Gadget Access

uWink sounds like the name of an online dating service, but it’s a restaurant concept from Nolan Bushnell, founder of both Atari and Chuck E. Cheese.  So you’d expect arcade games at such an establishment, but uWink takes it a step further and has the games built into your tabletop!  You and your dining companions can have fun playing games while waiting for your food and after finishing your food, and most of the games are free!  Also, large wall projections let patrons from different tables play against each other.  What a great idea for if you want to book the restaurant for a private function, and yes uWink can customize the games too!  I guess that’s where the “wink” comes in, since you can meet people from other tables.

The technology also extends to the food ordering process.  Terminals at each table display the menu along with photos of each item and a list of ingredients, so you know what you’re getting and can order the food to your exact specifications.  This is great for folks with food allergies and other dietary needs.  Everything is done using the terminals, from ordering the food to asking for refills to paying your check.  As for the food itself, you’d think it’s an afterthought, but apparently it isn’t as it’s prepared by accomplished chefs.  So uWink’s got the technology and it’s got the food, I can imagine it’s hard to score a table!  uWink is opening their second L.A. location next month, but it’s a concept other parts of the country could embrace as well.

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If you’re the type of person that always picks the odd stuff, you’ll certainly like the Private Ocean that combines a clock, with speakers, and a calendar function.

To make everything more interesting, the clock is able to display background animations related to the ocean, with consists of fishes, sharks, sunrises, and other creatures. On top of the 22 default sounds, you can connect your mp3 player, or any other audio source, and listen to the music.

The Private ocean shows the time, date, and features touch sensors.

Priced at 100.

Program date reminders into the device, such as New Years, Christmas, etc. On your birthday the fish will pop up to congratulate you!

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I think we all know people who are way too “into their game”. These are the people who have a near-unhealthy obsession with board games like chess, backgammon, or even Scrabble.

For that last example, the hard-core Scrabble player might want to check out the Franklin SCR-226 Official Scrabble Players Dictionary (3rd edition). This device can definitely come in handy when players dispute if a word is valid, as it can resolve over 100,000 different words.

It can also help a Scrabble player when making his or her next move. All a player has to do is enter in the seven letters that he or she has on the scrabble tile keypad, and the Players Dictionary will come up with several words for his or her turn. It will sort these words out by point value, and it can even find words from the letter pattern on the board.

I don’t know about you, but I would not feel comfortable using this in any Scrabble game. It would be like letting an athlete use steroids to improve their sport. In other words, this Players Dictionary definitely gives the side using it an unfair advantage. If both players use it, then it is like two computers programmed to play against each other.

However, if you have no such objection, and want to improve your Scrabble game, then you can get the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary on the Buy.com site for about $49.95.

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Keyboards generally look and feel very similar. The ones that stand out are usually meant for gaming and tend to feature a few dedicated keys and some sort of neon glow. However, now and then one comes along that offers something just a little different. Take for example this Ci70 from Kensington.

The keyboard itself is a low-profile slim design which would look rather sleek sitting on a desk. However, what sets this keyboard apart is the raised area just behind the keys. Here you will find a mini USB connector housed behind a small sliding door.

Sure, that may not seem like a big deal to have a USB cable attached to the keyboard, however, with the amount of gadgets that utilize such connector, it will come in handy. Rather than always having a cable sticking out of your PC, you can just stow this away inside the small compartment. You can pick one of these up $49.99.

Source: CrunchGear