Building B/Sezmi One True Set Top Box Aims to Kill TV as You Know It

Last week, we had a demo of the TV godbox we reported on last summer by Building B—now Sezmi. If anything, their claims have actually gotten bolder: They're promising the "first complete TV 2.0 solution" that rolls up traditional TV with movies, on-demand, DVR and internet video, all presented seamlessly to viewers. That's a tall order, and moreover, an extremely complicated one. More »

Tangled Wires are Ugly, But What About Tangled Wire Lamps?

Exposed cables can be downright hideous or damn near artistic depending on the situation. Apparently, when South Korean designer Kwangho Lee sees a mess of tangled wires, he thinks "art." The concept behind these "lamp sculptures" was to strip lights down to the bare essentials and weave the exposed cable into intricate designs. Whether the final result can be considered art is a matter of opinion—but I can tell you that I won't be hanging one of these in my apartment anytime soon. [MoCo Loco via Gearfuse] More »

RC-12 Mini Camera is Tiny, Works Underwater, Wireless to 30 Meters

The RC-12 Mini Camera is essentially a 1.2 GHz wireless camera with a 30 meter range, a 2.7 MP CMOS sensor and waterproof housing. It looks about as big as a LEGO brick and can shoot 45 minutes of video on a single charge. This camera isn't anything I have any practical use for, but it's the type of gadget I would find a non-practical use for (and no, I won't drop some lame girls' locker room reference here—wait...shit). I'd probably have this thing express shipped to my doorstep if it didn't cost $270. That hurts. [Killian Nakamura via Ubergizmo via Oh Gizmo!]

"Real" Star Trek Tricorder Invented

If you ever watched an episode of Star Trek and wondered when we were going to finally get our hands on some cool medical gadgets like the tricorder, you will be happy to know that a primitive version already exists. Researchers knew that current medical scanners were too bulky and expensive to reach their full potential. So, in order to remedy the situation, they developed a simple portable scanner that can be plugged into a standard cellphone. The phones would send the raw data to remote processors, which would interpret that data and relay it as a image that is viewable on the cellphone screen. More »

Question of the Day: Leave Your Computer On Or Turn It Off?

Eco-friendly is the a word thrown around a lot these days, and an ever-increasing number of people are going out of their way to conserve power. Combine that with a desire to increase the longevity of our hardware and you have the basis for a question that has been floating around forever: do you leave your computer on or turn it off when not in use? More »

Fujitsu's "Zero-Watt" Monitor Uses Zero Power in Standby Mode

Fujitsu Siemens has developed a new monitor that claims to use zero power in standby mode. This money-saving monitor miracle is made possible thanks to a built-in switch that shuts down the monitor completely when a signal from the computer is absent—and then abruptly brings it back to life when the signal reappears. This sort of technology will prove especially useful for businesses, which is why Fujitsu is aiming squarely at this market when the monitor is released this summer. Fortunately for the rest of us, this new model will sell for the same price as conventional monitors. [Physorg via Treehugger]

Video: How Iron Man Gets Dressed

Here's a trailer I haven't seen before of Tony Stark getting ready for a night on the town. No Tux, but the Mark III suit. What's impressive about the movie's suit design is that they've not only detailed the red and gold of the outer shell, but the entire underlayer of the chassis and fastening system. That chest repulsor still looks like a simple halogen bulb, though. More »