Two MIT Media Lab graduates David Carr and John Kestner have invented a rubber block called Twine that can send the owner a notification via text, email or tweets when something happens, may it be bad or good.
Carr and Kestner raised funds on the funding site Kickstarter to make this happen. After a period of time, they have raised half a million dollars from the crowd. Now, the two are shipping their invention through their own company called the Supermechanical.
The invention is a 2.7 inch square rubber block that is powered by AA batteries. It can run for a few months and will send you an email when the batteries need to be changed or recharged. It features vibration, temperature and orientation sensors. It also features an additional connection which you can use to track other things, like when the dryer is done drying your laundry and it is WiFi connected.
Owners can customize it depending on what they want to monitor. It comes with a Web app in which you can set up how you want to get a notification; it can either be via text, email or tweet.
Basically, Twine costs US$99 but for US$134, you can get it with a magnetic door and window sensor. (RJA)