I can't believe someone makes... the Love Box analogue video mixer for iPhone

February 3, 2012

madebymonkeys-love-box.jpgNow this sounds like it might be a really clever piece of kit, and I suppose in a way it is. But it requires no knowledge of electronics whatsoever to assemble it.

A video mixer sounds as if it should be in a sleek grey case, and feature - oh I don't know - crossfaders for audio and video, maybe a Chroma key or a Luma key, fades, wipes and other clever functionality.

This wooden box is about as low-tech as it gets, certainly since the invention of the  camera obscura.

Featured on wired.com, the makers are quoted as saying:

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Posted by Sue Proud on February 3, 2012 2:30 PM
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Let the latest Made By Monkeys posts come to you, with RSS

February 1, 2012

rss%20feeds%20shot.jpg The best way to get the very latest Made By Monkeys posts as soon as they are published? RSS!

And it's not just Made By Monkeys. Check out all the RSS feeds that are available for Electronics Weekly content. The feed for Latest News, for example, can be found here.


There are 12 Electronics Weekly feeds you can tap into:
News
Jobs
Products

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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on February 1, 2012 11:01 AM
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Most Read in January - The Made By Monkeys popularity stakes

January 30, 2012

night vision 2.jpgTime once more to see how the Made By Monkeys posts have measured up against each other in the first month of the year!

Topics touched on include hybrid cars, golfing headsets, toasters, and some new oldies...

10. Recall Corner: Sony Bravia LCD TVs

9. Diabolical Designs: Retractable Luggage Handles

8. I can't believe someone makes... A defibrillator toaster

Continue reading "Most Read in January - The Made By Monkeys popularity stakes" »



Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 30, 2012 1:22 PM
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Not-So-Smartphones of 2011

January 24, 2012

not-so-smart-phones.jpg
Not sure about about this one, the premises or the conclusion (that all older Android phones should be considered 'orphans' and that Android should be identified as the most vulnerable platform)... 

Anyway, starting at the top, the Mannerisms blog recently featured a Top Ten of "riskiest phones", which immediately caught my eye for Made By Monkeys.

The idea is that certain phones - most notably Android phones - are no longer getting software updates, which means known vulnerabilities or bugs are going unfixed or unpatched.

Bit9 - a company that specialises in application Whitelisting services - has identified the "Dirty Dozen" of such phones, in a snappily entitled blog, Orphan Android - The Not-So-Smartphones of 2011. Android, specifically, is in their sights:

The company writes:
Unlike Apple iOS, RIM Blackberry or Windows Phone, the phone manufacturer - not the software vendor - is responsible for providing Android software updates to their smartphone.  Phone carriers also inject themselves into the process, selling further customized models and sometimes charging data usage for software updates. The result is chaos. As anyone who has ever owned an Android phone can attest, waiting for your phone to receive the latest Android release is like walking through prickly bushes - slow, painful, and sometimes buggy.

Continue reading "Not-So-Smartphones of 2011" »



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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 24, 2012 9:25 AM
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I can't believe someone makes... A defibrillator toaster

January 13, 2012

defib toaster.jpgMedical students are known for their dark sense of humour, so this one would have proved an ideal Christmas present. It's a toaster with a difference - a defibrillator toaster!

Unlike the vast majority of entries in the I can't believe someone makes... series,  this is actually just a 'concept' design, courtesy of designer Shay Carmon.

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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 13, 2012 1:07 PM
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Sign up for the Made By Monkeys newsletter

January 10, 2012

made by monkeys.jpgDon't forget that you can sign up for the Made By Monkeys newsletter to ensure you receive the latest and greatest posts, straight to your inbox!

Signing up only takes a second - simply edit your account settings to check the 'Made by Monkeys' box - and then you can sit back and we do the rest.

The mail is sent fortnightly, on alternating Wednesdays, at around 11.00am GMT. Don't miss out!

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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 10, 2012 3:13 PM
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I can't believe someone makes... Night Vision Golf headsets

January 9, 2012

night Vision 1.jpgMy first reaction to reading about Night Vision Golf headsets was that they were simply wacky. What was the angle, beyond simply playing golf at night? I've heard of 'golf widows', so I know the sport has an extreme pull, but still...

Then I suspected it may be something creepy - is this just an 'acceptable way' of selling stalker-friendly night vision glasses to lurkers... Then it made sense: they are for people who want to play at night to avoid paying course fees.

Crafty! Cheap, but crafty.

Continue reading "I can't believe someone makes... Night Vision Golf headsets" »



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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 9, 2012 2:37 PM
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Recall Corner: Hybrid car's batteries threatened by coolant leakage

January 5, 2012

Fisker Karma.jpgA US hybrid car finds itself reversing carefully into Recall Corner. The Fisker Karma is the motor in question.

Apparently - "in rare circumstances" - the car's batteries could short-circuit due to coolant leakage from "misaligned hose clamps." This could possibly result in a fire...

Engadget writes:
A battery issue previously thought to affect around 50 cars will actually result in the recall of 239. GigaOM points out an NHTSA notice confirming a problem with the positioning of hose clamps on the high-voltage Li-Ion batteries. It could result in said hoses leaking coolant into the battery creating the risk of an electrical short-circuit (still not seeing how this is a bad thing) and fire (oh), which the company will resolve by replacing the batteries.

Continue reading "Recall Corner: Hybrid car's batteries threatened by coolant leakage" »



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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on January 5, 2012 2:50 PM
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Sainsbury's auto-generated coupon fails to tempt

December 21, 2011

SAINSBURY OFFER 350.jpg
This one made my wife laugh at the weekend - an auto-generated supermarket coupon (after quite a large shop) that rather fails to tempt you back to the store.

Can anyone improve on this? Any takers for 'a penny disount'? Or are we becoming too decadent in failing to appreciate a tuppence off?

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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on December 21, 2011 1:34 PM
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Recall Corner: iPhone, iPod battery cases warm to their task

December 13, 2011

Mophie recall.jpgA couple of iPhone and iPod battery chargers find themselves in the last Recall Corner before Christmas. Not quite Apple accessories 'warming themselves into an open fire', but the overheating hazard is enough for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada to issue recalls...

First up is the Mophie iPod Touch Rechargeable External Battery. The company has received 110 reports of the product becoming warm to the touch, with 44 reports of the product becoming deformed, and nine reports of minor burns.

The hazard? "The battery case's integrated circuit switch can overheat, posing a burn hazard to consumers," says the CPSC.

Continue reading "Recall Corner: iPhone, iPod battery cases warm to their task" »



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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on December 13, 2011 10:08 AM
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Most Read in 2011 - The Made By Monkeys popularity stakes

December 12, 2011

Microsoft-Kin-One-and-Kin-Two-The-worst-gadgets-of-2010.jpgRather than measure the popularity of posts in December, how about we look back across the whole year? Which posts really clicked in 2011?

Well, we don't have any holly or ivy but there is some ever-green content here, with old favourites such as 'Biggest Engineering Mistakes' (a spike for which was seen at the start of a new academic year - I suspect students are driving the traffic for this one), and the Lithium-Ion battery related content (if you know something about Lithium gone wrong, please let us know, this is MBM traffic gold).... But it's a nice spread of content - nice to see an Impossible Object in there, and a Recall Corner...

Taking it in reverse order, for maximum possible suspense...

10. Recall Corner: Sony Bravia LCD TVs

9. Impossible Objects #24: Liquid Table

8. Apple Power Mac G5 Oozes Coolant

Continue reading "Most Read in 2011 - The Made By Monkeys popularity stakes" »



Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on December 12, 2011 2:42 PM
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I can't believe someone makes... Room shrinking iPod docks [Part 2]

December 8, 2011

iNuke boom.pngThanks to Steve B for highlighting this one.

We previously highlighted the three-metre high iPod dock and now here's another variation on the theme. Stand aside for the iNuke Boom...

And when we say stand aside, we mean re-arrange the furniture in your living room, and squash back against the wall!

At first glance it doesn't look too big, but look again. That little spec on the top is the iPhone!

Continue reading "I can't believe someone makes... Room shrinking iPod docks [Part 2]" »



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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on December 8, 2011 3:16 PM
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Video: Toshiba shakes, rattles, and rolls its solid state drives

November 29, 2011

Here's a quick video that caught my eye, on the topic of thoroughly testing a product...


Continue reading "Video: Toshiba shakes, rattles, and rolls its solid state drives" »



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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on November 29, 2011 10:47 AM
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The cost of mobile handsets

November 25, 2011

mobile phoneHere on MBM design problems are our bread and better, so this report is maybe worth highlighting.

A company called WDS, which describes itself as a "wireless user experience" specialist, has reported on handset costs faced my mobile telecom providers, with particular reference to the Google Andorid platform.

Over a 12 month period it has tracked how consumers interact with their phones, including analysis of 600,000 technical support calls, to identify the platform's 'cost-of-ownership' for operators.

This ZDNet blog post was among many covering the report - Android handsets top hardware failures list

Continue reading "The cost of mobile handsets" »



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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on November 25, 2011 4:19 PM
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I can't believe someone makes... Three metre high iPod docks

November 23, 2011

AeroDreamOne 1.jpgAudiophiles can take things to the extreme, but how about this one? A 3.5m high iPod dock that requires its own, built-on step ladder to access the aforementioned iPod device... Welcome to the AreoDreamOne.

Oh yes, and it will cost more than $500,000, according to CraziestGadgets.com, for which you will get 10,000 watts of speaker power. And you have a choice of three colours: chrome, black and white.

The architect of this towering monument to consumer decadence is Jarre Technologies, and - in the tradition of I can't believe someone makes... - the product is in such demand you will have trouble getting your hands on it (and your feet on it).

Continue reading "I can't believe someone makes... Three metre high iPod docks" »



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Posted by Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on November 23, 2011 3:14 PM
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