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Breaking: chicken came before the (chicken) egg
Don't ask us why British researchers are spending their time trying to solve the age-old "who came first" conundrum, but apparently solve it they have done. Lab dwellers from the universities of Sheffield and Warwick share the distinction of identifying the particular effects of a particular protein -- ovocleidin-17, found only in chickens' ovaries -- on the development of the egg's shell. It would seem that without OC-17 converting calcium carbonate into calcite crystals, one couldn't have an eggshell, meaning that the chicken and its special protein powers had to have developed first. How the world's going to react to having one of its favorite clichés wrestled away has yet to be determined. Update: Seems like we didn't make it clear enough that these findings relate specifically to chicken eggs. We're well aware that dragons dinosaurs have plenty of prior art on chickens when it comes to laying shelled embryo chambers.
TUAW review and giveaway: Quirky Beamer iPhone case
We're starting off the Independence Day holiday with a bang -- a giveaway to one lucky TUAW reader of the Quirky Beamer iPhone case for the iPhone 3G and 3GS. Before you enter the contest, however, I'm sure you'd like to know what makes the Beamer different and how it works. That's the purpose of this short review. The Beamer is one of Quirky's community-designed projects. We've talked about Quirky before -- anyone can make a suggestion for a new product, and if enough people like the idea then it goes through a community design and review process. The Beamer, suggested by Canadian Jenny Tyler, solves an issue for those who don't have an iPhone 4 to complain about; it supplies a very bright LED light that is amazingly useful in taking photos with the 3G and 3GS.
Community-developed Pivot Power strip now available to order
The community-driven Quirky website has already managed to bring products like the Space Bar and DigiDude camera mount to market, and it's now offering what may well be its most useful product to date: the Pivot Power strip. That, as you can probably surmise, is a power strip that pivots, which lets you plug in up to six power adapters or chargers of any size (within reason). This being Quirky, however, things are done a bit differently that your usual retailer -- only 960 units are available for pre-sale right now, and you can "commit" to buying one for $23. If all those are sold, the Pivot Power will go into production, and its designers and top "influencers" will receive a small percentage of each sale. That goal should be easy enough to meet in this case, though -- more than half of the pre-sale slots have already been snapped up as of this writing. Hit up the gallery below for a closer look, and head on past the break for a video and the complete press release. %Gallery-96571%
The Fingerist finds fame, retail opportunities in Japan (video)
Japan tends to be on the weird side of any coin, and The Fingerist does nothing to undermine that reputation. This accessory for the iPhone and iPod touch was conceived at a "mutton BBQ restaurant" when one dude said to another that he needed an amp for his guitar app. Lo and behold, after an apparently successful CES appearance, the axe-imitating speaker thingie -- replete with a guitar strap and line-out to jack into real amplifiers -- is now on sale for ¥14,800 (or $150 for the rest of us). We can't wrap our minds around such an expense just for the privilege of fingering our touchscreens, but then you can make some pretty sweet music using these things (video evidence after the break).
Monster Chess supersizes Lego robots for ultimate geek synergy
This is like an Andre 3000 song. What's cooler than robots? Lego robots. And what's even cooler than that? Supersized Lego robots playing chess. Composed of more than 100,000 Lego Mindstorms parts, the above chess set occupies a 156-square foot playing area and took a four-person team "about a year" to create. Total retail cost is tallied up at $30,000, though you won't be surprised to hear there are no plans to make it available for purchase -- presumably because of its priceless awesomeness. See a game played out on video after the break.
iPad frozen into slab of chocolate, delivered to unsuspecting wife
So this fellow Stefan wasn't content with just getting his wife an iPad. No sir, he thought he'd put all the rest of us to shame by ensconcing the Apple tablet inside some fine chocolate from London and then transporting the frozen concoction nearly six thousand miles to Cape Town, South Africa. There's really not much more science to it than that, the chap wanted to surprise his better half and judging by the pictures on his blog, he succeeded spectacularly. Hit the source link to see for yourself.
Facebook Like button rubber-stamped into physical meme
Just like Agent Smith, Facebook is starting to escape its original programming and enter the corporeal realm. This doomsday device has been concocted by a design studio that clearly knows not the wider implications of its fanciful little rubber stamp. Ah well, you can register your interest in this harbinger of the apocalypse at the source link below.
I-Fairy weds a couple of Japanese robot geeks (video)
Don't act surprised. Japan, the land that just can't get enough of robots -- whether it's for cooking, entertainment or interstellar warfare -- now also conducts its weddings with the help of a ceremonial drone. Tomohiro Shibata and Satoko Inoue, who met in the course of their work in robotics, decided that getting married with the help of the I-Fairy bot you see above was a "natural choice." We'll just assume that's a translational quirk and not an ultra-ironic statement from the happy couple. The I-Fairy isn't quite as realistic as some of Kokoro's other humanoids, but it does come with flashing, anime-sized eyes, which we're gonna go ahead and assume are popular over in Nippon. Video after the break.
Kaoiro emoticon stamp turns bureaucracy on its head
It's a well established norm in civilized geek society that visual representations such as "=)" can and should be used to substitute for the laborious exercise of expressing emotions through words or actions. Taking that notion to its logical extreme, the Kaoiro emoticon stamp comes with 7 rows of symbols that the hardworking digi-linguist can convert into an almost limitless variety of text-based visualizations. Just look above should you need inspiration. You'll need to pull together $51 to buy one, plus $18 for shipping (or ¥2,700 plus ¥1,700 for shipping to North America, roughly $47, directly from the manufacturer), but that's surely peanuts to pay for having the ultimate document tarnisher around.
Toe Mouse!
You know what, the more we look at this thing, the less crazy we think it is. While the concept of mousing around your desktop on foot may appear foreign at first, we imagine we can get used to it after a while. Not that it's designed for lazybones like us anyway, as the wireless Toe Mouse concept is primarily intended to help out people with upper limb disabilities, who aren't able to navigate in the usual manner. Just to score some extra flair points, designer Liu Yi also points out it has a "streamline model that symbolizes the motorboat surfing the internet." So it's not just practical, it's also poetic. Click the source link for more pictures of this flip flop-inspired creation.
8-bit hanger is a gravity-defying, geek-gratifying implement of mass distraction
What's this you say, your clothes would be better off if they weren't strewn all over the floor, but you just don't know how to maintain them airborne sans magical abilities? Fear not, we've finally found a hanger worthy of a true gadget geek in the retro styled 8-bit pointer you see above. There's not an overwhelming amount of complexity to it -- hell, even the one screw that holds the finger to the wall is permanently attached -- but nothing communicates your tech credentials quite like a pixelated mouse cursor from yesteryear. Available now for $19.99 a piece plus shipping.
iPhone font created out of 540 apps and a love for the arcane (video)
No, we can't give you a clear reason why this particular chap did this particular thing, but good gravy, look at the pretty pictures! We've come across an iPhone-inspired font that looks to have been created by collating and color coding a vast collection of apps in order to properly represent the English alphabet. There's not much info given beyond the app count and the fact it required an architect with "too much free time" on his hands, but we're not going to begrudge a visual attraction when we can get one. You might be able to get the typography for yourself by contacting the author at the source link, or you can skip past the break to see it on video -- if you're careful enough you should be able to spot the world's greatest mobile app making a guest appearance.
Sausage stylus for the iPhone now on sale in the US
So you thought awesome gear never made the transition from Korea to the USA, huh? Not so in the case of the infamous sausage stylus we spotted a month ago. That cold weather peripheral -- allowing its ingenious users to operate a capacitive touchscreen with gloves on -- has made the big leap over to the Americas and can be yours for the low (seriously low) price of $0.99. Naturally, it's a sausage, so it will be compatible with not just iPhones but anything receptive to capacitive touch, although you should be cognizant of the "not for consumption" label -- compatibility with human stomachs is unlikely.
Art Lebedev's Segmentus clock gives you a digital reading using its analog hands
We're not quite sure whether you need a really active or a really idle mind to come up with this, but the dudes over at Art Lebedev Studio have just unveiled their latest conceptual design. Continuing the theme of faux-Latin names, this is branded the Segmentus clock, and sports hands just like an antiquated analog clock, but unlike an analog clock it seems to have a good 20 or 30 of them. Working in unison -- you might call it like clockwork, but we'd rather you didn't -- they then produce a digital time reading, which might not be easy to read, but we're sure will tickle all the artistes out there. Art Lebedev calls it "true postmodernism," and you can find a live demo on the company's site at the source link below. [Thanks, Danil K.]
Skinput: because touchscreens never felt right anyway (video)
Microsoft looks to be on a bit of a hot streak with innovations lately, and though this here project hasn't received much hype (yet), we'd say it's one of the most ingenious user interface concepts we've come across. Skinput is based on an armband straddling the wearer's biceps and detecting the small vibrations generated when the user taps the skin of his arm. Due to different bone densities, tissue mass and muscle size, unique acoustic signatures can be identified for particular parts of the arm or hand (including fingers), allowing people to literally control their gear by touching themselves. The added pico projector is there just for convenience, and we can totally see ourselves using this by simply memorizing the five input points (current maximum, 95.5 percent accuracy), particularly since the band works even if you're running. Make your way past the break to see Tetris played in a whole new way.
Yale students build spokeless bicycle in one semester, now looking for jobs
Here's something that'll make you think twice before your next bike purchase -- the geniuses (genii?) at Yale University have built a pretty rad spokeless bicycle, which was somehow inspired by the lack of "pictures of a real spokeless bicycle online." Sure, strictly speaking it's just a half-done product due to time (one semester) and budget restraints, but that rear wheel -- driven by the pedals on its geared inner rim -- alone should be enough to make you gasp. Practical hipsters might even be able to fit an electric motor or some sort of container inside the wheel, although we're pretty content with the futuristic hollowness. Either way, the Yale grad who posted these photos is now available for hire, so pay him well and you can have it your way.
The Space Bar sleekly covers up your grimy keyboard, adds a few USB ports to boot
Let's face it -- there's at least an 89.4 percent chance that you'd be utterly embarrassed to let your mother, SO or inner neat-freak inspect your keyboard. Years of wear and tear have cleared the way for minuscule portions of delicacies, follicles and all manners of foreign objects to make their home just beneath the vowels you smash on a daily basis, and considering that cleaning said keyboard or buying a new one is far too difficult, the Quirky community has a better solution. The Space Bar ($42 in a 3-pack) is an aluminum keyboard cover that can slip right over 'boards that measure 18-inches wide and 1.5-inches deep; aside from covering things up, it also provides six easily accessible USB 2.0 ports. Too bad there's no germ-nixing UV light on the underside, but there's always hope for v2.0. Update: The pricing has since been updated -- it's $42 for each. %Gallery-83455%
Get a Quirky Beamer for your iPhone (hint: it's not a car)
TUAW has introduced several Quirky projects to you in the past. Quirky is a community of folks who come up with really cool ideas, and then the best of the ideas are fine-tuned by the folks who run the site and readied for manufacturing. Once a minimum number of customers commit to buy the product, it is put into production. While looking at the headline for this post, you might think that we're talking about an oddly-painted BMW, but the Quirky Beamer is actually a case for the iPhone. Not just any case, mind you, but one with a built-in bright LED light that can act as a real flashlight or provide illumination for your nighttime photos. Compatible with the iPhone 3G and 3GS, the Beamer uses replaceable lithium coin cell batteries to provide up to 10 hours of illumination without chewing up your phone's batteries. Pressing the button on the case once turns on the light for 10 seconds, enough to find your keys or take a picture of your buds. To turn the light on for an indefinite amount of time, press the button twice. A third press turns it back off. Quirky won't produce the Beamer until 500 commitments at $32.00 are received on the site. As of 9 PM on Sunday night, 106 people had committed to the product. If you're looking for a way to flash your friends and not get arrested, the Quirky Beamer might just be the answer. [Thanks for the tip, Chris T.]
PowerCurl: A quirky way to wrap up your MagSafe Power Adapter
quirky is a design firm with a difference. Rather than pay a brain trust to sit around and think up product ideas, they let average Anns and Andys submit designs that are then refined and named by a community of site visitors. When designs are ready for production, quirky sets a threshold number of units to be sold to be profitable, and once that number of orders comes in, they send the design off for manufacturing. Plato said "...the true creator is necessity, who is the mother of our invention." In this case quirky community member Jeff Scholen was driven not only by the need to neatly wrap up the thin power cable and thick AC line going into his Apple MagSafe Power Adapter, but also keep the transformer "box" off of the floor or desk and give it a way to stay cool. In less than 24 hours, the design was finalized through input from Apple fans worldwide and the PowerCurl (US$9.99) was ready to roll. It comes in "quirky orange" only, but has two sizes to match the 60W and 85W MagSafe Power Adapters. The quirky community has also come up with a case design for the new iPod nano that not only protects that shiny finish, but acts as a stand and video handgrip as well. The Kickster (US$14.35) is awaiting your commitment to purchase before it moves into production.
Scratch-n-Scroll noteable mousepad puts the "do" back in "To Do" list
Can't seem to keep an unused stack of sticky notes near your dear mouse? Fret not, as the geniuses over at Quirky have popped out yet another 'well duh / must-have' product in the Scratch-n-Scroll. Rather than promising that its newest surface can help you frag more intently, smell better or just appear more heroic, this 'noteable mousepad' is apt to be one of the poorer mousing mats on the market. But frankly, that's not the point. The point is that you can jot down vital notes with just a fingertip right on the pad, and once you've transferred 'em over to something a touch more permanent, you simply lift up the semi-transparent top sheet, let it fall flat and marvel at the vanishing act. It's all yours for just $9.49, so really, why aren't you giving that read link some love?
