ADD cooks like myself are constantly wandering away from the stove to multitask – often leaving our precious pots to determine proper cooking time and temperature to disastrous results. I can’t even count the times where I’ve burned or overcooked things, which is why I was excited to see this Range smartphone thermometer that can send me alerts. The graph feature is an added bonus so I can study my recipe’s cooking temperature over time – for even more precision!

Vavuud is a simple, plastic wind meter for your smartphone that takes advantage of magnetic power in order to give you an accurate wind reading. It plugs into your phone’s jack and relays the information to you via a simple app. Here’s how it works:

As its arms spin in the breeze, the magnetometer in your phone detects the field created by the two magnets embedded in the Vaavud’s rotor. The app then converts the rotations of these magnets into wind speed using modified sound processing algorithms.

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In a truly progressive shift, the developers at Globacore combined the Oculus Rift with Atari’s Paperboy and Kickr’s stationary bike fitness regimen into a fun and experimental exercise routine. When Atari created Paperboy in the 80′s, they didn’t have access to Oculus Rift or Kickr’s fitness app or we would all be world class cyclists by now since newspaper delivery jobs are pretty obsolete.

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The makers of the Myo armband at Thalmic Labs are using wearables to simple gesture interfaces. Unlike other software that requires light for infrared sensors, the armband attaches to the user’s skin and can detect electrical impulses to power electronics and computers. According to the founders, a small movement of a finger is as easy to detect as a wave of the hand. The best part about the interface is walking around and opening window blinds and controlling UAVs like Darth Vader.
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Belkin has already built and iPhone case that doubles as a giant Lego block, but this connector piece by Taiwanese KBme2 is the first Lego component capable of connecting any iDevice  into customizable moving, tweeting, instagramming Hotwheels. The brick lightning caps come in two sizes that can connect to your phone’s port. You can probably build a giant Lego table just to hold your iPad while you watch YouTube videos. The sky is the limit!

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Researchers at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory have developed a new microbial fuel cell that harnesses the power of human pee to power mobile devices. The fuel cells contain bacteria that converts urine’s magical chemicals that bacteria can turn into electrons that then turn into tweets.

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Smart phones can now be equipped to tackled your olfactory perception with this whimsical Japanese gadget from Chaku Perfume. The device is a small attachment to your phone that can transfer scents wirelessly for $60. Chaku’s representative suggested that the device can be used my music idols to transmit their scents during live concert broadcasts using the device’s app – Chat Perf.

For example, suppose you want to send a message to a friend via a social network, maybe because you know your friend is tired. You can use this to send a relaxing scent along with your message. You can also use it to add scent to the notification sound whenever you get a new e-mail. We also think this device could be used with games. It could have all kinds of applications, so for example, in a shooting game, shots could be accompanied by the smell of gunpowder.

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Cloud computing’s hyper-mobility is powerful, but it’s not always feasible. If you’re always struggling to find better data speed and increased security, then you should look into Stormfly wristbands – the USB 3.0 powered harddrive that puts your PC on your wrist. Just plug in the USB wristband and reboot the device and you’ll have your own operating system on hand with all of your personal data.

We built StormFly for speed. Running an Operating System from a USB is not easy, there’s a lot of information spinning back and forth to make things happen at lightning speed. Because of that we designed USB 3.0, the latest USB standard, and we tweaked it a bit to give it some properties of SSD (Solid State Drives). The result gives you a device that not only allows you to run your Operating System, it also gives you a standard USB storage device that is super-fast.

Stormfly is a product from Now Computing and the Kickstarter campaign aims to give you an ultraportable option that removes all of the uncertainty of cloud computing. You won’t have to wait for dependable wi-fi or slow servers. The wristband is only accessible with your personal password and if you lose your wristband, Now Computing sends you a replacement product with data from the last time you backed up. Read more

If you are eagerly anticipating the launch of the iPad Mini tomorrow, then I have a treat for you.

Best Buy is running a sale right now on iTunes gift cards. They’re offering a $50 gift card for $40, a 20% discount. Act fast and you can scoop up your favorite ebooks, apps, and music at a nice discount.

You can find the gift card here. The offer expires today.

In other news, Apple is busy today decorating a movie theater in San Jose. One eagle-eyed blogger noticed that the California Theater, where Apple announced new iPod models in 2005, now has new signs in the movie poster holders which show Apple’s logo. The signs don’t offer any clue as to what will be announced but I’m sure they will still add to the anticipation.

When Apple launched the iPhone 6 it had a new dock connector. Everyone knew this ahead of time, of course, but that doesn’t change one important detail: there are no accessories for it. The new iPhone has no docks at all, so it looks like any new owner is going to have to wait a couple months for the accessory makers to catch up.

Or maybe not. One enterprising hacker couldn’t wait, so he cobbled together his own dock and then posted this video to show you how you can do the same.