Supermarket Asda claims to have answered the prayers of men and women up and down the country. No, it’s not a solution to the recent riots, nor a fail-safe strategy to save the global ecomony. Instead, the supermarket has unveiled hold-everything-in control pants for men that claim to lift and firm flabby behinds, sculpt beer bellies and smooth away love handles.

Nicknamed Manx, after the female underwear brand Spanx, the stretchy fabric is said to be the perfect for the self-conscious man who wants to appear firm and flatter. While women happily cavort around in padded bras and stomach-smoothing knickers, it seems to us that there is something fundamentally wrong with the male of the species taking this approach.

Hypocritical as it sounds, this garment is just utterly and terminally unsexy. Still, given the number of beer bellies we expect they will be flying off the shelves – plus if women are allowed to squash and sculpt their bodies, why shouldn’t men?

If you’re finding it hard to shed those extra pounds because you’re chained to desk all day and can’t find time to fit in some exercise then the Elliptical Machine Office Desk will mean there’s no more excuses. Consisting of an adjustable-height desk that pairs with a semi-recumbent elliptical trainer, it’s claimed the setup will allow the average user to burn about 4,000 calories in a typical working week. And with a healthy body and a healthy mind said to go hand in hand, the setup might even make you more productive in the office.

At the press of a button the desk’s height adjusts from 27- to 47-inches (68.5 to 119 cm), so it can be used with a standard office chair, the semi-recumbent elliptical trainer, or even while standing. The elliptical machine features a padded swivel chair with an adjustable backrest. The resistance level of the pedals is electronically controlled via the included 4- by 6-inch monitor that is attached to the desk on an adjustable arm. The monitor also displays distance, watts, rpm, and calories burned and stores information for up to 30 users.

It’s suitable for users ranging in height from 5′ 2" to 6′ 9" (157 to 206 cm) and weighing up to 300 pounds (136 kg) – although hopefully the device will help bring the weight of anyone on the borderline down in a timely fashion.

The Elliptical Machine Office Desk is available from Hammacher Schlemmer for US$8,000 with an additional $450 for delivery – which means most offices will still be encouraging their workforces to lose weight the old fashioned way – by eating healthier and walking instead of driving when possible.

It seems you can get just about anything from vending machines these days. From shoes to flowers and ice cream to gold it can all be had by slotting a bit of cash into a machine – or in the case of the gold vending machine, a lot of cash or a credit card with a decent limit. Now there’s another unlikely vending machine offering in the form of the RoboPutt, a robotic vending machine that will dole out a five minute putting lesson for the cost of a decent golf ball.

While other putting machines rely on the user performing the swing to which the machine provides feedback, RoboPutt does the moving for you to reinforce a good swing. By repeating a perfect swing over and over, RoboPutt is designed to build muscle memory so you can repeat the swing out on the greens.

The machine is intended for golf clubs and shops where a golf pro will enter the user’s personal information and record their current putting stroke. This is done through the use of a small device called “DiGi” that clips onto the shaft of the user’s putter. Once attached the user plays a few 10 ft (3 m) putts until they find a swing they’re happy with – since DiGi is a self contained device it can be taken out onto the greens if required. DiGi is then removed and wirelessly transmits the stroke data to the RoboPutt computer at the press of a button.

Users then attach their own putter to the RoboPutt machine and choose from an introductory stroke selection lesson, a course of 10 progressive training lessons or ongoing drills via a touchscreen interface with tips and advice (and confidence building) relayed via a pair of wireless headphones. The user’s stroke data, personal information and progress are stored on a magnetic card so users can practice their putt on any RoboPutt machine.

For users, a four to five minute lesson costs around US$5, and since this is where RoboPutt will make its money, the company will provide RoboPutt machines to qualified pro shops, golf schools and training facilities worldwide free of charge – although “well-qualified buyers” can also purchase their own customized, individual units.

Considering the fact that a large section of the world population has to travel miles every day to get a pot of drinking water to quench their thirst, preservation of water becomes our primary responsibility, no matter if we are living in places with scarce or abundant water resources. Emphasizing the conservation of water, South Korean designer Jang Wooseok has developed an innovative sink that requires a bit of toil to get water for your daily use. Dubbed “Bisynk,” the new faucet removes the lever and has to be paddled like an exercise bike to acquire water. The creative accessory, integrating the paddle to power the faucet, not only helps in water conservation but also keeps the user in a good shape. In other words, now users have to sweat it out to earn water for their daily consumption.

Over the years we’ve seen quite a variety of technology aimed at shaving a few shots of a golfer’s game, from robots such as the Top Swing to motion analyzing systems such as the PSProSwing and iClub system. While such systems provide great feedback about the motion of a golf swing, they can overlook one of the most basic but no less important aspects of a natural golf swing – a relaxed grip. German-based company, Sensosolutions, has come up with a compact way to measure the level of grip pressure in the form of the SensoGlove, the world’s first digital golf glove.

The SensoGlove is made of high quality cabretta leather with four tiny sensors sewn into it. These sensors read the user’s grip pressure 80 times a second and a computer analyzes the readings and displays the results on a sweat-proof 1.2-inch LED digital monitor located on the back of the glove.

Before a swing, the user dials in their target pressure on a scale of 1 to 18. The lowest settings (1 – 12) are less sensitive, while the highest settings (13 –18) are the most sensitive and encourage a very light grip pressure, useful for chipping and putting. The company recommends users try out the glove at the driving range to test various pressure settings until they find one that gives them the perfect swing.

Once the ideal target pressure is set, the glove then reads and displays the pressure and warns the user with an audio warning if they are gripping too tightly exactly when it happens during their swing. The glove will even show which finger is griping too tight to allow fine-tuning of the grip.

“Every golfer wants to hit the ball far and the natural instinct is to swing harder and faster,” said David Bauer, President, Sensosolutions. “But trying to swing with more power causes a death grip, creating tension in the hands, wrists, arms and shoulders. The result is a less than smooth swing and, even worse, tightened muscles. Tight muscles result in slower – not faster – club head speed.”

The company says the SensoGlove will allow all golfers, from beginner to advanced, to quickly learn how to hold the club and avoid the dreaded “death grip”and improve every part of a golfer’s game – from backswing, downswing, impact, follw-through, to driving, putting and chipping.

The computer/display can be easily removed from the glove and snapped onto a replacement glove if the glove wears out, or if you just want to play without it. It is powered by standard watch batteries which last for 80 – 100 hours of play. It is available in S, M, ML, L and XL men’s sizes and S, M, and L women’s sizes. All sizes are available for the left and right hands and can also be used together to control the pressure in both hands at the same time.

The SensoGlove is available from the SensoGlove website priced at US$89. Replacement gloves without the computer are priced at $22.48, while a left-hand/right-hand value pack sells for an equally specific price of $132.94.