There aren't very many times where you can get in on the ground floor of something and have a shot at really putting out something huge on a platform. The iPhone proved that anyone can make an app that sells well and launches a new career for someone. Now we've done the same at Amazon for the Kindle. Make sure to sign up now to get notified when we officially release the Kindle Developer Kit next month! The full PR can be found here.

KDK Limited Beta Coming Next Month

Submit your e-mail address to get notified when the limited beta starts next month. Participants in the limited beta will be able to download the Kindle Development Kit, access developer support, test content on Kindle, and submit finished content. Those wait-listed will be invited to participate at a later date as space becomes available. The Kindle Development Kit includes sample code, documentation, and the Kindle Simulator, which helps developers build and test their content by simulating the 6-inch Kindle and 9.7-inch Kindle DX on Mac, PC, and Linux desktops. We are excited to see what you invent for Kindle.

User revenue will be split 70% to the developer and 30% to Amazon net of delivery fees of $0.15 / MB. Remember that unlike smart phones, the Kindle user does not pay a monthly wireless fee or enter into an annual wireless contract. Kindle active content must be priced to cover the costs of downloads and on-going usage.

Pricing Options

Active content will be available to customers in the Kindle Store later this year. Your active content can be priced three ways:

• Free – Active content applications that are smaller than 1MB and use less than 100KB/user/month of wireless data may be offered at no charge to customers. Amazon will pay the wireless costs associated with delivery and maintenance.
• One-time Purchase – Customers will be charged once when purchasing active content. Content must have nominal (less than 100KB/user/month) ongoing wireless usage.
• Monthly Subscription – Customers will be charged once per month for active content.

Active content applications have an upper size limit of 100MB. Applications larger than 10MB will not be delivered wirelessly but can be downloaded from the Kindle Store to a computer and transferred to the user's Kindle via USB.

Developer Guidelines

Voice over IP functionality, advertising, offensive materials, collection of customer information without express customer knowledge and consent, or usage of the Amazon or Kindle brand in any way are not allowed. In addition, active content must meet all Amazon technical requirements, not be a generic reader, and not contain malicious code.

We will work to refine the above guidelines throughout the beta.

Posted by Frank Bisono at 8:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ok, for all of you photo geeks out there, this one is for you. Sadly, as an employee at Amazon.com, I can't participate, but YOU can! Here's your shot at winning one heck of a grab-bag of goodies and a trip to Yellowstone National Park.

From November 9 through 15, just create, add to, or share a Wish List, and you'll be invited to enter for a chance to win our Yellowstone Photo Expedition with Canon Sweepstakes. Read more in the FAQ. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. See official rules.

		1. Yellowstone Photo Expedition with Canon We'll fly you and a guest to Yellowstone National Park where you'll stay two nights at Old Faithful Lodge. Your days will be spent in a private lesson at the elbow of Adam Jones, a leading photographer and instructor in Canon's "Explorers of Light" program.
		2. Canon EOS 7D 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera Of course you’ll need a camera that will capture every moment. This digital SLR features an impressive new viewfinder and plenty of extras.
		3. Canon 200DG Digital Camera Gadget Bag Protect and carry your gear like a professional with this spacious, water-repellent bag.
		4. Canon Deluxe 200 Tripod Stillness is one of a photographer’s best friends. This lightweight tripod with multiple adjustments will help you stay focused.
		5. Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash This amazingly responsive flash unit will help keep your subjects out of the shadows.
		6. Canon Wide-Angle Zoom Lens Plenty of breathtaking vistas await you. Get the expansive landscape in frame with this wide-angle lens.
		7. Canon Telephoto Zoom Lenses Creeping up on wildlife is against park rules. Keep your distance but feel just like you’re there with a pair of telephoto lenses.
		8. Canon Macro Lens Transfixed by the intricate underside of a fern? This macro lens will keep the memory alive.
		9. Canon Lens Hoods You’ll see a dramatic difference when you’re in control of your lighting. These lens hoods will help you master Mother Nature.
		10. Yellowstone Treasures: The Traveler's Companion to the National Park From Old Faithful to the Yellowstone caldera, you’ll be able to find all the best spots for shooting in one of the country's most popular National Parks with this guidebook.

more details after the jump...Good luck!!!

Continue reading "Attention all photo geeks: Amazon's Wishlist Sweepstakes Week 6 is for you..." »

Posted by Frank Bisono at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rumors and speculation about Microsoft's new iPod-killer have been floating around for some time now, but today Microsoft announced the Zune officially.  So is it the iPod killer Microsoft claims it to be?  My initial reactions are mixed.  First strike against the Zune is the design.  This thing is just straight-up UGLY.  Not really sure what someone was thinking releasing a brown version, but so be it.  I can hear the jokes about the brown one already.  I can say a few things about it too, but we won't go there. ;-)  I think part of the appeal of the iPod is it's sexiness.  The Zune just doesn't ooze with that sexiness of the iPod.  Maybe it's the black wheel sticking out of the center, and that horrid bezel surrounding the scroll wheel and screen.  I dunno.  My second beef is something that's hard to ding Microsoft on, no integration with iTunes or music purchased from the iTMS.  Again, this is a major problem for ALL manufacturers, not just Microsoft.  Apple has a lock on iTMS and they aren't about to let the other kiddies play in the sandbox.  One question I have for the Microsoft folks is why such a small hard drive (30GB)?  I suspect it was to keep initial costs down, but this could really be an issue for media junkies like me who have over 80GB of content sitting in my iTunes.  I would really like to see a model in the 80-120GB capacity.  So what else am I griping about?  Sit down...this is unexpected...but NOTHING else seems to be a deal-breaker on the Zune so far.

So what did Microsoft do right?  Plenty.  Can this really kill the iPod?  I suspect YES.  It's not going to be an easy battle, but with future iterations of the product, as the user feedback pours in and the product team assimilates that feedback, I suspect we will see a modified form factor, much like Apple has refined the iPod from what it was when they first released it.  Folks, this is a serious piece of hardware and Apple should be SCARED.  REAL SCARED.  Here's the things that Microsoft LISTENED to their users and not only took away, but actually IMPLEMENTED them into their product:

1. WiFi - You can share your media with friends now.  iPod users have been asking for this for ages.
2. Built-in FM Tuner - Yet another feature the iPod community has been screaming for.
3. Widescreen QVGA Screen - this was a no-brainer.  What has Apple been thinking lately?
4. Formats Gallore - the Zune supports h.264, MP3, AAC and WMA.  Choices.  Fancy that?
5. Multi-formats in the Media Manager - The media manager will also handle photos!  Nice.

Other key features include Microsoft's Zune Marketplace.  Details are sketchy, but Microsoft claims that there will be millions of songs to choose from in a variety of formats.  You will be able to import your media from iTunes and Windows Media Player, with the exception of items purchased on the iTunes Music Store.  As I mentioned before, that's a real bummer, but beyond Microsoft's control.  The Zune WILL however allow you to share full-length songs with your friends via the WiFi connection.  Shared songs can be played for up to three days, and if you like the tunes, you can flag it for purchase and connect directly to the Zune Marketplace to purchase the song.  Way cool.  The Zune will come pre-loaded with a bunch of tunes and Microsoft will be offering an all-you-can-eat option called a Zune Pass subscription.  No word on pricing for the Zune or anything else for that matter.  Part of the Microsoft PR and full pics after the jump..

Technorati Tags: Cool Gear, Microsoft, Mobility, Peripherals, Portable Audio, Portable Devices, Zune

Continue reading "It's Official: Microsoft Zune is out!" »

Posted by Frank Bisono at 2:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Well, it certainly looks like Sony is on a product release rampage.  Looks like they have just updated the old UX180 that I was soooo lusting over, and now it's the UX280.  Major improvements have been made in memory (bumped up to 1GB)  and storage (doubled to 40GB).  The UX280 UX280P is "Windows Vista™ Premium Ready, Edge, WiFi and Bluetooth are built right in, and expansion is a breeze with the included port replicator.  The processor is still a Core Solo U1200, shame they didn't go the Duo-Core route, but it's still an impressive little machine.  Now for the typical Sony blow to the gut...the price is a whopping $1999.  Now what on God's earth is Sony thinking here?  Have they any clue what kind of a Mac Notebook you can buy for that kind of money?  I mean the form factor is great, but it isn't THAT great that I am willing to blow $2k on it.  So once again, Sony comes out the door guns blazin, only to get nuked by their own "friendly fire."  Nice try Sony, let me know when you come back to planet Earth and I'll consider buying one at that time.

Technorati Tags: Cool Gear, Mobility, PC, Portable Devices, UMPC

Posted by Frank Bisono at 1:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

In true Sony fashion, they have come out with what appears to be one of the sleekest looking GPS devices on the market.  The user interface seems decent based on the images so far.  Memory seems adequate and bluetooth is standard.  Rather than rehash what someone else already did pretty well, here's the review from Yournav.com:

"Electronics giant Sony hasn't quite given up on navigation yet: starting this November two new PND's a supposed to gain a bit of market share for them. These new devices, the Nav-U80 and the Nav-U81T, both feature a large 4,3 inch touch screen and what Sony calls 'Position Plus'.

Position Plus
Sony's Position Plus is a technology which is supposed to provide a better positioning at times when reception of GPS signals is bad or non-existent even. By means of a built-in acceleration and pressure sensor, the position and movement of the vehicle can be estimated with more accuracy.

Also new are the 'Gesture Commands'. Using this technology, frequently used commands like 'Navigate Home', or 'Look for nearest petrol pump' can be entered with one finger-movement across the screen.

Maps
The Nav-U81T ships standard with a 4 GB harddisk which holds the complete European map with 37 countries. The Nav-U80 ships with the regional maps of the area of purchase on the integrated 512 MB of internal memory. The U81T comes with TMC built-in, for the U80 it's available as an option. Both PND's enable hands-free phoning in combination with a supported Bluetooth mobile phone."

Prices for both devices are still unknown for now, but we expect more info on that soon.

Technorati Tags: Cool Gear, GPS, Mobility, PND, Portable Devices

Posted by Frank Bisono at 2:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

No, I'm not talking about MY life online, this is SONY's latest and greatest geek gadget, mylo (My Life Online).  This is the device that many of us wanted Apple to announce at yesterday's WWDC Keynote, yet it took Sony to actually give us what we wanted.  This device has the potential to be another iPod with todays digital generation, but it's not quite there yet.

The mylo is a wireless broadband personal communicator.  Unlike it's closest messaging competitor, the T-Mobile Sidekick, this device works on WiFi rather than a cell providers signal.  That's good and bad.  Good, you can do things like instant message your buddies, surf the web, and even make phone calls via Skype for free.  The bad news, you can ONLY do it on WiFi.  No WiFi and you are out of luck.  From the initial looks of it, the mylo only supports messaging via Skype, Google Talk or Yahoo.  So where's the AIM support?  Got me, but you'd think that they would support one of the largest messaging networks on the planet.  They also seem to have forgotten about MSN (both chat and email).  That in itself is a major product-killer.

The mylo is also attempting to jump into the iPod space by providing you the ability to load up your music, photos and video.  Unfortunately it falls WAY short of the iPod in these areas.  The screen is smaller, it only plays a few music formats (Apple's AAC isn't one of them), and probably the single biggest drawback is Sony's insistence on utilizing their memory stick format, rather than a hard drive in the device.  By using the memory sticks, they once again fail to provide adequate storage space for things like music and video, which is one of the biggest downfalls of the PSP.  When will Sony learn?  And to add insult to injury, if you want to take full advantage of being able to xfer video to your device, you need to pay more money for Sony's Image Converter 2 software.  That's just about the most retarded move I have seen yet.

Another feature that just seems like a "Duh?" feature that is missing is a camera.  They went this far, why stop by failing to provide camera and video chat support?  The whole mylo concept seems great, and something that many of us would certainly want.  Unfortunately, it seems as if the product has been rushed to market.  It's missing apps and features that I think are essential to giving users that über geek device we are all seeking.  I think that with a little more thought and some feature and application enhancements, Sony could have a real winner on their hands.  If Sony's intent is to compete with the iPod, then they have some serious problems to overcome, formats and storage capacity for starters.  If Sony wants this to be taken seriously as a video device, they need to also think about bumping that screen size to at least PSP levels, and empowering users to do this by providing the software tools in the box.

Am I being a little harsh on Sony?  You betcha.  As an early-adopter and super geek, this is what I want.  I already have the iPod, a Treo, PSP and a Laptop.  How much more crap do you think I am going to carry Sony?  If you can develop the ultimate device that can replace the iPod, Treo and PSP and give me all of that in one device, you have hit the jackpot.  Combine these features into a UX-180 with a phat hard drive, and you hit total geek nirvana.  Until then, I guess we are all stuck wishing for the non-existant.  For a more opinions and a first look video, check out Gizmodo and Engadget.

Technorati Tags: Cool Gear, Mobility, Portable Audio, Portable Devices

Posted by Frank Bisono at 4:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Recently I traded some gear I wasn't using for a TomTom Go 700 GPS with Remote Control, in practically new condition.  I have to tell you folks, this was the best trade I have done in years.  The Go 700 was TomTom's flagship GPS until their latest edition this year, the Go 910.  There are some nice upgrades on the 910 like a bigger screen, hard drive and additional Plus Services, but overall, for the price I paid, the Go 700 is one heck of a GPS unit and quite a nice add-on to my car.  You can read some great reviews on TomTom's GPS systems, as well as many others over on GPSreview.net.  If you are in the market for a GPS or just like keeping up on the latest navigation gadgetry, you should definitely check the site out.

TomTom has some great extra "Plus services" that come along with the purchase of their units.  Many of the services require pairing the GPS unit with your phone via Bluetooth.  Unfortunately the list of compatible phones is less than stellar.  If you have been following my blog for a while, you know that my current phone is a Treo 650.  It's been a solid phone, minus a few problems in the beginning, and I am generally overall satisfied with the unit.  It also happens to be one of the most popular phones around, and you would think that most companies would try to make their equipment compatible with it.  As many of you know, that isn't exactly the case.  TomTom is no exception.  The Treo 650 is not "officially" supported on their site.  That's actually not entirely true.  I was recently able to hack the Go 700 and got it to pair up successfully with my Treo 650.  The trick to this was enabling the Bluethooth mode on the Treo 650 and turning "Dial-up Networking" [ ON ].  The phone WILL successfully pair up with the Go 700 (you might have to try a few times) and if you have a service plan like Cingular's MediaNet (I have the unlimited), then you will be able to connect to TomTom's Plus services and download updates, get traffic and many more services.  You will NOT however be able to connect to the Go 700 and use it as an external speaker/mic for the Treo 650.  Basically you won't be able to use *any* normal bluetooth features, like pairing it with your headset, while in DUN mode.  That's not such a big deal to me, it might be to others.  I thought it might be interesting info for any of you Go 700 users out there that might have a Treo.  This hack might even work on the newer Go 910 and with the Treo 700 series phones.

If you don't have a portable GPS unit, you don't know what you are missing!  I wasn't really sold on the idea before.  I figured since I didn't drive out of my normal areas too often, it was a waste.  Well, how wrong I was.  If you have any kind of a lengthy commute, combining the GPS with the traffic services alone is worth the money.  The Points of Interest (POI's) is another great feature to have.  If you are somewhere and need to find say...the closest pharmacy, the Go 700 will take you to the closest pharmacy you specify.  The unit comes with an internal database of millions of POI's and you can add additional POI's by downloading them via the net, or through TomTom's website, as well as directly via the Plus services via that bluetooth connection on your phone.  Pretty darn slick.  And if you get tired of the voices that ship with the unit, you can add additional voices, available via a variety of websites out there.  My favorite co-pilot these days is "Yoda".  Yeah, you read right - YODA.  ;-)  "Right you must turn in - 400 yards!"  If you haven't had Yoda as your co-pilot, you haven't lived yet. ;-)

Technorati Tags: Cool Gear, GPS, Hacking, TomTom, Treo 650

Posted by Frank Bisono at 2:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Things have been a little slow on the posts around these parts, I know...but I am still here alive and kicking.  It's been a while since we talked about gadgets and gizmos, so here's the first of a few gadget reviews that I think you should know about.

So terrestrial radio is dead...WTF you say?  Yeah, radio as you know it is dead.  I know it's been said before and a lot of people really don't get it, I was one of them.  Well folks, I have been converted to Satellite Radio and I will never go back!  I just recently received a Sirius Satellite Radio for my birthday.  I specifically got the Sirius Sportster Replay model with the car kit.  Installation was pretty straight forward, although if you want a "clean" install that won't have wires showing everywhere, you may want to have a professional install it if you don't have the chops for that kind of work.  After the installation, activation was straight forward and pretty painless.  One thing you will want to make sure you get is the Wired Fm Modulation Relay.  This little box will make all the difference in the world on sound quality if you are going to route the receiver through the FM stereo.  There are definitely more elegant ways to get your satellite radio installed in your vehicle (like routing it through an AUX jack if you have one), but the FM route is definitely the quickest and easiest.  Considering that you aren't going to get CD quality sound from any satellite radio no matter how well you hook it up to your existing setup, the extra effort for the AUX input just didn't seem worth it.  The sound quality overall, is excellent.  Although it's no CD, it's still better than FM and unless you have a high-end audio system that goes boom, this setup should be just dandy for your listening pleasure.

After a few minutes on the phone, my receiver was activated and I was up and jammin.  One thing you want to make sure of is to let the Sirius rep know you would like the Playboy Channel activated (if you so desire- and it's free).  That channel is turned off by default to safeguard parents against any kids that may be listening (although after listening to Howard Stern's channels, I don't know that there is much difference between Stern's channels and Playboy).  The content on both channels is pretty raw and a bit over the top most of the time.  Definitely not for young ears.

What makes satellite radio so appealing to me is the variety of content and NO COMMERCIALS on the music channels.  Notice I said on the MUSIC channels.  You will definitely hear commercials on all other channels, some of it from Sirius and some from network channels (FOX News, CNN, Bloomberg, etc) which I assume Sirius has no control over. One thing I can say about those commercials is that if you happen to hear one for something you want more info about, you can actually save the information to the radio's memory (Sirius actually broadcasts information about the commercial via the receiver).  How often have you been driving and heard a commercial with a website URL and you couldn't write it down because you were driving?  Now you can hit one button and BAM, it's saved in memory.  VERY COOL.  Moving right along with cool features is the Tivo-like features of this particular unit.  The "rewind" models offer the ability to time-shift your content.  So you are driving along jammin to your favorite tune, or listening to a show when the inevitable phone call comes in, and usually right at the worst possible moment.  No worries here, hit pause and take the call.  You can rewind, fast forward, just like your Tivo.  The buffer only holds about 44 minutes, so don't talk too long or you will miss out on what you have saved in memory.  Going back to the content, it just seems never-ending.  I am absolutely in looooove with Big 80's, Classic Rewind and 1st Wave.

The whole reason I switched was because I am sick and tired of hearing the same crap on the radio every day, 10 times a day.  Today's DJ's also need to learn when to STFU and just play music. My iPod is great and I love it, but for the car, it just doesn't do it for me anymore.  I have 80 GB of content, so playing DJ and organizing playlists just takes too much time.  I'd rather use the iPod for Podcasts and videos (if I ever finally get around to upgrading to the video iPod - for now videos are limited to my PSP).  Satellite radio fills a void for my music needs perfectly.  The comedy is out of control and talk channels are interesting to say the least.  The traffic / weather is another AWESOME feature that comes in handy with the ridiculous south FL traffic.  Another thing I am looking forward to is NASCAR on Sirius starting in 2007.  That's going to be HUGE.  I'm not so crazy about listening to a race (unless I can't watch it on TV for some reason), but the channel will be dedicated to racing and motor-head related news around the clock.  Tony Stewart will have his own show and Sirius is pumping the hell out of this.  I can't wait for that.  And then there's the online access to the music channels.  This feature is pretty kick-ass if I do say so myself.  Although for best results, you should have a fast broadband connection, it's a great little feature for listening to Sirius while at work.  You won't get all the channels you do on the receiver, but you get more than plenty to keep you jammin on the 'puter.  Nice little bonus.

So with the good, there's always some bad.  Albeit, there isn't much to complain about here.  My main gripe is the loss of signal on occasion, which typically is when going under a bridge or under a car-port like at a gas station.  I could understand losing the signal going through a tunnel, but under an open air car port?  That totally blows.  I'm sure it has to do with the fact that the antenna is an omni-directional low-profile antenna and not avery powerful one at that.  Maybe they could build some kind of buffer into future radios, but that is unlikely due to the complexity.  My friends on XM say they don't experience the loss of signal as bad as on Sirius.  Not quite sure what the difference is, but this is certainly one area Sirius should look to XM to learn from (if they haven't already done so).  Gripe #2 is with the radio unit in particular.  According to the manual, you can change the back-lit color of the display.  When you follow the instructions in the manual, the menu's they demonstrate don't appear anywhere.  I guess it's possible that they have upgraded the firmware and removed this capability in lieu of something better, but I'll be damned if I would have know about it otherwise.  An updated manual on the website would be in order at the very minimum.  Gripe #3 is with the installation.  While everything was pretty straight forward, Sirius needs to seriously consider providing alternate means of powering the unit.  The included cigarette lighter-plug barely had enough length to run from my center console arm-rest to the dashboard.  Mind you, I am driving a 2006 Mustang, not exactly a big vehicle, and I barely had enough cord to get the unit mounted to the lower left side of the dashboard (while running the wire through the console / dash (ie. stealth mode).  I would have liked to have a coiled cord for a short run (like from the center of the dash to the center console) and a longer straight cord version that could be used with the cig. lighter OR hard wired and run through the car in stealth mode.

Overall I am tremendously satisfied with the unit and Sirius Satellite Radio as a whole.  If you have been looking for something new and exciting to make those long commutes more tolerable, this is definitely a worthwhile investment.  Stay tuned for a few more gadget related reviews coming soon.  Can anyone say GPS?  ;-)  Happy motoring!

Technorati Tags: Portable Audio, NASCAR, Satellite Radio, Sirius

Posted by Frank Bisono at 4:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I know I know....where have I been, blah blah blah.  I won't bore you with excuses, just know I have been up to some interesting things around here lately.  Hopefully I will be able to post about that soon and you will fully understand why life had come to a grinding halt for the last month and a half.

In the meantime, I had to post something about this.  I have always been a hard-core Sony fan, although I may not always like the proprietary nature of some of their hardware.  However, when it comes to sleek, sexy electronics, you can't beat Sony.  Sony recently started shipping what I think is one of the absolutely coolest devices on the planet, the UX-50.  This thing is incredible.  The full power of Windows (no wise cracks, yeah - windows), in the palm of your hand, and I don't mean a Windows mobile device either.  Sony claims that the UX50 is Vista ready as well (they know something I don't know? - I would love to see Vista Beta 2 on this device).  The guys over at MicroPCtalk.com have documented the unboxing of their UX50 in what is probably the most thorough display of ultimate geekdom I have seen yet.  Over 180 images of the entire process.  I love it.  Now if Sony would only come back to planet earth and make that price point a little more realistic...they might have a chance at selling a few of these.

What really intrigues me about this device is that lately, I really haven't been using my laptop for anything more than email, basic surfing the web, and reading my RSS feeds.  For the heavy-duty design work, I stick to my Dual 2.5 G5 at home, which just cranks beyond any laptop out there at the moment.  So my big beef right now is with portability and not having to lug around a huge laptop case when I go to the local Starbucks. I love my Powerbook, but lugging that 15" machine around, with accessories, can become a bit much at times.  Having this UX-50 would allow me to carry a simple messenger bag with things like the computer, a book and misc. odds and ends, while keeping the weight to a minimum.  I'm all about portability right now.  Not even a tablet can offer this kind of flexibility.  This little device connects to the online world in almost any way you can think of (Wifi, Bluetooth, WWLAN, etc).  That WWLAN is an interesting feature too (only available on the higher-end UX180P).  Provided you fork over the cash for Cingular's data plan, when you aren't within reach of a Wifi Access Point, you can use Cingular's Edge Network to connect to cyberspace from anywhere you can get a cell phone signal.  Lets not forget there's also EVDO out there, which is even faster (although I haven't read all the specs on the UX-50 to see if it can handle PCMCIA cards).

So now the real questions will start to flow concerning this new trend in Micro PC's.  How will this affect design trends for the future?  As these devices become more popular, will users demand content formatted to fit within these devices screen constraints?  How will the User Experience and overall usability be affected? Just when you thought you were making progress with going beyond 1024x768 designs, are we going back to the retro small screen real estate of yesteryear?  Or now with all the new Web 2.0 sites and CSS making huge progress on the web, will designers have to "think different" in how they present content to their users?  In theory, if the site has been coded correctly, we could address this issue with something as simple as a Micro PC style-sheet.  But who is going to determine what those Micro PC standard screen sizes will be?  Will the rest of the industry follow Sony and adopt their screen size as the new standard for Micro PC's?  How will banking and other critical sites render on these smaller devices? I suspect a lot of these questions will start floating around the design scene within the next year as more players come to market with similar devices.  I think it's safe to say that even software vendors should take a good hard look at their applications and see if they can incorporate an option to run an alternative UI based on the device you are using.  Imagine something like Outlook on that tiny screen.  Yes, you can connect an external monitor to the device when you are in the office, but the whole point of the Micro PC is to get AWAY from the office while still maintaining productivity.  Could Microsoft feasibly create alternate UI's for these devices?  I suspect the answer is yes, but the question there is whether there will be enough user demand for the feature.  You gotta love technology, it gets more interesting every day!  Until next time...

Technorati Tags: Mobility, Portable Devices, Design, UMPC, PC, Windows

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well here's something you don't see everyday.  Here's a very cool insider view of the MacBu @ MSFT.

[ via O'Reilly MacDevCenter.com ]

Microsoft's David Weiss gives a tour of the Microsoft Mac Lab:

Microsoft's David Weiss provides a A Tour of Microsoft's Mac Lab. Lots of interesting information and good photos from the home of Mactopia.com.

Technorati Tags: Macintosh, Microsoft

Posted by Frank Bisono at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's a killer deal I came across this weekend at Costco.  I recently hurt my back and lifting anything right now is out of the question.  That leaves me with a real problem, I am a computer bag pack-rat.  I carry around a MacGeiver collection of crap in my computer bag that makes it really interesting when traveling through airport security.  All that weight in the bag makes it too hard to carry using a shoulder bag or backpack for the time being.  I've been shopping online for a week looking for the perfect bag, when walking through Costco, I stumble across this sweet little setup.

They currently have this 2-piece FAA approved rolling bag for $70!  You get a roller bag that can easily carry enough for an overnight trip along with the notebook to boot.  It was too good a deal to pass up so I figured some of you might be looking for a great bag too.  My 15" PowerBook fits perfectly in this bag and it can handle any laptop up to a 15.4" screen.  This thing has more pockets than a herd of Kangaroos.  Everything is very well thought out and after packing it with all my gear, I couldn't be happier.  It's quite sturdy and knowing that it fits in the overhead or under the seat in front of you when traveling by air is a real plus.  Similar bags that I looked at were easily in the $150 range.  Right now you can pick it up at Costco or eBay pretty easily.  I can't say how long this deal will last, so you better act quick if you want it!

Technorati Tags: Laptop Bags, Great Deals

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Been a loooong weekend at Disney and I am beat.  Just checkin the wires and came across this.  Pretty spankin cool!  Give some new life to that old iBook or PowerBook laying around...

[ via MacMinute ]
MacStyles relaunches expanded, enhanced Web site:
MacStyles.com today relaunched an all new and expanded Web site. MacStyles are custom-cut vinyl decals for iBooks and PowerBooks. They can be made in a variety designs and are crafted from a selection of 21 colors. Eleven new colors are being offered as of today. Along with the addition of "MacPads and MacStyles Pro," the company is working on a line of decals for iPods, as well as an extended line of accent decals known as "Maccents."

Posted by Frank Bisono at 8:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Anyone remember the Titanium PowerBook?  Yeah, I have 2 and lapburn scars to prove it.  Boy would this have come in handy!

[ via Gizmodo ]

Prevent Lap Burn:

If hot laptops have ever been a problem, here's the perfect, simple solution. Cooler Master NotePal all-aluminum coolers work for 15-and 17-inch laptops and even have a range designed for Apple's widescreens. The NotePal takes down heat with twin 2.8-inch fans (that have a life expectancy of 3000 hours), which also help with airflow around your laptop, shielding it from any direct heat. And bonus—it's fairly quiet as well. The NotePal is powered directly from your laptop and has two 2.0 USB ports and an on/off power button for the fans. The line starts at about $40.

Posted by Frank Bisono at 9:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Now this is T-I-T-E (tight).  My big question is...can you hook up a Mac Mini to this beyotch?

[ via Gizmodo ]

Clarion's In-Car Multimedia System at CES:

New and improved (like just about everything at this show) the Clarion VRX765VD will make life in your car a dream, and shut up any crying child in minutes (not guaranteed by the company, unfortunately). With a 7-inch flip-out touchscreen to play with, the DVD multimedia system comes with a soil-resistant (I love that. Because we're all soilers, aren't we?) touchscreen that controls DVD menu options. It also sports an improved user interface that now offers video playback for the Video iPod. Also includes 200 watts of max power, 24- Bit D/A Converter and a single play DVD mechanism that plays DVD Video, CD Audio and Video CD and a bunch of other audio formats including MP3/ WMA and encoded CDs. Runs for about $1100.

Posted by Frank Bisono at 5:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ok, I want one NOW!!!  Just let me put all of Apple's technical documentation on this thing and I am good to go.  Wow, can you imagine being able to carry an entire reference library of books, technical briefs, white papers, magazines, etc...all in a little compact and READABLE form factor?  Awesome...

[ via Gizmodo ]

Live From CES: The Sony Reader:

Who needs Blu-ray? This is the Sony reader that uses the display technology from E-Ink I've been hearing so much about. To give you an idea of just how good this display looks... I walked up to the counter, looked at the text on the screen and asked, "So when will you have working units to play with?" The reply: "This is a working reader." I mistakenly though the text on the screen was some kind of plastic overlay—that's how ink-like it looked. Then the PR rep increased the text size, searched through the table of contents and showed me some Manga comics. It is the first e-reader that seemed like I could sit down and spend hours on without experiencing eye strain. Part of the reason it works is that it does not have a backlight, so forget about reading in the dark. There is also zero flicker, as far as I could see. It's small and lightweight too (.5 inches thick and smaller than a hardcover book). The reader accepts both Memory Stick and SD flash memory cards. It's got a USB plug, and could be used to download and read websites, JPEGs or PDF docs. The battery life, as they are selling it, is equivalent to "7,500 page turns, avid readers can devour a dozen bestsellers plus War and Peace without ever having to recharge."

The books will be available through the Connect Store, and there is some Connect software for managing your books (so far this is the only drawback). Random House, HarperCollins Publishers, Penguin-Putnam, Simon & Schuster and Time Warner Book Group are all on board with titles, along with Manga publisher Tokyopop. Sony is promising to deliver this reader by Spring.

Posted by Frank Bisono at 4:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sexy laptop...still no Powerbook, but damn nice.  If it comes pre-loaded with Linux, I give it a thumbs up!

[ via Foursprung ]

Notebook: First pictures of the Lamborghini notebook!:

The German Car Blog has the first pictures of the long awaited Lamborghini notebook.
The Lamborghini notebook will be produced in cooperation with ASUS and will be available in Lamborghini yellow and black with all the characteristics of a Lamborghini: Energy, Speed, Power and Beauty.

Expect more product details next week!

Posted by Frank Bisono at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ok, so now i have an excuse to upgrade to that F350 Dualie I have been foaming at the mouth for.  Already have the F-150, so trading in for another F-150 seems silly no?  :-)

[ via MacNN ]

Mac mini with Front Row in a Ford F-150:

Car news site Leftlane News has a report on one Mac user's project to install a Mac mini in a Ford F-150. The user makes use of Apple's Front Row software and a Keyspan remote for easy navigation. He placed the Mini out of sight, and also installed a 10.2-inch LCD touch screen. The user also installed some GPS software to serve as a navigation system. In January, we noted a Washington Post article suggesting the Mac mini "comfortably fits in my car's glove compartment." Later, we reported that a New York-based company had plans to install the new Mac mini into car dashboards.

Posted by Frank Bisono at 5:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The mother of all PowerBook bags!

[ via TUAW / MacMinute ]

Booq announces large capacity Python XL bag for 17" PowerBooks:

Booq has done it again and announced the Python XL, a capacious and compartmentalized rugged backpack for the 17" PowerBook.  A waterproof zipper, water-resistant ballistic nylon exterior, seatbelt nylon straps, rigid laptop compartment and pockets and compartments galore make up this $199 monster of a backpack. The bag has room for a water bottle, a dedicated no-scratch iPod pocket, a stack of books 6" high and more. There's even a small "clip-on accessory bag" they call Ecto which has room for the little stuff like your checkbook, and iPod, cell phone, etc.

I've owned a Booq pack before, and I can vouch for their construction. These things are built really well, but their premium is sometimes tough to swallow. Head over to Booq's product site for more pictures of the pack and what you can stuff into it and make your own decision.

Posted by Frank Bisono at 4:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What a great find by Jeff Nolan!  This is some serious stuff...it is both disturbing, but strangely intriguing.  Given the circumstances of Hurricane Katrina, if there was some kind of GPS and satellite based transmission system in place, the ideas presented here (using the wifi iPod) would have been invaluable.  I think our federal government should very seriously consider opening those satellites to communications services like this that are not land based and depend on something so archaic as an antenna or tower.  Googlezon, iPod and GPS will rule the world!!!  :-) 

Hang on to your eyeballs! Epic 2015:

this video clip is disturbing.

Link: Hang on to your eyeballs! Epic 2015.

Here is a must-see video clip called Epic 2015 that extrapolates current events and practices forward into a disturbing identity future.  I doubt many will be able to stop themselves from laughing while they watch this, but not many will walk away …

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What some people will do to protect their goodies.  Apparently some enterprising whipper snapper got his beloved iPod crushed against a handrail in a crowded Japanese subway and vowed to never have it happen again.  The solution, the Fort Knox of all iPod cases.  Check it out here.

Posted by Frank Bisono at 9:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gizmodo just finds the coolest damn stuff. This is friggin sweet! I gotta gig in my pocket going jinga-linga-ling...(lemme stop while I am ahead). Check it out...

[ via Gizmodo ]

SwissBit Victorinox retroALOX 1GB Reviewed (Verdict: Worth Its Weight in Nazi Gold):

I had not realized that Victorinox had upgraded their Swissbit USB key/Swiss Army knife combo, but Trusted Reviews got their hands on one and proclaim it a winner. It's got a new look, obviously (the new model is called the 'retroALOX' but I don't know my knife history well enough to tell you if that means it's based on an older knife or not), but also is a USB 2.0 part, making for much faster fills of its 1GB storage.

Plus, I happen to think that Victorinox has the best pocket scissors around, even compared to the Fiskars that come on the Gerber multitools.

Oh, I almost forgot the best part. You can take out of the USB key now, meaning you don't have to leave your data at home when you got on a plane. Smart. Update: And apparently, not a new feature. Still!

Swissbit SWISSMEMORY| Victorinox retroALOX [TrustedReviews]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This definitely merits some attention. It isn't often you find a decent looking display for $300, much less an LCD flat panel display. Westinghouse just announced this slick new screen and it's available now in retail stores. The display uses a standard DVI connector and is VESA compatible so that you can even mount this beauty on the wall. For more specs follow the link. Not too bad for a lightbulb company!

Posted by Frank Bisono at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wicked wicked cool...

[ via Engadget ]

Sony HDR-HC1 HDV Handycam: world's smallest and lightest HD consumer cam:

Sony’s not content to wow everybody with just the unveiling of the PS3 alone, so they're also putting out what's reputedly the world's smallest and lightest HD consumer cam. Like the QUALIA 002 and the HDR-FX1, the HDR-HC1 supports HDV and records in 1080i. At a mere one and a half pounds, your camera bag would be a smidge less burdensome with this thing in tow. Other features include a 2.7-inch hydrib touchscreen LCD, SteadyShot image stabilization, 90 minutes battery life, 10X optical and 120X digital zoom, PictBridge capability, and the ability to snag 2.8 megapixel stills directly onto Memory Stick Pro Duo cards. They're also saying it's the only HD camcorder that lets you take a 1 megapixel still shot while concurrently filming HD video. It's gonna roll out officially in July, though they omitted one of those finer details we'd rather like to know: the price.

Update:

Japanese reader Toshio says it''ll be out July 7 for about $1700USD. The Year of HD, indeed.

Posted by Frank Bisono at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you listen to some of the more popular podcasts like Adam Curry's "Daily Source Code", then you no doubt have heard the rants and raves about Skype - the next generation phone company. I have so far resisted the VoIP craze due to the technical limitations of what would make VoIP feasible for my needs. But I must admit, the constant jabbering about Skype has tweaked my curiosity to the point of having to finally install the damn thing.

So far, it looks like a pretty slick service. I have literally just installed it and have yet to make a call using the service, but something tells me this is going to be cool....WAY cool. I gave up on using MSN IM a long time ago since 98% of my friends use AIM. The other deciding factor was that I didn't want to be running a million IM clients and quite honestly, nothing matched the convenience and integration of iChat on my Mac.

I can probably say that I am about to make an exception to my rule. Skype not only allows you to call other Skype users, but via their optional (and incredibly inexpensive options), you can have an inbound phone # (up to 3) in the area code of your choice (though limited at the moment), as well as call outbound to any land line phone number. This has GOT to be driving the telco's insane. The one thing I see missing at the moment is toll-free options for phone #'s. I am sure that will come with time.

In addition to the insane pricing and options you get with Skype, you can also have a multi-party conference and can chat with other users just as you can with iChat. Another killer feature is the ability to send LARGE file xfers to your buddies without the connection crapping out as it does so many times through AIM. This gives a whole new meaning to P2P file sharing if you get my drift.

Overall, the benefits far outweigh any negative comments I have heard so far. As with any new technologies, there are going to be hiccups along the road to success. Even the almighty Apple Computer didn't get it right with the GM version of Tiger. It still has quite a few gremlins, especially in iChat AV with the video quality during multi-party video chats. I am sure that this service is going to get better by the minute over the coming year. I won't be able to give it 2 thumbs up until I have had a chance to really play with it, but I think we have a winner. If you want to test it out, give me a ring...you can find me under Frank Bisono (frankbisono) on the Skype user listings.

Posted by Frank Bisono at 1:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wicked cool. About time we got this much storage for a laptop. BUT, the magic questions: 1) Will IBM match this with their drop-kick resistant drives? 2) What is the MTBF on the Fujitsu vs. the IBM? Anyone with a clue....chime in!

Fujitsu debuts 120GB disk drive for notebooks:

Fujitsu has begun initial production of a 120GB mobile 2.5-inch hard-disk drive for notebooks, accor...

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:03 PM | Permalink

From our buddies at Engadget.com, this is a must have for me. I sure hope it works with a Mac!!!

Uniden 5.8GHz Bluetooth home cordless phone:

Uniden’s ELBT595, in addition to being just your usual cordless phone with Caller ID, speakerphone, and answering machine, pops in Bluetooth capability so you can use your landline with your favorite BT headset. It also has a USB connector with downloadable software included (what it’s for we don’t exactly know), but if you want to walk around your house and look like you’re talking on a cellphone, then this is for you.

[Thanks, Philipe]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 3:37 PM | Permalink

The J4: JVC's Bluetooth-controlled bipedal robot:

Akihabara News saw a lot of fresh gadgets at the CEATEC 2004 trade show in Tokyo, but our fave is this shiny red robot which looks a lot like JVC’s answer to Sony’s bipedal QRIO. Best part: the J4, as it’s called, is controlled via Bluetooth.

Posted by Frank Bisono at 10:30 PM | Permalink

Sony updates the AIBO ESR-7, lame jokes about teaching old dog new tricks made everywhere:

The AIBO ESR-7 digital doggy is getting a major software update.  In a new version of the AIBO Mind software, improvements to response time, speech recognition, and vision have all been completed.  In test units, the dog was able to recognize objects and remember where they were, so it eventually creates a topographic map of its environment and navigates around things rather than, well, through them.  Response time has also been improved, with reported times as little as one second for voice commands as well as the ability to accept new voice commands while still executing a previous one.  This will add to a more “lifelike” experience, say Sony.  The new AIBO can also play media files, including MP3s and WMVs.  For the surveillance gurus, the watch-dog portion of the software has been improved - you can now set the dog to take photos or video based on trigger events like motion or sound, and then send those image or video files via e-mail.  Or, you can control it remotely with included software.  So when you get an email containing a picture of a ninja stealing your goldfish food, don’t say AIBO didn’t warn you.

Posted by Frank Bisono at 10:12 PM | Permalink

Incase Charger keeps your iPod juiced at home or in your VW:

It’s not the first time we’ve seen a multi-purpose adapter/charger, but Incase’s new charger will power any iPod with a dock connector at home or in the car, which is kind of nice. But for the $50 they want for it, why couldn’t they be kind enough to include an FM transmitter while they were at it? Because this thing is going to take up the car lighter port you’d probably otherwise use for the transmitter, so come on, little help? Jeez.

[Via iPodlounge]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 10:03 AM | Permalink

The Tungsten T5 arrives:

Arriving right on schedule, palmOne officially introduced the Tungsten T5 just a few minutes ago. Completely skipping over the T4, their new flagship PDA has a massive 256MB of storage, a 320x480 pixel LCD screen, a 416MHz processor, and built-in Bluetooth. The big disappointment: it runs on Palm OS Garnet 5.4, not Palm OS 6 (aka Cobalt) like a lot of people had predicted/hoped. The even bigger disappointment: no built-in WiFi (we know, it’s totally weak). Should go on sale November 3rd and retail for $399, but you know that by that point it’s gonna be completely overshadowed by the Treo 650 announcement scheduled for the week before. Click to see a few more pics.

Posted by Frank Bisono at 9:54 AM | Permalink

Music Thing: The Vestax Guber Cube-T CM-01:

Each week Tom Whitwell of Music Thing highlights the best of the new pro music gear that’s coming out these days. Last week it was Live6’s new PODxt Live, this week it’s Vestax’s new Güber Cube-T CM-01 turntable:

Warning: At the end of this article, you’re going to be really, really annoyed.

So, you know the guy. He was a bedroom DJ in the 90s, running a little club night. Now he’s making £££ working in marketing or sponsorship or whatever. He lives in a nice flat with his girlfriend, so he’s not allowed to have pair of Technics and a mixer in the living room. But he’s still got 1,000 records in the spare bedroom. That’s right, I’m talking about you.

What you need is a great-looking DJ turntable that will look good next to that collection of Wallpaper* back-issues. And now you’ve found one. Vestax’s ‘Güber Cube-T CM-01’ suddenly makes playing vinyl records seem a lot more appealing than iPod DJing or scratching beats from an SD card on your Technics SLDZ-1200. It’s has similar specs to the bog-standard Technics SL1200, but looks like a piece of high-end Swiss scientific equipment (in the best possible way). It
has an enamelled metal body, in black or white. The platter is made from clear plexiglass balanced on brass spikes, and there’s a discreet rotary pitch control and a built-in phono preamp. It’s going to look particularly fly with a Cadillac slipmat from http://www.sicmats.com/

The UK price hasn’t been confirmed, but Vestax say it should sell for about £400, which seems very reasonable, considering you can still get £500 for a pair of Technics on Ebay.

So what’s stopping you from rushing out to buy one? There’s one small, but significant problem. Bafflingly, the Cube is limited edition. Limited to 50 worldwide. So Pete Tong is getting one, but you ain’t.

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:41 PM | Permalink

New Sony Webcams with Wi-Fi, Two-Way Audio:

Sony's new webcams aren't really that cool - I'm still frustrated their max resolution is only 640 x 480 pixels - but they do have a couple of tricks up their sleeves, including native MPEG4 support and built-in Wi-Fi. Well, they do have web servers built-in, too, so you can access them directly from the internet (although that could be a bad scene if they get hacked). Plus they also have built-in microphones that allow two-way audio communication, so that if the person viewing the webcam wants to talk to a person in front of the cam, they can.

So yeah, what I was saying is that these webcams are really pretty cool.

Product Page (Japanese) [SonyJP via SorobanGeeks]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 4:12 PM | Permalink

Gefen offers extension solutions for Apple HD Cinema Displays:

Gefen has announced two new extension solutions for Apple's new 20 and 23-inch HD Cinema Displays...

Posted by Frank Bisono at 4:10 PM | Permalink

EasyWatch PC card enables digital TV on PowerBooks:

Elgato and SCM Microsystems today announced "the first" EasyWatch DVB-T PC card, allowing Mac users ...

Posted by Frank Bisono at 4:07 PM | Permalink

Logitech Z-5500 5.1 Speakers:

Logitech has a new set of 5.1 PC speakers that push out 505-watts of THX-certified vibration. The Z-5500 is your standard PC speaker concept - powered subwoofer connecting to a bunch of satellite speakers, a setup that lets you forgo a receiver (for better and for worse) to plug them up directly to your PC or DVD player. The Z-5500 also feature on-board 96/24 digital decoding ability, if you're into high-fidelity audio output but not into it enough to buy a full-blown audio system.

Should show up next month for about $400. They also are launching a new 2.1 system called the Z-2300 for about $150.

Press Release [ChaitGear]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 3:35 PM | Permalink

Don't even think you're too cool for the Nixichron:

Your friends will think you’re totally a nerd if you actually know what a nixie tube is (outside of completely amazing looking), but we hope that won’t stop you from buying one of these $500 GPS time-synced Nixichron clocks. Screw that 72-inch plasma, let this be the proper centerpiece to your living room.

[Via Near Near Future]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 1:06 PM | Permalink

Kenwood Fineline VRS-N8100 Ships:

As of today, Kenwood’s new top-tier Fineline VRS-N8100 combo A/V receiver and digital media streamer is supposed to be shipping, and she looks like a beaut. Not only is there the obligatory Ethernet port and the ability to play back almost anything you can imagine (though, notably, not DiVX, at least according to the listed spec), it also features a PCMCIA slot so you can attach your favorite card reader, and DSP to clean up and restore the high frequencies so often mangled by lossy audio codecs. The only thing missing is a Wi-Fi connection, though with that PCMCIA slot it might be a tempting hack for the A/V geek with no budget limitations.

Kenwood Fineline VRS-N8100 Now Shipping [eHomeUpgrade]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:56 PM | Permalink

Tungsten T5 to surface next week?:

Is next week the week for the Tungsten T5? The Reg says that palmOne is definitely going to cut prices on a bunch of their handhelds next month and that they could drop their new flagship Tungsten T5 on us as early as this coming Monday. No confirmation on specs, or even a reliable photo of what it’s supposed to look like (just tons of fakes like the one at right), but supposedly (and we’ll place a big emphasis on the supposedly) the T5 is going to have a 520MHz processor, a large 320 x 480 pixel LCD screen, Bluetooth, and possibly as much as 256MB of memory.

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:34 PM | Permalink

Toshiba's 37LZ150 37-incher with MetaBrain:

We are in love. Can we say we are in love? Toshiba’s new 37LZ150 MetaBrain (don’t ask) 37-inch LCD TV has a network connection (but seriously, what doesn’t these days? Not that we’re complaining…) for streaming video off your network. We know, it’s all that, but they didn’t just stop there; it also acts as a proper host itself, and has integrated browsing software so you can get online without the fuss and muss (however small) of an MSN TV 2-like device—we specifically said TV internet wasn’t going to be good until it was high-def and on a super fat pipe (you know the Japanese have fiber to the home, right?). If you get email while watching a show, you can pull it up without interrupting your programming. And to sweeten the deal, the TV can record shows (presumably to networked drives) on schedule or by sending it an emails with instructions on what and when to record (in case you forget). And it has an SD port for transcoding MPEG4 video, so you can record your favorite shows as you please, and then watch them on the way to work with your cellphone (assuming it can do that sort of thing). Anyone else feel like they’re living in the future?

[Via Akihabara News]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:30 PM | Permalink

The One Line clamped desk lamp:

 

No, we’re not just posting this pic of Ora Ito’s new One Line clamped desk lamp because they put a PowerBook (thought it didn’t hurt). We actually sorta want one.

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:23 PM | Permalink

Kubotek's man-sized speakers:

Something is seriously mentally WRONG with the designer of these speakers. WTF!?!?!

Spotted at Tokyo’s Hi-End Show, a showcase for preposterously expensive audio gear, were these speakers from Kubotek. Aside from having a shape that suggests the result of a warped mind playing with a Donald Duck head, a jumbo pot of varnish and a mirror, they stand 174 cm tall, which is, well, bigger than the guy in the black t-shirt. When these come out in spring 2005 a pair of them will set you back Y7.35 mn ($66,000), which is probably about what it’ll cost to put a down payment on the massive, soundproofed apartment you’ll need to put them in.

[Via Impress AV Watch (Japanese)]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 8:13 PM | Permalink

Bose SoundDock for iPod:

There is a certain poetry when Apple and Bose team up in offering the new SoundDock digital music system. It's basically yet another dock with a pair of speakers attached to it, something we're not in the least opposed to, but it does set one to wonder what happens when blowhards like Bose work with blowhards like Apple to "elevate your iPod listening to a whole new level."

Do both Reality Distortion Fields cancel each other out? Is it possible this $300 set of speakers is actually a good product? I'm not sure I'm man enough to find out.

Product Page [Bose]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 7:44 PM | Permalink

Hand-Made USB Flash Drives:

I'm a little bit torn. On the one hand, these hand-crafted USB flash drive lockets are beautiful - much more appealing than the standard plastic bug shapes. On the other hand, no matter how attractive they are, I still don't think I want to wear one around my neck. Still, the choice is yours; Emily Conrad will custom make you one for prices starting at $250.

Product Page [PortableInk via WMMNA]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 7:43 PM | Permalink

Laser beams and flashlights for your iPod:

Griffin hasn’t posted this to their main site yet— but we saw it in the product section, whoopsie! We were going to do a How-To on adding a laser beam and flashlight to your iPod, and today we get link slapped with Griffin announcing the iBeam. Damn you Griffin (we mean that in the kindest way possible, of course)! The Griffin iBeam set consists of a flashlight and a class IIIA laser pointer, each with a protective cap that can be attached to a keychain.

We have a laser and flashlight for a Sony Ericsson P900, and it’s been more than handy when trying to plug stuff in and needing illumination behind computers and TVs and such—and as always lasers are a lot of fun to mess around with your house pets (real).

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:14 PM | Permalink

Maxtor OneTouch II

Maxtor has a new version of their external hard disk and backup solution, the OneTouch II. Available in 250GB or 300GB versions (7200RPM, 16MB cache, FireWire, USB 2.0), the new drives will come bundled with Dantz Retrospect backup software that should allow you to retain a series of incremental backups with history, so that if you'd like to retrieve an older version of a document - like say from a couple weeks back - you can pull up the older version even if you've made multiple changes. As the drive fills up, it will start axing older versions to free up space.

There's also a DriveLock feature which password protects the contents of the drive if it is powered down, but it's not clear if this could just be defeated by removing the drive itself from the chassis or if all the data is saved in an encrypted form at all times (I suspect the former).

Read - Hard disk: OneTouch II external hard disk [BIOS]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 9:34 AM | Permalink

Toyota's Digital Hub for Cars

Toyota is showing off their new "Toyota Hub" at the Mondial de l'Automobile this weekend, a centrally-linked integrated system that orients around a removable PDA, connecting together the PDA, cell phones, MP3 players, and cameras into an all-in-one system that intelligently uses the car itself for things like sound and tactile interface. The best part? This isn't just a concept system - Toyota plans on offering it as an option as soon as next month.

If anyone happens to pick up a car with the system we'd love to hear what you think of it.

Read - Le Hub Toyota: pour un monde de servies [SorobanGeeks]

Related
Toyta Archives [Gizmodo]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:28 PM | Permalink

d2 Hard Drive Extreme features Triple Interface

Storage peripheral maker LaCie on Tuesday introduced its d2 Hard Drive Extreme with Triple Interface, an external hard drive storage system for Macs and PCs expected to debut in the US this September with capacities ranging from 160GB to 250GB. The new drives feature USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and FireWire 800 interfaces, 7200RPM drive mechanisms with 8MB buffers, and fan-free stackable aluminum alloy enclosures. Also included is LaCie Storage utilities, Silverkeeper backup software and Silverlining Pro drive management software. Prices run $US199 for the 160GB model, $249 for the 200GB model and $279 for the 250GB model. Worldwide availability is expected to begin in November.
[MacCentral]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 10:34 PM | Permalink

Tons of pics of the new skinny PlayStation 2

As promised, some better pics of Sony’s new slimmer PlayStation 2. Click to see the rest of them.

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[Engadget]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 10:17 PM | Permalink

Griffin's vaporous radioSHARK on the way

[Via Cult of Mac]

[Wireless]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 7:40 PM | Permalink

Washing Machine Reads Smart Tags on Clothing, Sends Emails

A new washing machine developed by the Dai Nippon Printing Company can read special smart tags on clothing and instruct the user the best method with which to wash the clothes. Not only that, but the LG-built unit can keep track of how many times a particular item has been washed, what material it is made out of, and can even send an email or SMS when your load of laundry is complete.

Read - Smart Tag Reading Washing Machine [I4U]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 1:50 AM | Permalink

Belkin Designs PC-Less Video Extender

Belkin on Tuesday announced a wireless remote technology that would beam live video to a remote monitor.
[eWEEK Technology News]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:02 PM | Permalink

Momo and Moto's Fighter Helmet with Bluetooth

Momodesign, maker of all sorts of middle-to-high-end automotive and cycling parts has revealed their new Bluetooth Motorcycle Helmet, the result of a collaboration with Motorola. And while the technology itself isn't especially notable - it is just a Bluetooth headset, after all - I think the helmet design is just lovely. I'm a huge fan of open-face helmets, even if they aren't as safe. Jaw-droppingly unsafe, you could say.

And if you're taking a call on the helmet and have stopped riding, the headset detaches and can be worn in a neck loop. Now I just need to get a bike.

Read - Momodesign and Motorola Motorcycle Helmet with Bluetooth - Finally [Motorbiker]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:55 AM | Permalink

Sony's Clie PEG-UZ90--the world's most expensive Palm?

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This may be the exception that proves the rule, but Sony shows that the PDA isn’t quite dead yet (at least not in
Japan) with their latest, the multimedia PEG-VZ90. It plays back MPEG-4 video and both ATRAC3 and MP3 audio
(hallelujah!), includes 802.11b wireless, and has a CF card slot that will take both communications and memory cards,
plus the usual MemoryStick slot. The multimedia angle is further emphasized by losing the keyboard (and camera) of
the PEG-UX50 in favour of a slide-out console of multimedia controls, and it looks like the preferred use for this
one will be to slam in a CF card or Microdrive loaded with video, though you need to encode with the proprietary
software (sound familiar?). Also, the pricing point is an awkward (OK, wallet-destroying) ¥95,000 ($870 US), which puts
it way above the hard-disk video players coming onto the market.

[Handhelds]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:28 AM | Permalink

Kanguru ships FireWire flash drive

Millis, Mass.-based storage peripheral maker Kanguru Solutions on Thursday announced that it is shipping its previously announced FireWire-based Fire Flash drive, a portable flash media drive that uses a six-pin FireWire interface to transfer data to and from a host Mac or PC. The device measures three inches long and is available in capacities ranging from 128MB to 1GB, with prices ranging from US$69.95 to $279.95 depending on capacity. The Fire Flash comes with a four-pin adapter for computers that need it, and a desktop docking station.
[MacCentral]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:51 PM | Permalink

WiebeTech offers Mac Recovery line

Storage product maker WiebeTech LLC on Wednesday unveiled its new Mac Recovery line, products designed to enable mac users to recover data in the event of a crashed hard disk drive. The line combines WiebeTech's ComboDock and DriveDock products -- devices that enable you to attach a bare hard disk drive to a computer -- with Prosoft Engineering's Data Rescue recovery software. Three configurations have been announced: The Mac Recovery ComboDock (FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and USB 2.0) for 3.5-inch drives, for $199.95; the Mac Recovery FireWire DriveDock for 3.5-inch drives, for $149.95 and the Mac Recovery Notebook DriveDock, a FireWire system for 2.5-inch drives, for $149.95. All configurations are available now.
[MacCentral]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 7:07 PM | Permalink

JVC Organic Screen Head Unit

Sporting "the industry's highest color count" is JVC's new single-DIN CD receiver, the "KD-SHX929?." This is quite a headunit - you do of course get a 32,000+ color organic EL screen, but also the ability to play movies and still images on it (the screen) while driving. Furthermore, you can download images onto the unit yourself by simply burning them to a CD-R; the implied usage, of course, is autoeroticism. That being said, I think most people will be interested in this unit because of its ability to playback WMA and MP3 files as well. It's also got a "muting function" that will automatically mute when on a hands-free phone call or when your navigation system yells at you for missing a turn.

Read - Press Release [JVC]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 6:31 PM | Permalink

Gefen Introduces New Line Of HDMI Switchers

Gefen has added to its family of high definition video switchers with a line of HDMI switch boxes. The...
[The Mac Observer]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 7:18 PM | Permalink

2004 Confederate F124 HellCat

The new 2004 Confederate F124 HellCat is a hand-crafted, limited run, New Orleans-built motorcycle that puts 130 horsepower to the ground in over-the-top American style. Each of the V-Twin machines are assembled in batches of five or less and stripped of any extra needless ornamentation (well, they never put it on in the first place).

No idea about the price (they want you to call), but I think it's safe to say it's pretty darn expensive. (Thanks, Buck!)

Read - Product Page [Confederate]

Related
Motorcycle Archives [Gizmodo]

Update: Jesse sends word that the Hellcat retails somewhere between 35k and 65K. A pretty big range, but there is potentially a lot of custom work on these types of bikes, too.

Posted by Frank Bisono at 7:00 PM | Permalink

Sony unveils the HDV 1080i consumer camcorder

Sony today introduced the world's first HDV 1080i camcorder...
[MacMinute]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 7:26 AM | Permalink

A record-breaking crowd at the PhotoshopWorld opening ceremony today saw Deb Whitman, vice president of product management at Adobe; Julieanne Kost, senior digital imaging evangelist at Adobe; and Scott Rawlings, vice president of marketing at Wacom, demonstrate some of Photoshop CS's features while showing off Wacom's new Intuos3 Professional Pen Tablet... [MacMinute]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 7:23 PM | Permalink

Digital Lifestyle Outfitters has announced the iBoom, a 20-watts per channel, four-speaker boombox designed to holster the iPod and iPod mini. Although it looks like most of the controls will still be handled on the iPod itself (although there are separate ones for the built-in FM radio), the iBoom offers yet another way to impose your impeccable music taste on everyone else.

No word on price, sadly, but it should be available in late September at Everything iPod.

Read - Retailer Page [EverythingIpod]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:31 PM | Permalink

Pioneer has announce the DVJ-X1, the first (to my knowledge) DVD-based turntable for real-time video mixing straight from source discs. It's got all the normal tomfoolery you'd expect from a digital turntable, like no-tempo-loss reversals, Hot Cues (instantly recall up to three points on the disc), and Emergency Loop functions for when you drop the biscuit and need a quick 4 beat loop. Plus you can save all your wave data and cue and loop points to an SD card and recall your set later. Looks rather hot - expect to see it in an audio retailer near you real quick like.

Be sure to check out the Video Demo, too; it looks like a blast to play with. (Thanks, Chris!)

Read - Product Page (Flash) [PioneerProDJ]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 8:18 AM | Permalink

Posted by Frank Bisono at 6:47 PM | Permalink

Many iPod users have seen "iPod Your BMW" television ads, which advertise the ability to connect your iPod or iPod mini to the stereo included with several late-model BMW vehicles. That's not the only way to directly connect an iPod to a car stereo, however, and one of the most hotly anticipated solutions is coming this September from aftermarket car audio manufacturer Alpine, the same company that designed and manufactured BMW's solution. The KCA-420i is a new interface box designed to work with Alpine car stereos that include "Ai-Net" command capabilities, and the solution actually offers more functionality than BMW's offering, including the ability to view artist, album and track information. [MacCentral]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 7:53 PM | Permalink

When you're giving the pros and cons of a 1.6TB (terabyte) hard disk array, like the LaCie Bigger Disk Extreme, and the only con is "bulky," then you're probably doing pretty good by my estimation. As a follow up to previous Bigger Disk external storage drives, there's no question the 1.6TB version is impressive, smashing together four 400GB drives into a single array that requires no special drivers to be used in Windows XP or Mac OSX. And it looks sufficiently swanky, too, if aluminum doesn't grate on you.

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:02 AM | Permalink

The waiting is over for the prosumer mini-DV world as Canon (finally) releases the XL2, the follow-up to the wildly successful (some would say ground-breaking) XL1S. With both 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratios (film-like and TV-like, respectively), variable frame rates (again, to more closely emulate film or TV), interchangeable lens (the same as the XL1S had, including a new 20x optical zoom lens), and more, all wrapped around a 3 CCD system for maximum image, you know, fantasticness.

More after the jump.

Posted by Frank Bisono at 10:48 AM | Permalink

We don't normally cover PC cases on Gizmodo, not just because they aren't that interesting, as a rule, but mostly because they are usually just godawful. There are exceptions, thankfully, and this Lian Li V1000 is one of them -- all aluminum, inside and out, with a mesh front and back reminiscent of the PowerMac G5. And while reading the review at PCUnleash might occasionally challenge your English parsing abilities, I think you'll find that the $190 street price of the V1000 almost sounds reasonable when you take into account the fit and finish of a well thought-out case.

The only downside? In my experience, aluminum cases aren't as resilient to frequent hauling as steel-framed cases.
Read - Lian Li's PC-V1000 Case [PCUnleash]

Update: Dan's Data also has a very decent review, as well.
Read - Lian Li PC-V1000 computer case [DansData]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 10:47 AM | Permalink

Alpine has finally given a mostly-firm date for its new in-car iPod interface, the KCA-420i, updating their website to show a "late September" availability. The connector is one of the most promising iPod car adapters out there, connecting to any of Alpine's head units that support its Ai-Net standard (which unfortunately explains the relatively cheap $100 price). The KCA-420i also supports Alpine's MediaXpander technology that attempts to add back in the harmonics lost in MP3 compression on the fly, making your so-so sounding compressed audio sound much closer to its CD-quality source (and although I haven't personally heard MediaXpander, I've actually heard nothing but good things about it).

More betterness, and links, after the jump.

Posted by Frank Bisono at 3:19 PM | Permalink

Since there's not a ton of information about the Bluetake BT420s yet, it's hard to make any judgements (or dick jokes), but I support any stereo Bluetooth headsets at this point pretty much no matter what. Oh wait, there's a press release PDF. Let me start over.

Second attempt, this time with real details, after the jump.

Posted by Frank Bisono at 4:25 PM | Permalink

Elgato today announced the release of EyeTV 500, the first high-definition television (HDTV) solution for Mac OS X... [MacMinute]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 5:11 PM | Permalink

Dr. Bott's new MoniSwitch Pro ADC shares a single Apple Cinema Display or another monitor that uses the Apple Display Connector (ADC) interface with up to four computers. It's also compatible with Digital Visual Interface (DVI)-equipped monitors that use a DVI to ADC adapter. The MoniSwitch Pro ADC costs US$399.95. [MacCentral]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:14 AM | Permalink

Griffin Technology has announced the iTrip mini FM Transmitter for Apple's iPod mini... [MacMinute]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:13 AM | Permalink

Inspired by high-performance racing engines, the engineers at TAG Heuer have constructed the world's first drive-belt transmission-powered watch, the one-of-a-kind Monaco V4 Concept. Displacing traditional watch design innards for a four-barrel sapphire and platinum linear oscillating mass system, the V4 throws almost 300 years of watch design out the window,... [Gizmodo]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 10:31 AM | Permalink

Peripheral maker Belkin Corp. on Tuesday announced that its Digital Camera Link for iPod ships on May 1, 2004. The peripheral enables digital camera users to transfer images to a third-generation iPod, thus freeing up space on their camera's internal memory and memory cards. [MacCentral]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:07 PM | Permalink

The iPodlounge notes that Belkin has posted details on its Digital Camera Link for third generation iPods... [MacMinute]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 5:24 PM | Permalink

QuickerTek has started offering an AirPort-specific version of the Super Cantenna, a high-performanc... [MacNN]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 1:12 AM | Permalink

QuickerTek has introduced a new antenna for 15- and 17-inch aluminum PowerBook G4 owners that boosts... [MacNN]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 1:34 PM | Permalink

JOEL JOHNSON -- Reuters brings word that Microsoft has officially dropped the price of the Xbox by $30 to a new low of $149.99, as well as trimmed some prices on some games. The Xbox price drop has been a not-so-secret rumor for the last few weeks. Read... [Gizmodo]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 1:47 PM | Permalink

Mitsubishi has developed a reversible LCD that can be viewed from both sides. Read... [Gizmodo]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 2:44 PM | Permalink

Canon led off this year's Photo Marketing Association (PMA) trade show in Las Vegas with a slew of announcements, including three new printers: the i9900 photo printer, with the ability to print 13 x 19 size images; the i80 mobile printer, which features an optional Bluetooth unit for wireless printing; and the imagePROGRAF W6200, with the capacity to print images up to 24 inches wide and 60 feet long. [MacCentral]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 1:09 PM | Permalink

MobileBurn has a sneak peek at the Sony Ericsson T650, the presumed successor to the T610 and T630 which is supposed to have a 1.3... [Gizmodo]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 3:30 PM | Permalink

Canon has made several enhancements to its digital camera line... [MacMinute]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:38 PM | Permalink

Canon today launched its i9900 desktop photo printer, a 13 x 19-inch inkjet printer with new red and... [MacNN]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:36 PM | Permalink

Edirol announced the FA-101, a 10-input, 10-output FireWire bus-powered audio interface offeri... [MacNN]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 2:07 PM | Permalink

At this week's NAMM 2004 show in Anaheim, Calif., Swedish music software maker Propellerhead Software offered up a new version of their software ReCycle, announced a new package aimed at students and educators, and also announced that their REX2 file format is open to third-party developers. [MacCentral]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:28 PM | Permalink

The mother of all friggin hard drives.....where do I sign up to get mine? ;-)

-----0-----

Running out of space for all your MP3s and pirated movies? Well hopefully it'll take you a little while to fill up the Bigger Disk,... [Gizmodo]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:08 PM | Permalink

At CES this past week TiVo made a bunch of announcements, including some new features for Home Media Option subscribers (including the ability to extract video to a PC, although you need use their USB dongle to view them) and a few new players from different manufacturers. Although there were some second-generation TiVo/DVD recorder units, the coolest new unit on display was from Hughes, and it is everything I could ever ask for in a DVR.

It's a combination TiVo and DirectTV receiver that includes a whopping 250GB hard drive. But what makes this particularly amazing is the fact that it records HDTV content alongside regular television, and it will hold 30 hours of HDTV or 200 hours of standard TV, or any combination of the two. Now obviously those numbers are inflated and probably at the lowest quality setting...but even if I only get 100 hours of standard TV and 7 of HD, that's still pretty darn amazing.

But wait, it gets better! This TiVo can record up to four broadcasts of either regular or HDTV programming at once! Four! In HDTV! With full 5.1 digital surround sound! Ohhh...my geek lust is in overdrive.

Someday, when I have the money to buy an HDTV, this, or something a lot like it (possibly with an even bigger hard drive) will be mine. And truly songs will be sung about that day.

Posted by Frank Bisono at 10:59 PM | Permalink

The DoubleSight DS-1500 dual LCD monitor mounts two 15-inch LCD flat panels side-by-side on a single tilt and swivel base. [MacInTouch]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:52 AM | Permalink

Epson has launched new Perfection 4870 film scanners, which feature Kodak's Digital ICE technology f... [MacNN]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 1:02 AM | Permalink

Harman Multimedia today announced Harman Kardon SoundSticks II, a new version of the high-powered th... [MacNN]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:10 AM | Permalink

Also announced by Elgato Systems today announced its EyeTV 200 FireWire digital video recorder, which makes it possible to watch, record, edit and archive high-quality, MPEG-2 encoded television on the Mac... [MacMinute]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:04 AM | Permalink

TEN Technology has announced the naviPlay, a Bluetooth wireless stereo adapter and remote control for the iPod... [MacMinute]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:02 AM | Permalink

Elgato Systems today unveiled EyeHome, allowing users to access the digital content they have stored on their Mac -- digital photos, video or music -- on their television and home entertainment system... [MacMinute]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:59 PM | Permalink

iPod mini, the smallest portable music player ever to hold up to 1,000 CD-quality songs, is encased in an ultra-portable, lightweight anodized aluminum body available in five stylish colors. [Jan 6] [Apple Hot News]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:24 PM | Permalink

AV Industries is selling DivX-Certified DVD Players that include custom software for Mac OS X for tr... [MacNN]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:20 PM | Permalink

Nikon today announced its next generation of Coolscan desktop film scanners -- the Coolscan V ED, Super Coolscan 5000 ED and the Super Coolscan 9000 ED... [MacMinute]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:03 PM | Permalink

Dr. Bott has announced the TiCase15 II, the new version of its brushed aluminum briefcase designed specifically for Apple's new 15-inch PowerBooks... [MacMinute]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 1:19 AM | Permalink

The Burton Amp Pack integrates an iPod control system using SOFTswitch technology, which allows the ... [MacNN]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 9:13 AM | Permalink

One enterprising Mac user has Posted a Web site explaining how he converted his Power Mac G4 Cube into what he calls the "G4 CubeQuarium." [MacCentral]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 5:06 PM | Permalink

Get ready for even bigger plasma TVs: Fujitsu has figured out how to build 100-inch plasma displays. Read... [Gizmodo]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 2:44 AM | Permalink

Like the Segway, only cool .. story is at Forbes .. Bombardier EMBRIO .. Motorunicycle .. hot wheel .. yourself

forbes.com/lifestyle/2003/11/04/cx_dl_1104vow.html
track this site | 8 links [( blogdex : recent )]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 2:01 AM | Permalink

Addlogix (formerly CompuCable) is now releasing the final batch of the USB Christmas Trees for this ... [MacNN]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 1:59 AM | Permalink

Mark Evanier bought the DVR-810H, Pioneer's new TiVo digital video recorder with the built-in DVD burner, and he seems to like it quite a bit. Fulfilling the dreams of many a TiVo fanatic, you can use one of these things to easily create an archive shows or movies stored on the TiVo's hard drive by burning them to a blank DVD. Read [Thanks, Steve]... [Gizmodo]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 1:38 AM | Permalink

One reader wrote in to point out that we hadn't mentioned anything about Toyota's latest version of its Prius hybrid car, which besides being more fuel efficient than most cars, has built-in Bluetooth, a 7-inch LCD touchscreen, a voice-activated navigation system, and a keyless entry system which is opens doors and starts the car using a wireless transponder you can keep in your pocket. Read... [Gizmodo]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 3:52 PM | Permalink

MacMice has announced that SightFlex, its flexible stand for Apple's iSight Web camera, is now shipping... [MacMinute]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 2:21 AM | Permalink

PowerLogix today announced the PowerCube, an aluminum replacement enclosure for the Power Mac G4 Cube... [MacMinute]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:51 PM | Permalink

Griffin Technology said today that it is now shipping the iFire amplifier/adapter for Apple Pro Speakers... [MacMinute]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:43 PM | Permalink

We've been waiting a long, long time this, but we think Pioneer's new line of TiVo digital video recorders with built-in DVD recorders is finally out. They're not cheap, but both the DVR-810H (pictured at right) and the DVR-57H will let you do one thing that isn't possible with any other TiVo: save TV shows to a DVD-R for archiving or giving to a friend. The DVR-810H has an 80GB hard drive and can store up to 80 hours of programming, while the DVR-57H has a 120GB hard drive. Both have superfast DVD recorders that can burn a one hour TV show to a DVD in as little as three minutes, and come with the new "TiVo Basic" service which doesn't require any subscription fees. Read [Thanks, Kevin]... [Gizmodo]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:23 PM | Permalink

Belkin has always been one of my favorite companies. Everything I ever bought from Belkin has lasted far longer than I needed them to. The quality is always top-notch, and the price is always less than I expected. Whenever Belkin introduces a new product for the Mac I never worry about the quality or the price I’ll wind up paying. The latest purchase from Belkin continues in this price/performance tradition. [MacNETv2]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 10:55 PM | Permalink

xBmsx is a server for your mac that allows you to share your movies, music and pictures with your Xbox running xBox Media Player/Center. It's implemeted as a system preference, and an optional StartUpItem. 4Four.net

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:45 PM | Permalink

I hope nobody bought the P800 recently!!! Good thing I just got the new T616 - almost bought the P800 and boy would I have been PISSED! [The Register]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 7:35 PM | Permalink

Posted by Frank Bisono at 2:15 PM | Permalink

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:22 PM | Permalink

Liebermann Inc. today announced its new Grand Canyon line of professional desktop monitors... [MacMinute]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:19 PM | Permalink

Users of iTunes and the Tivo Home Media Option will be pleased to know that they can use their DVR to stream Internet radio as well as their locally stored MP3's. Just create a new playlist in iTunes called "radio" ... [Mac OS X Hints]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 3:37 PM | Permalink

Samsung has introduced the SyncMaster 243T, a new 24-inch LCD monitor targeted at high-end graphics professionals... [MacMinute]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:42 AM | Permalink

Ohhh baby - this is on th top of the "I just GOTTA have it" list......this thing is like straight outa James Bond...

Gibbs Aquada | Homepage

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:03 AM | Permalink

They are no 23" Cinema HD Displays, but they look NICER with the G5 or new laptops!

Sony today introduced two new LCD monitors -- the 17-inch SDM-HX73 (US$620) and 19-inch SDM-HX93 ($1,000)... [MacMinute]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 4:26 PM | Permalink

Two companies are shopping around devices that project images into thin air -- similar to the holograms used in the first Star Wars movie. Will their products catch on? By Elisa Batista. [Wired News]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 11:30 AM | Permalink

Ken Greenebaum writes "Soon there will be a 'new' Porsche 959 racing down highway 520 in Redmond. This article in autoweek describes how Bill Gates, Paul Allen ... [Slashdot]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 10:45 AM | Permalink

LaCie today announced its new Mobile Hard Drive line designed by F.A... [MacMinute]

Posted by Frank Bisono at 12:00 AM | Permalink