Looking out into the depth and width of the universe is a big darn job, but luckily we’ve got big darn telescopes to do it with. Not only are they big, but a lot of these telescopes are pretty crazy looking, too, as astronomers find new methods in penetrating the heavens. A lot of telescopes use one mirror, but some use two. There’s even an observatory that skips a one-telescope solution, and just goes for four mega ’scopes. Kick off your journey by hitting up the gallery below to see six of the world’s biggest, craziest and most powerful telescopes, from the inside and out.

Go here to see the original:
6 of the world’s biggest and most powerful telescopes

Here’s an interesting combo device: it’s a foldable keyboard designed to pair with tablets to make typing easier. But it’s also a cellphone, somehow. So I guess you’d always have it on you if you needed a spare keyboard? The problem is that this phone is designed to pair with a cell-equipped tablet, so it would only work when close to the tablet. But why not figure out how to make the keyboard on a normal phone work with a tablet? Doesn’t that make more sense? Ah well, this is just a concept anyhow, so it’s all just talk at the moment. Gizmodo via SlipperyBrick

More here:
This foldable tablet keyboard is also a phone

Japanese cellphone maker KDDI has announced a new phone that should be immediately unpopular to anyone with half a brain: it monitors your movements and can tell when you’re slacking off. The phone, which you wear on your wrist, actually, uses an accelerometer to check your movements against information stored on a server — which the wrist-phone communicates with wirelessly — to identify what you’re doing. The folks at KDDI claim that the technology is actually pretty accurate, too, and can distinguish between actions such as walking, scaling a staircase or cleaning something. It’d be able to tell when an office worker or a window cleaner were doing the things they’re supposed to be doing, or if they’re just sitting there. While it all screams Big Brother, Philip Sugai, director of the mobile consumer lab at the International University of Japan, told the BBC it actually may not be so bad: “Technically, I think this is an incredibly important innovation. For example, when applied to the issue of telemedicine, or other situations in which remotely monitoring or accessing an individual’s personal movements is vital to that service.” He did acknowledge there could be negative ramifications associated with the information the watchphone could gather, though. A negative side that KDDI knows about, and considers part of its market for the device. Your boss knowing your every move could be a “good thing,” however, according to Hiroyuki Yokoyama, a KDDI researcher. “Of course there are privacy issues and any employers should really enter into an agreement with employees before using such a system,” he told the BBC. “But this is not about curtailing employees’ rights to privacy. We’d rather like to think our creation more of a caring, mothering system rather than a Big Brother approach to watching over citizens.” Hey, it could happen, right? A nurturing Big Brother? No, not buying it? Yep, neither are we. Who wants to wear a wrist-phone , anyway? BBC , via The Register

Follow this link:
Japanese wrist-phone knows when you’re slacking, tells the boss

Then again, that’s the point. Designer Ichiro Iwasaki, a one-time member of the Sony Design Center who spent many years studying design in Italy, designed the Lotta to be a no-frills phone that isn’t trying to win you over with amazing features, but rather with its strikingly minimalistic good looks. Even the more colorful versions of the two-tone Lotta don’t feel like they’re crowding the design. It’s fitting that Iwasaki designed his phone for iida, a Japanese company that focuses on cellphones that eschew loading up on features for basic functionality and a thoughtful design . Sadly, you’ll probably never see the Lotta here in the US, though you can ogle all you want in the gallery down below. Lotta , via Minimalissimo

Continued here:
For a phone called ‘Lotta,’ this thing has little going on

Here’s a common dilemma: you want to play Rock, Paper, Scissors, but you’re all by yourself. What to do? Well, these handy gloves allow you to play the classic game of chance and, well, chance all by your lonesome. Simply make your move with the glove on and the built-in computer will tell you what move your “opponent” made and who won. It’s the perfect way to practice for the next time you need to decide who’s riding shotgun. Grathio via Make

Read more from the original source:
Finally, a way to practice Rock, Paper, Scissors alone

If you’re a drug dealer or just a fraidy-cat who is certain someone’s out to get you, you might be too stoned or distracted to set up a complicated security system . That’s why this Swann Digital Guardian ADW-400 night-vision camera and recorder could be just what you’re looking for. It’s so easy to set up, the hardest part is taking it out of its box and getting rid of its copious packing materials. Come along with us and see if it really is as plug-and-play as its manufacturer says.

Read the original here:
Plug-and-play camera/recorder displays burglars on your TV

Protecting yourself is important. And a great way to protect yourself is with this absolutely-insane cane, which features a hand grenade as a handle and a hidden dagger inside. Oh, and a compass, of course. Yes, for only $30 you, too can own the Hand Grenade Cane. I’d say it hides its true intentions well, but when the top of it is a hand grenade, I guess that’s not really true. King of Swords via The Awesomer and Nerd Approved

More:
Show your true intentions with the hand grenade cane

Aw, man. It seems like just yesterday when we first laid eyes on the crispy clear screen and excellent user interface of the Zune HD. Now the rumor mill churns, and out the other end comes this golden nugget: The Zune HD2 “will be similar to an iPod Touch,” and could ship as early as this year. In other words, it’ll presumably be a part of that “Windows Phone 7 Series platform” and run Windows Phone 7 apps. So the Zune HD will soon be obsolete? Damn. The rumormongers didn’t say when we might see the Zune HD2, so maybe this won’t be happening right away. We really like the Windows Phone 7 interface, but why can’t it work with the current Zune HD hardware? Looks to us like further evidence that this whole gadget racket thrives on planned obsolescence. Even if you are soon to be pass, Zune HD, we still love you . Via Gizmodo

Read more from the original source:
Zune HD2 on the way? Already?

Google just announced Apps Marketplace, igniting a torrent of applications that all work online. If you have one of Google’s free-for-the-taking hosted-domain apps accounts, once you log in, you’ll be able to access all of these additional tools. There are 50 of them so far — mostly for business use — and that number is certain to grow in number and scope. With your permission, the third-party applications can access any of the data in your Google Calendar, Gmail, documents, or contacts. See the video below for a more detailed explanation. But what about privacy issues, and the concern many businesses might have when their valuable data resides in the hands of someone else? Since we’re the business of encouraging people read our stuff online, understandably, many of us aren’t too concerned about keeping much of our data on a third-party server up in the cloud . How about you? If Google soon offers every imaginable application (some free, and some paid) and keeps your data on its servers in the cloud, are you too paranoid to take advantage of it?

Excerpt from:
Google opens the floodgates to its Apps Marketplace

This is how you get geeks excited: you combine three of their great loves into one crazy object. This Lego Sequencer MR II uses Lego stacks to emulate a three-channel, eight-step sequencer, where each brick produces a different sound, creating the ability to build crazy combos by stacking them together. Add to that fact that the whole thing is made of the brass that is so popular with guys who wish they lived inside Final Fantasy VI and you’ve got a pure lust object. Yoshi Akai via Make

Read more from the original source:
Steampunk Lego sequencer hits all the nerd bases