on7wired april 25

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/04/2010 (5859 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Blown away by amplified speakers

After playing with a Sonos S5 ZonePlayer for the past month, I have to say its five independently amplified speakers blow away all my iPod docks for sound quality. However, although portable, it’s not a dock, but a wireless speaker system that plays streaming music (from your computer or Internet radio) while using your iPod Touch or iPhone as a remote. Buy multiple units and they play music throughout your house or outdoors, synced together or each playing independently. You can plug your iPod in to the S5 as an external input, but don’t expect it to recharge. Priced at $479 (plus another $129 for a ZoneBridge to free the S5 from being tethered to your wireless router) at finer stereo stores or from sonos.com.

Now that’s cool

It’s been years since I’ve been on a bike, so I’m hardly qualified to judge what’s cutting edge in the world of cycling, but I do know cool when I see it and the limited edition Cannondale OnBike has cool in spades. Finished in a stealthy matte black, the bike features a “one-sided fork,” a maintenance-free enclosed chain case that’s integrated into the frame structure (making it look as though designers forgot a key piece), internally routed cables and disc brakes. At the asking price, I’d probably mount it on the wall as art rather than risk scratching the thing. Cannondale is coy about MSRP, saying only that pricing will vary by dealer and province, but word on the street has it going for over $6,000.

Hey, it’s dual-lens

I’m not a big fan of 3-D. I think it’s a fad that will peter out like it did in the 1950s. Speaking of which, how does a 1950s-inspired camera that shoots 3-D images strike you? Although made of crappy looking plastic, sporting lenses likely to be optically sound as the bottom of a soda bottle and requiring actual film, there is something to say for being the only one on your street with a vintage-look, dual-lens 3-D camera. The Holga 120 3D Stereo Camera is a very retro $99, through lomography.com. Shipping is $25, but if you bump your order up to $200 (perhaps by adding the 3D slide viewer needed to view the effect and a stockpile of film), shipping to Canada is free.

A better way to eat spaghetti

Next to the labour required to make sauce, cook pasta and put plates on the table, the biggest time hog involved in a spaghetti dinner is twirling the noodles around your fork to avoid sauce-related incidents. If you find the effort required makes you break into a sweat, the battery-powered Twirling Spaghetti Fork will take care of this onerous task for you. Getting the fork to your mouth is still in your court, though. Available online through the appropriately named lazyboneuk.com for $11.91 plus $11.92 shipping to Canada.

A safer spot for a toothbrush

Leaving your toothbrush to fester in the grime and germs on a bathroom counter top is gross, but most toothbrush holders are boring variations on a cup. No sense of whimsy. The Bobble Brush from Quirky tackles this pressing issue with a colourful, rubberised weighted base to hold your toothbrush upright. The whole thing then wobbles around like a Weeble. Those of you who grew up in the 1970s and remember the Playskool “Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down” thing will get it. For anyone else, rest assured that your toothbrush will be safe from tipping. Available in pink, blue and green through quirky.com for $12.99 plus $12.50 for shipping to Canada.