Toshiba Qosmio G50 Notebook

Toshiba update their Qosmio G50 laptop and will be available on July. The Toshiba G50 now have specification powered with Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 (2.8GHz) processor, 4GB of RAM and 500GB of HDD.

Another features like 18.4-inch LCD screen full HD resolution, Intel PM45 chipset, VGA GeForce 9600M GT with 512MB VRAM, 1.3M pixel webcam and a tv tuner. The price of Toshiba Qosmio G50 notebook around 2290 Euro.

Toshiba NB205-210 and NB205-310 Netbook

Toshiba release the new NB205 netbook which is redesign version of NB200. You can get 2 models: NB205-210 and NB205-310, the different only bluetooth availability at NB205-310.

This redesign netbook is more slimmer. NB205 powered by Intel Atom N280 (1.66 GHz) processor, 1GB of DDR2 up to 2GB, 160GB of HDD and running Windows XP OS. Another features like 10.1-inch display TruBrite LED-backlit LCD, 802.11 b/g wifi connectivity and optional chiclet keyboard.

Pioneer Kuro KRP-500A Plasma HDTV

Pioneer KRP-500A is a 50-inch plasma HDTV, which is extremely thin, only 64 mm, and a unit of media, which helps to achieve this thinness, adds a range of connectivity options, and allows the series to be easily wall mounted with a single cable.

Pioneer is known for large hdtvs plasma and is generally regarded as the best plasma HDTV available. The KRP-500A model name, says that the Pioneer KRP-500A is really the best of the best because it means Kuro reference group, plasma HDTV all others are compared.

Connectivity is very good on the Pioneer KRP-500, with DLNA support, Kuro link, 4x HDMI, component, 3x Scart, PC VGA, USB and Ethernet inputs. Quality improved enough to add an additional reason for AV fans to choose a KRP-500A on the integrated models Pioneer plasma.

NetGear Ready NAS Network Storage System

Netgear has announced the addition of a new high-density network storage system of its award-winning ReadyNAS family of products for the SME market in Korea.

The ReadyNAS 3200 is 2U 12-bay storage platform that provides unified up to 24 terabytes in a single system. With the support of up to 24 TB of capacity, making it ideal for server consolidation or online backup, the ReadyNAS 3200 solves problems SMB storage the most effective way to date.

With 12 bays that allow up to 24 terabytes of NAS and iSCSI SAN capability, the ReadyNAS 3200 easily supports up to 250 users. The ReadyNAS 3200 is based on the ReadyNAS RAIDiator very efficient operating system. RAIDiator The operating system supports the Apple Filing Protocol (AFP), enabling Mac files to be used without restrictions or limitations, and Time Machine in Mac OS X Leopard.

Intel Announce i7 Desktop Processor

Intel Corporation announced today that the desktop processors based on the new microarchitecture society coming Nehalem code will be officially branded Intel Core.

The first products of this new family of processors, including a version Extreme Edition, will be entitled to a Intel i7 identification and will officially mark the “Intel Core processor i7″. This is the first of several new IDs to come that different products launch next year.

Products based on the new microarchitecture will achieve a high level of performance and energy efficiency. The best of both worlds approach is intended to extend the Intel leadership in future mobile, desktop and server market segments.

“The base name is and will be our flagship PC processor brand forward,” said Sean Maloney, Intel executive vice president and general manager, Sales and Marketing Group. “Expect Intel to focus even more resources to marketing around this name and commodities i7 now. “

The Intel Core brand has acquired a vast awareness, preference and the speed with the market for several years. Intel Core name remains the logical choice for Intel’s newest family of processors. Intel Core processor i7 trademark logo will be available for high-performance desktop PC with a black logo for Intel’s most high-end Extreme Edition. Intel processor include model numbers to differentiate each chip.

Initial products based on this microarchitecture are expected to produce in the fourth quarter of this year. These Intel processors will feature Hyper-Threading Technology, also known as simultaneous multi-threading, and are capable of handling eight software “son” on four processor cores.

Acer Aspire Predator G7700 PC

Acer will launch their extreme gamer’s line products the Acer Predator PC which faster, deeper, harder and further. The Acer Aspire G7700 has specification Intel Core 2 Extreme Processor (up to 1333 MHz FSB) or Intel Core 2 Quad processor which also overclock capable for CPU, RAM and GPU.

The chipset of G700 using NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI and the memory using dual channel support on four DIMMs which up to 8 GB DDR2 800/1066 MHz SDRAM. The storage using SATA up to 1TB RAID 0, 1, 5, 1+0-capable with NVIDIA MediaShield Storage Technology.

The uniques feature on the Predator is using Liquid Cooling which offer significant performance advantages to traditional fan based cooling methods. Using the constant flow of water and rear-mounted heat sink, the liquid cooling ensure the CPU run cool.

The other featuring like Acer Easy Swap superior storage and expansion. Come with 9 USB ports, 6 audio jack with 7.1 channel and SPDIF support, a 14-in-1 card reader, 2 external eSATA ports and a front mounted Acer EasySwap HDD Cage to provide room for storage and expansion.

The Dual LAN technology on Predator G7700 is the fastest and most stable internet connection for the PC. Offering 2 ethernet ports on single chip and it’s allow for fast streaming linkage and stable, fail-over configurations. It’s ideal for gamers who need their computer not only play games, but also serve as a server when hosting LAN parties with friends.

And the last feature is for most gamers wanted is the overclocking feature. Acer give you the ultimate tool for overclocking the Predator to the upper limits and beyond. They offer minimum risk overclocking capabilities so you can tweak and pust it to the limits of performance. This tool will allow you to tune the Intel Core 2 Extreme processor, NVIDIA SLI graphic cards and RAM for the blowing performance. Also the Aspire predator designed to be pressed and comes with a CMOS hard reset on the near of the computer. So you can restore the CMOS setting to the default manufacture when you tweaking to hard which can cause the computer to shutdown.

Iron Man 2GB USB Flash Drive

While I’m at it, I’ll just go on ahead and also post this bobblehead-looking Iron Man Mark II 2GB USB flash drive. I didn’t want to include it with the Star Wars set (posted just a few minutes ago) since it would simply look out of place.

Same characteristics and specifications as the Star Wars USB drives, bobblehead look? Check! 3-inch in height? Check! $24.99 pricing? Check! October 2009 release? Check!

Marantz BD7004 Blu-ray Player

Marantz Japan release a new blu-ray player which is support DivX HD. It’s BD7004 with BD profile 2.0 equipped with Anchor bay video processor to improve the upscaling in 1080p.

Another features like Pure Direct audio mode, HDMI out support 32bit deep color, xvColor, and 1080/24p. This blu-ray player support Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD and MP3, WMA, DivX HD, AVC-HD, and jpeg files.

Onkyo Sotec S504 Series Desktop PC

Onkyo release a new desktop pc Sotec S504 Series with Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 (2.93 GHz) or Core 2 Quad Q8300 (2.5 GHz), 4GB DDR2-800) and 1TB HDD Serial ATA.

The monitor has 21.5-inch full HD LCD widescreen (1920×1080 pixel), DVD Super-multi drive, and integrated Microsoft Office Personal 2007 SP1. The operating system using Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit version SP1 and you can upgrade to Windows 7 for free.

Alienware Nebula M17x Red Special Edition Notebook

Alienware release a new laptop for gamera M17x with red and black color called Nebula Red Edition. It’s special edition notebook and previously Alienware already lauch the M17x notebook on June.

The Alienware M17x come with Dual NVidia GeForce 9800M GT graphic card 1GB memory, NVidia SLI capability, DirectX 10 support and provide with 1TB HDD storage. The display has 17-inch widescreen UXGA with Clearview technology.

Another specification of M17x Alienware laptop like dual-layer blu-ray drive, 9-cell battery, Intel Core 2 Extreme Edition processor, 8GB of RAM DDR2 667 MHz, and Windows Vista Ultimate Edition OS. For the connection you can get 802.11n wifi, HDMI port, VGA display port, and 6.1 audio out port.

HP ProBook 4310s Ultra Portable Notebook

HP release a new notebook, it’s ProBook 4310s powered by Intel Core 2 Duo processor and memory up to 8GB. This HPultra-portable laptop has 13.3-inch HD display and you can choose the HDD storage up to 500GB to suit your need.

The HP ProBook 4310s includes ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 GPU or Gobi mobile broadband module, HDMI port, gigabit ethernet, 3 USB 2.0 ports, express card and SD/MMC slot. Also the HP notebook support Wifi a/b/g/n and bluetooth 2.1 connectivity.

The battery life provides up to 5-hours lifetime and available with price USD 779. The price is for specification Intel Core 2 Duo T6570 (2.1 GHz), 2GB of RAM and 320GB HDD.

LG XNote Mini X120 Levis Netbook Limited Edition

LG release a new netbook Xnote Mini X120 Levi’s Edition. As you know Levi’s is a popular brand jeans and until today I never buy it because it’s too expensive. And now back to LG Xnote Mini X120 specification.

Sony DAV-DZ790K Home Theater System

Sony release a home theater system DAV-DZ790K with DVD on it. Previously LG also release Champagne XCanvas home theater system.

Sony DAV-DZ790K has 1000W RMS for total power with height adjustable 4 floor-standing rear speakers. Another features like S-AIR wireless ready technology, SONY BRAVIA sync, HDMI output, digital media port and karaoke function. The price suggestion around 798,000 Korea Won.

Samsung SMX K-Series Digital Camcorder

Samsung Electronics introduced its new digital camcorders SMX K-Series which makes recording and viewing HD video easy. It’s SMX-K40, SMX-44 and SMX-K45 record video in standard definition high-end, but then the sequence of near-Full HD when viewing through an HDMI output. These new models join the Samsung camcorder range second half for 2009.

Intel Release 34nm NAND Flash SSD

ntel Corporation is moving to a more advanced 34-nanometer (nm) manufacturing process of its first NAND flash-based SSD products, which are an alternative to a hard drive. The transition to 34nm will help reduce prices of the SSDS to 60 percent for PCs and laptops, and consumers who buy them because of the reduced size and advanced design.

CMoy Power Mini Amplifier

Check out this DIY portable mini amplifier built by Chu Moy which is also known as CMoy Pocket Amplifier. It can be fit in a lozenge tin and into your pocket. It is powerful enough to drive your weak sources sound to thunderous volumes. Since it's so powerful, will it burn or blow up in your pocket? Who knows, technical failure may lead to unwanted things to happen.

Chu Moy was able to pack everything in the CMoy Pocket Amplifier for just USD20 and a better one with the price of USD50. As per Chu Moy, you won't need to understand how the am or its components works, but you will have to be able to follow some pretty exact directions. I plan to try it out one day.........

MusicGremlin MG-1000

Recently introduced MG-1000 digital audio player would connect to the online service MusicGremlin service. You have the choice between ala-carte downloads or subscription service and do as a number of downloads as you please. This would work via any wireless hotspot and would allow you to download your favorite tracks on-the-go. You can also make a buddies list, play lsit and track without using a hotspot. This comes as a windows only version with 4GB or 8GB hard-drive capabilities and has a beautiful two inch LCD color screen.........

Fusion powered watch

Image courtesy of tokyoflash.com

The worlds 1st Fusion powered watch! No, we're just kidding - it actually takes a regular Lithium watch battery. But who knows what the future might hold?

With a display that is a hybrid LCD/LED and is very simple to read. The outer ring indicates hours, the inner ring for minutes.

The 30 small dots in the centre are seconds, they fill up to 30 and then drain down to make 60.

Fusion DT1 features some nice functions too - in addition to normal time and date there is a programmable alarm. There is also a range of light up patterns, so each time you press a button you get a different light sequence.

There are also 4 icons which light up to indicate various modes. Date, PM, Alarm on/off and Set alarm.

The two models are black and silver. They are the reverse of each other, so for example: everything that is silver one one becomes black on the other.

Date, Time and Alarm.

Shows Seconds.

All stainless.

Hybrid LCD/LED.

Hybrid LCD/LED.

Mineral Crystal Glass.

Water Resistant.........

Using MP3 players as internet banking authentication

'One-Time-Password MP3 Scratch Tracks' is a free software that ports Entrust IdentityGuard Grid Cards into MP3 audio tracks and converts generic MP3 Players into a FFIEC-compliant Internet Banking Authentication Token. Thanks Tea Vui!

Hybrid Engines

Toyota Prius hybrid car engine.

NTRC scientists are developing and applying new diagnostic tools and control strategies to help American automakers and engine companies improve the efficiency of internal combustion engines (ICEs), while simultaneously reducing their harmful exhaust emissions to levels so low they are difficult to measure.

Because modern diesel engines are 30 to 50% more efficient than gasoline engines in cars and light trucks, NTRC scientists have set their sights on drastically reducing the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter, which threaten respiratory health, so the vehicles will meet federal environmental standards and become more acceptable to American consumers.

For several years NTRC's Fuels, Engines, and Emissions Research Center (FEERC), led by Johney Green and Ron Graves, has focused research on emissions controls and catalyst-based after-treatment technologies for exhaust from diesel engines. Two unique FEERC inventions, the SpaciMS and a phosphor thermography instrument, were used together to map the dynamic, subtle changes in the chemical composition and temperature of emissions passing through a catalyst.

By combining FEERC's diagnostic tools with state-of-the-art electronic engine controls, the center's scientists are elucidating the interactions of exhaust species and the operation of lean-NOx traps, a leading technology for controlling diesel emissions.........

Swiss army knife with MP3 player....

Here's an interesting MP3 player, it's a Swiss army knife music player. Supports MP3, WMA, WAV and OGG along with FM and voice recording, drag and drop music management (no weird software needed) - It also comes with a "flight mode" sleeve sans knives.

Canon Updates the PowerShot Line

Canon went all out with the announcements today, introducing nine new cameras in every category from the entry-level A410 to the high-end, pro-level EOS 1D Mark II N. In the compact A series, Canon will be keeping the PowerShot A510 and A520 and adding three new cameras: the A410, A610, and A620. The 3.2MP Canon PowerShot.....

Canon PowerShot S2 IS Reviews
We look to superzooms to get us close to the action, to help us capture important shots from afar. But a long zoom isn’t everything. Although Canon’s latest superzoom, the Canon PowerShot S2 IS, has an amazing 12X optical zoom, that doesn’t make up for some of the camera’s shortfalls. -PC Mag For more information.....

Canon ZR200 Reviews
If you’re looking to save money on a digital camcorder, there are several options in the under-$500 family. But we have yet to see a value-priced camcorder that knocked our socks off; even our Editors’ Choice in this category, the JVC GR-D33US , only garnered 3.5 stars. So take it in context when we say.....

Canon EOS 300D Reviews
The Canon EOS 300D is one of the biggest hits from the last six months and is the most reasonably priced digital reflex camera until now. But the competing brand, in the shape of the Nikon D70 is anxiously waiting around the corner, awakening high expectations! -LetsGoDigital For more information go to Camera Ranking.

Canon Digital IXUS 50 Reviews - CameraRanking.com
There are hardly any limits encountered when cropping a captured moment, thanks to the image sensor with 5 Megapixel resolution. The appliance of the advanced DIGIC II processor, which is also found on the latest Canon digital SLR cameras, makes speed a convincing term on the small compact IXUS camera. The second generation DIGIC II.....

Canon PowerShot Pro1 Reviews
Canon have designed the Canon PowerShot Pro1 from the ground up to attract experienced photographers who know what they want out of digital photography — the great zoom range, L-series lens, creative controls and professional construction add to the appeal. Canon’s flagship prosumer camera exudes quality, feels great in the hand and handles well. While.....

Welcome to Canon Digital Camera Reviews
Hi and welcome to another cross-posting .info site by Shack Base; this one will cross post Canon digital camera reviews by Camera Ranking. We hope you check back often for the latest Canon reviews; Tony LindskogEditor-in-Chief

Welcome to Canon Digital Camera Reviews
Hi and welcome to another cross-posting .info site by Shack Base; this one will cross post Canon digital camera reviews by Camera Ranking. We hope you check back often for the latest Canon reviews; Tony LindskogEditor-in-Chief

Self-Destruct Privacy Flash Drives

Trying to force your way into the new Kingston Data Traveler Elite Privacy Edition for a competitor's data? Think again. The Kingston can reportedly melt the data, in a digital way, after just 25 consecutive failed passwords. This should supposedly thwart the "brute force attack" in an attempt to guess your password.

The new Privacy Edition does sound very familiar, at least to those whose professional lives rely on mobile data storage. The original version, which we reviewed, has the same hardware-based 128-bit AES that encrypts and decrypts data on-the-fly. Its on-board CPU is very efficient at this the transfer rate is flying at 24MB/s read, 14MB/s write.........

Verbatim Announces 4GB and 8 GB Store And Go HD Drives

Verbatim announced 4GB and 8GB Store ‘n’ Go USB 2.0 drives which have a 1-inch hard disk inside and weigh just shy of 2 ounces. That makes for an easily portable form factor that's just 2 inches tall. They are preloaded with Verbatim's Mobile Launch Pad, which lets you plug the drive into a guest system and run your applications from there, and when you unplug, you leave without a trace. The drives come with a stylish travel wallet that fits easily in your pocket. The 4GB drive is $129 and the 8GB is $199; both will be available this month.

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Related: Listen to Music and Phone Calls With i.Tech’s Clip M
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Back to the main page Archives Of Gadget Blog Subscribe To Gadget Blog RSS Feed RSS content feed What is RSS feed? March 25, 2006, 11:32 AM CT A

A few months ago I mentioned an iPod battery from Sonnet that was pretty good, but as a user commented, you would have to open the iPod and replace the battery yourself making the warranty null. I asked Sonnet about this issue, but never got a reply to my e-mail.

That doesn't matter now that iLuv batteries have joined the party. Easy to use (just attach it to the bottom of your iPod) and you're good to go, it also comes with a silicone battery. The one in the image is the i602 for the lates iPod with video, but there is more.

Available for almost all the iPod versions (besides shuffle), the extra-battery can pump it up to 56 hours of extended play, depending of your iPod and the iLuv package you pick.

Here is a break down of what they have to offer:........

Back to the main page Archives Of Gadget Blog Subscribe To Gadget Blog RSS Feed RSS content feed What is RSS feed? March 25, 2006, 11:32 AM CT A

A few months ago I mentioned an iPod battery from Sonnet that was pretty good, but as a user commented, you would have to open the iPod and replace the battery yourself making the warranty null. I asked Sonnet about this issue, but never got a reply to my e-mail.

That doesn't matter now that iLuv batteries have joined the party. Easy to use (just attach it to the bottom of your iPod) and you're good to go, it also comes with a silicone battery. The one in the image is the i602 for the lates iPod with video, but there is more.

Available for almost all the iPod versions (besides shuffle), the extra-battery can pump it up to 56 hours of extended play, depending of your iPod and the iLuv package you pick.

Here is a break down of what they have to offer:........

Back to the main page Archives Of Gadget Blog Subscribe To Gadget Blog RSS Feed RSS content feed What is RSS feed? March 25, 2006, 11:32 AM CT A

A few months ago I mentioned an iPod battery from Sonnet that was pretty good, but as a user commented, you would have to open the iPod and replace the battery yourself making the warranty null. I asked Sonnet about this issue, but never got a reply to my e-mail.

That doesn't matter now that iLuv batteries have joined the party. Easy to use (just attach it to the bottom of your iPod) and you're good to go, it also comes with a silicone battery. The one in the image is the i602 for the lates iPod with video, but there is more.

Available for almost all the iPod versions (besides shuffle), the extra-battery can pump it up to 56 hours of extended play, depending of your iPod and the iLuv package you pick.

Here is a break down of what they have to offer:........

Electrically Heated Undershirts

Winter chills are unbearable, especially if have to endure them after a nice warm shower in the morning. I don't know anyone who admits to loving cold weather, although I suspect there is such a person out there. For thin-skinned folks like me that wear three layers of clothing even when the weather is in the 60's, you'd like to know about a German company called WarmX that has introduced a line of electrically heated clothing. Their first product is a unisex undershirt with a silver plated thread of polymide knitted around the waist that contains a mini power-controller that regulates temperature.

These silvered fibres integrated into the jersey are supplied by a small battery with electricity. The jersey warms up itself directly on the skin - completely without heating wires. The temperature has three settings, and it's powered by a rechargable lithium battery that lasts 2 to 5 hours. Now you can peel the layers off during winter without compromising your bodies temperature.........

Multi Electric Adapter From Tumi

Now here is useful device for all the people that use plenty of gadgets while traveling. Instead of packing the bags with 3 or 4 adapters for the different countries, the Electric Adapter offers a one-in-all solution.

Comes with the case seen in the picture for easy transportation, and one "replaceable electric fuse".

For example. South Africa, Portugal and the US are countries in which the adapters are different, and these would be perfect places to use the Eletric Adapter.

A Gadget For The Heart

HeartWare is developing a family of implantable mechanical circulatory assist devices or "blood pumps", aimed at treating patients with congestive heart failure. Heart failure is one of the leading causes of death in the developed world, affecting over 10 million people globally.

HeartWare's lead product, the HVAD, is the smallest full-output "third generation" circulatory assist device in development. Having completed extensive pre-clinical studies, the HVAD will begin human clinical trials in early 2006. HeartWare's "next generation" device - the MVAD or Miniaturized VAD - is expected to begin clinical trials in approximately two years. The MVAD is one tenth the size of the HVAD. Small size is a key competitive advantage as it facilitates a relatively fast surgical implantation procedure, enhances patient quality of life, and expands the range of patients who might be implanted with the device.

HeartWare listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX: HTW) on 31 January 2005, raising A$32.4 million (US$24.95 million). The Company's Corporate Head Office is in Sydney, Australia and its Operations Centre is in Miami, USA.........

Soccer Ball Cooler

Can't get enough of the beer dispensing PC? Then check out this soccer ball-shaped beer cooler, which has enough room inside for a 6-pack.

It's AC-powered but also comes bundled with a cigar lighter adapter for easy cooling on the go. Pricing and availability have not yet been announced.........

Asus AGEIA Physics

After the debut of "the physical" processore, Asus, in order to remain to the step with the technology and the innovation, has declared of being one of the 2 companies that will produce the physic accelerator card.

The collaboration with AGEIA, of which Asus she is partner from May 2005, will head to conquer all more that slice of market of the gamer upset. The PhysX card places side by side to the card traditional video and the processore and takes cargo of all the calculations of physics, the movements and the effects of the game, freeing the system from onerous tasks and allowing a effective game in real time. Already more than 60 sviluppatori than you play are planning and realizing beyond 100 tito them that they will draw advantage from the new processore physics. The first physical cards PhysX, will be available on the PC of Alienware, Dell and Falcon Northwest, from half May, to an equal price to 299.........

Changing semiconductors into flexible membranes

University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have demonstrated a way to release thin membranes of semiconductors from a substrate and transfer them to new surfaces-an advance that could unite the properties of silicon and many other materials, including diamond, metal and even plastic.

Led by materials science and engineering graduate student Michelle Roberts, the team reports in the April 9 issue of Nature Materials that the freed membranes, just tens of nanometers thick, retain all the properties of silicon in wafer form. Yet, the nanomembranes are flexible, and by varying the thicknesses of the silicon and silicon-germanium layers composing them, scientists can make membrane shapes ranging from flat to curved to tubular.

Most importantly, the technique stretches the nanomembranes in a predictable and easily controlled manner, says materials science and engineering professor Max Lagally, who is Roberts' advisor. In silicon that is stretched, or under tensile strain, current flows faster-a fact engineers already exploit to help control silicon's conductivity and produce speedier electronics. Strain also becomes important whenever different materials are integrated.

The new technique makes tuning the strain of materials simpler, while avoiding the defects that normally result. In addition, Lagally says: "We're no longer held to a rigid rock of material. We now have the ability to transfer the membranes to anything we want. So, there are some really novel things we can do".........

Glasses That Hear

Today a new hearing aid in the form of a pair of glasses was unveiled. These hearing-glasses are called 'Varibel' and offer older people the chance to stay active longer - free from the aesthetically unpleasing and technologically limited traditional hearing aids. Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands originally developed the hearing-glasses. Varibel developed these glasses into a consumer product in partnership with Philips, Frame Holland, the design agencies MMID and Verhoeven, and others.

Approximately 1,265,000 people in the Netherlands over the age of 60 are hearing impaired. Of these, half 22% (or around 275,000 people) use a hearing aid, but it is not always possible to hear others well if there is surrounding noise. A number of hearing aids intensify sounds from all directions. The result is that people hear noise, but not the people they are speaking to. Because people have such difficulty understanding what others are saying, a number of people - in spite of their hearing aid - have less social contact with others or must retire from their jobs earlier than desired. The hearing-glasses can provide a solution to this problem, say the experts and users who have tried and tested the Varibel.

The Varibel cannot be compared to traditional hearing aids. In each leg of the glass' frame there is a row of four tiny, interconnected microphones, which selectively intensify the sounds that come from the front, while dampening the surrounding noise. The result is a directional sensitivity of +8.2 dB. In comparison, regular hearing aids have a maximum sensitivity of +4 dB. With this solution, the user can separate the desired sounds from the undesired background noise. Dr. Cor Stengs, ENT specialist involved in the clinical tests, said of the Varibel: "Practical experience with the hearing-glasses supports the theoretical claims that the ability to understand speech is much better. There is a significant improvement in the sound quality".........

Passport Pocket 6GB Hard Drive

This is a passport sized storage device that holds 6 GB. Since the size of storage devices is one of the most important features, Western Digital comes up with a small-sized Pocket Hard Drive containing 6GB of space.

Comes with a "rubberized sleeve" for better protection - already thinking about the 100 times you'll drop this because of how small it is.

If you're thinking about buying a 1GB or 2GB small flash drive, think twice because the Passport Pocket is a good competitor, and it isn't expensive for the small size-big storage it provides.

Costs $130 at WesternDigital.

Intel's Tri-Gate Transistor

Intel Corporation researchers today disclosed they have developed new technology designed to further extend the company's leadership in energy-efficient performance.

Intel's research and development involving new types of transistors has resulted in further development of a tri-gate (3-D) transistor for high-volume manufacturing. Since these transistors greatly improve performance and energy efficiency Intel expects tri-gate technology could become the basic building block for future microprocessors sometime beyond the 45nm process technology node.

Planar (or flat) transistors were conceived in the late 1950s and have been the basic building block of chips since the dawn of the semiconductor industry. As semiconductor technology moves deeper into the realm of nanotechnology (dimensions smaller than 100nm), where some transistor features may consist of only a few layers of atoms, what was previously thought of as "flat" is now being designed in three dimensions for improved performance and power characteristics. Intel, leading the industry in producing high volumes of ever smaller chip geometries, has created a way to use these three-dimensional, or tri-gate, transistors in concert with other key semiconductor technologies to enable a new era of energy-efficient performance.........

Apple Store Checks Out With Windows

Apple is looking for ways to cut down on wait times at its stores' checkout lines and roaming WiFi-enabled processing stations in the hands of each employee may be the answer. The same employee helping you pick out the right set of headphones for your iPod can scan product barcodes and take payments via credit card right on the spot. Your receipt will sent to you via e-mail just in case you need to make a return or file an expense report.

The handheld devices Apple uses in its store are powered by Windows. More information is available in a NPR Day to Day report on "maverick retailing" filed earlier this week.........

Stealth Radar System Sees Through Trees, Walls

Eric Walton

Ohio State University engineers have invented a radar system that is virtually undetectable, because its signal resembles random noise.

The radar could have applications in law enforcement, the military, and disaster rescue.

Eric K. Walton, senior research scientist in Ohio State's ElectroScience Laboratory, said that with further development the technology could even be used for medical imaging.

He explained why using random noise makes the radar system invisible.

"Almost all radio receivers in the world are designed to eliminate random noise, so that they can clearly receive the signal they're looking for," Walton said. "Radio receivers could search for this radar signal and they wouldn't find it. It also won't interfere with TV, radio, or other communication signals".

The radar scatters a very low-intensity signal across a wide range of frequencies, so a TV or radio tuned to any one frequency would interpret the radar signal as a very weak form of static.

"It doesn't interfere because it has a bandwidth that is thousands of times broader than the signals it might otherwise interfere with," Walton said.

Like traditional radar, the "noise" radar detects objects by bouncing a radio signal off them and detecting the rebound. The hardware isn't expensive, either; altogether, the components cost less than $100.........

Nintendo DS Lite Shipping Update

Airform Pocket Lite Enamel Navy
One month after the official street launch date in Japan, hundreds of vain calls to suppliers and truckloads of parcels later, we can see the Lite at the end of the tunnel. Today is a great day as the very last remaining preorders for the Enamel Navy and Ice Blue colors are shipping out. Furthermore, we have more stock ready at your disposal, and snatchers are finally welcome, with both flavors listed on "ships within 24 hours" status.

Weekend Update: Sales during the past 24h have exceeded expectations. All orders placed through the weekend should be cleared by middle of next week. The new shipping status of the Enamel Navy and Icy Blue versions is now "Ships Within 1-5 days". We are expecting daily restocks of these two models.........

Motorola's Ming PDA Smartphone

A Techie Diva reader points us to Motorola's "Ming" PDA Smart Phone which made an appearance at CTIA this year, and somehow we managed to miss it. Available only in Hong Kong, this Linux-powered PDA sports a translucent cover that holds a very thin double-sided speaker. This clam shell features a music player, Bluetooth, FM radio and a 2 megapixel camera.

But why call it Ming? The press release explains that the "Ming means bright, clear, overt or open, clear-sighted and to understand." The touch-screen beauty also has business card reader to easily store information in a snap. [Thanks Anna].........

Inflatable USB memory

This USB memory is called the 'Flashbag'.

So far so good, but what is unique with this product is that it gets inflated when you fill it up with data. When the USB memory is full, the flashbag looks like it's going to explode. It's only a concept model, so you can't buy it yet though. Interesting idea and product, or what do you think?

Lucent Files Suit Over Xbox 360

Is the Xbox 360 at risk? Lucent's suit against Microsoft, filed last month, accuses the software and hardware giant of violating a patent relating to the MPEG-2 codec. This could potentially mean game over for MS since DVD movies and some in-game cut scenes are encoded with in MPEG-2 format. As per a partner with a law firm that focuses on IP Law, Lucent may have a stronger case than NTP did against Research in Motion. RIM recently paid over $600 million in its settlement to NTP.

So what does this mean for Xbox 360 owners? Well, not much right now. These types of cases could take up to two to three years to hit the trial phase. Plus, like RIM, Microsoft would much rather settle with Lucent than to let its next generation gold mine be pulled off the market.........

Linking Digital Images To The Cameras That Created The Image

Child pornographers will soon have a harder time escaping prosecution thanks to a stunning new technology in development at Binghamton University, State University of New York, that can reliably link digital images to the camera with which they were taken, in much the same way that tell-tale scratches are used by forensic examiners to link bullets to the gun that fired them.

"The defense in these kind of cases would often be that the images were not taken by this person's camera or that the images are not of real children," said Jessica Fridrich, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. "Sometimes child pornographers will even cut and paste an image of an adult's head on the image of a child to try to avoid prosecution.

"But if it can be shown that the original images were taken by the person's cell phone or camera, it becomes a much stronger case than if you just have a bunch of digital images that we all know are notoriously easy to manipulate".

Fridrich and two members of her Binghamton University research team - Jan Lukas and Miroslav Goljan - are coinventors of the new technique, which can also be used to detect forged images.

The three have applied for two patents related to their technique, which provides the most robust strategy for digital image forgery detection to date, even as it improves significantly on the accuracy of other approaches.........

Smarter Search Engines

Google a particular car type or disease and you're bound to spend time sorting between hundreds of more and less useful results. How to sort the wheat from the chaff in the world of too-much electronic information? NRC scientists are helping make the search for electronic information easier, and one key to this is teaching computers to understand language.

"The more computers are able to understand words, the more helpful they'll be to us in every daily task," says Peter Turney, an Ottawa-based research scientist with the Interteractive Information Group of the NRC Institute for Information Technology. The Interactive Information Group focuses on developing software tools to increase access to electronic information.

Turney's computer science speciality is the area of lexical semantics, or word meaning. At present, our desktop and laptop computers are linguistic toddlers. Spam filters, and other software such as editing tools, are able to distinguish and make decisions based on single words like "Viagra", but there's no sense of meaning. It's like learning a second language but not knowing what the words mean or how they create meaning together.

So the race is on to create software that goes beyond single word recognition to extract deeper understanding. One example is sentiment analysis. This is software that can determine whether the words in a sentence are positive or negative. Sentiment analysis is being used to create a kind of Googling for feelings. One application of sentiment analysis involves following financial chat groups to track attitudes towards particular stocks.........

Transistors Powered by Single Electrons

Researchers have demonstrated the first reproducible, controllable silicon transistors that are turned on and off by the motion of individual electrons. The experimental devices, designed and fabricated at NTT Corp. of Japan and tested at NIST, may have applications in low-power nanoelectronics, especially as next-generation integrated circuits for logic operations (as opposed to simpler memory tasks).

The transistors, described in the Jan. 30, 2006, issue of Applied Physics Letters,* are based on the principle that as device sizes shrink to the nanometer range, the amount of energy mandatory to move a single electron increases significantly. This makes it possible to control individual electron motion and current flow by manipulating the voltage applied to barriers, or "gates," in the electrical circuit. At negative voltage, the transistor is off; at higher voltage, the transistor is turned on and individual electrons file through the circuit, as opposed to thousands at a time in a conventional device.

This type of innovative transistor, called a "single-electron tunneling" (SET) device, is typically made with a metal "wire" interrupted by insulating barriers that offer a rigid, narrow range of control over electron flow. Silicon devices, by contrast, have barriers that are electrically "tunable" over a wider operating range, offering finer, more flexible control of the transistor's on/off switch. Particular voltage levels are applied across the barriers, to manipulate charge, as a means of encouraging or impeding electron flow. Silicon-based devices also allow fabrication using standard semiconductor technology. Until now, however, no silicon SET transistor designs have been reported that are reproducible and controllable.........

Japan's Prime Minister Koizumi Attacked By Robots!!

There is this security robot called "Artemis", made by Tmsuk and designed to attack criminals with smoke and fluorescent-ink balls. They received the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and even made a web page about this visit on their website.

The only glitch is that the robot took the PM for a bad guy and started using its.

smoke on him. Amusing.