kickstarter

The Pebble smartwatch is the hottest thing going...that no one can get their hands on yet. The "e-paper watch for iPhone and Android" won't even be available in prototype form until August, but already it's landed its first partner -- the fitness tracking app RunKeeper.

According to a post on the RunKeeper blog, the app's users had been clamoring for Pebble support, so when RunKeepers creators were approached about a partnership, they jumped at the chance:… Read more

Much has been made of Apple CEO Tim Cook recently dismissing the idea of Apple releasing a MacBook-iPad hybrid device, saying such convergence was a "compromise" to the end user.

"You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator," Cook said, "but those things are probably not going be pleasing to the user."

Well, the folks behind the Brydge keyboard case, a Kickstarter project that makes your iPad look and act more like a MacBook Air and has already raised more than $400,000 since it launched last week, have posted a chilling video that … Read more

Imagine raising $7 million from nearly 50,000 strangers in a matter of weeks. That's the power of a growing trend toward crowd funding, as demonstrated by the most successful Kickstarter campaign yet.

The Pebble watch syncs with iPhone and Android smartphones to deliver e-mail, text messages, and calendar alerts, among other things. Dubbed the "smart watch," Pebble's journey to becoming the most funded Kickstarter project to date is not exactly a Cinderella story, but it's impressive nonetheless. … Read more

Remember when kids used to play stickball, marbles, and hopscotch instead of iPhone games? Well I don't either. But this Kickstarter project wants to revive a medium of simpler times -- with a modern twist.

The Can is a tin can telephone wired for IP phone use. It has a microphone, a speaker, and a jack for your computer, phone, or tablet so you can pretend you're 7 years old and it's 1939 again.

Aside from its patently ridiculous design, alternately listening to and speaking into The Can seems like more fun than just slapping a regular phone to your skull.

As the video below shows, The Can comes in Commander and Mini editions, with the former featuring an indicator light for missed calls. The Mini, meanwhile, jacks into your cell phone with a TRS connector. … Read more

Presidential hopeful Ron Paul will soon put the smackdown on the Federal Reserve -- in a video game, that is.

The Road to REVOLution is a "side-scrolling platformer action/adventure game, reminiscent of console classics like Super Mario Brothers and Sonic the Hedgehog," video game developer Daniel Williams explained.

The goal of the game is for Paul to become president of the United States and shut down the Federal Reserve. In the game, you play as Paul, who has to hop through all 50 states to collect gold and delegates.… Read more

If your world isn't already complex enough, or if you're just a control freak, it's time to add some ninja to your life.

Sensor-equipped platforms called Ninja Blocks are designed to bring the Internet of things to a ubiquitous, open-source reality.

The result of a recent successful Kickstarter project that raised more than $100,000, Ninja Blocks obey simple "if this, then that" commands to add functionality to your environment through the Web.

For instance, when your friends are playing on Xbox Live a Ninja Block could trigger an action in your living room, like turning on a lamp. Or a Ninja Block could text your phone when a package is delivered to your door. You could also activate household lights or electronics via your Ninja by talking to Siri. … Read more

Katie Linendoll returns to the show with big news! She recently entered the Guinness World Records book for slapping the most high fives in a single minute, leaving a certain clown in her dust. Check it out on "All Access Weekly," Katie's new show on Spike TV.

Katie always brings engaging talking points to the show (not to mention the best gifts), and today she has an opinion about the lack of women in the tech scene. She offers suggestions on how the U.S. education system can start a grassroots movement to expose young people to … Read more

"This is my daughter, who just turned 9. She's amazing, and I want her to grow up to be a mad scientist and to take over the world."

So begins writer Jordan Stratford's Kickstarter pitch video for "Wollstonecraft," the first of what he hopes will be a series of steampunky, historical novels for kids and young adults that will "inspire a generation of girls about imagination and science."

Stratford says he wants to give young girls like his daughter "actual historical role models that show them that math and science and imagination are incredible tools that can shape their world." And he's chosen as his two heroines Mary Shelley, of "Frankenstein" fame -- the world's first science fiction writer, he calls her -- and Ada Byron, whom some regard as the world's first computer programmer.… Read more

CNET laptop editor Scott Stein returns to The 404 guest seat, and the room is apparently full of onions today as we discuss this short film about a 9-year-old's homebrew cardboard arcade. If you look closely at Jeff's face during this segment, you may even catch a rare glimpse of his upturned frown.

We'll also introduce you to a highly funded Kickstarter campaign for an iPhone and Android-compatible smart watch that goes the opposite direction of traditional e-watches and uses a digital ink display (similar to the original Amazon Kindle) that lets users check messages, play music, and more without the threat of sun glare or unreadable reflections.… Read more