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ICYMI: Rubik's phone, underwater bomb bot and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-997807{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-997807, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-997807{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-997807").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: The University of Bristol's Interaction Group made a phone prototype out of small cubes that can be flipped around to form different shapes. Saab created an underwater robot to help detect explosives. And Colorado State University students made a real life Mario Kart game with carts that we are dying to experience for ourselves. In case you want to share it with friends, the video for the bottle opener that automatically messages your friends when you open a beer is here. As always, please share any great tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Peripheral Vision 007: Tyler DeAngelo - 'wasting time is an important piece of innovation'
"There's something we miss when everything becomes virtual and goes online," says Tyler DeAngelo. "Tactile-ness gives it something that is more interesting and a deeper connection and makes it more meaningful." The ad executive invited us to Havas Worldwide's Chicago offices to show off his latest creation, and with Fifth Avenue Frogger, the Check 'N Chew Foursquare gumball machine and the Buzzed Buzzer under his belt, we took him up on the offer. His latest creation was born of the same desire to bridge the physical and the virtual. Created for a beer client, the bottle opener has Arduino Nano-based circuitry built-in, which connects with an Android handset via Bluetooth, sending texts to friends when you crack open a bottle. "I'm definitely not the first person to say this, but creativity comes from finding meaningful relationships between things that already exist," explains DeAngelo. "Nothing I'm doing is going to change the world. A lot of the stuff I do is wasting people's time, but I still think that making someone think differently or making someone laugh or have fun -- wasting time is an important piece of innovation." It's also, naturally, an important part of engaging a public increasingly immune to sales pitches. Getting people's attention in an ad-saturated world requires a lot more than clever jingles. "i think the most innovative things in the media field should be happening inside ad agencies right now," DeAngelo adds. "If they're not, those who aren't innovating are going to be dead."
iPad 101: No bottle opener? No problem
This handy tip first made the rounds in May of 2012, but it's worth reviving for a holiday weekend filled with barbecues, beer -- and probably a few missing bottle openers. According to Twitter's @EvaGiselle (and technique confirmed/photo thanks to TechHive's Susie Ochs), you can indeed pop the top on a frosty bottle of suds using nothing more than your bare hands and an iPad charger. Although CNET originally ran into some troubles (cracked adapters) with this approach, the Huffington Post was able to use it with ease given a little bit of care and finesse. Needless to say, if you break your adapter using it in a manner for which it was not designed, good luck getting it replaced at the Apple Store on Tuesday. (That's why the more expensive MagSafe laptop adapters are completely off-limits.) Even though Mophie's original Bevy bottle opener/iPod shuffle case is no longer sold, there are plenty of modern-day options to choose from, including the Opena case for both iPhone 4 and 5 models. Enjoy the weekend, and remember to charge responsibly -- always designate a sober friend to keep track of the iPads.
Crapgadget: Animal House redux edition
College: four (or five, or six) years of crackin' brews, listening to tunes, trippin' out to light shows, and snugglin' up to coeds at bonfires on the beach. Just in time for homecoming, we have an assemblage of crapgadets that should put you in good stead, including: iBottleopener (turns your iPhone into, well, a bottle opener, for a mere $20), the BONE iPhone portable amplifier (a large, ugly horn that essentially turns your handset into a Victor Talking Machine for $25), Glow In The Dark USB memory sticks (capacities up to 16GB for $90), and an honest-to-goodness lighter that does double duty as an 8GB flash drive ($37). Which one of these "party favors" isn't doing anybody any favors? Cast your vote below. Read - iBottleOpener Read - BONE iPhone Case Series Read - Zip Zip Glow Read - USB Flash Drive Lighter (8GB Edition) %Poll-54367%
Happy Hour watches open bottles, doors unto new worlds (video)
Ready for your daily dose of ingeniousness? That word is actually real, and so is the Happy Hour Timepiece -- a watch that doubles as a bottle opener, because as the tagline reminds us, "it's 5 o'clock somewhere." It has just become available to buy from Time Tap's website, and its black leather-strapped awesomeness can be yours for $49.95. Click past the break to see video of it being demonstrated -- the watch even has dual digital and analog time displays, so much value!
TrekStor's stylish USB stick doubles as bottle opener
Is this a bottle opener that also functions as a flash drive, or is this a USB stick that just so happens to double as a bottle opener? While pundits debate that one, we'll step in to tell you that this brilliant creation from the minds of TrekStor includes a solid, brushed aluminum housing, USB 2.0 connectivity and the ability to play nice with any major operating system. Regrettably, it looks as if this one will launch in Europe alone next month for anywhere between €6.99 ($10) and €49.99 $71) depending on size (1/2/4/8/16GB capacities). Please, upload responsibly.[Via CNET]
Illuminator's first product: the Bevy iPod Shuffle case
Sure, we've seen an iPod Shuffle go mano a mano with a knife-wielding owner, but the first product from Morphie's Illuminator project takes on bumps, drops, and bottle tops with the best of 'em. The aptly-titled Bevy wears a number of hats, the most obvious of which is a dashing 2G Shuffle protective case, but other built-in functions include acting as a key ring, earbud wrap, and bottle opener for when times are desperate. The Illuminator project was unveiled at this year's Macworld, and while hundreds of entries found their way in, this is the first of three winning designs chosen to be produced and sold to the public. The Bevy is currently available for pre-ordering in green, pink, blue, orange, and silver for $15.
Gimme a beer opener and a HD-DVD drive please
Look what we've got, another Amazon.com Better Together recommendation. If you remember, that silly Amazon.com recommended that a slow cooker and a copy of Gears of War would make a perfect match and it looks like they are at it again. Today, we have a Be Open beer and soda bottle opener, perfect for your bottle opening needs. But look a little closer at what Amazon.com recommends as a Perfect Pair purchase ... a Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive! Yes friends, what would go better with a HD-DVD player than a nifty little bottle opener gadget? If you are a tech genius you could easily rig the drive to open when it hears the sound of a brewsky being opened or maybe mount the bottle opener on the HD-DVD drive ... wait, that's it! The Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive, not only for watching HD movies, but will open your beer before you even get to the movie previews. You can thank us later.[Thanks, izzyb412]
Bungie's Master Chief bottle opener
How does a battle-hardened Spartan soldier kick back and relax after fragging Covenant all day? With a crisp, cool, refreshing New Mombasa Ale. And how does s/he open it? No, not with their teeth, but with their authentic Bungie.net Spartan keychain! Sure, it looks like a regular keychain with a Spartan helmet on it, but our in-house beer-ologist (me) has confirmed the dimensions are indeed correct for maximum beer-opening functionality. Other Bungie Store updates include a Halo cup (to pour your beer in), and a Spartan Messenger Bag (to carry your plasma grenades in...and also beer). *Kids, please replace all references to beer with root beer. Thanks! [Thanks, hooters; store update via Bungie.net]
