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I bought some new gadgets and products recently. I think the most interesting was the ‘Sushi Bazooka’. There are lots of these available, but they all work along the same lines and make it much easier to fill and roll Maki Sushi, California Roll, etc. It doesn’t always come out as perfect on the first try as some videos make it look, but with a little practice it’s great. 'How Daily' shows how it works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe8GsJ3M4F0I was introduced to this type of sushi by a Korean friend who calls it ‘Kimbap’. She made it with imitation crab (but the little...

I have a breadmaker, a Zojirishi model. You just throw the ingredients and press the settings. It is that easy and and you can set a time for it to start, so you have fresh loaf for breakfast. I also use a Starfrit manual food processor. Very eash to clean and I think it's faster than an electric one. Especially for small meals.

It is the smart suitcase that promises to end the hell of lost luggage. The CX-1 follows you around at speeds of up to 7mph. It has a built-in 'eye' which maps the owner's face. Add in a 'homing' wristband which activates a built-in GPS tracker - and the case works like magic. If you wander too far, it lets out a loud wail. Expected to cost £800, it is just one of the amazing gizmos unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vagas.

In recent years the pineapple has superseded peaches to become my favorite fruit – perhaps partly because it’s so much easier to find very good pineapples in my area. But getting at the fruit inside a pineapple is a real project! I’ve often been tempted to buy one of those pineapple-coring gadgets, but I always turned it down – I thought it would be hard for my small hands to use, and it seemed like the kind of ‘unitasker’ (channeling Alton Brown, here) that would take up space and hardly be used. A few weeks ago, I saw one of...

If you’re anything like me and can’t remember where you put your glass of water literally five seconds after you poured it, knowing there are real solutions out there should help you rest a little easier. Highly recommended for forgetful space cadets everywhere, these ingenious devices will help you keep track of the important stuff—keys, electronics, pets, and yes, even people. 1. Tile Price: $70 Tile is a blessing for anyone who just can’t seem to keep up with those damn car keys. Connecting with your phone via Bluetooth, the little tracker clips onto your keychain (or slips into your...

A while back, someone asked if we had ever done a thread on kitchen gadgets; and I got to thinking that maybe it was time to do another one. First, one of the most useful items I've ever found for slicing home-made loaves of bread in nice, even slices: the Mountain Woods Fiddle Bow Bread Knife. I found mine at the thrift store, but you can still get them on Amazon. The blade remains very sharp, and my husband also likes it for getting thick slices from big tomatoes. Note that they come in right- or left-handed styles, and choose...

In the past week, I’ve been called “Inspector Gadget” twice, had a near-calamitous accident involving spray-on sunblock, and felt my arm vibrate so often I started treating it as a phantom limb. All because I’m part of the latest tech trend, a bona fide phenomenon in Silicon Valley that is inspiring the kind of pants-wetting excitement usually reserved for new iPhones and Grand Theft Auto games. I’m talking about smartwatches—the tech world’s quixotic attempt to mount minicomputers on your wrist. I’ve been wearing two smartwatches for several days apiece, and so far, it’s been an enlightening experience. Though not necessarily...

5 Top Sci-Fi Gadgets That Actually Exist Science Fiction, meet Reality. Reality, Science FictionNowadays, the line between science fiction and reality has become almost microscopically thin, our newfound abundance of resources and knowledge having led to the creation of some truly dazzling gizmos and gadgets. So here’s a list of the top five most amazing sci-fi gadgets we’ve come up with that won’t lead to super-smart killer robots, because I spend, way, way too much time on those. (Although I wouldn’t if inventors didn’t seem to think we’re going for a Terminator-inspired and not a Star Trek/Wars-inspired future, but...

Anyone who appreciates the precision art of engine design ought to get a kick out of this offering from a Spanish engineer named Patelo. Starting with hunks of aluminum, bronze and stainless steel, he spent over 1200 hours designing, milling, turning and drilling what he claims is "probably" the world's smallest V12 engine. Powered by compressed air injection (0.1kg/sq cm), this little marvel boasts a total displacement of 12 cubic centimeters from its twelve 11.3 mm diameter pistons and works like a charm. Built primarily for educational purposes, Patelo has no plans for selling the mini-motors. In fact, seemingly...

Which Tech Gadgets Will Be Phased Out This Decade? Hindsight may always be 20-20, but you don’t need particularly great foresight to know many of the gadgets on today’s market won’t be around in 2020 given how quickly the tech industry keeps changing. In the first half of the 2000s, retailers were buzzing about the prospects of MP3 players and netbooks, but by the end of the decade, those products had largely been replaced by smartphones and tablets. As tempting as it may be to imagine otherwise, some of the gadgets you may rely on most right now will likely...

I need some help finding a 'gadget' for Windows 7 and Active Directory and I was hoping perhaps someone on FR could help. What I'm looking for is a simple gadget that shows selected Active Directory user account logons in real time. Meaning I'd be able to see at a glance a small table of users (up to ten maybe) who are logged on and, perhaps, for how long they've been logged on. Thank you for reading this and thanks for your help.

New York state Sen. Carl Kruger wants to make his state’s streets safer. To do that, he's not proposing a tough new gun law or advocating for broader police search powers. No, Sen. Kruger sees a greater danger out there. Distracting gadgets. He hopes to ban the use of mobile phones, iPods and other gadgets by pedestrians in major cities while crossing the street.

Well, the Consumer Electronics Show (or CES as it's better known) opens in Las Vegas tonight. The keynote speaker, as it was last year, is Microsoft CEO Steve "I'm a bald, ugly guy who has more money than you know what to do with in your lifetime" Ballmer. According to those that follow such things, the two big things that'll be highlighted at the CES this year are A) tablet computers, and B) getting everything you own connected to the Internet. Tablet computers are starting to be a huge thing. Since the iPad was so successful, everyone wants to get...

The Ruger MK. III 22/45 is a fine weapon.. for plinking.. killing small varmints, shooting at pop cans, and just an all around fun .22 to shoot.. It sure is hard to take apart and put back together! Not that there is any real good reason to take it apart and put it back together... It's just something I like doing with my down time. Helps me focus on lifes real problems.. I've owned this little shooter for several years.. but hadn't taken it out of the safe for a long time.. Just had the thought that I would put...

SAN FRANCISCO — When one of the most important e-mail messages of his life landed in his in-box a few years ago, Kord Campbell overlooked it. Not just for a day or two, but 12 days. He finally saw it while sifting through old messages: a big company wanted to buy his Internet start-up. “I stood up from my desk and said, ‘Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,’ ” Mr. Campbell said. “It’s kind of hard to miss an e-mail like that, but I did.” The message had slipped by him amid an electronic flood: two computer screens...

1. iPod (2001) 2. TiVo DVR (1999-2000) 3. Garmin GPS (2000) 4. Vodafone 3G Datacard (2004) 5. Wii Remote (2006) 6. Amazon Kindle (2007) 7. iPhone (2007) 8. Slingbox (2005) 9. Blackberry (2002) 10. XBox (2002)

We're kicking off our series exploring memorable gadgets from memorable people with one of the most influential tech giants: Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple. – JCOK...meaningful...here goes...For that definition, it was probably an electronics learning kit I got for Christmas at about age 8 or 9. As I recall, it didn't teach electronics formulas or resistor codes, but was full of projects to hook up input devices like switches and output devices like buzzers and lights. It was like learning how to connect all the devices to your hi-fi, or connecting all your peripherals to a computer. It also...

With the news that MI5 is looking for a Chief Scientific Adviser, spy novelist Jeremy Duns reveals his ten favourite real espionage inventions 1. Poison-tipped umbrella Probably the most infamous real-life spy gadget is the umbrella used by the Bulgarian secret services – with KGB help – to kill dissident writer and broadcaster Georgi Markov. KGB technicians converted the tip of an ordinary umbrella into a silenced gun that could fire a pellet containing a lethal dose of ricin. On September 7 1978, Markov felt himself being jabbed in the thigh as he walked across Waterloo Bridge. A man behind...

Bo (woof) In Commentary: I haven’t been happy with the sound my stereo has been putting out for quite some time now; plus it’s a bitch to turn on. The sound was as if I was listening to my old vinyl records…not the 33 LPs but my 78s…on Edison’s original phonograph. I went online and did my research for a stereo that was easily switched on by a tail. Once found, all I needed was a set of speakers to reproduce highs well outside of human hearing range. Well lookie what I found. (This is functional kitsch; the wrong becomes...

Washington, D.C. (November 9, 2007) -- Sony CEO Howard Stringer says the high-def disc format between Blu-ray and HD DVD has become a "stalemate." That's according to an article by the Associated Press. Sony is the leading supporter of the Blu-ray format while HD DVD's backers include Toshiba and Microsoft. However, both high-def disc formats have struggled due partially to consumer confusion over the Blu-ray-HD DVD war. The two formats are not compatible with each other, meaning one disc won't play on the other's machine. While Blu-ray supporters have often declared victory in the war due to a 2-1 lead...