Tag: Japan

Libretto Revival

Lbretto

Toshiba has introduced a new Libretto micro laptop in Japan. I remember seeing them when they were still running with a P-100 CPU. This is just about the perfect computer for goingon the road with a digital camera. That 60GB hard drive would hold a lot of photos (even if 20GB would be used for the OS and apps)!

…This is a mobile notebook with a weight of under 1kg and A5 size. The body size is 210 x 165 x 29.8 ~ 33.4mm (W x D x H), and it weighs about 999g; with the DVD dock, it weighs about 1499g.
…Besides including a DVD Dock or not, the specifications o­n the models are the same — the low power consumption Pentium M 733 (1.10GHz), 256MB of PC2700 DDR SDRAM, Intel 855GME chipset (onboard video), and 60GB hard drive. A 7.2″ “Clear SuperView” LCD is also provided, with a resolution of 1280 x 768.
Available interfaces are USB 2.0 x 2, Ethernet, Bluetooth (Ver 2.0), IEEE 802.11b/g wireless LAN, mini RGB x 1 (mini D-Sub 15 pin conversion cable included), IEEE 1394 (4-pin) x 1, Type2 PC Card slot, and SD card slot. The lithium ion battery will power the unit for roughly 5.3 hours.

Libretto Revival

Japan, notebook, ultra small

Bionic suit offers wearers super-strength

HAL 3

Simply amazing… All these need are a tiny powersupply that has like a 50KW/1Kg power ratio and your off to the races! Army of power enhanced troops marching into combat in what would amount to a personal tank that can walk up (re-enforced no doubt) stairs and still be humanoid. Starship Troopers meets every power suited anime show.

…The most fully developed prototype, HAL 3, is a motor-driven metal “exoskeleton” that you strap onto your legs to power-assist leg movements. A backpack holds a computer with a wireless network connection, and the batteries are on a belt.
Two control systems interact to help the wearer stand, walk and climb stairs. A “bio-cybernic” system uses bioelectric sensors attached to the skin on the legs to monitor signals transmitted from the brain to the muscles.

Bionic suit offers wearers super-strength

(Thank you special agent Greg, there will be somthing extra in this weeks disbursement for this)

cybernetics, robots, exoskeleton, tetsuo,

iPot: Internet-Enabled Hotpot

iPot

Not sure if you could still get to the wifi connection if you didn’t pay for the monthy fee. The Zojirushi company makes some nice home hardware, I know I’d like to own one of their automated rice cookers but the hot pot with wifi is a tad over kill. Might be good in an office if your too lazy to turn around and check the water level if you want tea (remember offices in Japan can be pretty small)

The Zojirushi Corporation has developed the first Internet-Enabled Hot Pot. The i-Pot monitors its usage statistics and sends them off wirelessly (802.11x, presumably), allowing other parties to monitor your tea-drinking habits with bated breath. The marketed application for the i-Pot rests largely with the elderly—if your obaasan misses her regular tea break, the i-Pot can send a message to someone so they can check up on her. As the product page says, “The electric pot becomes the barometer of vigor.” Available for roughly $50 in Japan, with a one month trial option available.

iPot: Internet-Enabled Hotpot

hot pot, Japan, wifi

DVD Beer Fridge

Asahi DVD fridge

It’s only a prize! You can’t buy one!!! Of course, that dosen’t mean you can’t build one yourself… Mini fridge ($175, get a nice one), LCD screen ($165, look on eBay for units from Hong Kong, they are pretty nice), DVD player ($50 on up, replace the stock optical drive with a slot loader) and some time. Great thing about most refrigerators is that the doors just have insulation in them. I challenge anyone to build one, send me a photo of the one you build (not one that you can buy, if you can even do that) and I’ll send you something.

DVD Beer Fridge

idea, Japan, mods, beer, DVD