stick

Because the world needs more keys

It's not often that a product neatly sums up something that we particularly dislike about technology, but this one pretty much does. And it can be described in one word: buttons.

Buttons on the keyboard, monitor, phones--you name it, and we've probably been baffled by it at one time or another, which is why we much prefer the minimalist approach in our computing. The people at P.I. Engineering obviously disagree, because their solution to more efficient technology is more buttons. A whole 16 of them, in fact, which you can stick just about anywhere (no off-color jokes, … Read more

Smile for the stick

Thank goodness Princess Di is resting in peace, because this latest camera innovation would have surely made her life a living hell.

The ultimate paparazzi tool, the "Giraffe Pole Camera" developed by Macroswiss is basically a 21st century version of the World War I trench periscope but with greater capability, according to Gizmag. Think of it as something like a military version of the "Quick Pod."

The Giraffe is mounted on an aluminum telescopic pole that can extend up to 18 feet, allowing it to record images "from locations that are too difficult or too … Read more

The $150,000 gear shift knob

As luxury items or egregious excess appear to be the theme of the day, it seems fitting to include this gem from that icon of motoring wealth, the Bentley.

It's not a gadget per se, of course, but we just couldn't resist because this thing is so far over the top. Finished in white gold and 30 carats of diamonds, the knob costs $150,000--almost as much as the $165,000 Bentley Continental GT, as Luxist points out. As far as we know, it's the only shift knob that has its own Web site. But if … Read more

Colorful LED sticks add a touch of 'raver chic' to your home

The "Havaleena" cordless LED lights from Tayo Design Studio are marketed as a kind of quirky-cool lighting for outdoor parties, but personally, I think they look like sleeker versions of the glow sticks that are frequently associated with the raver scene. They're not cheap--$59 bucks a pop, or $149 for a set of three that you can arrange into a "bouquet"--but they look pretty darn awesome, and you can customize the colors by switching around a variety of vellum filters. Additionally, the filters can have a short line of text printed on them. … Read more

Livin' large with Memory Stick Pro-HG

Just when you thought that SD memory cards, with their fancy new SDHC spec, were pulling ahead of Sony's Memory Stick Pro format in terms of capacity and data transfer rates, here come Sony and SanDisk with an upgrade. The two companies have teamed up to keep Sony's proprietary memory card format up-to-date by increasing the maximum capacity to 32GB and bumping the top theoretical data transfer rate to 60 megabytes per second. That makes this new format three times as fast as current Memory Stick Pro media, according to the companies, though the new cards will be … Read more

Death-defying children's hobbies

Don't you love when innocent playground activities meld with extreme sports?

The same crazy folks at Hammacher Schlemmer that brought us the Mountain Scooter, Gravity-Defying Boots and Push-Free Skateboard, are now pushing The Pneumatic Drive Highest-Jumping Pogo Stick.

This is not the pogo stick of our childhoods. No, no, this one's inner compression spring generates more than 1,500 pounds of thrust capable of hurtling you seven feet in the air, which incidentally is the world record for pogoing set by--you guessed it--The Pneumatic Drive Highest-Jumping Pogo Stick. Air can be added by bike pump or air compressor … Read more