The Weekly Goods

From waterproof shoes to lighting for 16 million moods, it's the Goods for the Week of 9.9.07

September 10, 2007

The Weekly Goods

THE NEW SOFT-SHOE

Breathable and waterproof, soft-shell fabrics make shoes comfortable but not necessarily warm. The first insulated soft-shell boot fuses fabric to warm PrimaLoft using a lamination pattern that doesn´t stifle airflow. **The North Face Storm Peak $120; northface.com

SCREEN STARS

Aim at a dot of light in the sky, and the first handheld star-finder with a color LCD screen will show you a photo, constellation map or film clip that explains what you´re pointing at. ** Meade mySky $400; meade.com

HUE FOR YOU

Mood lighting for 16 million moods. Trace your finger around the color wheel on this lamp´s remote control, and a chip regulates the current flowing to four LEDs-two red, one blue, and one green. They dim and brighten to create the exact shade you choose. ** Philips Living Colors Approx. $200, Available in Europe; philips.com

ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD

The flattened globe on this watch´s face depicts all 39 time zones-even those with half-hour differences. The map slowly rotates to line up each zone with its correct time around the edge. **Blancier Worldtimer $13,500 (est.); blancier.com

OFF THE TABLE

Control your computer by waving this mouse in the air, without even pointing at the screen. A gyroscope senses motion, and an accelerometer knows if the mouse is tilted. **Logitech MX Air $150; logitech.com

NO-FRET GUITAR

Tune-loving tykes can pick up guitar fingering by following this toy´s cues. Areas of the neck light up as a song plays, and then capacitive sensors determine if you hit the right spot in time. **Hasbro Power Tour Electric Guitar $70; hasbro.com

SHAKE TO THE BEAT

A minuscule accelerometer lets you skip ahead or back on this music-phone´s playlist just by flicking the phone right or left. Or give it a quick shake to pick a random song. ** Sony Ericsson W580 $300; sonyericsson.com
Gadgets

MORE TO READ

Like science, tech, and DIY projects?

Sign up to receive Popular Science's emails and get the highlights.

LET'S GO