I love these drinkUP coasters which look like giant versions of classic arcade buttons. They look just like those concave Happ buttons you’d find on your favorite arcade machines.

They come packaged in sets of four coasters, and are available in either a four-color pack, or with buttons for 1 through 4-player modes. Why not buy a set of each? You can order them over at Surface Tension, where they sell for £9.99 a set, or £17.99 for both sets including UK shipping, and £12.99 (~$20 USD) a set, or £21.99 (~$35 USD) for both including shipping outside of the UK.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I think having one of those emergency distress buttons would be pretty cool. Not for your home or office or car (although it would be pretty cool to have a button at each of these locations), but for yourself. And that’s essentially what you’ll get with MyRingGuard.

Currently in the prototype stages, MyRingGuard is a ring that’s molded from silicone and plastic that, when triggered, sends off a signal to your smartphone via Bluetooth to fire off a pre-programmed text message to a set group of people, along with your exact location via GPS.

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MyRingGuard is up for funding at Indie Gogo with a target goal of $30,000. Assuming the project is funded, a $39 pledge will get you a MyRingGuard personal emergency button for yourself. Now there’s another way of putting a ring on it.

[via Oh Gizmo!]

One of the most popular social networks around is Facebook with around 750 million active users. A lot of apps have been released to try to make it easier for people to broadcast their lives online; but what about the reverse? What if you happened to just pass by a store you really liked, or saw something that you just want to tell the world about?

Cue the real-life Facebook “Like” button by Mario Klingemann. Of course, it’s virtually impossible to put up one of these buttons on every single thing in the physical world, but the idea in itself is just, well, extremely “like”-able, if you get what I mean. The Arduino-based “Like” button is actually part of the ”Ultra Social” UAMO-Festival 2011 that will be held in Munich.

I like Klingemann’s idea. What do you think?

[via Make: via Geeky Gadgets]

If you were able to get one of those Talking Heart Mice from a few years back, then all you need to do is give it a click or two to remind yourself that, hey, someone (or rather, something) still loves you. For everyone else, there’s the Emergency Affirmation Button.

Just press on the huge yellow smiley face and hear it utter a quick “You are awesome!” that can perk up even the lousiest and gloomiest and darkest of moods. It would also make a great gift to give someone who’s been sporting a sullen face lately. Here, watch how it works miracles:

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It’s like a little happy pill that you can just push instead of pop to get some quick relief to a very blah day. These Emergency Affirmation Buttons are available from Amazon for $11.95(USD) each.

[via Foolish Gadgets]

This looks like the EasyButton on those Staples commercials, but when you bash this button office supplies don’t appear. It makes a little sound and lights up to tell you how hard you hit it instead. The device connects to a computer via USB and has a number of voices; you can even capture recordings of the people that piss you off so you can hear them scream as you punch the button.

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There are  a bunch of different styles, and you can even get them with celebrity voices and more. Each of the nine different designs sells for $19.99 (USD) each. You can also use the button as a game controller if you want. Could you bash this instead of a coworker?

New T-Shirt by DavidFromDallas coming soon from Threadless. I’ve got enough trouble with the basic kick and punch.

[via GamOvr via VGArts]

Created by Paul Rothman’s Fridgebuzzz Electronics (yes, that’s supposed to have 3 “z’s”), the simply named Atari Synth has more buttons and knobs than you can shake a stick at.

The Atari Synth is a polyphonic 12-oscillator, 3 modulator square wave synthesizer that’s controlled by arcade-style pushbuttons and potentiometers. Just press any of the 12 arcade buttons to activate the corresponding oscillator, the use the knobs to dial in the sound you’re looking for.

Presumably because the old Atari 400′s POKEY chip was too limited, they’ve gutted the old 8-bit computer and given it a brand new set of sound-producing circuitry. Ironically, the noises the Atari Synth produces sound decidedly 8-bit to me.

Fridgebuzzz doesn’t list any pricing information for this custom synth, but you can find more information and get in touch with them over on their website.

The perfect companion to their earlier gamer medals of honor, SuperMandolini is at it once more, this time with these shiny 1-inch round badges that look just like the buttons on an arcade cabinet.

Each set of 10 handmade buttons (€16 / $20 US) includes everything you need to pull off your favorite combo moves, as well as the essential single and two-player select buttons – without which, your game would never start. The limited-edition badges are available direct from SuperMandolini. (Joystick not included).

[via Design You Trust via The Awesomer]

To play Konami’s music pattern matching game, pop open the ladybug-like wings on the Be-Mouse controller to access the game’s nine buttons. As the colored indicators fall down the screen, you tap frantically on the buttons to keep up with the music.

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It plays out much like the chord pattern interface on Guitar Hero and other familiar music games. While you might think it’s just another GH clone, it’s actually based on the popular Japanese Pop ‘N Music arcade series which dates all the way back to 1998.

While you can use the mouse for other computer activities, it’s a bit unwieldy for most things. I certainly can’t imagine using this thing to navigate around Excel spreadsheets, but to each his own, I suppose. Importer Play-Asia is now taking orders for the game and controller package for $69.90.

Created by Alexander Pfaender of Augenbluten/ITF, these fun 1-inch round buttons offer whimsical renditions of classic gaming systems and controllers from 1977 through 2006.

Featuring bold icons for classic gaming systems from the Atari 2600 to the Nintendo Wii, the series of 22 video game buttons offers something for everyone. You can find the entire collection of badges from Prickie for $2.99 a piece.

Using a bunch of carefully selected buttons, the artists stitched together the blue ghost from the classic 80s arcade game. Measuring in at 13″ x 13″ square, the creators of this fun accessory says it’s “just the right size for carrying your Halloween candy haul or simply lugging your favorite Atari cartridges over to your best friend’s house”.

The bag is just $20 here, but like most things on Etsy, it’s a one-of-a-kind creation. So like a ghost on the run, you’d better move fast.

The ridiculous President Briefcase is just a gag product, but if you happen to leave it ANYWHERE, you’re likely to stir up a bigger scare than the Aqua Teen Hunger Force prank did in Boston earlier this year. The $65 metal box looks suspiciously like those evildoer devices you’d find in a Mission Impossible movie, complete with cryptic satellite maps, toggle switches, and an imposing red button with a skull on it.

If the fact that it looks like a bomb isn’t enough for you, it also features a hidden compartment. Presumably, this is where you’d stash your contraband, but for some reason this doesn’t seem like a very good hiding spot.

[via The Red Ferret Journal]

This mini self-destruct switch is the latest in a long line of odd things that Japanese people are hanging from their mobile phones. Under its plastic shield is a large red button that triggers a cacophony of sound and blinking lights, including a flashing LED and a loud “boom” when your time has expired. I only wish that it would make that high-pitched “fweeeeeeeee…” sound that all the explosive devices on 24 make before they blow up.

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For some reason, I don’t think you should try to take one of these through the TSA security checkpoint. As long as you don’t plan on holding up the airport line in front of me, you can pick one up from Strapya-World for just under $11 bucks.

[via Newlaunches]

Just open up the cover on the USB Stress Panic Button and smack it with your fist. The $17 Panic Button includes three wacky screen effects which are triggered when you push the giant button. The effects include an exploding screen, a punch the boss game and an Excel spreadsheet that makes it look like you’re actually doing something productive.

Keep in mind that the software only works with Windows PCs, so you’ll only get more frustrated if you connect it to your Mac or Unix machine.

(If you’d rather just smash your computer screen, there’s always this option.)

Each set comes with a variety of ten thumbtacks, featuring common computer dialog buttons, such as “Yes,” “No,” and “Cancel.” They’re $10.95 a set from ZEStuff.

Start off with the Big Red Emergency Button (¥3990/$34 USD), which looks pretty ominous, but merely shuts down your Windows PC. Then, hook up the Glitter Panel (¥5985/$51 USD), a 16×16 LED grid which provides you with remote access to desktop widgets such as CPU usage, e-mail notification, a clock and a scrolling message board.

If you want to see how these gadgets look in action, TakaraTomy has posted video clips of them here. If you speak fluent Japanese, or are feeling adventurous, electronics retailer Bic has them for sale.