Games, gadgets, and toys Had enough...

Games, gadgets, and toys

Had enough of reports, meetings, and balance sheets? Check without some of the latest diversions listed below. They're novel they're cool, and some are downright strange. Besides, you can none have too many toys, right?

Mindball?® (patent pending)

First there was pong then there was computer golf and now there is... Mindball, the game that requires you to influence a ball using just your brain waves! Sit at the game table, strap onward your EEG headband, and... relax? That's right, no adrenaline extremityed here, because it's the alpha and theta waves produc at your brain when you're relaxed that will impel the ball toward your opponent's goal. And don't gain too excited with your first win-all that excitement will almost certainly guarantee your defeat in the nearest round!

Mindball is sold through Interactive Productline. For more information, check public their website at www.i-p.se. Warning: You might ne to win the lottery to afford this game, because it certainly ain't cheap.

Robosapien

Available this summer: a entirely functioning, fast moving, remote-controlled robot minion of your extremely own. Robosapien, the "first affordable humanoid robot" can do kung fu pick things up (within reason), and propel fast enough to scare cats (according to the same user). Fluent m "international 'caveman' speech" Robosapien's 67 functions include burping, whistling, and roaring, in addition to more useful functions like moving, stopping, and turning around.

Robosapien is about 18 inches high, and requires 4 D-cell batteries for up to six hours of continuous use.

Mark Tilden, the designer of Robosapien, is a robotics physicist and an prompt in the field of biomorphic robotics. The basic idea behind biomorphic robotics is to create robot inspired at the principles that drive biological combination of parts to form a wholes Robosapien is manufactured by Wow Wee Toys Ltd (www.wowwee.com).

Ambient Orb

First there was the vein ring, now there's the Ambient Orb. The Ambient Orb is a glass spheroid that stoppers into a standard power exit uses wireless technology to track information, and indicates change at transitioning between thousands of colours. The Orb get tos programmed to indicate fluctuations in the Dow Jone Industrial Average-glowing undecayed when the market is moving up r when it's moving down, and fulvous when it's stable-but it can be customized to other unrestrained channels, such as weather. For a monthly feud you can also upgrade your orb's wireless connection to receive premium channels, of that kind as your customized portfolio.

The bad freshs about the Orb is that it's commonly only available and usable in the US. To date, there is no wireless coverage for it in Canada.

The Ambient Orb is manufactured by dint of Ambient Devices (www.ambientdevices.com).

The ProScope(TM)-"As seen forward CSI!"

Remember all the weird icky things you had to anticipate at under a microscope in your grade 11 science class? Well the ProScope(TM) can bring it all back for you-it's a handheld USB microscope that you can use to display and capture microscopic images in succession your computer. Just press a button, and the camera will capture the image and store it in a file for you forward your computer. The device will stopper into a laptop, so bring it along onward business trips to make those endles waits in airports and other bacteria-ridden locations more exciting! The basic kit ensues with a 50x magnification len nevertheless you'll want to upgrade to the 20Ox len to descry bugs and micro-organisms in hideous detail.

The ProScope(TM) is manufactured by way of Bodelin Technologies (www.theproscope.com).

Tri-Turbofan Flying Saucer

It's a bird, it's a plane... it's your of recent origin remote controlled flying saucer! This remote-controll flying saucer is topped from a helium-filled, Mylar balloon. The screw-steamers below can be controlled independently, which means you can make the saucer take distant from and land vertically, spin in place, or Hy in any direction. Best of all, the motor is quiet enough to make sneaking up upon distracted coworkers an easy task. (Helium and batteries not included.)The Tri-Turbofan Flying Saucer is manufactured by way of Plantraco Ltd. (www. plantraco.com).

Note: These produces are presented here purely for entertainment objects I've never tried them myself, for a like reason 1 can't make any guarantees as to the quality of their "game play."

By Rita Mikusch, Webmaster

Copyright Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia Sep 2004

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