No spacesuit required: The Lego man floated some 15 miles above sea level.

(Credit:
Video screenshot by Tim Hornyak/CNET)

Why build a Gingrichian lunar colony, which would cost billions, when you can send a man nearly into space for only $400?

That’s what Canadians Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad did with an albeit plastic man from Lego and a modified weather balloon.

The 17-year-olds from Toronto bought an $85 weather balloon online and rigged it to a Styrofoam box equipped with three point-and-shoot cameras and a wide-angle video camera.

They threw in $160 worth of helium from a party supply store, a dash of superglue, and voila, a Legonaut was born.

The toy ascended 80,000 feet over Ontario, recording the awesome footage in the video below, before floating back to Earth some 97 minutes later on a homemade nylon parachute.

It landed near Rice Lake, some 75 miles away from the soccer field where it was launched. A GPS-enabled cell phone onboard told the boys where to go.

The project took about four months of planning on Saturdays, but it wasn’t homework for the pair of 12th graders at the Agincourt Collegiate Institute.

Ho, who has dreams of being an entrepreneur, decided to try his hand at astral toy tourism after watching … [Read more]

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A pocket watch for today’s distinguished geek, and it could be yours.

(Credit:
Tokyoflash)

Do you know what time it is? That’s right, it’s that time of the week known as the Crave giveaway, and this week’s prize just happens to offer a pretty cool way of keeping pace.

Up for grabs is the Kisai Rogue Touch Pocket Watch, a modern take on the classic pocket watch. Made by Tokyoflash, it features an always-on touch display, as well as an LED backlight, and comes with a spring-hinged mineral crystal lens cover.

Though it looks like you need to understand some futuristic language to tell time, it’s actually quite simple. The outside ring features 12 blocks that represent the hour, while the minutes are marked by the 60 smaller dots just inside the ring. There’s even a second set of rings, in case you want to keep track of a different time zone, and you can rotate through the watch’s various functions (date, alarm, and so forth) using the touch display.

Normally, the Tokyoflash Kisai Rogue Touch Pocket Watch would cost you $169, but you have a chance to get this geeky accessory for free. There are some rules, though, so please take the time to read them carefully. There will be a test.

Or get yourself a snack in the kitchen.

(Credit:
Helsinki Airport)

Instead, there’s everything passengers would need to complete a modern home including a kitchen, dining room, children’s playroom, media lounge, and a home office with HP computers. And as you’d expect in Finland, there’s lots of wood, sleek design, and Eco-friendly features.

According to the airport’s Web site, the “cozy” lounge is meant… [Read more]

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Will the iPhone 5 resemble its predecessor, the iPhone 4?

(Credit:
Josh Miller/CNET)

Editors’ note: This roundup was originally published June 24, 2011, and is updated regularly.

After unveiling a marginally improved iPhone 4S in 2011 instead of a radically different iPhone 5, Apple has returned to its development labs to cook up (no pun intended) the next iteration of its popular phone. In 2012, we’re pretty certain that the real iPhone 5 will roll out of Apple’s gates and that the device should be a bigger leap forward than the 4S was.

That’s why after taking some time off at the end of last year, we’ve resurrected CNET’s iPhone 5 rumor roundup to cover the new tidbits from 2012. So join us again in watching the rumor mill churn. We’ll add to it until we get the real thing, and please let us know if we’ve left any gossip out.

January 25, 2012
It could be the summer
A source at Foxconn leads 9to5Mac to report that Apple is readying… [Read more]

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Will the iPhone 5 resemble its predecessor, the iPhone 4?

(Credit:
Josh Miller/CNET)

Editors’ note: This roundup was originally published June 24, 2011, and is updated regularly.

After unveiling a marginally improved iPhone 4S in 2011 instead of a radically different iPhone 5, Apple has returned to its development labs to cook up (no pun intended) the next iteration of its popular phone. In 2012, we’re pretty certain that the real iPhone 5 will roll out of Apple’s gates and that the device should be a bigger leap forward than the 4S was.

That’s why after taking some time off at the end of last year, we’ve resurrected CNET’s iPhone 5 rumor roundup to cover the new tidbits from 2012. So join us again in watching the rumor mill churn. We’ll add to it until we get the real thing, and please let us know if we’ve left any gossip out.

January 25, 2012
It could be the summer
A source at Foxconn leads 9to5Mac to report that Apple is readying… [Read more]

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Novatiq's Scorp recon robot will get some cool accessories including wire cutters.

(Credit:
Novatiq)

As machines that let first responders look at dangerous objects become increasingly common, Novatiq has started producing a throwable recon robot with the relatively low price tag of roughly $11,300.

The military-grade Scorp was announced last year with slightly different specs. At 13 inches long and 7.7 pounds, it’s compact and light enough for backpack portability.

It’s also tough enough to be thrown into buildings and dangerous areas, just like the lighter 110 FirstLook from iRobot.

The spybot can supply a 360-degree real-time video feed.

(Credit:
Novatiq)

Both machines are remote-operated, roll on treads, and have flippers that enable them to climb stairs, train tracks, and other obstacles. Both can move around for up to six hours on a battery charge.

The Scorp can roll at up to 5 mph and receive commands from its wearable controller up to a distance of 1,650 feet. If it loses touch with the signal, it will automatically backtrack until it’s reestablished.

The spybot has a tilt camera on each side, can relay real-time 360-degree video, and can be fitted with various sensors and a robotic arm. It can also carry payload… [Read more]

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(Credit:
Video screenshot by Bonnie Cha/CNET)

In 1927, Professor Thomas Parnell of the University of Queensland in Australia set out to teach his students a lesson, and that lesson is still going on today and has at least another 100 years to go.

The physics professor wanted to demonstrate to his pupils that solid material could have viscous properties, so he used tar pitch, a derivative of coal once used to waterproof boats, in an experiment to prove his point.

At room temperature, pitch appears to be solid and can even shatter if hit with a hammer, but despite its look and feel, pitch can also flow at room temperature–just really, really slowly.

To conduct the Pitch Drop Experiment, Parnell melted some pitch into a glass funnel with a sealed stem and allowed it to settle for three years. In 1930, the funnel was unsealed, clearing the way for the pitch to flow freely, but it sure did take its sweet time.

Eight years went by before the first drop of pitch hit the beaker below, and it was another nine years before the second drop hit. Parnell passed away in September 1948, but a third drop was recorded in 1954, before the Pitch Drop Experiment was stored away in a cupboard.

John Mainstone took over the project after a colleague discovered the "weird" object in a cup… [Read more]

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Can you tell what time it is?

(Credit:
Tokyoflash)

Remember those Magic Eye posters that were popular back in the ’90s? You know, the ones where you’d focus your eyes on a 2D image and then boom, out of nowhere, a 3D image would appear? Well, that’s the inspiration behind a new watch by Tokyoflash.

The Kisai Optical Illusion watch is the latest geeky accessory from Tokyoflash, and at first glance, the face of the watch just looks like a dizzying maze of lines. But of course, there’s more than meets the eye.

As with the Magic Eye images, after staring at the display for a bit, you should be able to make out the hour and minutes presented in digit form. Tokyoflash says the time will be easy to see once you’ve trained your eyes, but if that’s not the case, you can simply tap the touch screen to reveal the time.

The touch display also has four “hot zones” that you can tap to navigate though the time, date, alarm, and backlight.

The Kisai Optical Illusion is available now in your choice of silver or black and with a natural or green display. The company is currently selling the watch for $179 with free shipping as part of a launch special, but starting Friday, the price will go up to $199.

[Read more]

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Before there was the Droid Razr Maxx, there was the Razr Maxx Ve.

(Credit:
Corinne Schulze/CNET)

Thank to a well-timed Verizon Wireless announcement just two weeks after the phone’s unveiling, we now know that Motorola’s Droid Razr Maxx will arrive in stores this Thursday, January 26.

The new handset has all the powerful features of the well-received Droid Razr while almost doubling the battery to an impressive 21 hours of talk time. I won’t refuse more juice in a smartphone, particularly one that’s just 0.28 inches thick, but there’s no escaping that the Droid Razr Maxx is a recycled version of an existing device. And while that’s a bit disappointing, it’s also fitting when you consider the handset’s name.

Indeed, it was almost five years ago when Moto and Verizon introduced the … [Read more]

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(Credit:
U.S. Coast Guard)

Scientists at the U.K.’s University of Bristol have created what they say is the world’s first magnetic soap, and it’s gaining attention as a potential method for cleaning up oil spills.

As first reported in the Angewandte Chemie chemistry journal, the team of researchers created the magnetic soap by dissolving iron atoms, which give the soap particles a metallic center, into a chlorine and bromine solution similar to what’s found in mouthwash and fabric softener.

In tests, the magnetic soap was able to overcome surface tension and gravity to rise to the magnetic source.

(Credit:
University of Bristol)

To test its magnetic properties, the group inserted a magnet into a test tube containing the soap solution, water, and oil and found that the soap was able to rise through the water and oil to reach the magnet.

Led by Professor Julian Eastoe, the researchers also say the soap’s magnetic properties make it easier to round up and remove from a system and it has less of an impact on the environment.

The current problem with detergents (aka surfactants) used to clean oil spills is that they often require… [Read more]

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