Namely, it would keep me from the daily morning conversation with my seven-year-old about the weather outside. She rolls out of bed each morning and comes in my office and wants to know how hot or cold it is outside. Her little brain doesn’t work in absolutes, so telling her it’s going to be 65° out means nothing to her. She’s also got a lot that fiery Italian in her thanks to her mom, so she gets pretty upset if I tell her she needs long sleeves and a jacket in the morning, and then she gets hot on the playground.

What she needs is this Cryoscope gadget, which lets you feel what the temperature outside is like without leaving the house. An LED glows to give you an indication at a glance if it’s hot or cold outside. The current build actually lets you feel what tomorrow’s temperature will be like, but there’s no reason it couldn’t be used for current weather too.

To build the Cryoscope, Godshaw took a Peltier element and placed it on top of a heat sink with a cooling fan, and a RGB LED on the bottom. The system gets its temperature information from a web-based application, relaying it to an Arduino controller. The controller and the Peltier element then heat or cool an aluminum cover to the appropriate temperature, with a range of 0 to 100°F. Then you simply lay a hand on it and know exactly what it will feel like when you go outside tomorrow. It even compensates the temperature to account for wind chill, humidity and the properties of the aluminum cube itself.

I wonder how hard it would be to build one of these for myself.

[via CNET]

The Capital headphones were created for AIAIAI and are an urban-style pair, meaning that they’re to be used everyday, on the go. They’re made from nylon-reinforced fiberglass and rubber, and are foldable, and durable. They also have a three-button control and microphone in the cord, allowing you to adjust music or answer calls on your smartphone.

They look pretty cool, but in my book, coolness is secondary to how they should sound and build quality. But even so, I’m sure that these headphones will sell well, simply on their looks. A lot of people look for unusual headphones, that stand out from the crowd and don’t make you look like an alien DJ.

[via Dezeen]

Now here’s another thing that got me humming to the tune of another song. This time, it’s Rihanna’s “Umbrella” and I’m sure it’s a song that you’ll be singing in your head when you’re walking under the Fanbrella.

Most people don’t really bother to carry an umbrella when it’s a sunny day. But the Fanbrella wants to change that. As you can see, it’s got a battery-powered fan underneath its UV-reflecting canopy. Simply push the button at the bottom of the handle to turn it on and go your merry way, even under the sweltering heat.

The Fanbrella’s shaft and ribs are made out of plastic, so rust won’t be a problem. These go for a hefty $79.95 though and you can get them online from Hammacher Schlemmer. What do you think? Is the Fanbrella worth it?

[via Oh Gizmo!]

This video shows multiple lightning flashes flying up from different towers. First off, a downward positive ground flash triggers upward flashes from seven distinct towers, of which we can see only three in the clip.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Kind of amazing to see how much power is generated by lightning. It’s too bad that we can’t yet harness like Doc Brown did in Back to the Future.

[via Presurfer]

I love how this display is retro and analog. You’d never expect a clock like this to show you the weather. What’s even more surprising is the technology that’s behind the clock. There’s actually a computer that drives this analog display!

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Check out the full project worklog over at his Sean’s blog.

[via Make:]

If you’re like me, you rarely check the weather. I’ve been caught off guard a few times, but it just darn sucks when you get totally drenched by a rain shower and there are no umbrellas in sight.

The $129 (USD) Ambient Umbrella is basically a smart umbrella. The handle has a small light which can connect to a wireless receiver. This receiver gets updates on the weather automatically, and it tells the handle what light to show. Depending on its glow, you’ll know the severity of the coming rain storm.

The umbrella receives these updates automatically. There’s no need to set it up or configure it. The LED light on the handle will tell you if it’s going to rain, drizzle, snow, or thunderstorm. Naturally, the design of the umbrella is well suited for strong winds, so it won’t be blown inside out.

[via Designboom]

Unless the weather conditions constantly change in your area, it will always be associated with the same Star Wars planet, so there’s not much sense in checking the website out more than once. Especially in my case, as it’s kinda depressing being told that it’s like Bespin where I live. And that Lando is going to betray me, even if I don’t know anyone named Lando. Yet.

[via The Presurfer]

I’ve never been very good at making decent snowballs, but with this heavy-duty mechanical Snowball Blaster, pretty much anyone can become an expert snowball marksman.

Just pack your snow into the three casting chambers, and it’ll roll three perfectly round snowballs. When you’re ready to take aim, just load one of your spherical snowballs into the muzzle, pull back the launcher mechanism, and SPLAT! Your victim is covered in snow. An elastic slingshot mechanism means that you’ll be able to fire off another snowball blast in just seconds, just in case one wasn’t enough.

The $29.95 Snowball Blaster should ship just in time for Christmas over at Hammacher Schlemmer.

[via Switched]

I think it’s the bright full-color 7-inch diagonal TFT LCD screen that’s got me hooked. I’m so used to seeing crummy monochrome displays on weather devices. The screen can display indoor and outdoor temperature, barometric pressure, relative humidity, phase of the moon, times of sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset, among other things. To provide accurate weather info, a wireless sensor sits outside your house and transmits a wide variety of climactic information back to the basestation.

Speaking of other things – when you’re done checking the weather, flip over to photo frame mode, and you’ll be able to display images from Compact Flash, SD, MMC, Memory Stick™, and xD memory cards — or if you don’t have one lying around, there’s a wee bit of internal memory (128 MB), which can hold direct transfers from your computer.

And thanks to a built-in atomic synchronized alarm clock, you just might want to put this on your bedside table in place of your crappy old clock radio. The digital weather station / photo frame is available now from Hammacher Schlemmer for $199.95.

Just slip your laptop into one of these oversize plastic sleeves, press the zip seal closed, and it protects your precious portable from the elements. Once your laptop is safely inside the bag, it should resist drips, rainwater and dust (and presumably spills of Red Bull too).

Keep in mind that the design isn’t 100% waterproof, as there are holes in the back to provide ventilation for your computer. That said, I don’t recommend throwing your laptop into the swimming pool in any event.

Japan’s Thanko offers the weather resistant plastic sleeves in two sizes, so most laptops should fit in one or the other. They retail for ¥1980 each (appx. US$20). Now all you have to do is figure out how to read Japanese, and convince them to ship them overseas.

In the mean time, start breaking out some Ziploc freezer bags and see what you can MacGyver together for yourself.

Featuring a striking black and white case with a futuristic, bright orange-on-black display, there’s no way you’ll miss one of these clocks when you roll over in the middle of the night to check the time. And even if you did, just look straight up from your pillow, since these clocks can also project the current time directly on your ceiling. Both models also include dual alarms in case you and your significant other need to wake up at different times.

The $39.99 RRA320P is the basic AM/FM alarm clock radio model, while the $59.99 RRM320PA adds an atomic-synchronized movement, temperature display and a wireless thermometer that lets you check the outdoor temperature from up to 300 feet away.

With it’s curvy egg-shaped design, modern typography and bold icons, it’s a definite nod to 1960s space-age futurism. The BAR210 Weather Forecaster offers easy-to-read amber numbers, which toggle easily between time and temperature readings with a wave of your hand.

Colorful weather forecast icons light up to indicate sun, rain or clouds, and it can display either indoor or outdoor temperatures thanks to an included wireless temperature sensor. Time is automatically set using a remote atomic clock, so you can be sure it’ll be accurate.

You can find the BAR210 forecaster from Ambient Weather for $47.95.

When you’re on the other side of the room, the Weather In Motion displays the current time and day of week in large digits along with a 24-hour forecast icon. As you approach the unit, it automatically shifts to a more detailed display, with a smaller time readout, and more precise weather information including current indoor and outdoor temperatures along with a handy trend indicator.

If you decide the motion-sensor is too gimmicky for you, it also offers a continuous scrolling mode which smoothly transitions between the different information displays every 5 seconds. In addition to its weather information displays, the alarm clock automatically syncs to U.S. or European Atomic Clocks and adjusts for the new Daylight Savings Time standards.

The large reverse LCD screen also offers an on-demand backlight so you can easily read it in the dark. Outdoor weather conditions are gathered using an included battery-operated wireless module which works from up to 98 feet away.

The Weather In Motion retails for $65, but I was able to find it from online retailer Oregon Gadgets for just under $50.

By combining all of these features onto a single large LCD screen, the Status clock gives you a heads-up display of all this information at once. It even reports both indoor and outdoor weather conditions thanks to a wireless remote temperature and barometric sensor.

While it’s designed for wall mounting, I also think it would look really good on a mantel or a console table. To give you a sense of size, the clock measures in at 14.25″(w) x 4.5″(h) x 1.25″(d), so it looks substantial, while maintaining a slim profile. Plus, since it runs on batteries, you won’t have to deal with any cords.

The LEXON Status clock is available from Singulier for €99 (appx. $135 USD.)

The watches can track weather conditions in amazing detail, including a barometer with storm alerts, temperature down to 1° of accuracy, and even graph historical weather trends. There’s a compass with digital bearing information so you’ll never get lost in the woods.

If you like to ascend heights, it’s got an altimeter, measuring how far you’ve traveled towards your goals, and can even log your climbing history. If you prefer to descend, it’s got a depth meter, that can measure up to 30 feet under water (the watches are water resistant to 100 feet, FYI.)

Oh yeah, this thing is an great watch too. It’s got a full calendar, dual time zone support, alarm clock and can figure out sunrise/sunset times too. It’s all presented on a cool high-tech liquid crystal display with electroluminescent backlighting.

The Suunto Core watches will be shipping in a variety of cool colors and styles, with my favorite being the Core Light Green. Pricing hasn’t been announced.

[via acquire]

While you’d think the crystal block design was pretty cool looking on its own, Oregon Scientific went even further by setting the crystal on top of a dramatic orange LED clock. The clock uses radio-controlled data source to keep it perfectly set, and can change between a display of the time and current indoor temp with a simple wave of your hand.

The Crystal Weather Station doesn’t have a U.S. release date or price yet.

[via The Red Ferret Journal]

Featuring a clean anodized aluminum body, the clocks each have an electroluminescent backlit LCD readout of pretty much everything you need to know at a glance.

Since they run on batteries and measure just over 2″ cubed, they’re perfect as a travel alarm clock. The Lexon LR103 clock is now available from Singulier for €35 (appx. $47 USD.)

These compact Weather Hubs (6.6″ x 3.1″ x 0.8″) can be easily mounted on a wall, on a desktop using a built-in kickstand, or even on a refrigerator thanks to an included magnetic mount. The unique design features two LCDs: on one side, it shows icons for the upcoming weather conditions (sunny, partially cloudy, cloudy, rainy); on the other side, the current indoor temperature in C° or F°.

Weather Hubs retail for $19.99 (but can be found for quite a bit less on eBay.) They comes in four colors: white, red, black and blue to suit your individual taste.

Raymarine offers a variety of satellite television antennae designed to work even in extreme weather and sea conditions. The systems dynamically correct their beam to ensure uninterrupted TV viewing.

Complete systems including an antenna, control unit and an HD DirecTV receiver range from about $7,000 to about $9,000. I suppose that if you can afford to own a boat big enough to need an HDTV, that kind of money is just a drop in the bucket.

The Bushnell ONIX 400 can receive live XM WX weather data, as well as tune in over 170 channels of XM’s music, sports and entertainment programming. You can even set up the ONIX to track weather along your rout, and have automatically update based on your current location.

The ONIX 400 features a 3.5-inch 320×240 LCD display, and 64MB of on-board memory for data storage. The device operates on a rechargeable Li-Ion battery, but no information has been revealed about battery life as of yet.

The Bushnell ONIX 400 should hit shelves this Summer for about $500.