Rodrigo took the old computer parts and layered them into a mold, and then poured in a mixture of resin and some sort of melted aluminum. The finished product is called the N+ew Stool. I’m sure that resin is hard and not particularly comfortable to sit on, but these may still be some of the coolest stools ever.

It’s hard to tell from these pictures, but I wonder if some of the computer parts stick out from the sides of the stool, or if he managed to keep the edges smooth. The parts look awful close to the sides.

The stools are a limited-edition and it’s not clear if you can buy them or what the price would be to get your own. I would think looking at the stools if you have a bunch of old computer parts lying around, can build your own form, and can get your hands on resin you could probably make one of these yourself.

[via Inhabitat]

The C64x Extreme has a 2.2GHz Sandy Bridge Core i7 CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 2TB HDD, a DVD R/W drive, a multi-card reader, 6 USB ports and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. Where it does fall short however is in the graphics department – it’s left with integrated Intel HD Graphics instead of a discrete GPU. Quite disappointing, especially when we consider its price tag.

Commodore USA is selling the C64x Extreme at an Alienware-like $1499 (USD). So for all it’s updated specs, it’s still not a practical purchase. That said, Ben Heck’s unofficial C64 laptop didn’t have upgraded guts and yet had a starting bid of $1,000. I mean if I had the money, I’d rather go for this slightly less absurd deal.

[via Electronista]

At this size, it’s obviously not a fully functioning computer, but there are a lot of ways that this video could be faked. It could be a video playing on an iPod Nano screen, or something like that.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

All I know is that it comes from Japan, of that much I am sure. As for the authenticity of this tiny desktop? I am somewhat dubious, but it’s still pretty awesome even if it is fake.

[via TDW Geek via DVice]

That’s not all. The hardware is interactive. You can spin the hard-drive platter (by hand), move sliders, and click buttons while you fidget with your cup of coffee.

So much outdated tech fills landfills, so it’s nice to see that it can be reused in a novel way to create something that is still useful.

[via Core77]

The USB Lambo hard drives come with 5400 RPM drives in the USB 2.0 flavor and 7500 RPM in USB 3.0. They are offered in 500GB and 750GB versions, which is a bit small for external drives these days, even for 2.5-inch drives. They’ll cost $140 and $190 (USD) respectively for the 5400 RPM USB 2.0 version. No pricing details for the USB 3.0 version.

They seem a bit overpriced, especially when a 2TB WD MyBook sells for $140 or a similar form factor WD My Passport SE for $113, which works with USB 2.0 and USB 3.0. I honestly wouldn’t buy an external hard drive without a fan these days anyhow. I had one fail on me (LaCie  2.5-inch), and since then, I always buy an enclosure with a fan for a 3.5-inch Western Digital hard drive. Naturally, these drives need to be plugged in.

[via CrunchGear]

As you can see, NextComputing’s strategy for creating an all-in-one PC is simple: just stick a monitor and a handle on the tower, and you’re done. The integrated display is a 17″ LCD screen with a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1200. An additional clip-on display is also available, as well as a touchscreen. Specs-wise, NextComputing offers quad-core Intel Core i7 and Xeon CPUs, as well as the 3.33GHz hexa-core Intel Core i7 CPU, and AMD’s Phenom II X4 CPUs. The Radius can be equipped with up to 24GB of DDR3 RAM, and up to 9TB worth of non-hot swappable hard drives, or two hot-swappable drives up to 500GB each. Unfortunately NextComputing didn’t specify which GPUs they have in stock, although they did say that they’re offering both ATI and NVIDIA cards.

Their powerful guts and their monitor means that Radius PCs still have desktop class weight – expect a Radius PC to weigh at least 15lbs. The Radius PC is available in four models – The highly customizable Radius, the gaming-oriented Radius XG, the video-editing machine Radius with Rocket Fuel, and the budget edition Radius LE. Check out NextComputing’s website for more info and to request a quote for the computers.

[via Ubergizmo via SlashGear]

This hack comes courtesy of the MIT Media Lab Fluid Interfaces Group, and it allows them to use their Kinect as a gestural interface for browsing the web.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

But the MIT guys aren’t the only gesture game in town. Evoluce‘s solution will support simultaneous multitouch and multiuser control of applications, which sounds pretty good to me. The video below showcases what Evoluce can do.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Frankly, I wasn’t that interested in the Kinect on the Xbox 360, but it if can be used in this fashion, I’ll buy one. It could potentially evolve into a multitouch remote control plugin for HTPCs and desktop computers.

[via Engadget]

The There’s no place like 127.0.0.1 door/floor mat is available at ThinkGeek for $40 (USD). Bewildered expressions at your doorstep guaranteed.

These guys destroyed Apple products, which include the iPad, iPhone, as well as the MacBook, and created this stunning photographs of the aftermath. Each device was broken, shot, crushed or completely annhilated. It’s interesting to see MacBook unibody cases and iPads utterly in pieces.

I think my favorite is the iPad that’s been shot a dozen times. It’s definitely beautiful, in a strange way. It’s definitely more newsworthy than Apple telling us that “the day that we’d never forget” was them making an announcement that we can now purchase a catalog of Beatles music that we’ve been able to listen to already for the last 40 years.

[via Fubiz]

I have to say that I’ve been neglecting my own storage needs, and have been filling up my HDs for a while now, by backing up every few months. Although it seems excessive to most users, I think that a 10 TB Drobo would be perfect to suit my needs. Obviously, that wasn’t the case with this Russian guy, who went for 70TB that he needed to cool down with 20 fans!

For some reason, all of this gear was put inside a wooden enclosure. Seems a bit suicidal to me, but hey, whatever works. It’s probably the capacity of a server farm built into one rig. He used 60 hard drives, but using Western Digital’s new 3TB drives, that number would plummet to a mere 24.

[English Russia via GearFuse]

Chevrolet’s Camaro Computer measures about 20-inches long, and is powered by a dual-core Atom N330 CPU, and an nVidia ION graphics chip under the hood (or maybe in the trunk, I can’t tell for sure.) While it’s probably plenty fast for most things, I prefer the model with the 6.2-liter 426-hp V8.The sub-sub-compact version includes a 500GB hard drive, can handle up to 8GB of RAM, and gets much better gas mileage than an actual Camaro – so it’s got that going for it. There’s also built in 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and an HDMI ouput. While the Victory Red model looks pretty slick, it’s available in 7 other colors including  Aqua Blue, Black, Cyber Gray, Inferno Orange, Silver Ice, Summit White, and Rally Yellow (also known as “Bumblebee Yellow”.)

You can drive the Camaro PC off the lot at the Chevymall today. Prices start at a rather steep $1239 (USD), but to put it in perspective, you could buy a fleet of more than 20 of these for less than an actual Camaro. But despite the subject matter of this humble blog, if you’re buying a gift for me, I’d rather have the car.

[via Autoblog]

These designs are also available as iPad covers. No Chumby love though.

You can order these pillow covers at Happy Covers’ website for €22.99 (appx. $30 USD) each. For an additional €14.99 ($20), Happy Covers will stuff your orders with polyester fill, so they’re ready to hug when you get them.

[via Make:]

The machine is called The Big O and it is huge. Computer geeks out there will get wood when I mention the specs of the beast. It has a pair of Intel Xeon x5860 CPUs with 6-cores each, overclocked to 4.3GHz. The machine uses ECC RAM and you can cram up to 24GB of the stuff inside.

To be sure you can play Crysis maxed out you can get up to four EVGA GTX 480 FTW video cards inside the machine set up for some SLI lovin’. The entire rig is liquid cooled and the most interesting news is that the PC has an Xbox 360 Slim inside the case that is also liquid cooled. You had better have a trust fund though, the thing STARTS at $7699 (USD), but hits $16999 in its nearly maxed out config.

These boxes and sculptures are made by Theo Kamecke. Space enthusiasts might recognize Kamecke as the director and writer of the documentary Moonwalk One. As is often the case with inspiration, Kamecke was perusing stacks of circuit boards some random day when the idea hit him. Kamecke “saw in the graphic patterns of electronic circuitry with their endless variety the same beauty we perceive in seashells, in crystals, in the grain of wood or even in the tree itself.” So he started making sculptures, shelves, boxes and wall pieces using a technique called marquetry, which in simple terms is covering a structure to form a decorative pattern. Usually veneer is used to cover items, but we know what Kamecke used in his beautiful creations:

If you like Kamecke’s work, check out Wired‘s interview with Kamecke for more insights and pics. Better yet, check out his website to see a ton of his works. I can only hope that when the robots arrive at the notion of art they don’t think of using our innards to cover their artwork.

[via Dvice]

Here’s the interface in action. It’s still in development, hence the delay in response, but it does work:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

What I can’t understand is why Hitachi is planning on incorporating this on desktop PCs and even TVs by the middle of next year. No doubt, gesture-based technology is useful in some instances, but does it really have a place in everyday usage? Will our lives be more awesome if we could wave our hands in front of our PCs just to view pictures and zoom in on maps? Have I just become too old to appreciate new technology? What the hell is going on?!

[via Akihabara News]

Although to be honest, I don’t think that the USB update is true, if only because USB 3.0 isn’t prevalent yet. Apple can just as easily add that in a year or two. An HDMI port would be more likely. And if anything, it’s the processors and GPU on the iMacs that need an update.

In the end, if you’re planning on buying an iMac in the coming weeks, keep these rumors in mind. Not necessarily what they say, but their timing. These two combined with the touchscreen iMac rumor are indicating that the iMac line will soon be refreshed, perhaps within a month or two. If you can hold off on purchasing an iMac then do so.

[via MacRumors]

The Humane Reader is designed to provide computer technology to homes or schools without internet access or the budget for traditional PCs or Macs. The 8-bit computer can turn any television into an e-Book/Wikipedia reader. As a matter of fact, its makers say you could store 5,000 books or more on a single 2GB SD card (included in the $20 cost). The creators of the Humane Reader state their value proposition simply: “The Humane Reader can provide a virtual library to any developing world school or individual with electrical power for less than the cost of a single textbook.”

Based on the Atmega328p microcontroller (there are actually three of them in there), the open source Humane Reader can be loaded up with educational content via USB, and it can display output on any video display with composite input. Basic control can be achieved through buttons on the face of the device, but a keyboard can be connected with an optional USB or PS/2 port. As an added bonus, its creators are hoping the computing platform will become an easily extensible and hackable general platform for developing low-cost applications and systems.

Sure, the television and keyboard will add a little bit to the cost of this system, but it’s still a pretty amazing feat to pull this off for just $20 bucks. In fact, they estimate that in quantities of 10,000 or more, they could get the cost down to under $15 per system.

You can find out more about the Humane Reader here.

[via Make:]

My, how far we have come.

[Flickr via Boing Boing]

Look at that perfect handwriting. Astonishingly, Watson also rings-in on its own, although it looks like humans can still beat it at ringing-in. And if you think that Watson just goes online and Googles for answers, you’re wrong. Watson will join Jeopardy! armed with whatever knowledge its creators can stuff inside it and nothing else.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Maybe Watson knows how to clean up BP’s oil spill. Read more about Watson on IBM’s website.

[via Engadget]

The tablet’s 10.1-inch capacitive touch screen offers 1360 x 768 resolution and HDMI video output. In this demo from the guys at ARMdevices, you get to see the ODROID-T cranking out beautiful 1080p HD video on an attached big-screen TV. There’s also a quick demo of a 3D racer, complete with accelerometer-based controls.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The tablet runs on Samsung’s PC 110 platform (ARM Cortex A8-based CPU), along with an SGX540 graphics accelerator, and looks like a pretty speedy bit of hardware, even if it is still in the rough-around-the-edges prototype phase. The platform developer edition is expected to ship sometime this month, but it’s unknown when a commercial version will be available.

For more details, head on over to Hard Kernel where they’ve got more demo videos of the ODROID-T in action.

[via phandroid]