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I silkscreened a shirt once for a middle school art class. It was an intensive, smelly process that didn't come out very well. That's why I'm intrigued by the Lumi Process, a water-based printing method for textiles that uses sunlight to develop the prints.

The Inkodye used in the process was developed from a nearly-forgotten dye formula from the 1950s that has some useful light-sensitive photographic properties.… Read more

If you have a network-attached storage (NAS) server, such as the Synology DS 1511+, and are wondering what hard drive you should get for it, here's another easy answer: the WD Red.

Western Digital announced today the new 3.5-inch SATA hard drive that's specifically designed for home and small office NAS systems of up to five drive bays. WD says the WD Red has been tested with "top NAS box manufacturers" and is optimized for power and performance.… Read more

Edifier, which has made a few funky-looking media speaker systems over the years, has now added another aesthetically interesting unit to its lineup: the Prisma, a 2.1 Bluetooth speaker system that just hit the market for $129.99.

Aside from the design, Edifier is highlighting the fact that the Prisma has a 48-watt power rating and its wired remote control is equipped with two auxiliary input ports, plus a headphone jack.

Continue reading about the Edifier Prisma

Dogs are pack animals. When their pack leaders go off to work, leave on vacation, or go run some errands, life can feel awfully lonely for the pooches left behind.

Chinese product designer Yunfan Tan has an idea he hopes will ease the sadness for pouty pups. His WithMe Bone design plays to a dog's excellent senses of smell and hearing.

The idea is you stuff a worn piece of clothing like a sock into the bone. Small perforations let the smell out. A tiny voice recorder inside tapes you saying soothing messages to Fido, such as "Good boy!" or "Please don't pee on the rug." The audio is motion activated when the bone is shaken.… Read more

After a long day staring at your computer monitor, squinting at your smartphone, and ogling video games, your eyes start to feel like they've been lightly sandpapered and left out in a desert wind. You could use eye drops or catch a few winks to recover, or your could invest in a Panasonic Este ES-SW50.

The Este is one of the weirder eye masks ever created. It's a bit chunky, but it does a lot more than just sit there. My Google Translate version of the product page indicates the Este generates a warm steam to soothe the eyes. Essentially, this is the high-tech version of laying a lukewarm washcloth across your peepers.… Read more

You've got mail. You've got a new Facebook friend request. Someone wants to chat. You've been mentioned in a tweet. Your mom left a voicemail. Your gadgets are constantly trying to get your attention, but bell, ringer, and buzzer alerts get old fast.

Get some peace and quiet (or at least quiet) with the L8 SmartLight. The Kickstarter project consists of a small box full of 64 RGB LEDs in a grid on one side and a single super RGB LED on the other. Talk to your smartphone, connect to your social networks, and feed Internet alerts to the box through Bluetooth or USB.

The battery-powered L8 -- which measures 2.4 inches by 2.4 inches by less than an inch -- can be set to notify you of just about any event you want. Got a new e-mail? Get a flashing light. Status update from your sweetheart? Trigger a pulsing LED heart. Boss left a voicemail on your day off? Set it for an LED frowny face. A control app is coming soon for iOS. Android, and desktop computers.… Read more

First off, congrats to Harold M. of Charlotte, N.C., for winning a pair of San Francisco-themed V-Moda Crossfade LP headphones in last week's Crave giveaway. And now... ding-dong! Who's that at the door? Why, it's this week's prize, a Swann MP3 DJ Doorbell. The wireless, customizable gadget turns any song you want into your doorbell chime.

The product has two main battery-powered components: a doorbell unit backed with double-sided tape for easy mounting in your doorway and a speaker unit for mounting with the included screws up to 330 feet away. The bell comes with 32 built-in tones, and you can add a removable SD card up to 32GB (not included) to store up to 10,000 tracks, transferable via the included USB cable. You'll also get editing software so you don't have to listen to every last note of "Ring My Bell."

Normally, a Swann MP3 DJ Doorbell would cost you $49.99, but you have the chance to score one for free. So how do you turn your doorbell into a personal DJ that caters to your every musical mood? Well, there are a few rules, so please listen up.… Read more

Two months after the launch of a new line of Smart Wi-Fi routers, the EA series, Cisco finally announced today that the Cisco Connect Cloud for the new routers is now live.

Cisco Connect Cloud is a software platform for Linksys Smart Wi-Fi routers -- currently comprising the Linksys EA2700, EA3500, and EA4500 -- intended to change the way consumers interact with their connected personal entertainment devices and home appliances, all via the Internet. For example, instead of the Cisco Connect Express mobile app, which works only within a local network, users can now opt for the Internet-based Cisco Connect Cloud mobile app, or just log in at the Cisco Connect Cloud portal, and be in complete control of their home network, no matter where they are.

There's a lot more to this, however. For the first time Cisco is allowing, and encouraging, independent developers to create mobile apps for its home network routers, specifically those in the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi Router family. According to Cisco, available immediately are six other iOS apps developed by third parties for the EA series, including Twonky Video and IP Camera Viewer.… Read more

When it comes to storage, you definitely don't want to risk getting stuck with a lemon. That's because, unlike other commodities like a car or a TV, when a storage device breaks down, chances are you lose a lot more than just the drive itself. It's a painful experience to see your invaluable data vanish. Take my word for it on this.

But you likely don't want to spend too much, either, and want your storage device to be easily accessible, especially on the go since there's not much use for your data if it always has to stay at home.

Bearing that in mind, compact and portable external hard drives are arguably the most popular form of storage. They have room to hold lots of data, often more than your laptop or ultrabook can, without being big or heavy. Following is the list of the top five portable USB 3.0-based drives that are the best among their peers, offering great performance, large storage space, compact design, and sometimes even the kind of toughness that will withstand drops and submersion in water. Most importantly, you can easily find them for less than $100. Have more to spend? You can get larger capacities that cost more.

Note that these drives also work with USB 2.0 (MacBook Air owners, you're included here) and they are all bus-powered, so you don't need a separate power adapter to use them.… Read more