The Buzz: Tools, trends, and gizmos
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And now for our gratuitous cool-toy-from-E3 moment. The annual gaming conference debuted some major hardware innovation in Los Angeles last month. There was Microsoft’s motion-controlled device for XBox, the Kinect, and Sony’s motion-sensing wand called the Move. Nintendo’s 3DS opens up a whole new world of handheld gaming, giving users a 3-D experience, free of those glasses. But what really had analysts clambering for playtime? The Parrot AR Drone, a camera-equipped helicopter that you control with an iPhone. $299. Available September. ardrone.parrot.com. Everything’s going pocket devices, including quality audio recording. Weighing just two ounces, the highly portable H1 Handy Recorder from Zoom sports an X/Y mic configuration for accurate, stereo sound imaging. The H1 records WAV and MP3 formats to a microSD card, and easy to use, one-button functions control a track marker, a lowcut filter to cut noise, and level and volume controls. For crisp audio to match your dazzling HD footage, shoe mount the H1 onto a video or DSLR camera. $99. www.samsontech.com. Move over Roomba, there’s another robot to trip over in the house. This simple kit lets budding geeks ages 12 and up construct a line-tracking robot. And only simple hand tools are required for assembly (screwdriver, pliers, and cutters). Even without the pleasure of waving a soldering iron, tweens will enjoy this introduction to photo interrupters. Snap the electronics together, then draw a line, and the robot will obediently follow the track you’ve created. Requires two AA batteries, not included. $19.99. www.thinkgeek.com. Text in the City An enterprising health service is reaching teens where they live—on cellphones. A program of New York City’s Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center, Text in the City (TTC) answers teens’ questions via text. In just six months, TTC has logged 260 unique users and a constant stream of questions, over 400, says Katie Malbon, MD, a fellow in adolescent medicine at Mount Sinai. “We believe it’s filling a gap for many of our patients and allowing them to get the health education they need within just a few hours.” textinthecity.posterous.com. How does the NHL All-Star Game relate to Zionism? The film Ben Hur to open source? Well, that’s the challenge of the Wikipedia Game. Created by programmer Alex Clemesha, the multiplayer game challenges all comers to use the fewest clicks to get from one Wikipedia entry to another in the shortest amount of time. A solution to the above, for example: Ben-Hur (1959 film) » Epic film » Film » Personal computer » Open source. Five clicks! Winner! Clemesha’s won praise from enthusiastic school users. wikipediagame.org. There are step stools and then there’s the Kik-Step. The classic fixture of libraries and offices now comes in a special edition honoring Kik-Step’s 50th anniversary. The “Library Edition” features classic lines from literature molded into the non-skid tread. The basic design by Cramer, however, remains the same: spring-mounted casters that roll with the kick of a foot and lock into place when weight is applied. The Kik-Step now comes in eight colors, from celery and copper to orange zest. $69. www.kikstep.com.
IPhone-controlled Drone
Zoom Debuts H1 Handy Recorder
Walk the Line
Photo by The odd Note (www.flickr.com/people/fenris117).
The Wikipedia Game
Still Kikin’
