wooden
Latest
Wooden 2GB thumb drive doubles as Post-It Notes dispenser
What can we say? This is a 2GB thumb drive elegantly ensconced in White Oak. If that weren't enough, this convenient and portable package not only allows you to listen to some of your favorite Grateful Dead bootleg MP3s on your laptop at work, but also ensures that you always have a supply of tiny little Post-It Notes on hand. What better way to begin your workday in the soul-shattering plastic corporate world than popping in a somewhat eco-friendly wooden peripheral and rocking out to Picasso Moon? You should really check out the version from their October 25, 1989 show in Miami. This guy goes for ¥2,680 (about $30).[Via Akihabara News]
Steampunk monitor initiative goes awry, out pops wooden enclosure
The monitor you see above was awfully close to becoming exactly like this, but thankfully, the wood gods spoke to Scuba_SM's heart before he could round up another batch of Victorian-era tubing. The 22-inch wooden enclosure completely covers up the fact that an awkward looking LCD monitor is sitting on the table, and the solid maple top / base caps, light cherry stain and light coat of satin finish polyurethane make for something that's actually enjoyable to gaze at. Overkill? Maybe. Classy? Yes, please.
Eazo's Z70 wooden PC looks uncommonly natural, expensive
If Eazo's ultra-dark X70 was just too rich for your blood, we have all ideas the Z70 will really be out of reach. This luxurious tower -- coated in some sort of exotic rosewood and presumably sourced from the same jungle as Odeon's Sex Panther cologne -- includes a Core 2 Extreme QX9775 processor and lots of other components that we simply aren't privy too. The good news is that the internal water cooling system should prevent said CPU from lighting the wood on fire; the bad news is that a spill could eventually cause severe decomposition. You can't win for losin', can ya?[Via BornRich]
Chiaroscuro case mod riffs on Beijing Olympics building
Arboreal case modder Nick "Greensabbath" Falzone's latest creation is an Ebony and Maple Frankenstein inspired by the Beijing Digital Building. Dubbed Chiaroscuro -- meaning a contrast between light and dark -- the tower sports an AMD Phenom X4 9350e quad core, 4GB of RAM and a Radeon HD 4850. Hit up the read link for a full breakdown of the creation, with pictures galore (not pictured: the requisite wooden mouse and keyboard). Your move, Suissa.
DIYer gets crafty with plywood laptop case
We thought the AirMail was our most favorite niche case of all time, but the homegrown Ply Laptop Case is really making a case (ahem) for top honors. After hours upon hours of masterful plywood bending, sanding and carving, the wooden case you see above was created. Internally, the case is lined with cork to "provide additional heat resistance and protection," and best of all, those with the requisite skills can make one to hold any size machine you can dream of. Now, if only there was a TSA-approved version...[Via MAKE]
Wooden Nokia concept phone goes beyond the drawing board, gets built
Oh sure, LG has teased us with a faux wood cellphone, and Hulger has actually produced one that four people in existence can afford, but this... this is something else. According to the captions in textlad's Flickr pool, Nokia's own eco-team designed and created the object of desire that you see above: an 8-megapixel "handset" that appears to function just fine. We can already tell you this thing isn't coming to market, but we would absolutely love to be proven wrong.[Via TreeHugger, thanks shellshock]
SimpleTech hops on eco-friendly bandwagon with [re]drive HDD
Not that we haven't seen bamboo-based gizmos before, but there's something about SimpleTech's [re]drive that just screams upscale. This elegant, smooth looking external HDD was crafted to be easy on the eyes and Mother Earth alike, with the outfit utilizing "renewable, naturally grown bamboo and recyclable aluminum" along with an Energy Star power adapter and eco-friendly packaging. You'll also find a USB 2.0 jack, automatic power up / down and 500GB of internal storage space. Not too shabby for an estimated $150.[Via Wired]
Mobiado Professional 105 EM / GCB handsets: too luxurious for our fingers
Heads up, affluent sect. The immensely pricey Professional 105 line is expanding, as two new members slip in to tempt your stuffed wallet. Mobiado's Professional 105 EM is available in Cocobolo and Ebony, and the frame is even constructed from anodized aluminum; you'll also notice sapphire crystal buttons and a black finish. As for the Professional 105 GCB, it's layered with a 5-micron thick 24-karat gold plating and jazzed up with a fancy logo 'round back. Both candybars feature quad-band GSM support, a measly 1GB of internal storage space and a ho hum 2-megapixel camera, but fret not, as it'll (very likely) be the most expensive lackluster cellphone you'll ever pay for.[Via UnwiredView]
Suissa carves out Enlighten desktop PC
Suissa already has a decent range of custom-made wooden PCs for you to choose from, but if you've yet to be satisfied with one of its luxurious offerings, you may want to consider the company's new Enlighten model, which pushes the company's unconventional designs to even greater heights. In addition to your choice of materials used for the exterior, this one comes based around a micro ATX motherboard, which accommodates either a quad-core Intel or AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ processor, an NVIDIA 8800GTX or ATI Radeon HD2900XT graphics card, 4GB of RAM, 1TB of hard drive space, a DVD burner and an ample 620W power supply. No word on a price, but each one does need to be commissioned, which is rarely an encouraging sign.[Thanks, Martynas]
Wooden mousepad works great with wooden mice
What better to complement a wooden mouse (and wooden keyboard, for that matter) than a wooden mousepad? Nothing, that's what. This masterfully constructed jewel not only brings the tree to your workspace, but it's slightly angled for ergonomic pleasure and can likely be used upside-down in a pinch. Yeah, the $60.31 sticker makes this thing absurdly overpriced, but your wooden PC just wouldn't be complete without it.[Via CrunchGear]
Wooden portable NES lets you game in style
Sure, we've already got a wooden SNES, but sometimes we want to get a little rustic on some original SMB, and that's where Parker Dillmann's wooden NES comes in handy. Built around the guts of a Yobo NES clone and a 3.5-inch LCD, Dillmann did some major custom woodworking to get this rig going, and he says he's already got ideas for his next case. Tons more pics at the read link.[Via Ben Heck]
Ryou PC collection crafted from Japanese Judas tree
Another day, another round of PCs exquisitely built from woods farmed halfway across the globe. On the docket today, however, are a number of particularly drool-worthy rigs from Universal Roaming. The Ryou collection consists of a half dozen models constructed from Japanese Judas trees and accented with lacquer, silver / gold powders and other culturally-inspired designs. Each diminutive unit houses a 1.66GHz Core 2 Duo T5500 CPU, up to 2GB of RAM, an 80GB HDD, dual-layer DVD burner, WiFi adapter, 3-in-1 multicard reader and Windows Vista, but there's no telling how much you'll be asked to lay down in exchange for such elegance.
MSI shows off bevy of new laptops at CeBIT
We already knew the GX600 would be showing itself at CeBIT this year, but apparently, quite a few siblings made the trek to Germany as well -- including the aforementioned unit's 14.1-inch sister, the GX400. Moving on, we've got the 15.4-inch GX620 and 17-inch GX720, and while the former looks to arrive in a wood, leather or carbon fiber finish, the latter supposedly arrives with a black lacquer coat and a built-in subwoofer (among other goodies). The GT-730 gaming lappie was also mentioned, but unfortunately, all we know is that it gets its graphics prowess from some form of ATI Mobility Radeon. The AMD-powered EX610 (15.4-inches) also turned heads with its integrated Blu-ray player and HDMI output, while the 17-inch EX700 sported the same along with a GeForce 8400M GPU. Hit up the links below for a couple more snapshots, won'tcha?Read - MSI laptops at CeBITRead - More MSI laptops at CeBIT
JVC gives HP-FX500 earbuds the classy wooden touch
So you like wooden headphones, and you're down with JVC's offerings, but you don't have a thousand bucks to spend on the company's swanky HP-DX1000 over-the-ear cans. Before, you might have had a problem. However thanks to the new HP-FX500s earbuds, you can proudly sport the dead tree look and have your Victor sound for only ¥15,000 ($131). These buds tout a sensitivity of 100dB/1mW and frequency response of 8Hz to 25kHz and , which is not quite as good as their bulkier big brother, but what can you expect for around ten percent of the price, right?
The Wooden Menace: DIY robotic arm on the cheap
Oh yeah, we've seen our fair share of robotic arms, but it's not everyday that a craftsman posts an eight-page tutorial on how to construct one of your own for less than $60. The Wooden Menace was designed to show that an inexpensive robotic arm could indeed be constructed using household junk and a few store-bought parts, and while its utility is relatively limited, there's a certain level of cool to having such a device guarding your paperwork at the office. Aside from a cloned PS1 controller and a few hunks of wood, you'll only need a voltage regulator, microcontroller, five servos, a 20MHz oscillator and a few other parts to make it all come together. No need in giving you the run down here -- there's eight pages chock full of details (videos included) awaiting you in the read link below.[Via MAKE]
Axiom Audio reveals real-wood PC speakers with plenty of oomph
We aren't about to believe that Axiom Audio's Audiobyte is actually the first luxury speaker system made for the PC, but it's pretty swank, regardless. The setup consists of a pair of ultra-compact speakers, a dedicated stereo amplifier and an optional (but totally necessary) subwoofer. Additionally, the firm offers 'em up in seven different finishes including lacquered, real-wood Burled Walnut, and the standalone amplifier pushes some 55-watts to each 6.5- x 5.5- x 4-inch speaker. The pair houses a 1-inch titanium dome tweeter and a 3-inch aluminum cone woofer, and the optional Audiobyte subbie packs an isobarically-loaded 6.5-inch driver, but is unfortunately passive in nature. Interestingly, the system's amplifier features an integrated USB plug, so DAPs can be plugged in directly for audio playback sans a running PC. As for pricing, the 2.0 setup will run you between $349 and $559 depending on finish, and the optional subwoofer will tack on another $179 to whichever pair you choose. Click on for one more look, won'tcha?[Via CyberTheater]
Wooden mouse / keyboard for the budget-minded set
Why spend hundreds, thousands on a wooden keyboard when there's a sufficient alternative available for the low, low price of $16.99? Granted, the iteration you see above does seem to lack the level of quality exemplified in Hacoa's version, but it's also around $283 cheaper -- not to mention that delightful mouse that comes in this package. Still, we wouldn't be surprised if that (presumed) wood finish starts to peel off after a lengthy night of WoW -- you get what you pay for, remember?[Thanks, Phuong]
LG gets into natural materials, announces LB2500H wooden Shine
LG has tried just about every angle we -- and apparently they -- can think of with its enormously popular shine and seem to now be stretching as they get into faux wood grain. LG has tossed in a helping of DMB TV, a 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and of course a retractable antenna to focus all that mobile TV fun. While we dig the LG Shine, we miss the original sliding form factor and even though the wood isn't real -- and seriously, since when is a wooden handset cool? -- we think this new aesthetic is a bit scary, so please LG, even gem-encrusted pink is a better direction. Pricing seems set at about $500, but don't expect to see this on these shores for a long time to come, if ever.
DIY wooden keyboard kit brings out the carpenter in you
We caught a glimpse of Marubeni Infotec's wooden input peripherals earlier this year at Computex, and now the makers of the Hacoa brand are reportedly readying a DIY kit that will enable users to actually assemble one of their own. Apparently, the company is downright tired of working long hours just to crank out a minimal number of 'boards, so it's hoping to offload some of the labor and attract industrious consumers by offering up the Ki-Board DIY Kit. The package will purportedly include your choice of maple or walnut wood, a USB keyboard base, a few tools / connectors and a "plank with the beginnings of keys carved into it." Word on the street has it that these bundles will go on sale later this month for around ¥34,800, or just over $300.[Via PinkTentacle]
Audio Technica unveils ATH-ESW9 Sovereign Wood Headphones
Audio Technica's no stranger to high-end cans, and we must say, its flagship set for 2007 (its words, not ours) looks mighty sexy. The ATH-ESW9 Sovereign Wood Headphones are crafted from "Japan's finest Hokkaido cherry tree," feature 42-millimeter neodymium magnet drivers with fiberglass housing support, and come bundled with a carrying case to keep these beauties clean when not in use. You can pick these up to listen to (or just look at) come October 19th for ¥37,800 (or about $330).[Via AudioJunkies]
