Napa Valley winery flips on Flotovoltaic solar array
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Chalk another one up for Sharp. The company has landed yet another partner willing to utilize its solar panels in order to make news, wow onlookers and give Mother Earth a modicum of a break. Napa Valley winery Far Niente has flipped on its self-coined Floatovoltaic installation, which was developed by Thompson Technology Industries and installed by SPG Solar. Nearly 2,300 Sharp solar panels were secured for the job, and we're told that the array generates 400 kWs at peak output, which "significantly offsets the winery's annual power usage and provides a net-zero energy bill." Don't expect that coveted bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon to be any cheaper as a result, though.
[Via CNET]
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FreeHand puts a pocket on your wrist, L on your forehead
Filed under: Wearables
This day and age, there's really no excuse to have too little room in your average pair of cargo shorts for all the gadgets needed in a day. Convergence and shrinking PCBs have left us with do-it-all handhelds that can fit in the rear pockets of size 2 jeans on a size 4 gal, so really, you have exactly zero reasons to actually buy that abomination pictured above. If you must know, the FreeHand is a wearable neoprene pocket that keeps your keys, flash drives, RSA token and chump change within easy reach, and if you're lucky, you may be able to convince the boss it's being worn to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome. Folks who haven't listened to a word we just said can ignite a Jackson right now -- or spend $19.95 on this, same difference.
[Via Coolest-Gadgets]
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Steampunk Tea Pots Are Very Rust-Tea [Steampunk Tea]
Apologies to reader Miguel for taking his fantastic creations and shoving a lousy pun on it, but it was either that or "sTEAmpunk". These Steampunk Tea Pots are really, really amazing, and they're all hand-made and unglazed colored clay pots perfect for putting your morning tea into. Mr. T would approve.
GALLERY
Boiler
Encounter
PlanetX
Radial
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Rock Band Drum Kit accessibility mod helps everybody rock harder
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals
While we of course rock oh-so-very-hard on Rock Band's drums, the pedal just never felt right under our weakling calves. The problem is naturally exacerbated for folks in wheelchairs, since there's no way to avoid the kick drum or re-route it to another button -- at least out of the box. Some folks at Kinetic Communications modded up a doorbell to work as the kick drum button and screwed it to a drum stick. Not the prettiest mod in the world, but it got their wheelchair-bound buddy drumming for about $20, and it shouldn't be hard to replicate their instructions.
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Egg Speakers Provide Hours Of Wobbly Fun [Speakers]
In case you were dying for a pair of egg-shaped speakers but the Sony Rolly just didn't seem... wobbly enough, Brando is now offering an ovoid sound system that'll fulfill your whimsical music listening needs. The speakers come in black or red, twist open for enhanced bass output, and run for several hours off of a USB-rechargeable battery. They also totter, but don't fall, if you flick them—a feature sure to entertain you on those ultra boring days at the office. Available at Brando for $15 a piece. [Technabob]
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Pantech Duo 2 Dual-Sliding Windows Mobile Phone Leaked on FCC [Pantech Duo 2]
Seeing as the original AT&T Pantech Duo 1 is the C810, this C820 has a really high possibility of being the Pantech Duo 2. There aren't many details, but it's got WCDMA 850/1900, which is AT&T's 3G, and probably will run Windows Mobile like the previous ones. It's interesting to check out the differences between this and the Ocean 2, which also popped up on the FCC a few weeks back if you're into looking at FCC drawings. [FCC]
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Motorola + Kodak’s 5-Megapixel Cameraphone Leaked Shots [Motorola Zn5]
We've been hearing about a 5-megapixel cameraphone from Motorola and Kodak for more than a year now, but we've only recently seen leaked photos of the actual device. Boy Genius says it's running on Motorola's MOTOMAGX Linux platform and has Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 100MB internal storage and a ROKR touch wheel. The problems? The camera isn't autofocus (ruh roh), and there's only EDGE. Someone's going to have some good times uploading blurry pictures over a slow connection when this is released. [Boy Genius]
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LG Decoy Comes With Removable Bluetooth Headphone, Will Drop June 16 [Cellphones]
Verizon subscribers and slider phone fans can look forward to the new LG Decoy which, after a slight delay, is now set to launch on June 16. The phone is a CDMA dual band, with a QVGA 240 x 320 pixel display and a 2.0 megapixel camera. It supports video and mp3 playback and has an expandable microSD slot. The Decoy also comes with a built-in removable Bluetooth earpiece, so you're less likely to lose your BT headphone and risk not looking like a douche. Just kidding. It'll cost $349 for full retail, $249 with a 1 year contract and $179 with a 2 year contract. [Phone Arena]
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Dealzmodo: 5% Off Anything at Amazon.com [Deals]
Lockergnome has somewhat convoluted way to game the Amazon system to get an extra 5% off of anything in the store, as long as it's actually sold by Amazon.com and not a third-party retailer. It's too long to list here, but the gist of it is that you tell Amazon you already own something, wait a day, and they'll recommend that item back to you at a 5% discount. Not sure how this makes sense, but Lockergnome says it works. Go check it out, cheapos. [Lockergnome]
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Prototype iControlPad proves itself on video
Filed under: Cellphones
Hah, did you really have the nerve to doubt CraigIX? The iPhone gamepad add-on that we heard about just last week is already inching closer to reality, and there's a video to prove it. In the somewhat unexciting clip posted up after the jump, you'll see a PCB mockup of the device doing its thang, though it's quite inelegant in its current form. If you just needed one more something to boost your interest / confidence that this critter was real, you know where to head.
[Via zodttd]
Continue reading Prototype iControlPad proves itself on video
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