Awesome Tech

If you’re even a halfway decent golfer, a rangefinder is an essential tool to boost performance. The Cobalt Q6 Slope Rangefinder calculates distance and slope like a tech-whiz caddy. It has premium optics, an integrated display, an adjustable diopter, and a waterproof aluminum housing to prevent water hazard disasters.

At first glance, the Capsule Gravity just looks like a travel alarm clock. But it’s more than that. This portable gadget combines a clock, calendar, kitchen timer, workout timer, stopwatch, and an emergency 5000 mAh power bank. Its dot-matrix LED screen has a cool retro look and is set into a colorful polycarbonate body.

The Syng Cell Alpha is a high-end wireless speaker with upward- and downward-firing woofers and a three-element beamforming driver array to produce spatial sound. Built-in microphones calibrate the speaker to your room, and multiple Cell Alphas can be networked for surround sound. It comes in table- and floor-standing versions.

Techmoan looks back at a popular toy sold from the 1960s to the 1980s. Made by General Electric, and later by Gabriel Toys, the Show ‘N Tell combined a record player with a filmstrip projector. As kids played the “PictureSound” records, the film strip moved through the light path, casting images onto a rear-projection screen.

This made-to-order controller from Return to Paradise adds five linear slider controls to your Windows or Linux PC (sorry, no Mac support). It can be used to map volume controls and faders in DJ and gaming software via a USB connection. It works right out of the box with the open-source app deej.

Inspired by the story The Library of Babel, the Babel Image Archives has randomly generated every combination of 4096-color dots that can fit into a 640 x 416-pixel canvas. In theory, that should mean the archive should contain an image of everything that ever has, will, or might exist. Solar Sands explains why it doesn’t.

Measuring just 0.22″ thick and weighing just 2 pounds, this portable 14″ widescreen monitor adds an external 4K display to your PC, Mac, or mobile device. It offers 100% sRGB color coverage, a 178º viewing angle, and HDR support. It also offers multi-finger touch inputs and works in both landscape and portrait modes.

This ultrawide display sits between your desktop computer’s keyboard and primary screen, adding real estate for enhanced productivity. It’s great for displaying news, tickers, clocks, widgets, tool palettes, and anything else you don’t want cluttering your main screen. It also works in portrait mode, and comes in 14.1″ and 8.8″ sizes.

There’s no escape; I can’t wait. The exceptional electromechanical Device Orchestra is back to perform another pop music hit. This time, the band of electric toothbrushes, credit card terminals, and typewriters were joined by an Epilator hair remover which added a spinny new sound to the Britney Spears track Toxic.

LEGO enthusiast Brick Technology is back with another cool LEGO vehicle video. This time, they created a series of remote-controlled mechanisms that move inside clear plastic spheres, allowing them to roll around like BB-8 or a Sphero robot. They then put the designs to the test to see which was most agile, fast, and powerful.

Musician Demin Vladimir created this electromechanical rig plays an acoustic guitar. It has one set of actuators that hold the frets while others strum the strings. It’s not the most expressive instrument, but neither were vintage player pianos, and we still love those. He’s also built an accordion that plays the notes itself.

We’ve seen how powerful lasers can be used to remove dirt and grime from surfaces. Flare Fabrication shows us how a tightly-focused laser can clean years of tarnish off of copper penny, and programmed the beam to perform the task with style. Watch the laser clean and embellish a dime here.

Audiophiles and tech junkies generally prefer component systems. We love the look of this equipment rack from Silver Beard Lamp Co. It’s handmade from thick threaded rods, bolts, and blackboard – birch laminated plywood with a layered pine core. It comes in 4- and 5-tier heights and sizes from 22″ x 12″ to 30″ x 22″.

This gadget plugs into the bottom of your iPhone or iPad’s lightning port to capture thermal images. It’s designed primarily for construction and inspection tasks but could also be used for science experiments. Its 10800-pixel sensor is accurate to 0.1ºF and can measure temperatures from -40ºF to 752ºF (-20ºC to 400ºC).

The smallest of JBL’s Partybox speakers still kicks out some impressive volume. It offers 100 watts of amplification, excellent sound quality, and thumping bass. Its built-in LED RGB lighting syncs up with the beat of your music, and you can connect two for stereo sound. It runs for 6 hours per charge and is IPX4 splashproof.

This 1″ thick laser projector outputs sharp and bright 1080p HD video up to 120″ diagonal. It has intelligent screen alignment, autofocus, and keystone correction for easy setup and has a built-in 15º kickstand. It can run on AC power indefinitely or up to 1.5 hours on its internal rechargeable battery.

If you’ve ever wondered how they get all those little ink dots into dice, this video shows one of the more modern methods. This special printer uses a camera to detect which side of each die is beneath it, then deposits tiny droplets of ink into each pip. Here’s another machine that doesn’t care what angle the dice are at.

Since landing in 2021, NASA’s Mars Perseverence Rover has sent back fascinating images and data from the red planet. Jared Owen offers up an in-depth look at how the rover was launched, the scientific equipment it carries, and how it was engineered to survive the journey and the harsh conditions on Mars.

This bentwood lap table combines a laptop stand and a snack tray so you can work and relax from the comfort of your couch. Its snack level has bins for multiple munchies, while its laptop level has a ventilated surface, and a modular mouse pad, a phone holder, and a self-balancing cupholder that prevents spills.

JBV Creative has been playing with designs for a vortex cannon that fires a puff of smoke and a blast of air to create smoke rings. He’s refined his creation into this handheld unit with a mechanical iris to adjust the size of its smoke rings and an LED ring light to illuminate them.

Be kind and rewind to the 1980s with MoonLambo’s graphic hoodie, inspired by VHS cassette box art. Its made from a soft and cozy mix of polyester, cotton, and elastane for stretch, and is dye-sublimated to keep its looks from fading – unlike that Lethal Weapon tape you rented from Blockbuster that’s been played 1000 times.

Build your graphic design skills with this series of four online courses from the International Open Academy. You’ll learn how to create print publications with Adobe InDesign, curate and refine photos with Adobe Lightroom, create art with Adobe Illustrator, and put it all together with a Graphic Design Business Basics course.

These days, most content is streamed. But there was a time when videotapes were the media of choice. Mental Floss takes a trip in the wayback machine to tell the story of VCRs, the epic war between Betamax and VHS, and how the technologies changed everything for visual entertainment.