Today, ladies and gentlemen, Canon did not announce a vacuum cleaner. It didn't announce one yesterday either, or one the day before. In fact, it's never announced a vacuum cleaner. That's why Canon's Russian service personnel were a little confused when people started calling saying that their vacuum cleaner was broken.

What seems to have happened is that a major electronics supplier bought a job lot of vacuums that a dodgy Chinese factory had produced with the Canon label, figuring (correctly) that it'd help them sell. Hilarious. If you've got one, then please send it to us - we'd love to review it.

(via EnglishRussia)

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According to its designers, the Minutuner is "an attempt to change our perception of time". Frankly, it could be an attempt to change our perception of a packet of doughnuts for all I care about the pretentions of artistic justification.

Let's be honest about this. It looks damn good. I hate the idea of having a bunch of LEDs breaking the pitch dark of my bedroom slumber but this is one clock radio I'd proudly own. In fact, I'd be tempted to move my bed into the living room just so that more of my guests could see it.

Have you ever wanted to unlock the front door of your house via the internet? Have you? Have you?

I doubt you have. If you have, you're MAD. I certainly haven't, but someone who works for lock specialist Schlage has - hence the arrival of the LiNK deadbolt locking system. LiNK, as well as being extremely fashionable thanks to its mix of upper and lower case letters, can send you a text message when your door is opened, perhaps helping you spy on the comings and goings of your housemates. Or, for a fee, you can subscribe to an online service that'll let you allow access to door-unlocking via the internet.

There's probably a serious use for this application. Like shop owners, who could let the minimum-wage employees open up at 6.45am from the comfort of their in-bed laptop.

(Via The Ars)

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When I first laid eyes on the Sunpentown SU-1051W personal humidifier at CES 2009, I didn't think the world of it. Nice that you can attach any kind of standard plastic water bottle to the top of it to use as the reservoir but when do I really need my air humidifying? I thought it was all about dehumidifying? And what about a device that keeps the air just the way it is, while we're at it?

But that's another post. The reason you might need your air humidifying, it turns out, is so that your face doesn't turn into a crisp as mine nearly did in Las Vegas. The desert air is just about 0% water surprise, surprise, meaning that all your mucus membranes dry out at a rate that feels faster than you can drink.

Demand a toilet AND underpants in one handy device? The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has got it covered!

The clichéd slightly wacky Japanese scientists have built the amazing below gadget, which could eliminate toilet trips for good. Poo and wee are sucked out by a pump, with a built-in washer/dryer system cleaning up the resulting mess, leaving you relaxed, fresh and dry. It's genius. Especially if the suction pump also comes with optional 'entertainment' attachments.

Might not be the most comfortable thing to wear about the place, but it'll definitely find itself a niche among Warcraft players, where abandoning your guild members to take a toilet break is a sign of weakness and dishonour.

(Via Akihabara)

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Sadly, I'll have drained my father's vintage wine collection long before this concept decanter ever comes to market, but even if you don't need to remove sediment from your plonk, the Rain Man is a beautiful thing.

Swedish designer Matilda Sundén Ringnér has come up with something not only beautiful but it'd work damn well too. With the holes on the side, you have to get the vessel completely horizontal to get all of the booze out, meaning that it'd leave all the nasty bits of congealed whatever they are lining the glass and your tipple ready to drink. Cheers Matilda.

(via Inventor Spot)

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If I eat too much peanut butter, it makes me come out in spots - nothing alarming but it's not pretty either. I think there's a lot of nut oil going on in there greasing up my skin, so unfortunately, much as I love the stuff, I don't think this peanut butter making machine is a good idea for me.

As it goes, this device will make a paste either crunchy or smooth - depending upon the setting - out of whatever kind of nuts you care to stick in it. In fact, in years to come we'll probably hear of serial killers feeding their victims to people in sandwiches with the crusts cut off.

If hydroponics is growing plants in a liquid of controlled PH and nutrient levels without the use of soil, well aeroponics does the same but without the use of the liquid. Instead, a fine mist is sprayed on your greenary under the warming glow of LED lights such as in this Broto future plant pot.

The mist still contains everything your plant needs and this design by Gabriela Mombach nicely demonstrates how a self contained unit could sit on your kitchen window sill growing basil and thyme and such. Alternatively you culd have a much larger one growing another kind of house plant in the basement where the helicopters can't see them.

(via Hacked Gadgets)

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Got an Arduino, a spare CD-ROM drive and an old NES lying around? How do you feel about making yourself a nifty security system out of it?

It's not as ridiculous as it sounds, and Instructables has the 'how-to' guide. You'll also need a webcam, small speaker, and a bunch of random wiring. Soon, you'll be foiling would-be intruders with your geek skillz.

Nintendo Keyless Entry System (via CrunchGear)

Related posts: SentrySafe USB Fire-Safe - lock up your data | reNESED: an old Nintendo NES made new (but still old)

For some reason I have it in my head that clocks are rather redundant. I don't think I own one any more? Do you? I'm not talking about microwaves or stereos or radios and such with clocks in them but dedicated clocks with their only raison d'etre to tell the time.

I haven't really wanted one for a while but this HDD Clock has changed my mind. Why? Well, because it's bloody safe, that's why. Look at it! I could ponce about by talking of the compliment of two such semi-dated pieces of hardware fused to create something new, useful, a rebirth, but that's just twaddle. It just looks ace and that's the bottom line. Buy one from $31 or better still, buy one for me.

(via Like Cool)

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Betting that within a few years every appliance we own will be hooked up to the internet, Nokia has announced plans for something called Home Control Centre. It's basically software that will let you control everything in your home from your mobile device, from the heating to the toaster.

I know, we've all been there - gone out with some toast in the toaster, and forgotten that you actually wanted it on browning level three, rather than browning level five.

Today's energy saving tip is to do with the vacuum cleaner. The common 'Hoover' is a massive drain of electricity, regularly sucking up POUNDS AND POUNDS worth of your electricity and therefore also the very fabric of planet Earth. But! You can stop this from happening! You can vacuum AND SAVE!

Watch my exclusive video on making your own, free, energy efficient vacuum cleaner out of household equipment to learn how...

You are not allowed to steal this idea. It is MY IDEA. I've emailed a rough outline of the concept to Sir James Dyson, the vacuum cleaner tycoon, asking for a few million to aid in its commercial development. I also cc-ed in Trevor Bayliss, as it's also the sort of thing he might be interested in selling to developing countries.

I will soon be known as The Other Vacuum Cleaner Tycoon.

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I know what you're thinking. You're thinking 'goodness, I really should start doing my bit for the environment, and whilst I'm rubbish at turning things off standby, I could perhaps be convinced to buy an eco-kettle. But which eco-kettle should I buy?', right? Oh. Well, perhaps you should be thinking that.

Luckily, we can cater to those exact thoughts. Or at least Hippyshopper can. They've looked at five eco-kettles, and put them through rigorous tea-based tests. Click on over here to find out which kettle saves the most polar bears.

How attached are you to the idea of your toast being evenly browned? How committed are you to collecting every piece of tenuous Star Wars memorabilia ever? If the answers are not at all, and very much indeed respectively, have we got a product for you.

This Darth Vader toaster is AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW, a marketing exercise only ever used on the most important of products. As well as your basic toaster functions, there's the added bonus of a dedicated button for when you're toasting frozen bread. It's how the Dark Lord would have wanted it.

$54 here [via BoingBoing Gadgets]

I think my cat gets to eat about 40 percent of the food that is placed in her bowl, thanks to the neighbourhood moggies who barge their way into my parents' gaff and steal her biscuits. Of course humans rarely challenge cats about such matters. Why? Because cats are CUTE, and humans are WEAK.

However even the cutest of kitties will be barred from entry when faced with Sureflap. That's because, thanks to marvellous modern RFID technology, each Sureflap grants entry only to cats recognised by the device.

The UK's Information Commissioner, who's been a very busy man/department recently, declined a freedom of information request to reveal how many TV license detector vans the BBC operates - because it might stop people believing they exist.

The shadowy fleet of TV-detecting vans is supposed to be able to pick up tell-tale signs that a TV's being used inside a house, but the ICO ruled that revealing how many vans the BBC actually operates - and the technology they use - might undermine the level of threat they pose. And lead to us not bothering to pay our licence fees any more.

We've all been there. Sat, just after midnight at your PC, shivering because the heating's not on. You wrap a blanket around you, but you know that at some point you'll need to turn the heating on, because you're nowhere near done with your work for the evening.

What you need is something that will save you getting up, because getting up is cold. You need the Ecobee - a Wi-Fi thermostat. It syncs with a web server, so you can control your heating from afar - turn it on before you leave work, for example. It could even adjust the heating depending on what the weather conditions are like outside - if it knows there's a cold snap coming, for example.

Today I will reveal how you can save POUNDS by recharging all your gadgets for FREE! Yes, that's right. For free. How can this be done? Have I invented something? Have I learned how to harness the awesome power of the sea? Have I mastered cold fusion in my fridge?

Or am I just lying to get attention? You'll have to watch the below video to find out, as there's no point me saying what the secret to a lifetime of free electricity is here if I've spent ages doing a video about it. That's not how it works.

So there you go. I'm typing this using electricity I didn't have to pay for. And for lunch I had a sandwich I found in the fridge at work. Dinner tonight is whatever I can find in the bins on the train home. Free living is amazing!

Related posts: E&E #4 | E&E #5

It's bad enough having to wash your clothes, but when the washing process sucks up vast piles of water and electricity and costs you money it's downright INFURIATING!

Which is why today's tip addresses how to get your washing machine working for you. Make it more efficient, get it running better while saving money AND the environment in the process. It's a complete no-brainer!

Can anyone recommend a good plumber or washing machine repair man? Mine seems to have started leaking recently.

Related posts: E&E #4 | E&E #3

The remarkably colourful IXOS XHP280 AV PowerStation Mains Surge Protector is pictured above. It's basically insurance. For a one-off payment of £70, your thousands of pounds of audio equipment will survive a lightning strike on your mains with no ill effects.

Because it's targeted at audiophiles, however, it's got a few special features. Firstly, there are eight power sockets. You could hook up an amp, some active speakers, a turntable, a cd player, your massive HDTV, a Blu-ray player, a sky+ box, and a vibrating armchair with no ill effects. You wouldn't want your vibrating armchair out of action.