It's certainly not the first coffee table we've featured that does more than just keep a stack of magazines off the floor. But with Teckell's Intervallo micro foosball table in your living room, you might actually look forward to sitting around sipping coffee after dinner. More »

VHS might not be able to compete with digital media in terms of picture quality or audio fidelity but it had that feel, that soul, that only analog can provide. This coffee table captures the same sense of warm fuzz as analog technology, only in hand-crafted teak. More »

Canon EOS 1000D washes ashore in BC, Canada, SD card reveals it was lost at sea for over a year originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Nov 2011 15:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There are plenty of WiFi-connected remote control apps for tablets, dongles for IR control and even an IR blaster built into Vizio's tablet, but here's a Motorola slab purpose-built for the coffee table. The Verge has received several pics of the Motorola Corvair (and its packaging), a "dedicated controller for the connected" ...something, which is apparently in testing with unnamed cable companies right now. It's a 6-inch tablet running Android 2.3, that the box shows working as a remote control and apparently mirroring its display on the TV screen. Other notes indicate it's optimized for low cost, packs a healthy 4,000mAh battery, and can communicate with other devices via IR or Zigbee's RF4CE spec (where's Android@Home?). That would line it up perfectly to tie in with home automation systems like the one Motorola and Verizon just launched, as well as potentially provide a sweet platform for content discovery. The only downside? Unless Moto goes against type, this will probably never see retail and we'll have to wait on our cable company to figure out a way to charge extra for one and slap their own ugly software on it -- here's hoping that's not the case.

Motorola Corvair 6-inch Android 2.3 tablet outed, destined for the home automation set? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 05 Nov 2011 16:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It might look like something out of MJ's Billie Jean, but this colorful LED array won't be under moonwalking foot -- that is, unless the party gets crunk. This colorful grid is actually a table top, brought to you by way of TI's MSP430 microcontroller, and it knows how to get down. The table is made up of 128 frosted glass cubes, each apparently capable of emitting 16 million colors. Its creators also produced a special beat-detection software, that could very easily have your furniture outshining the bumpers and grinders at your next party. If you're looking for a little extra something from your coffee table, you can find full build instructions at the source link below.

Continue reading LED coffee table busts a multicolored move (video)

LED coffee table busts a multicolored move (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Jul 2011 03:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Julie Kim wondered what would happen if you placed a coffee table, stack of newspapers and a cheery vase of flowers at an LA bus stop. Secretly filming them, she found that people actually engaged with one another. More »

See that chart up there? That's a beautiful visualization of a dozen folk models surrounding the idea of home computer security, devised by Michigan State's own Rick Wash. To construct it (as well pen the textual explanations to back it), he interviewed a number of computer users with varying levels of sophistication, with the goal being to find out how normal Earthlings interpreted potential threats to their PC. His findings? A vast amount of home PCs are frequently insecure because "they are administered by untrained, unskilled users." He also found that PCs remain largely at risk despite a blossoming network of preventative software and advice, and almost certainly received an A for his efforts. Hit the source link for more, but only after you've spiffed up, thrown on a pair of spectacles and kicked one foot up on the coffee table that sits in front of you.

Visualized: preconceived notions about personal computer security originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 13:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Small house? Designers Jérôme Spriet and Wolfgang Bregentzer have converged the coffee table with the sound system in the ultimate space-saver. Just connect an audio source to the Acoustable and put your feet up. [DesignBoom via Freshome via BornRich] More »

If you don't want your living room flailing to be in vain this November, plan on moving your coffee table—leaked manual pages show that Kinect's camera requires 6 to 8 feet of clear space to function. [Kotaku] More »

In the world of the HTPC, the quest for the least inconvenient means of controlling on-screen action continues. We had a winner with the Rii Mini wireless keyboard in March, but the familiar aesthetics of this EFO iPazzPort keyboard make us want to have one lying about our coffee table. This is the newly redesigned third generation model, a big step forward from the first gen and, from the second revision, adds on function keys that can be used during bootup (for the "Hit F1 to enter BIOS" types), dedicated keys for playing and pausing and whatnot, and a laser pointer -- crucial for indicating the fatally arcing trajectories of contestants on Wipeout. All that's in addition to the already present QWERTY keyboard resting just below a functional touchpad. The cost? $45. Watching your friends try to make a call from your keyboard? Priceless.

EFO iPazzPort Keyboard looks like a BlackBerry, calls your HTPC instead of your boss originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 08 Aug 2010 18:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hey, you know that whole Silent Hill design theme you've been aiming for, with the faceless nurse mannequins scattered about and the constantly running fog machine? We think we've found a coffee table for you. It's (naturally) called the Horus and its made of "ultra-high performance concrete," offering a spot for you to dock your iPod or iPhone on top, a pair of speakers down below, and an illuminated glass plane bisecting the thing. It's the creation of designer Stephane Thivend and, while it doesn't appear to be available in red nor does it come with a giant sword, it would certainly serve as a visual symbol of your guilt over spending so much on high-concept furniture.

Horus coffee table/iPod dock will make friends question your sanity originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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