Jonathan Fincher
All Articles by Jonathan Fincher

Samsung's recently announced Portable Induction Hob is a new appliance that aims to bring some style and user-friendliness to even the smallest of kitchens. Aside from being the first cooking hob offered in different colors, the new device will sport a compact design and and soft, rounded shapes. The most interesting feature is the interface, which features an iPod-like touch wheel for adjusting the heat level and other settings. Read More
Beam toothbrush reports your brushing habits to a smartphone via Bluetooth
14:46 February 16, 2012

From heart monitors to cooking thermometers, almost any piece of tech seems to be equipped with Bluetooth and an accompanying smartphone app these days. Now it looks like even the simplest of items can get their own high-tech upgrade, as evidenced by Beam Technologies' upcoming Bluetooth-enabled toothbrush. The Beam Brush will monitor a person's dental hygiene using sensors that sync with an app, which will then track that data and offer incentives to improve their brushing habits. Read More
Microsoft robotics developer builds remote dog-sitting bot
09:20 February 16, 2012

When Jordan Correa and his wife both started working full time, they found themselves away from their home much more often, leaving their dog, Darwin, alone all day. Most people would have just had to leave the problem as is, or maybe get a part time pet sitter. But Correa, being a test developer for the Microsoft Robotics Team, came up with a solution right in line with his talents and built a dog-sitting robot, so he could play and speak with his pet over the internet while he's at work. Read More
Mattel to release Back to the Future hover board replica
20:07 February 15, 2012

Admit it. No matter what age you were when you first saw the hover board in Back to the Future 2, odds are that you wanted one. Too bad we're a scant three years away from the time when the movie takes place and the hover industry hasn't exactly taken off. Mattel is planning the next best thing though: a full-sized replica of the famous pink hover board. Read More
Shoot a real machine gun at a real Twisted Metal truck using your computer
06:53 February 13, 2012

This Valentine's Day won't just mark the time of year when people the world over scramble for heart-shaped candy and restaurant reservations – it's also the release date for the highly-anticipated Twisted Metal video game on the Playstation 3. The game features crazy vehicles decked out with weapons all trying to destroy each other, so what better way to promote the occasion than by unloading a machine gun into an ice cream truck like one featured in the game? Rather than just doing it themselves, however, the promoters of the game have set up ShootMyTruck.com, a website that will let users take a shot at the truck remotely using their computers. Read More
Inventor claims this robot is "the greatest toy in the universe," might be right
16:05 February 11, 2012

If you're going to call your invention "the greatest (fill in the blank) in the universe," you'd better be prepared to show off something truly amazing. Luckily for toy maker, Jaimie Mantzel, he may be onto something with his remote-controlled, six-legged robot. It may not have a name yet, but with its various attachments for shooting different projectiles and break away battle armor, it's sure to show up on some Christmas lists in the future. Read More
Yumemiru app aims to let you control your dreams
12:12 February 9, 2012

We all wish we could control what our dreams are at night, whether it's to pretend we have powers like Superman or simply to enjoy a relaxing stroll through a mansion on the Moon that happens to have a talking lion for a butler, complete with monocle. Sadly, we're still a long way away from programming our sleeping moments like a Netflix queue, but one Japanese app may have a quick solution. The Yumemiru app for iOS can detect when you enter dream sleep and then plays a soundtrack to influence what happens in your dreams. Read More
While 3D printers build, iModela carves
01:07 February 7, 2012

3D printers are certainly hot technology these days, with machines like the Printrbot, MakerBot and Cubify launching on a regular basis. But while most of these devices focus on building something from the ground up, Roland DG has unveiled a new machine that does the exact opposite. Rather than slowly building a model by adding layers of material, the iModela iM-01 3D Modeling Machine carves its creations down from a larger block of material, like a small, automated sculptor. Read More
South Korea opens a Kinect-powered theme park
13:30 February 3, 2012

New media entertainment company, d'strict, is pushing the concept of virtual reality to a new level with the "Live Park 4D World Tour," a new theme park that recently opened in South Korea. The park is comprised of 65 different attractions over a 10,000 sq. foot (929 sq m) space, which houses several large interactive displays as well as some installation art pieces. Visitors wear RFID wristbands that allow the displays to identify them, while Kinect sensors detect their movements, voices, and faces. Many of the attractions center around having users create an avatar of themselves that they can interact with and take on a virtual adventure, which is portrayed using 3D video, holograms, and augmented reality technology. Read More
Review: OnLive Android app - the future of video games?
03:18 February 1, 2012
A while back, OnLive released an app that allows its on-demand video game service to function through any Android device. While the service has been around awhile for use with computers and TVs, what makes the app unique is its ability to deliver games usually reserved for consoles and gaming PCs to many tablets and smartphones. The app could effectively turn any smart device into a portable game console that streams games like Netflix streams movies. That's all great as a concept, but the big question is how well it actually works. After spending some time with OnLive's app, it's clear that it isn't going to replace your console or gaming PC anytime soon, but it does offer a glimpse at the possible future of video games. Read More
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