It looks like the creative types in Dubai have taken a break from building islands long enough to invent a car that takes horsepower to a whole new level. The Naturmobil, invented by Abdolhadi Mirhejazi, uses a treadmill which both propels the vehicle and charges a battery while the horse walks. When the animal gets tired, the car can then be driven off the accumulated battery power. There's apparently also enough extra left to then run a pair of LCD screens.

"Bearing in mind the originality and uniqueness of the idea, Naturmobil was designed and built to achieve the maximum level of attention from its audiences," said F. Minooeifar, Mirhejazi's marketing manager.

That's right--the horse-car inventor has a marketing manager. The biggest problem I have with the the Naturmobil is its greenhouse-like enclosure, which would tend to get pretty hot for the animal, especially in Dubai, or even California, where the inventor plans to exhibit his masterpiece in June.

For more pictures of the contraption, head over to Geekologie.

As the gaming world eagerly awaits the latest entry into the mega-popular and highly controversial Grand Theft Auto series, The New York Times has taken a step back in time with a trip to Melrose Park, Ill, where Stern Pinball continues to operate a 40,000-foot pinball warehouse--the last of its kind.

It's a bittersweet piece about the death rattle of an industry, featuring quotes that can't help but make you feel for those profiled, such as, "There are a lot of things I look at and scratch my head. Why are people playing games on their cellphones while they write e-mail? I don't get it." That one's from Tim Arnold, a former arcade owner, who adds, "The thing that's killing pinball is not that people don't like it. It's that there's nowhere to play it." But the factory's owner, Gary Stern, who inherited the family business from his father Samuel, posits that despite its tough times, pinball isn't going anywhere.

If the original $349 price tag for Wow Wee Robotics's eerie Alive Elvis animatronic head scared you off, we have good news. Now you can get the singing, blinking, sneering, luxurious head-of-hair and leatherette jacket-wearing "The King" keepsake for just $99. The deal is only good through WowWee's online store.

We had a couple of Elvis Alive heads in here (see my unboxing extravaganza) and can confirm they're life like (in the way that Joan River's face is still lifelike) and do offer lip-synching accompaniment to original Elvis Presley song recordings, thanks to an agreement with the Presley Estate. The robot, which offers a couple of IR sensors for minimal interaction, is big, heavy and is really no Milli Vanilli when it comes to accurate lip synching. At nearly $400, we wrote it off as a too expensive and scary oddity that only die hard fans with weekly passes to Graceland could love.

At $99, all that hair and perfectly chiseled features, plus offering the option of kareoking with The King (thanks to an included microphone remote and the ability to turn the voice but not music, off) seems somewhat more attractive.

So tell us, would you pay almost ten sawbucks for the chance to have plastic and rubber sneer at you, "Thankyouverymuch."?

If you're still not sure, I present WowWee's own Top 10 Elvis Alive Uses, after the jump.

I have a new favorite gadget, for the moment. My coworkers, on the other hand, are not so fond of the thing. As a general rule, I like things that make noise--and once I get one, I can't stop playing with it until a shiny new gadget displaces it in my heart. Just one of the many charming qualities I share with your average five-year-old.

Yesterday I put down the Infinite Bubble Wrap for the first time in a week, thanks to the fine importers at Firebox who sent along a package containing, among other things, British company Re: creation's Stylophone.

Etch-A-Sketch, the most analog and ephemeral of drawing toys from Ohio Art, could have a new life on your TV. QVC and other online outlets are selling the new Etch-A-Sketch Wired Electronic Drawing Game. You simply plug it into your TV's composite video port (and one of the TV's RC stereo sound ports) and then use the thumb pads to control the drawing cursor (much as you would twist the old Etch-A-Sketch knobs back and forth). The $22 device, which also includes games, sound effects and the ability to animate your art, looks like incredibly good fun. On the other hand (or hands), I think those thumb pads are cheating. Rocking your thumbs this way and that to control the direction of the line drawing cursor, I'm sure, isn't easy, but having to twist the two knobs in the correct direction and synchronization on the original device is, to be honest, an art.

Okay, I know I sound a little crazy here, but I fancy myself something of an Etch-A-Sketch artist. I've been using the unique drawing toy for decades and have finally figured out how to draw faces on the darn thing (an of example is inserted here). Now, everyone who buys the wired version will run around saying that they, too can really "draw" on an Etch-A-Sketch. From my cramped, knob-turning fingers to all of you, I say, hogwash!

It's Tuesday morning after a long weekend, the heat in our building has been cranked up to rival the temperature in an assisted living facility, and I have not yet had any caffeine. What to do? I'm staring at photos of cupcakes made to look like our favorite 80's video games, of course.

An Australian student know on Flickr as "hello naomi" has baked up some impressive cupcakes topped with sugary renderings of characters from Super Mario Bros and Pac-Man. Naomi was not too impressed with her Princess Peach efforts ("she's a little chubby"), but she is actually my favorite, along with the Pac-Man ghosts.

Sometimes I miss the eighties: big hair, Cyndi Lauper, Rainbow Brite, Jem...That's why I'm thankful for the MIXA Tape: a USB cassette tape that brings me back to those cheesy times. Oh yeah, and it lets me store up to 1 GB of data. What's neat about the MIXA Tape is that each one is customizable. Choose a black or white cassette tape; design the sleeve by uploading photos from your computer, Flickr, or use the pre-made ones; give it a name; make the label; and buy it for £19.99 ($40 USD)! Now that's truly outrageous!

[via Everything USB]

Back in March, I wrote a top-ten list on retro tech that featured the 45 iPod Case from Contexture Design made out of old vinyl 45's. Well, the company is back with the 45 Nano, crafted from cassette tapes! One side of the cassette case is completely hollowed out, shielded by a clear plastic window to access your nano's click wheel, headphone jack, and charging dock. Each case fits the 1st and 2nd gen nanos and features foam padding inside for extra protection.

Contexture is currently in the process of making similar cases for the iPod nano 3rd generation. Each 45 Nano sells for $45 plus $4 shipping worldwide. But hurry, because these retro cases are limited editions!

A couple of weekends ago, I was at my mom's house cleaning out my junk when I came across my old cassette tape collection. I snagged a couple, like Paula Abdul's "Spellbound" and Michael Jackson's "Dangerous", so that I can convert them into MP3s later (hey, they were really popular albums at one time!).

Then, Thrillist pointed me to the Cassette MP3 Player ($21.63) from Chinavasion.com, and I thought to myself, how ironic would it be to listen to MP3s from my cassettes on a cassette MP3 player?!? The device is an MP3 Player built into a standard cassette casing, which you can use as a standalone MP3 player or with any vehicle cassette player to play MP3s. It also features a built-in SD card slot in order to listen to your favorite tunes up to 2GB. (There isn't any built-in memory.) Now I can really go back in time without actually having to go back in time.

Ever doodled a computer with arms and legs? Designer Dean Bradley most likely has, with the looks of this wacky toy. Mainframe, created in 2002, consists of a monitor for a head, a CPU as the torso, a keyboard for one hand, and wires and cables holding it together. Mainframe is said to symbolize our "delicate relationship with technology," and actually began as a series of paintings before it was designed as a figurine.

The limited edition 10-inches tall Mainframe figures are available in three colors: Solid Orange (400 pieces), "Duck Season" Camouflage (500 pieces) and Hi-Gloss White (200 pieces). It will be released in October 2007 for $54.99 at finer retailers.

PodBrix is back with another custom minifig product: the Young Woz and Jobs Playset. It's a 300 unit limited edition LEGO playset created by Tomi with a "young version of Jobs and Woz immortalized in minifig form." The playset features a desk with custom-made computer, circuit board based project, and a 2001 style calendar marking a "fateful date."

It's set to go on sale on August 29th at 9pm EST for $39.99, so make sure you save the date!

In the past, we've told you about various ways you can make floppy disks useful, such as turning them into a floppy notebook, floppy brush, and floppy necklace.

At Etsy.com, seller GeekGear has created the Floppy Disk Pen and Pencil Holder. It's made out of five red 3 1/2 floppy diskettes to store your pens and pencils. And it's only $4.99 plus shipping! If red's not your color, there's also one in yellow.

GeekGear also sells recycled Circuit Board Desk Clocks ($24.99), Ctrl-Alt-Del Computer Keyboard Keychains ($2.99), and Computer Cat Wall Clocks ($24.99).

One of the biggest parts of geekdom is embracing your general nerdiness and taking a second to announce proudly, "Yes, I am a geek, and I'm not ashamed to admit it." But, people might look at you funny if you walked around the street announcing that to people you passed. You need to make a statement in another, more subtle way perhaps. Enter geek jewelry--little bobbles that positively scream "Geek!" to anyone who's paying the slightest bit of attention.

I know what you're thinking, guys: "That jewelry stuff is for girls." Not true. Yes, some things like smiley-faced emoticon necklaces are a tad on the girlie side, but there is a fair amount of male-centered tech bling out there (several are in this roundup alone).

FUN-ctional Computer Key Rings
Brass knuckles may not come in handy too often for someone who's computer-bound for a dozen or so hours a day. But think how badass you would look sporting a fistful of Ctrl+Alt+Del whoopass the next time the blue screen of death rears its ugly head. These spring-loaded rings feel like real keys, and are available for $89 each in one of five varieties: control, alt, delete, escape, and f**k it.

Cell Phone Earrings
Cell phones have gotten pretty tiny--that's for sure. The days of the brick-sized Zack Morris handset are far, far behind us. Granted, phones aren't quite as small as a pendant or ring, but a girl can dream, can't she? These .925 sterling silver earrings can be flipped open or closed and will lock in position to create a matching or mix-and-match pair. Microscope, diskette, and calculator versions are also available for $45 a pair.

Think of the vending machine money you'll save with the USB Mini Fridge; just stash a 12-pack under your desk, and every time you need your cola fix just pop a can in and have a cool pop in minutes.

The miniature retro Coca-Cola style vending machine shaped fridge cools one can at a time to 8.5 degrees Celsius (that's about 47 Fahrenheit to us Yanks). And, if what manufacturer Brando says is true, it'll reach that temp within 5 minutes.

Once the novelty of buying a $33 mini mini fridge wears off, though, will you come out on top? Well, if we say a 12-pack of Pepsi (sorry, Coke fans) runs $3.50, and individual cans from the machine are $0.75 (coming out to $9 for 12), how long will it take you to break even?

Okay, I think I forgot how to do that math post-high school. Or maybe it's just Monday and I need my caffeine fix. Off to the vending machine...

[Via Gizmodo]

Post by Corinne Iozizo