I wanted to love this remote. The Harmony One has a great form factor, and I was hoping that Logitech would add its current RF system to the mix. But that didn’t happen with the $400 Harmony 900. Instead, Logitech attempted to simplify the RF setup even though the current method is easy enough and managed to muck things up. The remote’s nice, but crippled by a lackluster RF system and therefore nowhere near the best remote I have ever used.
Help me understand this. Toyota today announced some sort of anti-drunk driving “gadget” (more like a complete system, including a digital camera and a breathalyzer) that prevents a car from being turned on if it detects a certain amount of alcohol in your system. You know, to help reduce the number of drunk driving-related accidents, which in the U.S. caused nearly 12,000 deaths last year. That’s one death every 45 minutes.
Casio is recently best-known for their Exilim FC100 and FS10, the compact cameras capable of shooting 1000FPS, among other things. I certainly loved the FC100 and recommend it every chance I get. But of course, Casio also makes regular old point-and-shoots, and now there are two more than there used to be. Read More
Man, Rockstar is bringing the thunder today. A little bit after dropping word that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is being developed for the iPhone (and iPod Touch), it also announced that Beaterator would be coming to the iPhone (and iPod Touch). I don’t know why (I do that).
One of the downsides to covering gadgets on a daily basis for as long as I have is the fact that I think everything is crap. Very few things excite me and anything that does usually ends up falling short of my expectations. It’s unfortunate, but once in a blue moon does something not only impress, but also exceed my expectations. Case in point, the Pentax K-7.
Who doesn’t want their very own a robotic rickshaw driver? Are they called drivers? Pullers?
Doesn’t matter. I just hope they’re working on a version of this thing that can pull a 200+ pound man. I’ll call him Gary and we’ll go everywhere together. Everywhere!
Newegg has the most ridiculous names for its sales. For example, today we have SHELL SHOCKER, written in some aggressive-looking font, along with a picture of a broken shell, to drive home the theme. As for the deal itself, I spy Adobe Photoshop Elements for $49, a full 44 percent off the regular price.
Tablet PCs never really caught on, did they? And yet, nearly every laptop sold today has a touchpad / trackpad thingie. Wouldn’t it be cool to use that for the few tablet-y things you’d like to do, like signing your autograph on a document, or making a doodle? Well now you can, with Autograph!
Tech21 is a case manufacturer with a fairly unique product. It’s basically a sort of state-changing material that can take impact much like Silly Putty. When it hits a hard surface it goes completely stiff, takes the impact, and releases it without damaging the device inside. Read More
So. You guys still eating gummy bears one by one? That’s cool, I guess. As a prognosticator of internet trends, I can tell you that the Next Big Thing (TM) will be this five-pound gummy bear that costs $40. Just saying.
The press release for the Canon EOS 7D has leaked. Unfortunately, it’s only available as a translation from Chinese, so it’s riddled with all sorts of gibberish. Not that that’s ever stopped us before!
I present to you the Delta Pilar ToucH2O, an touch sensitive tap. I’ve seen it online for about $400 so you have to really want to be able touch your tap to turn in on and off. Obviously this helps halt the spread of germs in the kitchen – you don’t really touch the handle that much – and it’s fun to live in future world. However, I’d be hard pressed to recommend the upgrade unless you’re a germaphobe or want to amaze the in-laws. Read More
Coming to an iPhone/iPod Touch near you this fall from the creators of the greatest game in history, Grand Theft Auto, is Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. I guess it’s going to be an exact port of the DS title. Are you excited?
It’s back to school time and you know what that means: crazy parties just like in Girls Gone Wild! Well, maybe not. But at least there will be lots of drunken Wii Bowling which is sometimes more fun than girls with their tops off depending on your school. As host of said parties, you may wanna have one of these personal alcohol detectors on hand.
Chances are most of you know what the Turing Test is, and therefore have a passable familiarity with Alan Turing, one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Important People of the 20th century. For most people, knowledge of the man stops there. Some might know that he was a fantastic mathematician and cryptanalyst responsible for much of the code-breaking success of the UK’s Bletchley Park during WWII, including much of the work that lead to the breaking of the German Enigma machine codes.
It seems it’s projector day today in Nippon. Here’s the ninth model that’s just been announced for the Japanese market: The Taxan KG-PH1004XS [JP], which looks like a DLP projector with decent specs.
Oh man. I don’t think drinking nine different energy drinks over nine days is that healthy. My life expectancy had to be affected. Oh well, it was done in the name of science and CrunchGear. Before this shootout, I was under the impression that all energy drinks taste like piss and gave you the shakes. Some do, but there are definitely better options than others as I found.
A couple of notes:
I drink at least a pop a day – judge me, I don’t care
YMMV on the prices, but all these came from the same gas station
While Biggs is at the iPod event in San Francisco, I’ll be here in NYC live blogging the Leica event. Oh, there’s going to be a live webcast of the event? Hm. Should I stay or should I go now?
[Update:Look closely, could that be the rumored Leica M9 they're handling there?]
The “anybody but iPod” crowd has another portable media player to choose from, and it’s from Samsung. It’s called the R1, and it’s your standard issue touchscreen PMP. It does play Divx-encoded video, which should be a benefit to those of you who haven’t moved into Blu-ray rips, or who enjoy watching standard-def rips of TV shows on the subway.
Fans of the television show Lost will remember that a big part of season 2 revolved around the pushing of a button. Every 108 minutes you had to enter numbers and push the button or the world might end, was the line of thought. Of course, as time went on, people started to wonder if it wasn’t just some psychological experiment. A new iPhone game that involves pushing a button, is a psychological exercise, of sorts.
Called Button, the game is about as simple as they come. There is a big button on the screen, and when it lights up, you push it. So why would anyone want to play that game? No, the world isn’t going to end if you don’t, but you will potentially miss out on some free prizes. And pushing the button may just help you get through some mundane tasks throughout your day as well.
