Categories
Games Maker/Development

Hackaball ball will get your kids off the couch and outside

Time and time again, traditional video games have gotten a bad rap as enablers of a sedentary lifestyle. These days, with both console and mobile games increasing in popularity, many kids are spending much less time outdoors, their eyes instead glued to a screen.

Hackaball wants to lend a helping hand in getting them moving again. At its core, Hackaball is a computer kids can throw around. Inside the product’s tough, transparent case sits a plethora of motion sensors, 9 LEDs, an accelerometer, and a gyroscope, all of which can be programmed by using the companion iPad app to create games. With it, kids are limited only by their imagination as they can think up of many new ways to play with Hackaball. Additionally, the product comes with unlockable features that become available the more it’s used.

All of this fun is ultimately educational, with the companion app serving as a light introduction to programming — which makes sense given that there’s mention of future Arduino support for Hackaball. Hackaball’s ultimate enemy just happens to be the demographic they’re targeting: children’s attention spans. The $69 product is estimated to be delivered in December 2015, provided a successfully funded $100,000 campaign goal by April 3.

Categories
Apparel

Rhino Laces keep your boots kicking butt through blades and fire

Rhino LacesThere have been Kickstarter projects that have sought to replace the lace, but Rhino Laces certainly is not for those too lazy to run that rabbit around the tree in order to make a proper knot. These laces are designed for people who depend on their boots for survival in extreme situations, not looking cool. As the campaign description makes clear, they’re resistant to every danger from fire to zombies to (no, please, anything but) hipsters and their tips are rugged enough to arouse suspicion by the TSA. For those needing the toughest rope this side of paracord keeping their boots on, early bird pricing starts at $17 and delivery is expected in April 2014.