Doug Aamoth…

A patent just came across the tubes a moment ago for a treadmill with “a simulated cobblestone running surface,” the idea supposedly being that running on a flat, smooth treadmill belt doesn’t simulate the harsh old-timey cobblestone streets of Anytown, USA.

Here’s the patent’s abstract:

“An endless belt for a common exercise treadmill is made of a rubber like material having interwoven a fabric of fine steel mesh or nylon fabric leaving a smooth finish at upper and lower extremity over entire length and width thereof. An array of through holes penetrating said endless belt across the entire width and length thereof is to provide for fastening elements to be capable to affix prefabricated objects the like of simulated cobblestones of various size and configuration to the upper extremity of said endless belt and to be in contiguous fashion with lower extremity of simulated cobble stone.”

The diagram shows a LOT of cobblestones, which would each be held in place by little metal pins. It almost looks like a cab driver’s seat cover.

For all you serious runners out there, would something like this be beneficial in the winter months when you can’t or don’t want to run outside?

Exercise treadmill having a simulated cobblestone running surface [freepatentsonline]

A man near Columbus, Ohio got charged with drunk driving after he crashed a lawnmower with a bar stool attached to it. Kyle Wygle told police officers that he drank 15 beers and that his motorized bar stool had a top speed of 38 miles per hour. He was taken to a nearby hospital for minor injuries and has pleaded not guilty to the charge of driving while intoxicated.

A few observations, if I may…

1. That is a cool looking vehicle.
2. The fact that he drove that thing to a bar is probably why he drank 15 beers. I bet he didn’t pay for a single one. Wouldn’t you buy a beer for the guy that rolled in on a motorized bar stool?
3. It needs snow tires for the winter.

[via TMZ.com/AP]

New Ericsson-brand mobile 3G data modules apparently have something called a “kill pill” that’s capable of disabling a computer remotely in the instance that a customer doesn’t pay his or her bill or cancels a credit card used to pay monthly charges.

These chipsets will be found in netbooks subsidized by AT&T, although the AP seems to think that the wireless giant wouldn’t actually remotely disable anyone’s computer as a result of non-payment.

I, however, wouldn’t put anything past any wireless company. AT&T charges $500 per gigabyte of data used past the 5GB monthly cap, so what’s to say they wouldn’t zap your netbook when you forget (or refuse) to pay?

A more consumer-friendly feature of the technology is the ability to remotely disable your computer if it’s lost or stolen. The Ericcson chipset can also continue working while your computer is shut down, enabling your netbook or notebook to receive important e-mails or incoming VOIP calls without staying on all day.

[via [H]Enthusiast]

German-language site NewGadgets.de got a hands-on with a preproduction X-Slim X340 from MSI (see our previous coverage here) and, although I don’t understand more than a few words of German, the video leaves some of the following impressions:

• Big touchpad, nice build quality, big keyboard
• Computer looks pretty light for a 13.4-inch machine – it’s supposedly about 3 pounds
• Wide, flat battery ought to distribute weight pretty well
• Windows Vista boots in about 45 seconds

We know that the X340 is supposed to be available in April and will apparently come in two configurations: one with an Intel Celeron M 725 processor for around $750 and one with a Core 2 Solo SU3500 CPU for closer to $1000. Other than that, we’ll have to play the waiting game.

[NewGadgets.de via SlashGear]

Now here’s a portable emulator system that actually looks nice and has an old-school four way gamepad. Chinavasion’s Multi Platform Portable Gaming Entertainment Station “is often lovingly called the Delightfully Small (DS) gaming entertainment system,” according to the product page. While it doesn’t look quite like a traditional DS, it borrows a lot of the same styling cues from one of Nintendo’s other portables, the Game Boy Micro.

The similarities are only skin deep, though, as this device plays ROMs from the following systems: NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, Game Boy Advance, Neo-Geo, and certain Capcom arcade systems. There’s also 4GB of internal memory expandable via mini-SD, a 2.8-inch 320×240 screen, and media playback of various audio and video files.

The device costs $87.31 plus $14.31 for shipping from China.

Multi Platform Portable Gaming Entertainment Station [Chinavasion]

If you refuse to take up real instruments but insist on showing your love for Guitar Hero or Rock Band AND you have to wear a nice suit or a tuxedo more than two or three times each year, might I suggest these $50 Guitar Video Game Cufflinks?

It’s odd to think about people who get really, really good at Guitar Hero or Rock Band. Why not just learn to play a real guitar? One night I spent a couple hours learning the expert-level solo to Weezer’s Say It Ain’t So on Rock Band and when I had mastered it, I thought, “For cracked ice, I know how to play a real guitar. I could have spent those two hours learning the actual solo.” And then I wondered why someone my age would ever say “for cracked ice”.

Here’s the product description of the cufflinks:

Inspired by the best selling guitar video game, Guitar Hero. The replica strat cufflinks are detailed down to the colored buttons. A perfect companion for the weekend axe slinger.

So keep that in mind; only wear these if you play guitar on the weekends. These aren’t meant for full time, real-life musicians.

Guitar Video Game Cufflinks [Cufflinks.com]

Not that ANY of you would ever sell your console without deleting all your personal files and credit card information off of it first but just in case, here’s a reminder why you should do just that. Apparently a refurbishment center bought up a bunch of Circuit City’s pre-owned consoles that were to be “in working condition, and with maybe a few components missing.”

The rest, according to Kotaku, who received the information from someone who worked at this particular refurbishment center:

Instead, not only does he allege that the majority of consoles [were] broken (217 of 227 Xbox 360s were “non-functioning”, and 167 of 205 PS3s), but, more importantly, that a “large quantity” of them came with something extra: sensitive personal information.

Friends lists. Photos. Videos. Sexy home videos. Arcade games. Credit card details.

The facility discovered this while repairing the damaged consoles. They’d fix them, turn them on, test their network connectivity, then suddenly start receiving friend requests, chat requests, game invites, etc. What’s more, with the user details still recorded on the system, they could have easily purchased game content on an unsuspecting former owner’s credit card.

It’s very possible that whoever was responsible for wiping the data from these consoles at Circuit City before they were sold to this other place was either let go or didn’t care to do any actual work. Either way, it’s probably best to clear all that stuff out yourself.

Ex-Circuit City Pre-Owned Consoles Include Credit Card Details, Home Porn [Kotaku]

Amazon has a one-day deal on Wii Music, the game that “lets you play musical instruments and make music using the Wii Remote and the Wii Balance Board.” You can play any of 60 instruments and, if the above photo is to be believed, all the middle-aged suburbanites will come out of the woodwork and gather in your living room.

Wii Music normally sells for $50, but it’s listed at $29.98 on Amazon (today only).

Wii Music [Amazon.com]

The Vestalife Butterfly is an $80 iPod dock with no remote control and so-so sound quality. The build quality is okay, but the whole getup looks like it should be hanging over a baby’s crib. If it cost $30 or $40 it’d be a whole different story, but at $80 this one’s truly for butterfly enthusiasts and family members of Vestalife employees only.

Pros:

• Built-in USB port lets you synch your iPod while it’s docked
• Input/output jacks let you use non-iPod players and headphones
• Can run on four AA batteries or AC power

Cons:

• Costs about twice what it should ($80), no remote control
• Sound quality is so-so, unit doesn’t get very loud at all
• Looks and feels like a baby toy

Check out the above video for the full review.

The Butterfly [Vestalife]

Like this video? View more here…

Oops. Apparently all the computers in the US that are rarely, if ever, shut down at night account for almost $3 billion in wasted energy costs and “may emit up to 20 million tons of carbon dioxide.”

According to Scientific American:

“A study released last week puts a finer point on this assertion, reporting that U.S. workers waste $2.8 billion annually in energy costs by failing to shut off their PCs at the end of the work day. What’s more, machines left on during off hours may emit up to 20 million tons of carbon dioxide (C02) this year alone, roughly the equivalent impact of four million cars.”

Apparently about 50% of people leave their computers on overnight for various reasons including forgetting to turn them off, not wanting to wait for them to shut down, and so they can receive software updates. Responses were collected “from 4,743 U.S. computer users over the age of 18, about half of whom were employed.” The study also found that Germany could save $1.2 billion and the UK could save $400 million by turning off their computers.

Me, I’m a standby man myself. I always thought that the boot-up process used more energy than letting the computer sit idle for a while. 

[via The Raw Feed]