Right about now, it’s a fair bet that many of us are dragging fans out of cupboards and discovering just how much crud builds up on those things once they start spinning. That and the fact that violently rotating blades are also slightly scary. Among other things, that’s what motivated British designer James Dyson to build his Air Multiplier, a 21st-century take on the fan that’s joined in Tokyo stores this month by two new additions to the range.

Alongside the original Air Multiplier, we now have a choice of the Tower and Pedestal models, both available for ¥54,000, from mid-July. The bladeless fan works by sucking in air and “multiplying” it into a steady stream that’s supposed to be far smoother than a rotary fan can manage. For this, it relies on black airflow arts known as inducement and entrainment, we’re told. As we tend to take the word of a billionaire industrial designer at face value, let’s just leave it at that, shall we?

http://meturl.com/dyson

Hmm—how to explain DotWar without sounding idiotic, infantile or possibly both? Well, it’s like this: you tell the site your Twitter handle, choose another with which to, er, do battle, and then let it decide which of you is the winner. Oh, and it does this by turning your avatar into an army of thousands of little soldiers. Got that?

It’s probably a bit daft to explain here that the strength of those armies depends on the colors DotWar finds in your Twitter avatar, so we won’t bother. Instead, why not give it a spin and explore the intricacies of autoplay versus commanding the troops with your mouse, or of waging war on your entire roster of followers at random. Oh, we give up—go take a look, will you?

http://meturl.com/dotwar

You know how when you’re spying on your neighbors through binoculars you always wish it was really a long-lens camera so you could record that suspect behavior for posterity? No, neither do we, but Thanko seems to think that way, judging by its new Digital Camera Binoculars, which win points for clear-thinking from the naming department.

The ¥19,800, 8-megapixel digital camera and pair of scopes combine to give a whopping 32x zoom effect, meaning you’ll miss nothing as you surveil the Joneses or the frit-looking owl Thanko uses to illustrate its website. Incidentally, SD cards and AAA batteries are what you’ll need to keep this thing going. Those and something to actually look at, of course.

http://meturl.com/thanko

On a related note, if you’re tired of seeing your Twitter avatar fail to best its DotWar rivals every time you let it off the leash, then maybe it’s time for a lick of paint courtesy of locally made iPhone/iPad app Facemakr.

Built by Tokyo-based Dadako Studios, Facemakr is actually a whole lot more than just avatar building—it’s as entertaining an art app as we’ve yet seen, with hundreds of face parts (including silly beards and hats, natch) making for millions of combinations, all bright and appealing. Pricing is attractive too, with the iPhone version going for ¥230 and FacemakrHD for the iPad available for ¥350.

http://meturl.com/facemakr

So, you know how everything’s going 3D these days, but you feel a bit of a Luddite for wondering what the point is? Well, you’re definitely not alone—we’re right there with you. Take the July 8 baseball game between the Hanshin Tigers and Yakult Swallows down in Koshien that was, apparently, the world’s first such contest broadcast live in 3D.

All four viewers in Japan (can there possibly be more?) with the requisite Hikari TV package and a 3D telly from Panasonic or Sony were able to enjoy the Thursday night game and its eye-popping extra-dimensional action, as long as they could tolerate the silly glasses for the duration.

And that’s precisely the problem—if it’s not immediately obvious why blurry 3D anything is better than its pin-sharp 2D equivalent, why would anyone bother with the specs, the discomfort (there’s even a health warning on the broadcaster’s website) and the ¥200,000 TV sets? Surely this whole 3D drive can’t just be a novelty-based marketing shtick?

http://meturl.com/3dbaseball

We’re among the first to admit that there are far too many online stores peddling Japanese ephemera to Western audiences, but newcomer Loopto is definitely one of the more stylish on the scene—and it has substance to boot.

Technically, it’s actually a collection of stores, all operated directly by Japanese designers and manufacturers eager to spread the good word. Among the cool T-shirts, snazzy bags and intriguing furniture, the range of items is a lot broader than the usual single-focus sites manage. Better yet, much of it comes from across Japan—not just the usual areas.

With more stores set to sign up, and an online magazine complement promised soon, Loopto’s definitely one to watch.

http://meturl.com/loopto