Microsoft Photosynth
Free
Imagine standing in Times Square with your camera and shooting 360 degrees of photos. Then you find your nearest Wi-Fi hotspot and upload your pics to photosynth.net. Microsoft Photosynth calculates points of overlap in your photos and builds an explorable, 3D panorama of New York’s neon heart. Finally something for that sweatered PC guy to brag about: honest virtual reality.
Potenco Pull-Cord Generator
$99
With huge implications for campers, mission-trippers, and the developing world at large, these kinetic motion chargers supply off-grid power to anyone with two arms and a minute to spare. You juice the Potenco Power Generator by yanking on a yo-yo-like rip-cord, and it in turn generates 30 minutes of cell-phone talk time or of electric lantern light. Although they’re not retail-ready yet, Potenco is currently field-testing the generators and intends make the generators affordable for the developing world and high school students soon.
Roku Netflix Set-Top Box
$99
If you’re a Netflixer, you know sometimes those red envelopes can’t come soon enough. For those with no patience for snail mail, the Roku Netflix Set-Top Box brings relief. With the Roku hooked in, you can tap a library of over 12,000 movies and TV episodes from your living room. Soon, a partnership with Amazon Video On Demand will more than triple the number of available titles.
Eye-Fi SD Cards
$79-$129
Pack away your USB’s. Eye-Fi SD cards transmit photos wirelessly from camera to hard drives or even to photo-sharing sites like Flickr or Facebook. The cards can even geo-tag photos with latitude and longitude, essentially stringing out a bread-crumb trail of your travels. It’s ideal for photographers on the move, with no time to keep mom updated and no extra space for a tangle of cables. Wires are so 20th century.
Guitar Hero Air Guitar
$29
Ready for a new level of fake? In case the air guitar wasn’t ridiculous enough, now stringless strumming can produce more sound than your friends’ pity laughs. From the innovators of Guitar Hero, comes an Air Guitar that actually plays chords. The kit comes with a belt-buckle sensor and pick which let you jam to your favorite Motorhead and Boston hits at a tempo of your choosing. TC’s advice? Save the money for a real concert.
Free
Imagine standing in Times Square with your camera and shooting 360 degrees of photos. Then you find your nearest Wi-Fi hotspot and upload your pics to photosynth.net. Microsoft Photosynth calculates points of overlap in your photos and builds an explorable, 3D panorama of New York’s neon heart. Finally something for that sweatered PC guy to brag about: honest virtual reality.
Potenco Pull-Cord Generator
$99
With huge implications for campers, mission-trippers, and the developing world at large, these kinetic motion chargers supply off-grid power to anyone with two arms and a minute to spare. You juice the Potenco Power Generator by yanking on a yo-yo-like rip-cord, and it in turn generates 30 minutes of cell-phone talk time or of electric lantern light. Although they’re not retail-ready yet, Potenco is currently field-testing the generators and intends make the generators affordable for the developing world and high school students soon.
Roku Netflix Set-Top Box
$99
If you’re a Netflixer, you know sometimes those red envelopes can’t come soon enough. For those with no patience for snail mail, the Roku Netflix Set-Top Box brings relief. With the Roku hooked in, you can tap a library of over 12,000 movies and TV episodes from your living room. Soon, a partnership with Amazon Video On Demand will more than triple the number of available titles.
Eye-Fi SD Cards
$79-$129
Pack away your USB’s. Eye-Fi SD cards transmit photos wirelessly from camera to hard drives or even to photo-sharing sites like Flickr or Facebook. The cards can even geo-tag photos with latitude and longitude, essentially stringing out a bread-crumb trail of your travels. It’s ideal for photographers on the move, with no time to keep mom updated and no extra space for a tangle of cables. Wires are so 20th century.
Guitar Hero Air Guitar
$29
Ready for a new level of fake? In case the air guitar wasn’t ridiculous enough, now stringless strumming can produce more sound than your friends’ pity laughs. From the innovators of Guitar Hero, comes an Air Guitar that actually plays chords. The kit comes with a belt-buckle sensor and pick which let you jam to your favorite Motorhead and Boston hits at a tempo of your choosing. TC’s advice? Save the money for a real concert.
