no love for any of the half-dozen or so Jedi colors?) that projects a small beam of red light.  Call attention to points in your PowerPoint presentation.  Freak out your cat.  Grab a magnifying glass and try in vain to fry ants.  Stage duels on your lunch break.

There are so many uses for this, but the clearest use of all is to clearly denote that YOU, sir (or ma’am as the case may be) are a serious Star Wars fan, true believer.  And if you’ve got $14.99, you too can slice up your choice of foes.

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If you recall, this past summer the makers of the super adorable Pleo went bankrupt.  As a result the Pleo, much like the dinosaurs, went extinct.  But through the magic of cellular reproduction (someone bought the IP) the Pleo is back and available for your holiday gifting.  You can grab one now for $349, or if need be pick up an extra battery pack, charger or adapter.

[via Robotsrule]

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Talk about a party favor.  I mean who doesn’t like to trip?  Having recently experienced CornField Electronics’ Trip Glasses, I’m very glad there is not one part of me that is epileptic.  The packaging makes note of some sort of meditation that can occur when you wear the glasses but I don’t believe that malarky one bit.  Perhaps if your definition of meditation is in fact hallucination, then maybe.

To explain it bluntly, the Trip Glasses are less like glasses and more like a kaleidoscope of blunt force trauma to your senses.  Some people who tried it had mixed results, but I can honestly say that I could trigger my inner shroom no problem.  …Continue reading: Trip Glasses Review

Oh yes.  I’m going to a haunted corn maze on Friday or a maize maze for those of you who like multi-lingual wordplay, and if this remote controlled bat was part of the show I’d be impressed.

Exactly what you think it is, this 13 gram and 10 inches of wingspan Flying Vampire Bat uses a tiny lithium polymer battery that lasts for 10 minutes for every half hour of charging.   This has Halloween prank written all over it.

The controller runs off of 6 whole AA batteries and the whole product costs around $33.  To add to the scare tactics the bat also has green LED’s embedded in the eyes for all those unsuspecting Trick-or-Treaters.

This reminds me of something I saw in Peter Jackson’s Dead Alive and I’m sure it will do its best to “kick ass for the lord!”

[via CoolestGadgets]

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I certainly loved me some Super Mario Kart on the Nintendo 64.  It provided endless hours of entertainment and was one of those games that you could just pick up and play.  From the screen to the desktop comes the Mario Kart Micro Desktop Racers.  Just like the game they include a turbo charge button and the banana peel and tortoise shell obstacles.  You can have the sweet taste of Nintendo nostalgia for just $24 (£14.95 UK) each.

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The more I can touch something without having to press it is the way I want to deal with everything.  Being touchscreen is obviously going to make something cooler. But what about when it comes to a Rubik’s Cube, whose traditional experience was some good old fashioned twisting and turning?

An expensive upgrade at $150, I can see this being cool for a couple minutes and fun to pass around at a party or amongst friends.  The touchscreen Rubik’s Cube is expected to ship by the 15th of this month but you can pre-order one now.

This is the touchscreen version of the Rubik’s cube that first challenged puzzle-solvers nearly 30 years ago. Instead of turning each face of the cube to line up colors, modern-day players need only lightly swipe a section of lights with a finger in the same manner as the original.
Touch sensors on all sides detect your finger and a motion detecting accelerometer determines which face is active; the colors change according to the direction of your finger’s swipe. Its built-in memory saves your puzzle so you can pick up where you left off. It can offer hints, or if you are truly exasperated, it can solve itself. The cube recharges in eight hours using its display stand, allowing one hour of play.

[via RandomGoodStuff]

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Over the last couple days, I’ve seen cameras and camcorders made out of Legos, so it really doesn’t surprise me to note the new addition to the Lego electronics family, the Lego earphones.

No, seriously.  They’re called the “Sundries PLAYBRICK”, and with a name like that and a design like that you can probably already guess where they’re from.  I’ll give you a moment to let the collective facepalm die down and tell you that they’re from Japan.  That and I’ll give good odds that the name comes from some frantic lawyer’s cries of “we’re gonna get SUED if we don’t call them something different!”

You have your choice of six designer colors, and they’ll cost the equivalent of $23.  If you want nothing so much out of life as to have Lego earphones, just make your way over to Rinkya, the link to which is below.

Via [Crunchgear]

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If you’re anything like me, you’ve got an old cell phone or two laying around the house and you’re about dying to get rid of it.  But you’ve got no idea where or how to dump it.  We all know there are loads of hazardous material laws to grapple with, and those collection drives expect you to pay to dump your hardware.

Enter the EcoATM, a device the size of an actual ATM that’ll let you dump your hardware quick, easy, and sometimes, profitably.  Simply drop your old phone or other device into the EcoATM’s slot, and the machine will determine if it has any value.  The machine will then make you an offer for the device, which it will pay off from a separate slot, usually in the form of a gift card.

What if your device is worthless, you say?  Not a problem–there’s no such thing as a worthless device to the EcoATM.  Even if it has no residual value, you’ll still be able to leave the device with the EcoATM, but you’ll also get a “freebie item”, plus EcoATM will arrange for a tree to be planted in your honor somewhere, which still beats having to pay off the collection people all hollow.

EcoATM is actually doing pretty well so far–its first day in operation netted 23 phones and passed out a full hundred bucks in gift cards.  Word is it got a BlackBerry Curve in prime condition.  So chances are, this prototype will likely be coming to an electronics store near you.

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Since Star Wars is pretty much the epitome of geek, and geek is gadget I figured why not.  Pictured above is the day in the life of a Storm Trooper.  It’s odd that Storm Trooper babies have holes in their legs, or perhaps that’s a Lego model. Cute.

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