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Technology

Skateboard Sail Harnesses The Power Of Wind

We’ve always been fan of simple, D.I.Y. thinking, so we have to give it up to David Guillot, who created a hand-held land sail that can be used to propel your skate or snowboard.

While David is selling them for $59.99 each, he also posted a guide about how you can create your own using materials like duct tape, plastic tarp and some fiberglass poles. MacGyver would be proud. Watch a video of the sail below.

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August 15, 2008 | Permalink | Comment
Tags: Tech, Skateboard Sail, sail, Technology, Skate Sail, land sail, Sail Skating

Technology

Sensacell Floor Lights Up Like ‘Billie Jean’

The Spanish basketball team might have made a fool out of themselves in the Olympics, but their home country is still looking out for the international community by hosting the 2008 World Expo, which runs all summer long in Zaragoza.

One of the installations that’s turning heads in the eco-friendly exhibit is an LED floor created by designer Sensacell, which spans 250 square feet using 1,000 illuminating panels. Just like the famous street in Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” video, the pressure sensitive floor glows with every step. The more foot-traffic that comes through, the brighter the panels get. See a video below.

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August 14, 2008 | Permalink | 2 Comments
Tags: Spain, Michael Jackson, Technology, floor

Technology

Meet Nokia’s Jeppe Video Conferencing Pet

Video chatting is so uptight. If you don’t want to be stationed directly in front of your computer, your only real option is to use a camera with an internet phone service like Skype. Luckily, video conferencing just got a lot more fun with the Nokia Jeppe, a remote controlled mobile webcam designed to feel like a pet.

The brains at the Nokia Research Centre Smart Spaces lab recently built the small wonder as part of an initiative to make video conferencing easier. With a Nokia N800 Internet Tablet in hand, the user can control where the little guy moves to on its two wheels. While it’s still in research and development, you can check out the demo below.

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August 12, 2008 | Permalink | Comment
Tags: robot, jeppe, Technology, nokia

Movies

Hollywood’s Struggle To Understand Computers

With the recent re-release and new DVD edition celebrating the 25th anniversary of Wargames, we decided to take another look at the movie after all these years. And after pressing play, our first thought was, What’s up with that computer, homie?

Poor Matthew Broderick was hacking into national defense mainframes with a pizza box and a rotary phone. Hollywood has always loved computers—the problem is that no one making movies seems to know what they can actually do (neither do we, apparently, seeing as how we can’t seem to stop the site from fucking crashing—our profound gratitude for your patience). So of course we put our Ebert caps on and rounded up some of the most mindboggling Technology x Hollywood collabos…

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August 6, 2008 | Permalink | 1 Comment
Tags: Computers, Movies, hacking, Technology

Technology

Luxeed LED Keyboard Adds Color To Your Typing

If you’re one of those dudes who have exclusive shit down to your computer peripherals, then this LED keyboard from Luxeed is your joint. Before the guys at ThinkGeek managed to get their hands on a Western-friendly version, the keyboard was exclusive to Asian markets (what a surprise).

The finger-happy device features 430 individually colored LED lights that can be customized with Windows-only software that comes in the packaging. You can also hook up the keyboard so that each letter illuminates a different shade when touched, just in case you need to get your weekend acid-trip fix during work hours. Would we part with the $199.99 for one of these? Probably not, but it’d definitely break necks if we ever housed one in our cubicles. Check the demo of the machine below.

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August 5, 2008 | Permalink | Comment
Tags: Technology, LED keyboard

Technology

Stonehenge Robot Clock Is A Waste Of Time

Blaming your alarm clock for being late is an excuse that’ll never get old. And if you’re looking for a smarter way to blame technology, buy this Stonehenge robot clock and say that you spent your whole morning waiting for it to change time.

Using a slower-than-shit mechanical arm, engineer Steve Norris programmed the Stonehenge to move numerical cards in and out of the display. But seeing as it takes the arm almost a full minute to change from 12:09 to 12:10, it kind of defeats the purpose. Norris (obviously not related to Chuck) should’ve programed it with a poking command to wake up the owner when it finishes. Watch the hilariously slow demo video below.

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August 4, 2008 | Permalink | 3 Comments
Tags: Norris Labs, robot, Technology, clock

Technology

Camera DJ System Lets You Scratch Anywhere

DJing’s been going through it over the last 10 or 15 years. First came CD turntables, which are just disgusting and only fit for eurotrash dance music. Then came vinyl-substitute software like Serato—and while it threatens the vinyl market, we give it points for preserving beat-juggling skills and keeping the turntable itself alive (plus our resident DJ Treats swears by it).

But now some cat going by the name DJ MoCap (Yeah, we get it, “motion capture”—demerits for the needlessly precious moniker, homie) has rigged up some technology that could make Technics and Vestax a truly endangered species. All one needs is a high-contrast surface, like a piece of white paper, and a finger, and voila—full scratch control without vinyl, CDs, or any other analog object. MoCap made his setup using Native Instruments’ Traktor Scratch software and a camcorder. Watch a video of the astonishing phantom turntablism below

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July 31, 2008 | Permalink | 1 Comment
Tags: turntablism, rise of the machines, Technology, DJing, Music

Technology

Back To The Future’s Hover Board Hits eBay

A small piece of your childhood probably died when you realized that the hover board Marty McFly jacked from a little girl in 1989’s Back To The Future II was actually a piece of plastic held up with harnesses and cranes. Even 20 years later, levitation technology still isn’t available. What the fuck?

Luckily, if you’re a McFly fan who has at least $30,000 taking up space in the trust fund, you can now own the actual hover board used in the movie. It won’t hover, but a prop like this will certainly make your fantasy that much more vivid. The pink Mattel toy will be open to bidders on eBay this Friday (August 1), so lace up your Hyperdunks and get ready to bid HERE. After the jump, see the other side of the board and watch the classic Back To The Future scene.

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July 28, 2008 | Permalink | 1 Comment
Tags: Movies, ebay, Skate, marty mcfly, Hyperdunk, Back To The Future, Technology

Art

DNA Portraits Unlock Genetic Art

If you’re like us, you like one-offs of everything, including your art. But how can you really make sure your style won’t be bitten? DNA 11 is a design house that reworks your genetic formulas and turns them into one-of-a-kind art pieces.

Customers use a “collection kit” to take a swab from inside their cheek, which gives the company the DNA they need. They then isolate a sequence, blow it up and customize the artwork based on your specifications. You can even mix up to four different types of DNA if you’re looking to make sentimental “family portraits.” The DNA sequences transform into reasonably priced ($390 per print) wall-candy, but you can also get a personalized fingerprint or lips image for cheaper. After the jump, watch a video about the process and see some more DNA 11 artwork.

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July 24, 2008 | Permalink | 1 Comment
Tags: Technology, Art, DNA, science, Design, DNA 11

Technology

Hybrid Knife-Gun Keeps Haters At Bay

At Complex, we don’t condone violence unless it’s done in self defense. If some one steps to you, handle yours. But now-a-days, fewer and fewer people choose to shoot the fair one, opting instead to just shoot. What happens when you literally bring a knife to a gun fight?

If you had this pocket knife gun combination, you’d be ready for anything. Details are scarce, but from the looks of it, if you feel like a blade just won’t save your ass, you load low-caliber bullets into the handle of the knife, close it shut and let off. We doubt it’s legal, but this is a pretty sick hybrid weapon. Watch a video of it in action below.

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July 23, 2008 | Permalink | Comment
Tags: Knife, Hybrid, Weapon, gun, Technology