Personal rocket copter for your commute

With US$4 gas prices looking like a permanent fact of life, consumer interest in jetpacks and other forms of personal air transport might soon go from whimsy to reality. That seems to be driving the engineers at Tecnologia Aeroespacial Mexicana, whose latest project is the Libelula Rocket Helicopter.

Don't laugh. This may look like something from a 1950s sci-fi movie, but its creators have already produced a Rocket Belt built to custom specifications. The personal chopper could be also be more reliable than its full-size counterparts because, Dvice says, "by using tiny rocket motors at the tips of the rotor blades, the Libelula eliminates the torque which makes a tail rotor necessary in a conventional helicopter".

There are other potential advantages over the jetpacks we've seen, including price. We assume that the Libelula will be at least a tad cheaper than the Rocket Belt, which goes for US$250,000--that's crazy money to pay for anything, let alone something that can fly for only 30 seconds at a time. Then again, the way prices at the pump are going, it might be worth another look.

Via Crave CNET

Golf Ball Launcher: Never shank again

The next time your golf buddies start dissing your last swing, here's one way to shut them up in a hurry. The Golf Ball Launcher may not be of much use as a putter, but it'll probably make it a lot more fun getting to the green.

The designer of the launcher, made by Air Force Golf, was inspired to create it after his father suffered a stroke that robbed him of the use of an arm and a leg, according to Slippery Brick. But having witnessed the obsession of some duffers in our acquaintance, we suspect that interest in these air-guns-turned-golf-rifles won't be confined to those with physical disabilities--especially when they learn that it has a range of up to 300 yards. And they probably wouldn't even flinch at the US$795 price that's estimated once it comes to market later this year.

Needless to say, not all courses have agreed to allow the launcher in play. But it could have other uses if you're still looking for ways to get that golf-ball cam into position to spy on your opponents.

Via Crave CNET

Digital frame has a secret to pull out

We know, it's just what the world needs--another digital photo frame. But this one's different, honest. At least a little bit.

Kenko's KDF-07 may look like an ordinary 7-inch screen, as seen on Fareastgizmos, but it hides a secret control panel that slides out from the side then retracts when not in use to maintain the sleek look of the frame in silver, black matte, and wood grain finishes. That's hardly enough reason to charge US$160 on the Japanese market for a product that has comparable competition for less money and more features from other other manufacturers. We do appreciate the size, however, because in digital photo frames we think smaller is better.

Via Crave CNET

Samsung showcases world's fastest laser printers

As part of the Samsung Printing InspriAsia Tour 2008 held in Bali, Indonesia, last week, Samsung unveiled what it claimed to be the world's fastest mono laser multifunction printer (MFP), as well as the speediest color laser MFP, too.

These printers are not targeted at the usual home users but geared more toward corporations and enterprise.

The MultiXpress 6555N is a digital mono laser MFP capable of churning out 53 pages per minute (ppm). It comes with an 80GB built-in harddisk for storing files that are sent over the network. The A4-MFP also sports a 7-inch color touchscreen for accessing the menus. The 6555N succeeds the 6345N which prints at 43ppm.


Read more »

Why is there a PS3 in my laptop?

After its failed attempt at dominating the next-generation optical standard, Toshiba still refuses to toe the same technological line as its competitors. According to reports, the Japanese company is taking a gamble on the same technology which powers the PlayStation 3 (PS3) and hopes this will find a new home in Qosmio entertainment laptops.

The SpursEngine SE1000 chip is a quad-core processor (the PS3's chip has eight cores) whose main purpose--beside general computing tasks--is encoding and decoding high-def content. Sounds perfect for entertainment portables, right? Well, hold your horses because software and gaming companies will need to optimize their codes to take full advantage of this new chip.

How likely will the SpursEngine SE1000 succeed in the competitive mobile processor and graphics market? With Intel's upcoming Larrabee processor taking on both processing and video duties while Nvidia and AMD/ATI continue being heavyweights in the graphics arena, this may turn out to be an even bigger battle than the HD-DVD/Blu-ray war.

Via Register Hardware

Crave is...

The name says it all. Crave is our new blog about cool gadgets and other crushworthy stuff.

Drop us an email if you have tips or suggestions.

Crave for...

» Mobile Phones (575)

» Digital Cameras (356)

» Notebooks (367)

» PC & Peripherals (372)

» Handhelds (213)

» Printers (37)

» Home AV (394)

» Music & Play (358)

» Gadgets (844)

» Future Tech (124)

Previously...

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

Subscribe to
Crave

Today on CNET |  Reviews |  Crave |  Blogs |  CNET TV |  Digital Living |  Downloads