Welcome to the wonderful world of kickstarters. A relatively slow week with one or two highlights – a HUD for the car, a fricken shark tank and a way to Flip Off your colleagues safely.

Navdy – I was just lamenting at home disappointing it is that we don’t have HUDs in our cars yet. Personally, I think this is a touch too expensive.
iRBeacon – A simple Bluetooth to IR bridge for media remote control. Pretty mundane but if the software is right, it could have a place. At least it is cheap.
Remo – Another simple Bluetooth remote, this time for DSLR cameras. How to make yourself depressed quickly.
Rollybot – A rolling camera and robot looking for a problem to solve.
FlipOff – Piss off and leave me alone! I would likely want to throw it at someone in the office.
Nanoleaf Bloom – Dimable light globe using morse code. This is a very odd concept but it obviously excites people.
CasePlug – An iPhone case with a built in USB cable. Poor guy spent 14 months on this crap.
STACK Box – Yet another home automation hum, but this time with NO industrial design.
4SeTV – Watch four TV channels at once. For sport and finance nuts.
Pet Shark – Yep, it’s a fricken pet shark! But without lasers 😦
CandyCam – High end aerial camera rig
Hoverbike – Who wouldn’t want a hoverbike?!
BugJuggler – I bet you didn’t think of this. I didn’t.
Underwater Thrust – I wouldn’t know what to do with this but it certainly looks like fun.

And as always, the Shitstarters of the week!

BlackBox – It was two minutes in before I worked out what the product was. Fail!
Lousy T-Shirt – Given all the failed Kickstarters, this is cute. But really?
Camera Lucida – This week’s shit Kickstarter video!

As always, its limited only by your frigging imagination.

Welcome to the wonderful world of kickstarters. Today is a big list but mostly because I have decided to include a bunch of shit products or good projects with shit videos.

LIFT – Upgrade your desk to a standing desk with great features. We should get these for the new office.
Sun Juicer – There is something beautifully low tech about this device. It’s a perfect product for sunny climates like California and Australia. True solar energy. I would buy one if they offered a free set of solar steak knives.
Slice – A nicely designed media center Pi. Bonus points for using NeoPixels.
MIOPS – Trigger a camera really quickly using sound, light, lightening, time and … friken lasers!
Perception Neuron – Motion capture for your home. It’s a slick product but I don’t really see the need.
FIXD – Another OBD-II diagnostics device and app with it’s own set of cute features like cost estimates for repairs.
elemoon – Another wrist mounted smartphone companion, this time targetted at fashion conscious women. My wife likes it, so that’s something.
Noke – Bluetooth padlock. My guess is this is a bit easier than Lockitron. A bit expensive for a lock but they have thought ot everything include morse-code for unlock without batteries.

As always there are some presentable electronics projects.

SocketCircuits – Make circuits with paper instead of breadboards. Seems like a good idea for schools.
Edison – LEGO compatible educational robotics.
MegaCube – How to make an Arduino clone that nobody wants? Get your family to make a Kickstarter video for you. Otherwise a cute project.
DPT board – Yet another Pi clone, “because young people need to be educated as young as possible”.

Some of these crapola projects are selling very well. People are obviously a little less picky than me.

ORION4Sight – “Sunglasses On Steroids – you will see things you never saw before”. “The ‘dark ops’ troops count on us to deliver – and you can too.” They supply the military but can’t afford $9000 to make a cut-down version for the rest of us?
Avo – I actually really like this self-cleaning fish tank but Susan didn’t do herself any favours with the video lecture.
WebCurfew – I can’t tell if this is a product or a bitch and moan that the ISPs are selling all-in-one wireless router cable modems? Most kids these days have smart phones anyway, so this product is already obsolete.
iGuardian – AV for your network with a 3D printed device the size of a banana. What could go wrong?
Flyshark – “Flyshark is not only a fashional wireless keyboard, it also is a self timer artifact.” [sic!] It even offers a shortcut “Fn+D” to take pictures on your smartphone. Wow! What else needs to be said?
Douchebag – Only an Australian could be stupid enough to name it Douchebag AND print Douche on the side!

As always, its limited only by your frigging imagination.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Kickstarter. I am back in the wonderfully warm Silicon Valley and back at work. A long list of interesting projects today but nothing I would back myself.

WiFi Drop – It’s like the Imp without the good bits.
Modbook Pro X – Pimp my Mac and call me a tablet
SeatSnoozer – Having just travelled around the world and back … it can’t hurt!
The Ice Chest – Remember the Magic Ice Orb Press video? This is less embarassing, simpler and the guy drinks Oban!
The Hug – Because drinking water is so complex it requires an app.
Docked – An iPad dock for the table. Or you could just get a life.
JackPair – For the truly paranoid, because the carriers are recording every phone call we make, lets digitally encrypt our voice. Someone should order one to play with.
Blink – Battery and Wifi security camera. Pretty cheap too. Though they are pretty early stage.
Gravity Dice – More random than your average die.
Lumin8 Pro – Music to Light. I know its just a couple of kids but it looks like fun.
The Beer Tie – Keep both hands free while keeping your beer and neck cool.
Bunch O Balloons – Blow up 100 balloons at once. Single use so pretty dear. But 20,000 backers thought it was a good idea and are willing to wait till late 2015. And with 8 kids they need all the help they can get.
Skully – Motorcycle helmet with transparent heads-up and GPS navigation. It discourages you from crashing by being too frigging expensive.
Singles – Buying something with singles to piss off the cashier is not what I would call a quality project. Why can’t these just go to school?
The Glov – Indiegogo is for serious sex toy manufacturers.
Deadeye – Your iPhone will teach you to shoot better. Wow.
AnyTracer – GPS, GSM and STM32 in 25mm x 25mm.
XiOne SDR – Software defined radio for the radio geeks among us.
LDG Lamp – Who would want this? Someone who likes Spielberg kickstarter videos.

As always, its limited only by your frigging imagination.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Kickstarter. This was a short week due to last week’s travels but there are some interesting projects to report … although nothing I will admit to backing.

Kepler – Like Nest for Gas Detection but without ISO certification. This one’s for Yanir.
Cmoar – Like Google Cardboard VR headset only more expensive and way less popular. They appear to have done a lot of work. A pity nobody is interested.
RocketSkates – Powered skates for people bored of regular skates. Clearly not for me even with a cute model.
Shuffle – A clever tool every drug dealer, pimp and pedophile shouldn’t be without.
Hicon – Sociel bracelet. I think this is cute but apparently I am in the minority.
TinyStic – Android to HDMI converter. Proof that Indiegogo makes no sense. This guy clearly has never created, designed or built anything in his life. But his video is slick (and sleazy) and an improvement on his previous video. “Your contributions will be used as leverage when negotiating with partners and manufacturers to create the best product for you.” Really?
Teddy Love – A dildo in a teddy bear snout. Yes, this was in the “technology” section of Indiegogo and “Teddy Love is manufactured by a Disney certified manufacturer.” I kid you not. They have the best tag-lines like “The bear that loves back” and “You’ve grown up. Now your teddy has too.”

Swinplet – This week’s shit video of the week. Also wins the worst name of the week.

As always, its limited only by your frigging imagination. See you back in the Bay Area next week/