LEGO Celebrates 50th Birthday
Happy birthday LEGO. The wee multi-coloured bricks are celebrating 50 years of being built with, chewed on, thrown about and generally abused by kids [and some adults]. Unlike most of today’s toys, LEGO can take a horrendous amount of abuse and still make a damn fine spaceship. Just the kind of toys we like round at Gizmodo.
Often cited as one of the greatest toy inventions ever, LEGO bricks are still being bought in their millions today and have graduated to robots, USB sticks and even computer games. The brick – in its current form – was launched in 1958 and according to the company, pieces today will still fit with those launched 50 years ago.
There are 2,400 different LEGO brick shapes now and each requires precision manufacturing with moulds allowed a tolerance of no more than one thousandth of a millimetre, so that the bricks stay firmly connected. Here’s your history lesson for the day:
“The LEGO history began in 1932 in Denmark, when Ole Kirk Christansen founded a small factory for wooden toys in the unknown town of Billund in the south of the country. To find a name for his company he organised a competition among his employees. As fate would have it however, he himself came up with the best name: LEGO – a fusion of the Danish words “LEg†and “GOdt†(“play wellâ€).â€
Well done Ole. Here’s to another 50. -Martin Lynch
Brugo Coffee Mug Saves Your Lips
Nothing like a cup of coffee on the go. Except for when you take that first much-anticipated sip and burn your face off.
We’ve all been there with the molten hot coffee, racking up a temperature just short of steam and which never seems to cool down.
You need the Brugo coffee mug. This baby has two chambers: a bottom one for keeping most of the coffee hot and ‘ more aromatic’ and a top chamber that cools the coffee as you sip. According to the makers:
“Compromise no more! The patented, thermodynamic science of BRUGO gives you the power to immediately enjoy the most vibrant flavor at the perfect drinking temperature. And because you only cool each sip, the remaining coffee stays hotter and more aromatic. Plus, BRUGO’s elegant design and sleek chrome accents will emphasize your discriminating taste.”
And you don’t end up with lips like Donatella Versace. Always a good thing.-Martin Lynch
Etch Your Love On An iPod For Valentine’s Day
The whiff of commercial love is in the air people, as St. Valentine’s Day approaches like a dark, menacing cloud and men scurry about fearfully, looking for something at least a little bit different from choccies and overpriced flowers.
We recently covered Microsoft’s Valentine’s Day assault with customised Zunes of Love, and now here’s Etchstar willing to do something similar with your iPods. Like most Valentine’s Day promotions, the company is pushing the whole ‘make this year’s Valentine’s Day unforgettable’, while most blokes are trying their hardest not to forget.
The Etchstar offering is a little different though by letting you to choose from a series of licensed Hallmark and other artwork or, allowing you artistic types to upload your own artwork and messages of undying passion, which it will then engrave for you.
You can order the iPod you want from Etchstar or send in your own – although at this late stage you may have to dig that bit deeper in your Wallet Of Love.-Martin Lynch
[Etchstar]
Wireless For Sound: Revo Blik WiFi Radio
The humble radio has seen a lot of changes in recent years and that transformation continues with the arrival of the Revo Blik WiFI Radio.
For under £100, you get a well made WiFi radio with access to over 8,000 radio stations, an FM tuner, iPod/MP3 player connectivity and the ability to stream music from your PC or laptop.
Stations can be searched by genre or country and if 8,000+ aren’t enough to keep you happy, you need help. Being Wi-Fi-enabled means you don’t even have to have it attached to your PC, just within range of your wireless router.
There’s a large LCD, plenty of presets, an Alarm and Snooze function and a remote control so that you don’t have to make too much of an effort. You can buy it here in black or white but, if you want some more information, check out a decent review of it here.-Martin Lynch
Denon Reveals New ‘Budget’ Surround Bar
Denon started encroaching on Yamaha’s territory last July when it launched its first surround sound bar, the DHT-FS3 X-SPACE. It also cost around £700, which meant it wasn’t going to appeal to everyone, no matter how much they hated the clutter of wires in living room.
As a result, there’s a new one on the horizon, the DHT-FS5. It’s looks quite different to its predecessor and, unlike the FS3, doesn’t come with a separate subwoofer. The X-SPACE technology promises to recreate that enveloping 5:1 surround sound experience by firing sound around the room.
The power output rating is the same at 150W, thanks to an internal amp and 6 full-firing speakers. It measures 750×138×118mm and weighs 5.1Kg.
There’s only Japanese pricing right now and that’s a very attractive £305. You can safely expect that to bloat to £400, and maybe even higher, by the time it travels the globe to get here in the coming months.-Martin Lynch
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Bizarre Mini-Phone/Modem From Toshiba
You’re either going to love or hate this latest offering from Toshiba.
The new Toshiba G450 is a unique 4-in-1 device that starts life as a USB modem for laptops but can also be used as a USB storage stick, MP3 player and, get this, a mobile phone. Really.
As a USB modem, the G450 offers laptop users the ability to dial into a HSDPA, EDGE or GPRS mobile networks for Web access but, can also be used for making and taking calls and sending and receiving texts. You can even surf the Web from your laptop and make calls simultaneously. The design is interesting, sporting dual-keypads, it’s small at 36 x 98 x 16mm and weighs just 57g.
According to Takashi Okamoto, Deputy Managing Director, Toshiba Information Systems (UK): “With increasingly mobile lives and flexible working practices, there’s a real and growing need for new solutions to connect people and enable them to work more effectively when they are away from the office. The G450 is an exciting product because it opens up new avenues for mobile access, keeping users in touch by email and the web via their notebook PC wherever they’re located as well as providing them with an easy-to-use voice device.â€
The G450 will be available in white, black and red. Due to land here in March for around £150.-Martin Lynch
Nokia N95 8GB Gets First DLNA Certification
Wireless technology is great when it works well but as we all know it can very often lead to sudden outbursts of profanity and hair-pulling when wireless gadgets refuse to recognise each other.
Nokia is crowing today about its N95 8GB mobile phone, the first to receive an official pat on the back from Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA). The cert is only handed out to gadgets that offer “convenient and intuitive connectivity†with other gadgets. The DLNA has already certified more than 1,800 products in the PC and consumer electronic categories, but this is the first time a mobile phone has gotten the nod..
“We are thrilled to receive this tribute from the DLNA. The Nokia N95 8GB is truly a masterpiece of a multimedia computer, and a prime example of the direction mobility is taking – it’s personal, powerful and fits seamlessly into your life inside and outside the home” said Anssi Vanjoki, executive vice president, Markets, Nokia.
According to Nokia, the N95 will let you seamlessly hook up wirelessly for photo sharing, stream music to a DLNA-certified hi-fi system or videos and photos to your TV.-Martin Lynch
Bizarre Mini-Phone/Modem From Toshiba
You’re either going to love or hate this latest offering from Toshiba.
The new Toshiba G450 is a unique 4-in-1 device that starts life as a USB modem for laptops but can also be used as a USB storage stick, MP3 player and, get this, a mobile phone. Really.
As a USB modem, the G450 offers laptop users the ability to dial into a HSDPA, EDGE or GPRS mobile networks for Web access but, can also be used for making and taking calls and sending and receiving texts. You can even surf the Web from your laptop and make calls simultaneously. The design is interesting, sporting dual-keypads, it’s small at 36 x 98 x 16mm and weighs just 57g.
According to Takashi Okamoto, Deputy Managing Director, Toshiba Information Systems (UK): “With increasingly mobile lives and flexible working practices, there’s a real and growing need for new solutions to connect people and enable them to work more effectively when they are away from the office. The G450 is an exciting product because it opens up new avenues for mobile access, keeping users in touch by email and the web via their notebook PC wherever they’re located as well as providing them with an easy-to-use voice device.â€
The G450 will be available in white, black and red. Due to land here in March for around £150.-Martin Lynch
Nokia N95 8GB Gets First DLNA Certification
Wireless technology is great when it works well but as we all know it can very often lead to sudden outbursts of profanity and hair-pulling when wireless gadgets refuse to recognise each other.
Nokia is crowing today about its N95 8GB mobile phone, the first to receive an official pat on the back from Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA). The cert is only handed out to gadgets that offer “convenient and intuitive connectivity†with other gadgets. The DLNA has already certified more than 1,800 products in the PC and consumer electronic categories, but this is the first time a mobile phone has gotten the nod..
“We are thrilled to receive this tribute from the DLNA. The Nokia N95 8GB is truly a masterpiece of a multimedia computer, and a prime example of the direction mobility is taking – it’s personal, powerful and fits seamlessly into your life inside and outside the home” said Anssi Vanjoki, executive vice president, Markets, Nokia.
According to Nokia, the N95 will let you seamlessly hook up wirelessly for photo sharing, stream music to a DLNA-certified hi-fi system or videos and photos to your TV.-Martin Lynch