Gadgets Control

If you’re a top marathoner (or even just a weekend sole warrior), you probably already swallow a truckload of vitamin supplements to get you through the race. But if a recent over-heating prevention study is any indication, you’re going to have to add another item to that list: an RFID-enabled pill. Dutch researchers at Radboud University recently teamed with U.S.-based Progress Software to create an RFID pill that monitors the temperature of runners in order to prevent a cardiac arrest. Because running a marathon is a strenuous physical challenge known to lead to dangerous overheating and dehydration, this could be a way to improve performance and help out people in danger.  RFID chips wirelessly transmit personal tracking data and have been recently used for everything from tracking tickets (and their users) at the Olympic games to U.S. (Read the full post about ‘Eat an RFID-tagged Pill Before a Run, Prevent Over Heating’…)

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FROM APPLETELL - CNN is reporting that the iphone 3G has broken the three million unit marker, according to Michael Cote of the Cote Collaborative. MORE » Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - Subscribe to our feed → Tags: technology, game, cellphone, TV (Read the full post about ‘The numbers are in, suggest the iPhone 3G is kinda sorta popular’…)

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Yes! Yes, yes, yes! This is what we live for. When two forms of geek hobbies emerge as one, it has the potential to be a beautiful thing. If this wasn’t model wasn’t built using two key images from geek culture, we’d probably take a single glance and promptly run away before we had a chance to laugh in the designer’s face. Luckily for Lego enthusiast Dan Kressin, his Lego Donkey Kong replica fits the bill. Using only Lego pieces, Dan Kressin recreated the original Donkey Kong screen, complete with living, breathing, kinetic movement. Kong throws barrels, just like in the actual game, while a depressingly sedentary Mario jumps up and down, avoiding the said barrels. (Read the full post about ‘Lego Donkey Kong is sort of charming’…)

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NBCOlympics.com is delivering video from the 2008 Summer Olympics to Windows PCs and Apple Macs. You will, however, be prompted to install the free Microsoft Silverlight browser add-on if it is not already installed on your system. Silverlight works with Internet Explorer or Firefox and delivers an enhanced video viewing experience.

Those of us in the western hemisphere are often watching the Olympics a half-day or after the actual event because of the time difference. However, if you are on the NBCOlympics website, check the left sidebar list titled All Sports and look for the small red blocks with the word Live in white letters.

(Read the full post about ‘Watch the 2008 Summer Olympics on your PC, Mac, or phone’…)

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In June NBC announced that it would be making the Olympics competitions available on the Web only to users of Vista, shutting out Macs, Linux, and even Microsoft’s own Windows users. They appear to have relented, I’m happy to report, at least admitting those of us still using Windows XP. I can’t testify about the other OSes from personal experience, but if you do Mac or Linux, give it a try and drop us a line to let your fellow users know if it works. Lots of this is available in real time. But if you miss the competition in a favorite sport because you have a life, here’s a chance to catch up in those moments when your life has quieted down. I have just watched part of the U.S. (Read the full post about ‘The Olympics are online after all’…)

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Security researcher Dan Kaminsky identified a problem in a large number of DNS servers (the thing that lets you type in website names instead of IP addresses) that permits website impersonation (spoofing). This is a very very bad thing. You can check if your Internet Service Provider’s (ISP) DNS servers are vulnerable by using a simple one click web tool called the DNS Checker provided by Dan on his personal blog: DoxPara Research. You can find it in the right sidebar of his blog page along with a description of what to look for in the simple report it produces.

If your ISP has not yet patched their DNS server, some people, including my friend Preston Gralla, are recommending using the free OpenDNS service’s DNS servers.

(Read the full post about ‘Use DNS Checker to see if your DNS server can be spoofed’…)

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Tired of your house smelling like smoke?  Well then suck it up with this ashtray.  It was specifically designed to suck that smoke into the dome and dispose of it.  It does so by, breaking down the smoke into negatively-charged particles, which are then “captured by the positively-charged stainless steel lining of the dome.”  I’m a little skeptical as to how it works and if it will actually stop the smell from getting into your home.  After all, your cigarette doesn’t stay in the ashtray.  At some point you have to take it out to smoke it. (Read the full post about ‘Ionic Smokeless Ashtray sucks up your smoke’…)

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Last week we asked you Gadget Lab readers to e-mail us with contact information if you knew of anyone who bought the useless $1,000 "I Am Rich" iphone app. Unfortunately no one was able to help us out, but The Unofficial Apple Weblog came across a video by 17-year-old Neil Pomerleau, who gave a "guided tour" for the incredible app. It displays a red ruby and reassures you you’re rich. Gasp. We got a hold of Neil on the phone, and he told us he didn’t actually buy the app. A 17-year-old friend of Neil’s, who wishes to remain anonymous, bought the app simply because he had a lot of money lying around — and Neil simply copied it onto his ipod touch and subsequently cracked the app. (Read the full post about ‘High School Student Bought $1,000 iPhone App, Produces Video Tour’…)

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Although we’ve reported before that Fujitsu’s new Lifebook U2010 UMPC has hit the FCC for approval as the U820, Fujitsu Singapore went ahead and officially launched the UMPC as the U2010 in Singapore. So, while the US UMPC fans awaits for Fujitsu to launch in the US market, here’s a quick rundown of the official specs and details of the Lifebook U2010. Aside from what we already know that the U2010 will have a 1.6GHz Intel Centrino Atom processor Z530, a SuperFine 5.6” WXGA 1280 x 800 display, a choice between 60GB HD or 64GB SSD for storage and its WLAN, LAN and Bluetooth connectivity features, we also learned that Fujitsu is prepping up the U2010 as a multimedia device. (Read the full post about ‘Fujitsu Lifebook U2010 gets the official treatment in Asia Pacific’…)

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You’ve doubtless seen solar powered chargers before (including a certain solar-powered bra charger) but as of last week, the mack daddy of solar chargers is available to buy: the Suntable is both a piece of furniture, and a one-stop gadget charging shop. It’s made of teak and stainless steel and is a good-looking piece of furniture in its own right, subtle enough to sit in any garden… as long as the garden’s owners can afford the $2,200 asking price, that is. Via Gizmodo. Tags: tech, computers, hdtv, cable (Read the full post about ‘Super-size your solar charger with a Suntable’…)

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