Toys

Adafruit , run by the 2012 Entrepreneur of the Year Limor “Ladyada” Fried, has announced the Gemma, a wearable micro-controller board with just a 1” diameter. The Gemma uses an Atmel Attiny85 and is programmable with the Arduino IDE through a micro-USB cable. It has three programmable I/O pins, one analog input, and two Pulse-Width […]

The Electric Imp is now out of beta and shipping developer kits. The Imp is an SD-card sized WiFi (802.11b/g/n) module with built-in antenna, 6 I/O, Arm Cortex M3 Micro-controller, and a Cloud-based infrastructure for programming and control. The I/O supports serial, I2C, SPI, A2D, D2A, and PWM interfaces. The Imp uses the Squirrel programming language,

Did Santa bring you a bucket of LEGO bricks and now you have no idea what to build with them? Never fear my brick snapping friends, I have 4 books that will have you building cool stuff (or dreaming about building cool stuff) in no time.

If you like origami – or just Star Wars – you’ll enjoy folding your own Yoda or Millennium Falcon.  The Star Wars Origami kit is a bit of a cheat, because it uses special paper printed with the details.  It comes with a book with complete instructions for folding the papers to create 36 different

I have been a builder all my life. To this day, I still love playing with LEGOs and Erector sets. So, it is exciting when folks use modern technology to take these classic thinking-toys to the next level. The designers and engineers at The Seamless Toy Company have created the ATOMS Express smart block system to bring

This USB-powered tentacle is firmly ensconced in the novelty department.  When plugged in, it wiggles and squirms back and forth, (somewhat) realistically emulating an octopus.  However, it holds no other use than being creepy-cool.  The current version holds no data, and judging from the consumer feedback, that’s a bit of a sticking point.   It’s

If you ever wanted to turn the heat from your cup of tea or coffee into piston power, I have just the gadget for you. It’s a Low Temperature Differential Stirling engine model. Invented by Robert Stirling back in 1816, this engine produces power from temperature differences. You can place it on top of something warm

Let’s face it, zombies are in at the moment.  But if you watch all the shows, you’ll know that all they do want to do is eat your brains. Well Neatoshop has come up with a way of making a zombie useful.  Their USA-handcrafted Zombie Bottle Opener is made from urethane resin and handpainted, so no

Google’s Creative Labs has just released Jam with Chrome, an experimental Web app that makes use of all the latest Web tech and allows you to select and play 19 different instruments. Instruments include guitars, drums and keyboard, and you can switch between instruments whenever you want. Up to 3 other people can collabrate with you

3D printing is becoming cheaper and much more accessible these days.  We reported on small cardboard avatars of yourself recently, and  a Japanese company is going one step further with their 3D photo booth. Between  24 November 2012 and 14 January 2013 at EYE OF GYRE shopping centre in Harajuku, Omote 3D will be running a 3D

Did you buy the Star Trek cookie cutters we reported on earlier ? Well now ThinkGeek has another Star Trek kitchen accessory for you – the Star Trek Spock oven mitt. It’s official Star Trek merchandise, made of 100% cotton, and will set you back $14.99.  Go on, apply the Vulcan nerve pinch to your

This little Motion Activated Talking Yoda Sentry from Hammacher Schlemmer stands armed and ready to protect your gear.  When he detects motion, his lightsaber illuminates and he says one of his six phrases, such as “still much to learn you have” or “a disturbance in the Force there is.”  He’s made of plastic, stands 9″ tall x

If remote controlled helicopters, planes and cars no longer give you a thrill, you should check out the NanoBlimp from Plantraco. This tiny blimp kit comes with a standard party balloon and a gondola that has 3 motors/propellers that you can control for navigation. Also included is a two-stick proportional transmitter/charger and 10 latex balloons.

Heads up LEGO lovers… No Starch Press is currently offering 40% off all LEGO books through the end of this month (Oct 31st, 2012). With the holidays right around the corner, any of their books would make a great gift for your favorite builder. Or buy one for yourself. We won’t judge you. The first