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Please let this be the year of wireless HD video and audio. FOCUS Enhancements, a company not normally associated with end-user applications, is demoing an Ultrawideband HD chip that can transmit multiple streams throughout the home. You can bet your plasma that these things will be pretty expensive but drop like a rock in 2006,…
Apple has announced upgrades to its iMac G5 line, adding a new top-end 2GHz model with standard Bluetooth 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet, and 512MB of ram (the memory upgrade is across the line). In addition, the $1,800 top-end model has a dual-layer capable SuperDrive DVD burner, as well as a built-in ATI Radeon 9600 graphics processor…
Spring is upon us. The birds are singing, the trees are blooming, and millions of hay fever sufferers are shooting long strings of slime onto their chins and down their shirts. Through the miracle of nanotechnology, however, we can be spared this disgusting display. Textile manufacturer Miyuki Keori Co is introducing a line of nano-infused…
The DZ-MV780 records direct to DVD and offers 10X optical zoom and megapixel stills. Appealing to mainstream users, this handheld camera has good low-light performance and a nice UI as well as a strong automatic mode. Priced at about $620, this camera has just enough doo-dads and gee-gaws the keep the average point and shooter…
Much like the Yeti, these VMDs will probably be rare seen and found mainly in Asia. They will also leave an intriguing, goat-like spoor. Based on multilayer red laser DVD technology, the disks can hold up to 40 GB on one side and are currently hitting post-planning stages and may be available this year. The…
A cheeky Spanish designer has developed a washing machine called the ‘Your Turn’ which uses a fingerprint sensor to determine who has to do the chores next. It seems like the kit can be retrofitted to most washing machines, and inventor Pep Torres would like to continue to add features, like a lock that prevents…
Verizon bought MCI for $8.5 billion today, snatching the telecomm out from under Qwest after 10 weeks of negotiation. MCI is best known for its long-distance service as well as its big business and government contracts, giving Verizon a leg up when it comes to pitching service to larger clients. It means very little to…
With all the talk about Taser accidents, I really don’t think this fellow should be stirring up the pot with a 110,000 volt version. I’m not about to stop him. A quick quote: The cannon consists of 30 high pressure pneumatic dart stations, each capable of launching a tapered aluminum sabot that trails a thin…
Motorola has launched the Ojo Personal Video Phone. The Ojo is cool—it does 30 frame-per-second video while keeping the audio in sync. The Ojo is ugly—it looks like a duck’s foot. The Ojo is expensive—it’s going to be $800 for just a single unit. The Ojo is doomed. Take a Closer Look! Motorola Ojo(TM) Personal…
Now that everyone has had a chance to really expand their horizons with the majesty of Automator (It did my 2005 taxes for me last night and unclogged the upstairs toilet), we thought it right and proper to do a round-up of Tiger reviews. An Inevitable Tiger Review [Mezzoblue] Mac Tiger OS reviewed [TheInquirer] Mac…
Phone Arena is saying to expect the PalmOne Treo 650 from Verizon on May 11th for business customers, with a consumer launch to follow on the 23rd. That’s not confirmed, mind you, but just a rumor. And while we’re talking about rumors, most of the people I’ve had a chance to ask about the wireless…
I guess this was someone’s idea of a good time—covering a Mini Cooper with some tiles. We know that art is pretty, but it’s not like this thing has to withstand the horrible forces incumbent upon reentry through earth’s atmosphere—or does it? This Mini is thus clad by mosaic masters Bisazza for an art show,…
Memory is stupid. Although you can amp throughput speeds and do all sorts of fun stuff with a chunk of flash, when it comes right down to it the real value in a PC or game machine is the CPU. Not anymore. RAMBUS is working on multi-threaded memory which grabs memory intelligently. CPUs already access…
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What is it about Reagan’s gonzo fever dreams that entices the military industrial complex? Defense Tech is talking about Laser Relays again, a system for bouncing magical lasers off of satellites, birds, and blimps in order to take out distant targets. The promise of a laser-fried enemy is just so appealing to these folks. No…
Sony’s decision to only support the crack-tastic WEP protocol instead of the slightly better WPA is raise a lot of hackles in the on-line world. As a former sysadmin and avid war-sniffer (for educational purposes only), I believe that this, in the long run, doesn’t really matter (as long as teens don’t bring their PSPs…
We’re strolling into Star Trek territory here, folks, and there’s no turning back. Researchers at the University of Southern California and the Doheny Retina Institute have created a prosthetic retina that can allow the blind to detect light/motion and identify objects. We’ve seen a few of these things before using photosensors hooked up to a…
The Shaun Jackson Design / Higher Ground Laptrap sleeve looks interesting—an entire mobile workspace folding out from a single backpack—but it also lacks an important feature in any bag of mine: the ability to cram lots of extra crap inside. So if you’re a meticulous sort, willing to wrap cords and exert some measure of…
An interesting little device from Falcom. This USB EVDO modem accepts a SIM card and can either plug directly into a USB or stand on a delightful little upright dongle. It includes a headphone jack so it can double as a cellphone and supports 800 Mhz and 1900 Mhz bands. It’s still in the testing…
I couldn’t quite figure out what was going on with this contest on Dave’s iPaq, so I just made him write it up for me: Daves iPAQ will be celebrating their 5 year anniversary starting tomorrow. All you need to do is register in his forums and answer a specific question about the product they…