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Christmas Shopping For Your Nephew
colenski writes "My vote for the coolest toy of the decade so far has to lie with the EyeClops Bionic Eye. As one reviewer noted, simply, "Microscopes never worked this well or looked this good when I was a kid." An ingeniously simple and brilliantly designed product, the EyeClops plugs into your TV and magnifies anything you put it on 200 times. Brain dead simple to use, EyeClops is a cheap $40 US / $60 Cdn gift that your nephew or nerdy niece would probably freak over. Here's some cool and disturbing pictures I got after about 20 minutes playing with it. Check out the money shot." I always struggled to focus through a microscope as a kid, and this looks like a great inexpensive present for a little kid since every cool chemistry kit is totally nerfed now. Any other fun ideas?
Pity kids can no longer get chemistry sets. How many genius chemists are we going to lose due to that again? Still, at least they can see the disease they might have cured. I suppose that is something.
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
The problem you had, and that my own son had last Christmas, is that cheap microscopes don't have "widefield" eyepieces.
If you spend a little more (typically $100-$150 on Ebay) you can get a good-quality student-grade microscope with a widefield eyepiece. And nowadays, many come with 640x480 webcams, or at least webcam attachment points.
The webcams are USB, so it's trivial to capture images and print them out for science projects. That's vastly more useful than a TV-out.
FATMOUSE + YOU = FATMOUSE
Since when does Slashdot do ads?
He'll think it's awesome for a couple days, then it will go into the closet never to be seen again. But I guess that's kind of how all Christmas toys are.
I heard they've got some pretty cool updates in the works for Government v2.0
Another example of how Canadian customers get screwed: by charging 33% more for the same product (Our looney is at par with the greenback these days, or worth even more!)
Guess I won't be seeing that anytime soon. Too bad so many home pages are a flash only portal
These pictures don't look any better than the images I took with my old Intel digital scope, which has been gathering dust for about 5 years now.
Probably same or similar guts.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Keep linking all the ads you like ... I have a feeling there won't be a ton of servers getting crashed this year.
Can we stop this! We need more women in high-tech. Girls can be interested in tech without being nerdy. Innovation requires diverse backgrounds, please reword this.
Even: "...nerdy nephew or nerdy niece..." would be better. At least its equal.
...
The ultimate gift of this season: OLPC.
Not only are you giving a great educational device, but you're also helping some child in the developing world. Perhaps a good time to introduce your nephew to philanthropy, too.
Nothing really beats giving your nephew a hooker for Christmas.
Odd that its $60 CDN when the currency is equal now.
Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
I for one welcome our bionic-eyed overlords.
The kid's hand holding the EyeClops on the website somehow seems disturbingly older than the face.
[alk]
Not only is this a shitty turn of phrase, I'd rather my kids learn to use a real microscope.
Buy the kid a Wii and Super Mario Galaxy and he'll get a load more longevity out of it as he can buy *new* games when he's over SMG!
Shh.
but it looks the same as my web cam when I screw the lens out really far.
I've done this and the close up pics I get are as high magnification and in focus as the ones taken with this microscope.
I know this as many of the pictures linked to in the article are of the same things I looked at, like coins, hair on your arm etc.
I kinda expected more if the optics were designed specifically for a microscope.
and TSA knuckleheads who "feel threatened" by any male not on Ritalin are the ones who got rid of chemistry sets, lawn jarts, and put warning labels on lawn mowers (Caution! Blade May Cut!). Are they still body searching 80 year old grammas at the airports?
So, last time I looked the American dollar was number 4 on the list next to Canada, Euro, and Pound at number 1. So I guess they won't be selling any up here at a 50% penalty for shipping an extra 100km. Right now 1 Canadian dollar is worth 1.026 american.
I guess companies still like to think that the US dollar is worth twice as much.
---- aut viam inveniam aut faciam
It's not that kind of money shot. When I read that, it made me think of what I would have been doing if I got one of these when I was a kid. I would have looked at my butt on TV.
Write your own Choose Your Own Adventure. http://www.freegameengines.org/gamebook-engine/
The Canadian and US dollars are at par, yet there's a 50% premium for Canadian customers?
What a rip-off!
- RG>
Hey pal, this isn't a pleasantforest, so don't waste my time with pleasantries!
The Canadian dollar hasn't had that kind of disparity for years and for the last month, the Canadian dollar has been at par with or higher than the American dollar!
The American price should be the same as the Canadian price. I suppose the price should be a little higher than the $40, but $60 Canadian is equivalent to paying about $63 American. I wonder which site I will order from.
No, I'm New Here
No worries. It's just the stupid American kids who can't purchase chemistry sets thanks to the "protection" of "Homeland Security". They don't have any interest in them anyway, they're too busy playing Playstation, X Box and Wii.
Kids in "Terrorist Nations" will have no problem getting things like chemistry sets.
Of course this is a brilliant plan by the Bush administration whereby in 20 years we'll hire those kids as engineers, since we won't have any of our own. This builds friendship. We'll then use that friendship to convert these heathen to "christianity".
. Quit playing Monopoly with Bill. Switch to one of many non-Microsoft products today.
If the entire story is an ad, can the comments be ads too?
:) Heck, Christmas is coming up... I just might have to forward this link to my wife."
Maybe for a slightly older age range...
electronics kits updated for the digital generation
one Digg user commented:
"I wish I'd had one of these as a kid
EyeClops is a cheap $40 US / $60 Cdn gift that your nephew or nerdy niece would probably freak over
I couldn't help but notice that the submitter is working under the assumption that all Slashdot readers are unable to get girls*, let alone have children of their own.
* The idea that Slashdot readers might be feminine themselves is practically a violation of dogma.
I am boycotting stores like Toys-R-Us because they advertise openly that they cheat their customers. They have not adjusted their Canadian and US prices to reflect the current dollar values. How is it that a toy that sells for $40 US is also sold for $60 Canadian, when the Canadian dollar is currently worth $1.02 US? Corporate sociopathic greed, and this from a toystore!
Of course I was a nerdy geek and spent the time to learn how to use real microscopes. I examined a lot of things (including semen) and learned a lot of things (except, of course, the social skills needed to get the semen inside, or anywhere near, a female).
All pass beyond reach of medicine. None pass beyond the reach of love.
If you spend a little more (typically $100-$150 on Ebay) you can get a good-quality student-grade microscope with a widefield eyepiece. And nowadays, many come with 640x480 webcams, or at least webcam attachment points.
You can also buy a good camera and slap it onto the eyepiece with cardboard and duct tape. A $200 Canon provides surprisingly good results. If you can see it, cameras can capture it.
While vastly better than the $40 device, it's also ten times as expensive. They toy also takes much less set up time unless you try hooking it up to a bt878 based capture with composite inputs. Modprobe bt878 and use xawtv and you are set.
DMCA, Hollings, Palladium. What might have sounded like paranoia is now common sense.
; )
I'm becomming increasingly disenchanted with slashdot for allowing the posting of obvious adverts as threads. We had the c# memory leak detector "advert" the other day and now this. Do the moderators not have delete keys any more, or are they in it for the money themselves?
my old Intel digital scope, which has been gathering dust for about 5 years now.
Wow, Windoze only with all sorts of issues. Check out the QX3 support page. Of course, you can's use it with Vista. Too bad, because it's a nifty scope.
This newer scope is cheaper and can be used with an ordinary TV or bt878 capture card.
Then again, you would be surprised by the quality of image you can get with a few simple lenses and an ordinary digital camera. Binocular lenses make for nice macro lenses. The front lens gets you closer to the subject and eyepiece lenses make good macro lenses. Good quality surplus microscopes are also available for $100 or so.
DMCA, Hollings, Palladium. What might have sounded like paranoia is now common sense.
I kinda expected more [than a webcam] if the optics were designed specifically for a microscope.
Did your webcam have built in ring illumination? Do you have your old computer? Does it work with your current version of Windows?
DMCA, Hollings, Palladium. What might have sounded like paranoia is now common sense.
I always struggled to focus through a microscope as a kid
:)
Uh, you turn the focusing knob until it's focused?
I had a microscope for my entire childhood. Never seemed to have a problem in this department. It was my very own tiny insect battle arena.
It's gift like this that leads an innocent American kid into the unfortunate career of engineering and end up competing for the few low paying jobs with nerds from China, India, Rassia in 10 years... Don't do it! Or at least buy a Chinese language learning kit along with it. You nephew will need it.
is a cheap $40 US / $60 kozmetik
> $40 US / $60 Cdn gift
Hilarious, ain't it?
http://google.com/search?q=40usd+in+cad
And not being able to resist hitting the punctuation-police button (anon) - sad :)
This rube-goldberg marble machine construction kit looks awesome!! Does anyone have a spare nephew I could borrow ?
It's $40. US, $60 Canadian? Hey Toys R Us - the Canadian Dollar is worth MORE. It should be $38.00 Canadian, not $60. Just another rip-off!
Kevin Smith on Prince
As the uncle of multiple nieces, none of whom are nerdy (though two are definitely budding geeks) I find that a little annoyingly sexist. And as the gay-platonic-male-friend of several adult female geeks (who gets the unfiltered opinions,) I can assure you they pick up on that shit in a heartbeat.
I swear that I see some fine grains of white powder on that $5 note.
I'm sure it's just sugar.
is actually around 35 cdn
back in the day we didnt have no old school
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I'd think this gift is more appropriate for nieces and the occasional nerdy nephew.
Those were the days!
Engineering is the art of compromise.
I used the EyeClops Bionic Eye to get a close-up of the Linux kernel. It was amazing. I could clearly see the 235 Microsoft patents embedded in it.
In my own experience, one does better with toys that can be upgraded to meet the child's increasing age and intelligence level than those that cater to one age level only. That eye-scope is clever, but it'll only be "good" for a very specific age range: those that are old enough to know about microscopic objects and organisms, but young enough not to find the massive eyeball design "kiddie." You'd be much better off with a standard microscope. I've also had good luck with building toys (erector sets, Legos and the like), as those can be expanded to grow with the child and can be passed down to other children. Finally, when all else fails, outdoor toys are always a good bet; I have yet to meet a boy or girl of any age who doesn't like "finding" things outside (flowers, rocks, sticks, animal tracks and whatnot). It's a great way to teach them about the life and earth sciences, and anything that gets kids, geeky or not, away from the TV is a good thing.
As to those that cried foul for product placement, this is a highly useful thread for people like me who refuse to buy the yearly crop of B.S. toys being flogged by Toys R Us and the like. Ever since I've had nieces and nephews, I have always tried to buy them toys that have educational value, and then attempt to teach them the science or logic behind the toy. However, I've found educational toys to be exceptionally hit-or-miss affairs, though, and more often than not they land me in Aunt Hell - the state in which your niece or nephew takes one look at the gift, says "Thanks, Aunt Lindsay" and runs away to play Maim-A-Thon XII for the PSWii60 that Grandma sent from Florida, convinced that you're the lamest grown-up ever to walk the earth. If someone else out there can tell me what toys have gone over well or not with their kids, I'd like to know so I can avoid a waste of money and/or good will.
First rule of trauma: Bleeding always stops.
Wow, that's interesting; it's the opposite of what I expected.
I had guessed that if you converted the price back to USD, that software would cost less (in absolute terms) than in the U.S. and that the price disparity would be relative to earnings and the cost of living only (i.e. lower in absolute terms but relatively more expensive, based on hours of labor).
If the minimum wage in Venezuela works out to about $200USD per month, given 160 hours of work (4x 40-hour workweeks), that's about $1.25USD an hour. So on a relative basis, even if the absolute price of a good is the same, it's going to "feel" 4.2x as expensive there to a minimum-wage worker. Or alternately, a $500USD software package to a worker in Venezuela is about $1680 of labor in the U.S.; bit steep for an office suite.
It's a bit surprising that Microsoft doesn't drop the price of software there, particularly since its development is basically a sunk cost (and even looking towards the future, development is already offset by the money they make in established markets; whatever they can make elsewhere is probably just gravy), and the current situation basically assures that they won't make anything from the great bulk of customers. In demanding that unrealistically high a price, they're essentially ensuring they get only a very small fraction of potential customers.
I wonder if they're so concerned about grey-market re-importation into high-cost markets (the U.S. and Europe) that they basically write off sales everywhere else? That's the only thing that seems to make sense to me: if they have decided somewhere that the money they'd make by pricing according to local wages would be lost in cannibalized sales at much higher prices in the U.S./Europe.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
When my nephew gets old enough, he's gonna get this bad boy: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000IG4FMK/ref=wl_itt_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3JXNPYEWKM4KG&colid=38BL97SIGW5TR . It's basically an electronics lab that snaps together like legos. There's motors and lights and I think there's even a really basic ADC that you can plug into your computer and see the waveforms you generate.
Product endorsements, informative links, allegations of having a girlfriend - this has to be an advertisement. Joking aside, to whom are we focusing the collective attention of Slashdot on? While an USB microscope can be a cool toy or an inspirational tool of learning, the child's age and interests go a long way to qualify a gift's quality.
As technology professionals and/or Slashdotters, we tend to go a bit overboard with our attention to gadgets. For a seven year old, the USB microscope would be a neat curiosity for a short time, but after a week of investigating the complexities of boogers at extreme magnification, its usefulness would probably diminish quickly. At 13, an interested child would probably get frustrated quickly with the limitations of an entry level microscope. An uninterested one would probably follow a path similar to the seven year old's.
For gifts that feature the wonders of nature (chemistry, physics, math, colors, electronics, etc.) simple items can be much more engaging teachers than flashy electronic gadgets. After all, hasn't your nephew grown up with the overwhelming presence of cheap and easy "brain dead simple" gadgets? Give him something that will show how much fun it can be to solve a complicated problem.
Back to the age question. . . For a younger child, perhaps 5 to 8, look for some sort of unique puzzle or construction set - you'd be surprised at the building block sets that are available these days. An older child, boy or girl, may get good creative use out of a lego mindstorms kit, a beginner's programming book, or a good set of sketching pencils. The truly cool gift that is best for your nephew is likely to still be cool long after the USB microscope has passed on.
This toy is only for boys?
Why in the world would a microscope be gender-specific?
Learning to focus and not snap the slide certainly was an annoying challenge, but I think it also taught me to be more careful and more precise in working with lab tools. I fear that these all-too-simple point-and-click devices, while certainly useful, may not teach children the have the proper respect and care that expensive tools really should have.
My mom always said, "Jim, you're 1 in a million." Given the current population, there are 7000 of me. God help us all!