Gadgets Base

If you fancy your self as a spy then this under door remote viewing kit is a must for you. The viewing kit allows you to see behind a door before you open it. The scope section is used to slide under the door and can fit in a space less then quarter of an inch. The field of view is 55° which can see from the floor right up to the ceiling. As well as seeing what it in the room, there is a right angle adapter which allows you to view the back of the door so you can observe any barricades or traps.

Night vision is also part of the kit too and is a separate unit which attaches to the bottom of the scope allowing for third-generation imaging. To view images there are two options. First, you can use the attachable eye piece adapter, or you can attach a hand held monitor which uses a video camera (optional extra). An infrared LED emitter can be added too to boost light levels where needed.

Although this is a great device for those who need to spy, it could end up getting the average user in trouble if they happened to be caught spying on friends. I’d suggest using with caution if you were to pick up one of these gadgets.

No prices for the viewing kit are available, but feel free to check out the product page linked below for more details of the scope.

Product Page Source - Spyreview

Guest post by Matthew of Gadget Venue

Samsung has announced a new laptop codenamed P200, that doesn’t bring anything new to the market - only a different look and a high price caused by its (fake) ultra portable characteristics.

The Samsung P200 weights 1,8Kg which can’t be considered light. Anyhow, in the inside it features an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, tagged with graphics card by ATI - Radeon Xpress 1250. The small 12.1-inch display screen comes with a 1.3-megapixel webcam, and the goodies include a 6-in-1 memory card reader, and the usual bluetooth + USB ports.

Price? $1,500

via UberGizmo

Intel announced a new family of low-power processors that will run its low-cost PCs and mobile internet devices (MIDs). Branded as Intel Atom, this new processor will be based on a new Intel microarchitecture designed specifically for small devices and runs on low power. Despite its size the new process still has the same Intel Core 2 Duo instruction set compatibility which consumers have grown accustomed to in their PC and the internet.

Measuring less than 25 mm on a chip, the Intel Atom processor supports multiple threads ensuring better performance and increased system response time. By far, this is Intel’s smallest and lowest power processor ever produced yet. The new Intel Atom chip which was previously named Silverthorne and Diamondville will be produced using Intel’s 45nm process with hi-k metal gate technology. It has a thermal design power (TDP) specification in 0.6-2.5 watt range and can be scaled to 1.8GHz speed. Comparing it with today’s mainstream Mobile Core 2 Duo processors TDP’s of 35-watt range, the Intel Atom.

According to Intel’s Executive VP and Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Sean Maloney the Atom is Intel’s smallest processor built with the smallest transistors.

“This small wonder is a fundamental new shift in design, small yet powerful enough to enable a big Internet experience on these new devices. We believe it will unleash new innovation across the industry,” says Maloney.

Intel’s Atom processor gives customers the ability to innovate around the new low-power design which suits well with the growing demand for mobile personal computing.  Intel is posing its products towards the increasing demand for low-cost, internet-centric mobile computing devices. These devices which are more commonly known as “netbooks” and “nettops” could very well use Intel’s new Atom processor.

Read [Intel News Release]

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Posted Mar 3rd 2008 10:34PM by Thomas Ricker
Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops
So you’re the type who actually needs to scrub behind the ears? Good, this UMPC is for you. The Toughbook CF-U1 is a “fully ruggedised” UMPC which runs XP or Vista on Intel’s Menlow platform. So rugged in fact, that only a case of glass and gravel can withhold it from Intel’s new Atom branding. We can’t tell you much without an official announcement or any PR types around to drone on (and on) about its Mil-Spec or Ingress ratings. Regardless, it’ll still look great strapped to the dash of your Hummer as you pull into the strip mall for a milkshake. And that’s all that really matters right, Mr. Milquetoast?

Gallery: Panasonic’s Toughbook CF-U1 UMPC looks Hi-K metal gate

Posted Mar 3rd 2008 4:07PM by Donald Melanson
Filed under: Gaming, PeripheralsIt’s certainly not the first to toy around with mind control as a means of fun and games, but OCZ looks like it may be among the first to actually get a product out the door, with it now set to launch its Neural Impulse Actuator “brain mouse,” or NIA for short. According to Daily Tech, the device makes use of a combination of EEG readings, muscle movement, and eye movement to control a given application which, in this case, is mainly intended to be games. Needless to say, the contraption will take a little getting used to, but OCZ says that most users will get the hang of it “within hours” after a little practice, and that they’ll eventually even be able to increase their reaction time compared to a standard mouse. You’ll also not surprisingly need a fairly decent PC, as the NIA has been designed specifically for multi-core systems, and a good bit cash to spare, with it set to run $300 when it launches sometime in the not too distant future (it’s going into production next week).

Posted Mar 3rd 2008 5:41PM by Donald Melanson
Filed under: Desktops, Displays
It takes quite a bit for a steampunk mod to get our attention these days, but this mac mini created by steampunk enthusiast Dave Veloz certainly fits the bill, and the matching keyboard and monitor aren’t too shabby either. As you can sort of see in the images above, the detail even extends as far as the cables connecting the mini to the keyboard and monitor, with a suitably Victorian-looking Apple logo rounding things out nicely. The monitor also one-ups similar projects with a genuine granite base, while the keyboard goes all out with leather in place of the felt used on other attempts. Be sure to hit up the read link below for a closer look at the whole package.

Posted Mar 3rd 2008 9:20PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Displays
Nothing too spectacular here, but Greenhouse has introduced an all new 22-inch lcd monitor over in Japan. Aside from the perfectly average WSXGA+ (1,680 x 1,050) resolution, 300 cd/m2 brightness, 1,000: contrast ratio and two-millisecond response time, the GH-JEF223SH-LB actually does away with DVI in favor of HDMI. Granted, there’s still a VGA port in case you’re in a pinch, but we would’ve preferred all three considering the somewhat steep ¥45,799 ($438) price tag.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

Disclaimer—I used to be a Facebook junkie & an uber-fan.

I have come across this video (below), which offers a really cheesy way of asking the $15 billion question, “Are you sick of Facebook?”.

As per my disclaimer, I used to be a huge fan of the site. I think Facebook is a great way to connect friends, find new people/connections, and even have a bit of a personalized page the non-savvy web user without it starting to look like a MySpace page (sorry MySpace, but your pages look like crap). So where did it go wrong? Applications, my mess of a News Feed, and the FB team trying to do everything.

In theory applications area fantastic idea, they allow the average user to customize their profile that much more; adding games, more flexible features (Super Poke), tools (Tripadvisor Cities I have Visited), and allowing you to show loyalty to causes/brands/and more. Where things started to go haywire was with the addition of crap. What do I mean by crap? How about my list of 45 current notifications alerting me of my invites. These include guesses about my favorite teams, zombies, political stances, what iLike, comparisons, stock exchanges, well you get the point. Not to mention that I while I know the people who have invited me none of them are my good friends. This leads to the first question/suggestion:
Why does Facebook allow application invites to be spammed to all of your “friends”?

Not only do I get tons of application requests but my homepage looks more like a garbage dump than a news feed. The FB team will say that the News Feed is the most valuable area of the site and many resources are being dedicated to improve the algorithm that determines what shows up. There have been some improvements to the feed, such as the X and the Thumbs Up, to help filter content, but these are such harsh solutions. While I don’t need every single Mahalo update from Jason Calacanis, I would like to see one or two from time to time—so it doesn’t deserve a Thumbs Up or an X. Question/suggestion number two:
Why won’t Facebook allow me to customize my feed into groups/widgets (good friends, application updates, extended friends, relationship changes, etc.?

Finally, why does Facebook have to do everything? I completely understand the need for businesses to grow, expand, improve but was the FB approach really the right way? Why spend time/money on adding application before adding users? Yup first they expanded to HS, then businesses, and then to anyone but then what? Multiple languages have just begun to trickle in and we can be sure that are are on their way—moving Facebook to a truly global community. Fantastic, you can now control the world’s social community, to me that is a goal, not adding applications. People were very happy, and addicted, during the PA days (pre-application) days. Question number three:
How do you plan to re-addict people to Facebook now that the platform has been spread so thin?

Will 2008 be a hard year for Facebook? There are still 10 months left for Mark and team to save the ship or for the user base to move along, just like they did from Friendster to Dodgeball to MySpace and now for the time being, Facebook.

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Posted Mar 3rd 2008 3:36PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Displays
Just in case Samsung’s slate of new T-series LCDs weren’t enough for you, the outfit is also introducing five new commercial desktop displays for under $400. The SyncMaster 743BX ($239), 943BX ($279), 943BWX ($269), 2043BWX ($309) and 2243BWX ($359) range from 17- to 22-inches in size and all provide a height adjustable stand, an ultra-slim (15-millimeter) bezel and a dynamic contrast ratio of up to 8,000:1. You’ll also find an HDCP-compliant DVI port, the firm’s own MagicColor technology to “enhance color automatically for areas that need color correction,” and a suite of touch-sensitive controls to boot. The whole lot even comes with a three-year warranty and can be had for your office right now.

It seems the recent rumors about the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 being delayed are just not true. According to an official statement from Aldo Liguori, who is the Corporate Vice President of the Global Communications and PR department at Sony Ericsson it will be released as originally planned.

“I can confirm that we will be launching the X1 product in 2nd Half of 2008, as per our announcement of 10th February that we made in Barcelona”

This is definitely excellent news for those waiting for the XPERIA X1. Hopefully this will hold true and not have any future changes that cause a delay, its still nice to hear that at least as of now it will be released as scheduled, its just a shame that it could not be sooner.

Via [unofficial Sony Ericsson blog]

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