Digital poker table makes dealers obsolete

If inventors of high-tech gaming tables would only apply their formidable skills in other areas, the world would surely be a better place. Recently there have been some ingenious creations to automate parlor games, whether they deal cards or shuffle mahjong tiles.

Now there's a fully digital poker table that makes the deck of cards (as well as their dealers) obsolete. The X10 Ten Player Automated Table can accommodate up to 10 players in the tournament staple of Texas Hold 'Em, each with his or her own 12-inch touchscreen and a 27-inch LCD in the center where the flops, turns, and rivers will show as community cards alongside the chip totals. The hands are kept private, BornRich explains, because players can "peel" the corners of their cards to take a peek.

It's a much broader version of the two-person Heads-Up Challenge, combined with the concept of other multiple-player systems except they're all at the same table. If you're hosting the game, however, you'd better win some monster hands because you'll need them to pay the US$29,950 price.

Via CNET Crave

Sensear, the hearing aid for aircraft carriers

There's not a lot of talking on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. Yelling, yes. Talking, no. It's so noisy, everyone wears military-grade hearing protection.

If you work in a similar acoustic environment--maybe on a factory floor, at construction sites, or in the stands at rock concerts--you might want to check out the Sensear SP1, which protects your hearing by blocking out damaging noise while allowing speech through.

The rig consists of noise-blocking earpieces with embedded microphones for picking up outside sound.

The SP1 doesn't actively cancel sound. In fact it is designed to make sure the wearer can hear alarm bells and other danger noises, like approaching airplane engines. The electronics in the device serve the purpose of picking speech out of horrendous background noise and amplifying it for the listener.

It is, in other words, much like a hearing aid, except designed for ultra-loud environments and with no concession to style or size: the control unit is a safety-orange box you wear around your neck.

The SP1 (about US$300) has a microphone for connecting to two-way radios. The SP1x model also has Bluetooth so it can work with mobile phones. You can plug your MP3 player into either.

Via CNET Crave

A skylight in your flat

Some of us don't have the luxury of open vistas and picture windows in our tiny cramped hovels. But there's no shortage of companies out there waiting and willing to help you manufacture the illusion (or is that delusion) of having the real deal. The latest of these is NewSky Factory's SkyCeiling, which taps the vastness of nature and space outside your tiny apartment or office cubicle, bringing them indoors. It may all be a mirage, but just how cool is that?

As the sample photo shows, you can have cherry blossoms and clear skies programmed right outside your "skylight", all year round, too. The SkyCeiling uses a DALI-controlled (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) light source that adds color, and can be manipulated manually or via a PC. Each project is customized by specialist Sky Designers, so the reality check here is that owning an illusionary piece of sky in your home won't come cheap.

Via ShinyShiny

Look for Funai, not Philips, at CES 2009

Philips will not be exhibiting at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show. The Philips brand, however, will still be on display at the Las Vegas Convention Center, thanks to the expanded presence of Funai--the Japanese company that will be producing TVs sold in North America under the Philips name starting later this year.

A Philips representative confirmed to CNET that the Dutch electronics giant will not have a presence on the showfloor at the mammoth Las Vegas tradeshow, verifying rumors that had surfaced earlier this year.

Traditionally, the Consumer Electronics Association's massive January event is used by industry stalwarts to highlight emerging trends and key products that will be introduced over the course of the subsequent year and beyond. Philips' exit from that high-profile showcase comes in the wake of its recent announcement that it's outsourcing TV production to Funai for Philips- and Magnavox-branded sets sold in the North American market.

Indeed, Funai is doing its part to fill the void left by Philips' exit from the show. A spokesman for the Consumer Electronics Association, the industry group that runs CES, had this to say:
Read more »

Rotary dial phone watch

We've seen our fair share of watch phones, but none of them are quite like this. For one, it doesn't actually make phone calls, it just looks like a phone. Not just any regular phone though--it looks like the old-fashioned rotary dial kind.

The Zihotch Retro Phone Watch doesn't have a display so you'll need it to speak the time to you. This is activated by dialing 117, after which a voice will speak the current time. Dialing a wrong number will get you an error message. No cellular coverage needed and no requirement to sign up with an operator--it's just a talking watch that's kind of troublesome to use.

Before you flame us in the Talkback for featuring an old product, we are going on record to say, yes, we know this watch has been around for a few years. But hey, it's retro and that's timeless, isn't it? Those interested can get one online from AudioCubes at US$80.

Via Popgadget

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