Check out what happened when a guy left his laptop in the oven for safekeeping while out of town, and then — yes, someone turned it on and it melted. Generally, I hear that is what happens in these oven contraptions. They get very hot (fire is involved), and then proceed to cook whatever is put inside their bellies.

Geek Tip time! Do not use the oven for gadget storage. Evidence above.

Source

A truly satisfying universal control system would involve a simple but expansive user interface, a piece of buttered ham, and a butler to change the channels.

Until then, a fully baked remote with WiFi will do.

Universal Remote's upcoming MX-6000 appears to be the newest Cadillac of remotes because it's something of a mini-computer: it includes a 4.3" LCD wide screen (480x272), 128MB of DDR RAM, and it can process up to 250 different A/V devices.

Scheduled for release at next week's CEDIA, the remote also combines a narrowband RF connection with the WiFi to find IPs and control everything.

I'm skeptical that its UI will be great because universal remotes are usually guilty of adding too many options and sub menus (not to mention the odd choice of fonts), but I like what I'm hearing. The rumor with this one is that it will also include a smart learning system that will automatically place your favorite media players and TVs on the player's main screen.

Source: remoteshoppe.com

The statues, such as the wrestler pictured above, will take cell phone users to HanGame with a simple tap of the phone to the mannequin's arm. One lucky arm-tapper will also get a message that they've won the equivalent of $10,000 US, giving passersby visiting one of Tokyo's most heavily trafficked shopping districts an added incentive to find the statues. HanGame is guaranteed to get an impressive number of hits, and maybe a few people checking out their games who wouldn't have.

As a side note, those statues look amazingly lifelike, don't they? The wrestler's face especially. Chalk up another one for the impressive precision of Japanese artistry, even for video game ads.

Foreign Policy, via Japan Probe, via Textually

Now it looks like the same forces are at work — the newly-released season one DVD has an image that, besides having unrecognizable actors, contains Chuck holding a cell phone. The odd thing is, if you're a GG fan and geeksugar tech quiz aficionado, then you know that Chuck used a Moto Q for the entire first season. But on the DVD cover, he has a RAZR2!

What's happening with these cell phones? Do they think we won't notice if they inexplicably change them up? We already discussed the fact that some characters' phones seem miscast, so what do we think of this cell phone mystery? And has anyone rewatched the pilot to see if Chuck has a RAZR2? I won't rest until I know!

It’s from China’s Dream Cheeky, who are no stranger to USB gadgets and gizmos. The controller sports an 8-way directional pad, four game buttons, start/select buttons and shoulder triggers. The back of the controller has a rubber covering, so you can get a good grip. Not sure if it’s Mac compatible, but it plugs into the USB port on any PC. No word on pricing yet.

[DreamCheeky]

It’s from China’s Dream Cheeky, who are no stranger to USB gadgets and gizmos. The controller sports an 8-way directional pad, four game buttons, start/select buttons and shoulder triggers. The back of the controller has a rubber covering, so you can get a good grip. Not sure if it’s Mac compatible, but it plugs into the USB port on any PC. No word on pricing yet.

[DreamCheeky]

It may seem a bit odd to wrap something as 21st century as an iPod dock in a nostalgic 1940s style package, but we've seen plenty of retro style iPod tech before. The difference with the Xi Classic Jukebox is that despite the 1946 Wurlitzer inspired styling, it incorporates some pretty fancy modern technology for playing your tunes. A 150 watt per channel stereo amp drives a pair of three-way speakers, while the cover art or video info is displayed on the built in LCD screen. This thing is so huge, that your iPod almost gets lost on the front panel. Completing the experience, there's a multi-color LED lighting system that changes its pattern and color to fit the mood of the music.

The Xi Classic Jukebox is currently available in the UK, the main catch being its $11,000+ price tag.

Drinkstuff, via Born Rich

I can’t think of any better application of Newton’s cradle than putting it in a USB Hub form. Boynq has done precisely that, and put on 4 Hubs. This is odd, because most Newton’s Cradles traditionally have five hanging marbles. At least the ones that I remember, anyway.

In addition to it’s nerd-tastic aesthetic, the Swing Hub has a DC power jack and surge protection. Of course, here is the real question: does it actually work? It doesn’t look like I could swing back a USB Hub and expect another one to come out on the other side. This would especially be the case if there was USB Cables plugged into the USB ports.

Well, feel free to try this out at about $24 at the Buy.com site and see how well it performs.

Source

[ Boynq Newton’s Cradle USB Hub Ultimate in Nerdiness copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Imagine talking to your computer and having it transcribe everything you say without even touching the keyboard. That's the promise of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 ($99.99 for the Standard Edition, up to $1,599 for specialized medical and legal editions), the latest in a long line of voice-recognition software packages that have steadily gotten better with each iteration. I've been using NaturallySpeaking since version 7, so I eagerly anticipated the release of this latest version.

The developer of the software, Nuance, called us and boasted about the most significant advance of the software: accuracy. We found it odd that the company's hype for version 9.5 claimed accuracy of “up to 99%,” and now this allegedly more accurate version 10 touts accuracy of “up to 98%.” Although we've learned not to take those quotes too seriously, Nuance also says this version is faster. Because I use NaturallySpeaking every day, the prospect of better accuracy and faster processing was enticing.

Could Star Trek-like voice recognition finally be here? Click Continue and watch us load up this version of NaturallySpeaking 10, putting it to the acid test.