MULTIPLE SHIRT POCKETS STASH GADGETS

SeV Button Down Shirt: $80

The early 90s called and left a message: Please return the fanny pack, and the phone holster. There's a much cooler way to carry around the gear that would otherwise help you look hip. And ironically, it's whatlooks like a normal cotton shirt. But this wrinkle-resistant, tech-enabled SeV Button Down Shirt is anything but "button-down."

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It's not only got several handy hidden pockets, but also literally pockets within pockets. For instance, inside the magnetically sealing external chest pocket, it's got separate compartments sized for a pen (so it doesn'tdorkily stick out) and a smart phone. A little pocket hidden towards the bottom of the shirt in front makes a great money cache. And two stealth under-arm pockets are perfect hideaways for sunglasses, cameras, phones or music players. Best of all, they're connected to your Personal Area Network, meaning you're wired for sound and ready to jam wherever you and your classic-looking, gadget toting shirt may be.

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First Self-Pressurizing Bicycle Tire: PumpTire

Imagine a bike tire which never needs pumping up – a tire that can change its pressure on the fly! That’s the big idea behind PumpTire.

A semi-finalist in the MIT $100K Business Plan Competition, PumpTire aims to commercialize the production of this new bike technology and keep those wheels spinning, regardless of whether or not you brought your pump with you.

“The self-inflating, self-adjusting technology is incorporated directly into the tire and is compatible with current rims, making it a simple addition to any bicycle.”

According to PumpTire, the company will be seeking funding through Kickstarter this month, so if you’re a cyclist who sees the utility of a self-pressurizing tire, you might want to kick in a few bucks toward it when they do. Until then, check out the PumpTire website and Facebook page, or follow along with them onTwitter.

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Are New MacBook Pros on the Horizon?

Image: Apple

Did you hear that?

That’s the sound of yet another Apple rumor.

Apple might be highly secretive, but that doesn’t stop everyone else from chatting. AppleInsider reported Tuesday the company is preparing a refresh of the MacBook Pro line ahead of the holiday shopping season. The motivation for this unexpected surprise comes from Intel, which decided its next-gen Core i-Series mobile platform will debut the second quarter of 2012.

What will the refresh entail? Just “marginal speed bumps” to the computers’ processors, according to AppleInsider. Other than that, don’t expect any material changes. The timing might be soon too. Apple’s back-to-school promotion ends Sept. 20, and sources say the refresh might come shortly after, before the end of the month.

While the refresh is unexpected, the reason “is likely geared towards assuring the Mac maker’s top-selling notebook family remains competitive in the market until Intel releases its next-generation Ivy Bridge platform at some point in 2012,” AppleInsider reported. Ivy Bridge, which is expected to be 60 percent faster with its integrated graphics, was originally expected to be released in late 2011, but leaked documents suggest it is now slated in the first half of 2012.

A week ago, Intel refreshed its Sandy Bridge processors, lowering the costs on some chips, phasing out a few others and adding four new Core i7 chips suitable for the MacBook Pro. Apple last updated the MacBook Pro limeup in February with dual-core Sandy Bridge Core i5 and i7 chips, with speeds up to 2.3 gigahertz.

If Apple does indeed introduce new MacBook Pros and iPhones this fall, it’ll make shopping that much more tempting.

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Boost Your WiFi Signal Using Only a Beer Can

Images Courtesy of The Chive

I love a good hack, especially one that requires me to throw back a cold one before hand (or during). Thissimple wifi boost has actually been shown to increase signal strength by at least 2 to 4 bars. And, well, I will drink to that.

These instructions came to us via The Chive and we think they are most definitely worth checking out. But here is the most important question: what kind of beer will you use?

For this project you are going to need scissors, a utility knife, some adhesive putty and an empty beer can. More than one empty beer can is acceptable but don’t kid yourself, the router only needs the one.

The first step is to wash out your empty beer can, unless of course said beer is a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon. If it is PBR, promptly go drink a better beer. You really should be ashamed of yourself.

Once the can has dried, you will want to remove it’s pull tab.

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Only perform this next step if you have not been drinking. Using the utility knife, saw off the bottom of the can. Chances are your can will not have a red dotted line. If you see one, put down the knife…you’ve had too much beer.

You’ll notice in the above step that the can’s pull tab has returned. Clearly, there are only two possible reasons for this. One, you are really drunk and you never removed the tab in the first place. Or–the more likely answer–beer cans can regenerate themselves.

It’s the home stretch! You just need to attach your modded beer can to the wifi router. Hopefully no other parts of the can have actually grown back. You now have beer-fi!

So, what kind of beer did you use?

Follow me @jerryjamesstone or friend me onFacebook.

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Top 6 Innovations in Solar Power

Our energy systems are in need of a serious tuneup, for a number of reasons. Using predominantly petroleum (and other fossil fuel) products for energy production has a couple of major drawbacks, including limited supplies, the release of greenhouse gases and other pollutants during use, and for most countries, the dependence on foreign oil and coal supplies (and the inevitable price increases that go along with that).

But the solar power industry has been pushing out innovations right and left, some of which have the potential to make a serious (and positive) impact on our energy systems.

READ MORE: Boost Your WiFi Signal Using Only a Beer Can

Here are 6 of the top solar power innovations:

1. Thin Film Solar

Harvesting solar energy doesn’t have to mean using huge solar panels anymore, thanks to innovations insolar thin film technology. These solar films can be ‘printed’ in rolls, which greatly reduces both the cost and the installation, as well as opening up more opportunities for placement of these solar power producers (such as being integrated into the roofing materials of buildings).

2. Solar Windows

Windows which have been treated with a new electricity generating coating remain see-through, yet have the ability to convert sunshine to energy. The coating of these solar windows produces the world’s smallest functional solar cells, (measure less than ¼ the size of a grain of rice!) and can be applied at room temperature, with no need for specialized production facilities.

3. Solar Balloons

This solar balloon isn’t a hot air balloon powered by the sun — it’s a way to use existing technology to harvest solar power on arrays of silvery balloons. Big plastic balloons concentrate and direct solar energy onto solar cells using readily available (and relatively low-cost) components.

4. Hairy Solar Panels

No, this solar power innovation isn’t in need of a good shave. It’s actually a product of nanotechnology, using light-absorbing nanowires on carbon-nanotube fabric. These nanowires can absorb more energy from the sun than silicon can, which may allow for more efficient energy harvesting (as well as giving us a fun new term, “hairy solar.”

5. Microinverters

One of the pieces of the residential solar power puzzle is the inverter – the device which takes the DC power produced by solar panels and transforms it into AC power (which is what our homes are wired to use). The price of an inverter to handle the power you could produce on your rooftop used to be quite high (as well as being inefficient), but with the advent of microinverters, it’s possible to have just one panel (and one inverter) to start your solar power generating station.

6. Infrared Spectrum Solar Panels

The solar energy harvested by current solar panels comes entirely from the visible spectrum, which leaves quite a bit of the light spectrum untapped. But research into adding new materials (vanadium and titanium)to solar semiconductors could mean that in the future, our solar panels will also be able to capture some of the infrared spectrum and turn it into electricity.

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Ultra Durable Case Turns iPhone into an Action Camera

Image: Action Cases

It would appear that the iPhone would be a great adventure companion. It’s small, always in your pocket and has a fantastic camera. But it’s also so darn fragile.

A Kickstarter project has developed an ultra-durable iPhone case that can be used on any GoPro mount, allowing you to capture amazing footage on your adventures. Just attach it to your helmet, bike, car, body, pet or anything else that moves.

Image: Action Cases

While it seems the Action Case can ride through most adventures with you, note that it’s not impervious to water, TechCrunch warned.

Friendly warning: the Action Case isn’t waterproof, so while you can definitely mount your iPhone on your surfboard, you’re almost certainly going to regret it. Also, the touchscreen is left uncovered (for obvious reasons), so don’t go thinking your phone is suddenly Superman.

Image: Action Cases

Backers who pledge $49 or more will receive the first iPhone 4 Action Case. For those who pledge at least $89, they get the Action case along with the GoPro Chest Harness (see photo below). Funding will go toward the cost of tooling and manufacturing. The hope is to create the highest quality polypropylene plastic with stainless steel pins for the final product.

Image: Action Cases

While this seems like a fun way to chronicle adventures, maybe someone should’ve told the people at Action Cases that the iPhone 4 is about to be passé any day now with the the iPhone 5‘s pending arrival.

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Electree Charges Your Devices with its Solar-Powered Leaves

Image: Vivien Muller

The Japanese tradition of growing artistically shaped trees created the miniature bonsai. French artist Vivien Muller takes the bonsai concept a step further, creating artistically shaped miniature trees with solar-panel leaves to charge your gadgets.

The Electree is a charging station that juices up mobile devices via USB, powered completely by light. It’s up to the user to position the 27 leaves, or solar panels, in an orientation that optimizes efficiency. The panels rotate freely, allowing the user to create an unlimited number of shapes. Energy produced during the day is stored in a 13,500 milliampere-hour-capacity battery hidden in the base. Mullen explains how he borrowed the design from nature.

Image: Vivien Muller

“Nature has selected over millions of years the most efficient structures to capture solar energy,” Mullen, a former partner at design agency metz Atelier Design, said. “The trees shape is thus the best mean to take advantage of the solar energy.”

Image: Vivien Muller

It took Muller three years to take Electree from concept to full-fledged product, with 400 copies on presale until Oct. 15 for €299, or about US$405. He designed the tree to stay indoors, and it is suggested the charging station be placed inside close to a window. The tree measures 40 centimeters tall and also comes with an AC plug.

Do you already feel more relaxed with this bonsai in your office?

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First Photos from the iPhone 4S’ Camera Are Amazingly Sharp

Image: Apple

A collection of photos shot on the iPhone 4S has been added to Apple’s website, showcasing the prowess of the smartphone’s enhanced 8-megapixel camera.

Among the iPhone’s upgrades announced Tuesday is a powerful camera capable of shooting 1080p hi-def videos on a f2.4 lens as well as real-time image stabilization and noise reduction. The new illuminator sensor reportedly gets 73 percent more light than the iPhone 4 and is a third faster as well.

The high-resolution photos on Apple’s website are said to be “unretouched photos,” whatever that means. And certainly from the looks of them, they’re a lot more exciting than that sushi shot that surfaced early September, allegedly the first test shot of the latest iPhone (then inaccurately named by media as the iPhone 5).

Take a look for yourself and be amazed at the abilities of a smartphone camera.

Image: Apple

Image: Apple

Image: Apple

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India Debuts World’s Cheapest Tablet

Image: Reuters

The cheapest tablet on the market? Aakash, a seven-inch Android device the Indian government isgiving 100,000 free copies of to students. After a trial run, the tablet will cost $60 in stores, and $35 for students after government subsidies.

In 2009, the Indian government pledged to bring a cheap laptop to help improve the quality of education. After producing an underwhelming first prototype, the company of two brothers in Canada, Suneet and Raja Tuli, won the tender for the tablet. Their company, London-based DataWind developed the tablet with the Indian Institute of Technology and will provide 100,000 devices initially. At launch, the government already gave out 500 copies to mixed reception, with negative reviews focused largely on the slowness of the product. If the trial run yields success, the next order is a hefty one: 1 million units.

Image: Reuters

When designing the machine, DataWind tested running video for two hours in 48-degree Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit) temperature to mimic a northern Indian summer.

Aakash has two USB ports, a three-hour battery life and supports video conferencing. The tablet runs on 256 megabytes of RAM and a 660-megahertz processor.

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