Steorn gives up on free-energy, starts charging for USB-powered divining rods

It all makes so much sense now. After conducting an elaborate infinite free-energy ruse from a rented art gallery in London, Steorn's business model becomes clear: get people talking about your name (no press is bad press, as they say) and then use that brand recognition to sell some crap. Meet the €289 (that's $400 mister) USB Hall Probe that turns your $1,000 PC into a $40 magnetometer. It's for "Hobbyist and educational experimentation scenarios," they say with a straight face. Look, we have no idea if this performs any better than the cheap hand-held gaussmeters available on-line. But considering the source, we can only offer an educated guess.

[Thanks, Tekdroid]

[Derry Quinn @ Jun 25th 2009 7:03AM]

Steorn makes me disappointed to be Irish.

[smartphonezen @ Jun 25th 2009 7:11AM]

You could have said the same thing about DeLorean

[sam @ Jun 25th 2009 8:06AM]

@Derry (um, appropriate name?): They also made them in Ireland, according to the Wikipedia entry.

[wjousts @ Jun 25th 2009 8:15AM]

@Sam: Northern Ireland.

[Tyrotoxism @ Jun 25th 2009 8:53AM]

@wjousts

Still part of Ireland ;)

[Derry Quinn @ Jun 25th 2009 9:07AM]

Derry is actually my real name... my Dad was from Derry, and well... anyway.

I know they made them in Ireland, but it's an American company, isn't it? (wasn't it?)

Anyway, so long as mine can get to 88mph when I get around to buying one, I don't care who made it!

[Magallanes @ Jun 25th 2009 9:14AM]

May be he is Irish but Celtic.

^_^

[brianwaldron @ Jun 25th 2009 9:42AM]

"Handheld and permandent fixtures" = almost engrish :D

[Riley @ Jun 26th 2009 3:44AM]

"Still part of Ireland ;)"
Physically, maybe

[andymac @ Jun 25th 2009 7:10AM]

This apparently is powered by leprechaun urine.

[Marek @ Jun 25th 2009 7:18AM]

hey . . . it sure beats "free energy" . . .

[LT73 @ Jun 25th 2009 8:14AM]

HAHAHA!

[Blackstar @ Jun 26th 2009 8:37AM]

So.... this is their outstanding Plan "B"...

[JP Morgan @ Jun 25th 2009 7:18AM]

Except that we don't know yet if the jury even got to examine anything. Also, the cracks are beginning to appear in the jury story - 22 were not unanimous. Many of the jury are unaccounted for and no-one is talking. Good journalism would have you asking questions instead of repeating the contents of emails sent to you.

You forgot to mention that Steorn are launching with or without a jury later this year.

Hope this story bites you in the ass.

JP

[Marek @ Jun 25th 2009 7:23AM]

@ JP Morgan:

What? I'm confused - they're clearly scammers. And hey! Wanting people to get bit in the ass is definitely not very cool (trust me).

[Bellzebub @ Jun 25th 2009 7:23AM]

Did I read this article wrongly? I thought that Engadget, like most people, was skeptical of Steorn?

[sockatume @ Jun 25th 2009 8:49AM]

Actually all 22 jury members supported the verdict. Someone misread the jury's blog commenters list (of which I am member, because you need to sign up to comment) as a list of jury members. At the time there were 16. Now there are a lot. The only part of the story that doesn't make sense is that Steorn can manage to demonstrate the device to The Guardian and make all kinds of claims for its energy output, but the only thing they could provide the jury was some data on magnetic field measurements.

[poke @ Jun 25th 2009 8:49AM]

The fact that you state you dont know if the Jury got a chance to examine this thing and the fact that no one has seen this up and running tells the only story you need to know.

Why make it so hard to prove??

Seems very odd that you question the Journalism and not Steorn. You can claim they are launching later this year but that claim is about as credible as their other claims.

[JP Morgan @ Jun 25th 2009 7:44AM]

@marek

The papers and 955 of the blogs got it wrong. Only tonight has the jury admitted that some of their number did not vote as they "left for personal reasons" So the 22 quoted by the press as "unanimous" is utter BS.

Dont believe me? Fine. Resaerch it yourself. That's what's wrong with people - they see some crap on a website and they automatically take it at face value.

Wake up my little sheep.

[LondonConsultant @ Jun 25th 2009 7:57AM]

What planet are you on?!

[sam @ Jun 25th 2009 8:09AM]

Um, somebody needs a 'jury' to identify bullshit as bullshit? Didn't we have a second law of thermodynamics for that?

I can't remember what kind of scam this was but presumably it was yet another effort on that level. There's one born every minute.

[Snowdog @ Jun 25th 2009 8:13AM]

Note this is his first post, probably a Steorn employee.

[matt @ Jun 25th 2009 9:13AM]

Anyone noticed that the only supporters of steorn on this story are two commenters that have only signed up today? Astroturfing much? Just fuck off and think up a new way to scam people out of money.

[10minutehobo @ Jun 25th 2009 7:37AM]

test

[giuliop @ Jun 25th 2009 7:37AM]

This post is so ignorant and cheap I don't know where to start. Good job as always, I see.

[T-Will @ Jun 25th 2009 2:34PM]

Seán McCarthy???

[10minutehobo @ Jun 25th 2009 7:38AM]

WILL YOU FIX THE DAMN COMMENTING SYSTEM

[Atanas Boev @ Jun 25th 2009 9:56AM]

not before you fix your caps lock key.

[Wwhat @ Jun 25th 2009 1:51PM]

What's wrong with it?

[Ethan @ Jun 25th 2009 7:39AM]

Does it work in bright lights?

[simbr @ Jun 25th 2009 7:52AM]

Wait, Orbo.. isn't that like soylent green?

[Jordan @ Jun 25th 2009 8:01AM]

ummm... they've been selling these things for about 6 months now.

[johnsonha143 @ Jun 25th 2009 8:02AM]

It does make sense. Very sad indeed. I'm taking Steorn and Orbo off my Google Alerts.

HJ:O(

[LT73 @ Jun 25th 2009 8:14AM]

Steorn...

Disgust is the word that comes to mind.

Or how bout Hoax.

Or maybe, borderline, Criminals.

[ED @ Jun 25th 2009 8:22AM]

Magnetometer? It'll never work, because Magneto has that nifty helmet...

[J. K. @ Jun 25th 2009 8:30AM]

Get your laughs in now people, they are launching their free energy before the end of this year. The implications of the tech worldwide is not funny.

This article does not reflect journalism but blog regurgitation...

[poke @ Jun 25th 2009 8:42AM]

If this is true then great but they have gone about it totally all wrong. How hard can it be to reproduce a concept you have had the the works and working for years now.

They can take a running jump for all I care.

Engadget are showing these guys exactly for what they are, GOONS.

[Wwhat @ Jun 25th 2009 1:52PM]

J.K from 'just kidding' I'm assuming.

[Jagger @ Jun 25th 2009 8:36AM]

Wait... People actually have computers that are worth $1,000? I thought that niche was too little to talk about...

[Matt @ Jun 25th 2009 9:08AM]

Nope, they must have made a typo. All computers start at $1999 and up. Always. Especially at Engadget.

[brandonF @ Jun 25th 2009 10:00AM]

Was hoping someone could comment on their hall probe itself. Considering that it's supposed to replace a gaussmeter AND hall probe combo (not sure how they do that but their web site claims to) it looks like it's bargain priced, compared to ... http://www.gaussmeter.co.uk/hall-probes.html They ain't cheap. No electrical engineers on here today that can enlighten us?

[poke @ Jun 25th 2009 10:12AM]

I guess no one cares about the hall probe due to the shit that come before.

Marketing trick or scammers - Steorn now equals tarnished joke regardless of what comes after.

[Aaron Cortelyou @ Jun 25th 2009 10:31AM]

yeah the AC magnetometers online are cheap but hall probe DC magnetometers are really expensive. I wish I would have had this option a few years ago when I bought a 600 dollar bell labs teslameter.

[bjnicholls @ Jun 25th 2009 12:32PM]

Next up, the Pons-Fleischmann palladium plated USB cooler.

[PGP-Protector @ Jun 25th 2009 1:23PM]

I would actually find this useful depending on the Resolution & accuracy, and if there's a calibration standard.

Right now I'm using the Lakeshore Hall Probes & Meters, and while it's nice that they use the Standard GPIB protocol, they're slow.

[PGP-Protector @ Jun 25th 2009 1:27PM]

Ug just looked at the specs.
Horrible resolution
Gauss Range 0 to 1700 gauss
Gauss Resolution 3.64 gauss

[jon @ Jun 25th 2009 2:01PM]

Steorn, the scientologists of the free-energy movement.

[Joseph @ Jun 25th 2009 3:42PM]

Steorn - Supplying aliens with probes for over 10 million years.

[rento @ Jun 25th 2009 5:25PM]

Oh Steorn. Let me tell you.. You Suck!