Awesome Tech

Generative AI can be used for good or evil. In the case of Adobe Premiere Pro, we’re excited about the potential of its AI tools to improve video editing workflows with the ability to add or remove objects with just a couple of clicks and extend scenes if they don’t fit your timeline. They also are testing integration with models like Sora AI to generate entire scenes.

A faction of the computer graphic Demoscene prides itself on creating visuals with the least code possible. Programmer Alcatraz turned up at the Revision 2024 demo party with this surreal scene – a post-apocalyptic black-and-white city created with just 256 bytes of Gopher code running on DOS. Revision posted some competing 256-byte demos here.

Bluetti’s portable AC240 is a 2400W power pack with an IP65 rating for water and dust resistance. That protection includes its power outlets. Speaking of which, it has three AC sockets, two DC ports, and four USB charging ports. It also acts as a UPS, kicking in within 15ms of a power outage. Multiple units can be connected to store more power.

Logitech’s Pro X 60 may be marketed to competitive gamers, but this 60% keyboard has some genuinely practical features. It has an easy-to-reach volume dial on the side, factory-lubed optical switches, and a battery that lasts up to 65 hours per charge when connected via the 2.4 GHz wireless dongle. It comes with either tactile or linear switches.

In its default mode, LG’s 32GS95UE is a premium OLED gaming monitor. 4K and a 240Hz refresh rate is more than enough for daily use and for most games. But it’s also got you covered if you’re into shooters and other fast-paced games, thanks to its ability to switch to a 1080p 480Hz display at the press of a button. See it in action in Optimum’s video.

Switzerland’s I’m Back teamed up with Yashica to create “the smallest mirrorless camera ever invented.” The ultra-compact digital camera fits in the palm of your hand and offers interchangeable lenses. It packs a 1/2.33 inch Sony IMX117 12-megapixel sensor that can also shoot 4K video, a flip-out 2-inch display, an HDMI output, and a flash hot shoe.

Mangazi Music has an awesome way of showing off his guitar-playing skills: the neck of his electric guitar shows lyrics and animations in sync with his performance. It appears that he uses a green screen and motion tracking to superimpose perfectly timed graphics onto the guitar, and the results are impressive.

This 5.5-foot-tall glass clock from Urwerk and Nixie expert Dalibor Farny contains eight large Nixie tubes and a total of 1445 parts. In addition to displaying the time and date, it can show how many kilometers the Earth has revolved around the Sun on a given day or year-to-date. Just 33 clocks will be produced, with a retail price of 55,000 CHF (~ USD 60,700).

The A1 Thanos from FroggysFogFluid and TopCat is a portable fog machine built to look like a blaster gun. The high-output fogger uses theatrical fog fluid and runs on rechargeable batteries. It looks fantastic with that LED lighting, though at 31 pounds, it’s not the easiest thing to carry around on stage.

Don’t just leave your good headphones lying on your desk. Put them in a place of honor with this handcrafted headphone stand from Oakywood. It features a faceted geometric wood base and a sturdy painted steel holder. Plus, its base has a built-in wireless phone charger with 15-watt fast charging. Choose from oak, walnut, or black-stained oak.

This might look like abstract art, but it’s based entirely on data from Wikipedia. Developer adumb wrote code to graph the relationships between content on the crowdsourced encyclopedia. The image maps over 6.3 million Wikipedia articles and 195 million links between them. adumb explains some interesting things he observed along the way.

Customizing is the point of modern mechanical keyboards. But Wired In’s Protagonist takes it to a different level. This 60% keyboard has a swappable hybrid faceplate and case top called a keyframe. Not only does the keyframe come in a ton of colors and material options, it also comes in Winkey, Winkeyless and HHKB layouts.

This versatile laptop sleeve transforms into a desktop work pad once you pull out your computer. Its smooth synthetic leather surface makes a great mouse pad, while its side flap has dual wireless charging pads – one for a phone and one for AirPods. It comes in black or dove grey in 13-14″ or 15-16″ sizes.

Samsung made a little brother for the Frame TV. Behind the Music Frame’s 8″ x 10″ photo holder is a surprisingly punchy Dolby Atmos speaker. It has two tweeters, two mid-range drivers, and two subwoofers. It can stream music from most services including Spotify and Chromecast, as well as via Bluetooth.

There are plenty of headphones tuned for pop and dance music, but Heavys H1H wireless headphones are engineered for listening to heavy metal and rock music. Their big cans pack eight drivers for exceptional frequency response and “Hell Blocker” active noise cancellation. Dress them up with artist shells to celebrate your favorite musicians.

Artist Herschel Shapiro makes amazing geometric wall art. He starts by 3D printing petal-like shapes from sustainably sourced bioplastic, then sands and paints each piece to produce color gradients before attaching them. The sculptures are available for purchase on the artist’s Etsy shop in various patterns and colors. His limited-edition Maelstrom is our fave.

This LED accent lamp features color-changing facets you control with your phone. The GLORB is 9.8″ across, or about as big as a basketball, and includes a tabletop stand and a ceiling hook. It’s got a USB-C port, so it can run on a wall charger or a battery pack, can react to music, and can sync multiple units together.

This cool, single-purpose device connects to your phone and displays album art. Instead of a standard screen, it uses a grid of 4096 individual RGB LEDs to create artful, pixelated images. It works with iOS and Android devices and is compatible with Spotify, Apple Music, Sonos, and last.fm.

8BitDo’s latest retro computer keyboard is inspired by the Commodore 64. The 87-key mechanical keyboard is finished in C64 grey with rainbow graphics. It offers Bluetooth, 2.4GHz, and USB wired connections and comes with a joystick and jumbo-sized buttons. Compatible with Windows and Android. Pre-orders start shipping on 5.28.24.

E-paper, or E-ink displays, use tiny color-changing capsules to display high-contrast, daylight-readable images with a minimum of electricity. David Zhang shows off a neat use for an E-paper screen—an always-on desktop display with widgets for the time, date, weather, and device status of his computer. It’s not for sale, but David did share source code.

If building a gaming PC is out of your budget at the moment, manifest that machine with this neat kit from LEGO knockoff brand Pantasy. The kit has a surprising amount of detail and distinct parts, including a motherboard, GPU, and storage drives. It even has an RGB light. Pantasy also has equally impressive 90s PC and 80s PC kits.

This electromechanical plaything from Nikola Toy automatically steadies itself and balances on its point. Its curved Reuleaux triangle shape allows it to teeter while sensors, circuitry, and a spinning wheel help hold its position. It also has built-in RGB LED lighting.

Don’t be fooled by the LG Cinebeam Q’s throwback design. It’s packed with features that allow you to enjoy a 4K 120″ screen anywhere. One of the smallest 4K laser projectors in the market, it has a 360° handle that doubles as a stand and a lightning fast automatic screen adjustment. It runs LG’s webOS smart TV platform, and supports AirPlay 2 and Miracast.