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This wired backpack not only fashionably allows it’s wearer to enjoy their favorite MP3 tunes, but it also has a remote capture capability thanks to the onboard web camera that’s built right into the rigging.

Coming complete with a wireless 2.5GB hard drive, USB Hub, a tiny LCD screen with 4 button navigation and input, and 1 GB of flash memory, the PORTA2030 performs what its creators call “portable data sensing-storage-transmission” as it not only captures video streams in real time but also plays MP3s for its user to enjoy. Each Porta2030 is assigned a unique IP address for wireless transmission to a central hub. The idea is that multiple users can be tracked and recorded within the wireless network and shifts the signal to the stronger signal to maintain connectivity.

The idea could have some real world surveillance applications as well peaking the interest of voyeur based filmmakers who seek to archive every moment of someone’s mundane life in a very Truman Show like fashion. But it also may have military applications as units could take advantage of the hive wifi network capability to keep track of their forces and lower friend fire causalities.
Then again, people may like it because it just looks cool.

Hat Tip – MAKE BLOG

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by Donald Melanson, posted May 9th 2008 at 3:39PM Toshiba has been touting its Cell-based SpursEngine graphics chip for some time now, but it looks like its finally starting to get a bit more specific about when we can expect to see it in actual products. According to Register Hardware, Toshiba will begin offering the chip in some of its multimedia-oriented notebooks sometime this year, with TVs and DVD players set to get it by the fall of 2009. The chip itself, for those not up to speed, uses its Cell-based technology (specifically, four of the Cell’s Synergistic Processing Element cores) to handle some heavy-duty graphics processing, including upscaling standard definition content to high-def levels, something Toshiba has apparently taken to calling “super-resolution.” Now word on what sort of premium (if any) we can expect to pay for such wonders, but Toshiba is apparently betting pretty heavily on the technology as part of its post hd dvd strategy.

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Laptops

by Joshua Topolsky, posted May 9th 2008 at 12:03PM
Are you hoping to enter a “two-nuclear detonation true high-definition era” of PMP’ing? Do you desire “really high-definition video playback” which brings a “new visual shock?” Do you want a media player with “super hard drive recorders, easily direct D1 quality” which are “worth your small taste?” If you answered “yes” to those questions, you want the Aigo Patriot MV5920 Dual-Core MP5 player! The unit features video playback at 720p (though not 720p screen resolution), can handle MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AVI, DivX, XviD, ASF, WMV9, RM, MP3, WMA, WAV, AC3, and OGG files, and features a hard drive as large as 160GB… but that’s not what you’re really after, is it? What you really want is “unlimited life,” right? Well, my friend “the curtain has been opened, such as what you.”

[Via PMP Today]

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Samsung’s new SC-HMX20 HD camcorder shoots in full high definition of 1920 × 1080 thanks to a 6.4-megapixel CMOS sensor that also has a stunning 8-megapixel still camera capability. It can also shoot what’s called super slow motion at 300 frames per second. Wow. That’s enough to help me with my golf swing or those overdue balloon bursting physics experiments for school.

The new SC-HMX20 also features a 10x zoom – which is a tad average and is disappointing considering the push the envelope attitude of the design. It’s 2.7-inch touchscreen LCD also doubles as a menu interface with easy to follow menus and setup screens. The SD-HMX20 uses SDHC cards through a built-in card slot along side it’s 8GB of internal memory. The high speed internal memory also means a faster startup time as the HMX20 powers on in a blazing 2.4 seconds. Battery life is also improved as a result. The camcorder also comes with a cradle with a built-in charging port, USB and TV-out cables.
The camera has a built in flash for low light still conditions, dual recording mode, and rotating grip.

Cost is about $850 USD .

Hat Tip – GadgetTell

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American Idol fans who wish to live the fantasy while watching their favorite Idols sing it out may want to check out the Karoke Groove Station. The multi-function plug and play microphone lets users plug into their television and have the lyrics to the chosen song appear on screen while the music plays from the TVs speakers. And savvy rock god wannabes will use their TVs picture in picture feature to have Idol playing at the same time.

The Groove Station also has controls for adjustments to tempo, pitch, and even a “sex change” button for those out of range falsetto’s like Barry Gibb or Bass like Barry White. There’s also a Spatial Effect mode which will make the singer sound like their singing in a huge sold-out arena, a harmony button that turns your voice into a perfect 3 part harmony, and Doubling effect to create a duet with yourself. And in a Guitar-Hero fashion, singers can keep score – the more accurately you sing, the higher your score.
Powered by 4 AA batteries and comes with ten free songs come in four cartridges and more for an extra fee.

Cost is around $100 US from I WANT ONE OF THOSE.

Simon’s snippy comments, Paula’s incoherent babbling or Randy’s uber-cool slang not included.

Hat Tip: gadgets Club

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Fast food started as the great American tradition, but has evolved into a worldwide phenomenon. The food might be absolutely terrible for you, but what it lacks in nutritional facts, it makes up for in yumminess and price. Some people say they don’t like the taste of fast food, and they’d be lying. The food is greasy, caloric, but delicious.

The invention of the drive-thru led to even faster ways to obtaining a meal on-the go and companies are starting to ride the meal train all the way to the bank. Available through the Improvements Catalog, this cupholder-mounted French Fry Holder is living proof that fast food is here to stay, despite the surge of health-conscious eaters.

When you’re on a lunch break from work and stop for a quick bite at your local Burger King, since there is no time to sit down for a luxurious meal, many of you wind up fumbling with your food as you drive, which is not only an intake health hazard, but also quite a distraction. The French Fry Holder keeps your fries at a easy-to-reach spot so you don’t have to go searching for a fried slice of potato blindly.

While it might not be the healthiest way to go about things, fast food is certainly a time saver, and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. It seems that Improvements is currently out-of-stock of the holders, but when they file back in stock, they’ll be sure to sell out again. If you want to get your hands on one, you better move quick.

Product Page via Autoblog

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I’ve always wondered what I would do if I came into some vital information that needed to be hidden from prying eyes. You know the kind, the data that could potentially bring down the government and bring the world as we know it to a standstill. Sure, I have no idea how someone like me would come into such information, but I’ve seen enough movies to know it could happen. Thankfully I now know that I would hide it in an unused phone jack.

This project requires a lot of skill and some steady hands. Then again if you’re the kind of super spy that  needs this, you should be able to manage. What you’ll do is wire up a USB drive into the phone jack, which as you would imagine requires some seriously difficult soldering. In the end you’ll be able to use a custom USB to RJ11 cord which will grant you access to your data. Sure, it’s going to be a slow connection, but no one will ever find it.

Source: Dvice

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This next device just screams “why didn’t I think of this earlier”? Sure, see-through Post-it Notes don’t seem like such a great scientific achievement in comparison to the light bulb or the polio virus, but it has been a long time coming.

All you need to do is just place the Sheer Post-it notes on the text that you want to stand out, and mark it up all you want! No more highlighting something and diminishing a book’s resale value. This will also come in handy on books that you checked out from the library and need to mark up for research purposes.

To this writing, giant corporation 3M is only selling their Sheer Post-It notes in one inch wide colored strips. You still have a lot of colors to choose from, such as yellow, green, blue, and melon.

Thank you, 3M for creating something that we all needed. I remember when 3M used to do those great films about their company, so just picture this next fake quote from the company with giant camera pans and a Don Pardo announcer.

“Yes, 3M, makers of the Post-it has now created the Sheer Post-it. That’s right, Post-its that you can see through. No more covering up other information while putting a sticky note on the information that you need. Just another way that 3M is working for you!”

Source

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by Nilay Patel, posted May 9th 2008 at 7:10AM
Google’s been making all kinds of a fuss lately over what it claims are Verizon’s plans to subvert the intent of the 700MHz open-access rules, but it looks like the carrier isn’t interested in fighting it out (for once). Verizon issued a statement today saying that it “understood the FCC’s rules,” and that “of course we’ll abide by those rules.” Of course, that doesn’t really mean anything until Big Red actually builds out a network and we see how it implements open-access — which will take years — but once again, it seems like Google is really the one in control of the 700MHz spectrum, even though it didn’t win. Crafty!

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Filed under: Wireless

Because Sony wants us to believe that digital photo frames aren’t all that bad, they are now offering the VGF-CP1, a Wi-Fi enabled little number that, other than showing off your digital snaps in 16 million colors, gives you access to your preferred RSS feeds and plays your favorite music too. It can even connect directly to online albums like Google’s Picasa, allowing you to download and save your online photos to the 512MB of internal memory. All these features will come at a price though, and if you’re in Japan (as it’s only available there at the moment), that price is 30,000 Yen or about $300 USD. You didn’t really expect it to be cheap, did you? Well, at least it’s not as expensive as some other digital photo frames that we have seen recently.

Via [NewLaunches]

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