Sites Under The ‘Gadgets’ Category

Psystar, Apple reach settlement: No more PCs pre-loaded with Mac OS X (but Rebel EFI may be safe)

Some more Psystar news for y’all. You’ll recall that the renegade company was more or less shut down last week, slapped with an injunction and expected to pay Apple an awful lot of money. Put all of that aside for a minute, for there’s new news: Apple and Psystar have struck a deal ! The deal, which ends a 17-month-long legal battle, means Psystar will stop selling computers pre-loaded with Mac OS X.

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Psystar, Apple reach settlement: No more PCs pre-loaded with Mac OS X (but Rebel EFI may be safe)


Saddle-Bag Glows in the Dark, Swallows Tools

Woho makes a range of small bike bags which are most likely to be used for tool kits, but could also be great for carrying cellphones, iPods and cash. The lineup consists of handlebar and saddlebags, but here we’re looking at the Classic Roll, partly because it sounds so tasty, and partly because you can hang it just about anywhere. The classic roll is made from a translucent vinyl-like material which keeps the water out (the zipper is also weatherproof) and because it is see-through, you can throw a light inside and have the whole sack glow

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Saddle-Bag Glows in the Dark, Swallows Tools


Remote Display Lets You Use Camera from 500 Feet

The Pro-View wireless camera display squints its eye up to the viewfinder so you don’t have to. The two-part gizmo uses a video camera to peek into the optical viewfinder of a DSLR and beams the image up to 500 feet where it can be viewed on a 640 x 480 LCD screen, similar to the resolution on the last generation of DSLR cameras (around 3K pixels). The transmitter comes in a variety of fits designed to work with most DSLRs from Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Sony, and you can use up to four of these with one screen/receiver unit, flipping between them or showing all four on screen at once

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Remote Display Lets You Use Camera from 500 Feet


Amazon Promises Kindle Update for Better Content Organization

The Amazon Kindle has many problems: inconsistent international support for both features and availability of titles, a rather too-dark gray screen, no touch and the inability to display any EPUB-format titles bought elsewhere. Once you start reading, though, the Kindle manages to do what Amazon promises: It disappears in your hand. Apart from the odd bright light reflecting in the screen, you almost forget you’re not reading a paper book.

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Amazon Promises Kindle Update for Better Content Organization


Real time, real discussion, real reporting: choose two

As you likely know, Tiger Woods was in an accident under apparently mysterious circumstances early Friday morning. Predictably, the reports and reactions thereto pertaining varied somewhat in quality and timeliness, and predictably, this has led to paroxysms of futurist glee in some and sullen condemnation by others. Now that the smoke has cleared, we can examine the event, which is certainly worth a little inspection despite its obvious triviality, with a little perspective.

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Real time, real discussion, real reporting: choose two


Buffalo announces world’s first 12x Blu-ray burner (and it’s USB 3.0, too)

USB 3.0 is just around the corner (kind of), and the first computer hardware manufacturers are getting ready to deliver products supporting the new standard (even though there were some backlashes along the way). Last month, Asus announced the world’s first USB 3.0 + SATA 6.0 PCI-E card . In May, NEC said they’re going to release the first USB 3.0 host controller

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Buffalo announces world’s first 12x Blu-ray burner (and it’s USB 3.0, too)


iPhone Owners More Likely to Pony Up for Digital Content

Apple has trained iPhone owners to enjoy paying for digital content more than the general online population, a survey suggests. Media law firm Olswang on Wednesday published its 2009 Convergence Survey , which analyzed e-shopping trends among iPhone owners and general online consumers. Apple enthusiast blog 9to5Mac summarizes the findings regarding the iPhone demographic: 73 percent would pay to access online a film just released in cinemas; 67 percent would pay for access to a film that will not be on DVD for at least two months; 54 percent would pay to access a film which is already on DVD or pay-TV; 41 percent of iPhone users would already be willing to take out subscriptions to access their favorite TV shows; 42 percent would pay for an online book.

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iPhone Owners More Likely to Pony Up for Digital Content


LED Nerd Watch Tells Time in Hex, Binary, Octal

My first thought on seeing the rather raggedy Multi-Format LED Display Watch was “that thing looks hand made”. Not hand made in the sense of a Vertu phone, put together by craftsmen one precision engineered bearing at a time, but home made as in “A bit of gaffer tape should hold that together OK.” Reading further I discovered that the watch is in fact “hand assembled”, put together from aluminum and acrylic (not two materials usually associated with scratch-free durability). But what this $150 special-edition lacks in looks and materials choice, it makes up for in geek-awesomeness, or geeksomeness

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LED Nerd Watch Tells Time in Hex, Binary, Octal


Bass in your face with the BassJump for MacBooks

If there’s one thing I’ve always missed about MacBooks it’s the lack of gut-thumping bass. I mean the kind of bass that curdles your insides and causes them to blow out in a wet, pink slurry. I’m talking about bass that will make your parents come down into the basement and ask just what do you think you’re doing and then when they come down they’ll be all like “GLARGGLE!” and then they’ll melt like the Nazi’s in Raiders of the Lost Ark .

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Bass in your face with the BassJump for MacBooks


Does there need to be an app for that? Pet Acoustics, the music app for pets

It stands to reason that a general purpose mobile computing platform, like the iPhone or iPod Touch, will engender a host of special purpose niche applications. Pet Acoustics is one such application: “Pet Acoustics music has been specifically designed for the hearing sensitivities of your pet, both in frequency, volume and rhythm to calm and soothe your pet anytime, anywhere.” This $1.99 app includes music for dogs, cats, and horses, and includes a timer feature for scheduled playback.

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Does there need to be an app for that? Pet Acoustics, the music app for pets


HourTime Podcast… plus a contest

Here’s the latest HourTime podcast, my little side project with Ariel Adams . Note, there’s a special surprise near the middle of the show so take a listen.

http://m.podshow.com/download_media/23690/episodes/198986/hourtimeshow-198986-11-24-2009.mp3

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HourTime Podcast… plus a contest


Italian Surface-esque museum display combines Cover Flow with a huge touchscreen

This is certainly something all museums should attempt; not only does it allow for easy browsing of the museum’s pieces, as you see here, but if correctly done it could have maps, lectures, and all sorts of other stuff going on as well. It’s pretty easy to get lost in a labyrinth like the Louvre or V&A, but a system like this could both put people where they want to go and get them to buy more prints and mugs

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Italian Surface-esque museum display combines Cover Flow with a huge touchscreen


Celebrating 5 years of World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft turns 5-years-old today. Back on November 23, 2004, a year before the current generation of video game systems even began (with the launch of the Xbox 360), Blizzard released the massively multi-player online game at a time when massively multi-player online games were still largely the haunt of hardcore gamers, people with fast Internet connections who were willing to pay $15 per month for access to a game that they already bought. Who can forget the message board threads: Why do I have to pay for a game that I already paid for at the store?

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Celebrating 5 years of World of Warcraft


New iMacs Outperform Mac Pros in Benchmark Tests

Apple’s Mac Pros are pricey desktops designed for prosumer applications, so it’s not often you see them in a person’s home. But the speedy new iMac could render Mac Pros irrelevant even in offices if Apple doesn’t upgrade its high-end desktop soon. Benchmark testing by Macworld found that the top-of-the-line iMac, which features a 2.8-GHz Core i7 processor (one of the newest Intel chips using the Nehalem microarchitecture) and a 27-inch LCD display, is faster than the two Mac Pros available — a quad-core 2.66-GHz model and an eight-core 2.26-GHz version.

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New iMacs Outperform Mac Pros in Benchmark Tests


United Airlines & Gogo offering try-before-you-buy in-flight Wifi promo

Several airlines have been offering Wifi for a while now. United Airlines wants to ensure that people are actually trying it out and so through the end of the year, you can get one free session if you create a new account with Aircell’s Gogo Inflight. The offer is only good on United’s 757-200 flights between New York Kennedy and the airline’s Los Angeles and San Francisco hubs.

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United Airlines & Gogo offering try-before-you-buy in-flight Wifi promo


Microsoft defends decision to ban modded Xbox 360s (but says it didn’t ban 1 million of them)

You’ll recall that Microsoft recently banned a bunch of people from Xbox Live because they had modded their 360s. Modding is against the rules, don’t you know? Microsoft told VentureBeat not to believe the numbers being thrown around—the number most relayed is 1 million banned 360s—because it never releases numbers to anyone.

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Microsoft defends decision to ban modded Xbox 360s (but says it didn’t ban 1 million of them)


Blinking LEDs transmit information to cell phones via light

I’m not really sure if this is good or bad news for end consumers, but a couple of Japanese companies have developed a technology that makes it possible to transmit information from blinking LEDs fixed on advertisements to cell phones – using only light. The companies involved in the development include some big names such as Toshiba or NEC. With this new system, Japanese cell phone users don’t have to scan the ubiquitous QR codes anymore to access more information on a certain product or to get coupons but can obtain the data without being physically close to the ads

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Blinking LEDs transmit information to cell phones via light


Monday Giveaway: Viper SmartStart iPhone Kit, Brought to you by Gas Cubby

Using the Gas Cubby iPhone app to increase your fuel economy and keep your vehicle properly maintained can save you money and help the environment… but, if you’ve learned anything from CrunchGear, it’s that saving money isn’t much fun unless you can blow it on something cool and completely over the top. Well, one lucky CrunchGear reader gets to have their cake and eat it too. App Cubby, the developer of Gas Cubby, is giving away a Viper SmartStart kit to one lucky CrunchGear reader

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Monday Giveaway: Viper SmartStart iPhone Kit, Brought to you by Gas Cubby


Nintendo Japan launches (paid) on-demand video service for Wii

Nintendo started offering a video distribution service for Japanese Wii owners this May, attracting about 800,000 customers by late September in this country. In the same month, Nintendo promised their free channel will be made available to Non-Japanese Wii owners next year , at the same time announcing they’ll start offering paid content (in Japan) very soon. And since the weekend, we have that fee-based streaming video service [JP] over here.

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Nintendo Japan launches (paid) on-demand video service for Wii


Can smoking void your computer’s warranty?

It seems that a few Apple warranties have been deemed void due to the fact that the owner was a a smoker, and consequently their Macs were contaminated . The Applecare contract says nothing about this, and the list of toxic materials includes other such dangerous household items as talcum powder and isopropyl alcohol. There’s a long discussion of consumer rights and nanny laws and all that sort of thing just waiting to be pulled out of this story, but let’s not and say we did.

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Can smoking void your computer’s warranty?


5 Nifty Apps That Turn Your Android Into A Universal Remote

With all the gadgets, remotes, and thingamajigs piling up on your coffee table, finding the right remote can sometimes be a real pain. But thanks to a few heroic Android developers, there are tools to consolidate some of those pesky remotes … into your Android phone. While you can’t use an Android app to turn your TV on or change the channels (because of the lack of an infrared emitter in the Android phones on the market today), the following apps let you control a home theater PC, Tivo, Squeezebox and other devices via your phone

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5 Nifty Apps That Turn Your Android Into A Universal Remote


Review: ReTrak Universal 90W Notebook Wall Charger

Short Version: A universal notebook adapter with retractable cabling that extends to almost ten feet in length, comes with nine adapter tips, and features two USB charging ports. Features: 90-watt universal notebook adapter Nine adapter tips Retractable cables extend to provide 9.5-feet of total length Includes two USB charging ports MSRP of $99.99 Pros: No tangled cables Built-in USB charging ports Decent system compatibility Cons: Not all that compact, despite marketing claims that it’s “up to 60 percent smaller than competitors.” Review: When it comes to universal notebook adapters, it’s important to keep a couple things in mind.

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Review: ReTrak Universal 90W Notebook Wall Charger