tech planet

Saturday 12 May 2012

A Life of Lego – Practical Uses for your Lego Blocks


If you’re tired of yelping in pain when you stand on a Lego block that never managed to make it to the toy box, why not get creative and put your Lego to practical use. The versatility of the simple Lego block prompted James May to build a fully functioning, albeit slightly uncomfortable house made entirely of Lego. You can create your world with Lego as well.
One of the most obvious practical uses for Lego blocks is in wall repair. And why not? Lego blocks are, in essence, building blocks and if you need to prop up your house why not use the colour-coded blocks to save the day? (not as unlikely as you might think – they’re incredibly strong for their weight).

Lego Gadgets

Lego is not just for geeks, but geeks have managed to carefully use Lego to create some of the world’s coolest techno gadgets that you simply have to have if you are a Lego fan, and let’s face it, pretty much everyone is.

The Cube Stormer

A high tech Lego robot that is able to solve the Rubik’s Cube in less than five seconds. I’d buy that. It works on a complicated algorithm that rotates and solves the puzzle of the cube all wrapped up in Lego trimming.
Game developers are getting in on the Lego action as well. New app game Robot Roadies has developed a life size Lego robot to go along with the game. Advertisers and marketers are starting to use Lego as a versatile resource to tap into different markets.

Computer Case

Build your own computer case out of Lego, or you can buy one. There are a number of companies that produce Lego computer cases. You can even buy a computer pre- assembled in a Lego case on wheels. Of course, dropping it down a flight of stairs when you are losing at BF3 might not be such a good idea.

Lego Salt and Pepper

When you’re looking for a classic and timeless addition to your crockery set, then you can’t go wrong with a set of Lego salt and pepper pots on your table. They are classic, in the way that Lego is classic and the bricks at the top of the pots can be moved to adjust the flow of salt of pepper. Practical uses for Lego just never stop.

Flash Drive Stack

Everyone has more than one Flash drive and Lego just made it easier to find them. You can get a Lego Flash Drive holder and never lose your important information. Colour code them; stick them together in a stack. It’s a perfect office gadget you can take with you wherever you go.

Holders, Racks and Stacks

If you don’t want to buy Lego gadgets but would rather try your hand and stretch your creative powers, why not try making some Lego items that are useful, practical and cheap. Use your old Lego Blocks to create holders for cell phones, boxes for CD’s and even a nifty container for your docking station or iPod charger. The uses for Lego are unlimited. One of the most practical uses for Lego has been as a prop. Prop what? Prop anything up and props to Lego for inventing the most useful household item in the world.
Whether you are propping up your Scalectric road or holding up a cookery book, Lego is the building block for the home. It’s not just practical in the home. Did you know that NASA used Lego blocks to create the solar reflection panels on the International Space Station, because Lego is more durable than most polymers? If they’d fully developed the idea, The Shuttle programme may have never been cancelled. Lego continues to build, stack and stick blocks together to make our world, if not a better place, then certainly a more colourful one.
Note: This handy practical guide was produced on behalf of Legoland Holidays; Official holiday provider of short stay breaks at the new Legoland Hotel.

Black Ops 2- trailer hints at series dark future

 A new teaser trailer for "Call of Duty: Black Ops 2" reveals important details about the setting and gameplay options for the latest title in the blockbuster "Call of Duty" series.
The clip was posted online Tuesday night and has already attracted 1.4 million views on YouTube. It features a near-future scenario in which the U.S. military has developed technology that puts unmanned vehicles and robots on the front lines of battle. An enemy gains access to that technology and turns it against cities all over the world.
Developed by Treyarch and published by Activision, "Call of Duty: Black Ops 2" will be released November 18. Its predecessor, 2010's "Call of Duty: Black Ops," is the best-selling video game ever in the United States, according to some estimates.
Mark Lamia, Treyarch studio head, said his developers did a lot of research to set the game in a plausible future. He said for its single-player campaign, the game will feature multiple plotlines and nonlinear gameplay in which a player's actions affect how the story unfolds.
Gameplay in the video shows a bombed-out Los Angeles, urban combat through city streets and ... horseback chases through the desert. It appears to mix futuristic, sci-fi themes with present-day elements.
Lamia also confirmed that zombies are returning to the game. "Our biggest, most ambitious zombies ever," he said.
He would not reveal anything about the game's multiplayer action. Lamia said more information on that will be released later.
The futuristic tone of the game seemed to polarize fans on the Internet. Some joked about whether Treyarch was making Anonymous, the real-life hacker group dedicated to promoting free flow of information, the game's main villain.
Twitter user @killyourfm said, "You know what? I'm BURNT OUT on shooters, especially Call of Duty. But that trailer got me very interested. Futuristic toys. Horses. Cool."
However, "Call of Duty Elite" forum user Oneqwkford laments, "This looks stupid! If I wanted to play a Si-fi game I would play Gears of War or Halo! I always get Very excited for a new CoD game but this one looks very Disappointing. I will not be buying this one!"
Many other gamers said they were waiting for more details on "Black Ops 2's" multiplayer action before making a decision about purchasing the game.

Balloon Popping Record Attempt, Using A High Powered Handheld Lase

We have featured a number of high powered handheld lasers here on Geeky Gadgets over the years. Now one has been used to attempt to set a world record balloon popping record. Watch the video after the jump to see the world record attempt in action.

Laser Balloon popping
The video below shows the Laser Balloon Popping Dominoes record attempt that has been submitted using a Wicked Lasers’ Spyder III Krypton (750mW – 1000mW).
The attempt used 100, 15.2 cm balloons, and has been submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records for officiation. As you can see from the video as the laser moves down the line of balloons the time it takes to pop each one takes a little longer as the power of the laser decreases over the extra distance.

Xbox 720 To Be Equipped With 16 Core CPU


Even though Microsoft has no plans to reveal there next generation Xbox gaming console at E3 later this year, its not stopped the rumour mills providing theories on what the new gamingconsole from Microsoft will include.
Today Xbox World have reported that Durango developer kits were sent out last month by Microsoft, and even though they don’t resemble the finished product in design and appearance. The inner workings of the developer kits is still representative of the next generation Xbox 720 console.
Xbox 720
Durango, as the new Xbox console has been codenamed, is reported to now contain an AMD’s Radeon 7000-series in terms of graphics, together with a 16-core IBM Power PC CPU.  AMD launched the world’s first 16-core processor for the business market back in November last year, so could the new Xbox required such a beast of a processor? Sure.
“It’s a ridiculous amount of power for a games machine – too much power, even,”-”But remember, Kinect 2 could chew up four whole cores tracking multiple players right down to their fingertips, so it’ll need a lot of power.”

Solar Tent Concept


I’m not sure whether this tent would be on Ray Mears Christmas list but it’s definitely on mind. This high-tech Solar tent a vision of the future designed by Orange. Is constructed from photovoltaic fabric (coated fabric) which is specially coated solar threads woven into conventional fabric.
Solar Tent Concept
This synthetic fabric captures solar energy and converts it into power for your gadgets. The main solar panel’s move throughout the day to capture the sun’s energy and are connected to a wireless control hub where energy information is displayed.
Solar Tent Concept
The hub also controls the temperature of the tent and provides wireless Internet access. The groundsheet is fitted with a heating element to keep you cosy and warm on even the coldest night. It also has “glo-cation” technology installed which helps you to find your tent even on the darkest of nights.
Unfortunately this innovative tent is a new concept at the moment but I am sure it won’t be long until we see similar technology on the high street.

Sony unveils a new gadget, Rolly music player



Sony has unveiled a new gadget which will amaze its viewers. The new gadget is fromJapan, it is called Sony Rolly.  If you observe carefully Sony’s new model gadget is a music player which is shaped like an egg. Rolly, though a music player can flap and rotate its robotic wings, gyrate across the floor and spin up a storm amidst a neon show of green and blue lighting.
This new music player can receive music streamed through a Bluetooth connection. And another thing which will amaze its viewers about this new product is, Rolly can analyze music and come up with the dance moves. Also we can program the Rolly’s moves.
The music player has 1GB of internal memory, stereo speakers and a five hour battery life.
Rolly sony music player, gadgetThe sale of this new product may commence from September 29th. It may cost up to 353 US dollars.

Samsung Reveal Bendy Transparent Dream


Samsung have recently unveiled an advert for a product that does not yet exist, with the aim of the project supposedly to show potential users what could be produced in the not-too-distant future, should tablet computer technology develop further.
The video displays a Samsung tablet computer that utilises the company’s AMOLED ‘bendable’ touchscreen, on a transparent device which seems to be both extendable and flexible in its physical nature, while the technical side of this ‘dream product’ would allow for glasses-free 3D video content viewing, live language translation, multi-user video chat, and what seems to be a scanning technology capable of providing a holographic image of the phrase it has just read, amongst other features
The device would also appear to be ultra-thin, with the only downside being that a near see-through device would be easy to lose, although the South Korean technology giant would probably have an easy solution to that relatively minor developmental issue on a product that would have the capability to display 3D or holographic video content.
It is no surprise that Samsung want to promote the potential of their flexible screen technology, after previously announcing a possible 2012 release for a smartphone in the style, and said to be researching a number of potential products that could use the innovative approach to a touchscreen.
The video of Samsung’s future vision can be seen below, but how many years will it be before this kind of product becomes a reality?