Who said awesome gadgetry had to be electronic? This device is a very impressive binary number adding system. It uses marbles, and a very ingenious wooden contraption made by Mathias Wandel, a very skilled woodworker. It uses a seemingly simple rocker mechanism, where when one marble is in the slot, the rocker is in the hold position, and when another is dropped into the feed of the same numerical value, the rocker is switch to release the first marble, and carries on the second marble to the next numerical value (example: Marble dropped in slot 1, and then a second one is dropped into 1, the original marble is released from the system, and the added marble moves down to slot 2).

No matter what scenario you put this machine in, it will correctly add it. If you hit 64, which is one value higher then the max of 63 in binary, the machine zeros out automatically, just like a computer would.. Everyone around the office was watching the impressive video, along with other videos out on his website for his other marble machines, and it became pretty crazy for a while, but everyone seems quite impressed. (More pictures/video after the More tag)
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There is so much hype and buzz going around about the new iPhone launch in a day, but now that it gets ever closer, amny die hards are getting a bit of a case of cold feet. Worries over the high cost, slow network speed, and battery life are deterring some customers from forking over a minimum of $499.

The fact that the iPhone will run on AT&Ts slower network has many gadgeteers baffled. And at the same time, many iPhone die hards holding back on purchasing until an updated version hit’s AT&Ts shelves. Along with the slow network connection, AT&T also requires a 2 year contract in order to even touch the iPhone. Which says to any consumer “We’re evil, we’ll make you buy or service, and never let you go.” Especially in a case like this, a hyped up drooled over iPhone, many consumers are being turned off due to low morale with the company. And moreover, Apple giving an exclusive deal to just AT&T, which really hurts not only the sale of the iPhone, but the actual versatility of the device. In addition, they’ll be charging you a whopping 500-600 bucks, even with the 2-year plan. I can guarantee you, prices won’t drop very soon if AT&T stays exclusive, because you know they are paying money out their behinds for that deal with Apple.

There are other worries too, such as the battery life of the device not being able to hold up to being listened to all day, and being able to handle sporadic conversations and texting. When you mix a personal organizer, a multi-media player, a phone, and a web browser all in one, and only power it with a mediocre mAh rated battery, things won’t last very long.

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Most all of us are fans of Digg, and even more of us are certainly Kevin Rose fan boys. But getting your stories submitted from your blog rated as “Popular,” or especially getting front page attention, can be a challenge. Let’s face it, 99% of your submissions probably won’t even make it past the “Upcoming” section. I’ve been browsing around Digg since it’s beta days, and have a pretty good idea about what makes Diggers Digg. (more…)

Google Inc (GOOG) has recently started to get involved with governmental affairs, such as the threat to ending GMail in germany due to new privacy laws. Recently, Google took it upon themselves to get in contact with US Trade Officials and ask them to start treating the internet as more of a international trade system, which would stop all the internet censorship laws and oput a damper on all the fuss over such happenings.

Google is worried about it’s advertising driven business model being curbed by all the censorship that is taking place all over the world, mainly in Asia and the Middle East. Google wants governments to consider the issue in not so much of a political view, but an economic one as it would seem probable that the more censorship we have, the less business activity is flowing on the internet.
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Pulling pranks and practical jokes here at the ST office is a daily must. Having fun is just what we do. Recently we acquired a few of these little buggers to fly around and annoy or attract many people. It’s getting reactions from “Grow up!” to “Hey cool, can I try?”

ThinkGeek is now selling these crazy Palmsize R/C Copters for cheap, and they’re flying off the shelves! (No pun intended, really.) They come in red and silver, each color having a different frequency which means 2 can be in the same room without interference. Although, we’ve always found it fun to have a whole mess of the buzzing around causing trouble, we think the interference factor multiplies the fun factor. It takes a small 15 minute charge right from the remote and is ready to fly for about 7 minutes, which gives you plenty of time to annoy or impress anyone, or possibly embarrass yourself.

Video and specs below.
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No question about it back then, when computers were in no way a fad, geeks were not cool either. Yet these days we’ll pay them large amounts of money for them fix problems some common people cannot otherwise solve themselves. Over the years computers have gained popularity, not to mention, fashion.

This is the V23i from Flybook. For some, this is all you may ever need. It features 8.9″ touch screen which allows for superior human interface, which also enables the user to forget the ever tedious mouse. It comes with all the connectivity you could possibly need. All the ‘V’ models support mobile broadband to get you connected any time, and any place which would commonly have a cell phone signal. Some ‘V’ models even support HSDPA/UMTS connections that can pump out as much as 1.8mbps of wireless broadband, which is quite uncommon amongst your average Joe devices. Either for the man on the move or the mobile geek, you’ll be sure to stay connected.

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Well, when I first saw this, I laughed, because I thought it was a joke. It’s priced at 99 bones (US Bones, that is) and boasts a 128×128 crisp bright OLED screen and a built in 2GB flash memory. Turns out, no joke. This thing is for real, and is totally got us jumping up and down at the ST office. How cool would it be to walk into class or work and when the moments get dull, put your watch up to your face and watch any full length movie, right there, on your wrist!? I’ve already bought 3…

What’s nifty about this watch is the fact that it’s surprisingly small. Now, it certainly is on the larger side as far as watches go, but is certainly not too unattractive, especially when you throw in a 128×128 resolution OLED screen and 2GB of built in flash memory! It also charges itself on the go via USB, or the included AC to USB wall adapter.
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This is probably one of the most awesome T-Shirts ever. The “I’m in your” comes from the phrase that started long ago, “I’m in your base, killing all your n00bz” This wicked T-shirt howver lets you customize it, and make it say whatever you’re feeling on that particular day. The spaces are there for you to write in with the included marker which comes off in the wash.

The possibilities are endless. Maybe one day you feel like being the old classic and going with the “in ur base” line, or mix it up a bit and say something like “im in ur FRIDGE SCARFing all ur F00DZ” or possibly something like the example below:

Found via the wonderful ThinkGeek.

According to CNet:

“If you depend on the sounds of Internet radio to get you through your workday, don’t be surprised if your headphones pipe out little more than dead air next Tuesday. In protest of the elevated royalty fees Webcasters are poised to begin owing to the record industry next month, Internet radio operators are planning to stage a ‘day of silence.’”

Radio stations such as Live365 and AccuRadio were already agreed as soon as the idea was proposed, while recently major stations such as Yahoo, Rhapsody, MTV and 30+ other stations (and growing) have agreed to the idea that the increased royalty is simply nothing but a pure act of greed and are all very happy to participate in this day of silence.

What most of you aren’t thinking of is the business side of all this. One day off line for some of the bigger stations means thousands of dollars not gained by ads and other revenue streams. These internet radio companies are sacrificing a lot, but are also supporting a righteous cause and we here at ST are behind them 110%!

Eight days before the iPhone arrives, AT&T is planning for extra security and a flood of customers next Friday.

The company has hired 2,000 temporary workers to help keep things rolling on iPhone Day (previously known as June 29th) Sheesh, all this hub-ub about a phone? Admittedly, the iPhone does look promising as the all in one media phone, but people are making more of a big deal of this then they did for the PS3! Before you know it, iPhone Day will become a holiday that people will request work off to spend time with their families, in honor of apple products.

Read more about the iPhone here.