Spam Flood Blog: Interesting Stuff

Friday, June 15, 2007

Interesting Stuff

6/15/2007 7:37:00 PM

Joining the slew of other handhelds computers that surfaced at Computex is the Ruggedbook PC657 from Samwell, which does indeed pack a beefy shell to protect the innards from whatever comes its way. The seven-inch UMPC includes a 800 x 600 resolution touchscreen, a 1.2GHz VIA C7M processor, Windows XP Professional, a PCMCIA slot, SDIO / MMC slots, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, a fingerprint scanner, and an integrated camera. Additionally, it'll handle up to 1GB of RAM, offers up your choice of 30, 60, or 80GB 1.8-inch hard drives if you're not kosher with the built-in 2GB/4GB/8GB flash storage option, and allows you the luxury of slipping a DVB-H tuner or GPS module into the PC Card slot if you so desire. We hope you weren't counting on a price or release date directly from the show floor, but do click on for a few more hands-on pictures.

Continue reading Samwell shows off Ruggedbook PC657 UMPC

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/15/samwell-shows-off-ruggedbook-pc657-umpc/#comments

6/15/2007 7:04:00 PM

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Media PCs

You may be rather used to hearing from Moneual every few months or so, but the engineering department has apparently been on top of things lately. A mere three days after witnessing the firm's colorful lineup of Inovys, the company's 301 HTPC is being offered up as well, and we must say that the simple, sleek styling is quite attractive. Internally, you'll notice a water-cooled AMD 64 Athlon X2 4400 handling the processing duties, 2GB of RAM, 7.1-channel audio, dual FireWire ports, a 250GB hard drive, dual-layer DVD writer, HDMI / VGA outputs, five USB 2.0 connectors, Ethernet, and a wireless keyboard / remote to keep things tidy. Most impressive, however, is the price, as this decently-spec'd media PC will only run you $995 (sans any TV tuning abilities, of course).

[Via eHomeUpgrade]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum Systeum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/15/moneual-intros-sub-1000-301-htpc/#comments

6/15/2007 6:25:00 PM

Filed under: Robots

Just as in years past, the "planet's largest robot competition" is about to get underway in San Francisco. This time around, over 800 robots from 30 countries will be competing in 61 various RoboGames events, the most notable of which include combat, fire-fighting, android acrobatics, android kung-fu, and iron-man exoskeleton weight lifting. Best of all, the mayhem is actually open for the public to enjoy, so drown your kids' whining and head on over to watch metal-framed machines put your skills to shame. Check out a few more peeks of the action after the jump.

[Via Physorg]

Continue reading RoboGames 2007 to commence in San Francisco

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/15/robogames-2007-to-commence-in-san-francisco/#comments

6/15/2007 5:51:00 PM

While details on this one don't seem to be completely fleshed out just yet, whispers are that the BBC could be working with ITV, Channel 4, and potentially other players in the future to bring about a "download service that would pool TV content" from the major UK broadcasters. Currently, there's a swarm of on-demand offerings from just about every major broadcaster (4OD, for instance), and this collaborative effort would essentially do for VOD what a prior agreement did for digital TV in Britain. Reportedly, the download service would be built around a P2P infrastructure of some sort (at least initially), but it was noted that it could expand into a "digital TV service" in the future. No word just yet on when Project Kangaroo would get to hoppin', but it'll be interesting to see what all this harmony does for the competition.

[Via El Reg]

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Office Depot e Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/15/project-kangaroo-could-pool-tv-content-from-major-uk-broadcaster/#comments

6/15/2007 5:20:00 PM

Filed under: Announcements

Just when you think we might be done, nope, think again -- the relentless onslaught of lovely gifts continues over on Engadget Mobile. Today we've got another Samsung m610 for Sprint that we'd like to part with. Not because we don't like it -- quite the contrary, in fact -- we'd just rather see it in one of our lucky readers' hands. Go check it out!

Have a look at our other contests, too, before it's too late: Samsung m610 (the first one), Sanyo M1

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/15/engadget-mobiles-got-another-samsung-m610-to-give-away/#comments

6/15/2007 4:51:00 PM

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Field tidbits from Engadget's mobile insider, The Boy Genius.

Yeah, they're just renderings, but they sure do look believable, don't they? Or maybe we just want to believe -- we can't really tell any more -- but for what it's worth, we're allegedly looking at a pair of future Sidekicks destined for Danger's favorite carrier, T-Mobile. Details are slim, but the Sidekick Slide seems to be the Motorola-sourced device we've been hearing about, considering the big, fat "M" logo to the left of the display. The one on the left is a little more mysterious considering that it's merely labeled "Sidekick," but it seems a likely candidate to succeed the 3. Whether either one of these is the oft-rumored "Zante" is unclear, but either way, it seems Danger's got its plate full for the next few months!

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/15/the-boy-genius-report-t-mobiles-new-sidekicks/#comments

6/15/2007 4:13:00 PM

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Wireless

Remember the Apple Bluetooth Headset announced with the iPhone? Yeah, we know, it's a little fuzzy because of the insane hype surrounding the handset itself, but Apple is doing a Bluetooth Headset too -- and guess what, the FCC just gave it a thumbs-up. Unfortunately for all of us, there are confidentiality agreements preventing more information about the device from showing up, but at least for now it looks like the missing pieces are finally falling into place for Apple's whole mobile phone initiative thing.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/15/apple-bluetooth-headset-gets-fcc-go-ahead/#comments

6/15/2007 3:50:00 PM

Filed under: Digital Cameras

It's tough to not get all worked up about a live LCD on a DSLR, but if you've managed to hold off until a thorough review came your way, your patience has paid off. The discerning folks over at DPReview were able to crack the whip on the E-410 EVOLT, and after the dust settled, it seemed like a pretty good buy. Initial praises included its light weight, outstanding out-of-the-box results, effective dust remover, low noise across the ISO spectrum, and the speedy auto focus / shutter performance. Notably, the list of digs was rather puny compared to the cheers, as the disappointing dynamic range performance and counterproductive Noise Filter were the only major qualms that reviewers felt were worth mentioning in detail. Overall, it seems the E-410 should fit the bill quite nicely if you're looking for a relatively advanced entry-level DSLR, but be sure and visit the read link to make absolutely sure this is where you want your $800 or so to go.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/15/olympus-e-410-evolt-dslr-gets-reviewed/#comments

6/15/2007 3:20:00 PM

Filed under: Cellphones

Alright, you already knew what day the thing was launching, then you discovered the time, and finally, you realized that you wouldn't even have to get off work early on the left coast thanks to all sales happening in local time zones. For those still obsessing over what will go down just a fortnight from now, BGR has discovered that "all AT&T stores will be closing up at 4:30PM" while employees set up those cutesy iPhone displays, toss back a few Red Bulls, and hopefully receive their shipments from the (potentially armored) trucks. At 6:00PM, either the doors will open back up or the fanatics will force their way in, and the outlets could stay open "as late as midnight" to satisfy the demand. Oh, and make sure you bring some spare change along -- word on the street is that a bevy of typical accessories (chargers, cases, etc.) will be tempting you as you wade through the checkout line.

[Image courtesy of Seattle Post-Intelligencer]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/15/further-iphone-launch-day-details-unearthed/#comments

6/15/2007 2:59:00 PM

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

It looks like those Space Station computer problems are still causing headaches for NASA and Russia's Mission Control, as they're reportedly still not fully back up to speed after two days of repair work. According to the AP, the Russians worked on them through the night but only managed to get one of three power channels restored before the flight controllers told them to get some sleep. Despite the setback, NASA's still saying that the chances of abandoning the space station are remote, and that the crew are not in any immediate danger. In the meantime, the shuttle Atlantis's crew have apparently turned off cameras, laptops, and some lights to conserve power in case they need to stay an extra day to maintain the ISS's position.

[Photo courtesy of NASA]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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6/15/2007 2:31:00 PM

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

MPIO's MG100 digital audio player wasn't all that remarkable when it was only available in 1GB and 2GB versions, but the company seems to think they have a winner, now bumping the player up to a full 4GB. Otherwise, the player appears to be unchanged, with the same 176x132 screen, built-in FM tuner, and support for the always-popular MTV video file format in addition to the usual MP3 and WMA audio formats. No word on price, but we wouldn't expect it to demand too much of a premium over the $165 the 2GB version cost.

[Via Akihabara News]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/15/mpio-intros-4gb-mg100-dap/#comments

6/15/2007 2:09:00 PM

Filed under: Gaming

Man, talk about leaving the Home Pro Racing Simulator in the proverbial dust. VRX has introduced a swank new racing sim of its own designed with a Forza Motorsports 2 theme and a trio of 37-inch Sharp Aquos 1080p LCD TVs. The frame is constructed from CNC machined polished aluminum, and envelopes the gamer by curiously including just one Sparco seat along with four Xbox 360 Elites, four copies of Forza Motorsport 2, an Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on player, camera / wireless headset, a Zune, force feedback wheel, and surround sound as well. Sure, brush it off as overkill if you please, but those who are sick of draining ~~quarters~~ dollars at the arcade can contact the company to experience the presumed sticker shock for themselves.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/15/vrxs-triple-screen-racing-simulator-uses-xbox-360-elite/#comments

6/15/2007 1:49:00 PM

Filed under: Laptops

Not a whole lot of dirt on this one at the moment, but apparently, NC Digitech has a 17-incher ready to roll in Korea. The MEGA BOOK L745X-206K sports an expansive 1,440 x 990 resolution panel, 1GB of RAM, Intel's Core 2 Duo T2350 processor, a 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 7600 graphics card, DVD burner, a nine-cell Li-ion battery, 1.3-megapixel camera, and a 120GB hard drive spinning at 5400RPMs. Concerning the ports, you'll find a four-in-one multicard reader front and center of the machine, audio in / out jacks, and DVI / S-Video outputs. Per usual, there's no word on price nor availability just yet, but we're certainly digging the conveyed thinness.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/15/nc-digitechs-17-inch-mega-book-l745x-206k-laptop/#comments

6/15/2007 1:19:00 PM

Filed under: Robots, Transportation

While it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise given that they've already won the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge, we're sure that the team from Stanford is still pretty stoked that they've passed the first test on the way to DARPA's upcoming Urban Challenge. Or, more specifically, that "Junior" the autonomous Volkswagen Passat passed the test. It apparently wasn't entirely smooth sailing though, as the car got stuck once on a course while passing a car, although it eventually managed to recover -- it never did push it past 15 mph though. As with the other contenders, however, Junior still has a ways to go before the big race, with another, more challenging test in store later this summer that'll narrow the field down to the top thirty.

[Photo courtesy of CNET]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/15/stanfords-junior-volkswagen-passes-first-darpa-test/#comments

6/15/2007 12:51:00 PM

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Universal Remote's company name leaves little unsaid about what its core competencies truly are, and its latest professional-series remote recently got a bit of hands-on time with the crowd at Electronic House. The MX-810 Pro Wizard was purportedly designed to work with setups ranging from a single room to an entire home, and sports a color LCD, 44 hard buttons, RF / infrared compatibility, rechargeable Li-ion, and hot keys for powering up select groups of components. Interestingly, this unit also includes 32MB of built-in memory to store commands that control "up to 24 activities for each of 24 different devices programmed into eight LCD pages." Of course, this also means that you'll need at least a week of vacation to actually program this $399 gizmo once it hits your doorstep in July.

[Photo courtesy of Tony Scarpetta]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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6/15/2007 12:27:00 PM

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Just as Sprint starts pondering ways to possibly rid itself of the massive WiMAX expenditure load that it has taken on, AT&T is apparently looking right on past the technology into the next-generation of HSPA. The company's VP of Government Solutions for Mobility noted at a recent interview that AT&T would be taking a "wait-and-see approach to WiMAX as it didn't see the value proposition in mobile WiMAX." Consequently, he hinted that the firm would rather set its sights on LTE (long term evolution), but did suggest that it would be "evaluating the use of WiMAX technology for backhaul." A tough day for WiMAX supporters, indeed.

[Via PhoneScoop]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/15/atandt-looks-beyond-wimax-headed-for-lte/#comments

6/15/2007 12:05:00 PM

Filed under: Features, Home Entertainment

Ok, ok, we admit, the Archos TV Plus we got to manhandle was only a prototype -- at best. (It was really more of a mockup.) But we did bring home a lot of interesting info for those curious to know more details about Archos's first DVR / media streamer.

The Archos TV Plus will feature typical DVR functionality, including an IR blaster for cable boxes; it takes input via component, composite, or S-Video
It can only output up to 720p via HDMI; it only records up to VGA resolution MPEG-4 files, so HD programs will be downscaled
The media files it records are un-DRMed, and can be synced to your Archos portable -- but only via direct USB connection, not over Ethernet or WiFi
It can also stream WMV, FLV, and MPEG-4 content via your home UPnP server
It also has a remote with jog-wheel and QWERTY keyboard
It will start out with two drive sizes: 80 and 250GB, and should run between $200 and $350 when it launches this fall

Ok, we're done with that biz -- ready for some pics?

Gallery: Archos TV Plus details, hands-on

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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6/15/2007 11:57:00 AM

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Video, Networking

While it's not apt to replace Sling anytime soon, Evergreen is hoping to give the Japanese market a taste of network TV tuning with its JTV-100-F-PJ. The device -- which happens to resemble an external modem circa 1998 -- accepts both coaxial cable inputs and composite video sources and converts them to MPEG4, which can then be streamed to a network TV server or viewed on your web browser. Notably, it even allows you to view the content in a trio of resolutions depending on the bandwidth available, and it boasts a maximum bit rate of 1.8Mbps. So for those still yearning for a placeshifting box over in Okinawa, Evergreen's alternative is available as of today for a respectable ¥19,999 ($163). Jump on through for a shot of the rear.

[Via Impress]

Continue reading Evergreen's network TV tuner streams content to your web browser

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Sprint explores options for WiMAX, ponders Clearwire deal

6/15/2007 11:37:00 AM

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Looks like Sprint's feverish approach to WiMAX just swallowed a chill pill, as the firm is reportedly "exploring new options for financing its ambitious plan." In a presumed effort to "soothe investor concerns about the cost of the WiMAX plan," the company is actually investigating a partnership or joint venture with Clearwire in order to simultaneously remove a potential competitor and gain access to the critical Clearwire markets in the southeastern US. Of course, Clearwire isn't one to shy away from high stakes partnerships, and the FCC nod for a WiMAX-class laptop card that it garnered just last month could fit in quite well here. Still, Clearwire is refusing to comment just yet on whether this possibility is even feasible, but the mere mention of a spinoff likely means that Sprint isn't feeling all too peachy about future WiMAX profitability. [Warning: Read link requires subscription]

[Via InformationWeek]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/15/sprint-explores-options-for-wimax-ponders-clearwire-deal/#comments

Garmin launches nuvi 200W, 250W

6/15/2007 11:11:00 AM

Filed under: GPS

No surprise here, but Garmin's launching those two new nuvis, the widescreen 200W and 250W. Both feature the same 4.3-inch 480x272 touchscreen display and the and the usual turn-by-turn voice directions, POIs, and extras like currency converter, world clock, etc. The only real differences are in name, price, and maps; the 200W will run you $500 and comes bundled with maps of the contiguous 48 + Hawaii and Puerto Rico, the 250W will run you $550 and has the same, but also includes Alaska and Canada as well. Expect 'em in July.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/15/garmin-launches-nuvi-200w-250w/#comments

Howard Stringer: Sony "studying" PS3 price cut

6/15/2007 10:58:00 AM

Filed under: Gaming
Not that there's ever been a mainstream game console or gadget that didn't eventually go down in price, but PlayStation fans not ready to plunk down the up to $800 sticker price for a new PS3 can take heart. Sony's Howard Stringer did confirm that Sony is looking at ways to bring down the price on its monolith at some point down the road -- probably way, way down the road -- but unfortunately there wasn't much more to it than that. We know Stringer wants to drop the price on the thing, but as usual one shouldn't expect any formal pre-announcements of price cuts on hardware the company's struggling to make a dime off of.

[Via The Inq]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/15/howard-stringer-sony-studying-ps3-price-cut/#comments

HP MediaSmart Server hands-on

6/15/2007 10:45:00 AM

Filed under: Features, Storage, Networking

It's been a while since we last heard any news about the HP MediaSmart Server, but it was quite nice to finally get acquainted with the thing in person. (The last time we played with it, we didn't really get to play with it.) As with so many devices, it's hard to express how small it is (at in comparison to how large we expected it to be), but it was still a pre-production sample -- so the drive sleds didn't come out, nor did the plastics all stay fastened properly. Still, here's yet another we're machine forward to checking out when it's released later this year. (For those that want to check out Windows Home Server now, get in on the beta.)
Gallery: HP MediaSmart Server hands-on

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Keepin' it real fake, part LX: Nokia N800 gets ripped

6/15/2007 10:35:00 AM

Filed under: GPS, Handhelds

At this point the knockoff wizards in China will copy pretty much anything, so we're not going to claim to be surprised at this blatant rip of Nokia's N800 "Internet Tablet." The GPS unit runs Windows CE 5.0 and features a 4.3-inch touchscreen with handwriting recognition, WiFi, Skype, email and MSN support, document viewers, and a media player. It also features an NES emulator for that added dose of IP infringement -- they're really starting to go for the gusto overseas.

[Via SlashGear]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Montreal to get WiMAX services soon

6/15/2007 10:02:00 AM

Filed under: Wireless
Our neighbor to the north will soon boast its own WiMAX-based WiFi rollout, as Montreal is already set to become the "first Canadian city to deliver wireless Internet and mobile IP telephony to residents." Apparently, Radioactif and Nomad Telecom are joining forcing to deploy the network across the metropolitan area, and it will be made first available to the oh-so-lucky residents of Montreal's Plateau Mont-Royal neighborhood. By 2009, however, the network will blanket nearly 300 square kilometers of Montreal antreal and service "around 90-percent" of its citizens, but those targeted for the first wave can expect the luxury to cost them "under $30 per month" when it launches in September.

[Via MobileInCanada]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Sony mulling production of mylo 2 handheld?

6/15/2007 9:34:00 AM

Filed under: Handhelds
While you may have given Sony's hard-to-categorize mylo little chance at surviving in the market, a recent report seems to show that sales were "exactly as Sony expected," which possibly means that there's more where that came from. Although surveyed retailers expressed mixed results in regard to sales, Sony "considers the mylo the forerunner to a new category of devices that cater to kids who want to replicate their PC online experience in a portable," and reportedly mentioned that the "next-generation model would include new partners and expanded capability." Now, we're not sure if WWAN or WiMAX connectivity could be headed to the not-yet-confirmed mylo 2, but it's pretty safe to assume that competition in the converged device market will have heated up quite intensely for the second iteration.

[Thanks, Ryan]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Electronic rock-paper-scissors game reduces roshambo injuries

6/15/2007 9:04:00 AM

Filed under: Gaming

You know you've got a problem when you're openly advertising your product as "the lamest electronic game ever developed," but that isn't stopping the makers of this goofy rock-paper-scissors keychain. The unit features a little LCD that randomly blinks out one of three pre-programmed RPS patterns, and is sold in packs of two so you and a friend can roshambo for shotgun without all that unnecessary physical movement (and groin kicking). If you can work up the effort to click a few buttons, this wonder of the modern age can be yours for just $8.89.

[Via Pocket-lint]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Sharp's uber-white 14.1-inch Mebius PC-CW50T laptop

6/15/2007 8:14:00 AM

Filed under: Laptops

With all the Santa Rosa lovin' that's been going on of late, it's easy to overlook the AMD-powered bunch, but Sharp's latest Mebius shuns the more popular Intel chip and relies on a 1.6GHz Sempron 3400+ CPU instead. Additionally, this 14.1-inch machine sports a WXGA panel, up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM, ATI's Radeon Xpress 1100 graphics set, an 80GB hard drive, 802.11b/g WiFi, and a dual-layer DVD burner. Around the edges you'll find four USB 2.0 ports, a 4-pin FireWire connector, PC Card slot, SD card slot, Ethernet, audio in / out, and a VGA output. Unfortunately, it sounds like you may be disappointed in the paltry 1.3-hours of battery life that the Li-ion reportedly provides, but at least you've got more than a few alternatives to run to for ¥150,000 ($1,228).

[Via AkihabaraNews]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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iPod blamed for stealing the thunder from contemporary art

6/15/2007 7:36:00 AM

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

If you've been yearning for controversy, why not meet Mr. David Hockney? Commonly know as "Britain's best-loved living painter," Hockney has suggested that the proliferation of the iPod has been a primary contributor to the recent "fallow period of painting." He insists that today's society is "all about sound," and even mentions that people are turning off their eyes and ignoring contemporary art whilst "plugging their ears." Put simply, he believes the modern "decline in visual awareness" rests heavily on Apple's own cash cow, and further stirred the pot by insinuating that it led to "badly dressed people" who cared not about lines nor mass. As expected, a spokeswoman for Apple Australia refuted the claims, and while we certainly have seen no shortage of brilliant creations since the iPod explosion, there's always two sis two sides to the canvas.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Oral-B Triumph intelligent toothbrush makes sure you brush correctly

6/15/2007 6:21:00 AM

Filed under: Household

Proving that adding an LCD screen and a radio transmitter are sure-fire ways to improve even the lowliest of products, Oral-B has unveiled the latest in its Triumph line of intelligent toothbrushes. The multi-head brush, which has 4 programmable cleaning patterns, communicates with a mirror-mounted LCD display that instructs you on where and how long to brush, and warns you if you're brushing too hard -- just like mom. The handle keeps track of data if you step out of range of the dispay and re-syncs when you come back to spit, so you'll never miss a stroke. Apparently these go on sale in September for $150, but we're going to stick with our Tooth Tunes -- what's a little less polish when you can brush up to The Clash?

[Via SlashGear]

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Fujifilm introduces LabelFlash media to US

6/15/2007 5:42:00 AM

Filed under: Storage
Yamaha and Fujifilm introduced their LightScribe competitor Labelflash nearly two years ago, but aside from random appearances in laptops and a firmware-flashed cameo in the Mac Pro, no manufacturer apart from NEC has supported the technology here in the States. That might be slowly changing, as Fuji announced today that it will finally start selling Labelflash media in the US market. The company is initially just offering 16x DVD-R media, but will expand the line in time. We've always been Sharpie people ourselves -- no burned disc lasts longer than a week around here anyway -- but Labelflash apparently looks better than Lightscribe, for those of you that demand the pro style.

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Student creates 3D Aztec suspended-flythrough for master's thesis

6/15/2007 4:32:00 AM

Filed under: Gaming

California State University multimedia student Tommy Lothian has come up with quite the master's thesis: a virtual flythrough of an imaginative Aztec world wherein players don 3D goggles and strap themselves into a harness that suspends them horizontally, enabling them to interact with objects and complete tasks, including stabbing a monster with a jade stone, scaling an active volcano, and, uh, not hallucinating over too much fermented agave juice. No word on what Tommy plans to do with the tech, but we bet that agave juice simulation would be a huge hit at parties.

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When good toys go bad VI: baby monitor swipes NASA shuttle feed

6/15/2007 3:23:00 AM

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Looks like Summer Infant has a whole lot of explaining to do after one of its baby monitors has reportedly been able to "pick up black-and-white video from inside the space shuttle Atlantis." A Chicago-based mother probably had uncomfortable flashbacks to Signs after her newly purchased monitoring system chose to broadcast video of the mission right on the screen, but a NASA spokeswoman has already deflated hope that it was somehow coming directly from the shuttle. Apparently, a live feed is also available on NASA's website, which is leading investigators to focus on more earthly origins -- the mom, however, will probably just cancel her cable and keep on watching intently "to see what happens next."

[Thanks, Joe]

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Traffic simulation software lets officials plan evacuation strategies

6/15/2007 2:25:00 AM

Filed under: Transportation

The image of a backed-up highway leading away from the scene of a natural disaster may soon be history, if researcher Yi-Chang Chiu and his colleagues at the University of Arizona have their way. They've developed a traffic simulator that uses real-time traffic data along with detailed state and federal traffic statistics and behavior modeling to allow officials to simulate disaster evacuations in real time -- or even predict the course of events as a disaster is happening. The software adjusts for such varied data as driver reactions to radio reports and wind dispersal of smoke and other pollutants; it even calculates the number of casualties and their effect. Chiu has been building the simulator since 1995, and he's ready to start selling to state transportation and medical emergency agencies. Interestingly, Chiu says his real research focus is on calculating optimum "value-priced" toll rates -- something we're certain most state transportation departments regard as the real disaster.

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Microsoft partners with Linspire for increased interoperability

6/15/2007 1:14:00 AM

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops
Microsoft's announced a new partnership with Linspire that'll see the two companies work together to ensure greater interoperability between the two operating systems, as well provide some all-important intellectual property assurance. Among other things, that'll apparently see various measures put in place to increase document compatibility between Microsoft Office and OpenOffice, along with the inclusion of Windows Media 10 audio and video codecs in future releases of Linspire, increased compatibility between instant messaging clients, and the licensing of Microsoft TrueType fonts to Linspire. Linspire users will also soon find Windows Live Search as their default option. To round out the deal, Microsoft and Linspire have also worked together on a framework to provide so-called patent covenants from Microsoft, which customers will apparently be able to acquire for a little extra peace of mind, and no doubt a little extra cash.

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Rice University turns skeleton into a data network

6/15/2007 12:36:00 AM

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Wearables, Networking
We've seen plenty of ideas and even a patent related to the employment of human skin in the transport of data. We've also seen our fair share of bone conducting audio products come to market in the last few years. Now in a synthesis of the two, scientists at Rice University have developed a technique whereby rattles to the skeleton can transmit information to gadgets and medical devices strapped on (or inside of) your meat sack. Their approach has resulted in "amazingly few errors" even when using low-powered vibrations. Great, soon our handshakes will transfer both biological and software-related viruses? Oh boy.

[Thanks, Geetu]

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Archos 605 and 405 details, hands-on

6/14/2007 10:08:00 PM

Filed under: Features, Portable Audio, Portable Video

We were on Archos's side of town today so we popped by to check out the 605 WiFi and 405 media players. (We were bummed there wasn't a 105 or 705 around, but 705 was no big deal -- according to Archos it's the same device, just made thinner.) We've also got some additional details for you on these devices.

605 will launch for $230 (4GB), $300 (30GB), and $400 (160GB)

405 will launch for $170, not including SD

Both are available this summer

The 605 is 9.2 ounces, and 4.8 x 3.2 x 0.6-inches on the 4GB (flash) and 30GB model, 0.75-inches thick on the 160GB model

The 405 is 4.2 ounces, and 3.9 x 3.1 x 0.5-inches

Both 605 and 405 will have 5 hours video, 16 hours audio playback

The 605 not only streams video from the internet, it also downloads from a variety of paid and free channels (like CinemaNow, YouTube, BurnLounge, and Archos's own Content Portal, etc.)

605 also features an EPG for recording video

Now that we've rounded out the specs, click on for some additional first impressions and a gallery of press shots.

Gallery: Archos 605 and 405 hands-on
Continue reading Archos 605 and 405 details, hands-on

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Sigma SD14 reviewed: promising, but not quite there

6/14/2007 9:29:00 PM

Filed under: Digital Cameras

We've been hearing about Sigma's SD14 14.1-megapixel DSLR with that nifty Foveon 3-layer image sensor since last year, but it looks like all the hype was just that: Popular Photography got their hands on a review unit and wasn't too impressed. Although the cam earned high marks for color accuracy and image quality, the reviewers didn't see the full potential of the novel image sensor -- JPEG shots were rated on par with the 8-megapixel Canon Digital Rebel XT, while RAW images actually had less detail in them than shots taken by the 10-megapixel Nikon D80. The reviewers also knocked the slow image processor, which they found produced blocky JPEG images at higher ISOs and took 8-10 seconds to clear its buffer after shooting just six pictures in burst mode. Although the Foveon sensor is promising, the review concludes that you're probably better off spending your $1,600 elsewhere -- not exactly a ringing endorsement of the "fundamentally better technology" Sigma and Foveon promised.

Read - Sigma SD14 review
Read - Foveon X3 sensor review

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Compal showcases prototype UMPC running Windows CE

6/14/2007 8:39:00 PM

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Tablet PCs

Although it's still proudly donning the proverbial prototype badge, a nifty machine from Compal was spotted at Computex running Windows CE 5.0 in favor of the battery-draining XP or Vista. Simply dubbed the UMD (Ultra Mobile Device), this ultraportable supposedly pulled double duty as a smartphone and even played nice with HSDPA. Internally, it featured a 532MHz Freescale i.MX31 processor, 512MB of NAND Flash memory, 256MB of DDR RAM, a 4.3-inch WVGA display, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, a slide out QWERTY keyboard, trackpad, hot keys, built-in speaker and microphone, a 1.3-megapixel CMOS camera, SIM card slot, and a miniSD slot to hold excess media. Additionally, it boasted USB connectivity, a headphone jack, a meager five-watt power consumption rating that enabled nearly five hours of battery life, and the obligatory media playing and Skype-friendly applications that you would expect on such a multifaceted device. Unfortunately, there's no way to tell whether Compal will come through on bringing this thing to market, but we're sure there's a niche that would be all over it should it eventually roll out.

[Via Wired]

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PS3 GunCon 3 controller boasts Wiimote-like abilities

6/14/2007 7:49:00 PM

Filed under: Gaming

It looks like those itching to find out exactly how the just-announced GunCon 3 controller for the PlayStation 3 would work need wonder no more, as Japan's Game Watch website appears to have scored the details, although they've since disappeared from the site. Wired's Game Life managed to preserve the key bits, however, which reveal that the controller functions much like a Wiimote, relying on a pair of markers placed on top of the TV that are detected by a camera in the muzzle of the gun. The gun also packs a full range of traditional controls, including six buttons and two analog sticks, although we doubt many will be ditching their SIXAXIS for it. While there's still no official word on a North American release, the gun and Time Crisis 4 will apparently be released in Japan sometime before the end of the year.

[Via Joystiq]

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