Gadgets That Puzzle and Delight - Something More Personal
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Again, the next bit of technology I'd like to bring to your attention isn't really a gadget, though it does concern flying. You may have wished you could own a flying car, or at least one of those jet packs you often see in action adventure movies. Gene Corporation in Japan has an answer for you: the GEN H-4 personal helicopter. It features a seat, landing gear, and two sets of coaxial, contra-rotating rotors; no tail needed for balancing. You just strap it on and go. With rotors that are only about ten feet long, you won't have too much trouble parking it. At a little over $30,000, it costs about as much as a really good new car. (You can read more about the GEN H-4 here http://www.newlaunches.com/archives/
the_worlds_smallest_one_person_helicopter.php).
If we're going to cover personal technology, there are very few devices that users think of as more personal than their MP3 players. Here's one that isn't on the market yet; it dances right on the border between "too cool" and "what the f**k?!" It's a yo-yo powered MP3 player. Chris Aimone and Tomek Bartczak came up with the design, which won the Pop Sci and Core77 award for best human-powered design. When you think about it, all you have to do is put in a magnet, some electromagnetic coils, a flash drive, a lithium ion battery and a wireless broadcaster. Just do somewhere between 10 and 12 tosses an hour and you're all set for continuous play. (You can read more about the yo-yo MP3 player here http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/192/1/).
One of the few devices that many users consider to be at least as personal as a music player is their cell phone. There are enough new cell phones coming out, and new ideas for future cell phones, that an entire article (or several) could be written about them. So I'm not going to tell you about a new cell phone, but rather a new cell phone service that could help keep your little treasure from getting very far if it is lost or stolen.
Synchronica, a UK-based company, is offering a service called Mobile Manager for Windows Mobile-based smart phones. It causes them to emit an "annoying and embarrassing high-pitched wail" so they can be found quickly. Thousands of cell phones are stolen every month, and many of them contain sensitive personal information (remember Paris Hilton's cell phone mishap?). The service can also lock and wipe data from Windows-based phones at the owner's request. (You can read more about Synchronica's Mobile Manager service here http://news.com.com/Stolen+smart+phones+scream+to+be+found/
2100-1041_3-6110735.html?tag=nefd.top).
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