The USB Crunching Dog seems to be a clear cut knock-off of the USB humping dog, just a bit more PG13 for the corporate world. The USB Crunching Dog will begin it’s endless “set” of sit-ups while you data transfer those MP3’s from your DAP to your Laptop.
Being a USB powered gadget, the little dog has an endless amount of energy and will make your sit-up routine look like a joke. All this gadget goodness for $16.
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LED lights are leaking there way into many things these days, and this over sized LED light tube speaker from Brando is another classic example. It doesn’t pulsate with the beat, but it does glow your speaker system into a cool looking desk fixture.
It’s USB powered and the USB powered gadget costs just $22 so an ideal gift for a kids night-light who needs some music to help fall asleep.
Source:Â Brando.
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Mimoco is on the verge of announcing another set of Star Wars Mimobot USB drives. This next line is their Series 3 and Mimoco will be announcing new drives between now and July 23rd. Mimoco is having a Star Wars Mimobot contest – you can enter here – so enter to win a free drive! I did. It’s a fun little guessing game.
The Series 2 Mimobots are still available. Maybe they aren’t as hot as we are led to believe (announcement of 2,000 available back in Nov ’07).
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You may have seen the term Steampunk before, you may even have seen this USB Steampunk drive before – it’s a fantasy like design based off steam power for this USB gadget. Enjoy the detailed pictures then brush up on Steampunk history at the footer:
Get your funk on with this USB plasma tube from Brando. Using the latest plasma technology this little rod turns into a glow fest upon USB power up. It pulsates and jams with the beat of the music to create a psychedelic like atmosphere. The USB plasma tube is also a good tool for testing your rhythm, something us tone-deaf folks would have a hard time with.
You can chose a USB plasma tube with either blue, green or red light and just $15 each you might as well get all three. At just 56 x 78 x 214 mm you’ll need all three too.
USB plasma tube product page.
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Joe from USB Geek sent me an email about his new USB washing machine alarm clock, I thought we hit the mother-load. We didn’t. But lets stop and think for a minute, could we – one day - have a USB washing machine? It’s possible if the USB 3.0 spec really boosts the power over the bus to 12v. Until then, the USB washing machine can only be an alarm clock.
The USB washing machine plays four crappy alarm clock sounds along with an hourly chime and LED signal. Perfect for late night slumber.
In case you have a military friend you can set the hours for 12 or 24 and power the gadget via USB or two double A batteries.
At just $20 you can please any gadget lover who’s a germaphobic and likes to sleep in.
Visit the USBGeek web page and get a sample of the alarm clock sounds. Music to the ears [not].
USB washing machine alarm clock product page.
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Gadget4All generally has some useful USB gear they sell, but today in my inbox was a USB flower fan that was nothing short of gadget crap. Sorry guys.
Powered by USB or AAA batteries you can clutter up your office space with a pink or green USB flower fan. Granted it’s only $12 to buy, but sometimes it’s just more fun taking random items from around your space and creating something yourself…example: this USB fan.
BUT, if you are looking for a colorful and playful looking fan to prop up on your PC for the kids during the hot summer months, than please reconsider the USB flower fan. Or if you’ve got a lady friend who’s totally into Disney trinkets and anything gay and colorful like that.
Accordian USB drive, are you kidding me? This is nothing more than silicone wrapped around a USB adapter port. Sure you could slap some marketing gargon on there, like accordion USB drive, but we’ll all see past it.
None the less, I didn’t think of it so kudos to Jacek Ryn for such an idea. You can see his little gadget trap at Poland’s Fine Arts in Gdansk.
The concept is fairly simple and straight forward. Put a USB port and memory device into an accordion shaped silicone casing and call it something new.
Sorry, but this stuff kills me.Source:Â Core77.
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The typical UFD sticking out of your laptop is probably nothing more than fancy shaped plastic, or possibly wood or even gold ($6,000). Today we look at the softer, fuzzier side of UFDs. Paul from Technabob uncovered these fuzzy little USB critters, created by a design artist Nifer Fahrion.
Nifer Fahrion has two version of her fuzzy USBs. The one above is called Maggie the Maggot and the one below is named Gizzy the Data Worm. I’d opt for Gizzy if I had to choose.
Honestly, I think these fuzzy guys are an example of what some kids could do on a rain day to kill some time. Grab some material, glue and let the imagination run wild. I’m tempted to try this myself and turn it into a USB tutorial, but I don’t think anyone would care or try.
SO, with that being said – if I’m off base and you digg this kinda stuff, hop on over to Technabob’s post or Nifer’s site and get ready to drop your $66 on a 4GB original.
Source: Technabob.
As an after-thought, if you are looking for another home-project, how about turning a Pez dispensor into something interesting.
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MSN has this exclusive i-Buddy design for their instant message customers. The idea is providing a visual message when a new instant message arrives. Akihabara reports the i-Buddy will perform various motions when an new instant message arrives which corresponds to the emotion of the sender. Not sure how that works, but…
The i-Buddy connects via USB port and cable and stands about 3″ tall. I’m not clear about the details, but it seems you must be apart of the i-Buddy community to use the i-Buddy USB figure. All features provided by the i-Buddy Community are free of charge, exclusively to those members. i-Buddy customers can login to express themselves through the innovative functions designed it.
Don’t get too excited for this IM buddy, as Japan will be the first to try it, before the i-Buddy community rolls out to other countries.
All major browsers are supported by i-Buddy.com, including Microsoft Internet Explorer 6/7, Mozilla Firefox 2, Safari 3 and Opera 9. However, to ensure maximum compatibility, we recommend users to use either Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0+ or Mozilla Firefox 2.0+. Flash player is required to browse certain parts of i-Buddy.com
Source:Â Akihabara News.
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What could be better than working with USB, robots, legos and our imagination? Our beloved memories of childhood play with Legos has now turned into adult fun with the new robotic line of Mindstroms.
The Mindstroms from Lego is based off their NXT Technology whereby a main NXT brain unit controls 5 different robotic functions for you to let the imagination run free. Build anything you want with the legos, intuitive robotic software or get extreme with Lego’s open source developers kit.
So what are the 5 building blocks of the Mindstrom units?
Touch sensor
Sound sensor
Light sensor
Ultrasonic sensor
Servo motors
Through these sensors, some crafty lego design build your robot and communicate via USB for software download and development stages. The world’s next Frankenstein is only a lego or two away.
So this is how it works.
Build your lego monster with available parts kits.
Launch the intuitive robot software and use pre-defined commands to build motion, touch, light and other sensory functions.
Last, connect and communicate via USB to test your functions and ultimately download the finished firmware version to the NXT Lego robot.
I believe we have all thought of…or wanted a…customized neon sign over the years. Whether it be making your kegg’r party that much better, or let the world know you are open for business, a customized neon sign would have fit the bill. Well, wait no longer.
ThinkGeek is offering up a customized neon sign kit and it will not only fit the bill, but make a damn big one. The customized neon sign is $30 to start, then add $7 for each letter, or $5 for each number.
The snap-together letters are 2″ x 3″ which connect to a single power source. There is low heat and power consumption so it’s ultra safe for the front office or the kids bedroom.
Sealed blue neon letter blocks
Low heat generation
Choose from letters, numbers, and special characters
Push button control for blinking or steady-on
Up to 22 neon letters can be connected to a single Power Supply unit
Even though the customized neon sign for “free beer” would run you $86, it pails in comparison to buying a REAL customized neon sign. Let your communication juices begin the free flowing.