Jinsic Kim wants you to shore up on solar power while you dry your laundry, with his Sunbox design concept. The Sunbox is designed to hook on your typical clothesline. As the sun evaporates the moisture from newly washed clothes, it also shines on each Sunbox unit, charging up its internal battery.

After sunset, the Sunbox becomes a portable power pack, barely large enough to accept a standard plug. The idea is to provide enough power at night for appliances, gadgets, and socket-driven lighting. Why run up your electric bill charging your cell phone, when the Sunbox can provide all the …read more

Chandelier are like the staple of the rich and famous, and every mansion comes equipped with at least one. For my own geek-influenced wealth fantasies however, this LED Chandelier by Group Two Design is perfect!
Unlike your garden-variety chandeliers, which are constrained by the relatively rigid nature of “normal” lighting, Group Two Design’s creation arranges the LEDs into malleable strips. This allows the lighting to accommodate the curved orientation of the chandelier’s translucent resin, providing visual evenness throughout. The five spokes span out from a “gravity-oriented joint” that also helpfully contains the power supply.
Other benefits are obvious as well. LED lighting …read more

Believe or not, I once thought a few years ago that a mosquito-killing laser would be cool—way before Intellectual Ventures publicized proposals to eliminate malaria by directly targeting the carrier insects. And believe me, my desire for a laser-based system was hardly benevolent; mosquitoes feasting on my delicate skin kept me from sleeping.

I eventually dropped my mosquito-killing daydream, because I realized there was a potential drawback. Just as insects develop resistance to chemicals meant to kill them (survival of the fittest), who’s to say they can’t become hardened enough against lasers? Yes, the fragile structure of a mosquito is no …read more

Who would’ve thought renaming your WiFi network could be so useful?
Leave it to PassiveAggressiveNotes.com to state truth: “folks with wireless networks still named “linksys” or “trendnet” are clearly missing out on a priceless opportunity to piss off your neighbors.” That’s because, instead of leaving a potentially offensive note on your neighbors doorstep, wasting your to tell them off, you can do so through the magic of WiFi, without getting up from your computer.
Don’t believe me? Well check out exhibits A, B, and C:

More here.

So want to maintain a nearby stash of your favorite alcholic beverage. But what about inconsiderate co-workers, who consider anything not nailed down freebies? Or what about that ever-watchful boss, ready to fire you at the sight of even the most minor transgression? Sneaking in a sip or two between meetings and long hours of pretending to be busy isn’t a crime, is it?
Enter the secret beer fridge, which hides its true purpose thanks to some simple yet effective DIY ingenuity:

Even better, the secret beer fridge won’t cost you additional time nor money, on top of the price of your …read more

This is so cool! The brainchild of Steve Hoefer, the “Secret Knock Detecting Door Lock” attaches to a doorknob and its corresponding lock with suction cups. Upon detecting the correct knock pattern (by default, the classic shave and a haircut), it unlocks the door to grant access.

Even better, the knock detector is completely programmable. Changing the secret knock cadence is a simple matter of holding the red button while executing a new lock pattern, with a max of 20 knocks. The system simply detects the pattern, and not the tempo, providing allowance for users who knock slower or faster than …read more

Really awesome: Continue Time is a clock with only one hand, which isn’t as limiting as it sounds. You see, the single arm is broken into three segments, which rotate independently to represent the hour, minutes, and seconds respectively. So while the hour hand pivots on the clock mechanism, the minute hand pivots on the hour hand, and the second hand pivots on the minute hand!
Yes, that was pretty confusing. Here’s a video to clear things up:
Due to the clock’s unorthodox form factor, and for the sake of creativity, Continue Time has no casing, exposing its mechanical innards as a …read more

This is an old hack/mod, but it works pretty well. Here’s what you need:

An old desktop case fan
1 USB cable
A piece of stiff wire
Some electrical tape
A pair of pliers
Cutter

Here are the steps to take:

Cut of one end of the USB cable, and unsheathe the main cord it to reveal a red and black wires. These two wires pull power from a computer’s USB port.
The next step is really simple: Strip the red and black wires of the USB and the old desktop fan, then twist them together. Red to red and black to black of course
Get some electrical tape, and …read more

So you’ve been introduced to the DYMO LabelWriter 450 line, which is basically a duo of specialized printers designed to facilitate label printing. With the arrival of a unit for review, the higher-end Twin Turbo variant, we can finally see what comes in the box:

The DYMO LabelWriter 450 Twin Turbo
Quick Start Guide
Manual
Software CD
Starter Address Label roll
Starter DYMO Stamps Postage Label roll
Power cord
Power adapter
USB cable

Within the unit itself are two label spools. It’s easy to notice the smokey translucency of the cover, and how it facilitates determining how much label supply is left. Also prominent are the jagged edges of both …read more

DYMO’s pushing a new LabelWriter line, and the company’s sending me a review unit to check out. For now, let’s be content with some product photography and specs:
DYMO LabelWriter 450 Turbo ($139.99)

Prints fast – up to 71 labels per minute (more than any competitor on the market)
Create labels directly from text in Microsoft Word or Outlook and other programs
Includes easy to use DYMO Label Software that makes it simple to design professional looking labels and manage address books
Quickly create a “one-off” label with the Quick Print widget
Correct US addresses and ZIP+4® codes with included Address Fixer software (Requires Internet connection)
Convert …read more