In a lot of ways, I am a usb gadget journalist. Despite a little existential quiver about this fact yesterday, I do accept my role with devotion and yes love.

Without any more ado, this is the USB missile launcher webcam. Yes, it launches foam missiles for a distance of up to 15ft, with sound effects, and it is also a webcam.

As the makers put it:
"The USB Webcam gives you not just the ability to share audio and video online, but a cheeky way to launch foam missiles at targets and friends via webcam."

Genius. If these guys turned their attention to larger problems like world hunger they'd probably achieve great things.

You and your friend both need a missile-launcher/webcam for this to fully function and you need to be talking on Windows live messenger. Once you've both set up the cameras, you can control one another's missile launchers. And since the camera is conveniently incorporated into this system, you can easily aim directly at your friend, or your friend's cat/boss.

Like a real-life "poke" but with a foam missile. Not for the serious office environment, it's fair to say.

$50 on Amazon

[via Webtvwire]

Related: The USB eyelash curler: at last(!!1)

Is there anything that can't be powered through a USB port? The national grid? Sex toys? Don't answer that - we imagine someone somewhere has hooked at least one of them up to a USB port.

It wouldn't surprise me if that person worked at Thanko, the company behind the latest cunning invention to hit your computer's USB dock - a USB Eyelash Curler. I personally have been scared off eyelash curlers of all sorts since reading about a girl in a student newspaper who pulled all of her eyelashes out with one accidental yank and had to walk around eyelash-less for months till they grew back.

But, if you're sold on the concept of eyelash curling, and you have a few spare USB ports with nothing better to do... invest in this sleek model [W37 x H150 x D23mm] which can use AAA batteries if you happen to be further than 40cms from your laptop.
Use your laptop's camera as a mirror why not?

Priced only in yen, international shipping is available.

¥ 2,980.00 from GeekStuff4u.com

[via InventorSpot]

Related: Warm your shivering hands with Xmas USB gloves

Do you think your Twitter followers would appreciate knowing just how much you weigh on a frequent basis? Well now you can tell them with minimal effort. Simply stand on your Wifi-ennabled Body Scales from Withings and it AUTOMATICALLY UPDATES YOUR TWITTER . With your weight.

We reported on this gadget a little while ago - it's a weighing machine with wifi that sends details of your weight to a connected iPhone app, letting you plot your weight over time on graphs and plan a day's calorie intakes accordingly.

Now Withings have added social networking to the machine...

Yes they do - it's statistically proven. Consequently they are slightly better at using the aforementioned gadgets. This is such universally-accepted truth that the story was carried on the BBC.

After reviewing 75000 calls taken in a month between September 25 and October 23, a UK gadget helpline released information about who called it, what was wrong and why. The service found that 64% of its male callers and 24% of its female callers had not read the instruction manual before ringing up.

As the icy November winds howl over your keyboard, and you stop being able to use the enter key properly because your little finger has basically frozen stiff.. wouldn't it be nice to have some way of keeping your hands warm - like a sort of glove-shaped electric blanket?

Breathe deeply.

The time has come.

Yes - USB warming gloves exist. And yes, they are Xmas themed, bringing Christmas cheer as well as heat to your cold desk.

Films are moving from the TV screen to visors.

Like something out of a sci-fi flick, you can now watch films on what looks like a pair of sunglasses. Plug the Vuzix Wrap Video Eyewear into your laptop, DvD, games console or even mobile phone and watch videos on what appears to be a 44 or 67 inch screen.

Want to be more eco-conscious about how you use your computer?

Well there's a USB gadget to help you with that. The USB Eco Button doesn't allow you to do anything your computer doesn't already do - I mean - I bet there already is a power off and an energy-saver option on your computer... but the Eco Button just makes the power-save option more visible and so does make it easier for you to save power.

We take on a load of weirdo audio gadgets:
- the X-mini Max ii. £30 speakers from www.play.com
- JBL Headphones designed by Roxy £59.95 from www.roxy.com
- the Noisebag £30 back pack from www.noisebag.com

Related: Shiny Video: Gadget Round-Up - cute DAB radio, headphones x2 and musical fingers

Following on from Anna's lovely PJs post, we thought we'd give all the pregnant geeks out there a textile treat too.

These T-shirts from Think Geek are a perfect present for expectant gadget girls and come in two different logos; "Geek Inside", which symbolises the Intel logo and sits just where the bump is, and "Loading, Please Wait".

Both are made from a 100% cotton combed ringspun jersey, and cost $22, which is around £18. Perfect for mothers who are growing a geek baby.

I don't know about you, but I regularly burn myself when I mistakenly turn on the hot water tap instead of the cold, especially first thing in the morning when I'm not quite awake.

That's why I've fallen in love with this unique and burn saving gadget.

These Hi Tech faucet lights change color depending on the temperature of the water. It remains cold when the water is cold or at room temperature and turns red when the water reaches 98 degrees Fahrenheit.

They fit onto your water point and work through the pressure of the water, and there's no need to worry about electricity bills as this little gadget is battery operated, turning on and off according to your water pressure. Buy it now from Amazon.

Forget staplers - when your boss is next ordering in office supplies, persuade him/her to get you all an office Snackbot. A talking, yellow and white robot that delivers snacks to exactly where you want them - your desk.

Well admittedly Snackbots won't become as common as staplers overnight. In fact, sadly there only seems to be one in existence and it's at Carnegie Mellon University where it was made by robotics researchers as a way to investigate: "robust autonomous operation in office environments" [ha. I'd like to see someone investigating why there's never any milk in office environments, as well, but I suppose robotics researchers have different priorities.]

"Snackbot is a mobile robot," says his inventor at the university, "about the size of a very small human, that rolls around on wheels, and will be delivering snacks to students, faculty, and office workers at Carnegie Mellon University."

If you've got a messy other half, flatmate or family and you're particular about cleaning then you'll love this little gadget.

The Indoor Outdoor Roomba Robotic Sweeper is a mini cleaning marvel. It has two hard brushes on its belly, which will scrub your kitchen and living room floor to perfection as they go at 1000 times per minute.

It works automatically sweeping away the remnants of lasts night Chinese, dog hair, and well, anything else that ends up on the floor, storing it in its mini dustbin.

And you won't have to worry about paint chipped paintwork, as this cleaning miracle has its own sensor, preventing it from falling down stairs and bashing into walls. Just switch it on and put your feet up. Buy it from Hammacher.

Andrea and I look at a few of the week's gadget offerings...

The gear:

Oh look it's a fake memory stick that plays pranks on your victim's computer! Simply plug this USB device into someone else's computer and it'll turns caps-lock on and off, make random mouse movements, type out random text and generally be The Most Annoying Thing In The World.

It's fast approaching that time of year when you want to think about buying weird trinkety gadgets for your loved ones. No, not Hallowe'en or October the 8th, but Christmas. Yes, sorry we've mentioned the C-word already... but hey that's what we do..ahem.

On the site Crazy about Gadgets - there is a wide selection of the down-right weird, wonderful and battery consuming. A quick selection of this month's finest offerings.

Click on the image below to start the gallery

Whether you're a for-pleasure day-tripping cyclist or a traffic-hardened bike-to-work type, your ride can be enhanced by a whole range of weird little gadgets. Some of our choices below are purely decorative, some are pieces of technical wizardry. Though there's nothing that launches missiles at inconsiderate taxis. Not yet.

Click on the image below to start the gallery