Sunday, May 31, 2009
Nokia adds support for Lotus Notes in Symbian S60
There’s hardly anything more embarrassing that admitting that your company still uses Lotus Notes, but for the millions upon millions (140 million, in fact) of licensed users who’d love the opportunity to check in via their S60-based handset, this one’s for you. Starting next month, Lotus Notes support will be granted for Symbian S60 3rd Edition, meaning that anyone with a fresh S60 device can soon tap into Lotus Notes Traveler and access real-time email, calendar, address book, journal and to-do list data. On second thought, maybe you shouldn’t be so enthusiastic — leaving work at work is a blessing too many take for granted.
Mercedes-Benz intros SPLITVIEW COMMAND system
It’s hardly the first example of the technology — we saw a very similar system from Delphi in action at CES last year — but Mercedes-Benz’s new SPLITVIEW COMMAND system appears to be one of the first instances of it being used in a production vehicle, and that certainly counts for something. From the looks of it, the system is very similar to the Delphi one, with the 8-inch display able to let the driver keep an eye on the GPS while the passenger simultaneously watches a DVD or something equally distracting on the very same screen. That’s done with the use of a special filter that masks the display and only lets the proper pixels slip into view depending on where you are seated. No word on what sort of premium the system will demand, if any, but it’ll apparently be available on all S-Class models starting in the summer of 2009.USB Refrigerator
Don’t worry. Your PC’s USB port isn’t going to be powering a 6-foot tall, bulky unit. This is a mini-fridge that will hold only one can of soda so that you can keep a soda cold and ready for you without even leaving your computer. The best part about this mini-fridge is that it only takes about 5 minutes to cool a soda down to 47 degrees Fahrenheit.Sunglasses Combines Music Player, Bluetooth Headset
Empty out your pockets and you are likely to have a Bluetooth headset, a pair of sunglasses along with a wallet and a phone. Now what if three of those five items could be combined together into a single gadget? Tri-Specs packs dual microphones, speakers and Bluetooth connectivity into a pair of sunglasses with a set of retractable earbuds. To switch between calls and the MP3 player, users have to press the button on the rim of the glasses. Extending the in-ear speakers turns on the power for the device. It can also do the usual voice dialing and prompts associated with Bluetooth headset. Oakley has had similar Bluetooth and MP3 player sunglasses for a while. Tri-specs’ glasses are yet to be available in retail but are expected to be priced around $200.Canon D10: Shock, Water and Freeze-Proof
Canon is making a new, ruggedized camera, the D10. How do we know how tough it is? Because it has a camouflage color scheme, the universal symbol of manliness. Weird, bulbous, cartoonish design aside, the D10 looks like a great outdoor camera. The D10 can be frozen, dropped and drowned and it’ll still grab pictures with a perfectly sufficient 12.1 megapixels and a 4x, stabilized optical zoom.
The limits: 33 feet under water, a four foot drop onto hard ground, and a temperature range of 14-104°F. And if you hate the camo-look, you can swap out the faceplates with bright, garish, easy-to-find-in-the-snow colors. At $330, it isn’t cheap, but then, you probably won’t have to buy another camera for a long time.
Smart Pen Records Your Writing, Voice
The Livescribe Pulse pen amazes everyone I’ve shown it to: Writing on special paper, it records every stroke you make on the page. It can also record the audio you hear, synchronizing the audio track with everything you write.You can upload everything to your computer via USB, so you can view and search through your notebooks online. Or, without the computer, you can play back recorded audio simply by tapping on the page — the pen plays back whatever audio it recorded at the moment you were writing or drawing on that part of the page.
As a journalist, I love the idea of this pen. And for the most part, I like it in practice, too. I can take it to interviews, write down whatever chicken-scratch notes I want, and rest assured that the audio recording will capture every word, should I need to get a quote. Also, the search function on the desktop works amazingly well, highlighting search terms even when I’ve written them fairly illegibly, and the desktop synchronization lets me have access to my notes even when I leave the physical notebook behind.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Nintendo DS Lite - Part 1 of 2 - Hardware
If you haven't heard about the Nintendo DS Lite you either hate games or you are stranded on an island somewhere. Let me preface this review by saying how much I disliked Gameboys and Gameboy Advanced systems. I let my son borrow a GB & GBA from his friend this summer, and it was the first time I had laid my hands on a Gameboy. The disappointment was unreal. The screen of the Gameboy was not backlit, and I couldn't see a thing. I cannot fathom how kids spend hours on these things. The Gameboy Advanced was mildly better, at least it's screen was somewhat backlit - yet, it too was one of the most disappointing things I have ever seen, as far as portable gaming goes.
Fast forward to July 2006 when Nintendo sent me their latest and greatest new release, the Nintendo DS Lite
The new DS Lite is sleek, beautiful, and re-designed.
I hadn't really tried playing any of the older GBA games due to the poor display, but now I finally was able to play a couple of Gameboy Advanced games and enjoy them. The beautifully bright 3 inch LCD screen makes them look stunning. If you did have a heavy investment of GBA games, this makes this the premiere choice over any other handheld. Being able to play from the biggest handheld game collection makes this $129 item an incredible value. The DS Lite has been executed extremely well, and in my opinion, it puts the Sony PSP to shame. Everything about the DS Lite rocks.
EyeTV Hybrid US - ATSC Digital & Analog TV Tuner for Mac
I couldn't wait to get my hands on the new EyeTV Hybrid US from Elgato Systems. When I read the technical specs, and saw that it was going to offer the best of both worlds (Digital and Analog) into a small USB dongle, I knew it would be the answer many of us have been looking for, all in a quest to turn our Macintosh into a TV media center. After extensive testing and using the EyeTV Hybrid for the last month, I am quite smitten with it. Check out their online demo, and read on and you will see why it made it into our Holiday Guide, and why I wish I didn't have to give it back.
The EyeTV Hybrid requires at lease one built-in USB 2.0 port on your Macintosh. Any Mac manufactured within the last several years will have at least one on board USB 2.0 port. If your Mac doesn't, odds are your machine isn't capable of running this unit anyway.
To get the best quality out of the EyeTV Hybrid, you really need a powerful Mac, since compression and conversion take a lot of CPU power. You can get away with a G4 processor, but if you want to really enjoy the quality this product provides, I recommend a Dual G5 processor based Mac, or even better, one of the new Intel Core Duo or Core2Duo Macs.
To decode the high resolution HDTV signals, you are going to need at least a dual G5 processor. Since this product uses the CPU for compressing the Analog stream during recording, it will require a fast CPU to do the background processing.
iPod - The Missing Manual
If you are looking for an extra stocking stuffer to go along with that iPod sitting under the tree, look no further. iPod - The Missing Manual, from New York Times Columnist, J.D. Biersdorfer, hits a home run with this one. Totally revised and up to date with all of the latest iPods, you will quickly learn the basics and move right into more advanced features of iTunes and your iPod. Full color photos and to the point tutorials make this the indubitable book for getting the most out of your iPod.
This edition is full color with step by step tutorials. The layout of the pages, easy to read text, and vibrant images make reading a how-to book exciting. Just about every page contains a different topic, and simply by flipping through it, you can easily locate what you are looking for, or discover something totally new.One thing in common all iPod users have is iTunes. Every iPod owner must use iTunes to sync their music, photo, videos,& calendars. The book covers both platforms (Mac & PC), which work essentially the same. Arguably, the Mac version is more reliable than the Windows version, at least from reports I frequently hear & my own experiences with it.
WaterField Nintendo DS Lite Case
The Nintendo DS Lite is portable enough to take anywhere. Most DS Lite cases are designed with kids in mind and come in obnoxious colors and sizes. Luckily WaterFeld Designs have come up with an elegant case that any kid or adult would be proud to tote around. It's nice to see designers taking note of the popularity of portable gaming. So many cases are aimed solely for kids and usually consist of something that resembles a sling or a backpack. You can't discretely carry that around. Let's take a look at the WaterField solution and see how it performs.
The overall external housing consists of high quality ballistic nylon. I believe this is the same fabric that is featured in several of their other products, which makes a nice complement to their line.
The case features a soft & smooth double-layer leather flap. The high quality leather gives this case a very elegant feel. Since this case is about functionality & style, you can match your case to your DS or other accessories. Currently you can choose from three colors - black, kiwi, or pink. Each of these are also available in pattern on the front of the case, which provides a view of the internal leather accent. Our review unit sported the Black/Kiwi/Pattern design.Your DS Lite will stay looking great and scratch free with this case. It has a super soft padded lining which is custom designed to the DS Lite dimensions. Discretely stitched inside is the WaterField insignia, which is only visible when the case is open. It's a nice touch, and is done in a way that shows off the case, without being tawdry.
Invisible Ink Pen Write Hidden Message COOL Gadget EVER
This pen is very very special & COOL!! It use invisible ink, so when you write a message on a paper, cloth or your body. You can only view it when you have a UV LED (UV Light). So, you can write some secret message without a UV light no one can see it.If you write some message on your body or cloth, ( when you go to DISCO, than you will see your message! Since most DISCO has UV Light! ).
This Pen also has a UV LED build in. You can use it to read the message, and you can also use it as counterfeit detection.
This unique UV LED + Invisible Ink Pen ( Word - Hidden Secret Pen ) can gives you variety of fun functions!
*Hidden Secret Messages
*Money/Visa Card Counterfeit Detection
*Emergency Light
*Security Marking
Your written message only illuminated when you use UV light to it.
Please do not use it to cheat!
Yukon 3x42 Night Vision Multi Task
The NV MT's newly developed lenses have improved wavelength / contrast characteristics which help to utilize every bit of light amplification from the night vision tube. This unique design allows the scope to produce a clear image with quality and high resolution.
NV MT2 WP is equipped with comfortable sensor control buttons coupled with an ergonomically designed body and innovative lens cover. Rugged rubber armor protects the NV MT from destructive moisture and other elements.
Yukon's exclusive PULSTM system provides the highest level of infrared illumination without the significant power drain on the battery. The PLUSTM system allows the maximum possible output by the I.R. Illuminator doide, yet letting it rest between the impulses to protect the IR from burning out. The pulsing frequency is invisible to a human eye but it penetrates longer distances due the quick energy bursts of the IR.
Etón Solarlink FR 360 Radio
Listen to AM, FM and all 7 NOAA channels. The FR360 can be powered four ways: hand crank, 3 AAA batteries, AC via USB adapter (not included), or solar. It also has a flashlight, USB cell phone charger, and 3.5 mm headphone jack. 6.25" x 6.5” x 2.75".
SOLARLINK FR360 Features: channels plus “Alert” • Built-in 4 white LED light source • 1 flashing red LED • Can be powered from four different sources: 1) Dynamo/hand crank which charges the Ni-MH battery 2) From 3 AAA batteries (not included) 3) AC Power 4) Solar power which charges Ni-MH battery • Connectors, with rubber gaskets/plugs to seal out moisture, 3.5 mm headphone output, DC-in, USB phone charger and AUX-IN input • Telescopic antenna provided for maximum range and reception • USB cell phone charger (USB cable not included) • 3.5 mm headphone output • Dimensions: 6.25” x 6.5” x 2.75” and 158.75 x 165 x 69.85 mm (W x H x D) • Weight: 1 lb. and 450 g • Accessories: owner’s manual, warranty card
Driving Force Wireless™
Today I went out & purchased the Driving Force Wireless wheel, it was pure chance that I saw it & it was on special for $89 (AUD) - -bargain!!!
I'm glad Logitech make peripherals for all budgets & gamers, thanks.....
The wheel is quite light & has a plastic/hollow feel to it, the build quality may not be as solid as the GT5 wheel or G25. However, for this price, you do get a clutter free full functioning force feedback steering wheel. It's easy to setup onto the Ps3 & PC (more on this later). Easily sits in your lap & feels pretty secure.
The force feedback given by the wheel is responsive, pretty good - very adequate, can feel all the bumps, crashes & offers resistance when playing F1CE. Very immersive experience.
This wheel doesn't have gas/brake pedals - so it takes a little while to adapt to using the paddles for this function. These are pressure sensitive too so you have better control during races when taking corners etc! Don't worry, it does feel pretty natural after a few hours of using it.
DFW is for most gamers who would use it for arcade driving games or simulations alike. This wheel is for those who don't have the space or a coffee table in the lounge to set up a proper simulation layout. This wheel is all in one, so once finished with, can be easily packed away.
Finally, this wheel has full compatibility with PC driving games too without installing additional drivers. Works great with GP4 - Works on both XP & Vista (ive tried both too)..Highly recommend also downloading 'Logitech gaming software' for the PC, as it allows individual game profiles to be tweaked, configured / created for each driving game & saved.
Force feedback strength can be adjusted upto 150% power but only when connected to PC, whilst on PS3, FF strength is determined automatically by the game.
Canon Debuts Four New Pixma 'All-In-One' Printers
The PIXMA MP460 Photo AIO sports a high-gloss, acrylic finish and has an estimated selling price of $129.99. At an estimated selling price of $99.991, the PIXMA MP180 Photo AIO offers fast, easy-to-use features with the convenience of direct photo printing in all sizes from wallet to 8.5"x 11" prints. As an encore to the bestselling PIXMA MP150, Canon rounds out its entry-level photo AIO lineup with the introduction of the new PIXMA MP160 Photo AIO at an estimated selling price of $89.991.
From small office to home office, Canon adds one more office AIO to its lineup with the addition of the PIXMA MP530 (estimated selling price $199.99). Following the success of the award-winning PIXMA MP830 Office AIO, the new PIXMA MP530 features FAX and Automatic Document Feeder capabilities.
"With home-office AIO printers becoming everyday household items and digital photography's popularity increasing by leaps and bounds, Canon has created a new generation of multi-function printers that further links the photographic world to that of the home office," said Yukiaki Hashimoto, senior vice president and general manager of the consumer imaging group at Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Think Tech Technology Meets the Great Outdoors
Cordless TrackMan® Optical
"I assume you have reviewed this Trackman before you buy it. Five years ago, when I bought the TrackMan, there were not many reviews as today.
The features of Trackman are great compare to other mouses in the market. I found every fingers lie on top of each buttons of Trackman. I love the back and forward buttoms which make surfing the web more user friendly.
The connetivity is the problem. Once in awhile, the Trackman lose it signal with the wireless base receiver. Why is that happen? I found if I have an object which stands between the TrackMan and its base, the connection is lose. Or if I placed the base under the desk (on top of CPU), the connetion is lose. The best is to place the base behind the monitor; therefore, it connects with the TrackMan continously."
Wireless Rechargeable Optical Mouse-5 Buttons
Tired of being constrained by the wire on your mouse? Check out the PCiDepot Wireless Optical Mouse (5 Buttons, 3 buttons programmable) with Charger. This Wireless Mouse allows you to wirelessly navigate a mouse without wire up to 2 meters from your notebook or desktop computer. The mouse also features an optical sensor and digital signal processor to read and follow your mouse moves. Work efficiently and enjoy precise, accurate and quick response with the 800 DPI optical sensor.
It comes with a USB receiver key that will allow true plug and play connection with the notebook or desktop USB port.Also provided is a desktop charger for the integrated rechargeable batteries in the mouse.Simply place the mouse in the charger overnight for a full charge and you're ready to go !
Designed with an eye-catching metallic silver-on-black paint job, it's dramatic
If you're still dealing with messy cords and dirty track balls, this mouse will seem nothing short of amazing. If you're already working with a wireless optical mouse, you may want to upgrade just for the additional controls and convenient recharging station.
The Delux Mouse is a 800dpi desktop champion. The reliable and comfortable mouse has plug and play capability and sports a PS/2 plug. It's the friendly accessory that gives users smooth, accurate pointing at up to 800 dpi.The 3-button design offers complete control of viewing documents and web pages while offering a cool look that will fit any decor ! Built for right or left hand use. Ergonomically designed for maximum comfort.
Price: US $ 6.29
XMM-Newton takes astronomers to a black hole's edge
Using new data from ESA's XMM-Newton spaceborne observatory, astronomers have probed closer than ever to a supermassive black hole lying deep at the core of a distant active galaxy.
The galaxy - known as 1H0707-495 - was observed during four 48-hr-long orbits of XMM-Newton around Earth, starting in January 2008. The black hole at its centre was thought to be partially obscured from view by intervening clouds of gas and dust, but these current observations have revealed the innermost depths of the galaxy.
"We can now start to map out the region immediately around the black hole," says Andrew Fabian, at the University of Cambridge, who headed the observations and analysis.
X-rays are produced as matter swirls into a supermassive black hole. The X-rays illuminate and are reflected from the matter before its eventual accretion. Iron atoms in the flow imprint characteristic iron lines on the reflected light. The iron lines are distorted in a number of characteristic ways: they are affected by the speed of the orbiting iron atoms, the energy required for the X-rays to escape the black hole's gravitational field, and the spin of the black hole. All these features show that the astronomers are tracking matter to within twice the radius of the black hole itself.
XMM-Newton detected two bright features of iron emission in the reflected X-rays that had never been seen together in an active galaxy. These bright features are known as the iron L and K lines, and they can be so bright only if there is a high abundance of iron. Seeing both in this galaxy suggests that the core is much richer in iron than the rest of the galaxy.
he direct X-ray emission varies in brightness with time. During the observation, the iron L line was bright enough for its variations to be followed.
A painstaking statistical analysis of the data revealed a time lag of 30 seconds between changes in the X-ray light observed directly, and those seen in its reflection from the disc. This delay in the echo enabled the size of the reflecting region to be measured, which leads to an estimate of the mass of the black hole at about 3 to 5 million solar masses.
The observations of the iron lines also reveal that the black hole is spinning very rapidly and eating matter so quickly that it verges on the theoretical limit of its eating ability, swallowing the equivalent of two Earths per hour.
New Station Crew Launches on Soyuz; Briefing From Space on June 1 New Station Crew Launches on Soyuz; Briefing From Space on June 1
The International Space Station crew is awaiting the arrival of three new members that will usher in an era of six-person crews aboard the orbiting laboratory. Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Bob Thirsk launched aboard a Soyuz spacecraft Wednesday morning from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The Soyuz is scheduled to dock with the station at 8:36 a.m. Friday, May 29. The trio will join station Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineers Mike Barratt of NASA and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to form the Expedition 20 crew. It will mark the first time all five partner agencies are represented by astronauts on the station at the same time.
The expanded crew of the International Space Station will discuss the start of six-person operations in a news conference at 9:25 a.m. Monday, June 1. The news conference will be broadcast live on NASA Television and streamed on the NASA Web site.
Reporters at NASA centers and locations hosted by JAXA, ESA and CSA will be able to ask questions during the 30-minute news conference. A separate news conference is scheduled for the crew with Russian news media, but will not be broadcast on NASA TV due to time constraints. Journalists who want to participate must call the public affairs office at their preferred location by 10 a.m. Friday.
New York City - Amazing Technology, Optical Device Offers View Of London
New York City - Thanks to an artist's tunnel vision, a New Yorker can stand in Brooklyn, wave to someone in London - and see the Brit waving back.
The jolly good show is made possible by a huge optical device called a "telectroscope" created by a sculptor who has also invented a tale about its origin, claiming it was made possible by a long-lost secret tunnel.
The gizmo was placed at the Fulton Ferry Landing by the Brooklyn Bridge yesterday - and an identical one was set up across the pond on London's South Bank by the Tower Bridge.
Step up to the person-size lens of the brass-and-wood device and you see a life-size view in real time of whoever is gazing through the lens on the other side.
The work by London artist Paul St. George looks like a giant telescope burrowing into the ground. Publicists for the project would say only that the scope works by using fiberoptic communication.
Optical Device Cancels Starlight So Astronomers Can See Distant Planets
"Some people say that I study darkness, not optics," jokes Grover Swartzlander.
But it's a kind of darkness that will allow astronomers to see the light.
Swartzlander, an associate professor in The University of Arizona College of Optical Sciences, is developing devices that block out dazzling starlight, allowing astronomers to study planets in nearby solar systems.
The devices also may prove valuable to optical microscopy and be used to protect camera and imaging systems from glare.
The core of this technology is an "optical vortex mask" -- a thin, tiny, transparent glass chip that is etched with a series of steps in a pattern similar to a spiral staircase.
When light hits the mask dead on, it slows down more in the thicker layers than in thinner ones. Eventually, the light is split and phase shifted so some waves are 180 degrees out of phase with others. The light spins through the mask like wind in a hurricane. When it reaches the "eye" of this optical twister, light waves that are 180 degrees out of phase cancel one another, leaving a totally dark central core.
Swartzlander says this is like light following the threads of a bolt. The pitch of the optical "bolt" -- the distance between two adjacent threads -- is critical. "We're creating something special where the pitch should correspond to a change in the phase of one wavelength of light," he explained. "What we want is a mask that essentially cuts this plane, or sheet, of incoming light and curls it up into a continuous helical beam."
"What we've found recently is knock-your-socks-off amazing from a theoretical point of view," he added.
"Mathematically, it's beautiful."
Optical vortices are not a new idea, Swartzlander noted. But it wasn't until the mid 1990s that scientists were able to study the physics behind it. That's when advances in computer-generated holograms and high-precision lithography made such research possible.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Sony CCDTRV98 Hi8 Camcorder
Product Features
- Hi8 camcorder
- 20x optical and 28x digital zoom lens with image stabilization
- 3.5-inch color LCD and black and white EVF
- Uses the Sony NP-F330 InfoLithium battery, included
- Includes A/V cable; includes a number of special effects and faders for custom creations
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Samsung's UN46B6000 cheapest thin LCD
LG Venus - VX8800
For starters, the Venus has the capacity for one thousand contacts which has room for five phone numbers and two email addresses each. Contacts can be organized into caller groups and embed each with their respective photos and any of the sixteen ring tones available. Other important features such as text and multimedia messaging, a calendar and alarm clock – even a world clock, a notepad, calculator, speaker phone and voice memo recorder.
Canon PowerShot SX1 IS
Canon pioneered the use of CMOS sensors in digital SLRs (starting way back in 2000 with the EOS D30) - and they have long been used in cheap imaging devices (such as mobile phones and no brand 'keychain' digicams), but until now they haven't made their way into mainstream compact cameras. The reason has been simple; they just haven't been good enough. CMOS sensors have more circuitry built into the chip itself than CCD sensors, leaving less room for actually capturing light. This isn't a problem when you're working with a sensor with a large surface area, but at very small sizes it means lowered sensitivity - and that means noise and all the image quality problems associated with removing it.
Any problems with CMOS on large (DSLR) sensors were fixed long ago, and it is now the dominant technology in all but the cheapest models. The quest to fix them for smaller sensors has taken a lot longer, but it's one that continues because the possibilities offered by the on-chip processing capabilities of a CMOS sensor are simply too enticing for camera manufacturers to ignore (quite aside from the fact they use less power and are, in theory, a lot cheaper to mass produce). The SX1 IS, along with Sony's HX1 and the Ricoh CX1, is the first in a new wave of CMOS-sensored 'serious' compact cameras, and though few claims are being made about how the use of CMOS will affect image quality per SE, they all sport unique features (high speed capture, HD movies, clever image stacking modes) which are only possible because this technology.
Apple iPod shuffle
Archos 2 and Archos 4 Back to Flash Basics
The last non PMP and flash based player Archos released was the 105. I have one sitting around the office but never stirred up enough gumption to write a review on it since I couldn’t stop yawning every time I used it. Not that it was bad, just nothing exciting and a bit out of date even at its release. This time around we hope that its different. At the very lease it has a nice new modern design and less clunky like the older generation Archos players.
The Archos 2 will follow the 104 and 105 with a simple candy bar form factor, sporting a 1.8” 128x160 pixel screen. This will come in 4GB and 8GB sizes. The Archos 4 is a bit more elusive at this time since we don’t have pics yet- but this will be a 4” flash player coming in 16GB and 32GB capacities. Could Archos be killing off their hard drive models? Likely not, but it appears that they are adding a healthy mix of flash.