Steampunk computers look older than grandma

I admire people who can take a modern working product like a computer, turn it into a steampunk work of art, and still have the device function properly. If I were to disassemble a computer display, I am sure the thing would never work again.

A few sweet steampunk computers have shown up over on Yanko Design. The things use copious amounts of wood, brass, and old-fashioned decorations to turn that plain PC into a working art piece. I particularly like the sign on what appears to be the tower in the photo above that says “The Apple Company.”

The LCD gets a marble base and the keyboard has keys that appear to be straight off an 1800’s cash register. I wonder how comfortable that keyboard is for typing. The mouse pad is cool as well. The attention to detail on these machines is impressive indeed.

chicBuds Sport Headphones are very colorful

Geeks and geekettes all like music and most of us have a music phone or iPod that we like to listen too on the go or at home. That means most of us want a nice set of headphones. Many women want headphones that look good as well as sound good and a new set of headphones from chicBuds fits the bill.

The headphones are called the DJ Sport Headphones and come in a pink hue bright enough to give the Pink Panther a headache. If the pink just isn’t as bright as you want, the company also makes a multi colored set with day glow colors straight from the 80’s.

The headphones are over-the-head style and sell for $29.99 per pair. They are compatible with the iPhone, iPod, and other music devices using a 3.5mm plug. The headphones fold for storage, have an adjustable headband, and use 44mm drivers. Frequency response is 5Hz to 20Khz.

Windows Phone 7

It only took a matter of hours after Microsoft released the Windows Phone 7 series developer toolkit for someone to rip the full smartphone build from it, and now the software has been hacked a little more. Turns out, there’s plenty more functionality in the emulator ROM than appears at first glance, it’s just that Microsoft have done some work to keep certain elements hidden. Dan Ardelean, however, has modified the BIN responsible for which features are accessible, bypassing Microsoft’s lock-down.

Among the things discovered are a file explorer and a native task manager. Meanwhile over at xda-developers they’ve already discovered mention of cut, copy and paste functionality, which Microsoft have admitted won’t be in the initial release of WP7 but will instead follow on in a later upgrade.

Unfortunately, Dan has since taken down the files necessary to remove the lock, fearing a negative response from Microsoft. Of course, this is also a relatively early build of the platform, and part of the reason the company hid certain functionality might simply be because they’re planning to change if prior to launch: if developers created apps using the system as it stands, they might find their software doesn’t work quite right on shipping Windows Phone 7 series devices.

BlackBerry OS 6.0 screenshots leak?

RIM has been a pretty leaky sieve lately, what with all the news and hardware shots of their apparently upcoming slider device spilling out, but has someone accidentally let BlackBerry OS 6.0 out of the bag? According to BBLeaks you’re looking at two screenshots of RIM’s next-gen OS, and one of their best tipsters reckons they’re legitimate.

Screen resolution is in line with a Storm or Storm2 style touchscreen device, and the buttons certainly look to be sized for finger input. That would also fit in with the BlackBerry slider – codenamed “T” or “Talladega” – which is expected to have a large touchscreen along with its pull-out QWERTY ‘board.

RIM also look to be playing with the idea of using homescreen widgets, which would be a significant departure for the company. The BlackBerry faithful are already poring over the two images to see if they a) look real, and b) look suitably enticing, though comments already heard include the fact that the whole thing looks “too busy” for their liking.

Wrapsol Ultra adhesive film claims to protect devices from a 6-foot fall

Typically, as soon as I buy a new gadget I stat looking for things to keep it safe and scratch free. I have used scratch-resistant films on my iPhone since I got it. A new scratch resistant film called Wrapsol Ultra has been announced that claims to not only protect your iPhone from scratches, but from falls as well.

According to Wrapsol, the new Ultra film protects from falls of up to 6-feet. Shock absorption properties are not something that is normally found in a film. Wrapsol makes films that are pre-cut for the iPhone, iPod, Blackberry, DROID, and Nexus One as well as other devices.

The film applies in three steps with no liquid needed in the application process. The company says that the adhesive helps to remove air bubbles as well for a smooth install. The film starts at $24.99.

Vizit wireless digital photo frame on sale March 23rd

We keep asking digital photo frame manufacturers to put cellular data connections into their displays, only very few of them seem to listen. One prospect on the near horizon is the Vizit from Isabella Products, a 10.4-inch 800 x 600 touchscreen that can be left freestanding or wall-mounted, and which uses an integrated GSM/GPRS quadband modem to receive images emailed, shared from an online gallery or sent from a cameraphone. Having been up for pre-order for a while now, we now know that Vizit will go on sale March 23rd.

The Vizit’s connection is always-on and photos can not only be sent to the display but from it, too. They go through the company’s VizitMe.com online gallery, which can be fed by direct uploads, RSS feeds or MMS messages from cellphones. Only preset numbers and email addresses can send pictures through, so nothing untoward should frighten your grandmother when it pops up on-screen.

In fact, the only really scary thing is likely to be the price. The Vizit frame itself is $279.99, but you’ll also need to plump for a service plan which Isabella Products are yet to define. Because of that, we can’t see too many people picking up the Vizit. It’s obvious we should’ve been more specific: we want a firm to put together a cellular-enabled display with a user-accessible slot for a pre-paid SIM

Vizit wireless digital photo frame on sale March 23rd

We keep asking digital photo frame manufacturers to put cellular data connections into their displays, only very few of them seem to listen. One prospect on the near horizon is the Vizit from Isabella Products, a 10.4-inch 800 x 600 touchscreen that can be left freestanding or wall-mounted, and which uses an integrated GSM/GPRS quadband modem to receive images emailed, shared from an online gallery or sent from a cameraphone. Having been up for pre-order for a while now, we now know that Vizit will go on sale March 23rd.

The Vizit’s connection is always-on and photos can not only be sent to the display but from it, too. They go through the company’s VizitMe.com online gallery, which can be fed by direct uploads, RSS feeds or MMS messages from cellphones. Only preset numbers and email addresses can send pictures through, so nothing untoward should frighten your grandmother when it pops up on-screen.

In fact, the only really scary thing is likely to be the price. The Vizit frame itself is $279.99, but you’ll also need to plump for a service plan which Isabella Products are yet to define. Because of that, we can’t see too many people picking up the Vizit. It’s obvious we should’ve been more specific: we want a firm to put together a cellular-enabled display with a user-accessible slot for a pre-paid SIM