So you think that your cramped apartment just isn’t large enough to accommodate that extra home theater system you just purchased? German team Rucksack House has managed to figure out a method to expand your puny apartment size without the hassle (and cost) of moving. It is a walk-in cube that functions as an extra room, using steel cables anchored to the roof to keep it attached to the rest of the building. I wonder whether cities with extremely cramped apartments will have enough room between each other to warrant such an extension, and should everyone take up this home expansion offer, the streets will be in perpetual darkness since no light will be able to reach the bottom.

Source: American Inventor Spot

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Posted Apr 4th 2008 2:00PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: cellphones
On a typical day, anything shown off at CTIA with a “coming in 2010″ sticker would cause some serious unrest, but given that we’ve already found that LTE is eons (or so it feels) away, we’re just taking things in stride. The MSV prototype shown above will purportedly become a proud member of the L-Series, and its satellite / cellular hybrid system will enable it to play nice on traditional cell bands as well as snag sat coverage anywhere in North America. Apparently the firm is planning on shooting up a pair of birds in 2009 as well as landing a deal with an undisclosed US carrier, and the 0.6-inch thick unit itself should feature a 480 x 320 multi-touch screen, WiFi and an integrated camera. No word on a price just yet, but feel free to check back in a few years.

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When we first played with the Logitech diNovo Mini, we loved the concept and it looked like it solved all our Media Center remote issues as it features a mouse and a QWERTY keyboard in a small and elegant package that can actually stay on the living room table without looking bad. In this review we will give you our verdict about the strengths and the weaknesses of this device and we will tell you whether or not you should get one.

Installation

The diNovo Mini connects to the PC via Bluetooth. Even if your computer is equipped with a Bluetooth receiver, we recommend using the USB dongle that is provided in the box. It is easier because it is pre-paired with the remote, so upon connection, it will find the remote by itself, without requiring you to discover it “by hand”.

And voila! The remote should work, but if you want to customize additional shortcuts, you will have to install SetPoint, the software provided by Logitech.

Unlike infra-red (IR) remotes, the diNovo Mini does not need to be pointed at the receiver and does not stop working if something (or someone) is in the way. We tested at a distance of 7 yards (about 7 meters) and it worked fine.

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eMusic, together with the Music Intelligence Institute, presents this Music Intelligence Quiz developed by experts in the music field. It consists of 30 multiple-choice questions covering many genres and eras of music. The maximum number of points is 180, and there are 5 levels of music intelligence: Top 40 Radio Listener, Air Guitarist, Birthday Party DJ, Mix-Tape Master, and Musical Magician.

What’s great about this test is that, unlike other assessments out there, you are not obligated to provide a name or email address or register in order to see your results, although after you view your results eMusic invites you to check out some music suggestions based on your music intelligence level, but that’s fine. You can provide some demographic info (year of birth, gender, location) which is no big deal, but that would be cool if you could see some sort of results breakdown by these factors, or if you could get a badge to post on your social networking profile. Perhaps in the next version. Anyway I feel that this test is fair and accurate, as my music IQ turns out to be 126 which makes me a Mix-Tape Master. Try it yourself, but no cheating and no taking it over and over again to try to improve your score!

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Grow Your Own - Happy Birthday Message Plant
To us at gadgetshop HQ, magic beans are eco-friendly message-bearing vegetables that will happily replace a birthday card and make an environmental point, to boot.

See price

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Kudos to Dell for converting their huge 2.1 million square-foot headquarters campus to run on wind-power and converted gas energy. They’ve reduced their CO2 emissions by 8200 tons by replacing lights and updating AC units. In switching their campus’ source of power, they will also save $2million annually. Not a bad deal for going ‘green’ eh?

via Gadgetell.

Posted in Computers, Miscellaneous

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In honor of David Beckham’s priceless gold-dipped iPod, we thought it prudent to offer a hint of the high life to the rest of us. Gadget Lab presents the Engraved Gold ipod Generator, complete with automatic motivational messages. Enjoy!

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This is one nutty concept, using a digital camera design to function as the light of a lamp. Hopefully that future iterations of this design will involve the flash be detachable, along with the camera so that I will be able to capture candid snapshots in the living room whenever the need arises. Heck, why not include a wireless module as well so that it can function as a spy camera for your home? At the very least you’ll know whether the babysitter is actually doing her job well, or using this opportunity to bring her boyfriends over.

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Samsung’s NV compact digital camera holds the honor of being the first of its kind to be used at a space station. The Samsung NV as well as another DSLR camera will make their way aboard the Soyuz spacecraft, and will be used to record daily life in space for up to 10 days. During that time, the camera’s capabilities will also be tested in the outer space environment. Why don’t they bring up a cell phone at the same time as well as other gizmos.

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LaCie takes the fashion high road with its Neil Poulton-inspired Triple Interface external hard drives, throwing in an eSATA port to keep the FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 ports company. With the inclusion of External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (eSATA), you no longer have to translate data between the computer and storage drive, potentially speeding up the process to almost thrice the speed of FireWire 400 and USB 2.0. Choose from 500GB, 750GB, and 1TB capacities.

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