CrunchGear » Josh Goldman

VUDU review

Josh Goldman — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 21:16:37 +0000

I’ve tried several Internet-based movie services such as Vongo, Movielink, Netflix and Amazon Unbox. Each has its own pluses and minuses and require a Windows PC in some way (though now you can get some movies from Unbox directly through a TiVo). VUDU’s device and service beats them all with its excellent interface, great video and audio quality, ability to immediately view movies, large—and good—selection of content and no subscription fee. It’s not perfect, but it’s damn close.

The $399 box is nice looking and compact. The biggest obstacle to setting up is the need for an Ethernet connection. There’s no built-in Wi-Fi, though you can connect an 802.11g or Draft-N Ethernet adapter to tap into a wireless network. I used IOGEAR’s Turbo Powerline Networking Kit, which uses your home’s electrical wiring for creating a wired network connection. It worked flawlessly and provides plenty of bandwidth to take advantage of the instant playback. I connected to my TV via HDMI (a high-quality HDMI cable was included as well as an Ethernet and composite cables) and then plugged in its compact power supply and turned it on. Don’t have an HDMI? There are component and composite outs for video and optical and coaxial audio jacks.

After a very brief on-screen setup (mostly to acquaint you with the remote and interface and check the Internet connection) I was scrolling fast through the film selection from both indie and major studios and distributors. That brings me to my next point: The remote control. It’s the most comfortable remote I’ve had in my hand in a long time and it uses RF instead of IR, so you need not aim it directly at the unit to use it’s thumb-dial to spin through the movies. The thumb-dial can take some practice, but the controls are easy to figure out and it definitely passes the no-experience-necessary test. Most of that is a credit to the interface, though, which is not only nice to look at but very easy to navigate.

Movies can be rented with prices from .99 cents to $3.99 and again, they’ll stream immediately. However, like other services, you have 30 days to start watching a rental and then 24 hours once you’ve pressed play to finish it. There are titles that can be purchased for anywhere from $4.99 to $19.99, too, and stored permanently on the device’s 250GB hard drive. VUDU requires payment in advance with a credit card in amounts of $20, $50 or $100. As you rent/buy, the account empties until it’s all gone and then the company charges you again for the pre-authorized amount.

It’s kind of a drag that you can’t send the films to other TVs in your home, but it is a tiny box that could be disconnected and hooked up to another TV with little effort. (Of course if there were a built-in wireless adapter, it would be even easier.) Also, for every one movie you want to watch, there are probably 10 you don’t, but that goes for all similar services. VUDU is a film junkie’s dream though, especially if you’re a junkie of means with an HDTV. The $399 for the box plus the rental costs is a big chunk to swallow up front. But, them’s the cost of doin’ business if you want the best in instant, at-home movies that look and sound good on an HDTV. Plus, VUDU promises to continually make ownership worthwhile with more movies and features coming online in the next six months, so you don’t have to worry about obsolescence a year from now.

VUDU [product site]

Sony Walkman NWZ-A810, NWZ-S610: No Gimmicks, Just Good Players

Josh Goldman — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 09:00:28 +0000

I was so tempted to use “Nano Killer?” in the headline, but A) I hate that sh*t and 2) realistically Apple is the only one capable of killing the iPod in any of its incarnations. That said, awhile back I got a chance to play around with preproduction models of the NWZ-A810 (after the jump) and NWZ-S610 (right) and they are pretty solid competition against offerings from Apple, Creative and iRiver.

First off, Sony ditched its own proprietary formats, opting instead to support secure WMA, as well as non-secure AAC and MP3 music formats, plus JPEG files for photos, and the AVC (H.264/AVC) Baseline Profile and MPEG-4 video codecs. They’re also certified PlaysForSure devices for use with Yahoo! Music, Napster and the like. And even though it comes bundled with Microsoft Windows Media Player 11, they’re independent of any player; all files can be loaded by drag and drop.

Second, instead of bogging them down with gimmicky features and a crazy GUI, Sony kept them fairly basic and instead concentrated on the LCD and audio quality and battery life. The interface is a standard icon-based grid menu system, similar to what you’d find on an average cellphone. There’s a nice search feature to help you quickly get through large collections and about the fanciest feature you’ll find is the ability to view video horizontally giving you a wider screen. Sony’s claiming 33 hours of music playback for both players, with video at 8 hours for the A810 and 9.5 hours for the S610.

Lastly, the higher-end NWZ-A810 series pictured left has a bright 2-inch QVGA (320×240) LCD, which is small, but very viewable and capable of 30fps playback. It also comes with a quality set of Sony MDR-EX082 earbuds.

The NWZ-S610 uses a 1.8-inch QVGA LCD (also 320×240 and capable of 30fps) and includes an FM tuner. Sony says this model is targeted at younger users, but I actually preferred the feel and styling of it more than the more expensive A810.

The NWZ-A810 series of Walkman video music players come in three different capacities and four colors:
• The NWZ-A815: 2GB; white, pink, black and silver; $140.
• The NWZ-A816: 4GB; white, pink, black and silver; $180.
• The NWZ-A818: 8GB; black and silver; $230.

The NWZ-S610 series of Walkman music players come in three different capacities and four colors:
• The NWZ-S615F: 2GB; black, pink, red and silver; $120.
• The NWZ-S616F: 4GB; black, pink, red and silver; $160.
• The NWZ-S618F: 8GB; black; $210.

Didn’t really talk about these, but the the NWZ-B100 series of Walkman music players have a three-line color LCD display and an FM tuner as well as a built-in mic. They come in two different capacities and colors:
• The NWZ-B103F: 1GB; black; $60.
• The NWZ-B105F: 2GB; black and white; $80.

The new Walkman models will be available online today and at Sony Style retail stores, at military base exchanges and at authorized dealers nationwide in September. The silver players will be sold exclusively at Sony Style retail store and site.

Skype Service Update: No Cyber Attack, Just A Bad Algorithm

Josh Goldman — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 01:21:59 +0000

We just heard from Skype with an official comment on what caused the service interruption today and what they’re doing to fix it.

“Apologies for the delay, but we can now update you on the Skype sign-on issue. As we continue to work hard at resolving the problem, we wanted to dispel some of the concerns that you may have. The Skype system has not crashed or been victim of a cyber attack. We love our customers too much to let that happen. This problem occurred because of a deficiency in an algorithm within Skype networking software. This controls the interaction between the user’s own Skype client and the rest of the Skype network. Rest assured that everyone at Skype is working around the clock — from Tallinn to Luxembourg to San Jose — to resume normal service as quickly as possible.”

Oddly enough, one of our nicknames for John is “deficient algorithm.” If you want to keep up on the the repair process, you can check the company’s blog.

Google Vs. Yahoo!: Which Web Cuisine Reigns Supreme?!?

Josh Goldman — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 20:10:02 +0000

We know LAPTOP magazine likes it some head-to-head action (and really, who doesn’t?), but while it usually does face-offs with gadgets, the staff’s not afraid to put software or services in the ring to bloody each other up. This week, it’s put together a throw-down between Google and Yahoo! to see which one you should be using as your homepage. The editors judged both in 10 categories: Search, e-mail/calendar, maps, IM/voice, video, music/games, photos, personal start page, mobile, and secret weapons.

It’s pretty back and forth for most of the story (Yahoo! wins points for entertainment and e-mail/IM, while Google takes tops in search, maps and secret weapons) and though I won’t spoil the outcome for you, I’m sure you can guess who wins in the end. They do, however, neglect to judge either on the usability of the companies’ names as sexual innuendo. (I think it should go to Yahoo! for its usage being eminently more flexible/adaptable.)

Google vs. Yahoo [laptop mag]

Kodak’s Picture Kiosk G4 More Fun Than It Should Be

Josh Goldman — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 17:58:11 +0000

Until yesterday, I hadn’t used a photo kiosk since the year 2000. At that time all the kiosk had was a flatbed scanner and maybe a floppy and/or CD-ROM, but I don’t remember (dude, it was seven years ago. Back off!). I was given the opportunity to test out the newest kiosk from Kodak yesterday—the Kodak Picture Kiosk G4—and while most of the things it does I can do at home, there was something about the process of playing with my pictures on the kiosk that was easier and more fun than doing it on my computer.

For starters, there are slots and drives for just about every modern media type: USB flash and hard drives, CD/DVD, all manner of flash cards and floppies, and there’s a flatbed scanner. What’s more, you can send pictures from a cellphone or other mobile device by Bluetooth or IR directly to the kiosk. There are lots of options from simple prints of various sizes to collages and calendars with selectable borders to the cheesiest of greeting cards. You can do some minor edits, too (color correction, crop, brightness, contrast, etc. etc.).

So why is heading to a kiosk more fun than doing the very same thing at home? Well, I’m betting it’s the touchscreen interactivity of it all, on a system geared for easy use at a fast pace. It forces you to concentrate on working on your photos and there’s something about just tapping on a screen that made it more enjoyable. (Though I f*cked around so much that I likely would’ve angered anyone waiting to use the machine.) The Bluetooth feature alone is worth a stop at the kiosk. In a couple minutes I had a really nice collage of pictures I took with my phone on a recent trip.

The point to all this: Don’t neglect your friendly neighborhood photo kiosk. Even if you think you can do what it does at home, the kiosk experience can be more productive and ultimately more satisfying.

Find a Kodak Picture Kiosk near you

Buffalo Adds Web Access To TeraStation Live NAS Drives

Josh Goldman — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 20:03:53 +0000

So if you were shopping for a network-attached storage drive and were on the fence about which to get, Buffalo’s added a little sumthin’ sumthin’ to tip you in their favor: Web access to your digital files. Now you’ll be able to access all your files stored on either the 1, 2 or 3TB TeraStation Live NAS devices from any Web browser.

The device includes its own dynamic DNS server so users simply log onto www.buffaloNAS.com, enter their user name and instantly have access to all of their files. Additionally, they can access their device by going to www.buffaloNAS.com/theirusername. Because there is no need to download software, set-up is a breeze. Web Access uses UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) and requires no firewall configuration for seamless communication between the TeraStation Live and any web browser.

That sounds like a good time to me. Perfect for letting your friends and family have at your digital media. Remember: Sharing is caring.

BUFFALO TECHNOLOGY ADDS EASY REMOTE ACCESS TO ITS TERASTATION LIVE NAS DEVICE

LapWorks Laptop Desk 2.0 Review

Josh Goldman — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 21:40:28 +0000

At first glance, and really, every glance thereafter, the Laptop Desk 2.0 from LapWorks doesn’t appear to be much of anything; basically, it’s two pieces of corrugated plastic attached in the center by a couple hinges. But that simplicity goes quite a long way towards protecting your lap from the heat of your notebook, while it’s also capable of acting as an ergonomic stand. The company’s heat reduction claims are modest for the device, however, it also acts as insulation from the bottom of your notebook lowering your chances of getting “hot legs.”

It’ll add a little weight and bulk to your travels at 1.4 pounds and 0.6-inches thick, but if you frequently find yourself without a desk or table to work on, you won’t mind making room for it in your laptop bag. It’s even worth the $30 investment if your notebook doesn’t leave your home because of it can be used multiple ways.

For example, I tend to work on my couch. The Laptop Desk adds stability and just enough protection to keep me from becoming sterile from the more-than-generous heat output of my 15-inch PowerBook G4. I do use it folded in half though, so it gives me two layers of heavy-gauge plastic for protection. Plus there’s a non-slip rubber surface to keep the notebook in place. The fun doesn’t stop there, though.

Used open the Laptop Desk provides a good, well, desk for your laptop. With larger, heavier notebooks like this 17-inch HP Pavilion dv9000, there’s not much room left to sides of the notebook. But I really like the Laptop Desk for 15-inch or smaller systems as it gives you room at the sides for mousing. (LapWorks sells a $9.95 add-on mousing surface for even more room.)

Finally, a look at the underside/inside reveals a small panel of plastic on one of the ends that flips up and notches on the opposite end. Fold the Laptop Desk in half and flip up the panel so that it catches into one of the notches and you’ve got a height adjustable notebook stand. This makes it great not only for typing more comfortably at a table or desk, but you can use it to raise the height of your screen if you want to use it with a full-size keyboard.

The ventilation channels built into the surface allow hot air to be moved away from the bottom of the notebook through convection. There’s nothing to physically push or pull the air away, however, so don’t expect your computer to suddenly be frigid because of the channels. Again, LapWorks cooling claims are pretty modest, which I respect.

The company recently refreshed the LaptopDesk with the Futura model. The design is basically the same but they opened the air channels for better cooling and added some grippy risers that minimize the amount of laptop actually touching the pad, in turn minimizing heat transfer from notebook to lap. The Futura is also a little slimmer and lighter weight with slightly flashier looks.

CardioChek Cholesterol Self-Test System Review

Josh Goldman — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 14:00:07 +0000

I’ve often dreamt of throwing a cholesterol-testing party, but it’s just too expensive and then you have to wait for the results! But not anymore thanks to the CardioChek! The CardioChek Self-Test System, made by Polymer Technology Systems (PTS), lets you effortlessly test your cholesterol levels (total, HDL, calculated LDL and triglycerides) as well as glucose and ketones in four steps.

The $99 palm-sized device gives you a result in about a minute and with just two buttons and a basic menu system, it’s pretty straightforward to operate. This is good since there’s little documentation with the product or on the PTS Web site (though there is a training video and user guide), but if you need to monitor cholesterol levels regularly on your own, CardioChek is an accurate, inexpensive option.

CardioChek comes calibrated from the factory, ready for testing. However, the package includes two “check strips” to verify that it is in full, working order. There are no actual test strips included, though. Those come in packs of three and sell for about $10-$15 (I found them on Drugstore.com for $12.49 a box). There are five types of tests you can buy, and since there’s no mixed package with all of the tests, you have to buy a box for each test you’d like to run. The boxes also include safety lancets, pipettes for collecting blood and a MEMo chip. The MEMo chip contains the settings for each test type, controlling the entire process and is specific to that set.

The testing process is simple: Insert MEMo chip, turn it on, insert strip, stick finger, collect blood, apply to strip and read results. Your blood causes a color-changing chemical reaction that the analyzer is able to measure and interpret. Basically it’s the same as a professional test. That didn’t stop me from being a little skeptical of the results (“holy crap, is my cholesterol really that high?!). But the result proved accurate as I had my cholesterol checked by my doctor, too. (So yes, holy crap, it was that high. Lots of bran, green vegetables and fish in my future.)

Once you have results (it’ll store up to 30 results with time and date), you’ll have to track down exactly what the numbers mean. PTS doesn’t include any information with the CardioChek nor with the test strips to help you decipher your results. I can forgive them for this, but PTS doesn’t even have a speck of helpful information on their Web site. I’d settle for a page of “helpful links.”

My guess is PTS assumes you’ll have already gotten this info from a doctor, which is a good assumption because you likely won’t be testing your blood for kicks. Still, it would have been nice to visit their horribly designed site and find some discussion on managing cholesterol, desirable levels, etc. etc. As a consumer shopping for a device like this, it would be much more comforting buying from a company that demonstrates they know about and understand my health concerns, even if it’s only for appearances.

This lack of information is my only gripe, though, and doesn’t impact the performance of the device itself. Not to get all serious on you, but self-testing your blood for a lot of people can mean the difference between life and death. The CardioChek is an affordable, simple solution for staying on top of your health minus the hassle of frequent doctor visits.

Attention Flash-based Widget Builders: Win A Free Trip To Flashforward2007

Josh Goldman — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 17:06:08 +0000

Thumbplay, purveyor of fine mobile-entertainment downloads (ringtones, games, videos, etc. etc.) is looking to get a little outside help from Flash developers. They’re having a Thumbplay Widget Festival in conjunction with Flashforward2007 being held in Boston on September 19-21, 2007, and are looking for someone to create the ultimate Flash-based widget to help pimp their mobile-content selection.

Just “dream up, build and submit” your best widgets (totally don’t send them your crappy ones) or any other set of tools that use the entire Thumbplay catalog. Registering alone gets you an early look at Thumbplay’s Developer Program and access to Thumbplay’s entire library of content.

A brief summary of the contest ins and outs after the jump.

– All registered developers will receive a $100-off discount code for any 3-day pass to Flashforward2007 Boston
– Thumbplay will be accepting submissions from August 8 until 5:00 PM EDT on August 31, 2007 (up to three submissions per registrant will be accepted)
– A panel of judges will review all widget submissions and notify the winners on or about Thursday, September 6, 2007
– Five (5) “Honorable Widgets” will be named and honored at Flashforward2007 on Wednesday, September 19th
– One (1) “Best in Widget” will receive FREE travel and lodging for Flashforward2007, and will be honored at the conference on Wednesday, September 19th

More information about the Thumbplay Widget Festival and complete registration details can be found here.

Impact Unlimited Takes The Boring Out Of Trade Shows, Conventions

Josh Goldman — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 19:26:24 +0000

If you’ve ever been to a trade show or a convention, you probably noticed that the main way vendors try to get your attention is with giant signs, hot women and swag. These are all things I’m not opposed to, but with everyone doing the same thing, it’s hard to get noticed. Impact Unlimited specializes in giving companies an edge out on the floor using a host of unique technologies. And with CES 2008 about five months away, there are a few of their tricks I wouldn’t mind seeing on the floor of the LVCC.

The video above for example shows their gesture control interactivity that uses a small camera to sense different hand movements letting visitors rifle through content (like all of Samsung’s DLP TVs and their features for instance) and have a little fun while they do it. And though it’s tough to see, the woman giving this demo isn’t touching the screen at all.

This is a demo of the company’s dimensional projection. It’s a technology you may have seen years ago on a trip to Disney World, however Impact Unlimited juiced it up a bit to use for events. It’s basically video projection on a contoured surface, in this case to show internal medical images of a female torso. But maybe you wouldn’t mind watching the outside of a digital camera or A/V receiver fade away to reveal the inner workings.

Impact Unlimited

Sent from my iPhone—You Suck!

Josh Goldman — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 20:32:10 +0000

A couple days ago, our own John Biggs got an iPhone and immediately started forwarding e-mails to the rest of us from the device. John’s not known for writing much in his e-mails in general, so when the forwarded mail started arriving with the signature “Sent from my iPhone” it was all the more noticeable. And for some reason I got angry at the sight of those four words.

The iPhone still has an exclusivity to it. In fact, John’s the only CG staffer that has one as well as our Audiofile writer Mike Kobrin, and they’re both loaner review units. Was it jealously then that I felt and not anger? Perhaps a little, but this was beyond simple gear envy. More over it was the pomposity of the statement. It’s like saying “I have $500 for an iPhone and you don’t, so suck it!” (It’s true, I don’t.)

Here’s the problem I’m having, though: For years I’ve received e-mails with the signature “Sent from my BlackBerry” and have never once gotten bunched up about it. I really can’t afford one of those either, but I never took owning one as a status symbol. More like something some poor bastard got saddled with because their job expects them to be constantly reachable. I also took it as an excuse for the brevity of e-mails, as if to say “I care so much about getting back to you that I’ll send you this brief e-mail now and get more in depth with you when I’m on something that requires less thumb dexterity.”

However the iPhone, at least for the time being, is a statement of status. (Something we, the tech writers of the world, no doubt added to with the constant and continued coverage of it.) And I didn’t take the “Sent from my iPhone” as an excuse for brevity, I took it as “Look at me! I got an iPhone!”

So what say you, readers? Am I just jealous of the iPhone haves ’cause I’m an iPhone have-not or is it truly obnoxious to receive an e-mail signed “Sent from my iPhone?”

UPDATE: In case you want to adjust that iPhone signature. (Courtesy of tuaw.com. Thanks Les!)

Sprint, Trimble Outdoors Bundle Up Some GPS Goodness

Josh Goldman — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 20:12:20 +0000

If you’re on Sprint/Nextel, have one of their 12 GPS-enabled phones and you often find yourself wandering around in the great outdoors (and not just hanging out in men’s bathrooms at the park, Nicholas), the Trimble GPS app bundle is worth the $6.99 a month. The package hooks you up with three of the company’s mobile GPS solutions: AllSport GPS, Geocache Navigator and Trimble Outdoors. The combo is pretty fantastic letting you monitor your fitness goals, use your phone for geocaching and navigation and outdoor trip planning, mapping and GPS navigation. Hit the jump for more details on the apps or click here.

AllSport GPS
With the AllSport GPS application, mobile phone users looking to jumpstart or maintain their fitness routine can track exercise activity by monitoring time, speed, calories burned, and distance traveled during outdoor workouts. Additionally, users may download map images and recommended routes to their phones, view performance statistics, and store workouts to monitor progress or share with friends. The application supports a variety of outdoor activities including walking, running, cycling and mountain biking.

Geocache Navigator
Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunt that is rapidly gaining widespread adoption with consumers worldwide. Geocache Navigator is the only application that brings geocaching capabilities to the mobile phone. Subscribers’ phones are seamlessly connected to the largest geocaching database in the world. Using their GPS phone, geocachers can seek the caches using a uniquely constructed, radar-like interface that guides them toward their destination. Additionally, phone screens provide compass-based navigation, maps, speed, heading, location, distance, cache descriptions logs, hints and other useful information for both the most experienced and novice user.

Trimble Outdoors
Trimble Outdoors is a complete outdoor trip planning and navigation solution that allows consumers to review and plan trips online, send routes, maps and waypoints wirelessly to their GPS phone and then use the phone to guide their adventures. The application allows users to get maps of their locations, track routes with a GPS bread-crumb trail, and mark and edit waypoints along the way. The application also features a digital compass displaying the user’s coordinates, speed and heading. Users can also leverage the multi-media components of their phones to create photographic, video and audio notes of their trips for sharing online and viewing in Google Earth.

A&E Television Networks Go Mobile On MobiTV

Josh Goldman — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 18:50:09 +0000

I love me some History Channel and now I can love it on my phone, in public. A&E Television Networks and MobiTV, Inc., announced the launch of A&E Mobile and The History Channel Mobile available through the MobiTV service on participating mobile carriers throughout the U.S. And before you say, “who the hell would want to watch this stuff on a little cell phone screen?” the answer is me, I would. I kill a lot of time waiting for meetings by watching video clips on my phone, and I can’t be the only one viewing this stuff.

Content will include clips from The History Channel’s Dogfights and Modern Marvels as well as Dog the Bounty Hunter and Criss Angel Mindfreak from A&E Network.

MobiTV

WD’S GreenPower Hard Drives Can Save You $100,000 Annually

Josh Goldman — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 18:11:25 +0000

That is, of course, if you owned and operated a data center with 10,000 of the drives. But even if you don’t, the GreenPower family of drives cut the amount of power needed significantly. According to Western Digital a typical 1TB drive uses 13.5 watts while the GP hard drives cut that by more than 5 watts, so nearly half the power.

You’ll be able to buy a WD Caviar GP 1TB hard drive this month inside WD’s My Book external storage devices (a great place to have something that saves power since you typically leave these on all the time). More versions for desktops, entertainment and network applications will follow in August. Those looking for a low-power drive for notebooks, the company’s Scorpio drives are already available. Read more about the GreenPower drives.

Synaptics MobileTouch Lands In Huawei U550 Phone

Josh Goldman — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 17:45:38 +0000

If you’ve never seen Synaptics MobileTouch technology in action, pop over to their site and watch the demo video. But basically it takes all the fun touchpad technology you find on laptops using the company’s products and applies them to smaller mobile devices — in this case, the Huawei U550 flip phone.

The backlit three-button MobileTouch interface acts as the MP3 player controls on the exterior of mobile allowing you to play, pause, fast forward and rewind music. Yeah, it’s a pretty simple use for the technology, but like I said, check out the demo video and you can get a better idea of all that’s possible with the touch-sensitive surfaces Synaptics creates.

Certified Wireless USB For The Holidays

Josh Goldman — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 17:17:16 +0000

Anxious to get your hands on some wireless USB products? Yeah, me neither. But the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) thinks you should be as they’re very excited about certifying the first six consumer products with their Certified Wireless USB logo. (And I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fee they get to charge for said certification.)

You can look forward to seeing the Certified Wireless USB logo on product packaging and/or hardware this back-to-school and holiday seasons on products from Dell (the Inspiron 1720 notebook), on D-Link’s Wireless USB Adapter (DUB-1210) and four-port Wireless USB Hub (DUB-2240), IOGEAR’s kit — they packaged the hub and adapter into one package — and two Lenovo ThinkPads, the T61 and T61p.

Kingston’s Speedy 4GB miniSDHC Card, eMusic Partnership

Josh Goldman — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 16:58:01 +0000

Kingston made two announcements today. The first is the availability of a 4GB miniSDHC card that can be picked up with different speed ratings. The best of these is the Class 6 card with a minimum sustained data transfer rate of 6MB per second, which if it holds true would be nice to have in your cell phone or other mobile device. I have an older Kingston miniSD card in my phone and transferring anything to it is painfully slow. Unfortunately, my phone doesn’t support miniSDHC, so make sure your device does before you run out and pick one of these up. The 4GB Class 6 miniSDHC will sell for $66, the Class 4 for $64 and Class 2 for $62.

The other announcement was about the availability of a $19.99 eMusic edition of the company’s 1GB microSD card that includes a USB reader and comes preloaded with 10 songs and an eMusic trial subscription for 50 additional free MP3 music tracks. (That’s 25 more free songs than the regular trial subscription.)

Kingston Technology

TeleNav “Share Your Location” Contest Winners

Josh Goldman — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 16:00:53 +0000

Hey folks, back on July 6 we wrapped up a contest for TeleNav’s GPS Navigator service awarding two lucky readers a Bluetooth GPS receiver and 3 months of TeleNav service. People entered. We picked winners. And then we promptly forgot to ever mention the winners. Our bad.

As you may recall, the contest involved coming up with a creative way to use the service’s location-sharing features. Winner #1 was Rob D. who participated in a cross-country race on scooters last year and believed TeleNav would’ve been perfect to keep tabs on the 30 or so people involved.

Having this service would have allowed other people to see the 30 of us stretched out across the country, who was in the lead, who was last, etc. Also, if someone were to break down, they would be easier to find, which could be life saving if someone were stuck on the side of the road at night.

Winner #2 was Shayna F. who suggested using the service for one of our favorite pastimes at CG: Sticking it to the man!

Spare the masses one more “boycott big oil and don’t buy gas on XX day!” spam err email; let’s all share our locations and price of gas and start a revolution!

Thanks to everyone who participated and to TeleNav for the prizes. Now, check out our new contest.

Canadians Can Help You Upgrade To Vista, Eh

Josh Goldman — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 16:46:17 +0000

Despite what others might say, over the weekend I broke down and upgraded to Windows Vista Ultimate. I hit a couple driver-related snags, but was able to recover no problem. However, while I’ve been testing systems for months now with the OS on it and I know my way around Vista, I was dreading the upgrade. That got me thinking: What would my dad do (who’s pretty tech savvy, but a tad short on patience) or some completely normal non-tech-savvy person who’s heard about all the Vista beauty, but is afraid of the cost and possible inconvenience the upgrade might cause? You could always drag it into a CompUSA or let the chuckleheads at Best Buy do it while they steal your amateur pr0n and music. Or you can let YourTechOnline.com take over your system remotely and watch their every move.

The Canadian-based company offers all kinds of tech support options, but for $139.99 they’ll take over your PC and determine its Vista compatibility, figure out your backup requirements, start and verify the backup, format the hard drive and install Vista, verify the install, and finally get to restoring your stuff. You’ll have to supply your own copy of Vista, of course. Not a bad way to go if you’re not the DIY type.

YourTechOnline.com

Di Blasi Folding Trike: Slap It Up, Flip It, Rub It Down, Oh Nooo!

Josh Goldman — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 20:41:58 +0000

Having spent much of the past 10 years living in tiny apartments, I’ve often considered getting a folding bike, but most of them require way too much origami-like folding, don’t fold enough, or are impractically sized for regular use, especially for a large, human adult. The Di Blasi Folding Tricycle—the R32—however, is none of these things. Billed as the world’s only true folding trike, the entirety of the bike collapses into itself in basically two steps creating a compact 28×11x25-inch mass. (There’s a demo video of the bike being folded up after the jump.)

All this folding loveliness doesn’t come cheaply, though. The R32 sells for $1,495, and there’s an electric version—the R34—that goes for $2,695. Both are available in red, dark gray, blue, ivory, and orange and the company also makes folding motorbikes and two-wheelers. Check ‘em out.