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How-to: geek up your pumpkin

by Richard Lai posted Oct 31st 2009 at 11:03AM

BOO! It's Halloween and it's also a Saturday, so let's not hear any pathetic excuses for not carving pumpkins. While we're no experts, we've got a few tips for making your jack-o'-lanterns better looking and more unique:

Always mark where you're carving first instead of freestyling, especially for the lid. Once the knife's in there's nothing you can do about it.
Want an accurate carving? Draw or print your pattern on paper first and then stick it on the pumpkin, so that you can use a pin to punch an outline.
Use a scalpel. Seriously, it's so much better than kitchen knives.
Be creative: consider using a variety of carving depths instead of just cutting out holes. It's best to start off with the darkest areas so that you know where the threshold is. If it's too shallow you can always scrape the trench.
Don't use candles -- they don't last and aren't safe for the kids and animals; many LED candles have a convincing flickering glow, so try those. Alternatively, why not convert a cheap solar garden light into a lid for your jack-o'-lantern? Or go Ben-Heck and try the Cylon mod?
Keep the seeds for roasting -- they make a good snack.

Feel free to refer to our gallery for the whole process. Enjoy and have a happy Halloween!

Gallery: How-to: geek up your pumpkin

LAb[au]'s f5x5x5 framework sculpture mesmerizes on video

by Darren Murph posted Oct 28th 2009 at 7:53AM

It's been nearly three full years since we've seen anything hot and fresh from LAb[au], but thankfully, said drought is decidedly over. By using a combination of aluminum, Plexiglas, LED lights, determination, wit, stepper motors, critical thinking and IR tracking technologies, the f5x5x5 sculpture was created. Dubbed a "kinetic and luminous framework," the installation is part of a larger '16n' project designed to confront architectural problems (like congestion and flows) with spatial sensing technologies. We know, that's all pretty deep -- but if you're just lookin' for a good time, we'd recommend heading past the break, mashing play and dropping your kudos in comments.

Continue reading LAb[au]'s f5x5x5 framework sculpture mesmerizes on video

Review: WowWee Roborover gets friendly with your furniture

by Richard Lai posted Oct 21st 2009 at 4:36PM

See that glowing face? Yep, it's the super-enthusiastic Roborover from WowWee. We won't lie: we were a bit stoked by the arrival of this yellow explorer at Engadget's doorstep. Too bad it didn't exactly walk all the way from its warehouse, forcing us to go through the painful procedure of cutting up the tapes and untangling the ties of its shipping box. Five minutes later we've got a 4-pound robot on our hands, and we'd say overall the build quality is an eight out of ten (the cuts on the plastic parts could do with a finer finish) which is pretty good for a toy. You'll be pleased to know that those treads are for real and supported by a third mini roller at the back, but the friendly manual does say, "For indoor use only." Think we'll skip that page, thank you. Now kids, you might need your daddy's screwdrivers and some extra cash to feed the Roborover three "C" size batteries, and another three "AAAs" for the chunky IR remote. All ready to go? Skip along to learn how the Roborover explores the "ancient tombs of your parents' closet."

Gallery: Review: WowWee Roborover gets friendly with your furniture

Continue reading Review: WowWee Roborover gets friendly with your furniture

Sleek Audio adds phosphorescent glow to wireless CT6 Aura earbuds

by Darren Murph posted Sep 16th 2009 at 11:56AM

Even those with everything probably wish their high-end earbuds had a bit more personality, and if you're reclined in your Victorian-era sofa in a robe befitting one Chuck Bass nodding in agreement, we'd encourage you to have a gander at Sleek Audio's latest. Essentially, these are the same Kleer-enabled CT6 'buds that the affluent among us have grown to love, but with an obvious twist. Thanks to the inclusion of phosphorescent particles within the shell and top plate, the $374.99 CT6 Aura can actually glow in a variety of colors, giving DJs around the globe one more reason to ditch the cans and go small. Currently, the CT6 Aura can be ordered in green, blue, orange, yellow and white, with pricing set at $25 more than the standard CT6. Gnarly, right?

Gallery: Sleek Audio adds phosphorescent glow to wireless CT6 Aura earbuds

Continue reading Sleek Audio adds phosphorescent glow to wireless CT6 Aura earbuds

Bluetooth-enabled Modula therapy lamp changes color via cellphone

by Darren Murph posted Aug 11th 2009 at 5:06AM

Details are exceedingly light (almost dangerously light, in fact), but the Modula color therapy lamp is simply too soothing to overlook. The three-ringed lamp is built with a slew of multi-color lights (LEDs, we're guessing), all wired up to be controlled via Bluetooth. The video demonstration shows a Sony Ericsson W880i doing the dirty work, but there's no indication of how exactly end users are supposed to accomplish the color changing once it arrives. Those in the camp of "buy now, ask questions later" can get their pre-order in through the read link, but considering that only an EU-friendly 230V version is currently available, those on this side of the pond will need to invest in some serious converters to make it all compatible. The pain? Just €199 ($281) for hours upon hours of endless entertainment.

Halo LED spraycan lets you make grafitti the cheap, legal way

by Vladislav Savov posted Aug 10th 2009 at 10:51AM

If you're down with the latest freshness, like we know you are, you'll already be aware of light writing and the radical imagery that can be created through the use of long camera exposures and stop motion animation. Well, get ready to do your thing with even more style, thanks to the Halo LED spraycan -- a DIY project by Aissa Logerot -- which not only looks like the primary tool of al fresco art, it even recharges itself when shaken. While not quite as sophisticated as the Light Lane, this definitely makes our list of light-based paraphernalia we'd like to see more of. You'll find a few more shots after the break, plus a video of a well-known ad campaign featuring the light writing technique.

[Via Cool Hunting]

Continue reading Halo LED spraycan lets you make grafitti the cheap, legal way

Brando credit card light bulb fills the void in your wallet... not your heart

by Vladislav Savov posted Aug 6th 2009 at 7:21AM

Tailored to fit inside a vacant credit card slot -- let's face it, we've all got a bit more room in our wallets these days -- Brando's latest offering is an unfolding LED light tastefully shaped like a bulb. You might point out the irony of replacing cold hard cash with a cute yet limited trinket, but do you really expect such subtlety to stop the company that brought you the sliced bread wrist rest? We'll let you to come up with viable justifications for its existence, but do yourself the favor of going past the break for a snap of the little wonder flicked on, while we decide whether to file it under pointless sophistication or sophisticated pointlessness.

Continue reading Brando credit card light bulb fills the void in your wallet... not your heart

Empty ink cartridges repurposed as glorious lamps

by Darren Murph posted Aug 3rd 2009 at 5:37AM

We all know that those ink cartridge refills never really function perfectly as advertised, so rather than paying too much to have a lackluster printing experience, boxlightbox has decided to repurpose his empty Epson boxes into prepossessing lighting instruments. The simple (albeit masterly) lamps maintain the iconic presence of an ink cartridge while still fitting into the overall feel of an art deco home. At $350, the sensational Ink-Cartridge Chandelier shown above certainly isn't the cheapest of fixtures, but for those who spend entirely too much time at Kinko's, it's totally worth the investment. Hit the read link for more ways to spend money that you don't have -- or, you know, to just get a few ideas for scratching that DIY itch.

[Thanks, David]

LEDSAUR Tyrannosaurus Rex desk lamp makes chewing through paperwork less monotonous

by Laura June posted Jul 31st 2009 at 6:55PM

We'll be straight with you: it was pretty much love at first sight for us and dinosaur bones, and while we've always harbored a secret desire to someday acquire a real T-Rex fossil for our private collection, the LEDSAUR is probably our best shot at anything even close to that. Besides taking on that famous shape we love, this carnivorous piece of lighting is pretty stylish, with each of its vertebrae represented with an LED. The lamp is made of stainless steel, it's bendable, and it comes with a remote control. It's sadly only available in Japan for the time being, and runs between $115 and $270.

[Via CrunchGear]

Philips HF3490 Wake-up Light is also a bedside lamp, iPod dock

by Vladislav Savov posted Jul 30th 2009 at 6:54PM

Did you know that waking up by natural light is a lot less stressful than doing it with sound? Yes, apparently your toast tastes better too. Philips has long been a proponent of light alarms and, in an effort to stay hip with the kids, it's added a detachable iPod / iPhone dock to its latest offering. The HF3490 might never serve as your music station, but it tries hard, bringing an FM radio and some soothing sounds along. With 30 different levels of brightness and a "dusk simulator," this device has enough tweaking options to ensure you wake up just the way nature intended -- with birds chirping and soft sunlight on your pillow, all simulated by futuristically ugly electronics. If you can get over the $199 price, you can pre-order one for delivery on August 22.

[Via Coolest Gadgets]

UC-Light project puts LEDs to work in communication networks

by Darren Murph posted Jul 20th 2009 at 7:14AM

Yeah, mad scientists have been trying to get the public at large to pay attention to visible light communications for years now, but the gurus over at the University of California, Riverside think that the project they're involved in holds a special kind of promise. The Center for Ubiquitous Communication by Light (UC-Light) will be funded with $3.5 million from the Multicampus Research Program and Initiatives (MRPI) competition within the University of California system, and at its core, it's hoping to unearth a magical method for linking up all sorts of electronics (HDTVs, PDAs, information kiosks, PCs, etc.) via light. You know, so your refrigerator can tell your smartphone what groceries are needed during the next supermarket stop, and that massive billboard on I-95 can beam more information that you don't want right onto your handset. If all goes to plan (and California's budget problem solves itself), the work will begin in early 2010 and last five years, after which we fully anticipate "very low-cost communication and navigation systems [to be built] on existing lighting infrastructure." And fowl in every pot. And unicorns in every garage.

[Thanks, Michael]

Universal mirrors: more useful, less fun than carnival mirrors

by Darren Murph posted Jul 20th 2009 at 6:33AM

You know those invisibility cloaks scientists have been struggling to master for decades? This here is said cloak's perfect opposite, and it's bending our minds in ways you can hardly fathom. Ulf Leonhardt, a professor at the University of St. Andrews, has worked with a brilliant team of scientists in order to construct what he calls a universal mirror, or if we're being proper, an omnidirectional retroreflector. Unlike conventional mirrors which simply reflect objects at 90 degrees, this concoction reflects objects back at any angle. In other words, a device such as this would make aircraft, boats and satellites entirely easier to track with radar, but it'll have to mature quite a bit before it's ready for that kind of action. The current build is just a single centimeter high and ten centimeters in diameter, and as with invisibility cloaks, the main ingredient here is metamaterials that we won't pretend to fully understand. Just one word of caution, boffins -- don't let Geek Squad get ahold of this stuff.

[Image courtesy of Barbara Rich, thanks JR]

Eternaleds debuts world's first liquid-cooled LED light bulb

by Darren Murph posted Jul 15th 2009 at 7:17PM

We know you probably wouldn't answer "What's the perfect companion to a liquid-cooled PC?" with "a liquid-cooled light bulb," but amazingly enough, that's a viable answer starting today. Eternaleds is stepping up big with planet's first liquid-cooled LED bulb, the HydraLux-4, which will arrive in warm white and daylight white and should save you bundles on your energy bill over the next score. The company asserts that these bulbs produce "360 degree lighting" and can emit the same amount of illumination as a 25W incandescent with just 4W of energy. Each bulb is rated for 35,000 hours of use, and considering that a single one costs only $1.75 per year to run (at eight hours per day), we suppose the stiff $34.99 sticker is somewhat warranted.

Incandescent bulbs making a comeback, GE still launching new LED lights

by Darren Murph posted Jul 8th 2009 at 9:51AM

On the eve of Christmas 2007, quite a few obituaries for incandescent light bulbs were penned. News was slow, time was short and Congress had just outlined a new energy plan that would essentially force these energy-wasting bulbs out by 2012. Now, however, legions of scientists are racing the clock to develop new incandescents that will still meet the upcoming guidelines, with a Deposition Sciences technology paving the way for a post-2012 model from Philips. Without drowning you in technobabble, let's just say that said tech has seen 50 percent efficiency gains in the lab, which is more than enough to please even the most outspoken tree hugger in Washington. In related news, GE has issued two more LED light bulbs: the 7-watt Energy Smart LED PAR20 and 10-watt LED PAR30. Both of 'em are aimed more at commercial customers than at actual homes, but you'll be hard pressed to find a better option for lighting up your makeshift basketball court.

Read - Incandescent bulbs stage comeback
Read - GE Energy Smart bulbs

IDEA's Solar lamp glows like a Sputnik heatshield

by Vladislav Savov posted Jul 2nd 2009 at 7:52AM

While the original Sputnik burnt out after only 3 months in orbit, here's an homage that promises to be rather more resilient. IDEA, Japan's answer to you know who, is offering a 30cm tall (11.8-inches) self-sufficient ambient light that pretty much does its own thing. Integrated sensors detect when the light should be on, while inconveniences like power cords and on/off switches are completely done away with. The light's batteries are recharged by the sun at a rate of 2 to 5 hours sunlight for 8 hours operation, while its waterproof design means it can be dumped outside to collect rays during the day and even provide garden lighting at night. It's quirky, to be sure, but the obvious design cues taken from the Russian satellite should make true geeks smile with glee. You can find a gallery of the various color choices courtesy of Engadget Japanese below, and if you're passing by the land of the rising sun later this month you can snap up your very own solar light ball for ¥1575 ($16).

[Via Engadget Japanese]