Gadgets Base

Back when I used a media PC in my living room, the most frustrating thing that I found was that I had both a keyboard and mouse sitting on my coffee table. Granted, most of the time I simply used my remote, but there were times where I would use my TV as a giant monitor for surfing the net and such, which meant I had a few choices. One, I could use a regular keyboard and mouse, which wasn’t fun. Another was to get an in-air mouse with a smaller keyboard (was a combo) which was better, but still not perfect. I never got around to trying option number three which I think would have been the best, a keyboard with a built-in trackpad.

This little number from Brando is a simple combo device that would likely be welcome in any HTPC environment. The keyboard isn’t full-size, but it more like that of a laptop. The trackpad makes it easy to navigate your screen without the need to keep a mouse on-hand at all times. It is wireless and runs off of four AA batteries. There are separate on/off switches for the keyboard and the trackpad so you can get the most life out of your batteries. You can pick one up for $57, which is close to what you’d pay for a decent wireless keyboard and mouse set.

Source: GeekAlerts

Posted Mar 9th 2008 2:08PM by Joshua Topolsky
Filed under: Gaming
Remember that Xbox 360 price cut we mentioned a few days ago? Well it appears that the Financial Times Germany is reporting that this Monday, Microsoft will trim the fat from the Arcade and Pro consoles, shaving €80 and €50 off the price tag, respectively. Of course, right now this is still unconfirmed by the boys in Redmond (or in any other official location), though the buzz in the community does seem to suggest that these cuts are coming. Hopefully if these become a reality, the company will break something off for folks on these shores as well — we need all the help we can get right now.

Update: See that photo above? it looks like that price cut really is happening. Good news for you, Europe.

[Via I4U News; Image via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

Maybe you were just surfing around for your next career or were up to something more sinful, when your boss decides to show up behind your back, literally. Instead of painstakingly trying to revive a decent screen on your PC, and in the process look like a silly baboon, you can now make a swift and smart move using the USB Smart Privacy Mouse and convince him that you were really being a sincere employee.

The USB Smart Privacy Mouse, as you must have already guessed, is for the wily amongst us. It has a “secret” button that can be configured to conceal any (and all) programs that you would consider private and instead bring up “decent” programs in times of need. So let’s say you are on a chat application, bitching about your boss and the devil himself walks in to say hello. Hit the button on the Smart Privacy Mouse, and voila – the screen displays the time report that you have been working so hard on. Happy boss, happy you. Smart indeed. Get wicked at $19.99.

Via The Red Ferret Journal.

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My wife has a MacBook that I borrow from time to time. Now and then when I’m using it while plugged into the wall I’ll accidentally unplug the MagSafe power adapter. It’s really not a big deal, as it pops back into place rather easily. My wife, however, hates it when she knocks it out. I don’t really understand this obsession with having the plug stay in at all times, but at least I’ve found a simple gadget that will prevent it from happening in the future.

This is one of those things that you know the company that designed it will make a small fortune. It’s a simple piece of plastic that probably costs peanuts to make, yet provides a function that tons of people are going to want. You just plug it into the neighboring USB port, and it keeps your MagSafe adapter in place until you’re really ready to take it out. It’s cheap too, just $11.99.

Source: CrunchGear

The social networking sites numbers for the US are in and the year to year comparisons are pretty telling.  MySpace is down 1% while FaceBook is up 77%.  The biggest movement is by some new comers, namely Fubar.com who grew by, get this, 3272217%.  Fubar is billed as “the first online bar and happy hour,” with free well drinks all night long.  OK, I made up that last bit.

All but two on this top 20 list had positive year over year gains confirming the general feeling that social networking is far from done.  Newcomers like myyearbook and linkdin saw triple digit growth proving these smaller, segmented markets have lots of growth potential.

More analysis can be seen by following the link below down the rabbit hole.

Read [Compete]

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Posted Mar 9th 2008 11:38AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Misc. gadgets
Keeping with the Tangent tradition, the Quattro Mk 2 looks an awful lot like most every other tabletop radio the outfit cranks out. Nevertheless, this particular iteration pays no mind to DAB and focuses its attention on providing access to a smorgasbord of internet radio stations. Aside from featuring both integrated WiFi and an Ethernet port, you’ll also get WPA2 security support, FM tuning capabilities, a backlit LCD, a headphone jack and a auxiliary port for connecting DAPs / PMPs. Word on the street has the walnut and black models selling now for £179.95 ($362), while the glossy red and white versions demand an extra £20 ($40).

[Via Tech Digest]

Earlier this year we raved about the FPS Gaming Vest that punches you when you get shot, well if you don’t fancy being punched there is now an alternative, Mindwire V5 gives you physical feedback by way of electric shocks.

History of the Mindwire V5

“How much better would games such as Mortal Kombat or Streetfighter be if you were ELECTROCUTED each time you were hit!”

Sudenly there’s something to play for. Watch your opponent squirm as you beat him to a pulp, and fear every one of your opponents blows as you know its going to do a lot more than make your little animated character full backwards…

The Mindwire V5 works by connecting electrical pads to your body these then deliver a mild (we hope) shock when playing games. It has a ‘dumb dumb’ mode for existing games (reacts to the force-feedback signal) and offers other ’special’ features for specially designed games.

You can find more information and buy online for £99.99 (~$200) from the Mindwire V5 site [via The Sun].

Some USB gadget manufacturer somewhere decided to stick several USB objects together and slap a label on the product resulting in the USB Desk Assortment and Gift Set. What gadgets are included?

There’s a light so you can see in the dark, a warmer to keep that java fresh and warm, a lighted cup to stick stuff in and a mini vacuum to pick up those crumbs from your flavor saver. There’s also a button, but whatever you do, don’t press it. Don’t.

Gimmie!

Suggested Price: $14.99

Posted Mar 9th 2008 1:10AM by Paul Miller
Filed under: Misc. gadgets
That great perpetrator of worldly ills, the cosmic ray, has at last met its match. Intel has patented the concept of an on-chip detector of cosmic rays which would auto-correct for soft errors caused by the cosmic ray’s interference. Apparently Intel is concerned that cosmic rays — those perky particles from space that blast through the Earth’s atmosphere and tamper with your precious bodily fluids — are going to become “a major limiter of computer reliability in the next decade” as chips get smaller and smaller. The rays have already been proved to interfere with electronics in small ways, so while Intel doesn’t have method for building an actual cosmic ray detector yet, they’re certainly getting a jump on the problem with this patent. We know we’ll certainly be sleeping better at night.

[Via Slashdot]

Posted Mar 8th 2008 9:26PM by Paul Miller
Filed under: cellphones
It’s a crazy, mixed-up world we live in. If we aren’t worrying about global warming or peace in the middle east, we have to be on the lookout for scorned women setting large quantities of mobile devices on fire. A certain Mrs. Wang is guilty of that latter offense. The 37-year-old Chinese woman wasn’t particularly stoked about her husband walking out on their marriage, so she did the only reasonable thing that presented itself: rounded up the entire stock of more than 400 phones the couple had at their joint-owned cellphone shop, and set the entire lot ablaze — inside her home. The collection was valued at roughly 300,000 yuan, about $42,000 US. You might want to take this time to inform your significant other how sane, rational and sexy he or she is, while simultaneously removing all lighter fluid from your home. No gadget is safe!