I just hate the din that an alarm clock makes in the morning, as it is a real chore to get up and out of bed, even more so when one has had a rough night the day before. The Time Bomb Alarm Clock takes no prisoners though, as it comes with a glowing red LED display, an alarm countdown with the classic ‘tick tock’ sound as seen on TV that results in a loud explosion should you fail to heed its warning. The Time Bomb alarm clock will retail for £19.99 and will probably jolt even the dead from their sleep. Hopefully your neighbors won’t file a police complaint against you once you use this as the primary means of waking up from your slumber. (Read the full post about ‘Time Bomb Alarm Clock’…)

Ever wondered how the deaf and hard of hearing will be able to be startled from their slumber in the event of a fire? Fret no more, as there is a new wasabi smoke detector from Japan that helps wake the deaf via scent instead of sound. After all, wasabi is famous for its pungent smell that is said to be so potent, it is even capable of waking up the dead (I wonder if that’s what it takes to raise zombies in Haiti…). This silent smoke alarm will spray canned wasabi extract into a room, and initial tests have shown it to be effective enough to wake up 13 out of 14 test subjects within 2 minutes. Hopefully the pungent smell won’t be overpowered by smoke in the event of a fire. (Read the full post about ‘Wasabi Smoke Detector’…)

Under normal circumstances a Q&A session with a tech CEO is a fairly bland event. Sure sometime you get a Ballmer-esque monkey-boy moment, but usually it’s an opportunity for the CEO to break some news and to get out without looking clueless. This week though we are reminded why a room full of tech-savvy web developers is a very different crowd. Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook was to appear in what was billed as a keynote but ultimately was a sit down Q&A with Business week reporter Sarah Lacy. Lacy and Zuckerberg have a history together in that she has written a book about Web 2.0 and this newest wave of internet movers and shakers that Zuckerberg is currently riding. (Read the full post about ‘Tough crowds at SXSW heckle reporter’…)

Folks confined to a wheelchair might find new degrees of freedom soon, as Eurpoean researchers have successfully developed technology that enables mere brain signals to control computers, artificial limbs and even wheelchairs. This non-intrusive brain-computer interface (BCI) is developed by the MAIA project and takes advantage of electrical signals emitted by the brain which are picked up by electrodes attached to the user’s scalp, literally bringing to action thoughts of the brain - something unheard of in the past. So far trial tests have proven to be huge successes, where users could manoeuvre a wheelchair around obstacles and people with nothing but brainpower. (Read the full post about ‘Brain To Control Wheelchairs’…)

MoPods You can have this for ?4.95 Tags: hi fi, DAB, electronic toys, laptops (Read the full post about ‘MoPods’…)

Posted Mar 11th 2008 11:35PM by Joshua TopolskyFiled under: cellphones This is just getting silly, don’t you think? The iphone Dev Team has once again proven their totally gnarly talents by freeing up the latest firmware before it’s even the latest firmware. Apple, here’s our suggestion — just let people do what they want with your devices, since they’re clearly going to do it anyway. That way, instead of making enemies, you’re making lifelong buddies. Reasonable, right? (Read the full post about ‘iPhone Dev Team jailbreaks firmware 2.0… before it’s out’…)

First, the Glimmer was leaked via magazine ad, now comes the official word from LG.  Yet, there is still no confirmation when we’ll actually see it from Alltell.  This could be a very nice little phone: it has touch screen sex appeal and the looks of a simple user interface. This little phone is pretty hot. (Read the full post about ‘LG makes new touchscreen phone official’…)

Who says games are nothing but vehicles of sloth and sloppiness? Ubisoft’s new DS pedometer will definitely help you get moving, as it was released to complement the My Weight Loss Coach DS title. All you need to do is plug it into your DS’ GBA slot, download personal data and start walking/jogging with the DS. The DS pedometer will be released in Europe this summer first, with the rest of the world to follow. Why can’t they release it in the world where there is the largest percentage of obese people? If you want to pick this up, you ought to use money from your Lays potato chips fund. (Read the full post about ‘DS Pedometer For Better Health’…)

gogo, a service developed by AirCell will soon be made available for folks who take to the skies, enabling Internet browsing thanks to a modified version of a EVDO Revision A cellular connection that supplies a 3Mbps Internet link shared by the entire plane via WiFi connectivity. Since data is compressed as it is sent across the network, individual users will be able to get a theoretical connection of 2Mbps. I’ve always wondered why the plane’s captain always announce that wireless capability on your device ought to be switched off, but in this case won’t everyone’s WiFi be turned on? AirCell will charge $13 per trip for long distance flights at $10 for flights that last less than 3 hours. (Read the full post about ‘In-air Internet From Gogo Due Soon’…)

Our colleague at Uberpulse did a Skype video interview of Lee Dryburgh, the organiser and chairperson of the upcoming Emerging Communications (eComm) conference that starts tomorrow, to talk more in depth about the event. Like why he decided to organise an event centered on emerging telephony and how? Especially being based out of Austria! Apologies for the video quality, it’s done over Skype and you can check it out on Uberpulse. Tags: consumer electronics, gaming, camera, video (Read the full post about ‘An Insider Look at the Emerging Communications Conference 2008 (video)’…)