Records

The evolution of the human body as measured by how fast we can run or how high we can jump is glacially slow, despite vastly improved knowledge of human physiology, diet, and training techniques. By contrast, the rapid evolution of extreme sports has seen regular quantum progress as barrier after barrier falls. Indeed, in the world of stunts, things not thought possible quickly become commonplace once they are achieved. Yet another such "four minute mile" fell recently when Jed Mildon performed the first triple backflip on a BMX bike. Jed wore a ContourHD helmetcam for the stunt, so if you want to know what it's like to watch the world swirl 1080 degrees in 1080p in two seconds ... Read More

Keeping track of receipts can be a hassle. The paper itself has a tendency to curl up, it creases very easily, and trying to sort out a sheaf of curly, creased-up receipts is no one’s idea of fun... or at least, the folks at Planon hope it isn’t. They’ve just released the SlimScan SS100, a “credit card-sized” high-resolution color scanner designed specifically for scanning receipts. The device – which was on display at CES – comes with Planon’s PaperPort SE software (for Windows only), which allows users to organize their scanned receipts once they transfer them onto their PC. Read More

Many people have come to associate the pops and crackles heard on vinyl LP’s as an inevitable part of a record’s aging process - the more it’s played, the more scratches and pockmarks it develops. According to Australian inventor Cary Stoddard, however, most of those noises are actually due to minute particles of things like mould, dust, oils, skin, and smoke that have become embedded in the grooves. While conventional record brushes can’t remove them, he claims that his product can, potentially restoring your records to near-pristine condition. Read More

Korean designer Rhea Jeong says she's been astounded by the amount of interest in her conceptual Void LP record player. One look at the design and you can see why it's made so much noise without even uttering a sound. Close your eyes and imagine a little red globe spinning around on top of a vinyl record emitting sound from speakers inside it. The record itself is suspended in mid-air above a simple black base unit - no strings attached, no wires holding it up and definitely no safety net. The imagery is quite simply jaw-dropping. But can such a thing really work? Read More

USB turntables provide an easy way to digitize your collection of vinyl. Usually, it requires a PC. However, a new range of USB turntables from Akai includes a model that lets you record from vinyl, directly to a USB hard drive – without the need of a PC. Read More