Geek Gadgets: BANANA BATTERY CHARGERS!

So, you’re kicking ass in COD 4 and next thing you know you hear the infamous click sound of your controller dying. “SHIT” you yell as you see someone on the other team run up to you and to be a complete dick they stab you rather than just getting a headshot. What do you do? YOU GRAB YOUR BANANAS! Imagine how cool you will be as you pop out two new rechargeable batteries out of a pair of glowing bananas!

You’ll be the life of the party! On the other hand, you could just be tool that is trying to turn their whole life into a running Mario Kart gag. Novelties have never really made sense to me, but after some thought I can see how someone could like these bananas. Instead of having that brick attached to your outlet (or in this case, your computer), you get some decorative bananas that attach to your laptop. Another benefit is these batteries can be recharged on the go, so no running out of batteries when you can’t charge them.

The bananas themselves can charge 2AA or 2AAA batteries at a time. They fit on the palm of your hand, so although they can be a source of decoration, they will not end up being the biggest decoration in your room. The bananas have lights in them to both indicate charging and completion of charge. For a price of $22.00 it seems a little steep, I guess that is what you get when you are buying a novelty. If you are interested in the battery bananas this is where you can get them http://www.usbgeek.com/prod_detail.php?prod_id=1134 .

Geek Gadgets: THE DENTAL INTRA-ORAL CAMERA!

A reader has found this week’s geek gadget for me. It is the Dental Intra-Oral Camera… Also known as a tiny webcam attached to a stick. On the website, it is billed for “enabling users to examine teeth, or other body parts by themselves or with the help of others, and viewing the pictures live on a computer.” WHO ELSE DOESN’T SEE THIS GOING HORRIBLY WRONG? We’ve all heard the gerbil stories from hospitals. I honestly am terrified at the thought that some people will buy this then decide with their friends. “HEY how cool would it be to look at the inside of my ass!”

Then reading forward after removing that horrible image from my head I realized the resolution of the image is a mere 320x240. My god the Lego studio kit had a better resolution from the webcam they gave you. The camera was in itself an interesting idea that I am sure initially meant well. Despite, I think we should leave looking at our teeth to the experts, and not our naturally hypochondriac selves.

If you ACTUALLY are interested in this product, it can be found here , for a price of $46.63 (you get what you pay for). You can also buy these in bulk… I guess to try to start a dental non-medical use camera business. Have fun this week, and I will be back next week with something much less disturbing (promise).

Geek Gadgets: THE USB MISSILE LAUNCHER!

How many times have you walked into your room, and something just didn’t feel right? You look at your computer and you think “I know that page wasn’t there when I left.” You then conclude you are just being paranoid and jump on your computer. WELL FEAR NO MORE! I have found a nice little toy off blokeystuff.au. It is a “missile launcher,” which I have seen around the internet before, but this one has an added little fun effect… a webcam!

This toy definitely goes down as one of those things I never thought I would need (and still really don’t). It works either on the computer it is attached to, or remotely. I assume someone thought it would be a good idea to make a personal webcam that shoots at where it is looking, and can be accessed from around the globe. (Imagine if you finally got that girl to bed and your buddy from down the street logs on and decides this would be a HILARIOUS time to shoot you/her, because you [stupidly] left the damn thing on) Honestly, I do not see a purpose.

I can see the fun factor something like this would initially have, just… I cannot see someone actually using it for a long time. It would be a good thing to use some of that freeware security software that can follow something that is moving (I’m sure the program has an “Autofire” option).

The missile launcher does not take a lot of space, and can be operated on a run of the mill computer. The website doesn’t disclose the resolution of the camera, so I really cannot say if the $78 price tag is justified. If you are interested you can hit up their website: http://www.blokeystuff.com.au/Product.php?bar=872888008283 and find out yourself.

Geek Gadgets: The USB Ashtray!

The USB port is becoming one of the most widely used physical ports on the everyday computer. So much so, that cool little toys you didn’t even think you’d need or existed are being developed for your USB drive. In this series, I will call “Geek Gadgets,” I will dive into this world of craziness to see what I can find. The only restriction as to what I will talk about is the gadget MUST be a USB device.

Today’s gadget is the USB Ashtray. Whilst looking for just cool things to get I found this little useful toy. The device is a legitimate ashtray that is tastefully shaped like a car. Although I do not personally smoke, I can see how this can be useful. It would bug the hell out of me is my multi-thousand dollar laptop reeked of cigarette (or “other” smoking related item).

The little plastic car with a fan to make smoke disappear from your room (and not make everything smell) uses the USB drive OR 2AA batteries as its power source. It is also relatively small (Only taking the desk space of about an IPod). It also has a removable ashtray so you don’t have to remove the whole assembly when you need to get rid of your ashes.

For $17.00, this is a great buy. To all the smokers out there, this one is for you! Interested in buying? Here's the website.