Loading Ball Larry puts his annoying spin on everything he touches. You’re probably already familiar with his work: He’s the guy who crashed your app, right before you hit save.

The jerk who turned that ten-minute task of yours into a full hour of frustration—spinning, spinning, spinning your day away.

Stop Larry before he grinds your world to a halt. Get faster, smoother processing with Samsung Memory.

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Samsung’s new YouTube video campaign may move away from pushing specific products and devices, focusing on its memory solutions, but the company appears to be finding it incredibly difficult to move away from taking a bite out of Apple.

The campaign centers on the frustrations that device owners may experience with their mobile phones, tablets, computers and even televisions. To do this, it uses three fictional characters to portray these experiences – Battery Brutus, Loading Ball Larry, and Fiona Freeze.

Like a movie trailer, each character demonstrates how modern devices are affected by battery drain, low memory and times when something will just freeze

And for the most part, the campaign is quite enjoyable to watch — except for the not-so-subtle Apple bashing in one of the videos.

Samsung is quick to point out that many devices suffer from the above issues, but the Loading Ball Larry short uses Apple’s iconic spinning beachball to illustrate how computers and tablets struggle with low memory.

Maybe not as ruthless as its previous campaigns, but it will surely draw the ire of Apple fans and device owners.

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MEET FIONA FREEZE

When you feel the little hairs on the back of your neck stand up for no reason, Fiona Freeze isn’t far behind.

She strikes without warning, and always at the worst possible moment. Watching a playoff game? She’ll freeze your device in the closing seconds. Giving the biggest presentation of your life? Just try to hit the next button—you know she’ll stop you cold.

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MEET BATTERY BRUTUS

You know him. He knows you. And he knows just when to prey on your devices. Like when you’re stuck on an airplane. Without a plug. In the middle of a movie.

Battery Brutus is the man who’ll cut off your calls, kill your camera, and put an untimely end to your favorite show without batting a greasy eyelash.

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There is cool, and then there is ‘cool’. Sure, the Segway is alright, but this one wheeled electric scooter is far more cool and stylish.  For short distance commuting this self-balancing electric scooter from RYNO Motors is a cool transportation solution.

We don’t typically publish commercial products, but this one is so neat, we’re posting it to inspire your future DIY transportation project.

The RYNO scooter is meant to be a low speed urban transport. It’s powered by dual DC motors and has a range of 35 miles and a max speed of 25MPH.

Check out the RYNO Motors blog for more on the specs and safety features of the electric scooter. 

The video below is a quick demo of the scooters, showing they’re not difficult to ride. So, if you have a spare $3500, go get yourself one for some eco-commuting around town.

Anything featuring Star Wars is always going to pique people’s interest—so to come up with the genius idea of not only building a replica of Atari’s Star Wars arcade game, but to build a mini version that’s a 1/6-scale model standing at 12 inches tall should definitely earn your respect. Or at least a nod of approval.

This is what arcade enthusiast Le Chuck did, replicating Atari’s arcade cabinet and game from 1983. The whole thing took him 80 hours in total, but you can see from the detail in the artwork and the fact that it has a mini-playable version of the game, that this was a labour of love.

The game inside was created by customising a handheld GPH Caanoo video game and he went to the trouble of handcrafting a fully workable miniature steering yoke from aluminum to play it with. It even has the red lights that light up where you put the coins in. Impressive.

Find out more details about it here.

Design Boom

Street racer isn’t just the name of some 90’s video game that combines the fine arts of go karting and violence, street racers also exists IRL. And Dubai is their capital, where down at the International Marine Club all sorts of insane racing action is going on.

So buckle-up and watch GT Academy winner Lucas Ordonez taking Nissan’s badass Juke-R down there to see if he can pwn some of the most famous supercars on the planet.

Nissan has spend too much money and time on the Juke-R to just let it sit in a garage without getting some publicity out of it. So they’ve made a short film of the car in high-def, directed by award-winning film director, Rob Kaplan. It’s about Nissan Juke-R trip to Dubai, where it challenged Salah Salahuddin’s supercar collection.

Here’s a couple of teasers made around the shooting of the video to keep your engines revving.

Turns out Nissan Juke-R project was not just for funsies. By releasing “Desert Nemesis” – a short film from Juke-R’s trip to Dubai and its race against some of the world’s best supercars – Nissan confirmed they are actually going to make the bonkers car, in a limited production run of just three for now. But it’s built to order, which means if there’s more orders, they will build more.

Who thought a 545bhp, 160mph small crossover would have any chance to become a real production car? Nissan says the reaction was strong enough for them to consider making the R, and with three serious orders on the table, it was a no brainer.

The production cars will benefit from the drivetrain and chassis of the MY12 GT-R and will be delivered to their customers in late summer. Nissan does not reveal how much these customers have paid for the Juke-R. We’re guessing it was a lot.

This one’s a bit weird. I’m not sure exactly what part of this constitutes the WANT in Shiny New Want? But who knows? Whether it’s a toilet that can happily devour an inordinate quantity of faux fecal matter without requiring I first despoil a coathanger, employing it as a rudimentary turd-saw or whether it’s having a job where all i need to do all day is make poops out of play-doh but this story just screamed to be reposted. So here it is. Enjoy.

MaP Methodology

Unlike some other toilet testing organizations, MaP testing protocols and processes are entirely transparent.  Our test protocol is not “secret” nor does it use test materials (test media) that have no relationship to the “real” demands upon a toilet fixture.  MaP uses consistent methodology to test every toilet to failure. Other MaP-qualified laboratories do likewise.  Click here view the MaP Testing Protocol that all MaP-qualified laboratories are required to follow.

Below is photodocumentation of MaP testing procedures from paste development and testing, through distribution.

Soybean paste mixing and production for use in MaP testing.

Paste extrusion into 350 gram segments.

Specimen weight. 350 grams of extruded soybean paste.

Toilet test rig at Veritec (other MaP-qualified laboratories have similar set-ups)

Adding soybean paste test media to bowl. Note the “drop guide”.

Adding toilet paper to the bowl before flushing

Catching the solid waste (soybean paste and paper) for measurement

Soybean paste for distribution to MaP-qualified testing facilities and manufacturers around the world

From the hottest new tablet to a sleek new laptop, a shiny new electronic device is likely at the top of many holiday wish lists this year. Many lucky recipients will immediately load personal data, contact information, photos, and entertainment files onto their new toy, eager to enjoy their new tech devices.

To keep personal information, identities, and money protected throughout the New Year, it’s important for consumers to secure their new devices the moment they begin to set them up. Most consumers now live a multi-device lifestyle, which presents a greater opportunity for cybercriminals to victimize people who leave their new devices such as tablets and smartphones under-protected and at risk.

Consumers now value their digital assets more highly than ever before. Cybercriminals are taking advantage of these new opportunities by widening their nets to target a variety of devices and platforms. In fact, there is are reported significant increases in Mac and mobile malware, while PC threats continue to escalate.

If you have a new smartphone or tablet, know that threats aimed at mobile devices are growing.

If you’re like me, you’re addicted to your smartphone, tablet, maybe even your laptop. What is your best tip for keeping all of your devices protected? Comment below and you’ll be entered to win a $400 Amazon gift card from Kaspersky Lab.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of KasperskyLab. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.

1/ — Mobile malware is on the rise.

Android is now the most targeted platform, attacks aimed at the Android platform have grown 76 percent in the second quarter of 2011 over the first quarter. Malicious applications are a main threat area, so be careful of third-party applications and only download from a reputable app store. Read other users’ reviews and make sure the app’s access permissions make sense.

Make sure you also protect against data loss, by backing up your mobile devices regularly. Consider mobile malware threat protection, not only to protect against viruses and for safe mobile surfing, but to also safeguard privacy in the event of loss or theft.

2/ — f you have a new Apple computer or device, including an iPad or iPhone.

Transfer your PC best practices to your new Apple product. Unfortunately, the popularity of Apple computers and devices has led to escalated threats and is increasing by 10% per month.

As a proactive measure, consider installing security software that’s been developed for the Mac since more threats are being aimed at this platform. Check out Apple’s new iCloud service, which provides tools for syncing, backing up and securing data.

If you have a new PC or netbook, make sure your computer has comprehensive security software – anti-virus software alone is not enough. Be sure to back up regularly.

3/ — 8,900 new malicious websites are found daily

Malware cost U.S. consumers $2.3 billion last year. (Source: Consumer Reports)

Your security software should include at a minimum: real-time anti-virus, a two-way firewall, anti-spyware, anti-phishing and safe search capabilities. Additional levels of protection include anti-spam, parental controls, wireless network protection, and anti-theft protection that encrypts sensitive financial documents.

4/ — Keep in mind that free security software can leave you unprotected.

Free security software typically provides only basic protection, and is often offered to get you to buy more comprehensive products. A September 2011 USA TODAY survey of 16 anti-virus companies shows that no-cost anti-virus programs generally lack important features such as a firewall, website health checks, and automatic updates.

To ensure the best protection against emerging threats, look for security software that provides real-time protection using data continuously updated in the cloud.

Don’t forget to check whether the security software installed on your new PC is only a trial version. If it is, remember to buy a subscription so that you have continuous protection against newly discovered threats.

5/ — Protect your data.

In a recent global survey, home Internet users estimated that their digital assets, such as photos, contacts, and entertainment, were worth approximately $37,000. In North America, people valued their assets at a higher figure than anywhere else, at nearly $55,000.

Consider a product that offers data backup and restore features as well as advanced security that allows you to remotely lock your device and wipe your data in case of a loss.

A Good Housekeeping survey from August 2011 found that 30 percent of people don’t back up their files, and worse, that every three seconds, a hard drive fails.

Don’t take a chance on losing important personal photos, creative works in progress, or financial information.

6/ — Search and shop safely.

To help you weed through malicious sites, be sure to use a website safety advisor that can tell you which sites are safe and which are risky.

Don’t forget to read the online store’s privacy and security policies before shopping.

7/ — Be aware of “scareware,” or fake antivirus software.

Scareware tricks users into believing that the computer is infected to get them to “buy” fake anti-virus software and hand over their personal and financial details, usually via pop-ups.

Scareware has grown by more than 600 percent from 2008 to 2010, and is estimated to victimize one million Internet users a day. (McAfee 2010 Report)

In 2011, for the first time ever, fake Mac anti-virus malware has become a tool for cybercriminals. (McAfee Q2 2011 Report)

Don’t buy anti-virus software through pop-up ads. Always purchase your security software from a reputable vendor.

8/ — Educate your family and pay attention to your children’s online activities.

Keep your computer in a common area and discuss which information is appropriate to share online and which is not, such as addresses, phone numbers, and other private information. Be aware that if your children are surfing the web, they may not be as prudent when clicking on unknown links and sites, potentially increasing the risk of threats.

If you have young kids or tweens, limit their online access and the content they can view. Use a web-filtering tool that protects kids from accessing inappropriate content such as pornography, nudity, online hate groups, school cheating sites, and profanity.

Assume your child knows how to turn off parental controls, so always keep a close eye on their activities.

If you or your child has a new gaming or entertainment device (Nintendo Wii or 3DS, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360), remember that these devices are now Internet-connected and vulnerable to many of the same threats as PCs.

Make reliable back-up copies of games to protect your investment. Take advantage of built-in parental controls that can help shield kids from violent games or limit when the device can be used.

Some multiplayer games allow kids to play with strangers over the Internet, so if you are a parent, consider activity-monitoring tools.

Only connect your device to a secure Wi-Fi network.

Don’t store personal information on your device.

If you have a removable storage device, such as a flash drive or portable hard drive, use technologies that will help protect your information.

Consider using a secure, encrypted USB stick, to scramble your information so it is unreadable if your device is lost or stolen.

Buy security software to protect your portable hard drive, and set a password.

Don’t leave your removable storage device unattended since they are small and easily stolen.

According to the report “Welcome To The Multi-Device, Multi-Connection World”, Forrester Research, Inc., January 25, 2012, far more than half of the 177 million US online adults — 105 million — have two or more different types of devices connected to the Net, and one-third have at least four different types online.

The number who have at least nine different types of gadgets connected to the Net is a sizable 4.5 million. Forrester also found that smartphone and tablet users tend to own twice as many devices as those without.

Here it is, hands-on coverage with a close to final production ready prototype of the highly anticipated Devon Tread 1 watch. While it tells the time and is a luxury item, the Devon Tread 1 shares very little with the rest of the high-end watch world. Despite the fact that it has plenty of moving parts, this isn’t a mechanical watch in the traditional sense. It uses a micro-controller board, rechargeable battery, and small motors to power the movement, as opposed to being a purely mechanical machine that is spring powered. There are a series of small, micro one-step motors in the movement that pull the treads that indicate the time. The treads are sophisticated reinforced nylon belts that move around the dial in a ballet of synchronized moves. The video should illustrate that well. The Tread 1 is really among the most gadgety watches I have ever had the pleasure of wearing.

I wrote a bit more about it here when it was first announced, but I wanted to wait to get further into it, until after I got my hands on the watch itself for some play time. Size wise it is pretty big. The squarish case is a nice mixture of curves and angles, but its dimensions are hefty. Still, the Tread 1 is surprisingly comfortable to wear. Unlike other large sizes watches with “novel” designs, the Tread 1 is a watch I think I could wear for hours and hours without and discomfort. Part of this has to do with the curved lug structures, and the form fitting, thick rubber strap. The case is in steel, due to have various levels of polish, and the back part of the watch will be DLC (diamond like carbon) coated. This prototype is sans DLC. Crystal over the dial is not sapphire, but rather the same type of polycarbonate that are used for bullet-proof windows. While at this thickness the Devon Tread 1 won’t stop a bullet, it does provide for something a bit more durable on the shatter resistance side than sapphire. Though sapphire would be more scratch resistant. However, a sapphire crystal of this shape would be extremely expensive and difficult to manufacture, significantly upping the price of this watch.

It is a good idea to understand why this watch came into existence. It is the brainchild of Scott Devon, owner of the Devon line of luxury goods. Devon is working to have a full line of clothes, fragrances, and more. There was even the Devon GTX supercar, that may eventually see its way to full production. The two existing cars are beautiful American supercars. The Tread 1 is hopefully the start of an entire new type of luxury watch brand. American in spirit, design, and manufacture. Most of the parts in the Tread 1 watch are made by aerospace part suppliers, and the watch is assembled in Southern California. Almost no one who is supplying parts to the Tread 1 has ever made, or supplied parts to a watch before. This is a new experience for them all, which gives the Tread 1 a look and feel that is unique among the legions of novel European watches that are theoretical competitors. At the same time, while the Tread 1 isn’t a cheap watch, it is far less expensive than other wild looking watches of this type that you’d find coming out of Switzerland. Further, almost all the part in the Tread 1 are made specially for the watch. Save for the small motors and screws…

As a computer and a electronic device with motors, using the watch is a bit different than standard mechanical watches. The movement functions include the hours, minutes, and seconds, as well as a function for indicating the power reserve of the battery. On a full charge, the lithium ion battery should last two weeks. The watch can be “turned off” by pressing in the crown for a few seconds. This stops the treads, but allows the watch to continue telling the time for along time until you turn it back on again. The crown is more like a switch. It is a pushers, and can be moved from left to right like a switch. It doesn’t spin all the way around. When adjusting the time, pushing the crown in one direction adjusts the hours, while pushing it in another direction adjusts the minutes. The final crown will have a nice Devon logo engraved in it by the way.

You’ll find that despite the complexity of the techie looking dial, the time is really easy to read through the proper windows. The tread with the seconds indicators on it is constantly moving horizontally on the lower dial. It makes a noise that sounds like a bionic quartz watch. To make a smaller watch with less power consumption, Devon is also working on a Tread 2 model that only shows the hours and minutes. No release or schedule for completion has been set for the Tread 2 however.

Like all those gimmicky wireless charging pads for you phones, the Tread 1 also uses wireless charging to keep the battery powered. Only here, induction charging makes more sense. There will be a unit built into the watch case that is used for charging the watch. Simply place it down on the charger and let it do its thing. The case itself needs to be plugged in to the wall. Apparently the induction charging system was a pain to engineer, but it seems to work well, and produces a safe and convenient way to charge the watch. Power for the battery only last two weeks because of the large draw of power used up by the constantly moving seconds belt.

As the Tread 1 is closer to a computer than a tradition watch, it is something with software – which can be upgraded. The same place in Southern California that will assemble the watch will also service it. Devon is set up to fully support its customers and service the Tread 1 timepieces when necessary. Enough people are confident in the product that they have some major retail partners, including Tourneau, which will be one of the places you get get a Tread 1 watch in a few months when they are released. Also look for a dedicated Devon boutique to open in Beverly Hills soon.

At $15,000 the Devon Tread 1 is sort of alone in the the market. Other fancy luxury watches that tell time in unique manners are closer to, or above $100,000. Then again, those are purely mechanical pieces with different types of materials, and manufacturing practices. Can you compare watches that the Devon Tread 1 reminds you of, with the Tread 1? Not really in my opinion. I see the Tread 1 as a luxury gadget that tells the time. Being American, and California grown, it shares more in common personality-wise with luxury sports cars, motorcycles, airplanes, and other modern high performance machines, than say traditional watch making. Not everyone is going to love the Tread 1, but I think it is pretty cool. It will CERTAINLY grab people’s attention, and you’ll be impressed at how it isn’t like all the things you see out of Switzerland – but rather an actually novel timepiece that will make a satisfying addition to any collector’s treasure trove, who is beckoned by the design and technology that Devon has created.

So, how about a chocolate printer that allows sweet lovers to create their own custom-made 3D treats?

Everyone loves chocolate and Choc Edge have just released a 3D printer that lets users create custom chocolate treats right in their very own homes, the Daily Mail reports.

At  2,500 pounds (nearly $4000 U.S.), it’s not exactly intended for consumers, though. You might remember that we covered the printer last year, when it was in prototype stage, but now it’s actually going on sale on eBay. At this price, it’s intended for retailers. British choclatier Thornton’s has already expressed interest.

With some software, you can create a custom design of just about anything you can imagine. “From reproducing the shape of a child’s favourite toy to a friend’s face, the possibilities are endless,” Ling Hao, a researcher at the University of Exeter who helped develop the machine.

The printer works by simply moving a small platform around, while a nozzle squirts molten chocolate, one layer of the 3D design at a time.

The Choc Edge is intended to help promote the idea of 3D printing as the manufacturing technology of the future, allowing people to try out their ideas on a relatively safe medium. There’s also an obvious benefit to using chocolate: “There is also no wastage as any spoilage can be eaten,” Hao says.

But printing with chocolate is not without its challenges. Anyone who’s ever left a candy bar in their pocket on a hot day knows that chocolate is very sensitive to temperature fluctuations, and has to be heated and cool precisely to work with the printer.

Although the cost of the machine will likely keep it out of the hands of chocoholics, unless they have pockets deep enough to stuff king size Snicker bars down them, one can always dream of being able to have chocolate on tap. At the present time, they’ll probably have to settle for burning some of those extra calories by designing custom-made treats and walking down to the store to pick them up.

You might also be interested in a list of futuristic printer concepts, one of which includes a toast printer, as well as a printer that uses coffee as ink. Geeky chocolate lovers will also appreciate our list of crazy chocolate creations.

Hold onto your racing hats people. Gotham city needs us; hurry Robin, to the Bat mobile. Oh no wait, it’s a Nissan DeltaWing. Depending on how you use it, this car could still save lives, but mostly it has been designed for racing. This is the Nissan Deltawing, a 300bhp, 500kg race car unveiled on March the 13th in London and set to compete against Audi, Toyota, Porsche and the rest in June’s endurance epic at La Sarthe. I know the engineering jargon is a killer, but you’ve got to have it.

“Nissan has picked up DeltaWing’s prototype and fitted it with a direct-injection 1.6-litre turbo based upon the petrol engine found in the Juke.The four-cylinder engine develops a modest (by racing standards) 300bhp – though engineers say it is capable of plenty more – but Nissan predicts the DeltaWing will get around Le Mans somewhere between LMP1 and LMP2 class pace: the team is aiming for a lap time in the 3m 45s region.”

All that translates to this: the car is incredibly fast. Unlike other competitors, it has half the weight so it only generates half the drag. It doesn’t matter that it only produces half the power. Remember this is an endurance race, it’s not a sprint it’s a marathon.

The front wheels are just 10cm wide and most of the weight is loaded on the rear. This makes the vehicle more similar to a drag-racing car, than a one designed for endurance races. However when we spoke to Marino Franchitti, one of the drivers who are going to drive the car, he said that it’s easier than it seems to turn corners and do general maneuvering.

These are Franchitti’s words to Top Gear: “This is something that’s completely outside the box, but as soon as you start driving it you know it’s a proper race car.” The Delta team has been racing it in USA for the past 10 weeks and they have all agreed that the car works beautifully giving it full marks for its performance. “It doesn’t look like it’s going to work,” said Marino, “but it does. The high-speed stability was very impressive. It’s mega.”

Even in terms of noise looks like we might be in for a surprise, apparently the exhaust layout of the car produces a very particular sound that no other racing car has. At Le Mans the car will be given the garage number 56, which is the one allocated for experimental cars, we’ll be waiting to see what happens, let’s just hope the Joker won’t show up.

Do you think it’s possible to send a phone around the world and shoot this video,just on one battery charge? In just over two weeks, this Snapdragon-enabled smartphone traveled from LA to New York, London, Paris, Shanghai, Moscow, Dubai, Mumbai, and Rio De Janeiro with a few pitstops in Istanbul and LA.

The phone, featuring a Snapdragon processor, shot several takes in each location, and was shut down while traveling. No post production effects have been used to create any illusions. Amazeballz.

The total distance traveled was 36,312 miles – all on one charge. We want to know what YOU would do in just one charge. So, we’ve created a contest on Facebook where you can show us your ideas for a chance to win prizes.

You can win smartphones, tablets, and perhaps the most sought after prize of all – a custom Snapdragon Snuggie (the contest is available for residents of the USA). So enter the contest on the Snapdragon Facebook page – and good luck!

Snapdragon is a family of mobile system on chips by Qualcomm. Qualcomm considers Snapdragon a “platform” for use in smartphones, tablets, and smartbook devices.

The original Snapdragon CPU, dubbed Scorpion,[1] is Qualcomm’s own design. It has many features similar to those of the ARM Cortex-A8 core and it is based on the ARM v7 instruction set, but theoretically has much higher performance for multimedia-related SIMD operations. The successor to Scorpion, found in S4 Snapdragon SoCs is named Krait and has many similarities with the ARM Cortex-A15 CPU and is also based on the ARMv7 instruction set.

All Snapdragon processors contain the circuitry to decode high-definition video (HD) resolution at 720p or 1080p depending on the Snapdragon chipset.[3] Adreno, the company’s proprietary GPU technology, integrated into Snapdragon chipsets (and certain other Qualcomm chipsets) is Qualcomm’s own design, using assets the company acquired from AMD.

Qualcomm confirmed that Microsoft has chosen it to bring a “new generation of Windows Phone handsets exclusively featuring Qualcomm’s second generation Snapdragon mobile processors to market.” The company’s executive vice president, Steve Mollenkopf, further went on to say that Qualcomm is “excited about this next Windows Phone Mango release,” and that it will “leverage the synergy of our highly integrated second generation Snapdragon solution and Microsoft’s Windows Phone software.” Leveraging synergy, what more could you ask for?

Designed to appeal to seriously lazy consumers that are looking for speed and efficiency when ordering food.

It’s a one-step process to getting a pizza delivered to the front door.

Created by a Dubai-based restaurant called Red Tomato Pizza, the wood-fired pizza place has designed a fridge magnet that will allow consumers to order a pizza for delivery by pressing the magnet one time. In order to enable the one-touch process, the user syncs the ‘VIP Fridge Magnet’ via Bluetooth with a smartphone.

The user sets up their favorite type of pizza order online and this specific selection will be tied to the user’s account. As noted by Mashable, the magnet is in the shape of a small pizza box with a lid that opens up, likely designed to avoid accidental button presses.

Once the user presses the button marked “Push for hunger,” an order is placed with Red Tomato Pizza. In addition, a SMS confirmation is sent to the smartphone synced to the button. If the pizza was ordered on accident, the order can be canceled by sending a quick text in response.

National pizza chains such as Domino’s Pizza, Papa Johns and Pizza Hut offer smartphone apps on the iOS and Android platforms, but certainly nothing as simple as a one-click method. However, the app for Domino’s Pizza does include the ability to track the progress of the order from the time it starts baking to the point when the pizza is headed out to the consumer for delivery.

In an attempt to generate buzz around the launch of the ‘VIP Fridge Magnet’, Red Tomato Pizza has launched two videos on YouTube. The first is a mock movie trailer rated P for “Pizza Lovers Only.” Shot like a typical action or disaster movie trailer, the video shows two guys in an apartment without any food and the only thing that can save them is the fridge magnet.

The second video is more informational and depicts the technical process that’s involved in placing an order with the magnet.

To the men in our audience: Fellows, how many times have you stood in front of a urinal in the midst of reliving yourself and thought, “I sure wish this thing I am peeing into could tell me if I am healthy or not.” Well, friends, that day may be sooner than you think. Designer Royce Zhang has created this interesting urinal concept which combines a sensor suite, touch screen, and space age design into what he calls the e-Urinal. Does it get weirder? Oh, of course it does.

Zhang says that his concept toilet (emphasis on concept; this thing doesn’t exist yet) would analyze the PH, SG, URO, BLO, WBC, PRO, GLI, BIL, & KET of those who use it. I’m not entirely sure what all those stand for, but the e-Urinal could apparently tell you the pH of your urine, specific gravity of urine , blood in urine, white blood cells in urine, protein in urine, bilirubin in urine, and ketones in urine, among others. Sounds useful, I guess!

Using this “wealth” of information, the e-Urinal would give you some fun stats on your overall health based off your urine. Zhang also would like the e-Urinal to give you some health advice based off this information, and this is where things take a turn for crazy town:

[...] she can record your past measuring data and can give you some health advice.

While I can maybe get behind a toilet that tells you things, and can even get behind a toilet that has a touch screen, using a gendered pronoun to describe my “health partner” that I pee into is a bridge too far. Perhaps this needs another round on the drawing board?

Qualcomm has demoed a fantastic new augmented reality toy using the characters from Sesame Street

It allows you to re-create Bert and Ernie’s living room or bathroom despite the rooms not even existing.

The new technology, demoed by the company at CES in Las Vegas, follows on from previous augmented reality toys Qualcomm has demoed before such as Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots.

The augmented reality idea, according to both Qualcomm and Sesame Street, is to encourage interactive learning and push a child’s imagination to what is possible.

Using Qualcomm’s Vuforia augmented reality platform, and the camera from a tablet or smartphone running the app, the user (hopefully your kids) can bring scenes to life.

In our demo at CES on the stand we saw Bert and Ernie enjoying some tunes after a jukebox was placed in the room. We also had the ability to turn the disco lights on and play music. Other accessories included a toilet and car.

According to Qualcomm “The collaborative project explores the use of a tablet with a traditional playset to make children’s playtime more fun and educational.”

The prototype playset includes traditional elements such as common household objects, as well as figurines of classic Sesame Street characters including Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie.

“In the past, the only place toys came to life was on TV and in movies. Today, we are bringing that magic one step closer to reality,” said Jay Wright, senior director of business development at Qualcomm. “With the ability to recognise 3D objects, Qualcomm’s Vuforia platform will transform the play experience. Our collaboration with the Sesame Workshop is helping us demonstrate the power of augmented reality to enrich children’s lives.”

Sesame Street has a long history of using cutting-edge technology to address children’s developmental needs. Last year the company joined forces with Microsoft to demo a Kinect-powered game called Sesame Street Once Upon a Monster, that saw parents and kids alike jumping up and down in front of their TVs.

No word on whether Sesame Street will sell the figurines but with Christmas still 11 months away we hope that they will be available to put under the Christmas tree come December.

The Bone Horn Stand is an un-powered amplifier for the iPhone 4. You know you want one, it’s…’different’.

It works exactly like those old style horn speakers that are found on gramophones, the speaker is fitted over the end of the iPhone where the built in speakers are.

The sound is the channelled through the horn, and according to the manufacture it will add 12 decibels of sound pressure to your iPhone’s built in speakers, and as you can see in the photo it can also be used as a stand.

If you wanna go old-skool you can get one of these beauts HERE.

Building a massive space weapon is all very well, but you have to find the materials to build it with. It’s easy to say that “sure, the Death Star would be expensive” but is there actually enough iron in the Earth to make the first Death Star? Centives decided to find out.

We began by looking at how big the Death Star is. The first one is reported to be 140km in diameter and it sure looks like it’s made of steel. But how much steel?

We decided to model the Death Star as having a similar density in steel as a modern warship. After all, they’re both essentially floating weapons platforms so that seems reasonable.

Name: HMS Illustrious Volume: 28,591.2 m3 Mass: 22,000 tonnes

Scaling up to the Death Star, this is about 1.08×10¹⁵ tonnes of steel. 1 with fifteen zeros.

Which seems like a colossal mass but we’ve calculated that from the iron in the earth, you could make just over 2 billion Death Stars.

You see the Earth’s crust may have a limited amount of iron, but the core is mostly our favourite metal and is both very big and very dense, and it’s from here that most of our death-star iron would come.

Name: Death Star Volume: 1,440,000 kilometres3 Mass: 1.08 x 1015 tonnes

But, before you go off to start building your apocalyptic weapon, do bear in mind two things. Firstly, the two billion death stars is mostly from the Earth’s core which we would all really rather you didn’t remove. And secondly, at today’s rate of steel production (1.3 billion tonnes annually), it would take 833,315 years to produce enough steel to begin work.

So once someone notices what you’re up to, you have to fend them off for 800 millennia before you have a chance to fight back. In context, it takes under an hour to get the steel for HMS Illustrious.

Oh, and the cost of the steel alone? At 2012 prices, about $852,000,000,000,000,000. Or roughly 13,000 times the world’s GDP.*

But then again, you can just take out a loan from the entire planet and then default on them in the most awesome way possible.

(For the record when converting between iron and steel, Centives assumed a medium steel of 99.5% iron)

*Centives erroneously reported this figure as $8,100,000,000,000,000, which was off by a magnitude of 100. We’d like to thank commenter Ianvl for pointing this out.

Despite our original error, the cost of the death star still comes out to be 13,000 times the world’s GDP as we originally reported. Sincere apologies for the mistake.