Posts from — July 2008

Here’s a really simple yet awesome product that will help reduce the amount of power you use. The Ecobutton is a USB device that you can tap before you leave your desk, and it will put your computer into energy-saving mode. Even better, it also tallies the money and carbon units you save by using it!.

I think its actually a really good idea and worth the $26.98

Buy it online at iWantOneOfThose

Keyboards are disgusting.  An average keyboard supposedly accumulates more germs than a public toilet, and if used by people half as lazy as me,  is usually smudged with dried palm sweat, and copious amounts of Cheeto’s crumbs.  Luckily for me, there is a new way to clean your keyboard.

This goopy substance that somewhat resembles a giant booger is called the Cyber Clean, and promises to give your keyboard a good cleaning by using “a combination of viscosity and elasticity to sink right into cavities, absorbing dirt and other residues whilst killing germs on the surface”.

Buy a pound of it for $16 here

via BoingBoing

If I didn’t already have a problem with falling asleep at work I would be all over this workstation.

The Ergopod 500 was designed so that programmers, COD workers,graphic designers, special needs individuals, and lazy bloggers could spend even more time in front of the computer screen. The Ergopod 500 can be positioned over a reclining chair, or a bed, and claims to increase productivity in people who are actually awake. While no studies have been performed, it appears the Ergopod 500 may also increase the likelihood of untimely death by being crushed by a computer monitor since it appears that the only thing holding that dinosour iMac in place is a measly belt strap.

This glorious piece of technology will cost you $3,695.

via DVICE

For some people (myself included), getting out of bed in the morning is the hardest part of the day.  The instant gratification derived from hitting the snooze button just one more time can be difficult to overcome, and often results in rushed/poor decisions when it comes to matters like your work attire (wearing mis-matched shoes can only go unnoticed for so long), or your choice of breakfast (although convenient, nothing from McDonald’s can reasonably be justified as an acceptable substitute for a healthy breakfast).

Many attempts have been made at producing the ultimate alarm clock, but none have been able to spread fear and panic through the minds of 9-5′ers quite like The Rocket Alarm Clock.

When the designated wake-up time arrives, the Rocket Alarm Clock begins a 10 second countdown, during which time you can turn it off without further consequences.  If ignored however, it blasts a rocket across the room, and the only way to turn off the sounding alarm is to get up, retrieve the rocket, and place it back on the launching pad.

LatestBuy via NewLaunches

Technology is advancing rapidly these days, and while many of us are able to keep up with the emerging trends and evolving technical language, there are those among us who are simply unable to understand or operate any piece of technology more advanced than the television remote in their living room.

I recently noticed that my office happens to have one of these people. This man was attempting to operate the idiot proof shredder we have at my office, but somehow, someway, despite the simplistic nature of the machine, this man failed at using it to shred his documents. Consequently, the man was forced to shred his stack of papers manually.

I’m not sure why I didn’t bother to help him at the time, but I wound up feeling rather bad about it later that day, so I decided I would attempt to help him in some way. After a bit of research, I found what can only be described as the absolute perfect gift for this technologically challenged person; the Think Tank Hand Crank Paper Shredder.

I am fairly certain that my co-worker will have no problems operating this piece of machinery in the future since the only advertised requirements for use of this machine are “paper” and “hand with opposable thumb”. At a mere $3.99 I actually can’t think of a better x-mas present for my other co-workers, so I may just order ten.

Ahhh I remember the day I had my first interview for a ‘real’ job…if only I had owned one of these ties.

DesignYouTrust

The last few days at my office have been dreadfully slow, and as usual when that happens I have been lurking around the office looking for ideal candidates to pull pranks on. When it comes to office pranks, there are the old harmless classics like taking a screenshot of someones computer desktop and hiding all of their icons, or gluing someones pencaps to their pens, but in today’s high tech work environment these classics often don’t get the desired effect.

Luckily I found a great list of high tech pranks that are sure to provide you with the perfect prank for your situation. Here are some of the pranks I pulled over the last couple days.

The Restart Remap: The first one i pulled is rather evil, so I made care to do it to a person I didn’t like all that much. My victim was a guy who sits in the cubicle next to me who: 1. constantly makes personal phone calls, and 2. has a massively obnoxious voice. Simply right-click the Firefox shortcut icon, select Properties, go to the Shortcut tab, and change the Target to “%windir%\system32\shutdown.exe -r -t 00″. Then watch as your co-worker pull their hair out as their computer keeps restarting every time they try to open up Firefox. Brilliant!

Crazy Keys: A man called August Dvorak once created an alternate keyboard layout which is considered helpful for people who type with one hand or finger. While his keyboard layout is mostly useless for those of us adept at using the QWERTY layout, it is perfect for driving a co-worker insane by remapping his keyboard. To learn how to remap the keyboard click here.

The Poltergeist: Lastly, I had been dying to try out a program called The Office Poltergeist. By installing it as a Firefox extension on someones computer, you can remotely take over their computer and play random sounds, turn their monitors on and off, shake their windows, and send pop-up alert messages.

To learn about more awesome pranks you can pull at work head over to TechCult for the list of The 25 Best High-Tech Pranks.

And just for fun, here’s a clip of some of the pranks pulled on Dwight from The Office.

The Keyboard Key Rubik’s Cube. Requires an IQ over 140, and can be solved over Wi-Fi.

via Unplggd

By now most of us have accumulated entirely way too many USB devices.  Between the printers, iPhones, cameras, spy pens, mp3 players, and the hundreds of flash drives we have collected, there are simply not enough USB hubs on our PC’s to accommodate our gadget needs.

Luckily the 16 Port USB Hub from Brando has arrived.  It allows you to connect 16 USB devices, and can be connected to two computers, so that you can switch the USB devices between the two!