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Updated eMacs from Apple today, with the top of the line model getting a bump up in maximum processor speed to 1GHz, a new slot for Apple’s AirPort Extreme wireless card, and a 4x DVD-R/CD-RW SuperDrive. Read
HP is updating its HP 12c financial calculator, which has remained virtually unchanged since 1981: The pocket-sized HP 12C has been an indispensible tool to a generation of financial analysts, accountants, investment advisers, and others who run complex financial calculations. And HP is sticking with what works: The new version, the HP 12C Platinum, offers…
A man in California has filed a class-action lawsuit against Nokia alleging that the company has known about serious problems with the LCD screens in its 32xx, 51xx, 61xx, 82xx and 88xx series of cellphones since at least 1998 but has refused to do anything about it. Read
New biometric fingerprint scanner from DigitalPersona that doubles as a scroll wheel for navigation. The U.are.U Firefly, as it’s called, is smaller than a 9-volt battery and has optical sensors that can scan a user’s finger as its being turned built-into a roller-style wheel rather than a flat pane of glass like most fingerprint scanners.…
You see model cars based on real cars all the time, but how often do you see a real car based on a toy car? GK, our Tokyo correspondent, writes in that: Takara Toys, maker of a popular Japanese line of toy cars (think Japanese Matchbox cars or penny racers) has built a human-size car…
A couple of new network attached storage devices from XiMeta. The NetDisk Portable and the NetDisk Removable are basically external hard drives with Ethernet ports that connect directly to a local area network rather than to a PC so that anyone on the network can access the files within. With home networks multiplying, network storage…
Infosync review of Nokia’s new cellphone designed for messaging, the 6800, which flips open to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard. They seem to like it: As a messaging device, the Nokia 6800 does an excellent job with the exception of its inability to download headers only from e-mail accounts, potentially making e-mail on the go…
A new handheld gaming device from Tapwave running the Palm operating system. Unlike the GameBoy Advance, the Helix should be out late this year and is aimed at older gamers and besides playing games it will also have built-in calendar and address book applications, and be able to play music and videos, and display photos.…
Researchers at the Palo Alto Research Center have developed a new software program called Halo that makes it easier to view a map on the small screen of a PDA or a phone: As a person navigates a map on a handheld computer, the software causes arcs representing selected offscreen locations to appear on the…
Over at CNET, what looks like the first review of the new color Sidekick from T-Mobile (also known as the Danger Hiptop). Looks just about the same as the monochrome Sidekick, but with a color screen and a bump up in internal memory to 32MB. Curiously, the review lists the new Sidekick’s release date as…
Gadgeteer review of the Digiana Wireless Audio Portable FM Linker from Audia X, which plugs into the headphone jack of any portable audio player and can broadcast the sound on an open FM channel so you can listen on your car or home stereo: Some other FM audio linkers have the inherent problem of only…
Even more reason to be careful not to spill your coffee: Infineon has figured out how to build semiconductors into carpets, with plans for rugs illuminated by built-in LEDs and fire and burglar alarms that could be integrated directly into floors. Read
TechTV review of NEC’s 30-inch LCD monitor, the LCD3000. They say it’s the best large-format LCD they’ve ever seen, but that you probably wouldn’t want as your day-to-day computer monitor. Read
IBM’s created the world’s smallest source of light. It’s a nanotube that’s just one molecule thick, or about 50,000 times thinner than a human hair: “the microscopic light source could one day become critical in devices that use light to transmit data, as is currently the case in optical fibre networks.” Read
More information, and a picture, of that new e-book from Matsushita we mentioned on Friday, the one that lasts for six months on two AA batteries. Read [Translated from Japanese using Babelfish]
A new smartphone from BenQ running the same Symbian operating system as Sony Ericssson’s popular P800. The P30, as it’s called, will have a large 16-bit color display and a built-in digital camera. Read
From Intel, a prototype of a wireless, battery-powered personal server that can automatically connect to any PC or PDA within range. The idea is that you can carry one of these around in your pocket or bag, and have your files with you no matter what computer, PDA, or other device (think cellphone) you’re using.…
The New York Times on fantastical kitchen gadgets that don’t yet exist, like the Shape-Shifting Knife, with a handle which reshapes itself to fit your hand; the Qube Toaster, which has hinged cradles for retrieving larger items like bagels; the Nutri-Terra Indoor Composter; and the Swirlet Ice Cream Scoop (pictured at right), which is a…
Viking’s 64mb SD card is selling on Amazon for 28 bucks after rebate. Amazon
From Air-Grid Networks, a new service where, for around $20, fans at major sporting events can rent a Tablet PC with an 802.11a wireless card which they can use to watch instant replays of the game from their seat in the stands: Users will be able to choose from four different camera angles — from…