Gearfuse

This calculator only does a sub-par job of mimicking the Xbox 360 controller. Why, exactly, is this such a ripoff?

No friggen Y button. WTF. Do the math. (Hardy-har) We’ve been short-changed.

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Retro computer enthusiast Bill Kotaska has successfully built a replica of Busicom’s historic 141-PF printing calculator using vintage Intel chips. It’s the 37th anniversary of the world’s first single chip, customer-programmable microprocessor, the tiny Intel 4004. It was the Japanese calculator maker known as Busicom which later introduced the first product ever built around an Intel microprocessor.

So, in light of this historic event, Bill Kotaska decided to craft this re-creation of the historical machine which is capable of running the software from the original Busicom ROMs. Fancy yourself a computer historian? Bill’s got you covered as he provides schematics and photos of his re-creation at the unofficial 4004 web site, provided below.

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My father had a water-powered calculator once. I remember specifically when I was little, he’d go over to his magic water bottle, uncork it, pour the magic water into his glass and would go out to the porch for hours. I’d pull on his shirt and ask for ice cream and he’d reply “Go away. I’m calculating.” Now it all makes sense. Take the calculator, remove the battery, add a little magic water and voila! Up to three months of power before you have to add more. It’s a steal at $25, especially when magic water goes for $20 per 750ml these days.

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Unless you’re a giant living inside of a fantasy novel, I highly doubt you’ll be able to fit these over-sized discs into your computer. Part of Thomas Mailaender’s “Items” project, these gigantic storage medias are better fit for dealing blunt force trauma than providing any data usage.

And the madness doesn’t stop at storage. The project also features a massive calculator and a pen the size of a child. While Tolkien might be able to find a use for these objects, maybe as a writing utensil for the mighty Ents, we’ll be left without any luck. (more…)

No need for batteries with this calculator. The Water Powered Calculator runs by the power of hydro. To power the device you just pour water into the rear power panel, place the stopper, and the electrolytes in the water generate enough power to keep this little guy chugging along, squaring your roots.

The device is said to be perfectly safe, and we guess we see how it could be, but mixing water with its large LCD screen can’t make the calculator a gadget that lasts too long. Water is bound to leak into the screen, we would think. But definitely a cool idea fo’ sho’. Get yours for $8.99, plus the cost of utilities. — Andrew Dobrow

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Stationary products are generally small and easy to lose. In fact, I have no idea where the hell my staple removers are right now. That’s right. Removers. Plural, bitches. Maybe if we had learned about something like the Stationoli earlier, we wouldn’t be in the pickle we are now, with many staples in need of removing. The Stationoli provides a way to keep all of your stationary together as one unit.

Stationoli includes a stapler, a staple remover, sticky notes, a paper clip holder, a calculator, pencil sharpener, and of course…an alarm clock? Okay, that one doesn’t make to much sense since we’re pretty sure most people don’t sleep with their stationary. Though, Stationoli seems like a cool gizmo to have around. Especially during tax season. Available now for $40. — Andrew Dobrow

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Integration of devices can always be taked one (or more) steps too far. The Wireless Speaker Mouse takes it about four steps too far. 1:You really don’t want crappy speakers at your fingertips. Go buy yourself a decent 2.1 speaker set and forget about this. 2:A calculator in your mousepad? Why? You are sitting at a computer which is made to do far more complicated calculations than that calcualtor could ever do. 3:Wireless? This feature will make you go through batteries like no other. What is acceptable to be wireless at a desktop? Speakers, mouses, keyboards, remote controls… Not mousepad speakers 4: Finally, solar power. What is solar power doing inside of a mousepad? So it powers the calculator, that shouldn’t be in there either. Ladies and gents, please, don’t waste your money, keep your $5 pad from Fry’s and forget about the rest. — Nik Gomez

Wireless Speaker Mousepad [via The Red Ferret Journal]