Let’s face it. If you’re the type of person who reads a gadget blog every morning you’re also the type of person who likes to have the latest cool or unique gadgets to show off to your friends. So the next time your pals stop by and you’re serving up some refreshments, why not blow their minds with these Ghost Goblets.
A set of 4 Ghost Goblets is available from CocktailVibe.com for $74.95.
Last year Sony had atypically dared to unveil its tubular non-directional prototype speaker and volia, today they have actually managed to put it on the shelf. Christened as “Sountina†speaker (NSA-PF1), it features a transparent organic glass tube which vibrates and expands sound to 360 degrees. Rendering a frequency response of 50Hz – 20,000Hz, this aural glass loveliness also packs an input line, and coaxial, Optical, a subwoofer speaker (13cm) and a medium speaker of 7cm. Not to miss out on the organic glass tweeter too! Though nothing is mentioned about the output power, we definitely know that you will need to foot a bill of 6,500 Euros (about $10,200) to make ’em stand in your living room. If they sound as they look, I’m bought!
For the multiple-screen lover, Sightline Monitor Wall System is a functional and elegant workspace solution! The dynamic system allows for easy expansion and future reconfigurations with minimal down-time. The Monitor wall comes in five unique mounting options vis wall mounted in which Sightline is built right onto the console, this allows you to be freestanding in your space, floor mounted, console based, cabinet based and completely Freestanding. Sightline can be further configured in an array of options. Awesome!
I thought the book “Gotham” was the biggest book on New York city but Gloria Books has it beat with “New York,” a giant-sized, 756 page limited-edition book that comes in a Lucite “skyscraper” stand. “Gotham” may still have it beat in page numbers (over 1400 pages) but the New York Books is much heavier, weighing in at 25 pounds. The book is hand-bound in Italian silk and has 33 chapters on all aspects of the city, including history, architecture, design, art & fashion, to music, film, dance and sport. The book includes essays by some of the great writers such as Tom Wolfe, Gay Talese, John Updike and many more as well as photography from some of the most famous lenspeople to chronicle the city such as Annie Leibovitz, Alfred Stieglitz, Diane Arbus, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Patrick Demarchelier and David Bailey. The Lenape Edition, named after the first Native American tribe to inhabit New York State, is an edition of 850 units and includes a print by Sam Goldstein from the Corbus Archive. It sells for $2,500.
 
You will never, ever be as cool as Steve McQueen, but if you’ve got $2 million lying around, you can buy the Porsche he drove in one of the most exciting endurance races in history.
The 908/2 he raced at Sebring and drove in the classic 1971 movie Le Mans goes on the block later this summer, and the early word is bidding could hit $2 million. Pretty cheap, considering the car is a pop cultural and motorsports touchstone with a storied history.
McQueen, who starred in such films as Bullitt, The Great Escape and The Thomas Crowne Affair, was no dilettante. He knew how to push a car — or a motorcycle — hard, and the 908/2 is no exception.
The car raced in the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1970, where McQueen finished second behind some guy named Mario Andretti in what many racing fanatics consider one of the best endurance races ever.
As the story goes, McQueen bought the car specifically for the race and recruited Formula 1 driver Peter Revson as his co-driver. As privateers going up against the Ferrari, Ford and Porsche factory juggernauts, no one thought they had a chance. But with the end of the race in sight, they held the lead. The Ferrari guys were not pleased and the word came down to Andretti — win at all costs. He flogged his vastly more powerful cavallino rampante for all it was worth but didn’t manage to get around McQueen until the second to last lap.
It was an amazing finish, given McQueen’s left foot — you know, the one used to push the clutch pedal — was in a cast and he was competing against towering figures like Dan Gurney and Jacky “Mr. Le Mans” Ickx. Later that year, McQueen raced the car at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with two cameras mounted to it; the footage appeared in the documentary style movie Le Mans.
The 908/2 has a 3.0-liter eight-cylinder boxer motor that produces about 350 horsepower. That may not seem like much, but the car weighs about 1,400 pounds and had a top speed of about 200 mph.
Everything McQueen, who died of cancer in 1980, ever rode or drove has commanded premium prices. His 1963 Ferrari Lusso sold for $2.31 million last year in an auction that drew 800 people, and we figure the Porsche will generate as much interest when Bonhams & Butterfields auctions it during Monterey auto week that culminates with the Pebble Beach Concours.
Thanks Wired
 
As far as mini, portable speakers go, from a technical standpoint alone this MyTunes MP3 Amp may not boast an especially impressive range of features but what it lacks in terms of specification it more than makes up for in terms of exquisite (some would say kitsch) styling.
Powered either by 3xAAA batteries or via a USB connection – the MP3 Amp can also be used as a computer speaker – this mono speaker, in sporting a standard audio in socket, can be hooked up to just about any device that comes with an earphone socket, from MP3 players to portable radios, cell phones to handheld consoles, though its hardly going to blow you away in offering a mere 5w output.
That said, the MP3 Amp does have working treble and bass dials which the product site rightly states is ‘an element lacking in a lot of mp3 speakers currently on the market’ and the detailing is exquisite with the front grill, corner protectors all present and correct. All this for just $ 30
At home you can use your Tivo remote to fast forward through boring or annoying commercials, but if you happened to be walking through Columbus Circle in New York last week, you wouldn’t have been so lucky. A few Segways that had been retrofitted with large, vertically mounted plasma displays were being used to show advertisements for the new J.J. Abrams series, Fringe. The writers at Chip Chick managed to snap a few shots of the Segways which featured special mounts for the plasma display, a portable DVD player and a couple of large batteries to keep all the added electronics running. There’s no word on whether or not a-32 inch flat screen display will become an official option for the Segway, but I’m sure it would be a popular accessory.
Enough of digital coffee tables! Here is something truly different and unique. With retro futuristic Jetsonesque styling, the Spekti coffee table comes equipped with optics, mechanism, and transmitters. The lower body of the coffee table rotates 360-degrees to see everything while the walnut top stays in the same position. Designed by Brent White, Spekti’s overt reference to surveillance expresses awareness. Naturally, Spekti has a tendency towards paranoia. The incessant and ubiquitous blinking red light fades only if you could get to the off switch. I am all impressed with the make of the Spekti and the thing that appeals to me the most is its 360-degrees rotating mechanism.
 
After the Powerdesk range, i-desk with Built-in PC, MILK desk, and the recently seen Sync Desktop, we are pleased to introduce you to another aesthetically pleasing computer desk. The XYZ Computer Desk gives a tough fight to all other gorgeous PC tables with built-in PC and computer peripherals present in the market when it comes to the form factor. The XYZ Computer Desk, as they say, has been designed as beautiful as a Mac, but is easily upgradeable like a PC. All computer components and cable management is contained within the thickness of the desk, and when upgrading is required, the desk lid simply flips open. The CDRW/DVD, USB and Hot Keys are located on the side of the desk. It looks to be a concept for the moment, but it would surely turn more than a few heads if it goes into production.
From the 50 coats high gloss paint to the 5000 seat auditoriums they occupy, there’s nothing intimate or understated about a grand piano. A concerto on a keyboard or upright however will earn you little respect. At the recent Milan design week, designer Yves Plattard and Yamaha showcased a unique concept called “key between you†that aimed to create a more intimate environment for performances by bringing the musician and the audience together.