Gadgets Base

SanDisk has just added a fast read/write memory card to its Memory Stick product line, the Extreme III Memory Stick PRO-HG-Duo. How fast? If 30mbps read and write capability ain’t fast enough for you, better wake up, cause this is the fastest that a memory card could possibly read so far.

Slated for launch during the PMA Australia Imaging Technology Show which runs from May 30 to June 1, this new memory card will come in 4GB and 8GB storage capacities. Suffice to say that this card would be of great use for photography purposes. Be reminded that Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo is the direct off-shot of the Memory Stick PRO format memory card and was developed by both Sony and SanDisk to answer the needs of PRO-HG capable Sony cameras.

The 4GB and 8GB memory card will start hitting the market worldwide sometime in June for $89.99 and $149.99 respectively.

Read [SanDisk]

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MacRumors discovered a patent application that shows that Apple is looking into integrating solar power into their handhelds and laptops. The most interesting part of this, apart from the green benefits, is that the solar panel could be potentially integrated into the LCD screen themselves, laying right under the glass and LCD layers of the screens.

If Apple pulls this off, this could be the move that gets me to switch my laptop to a Mac. I’m hardly a Windows zealot, but application support has had me sticking to Win32 for a long time, and now that XP has proven its relative stability, I hardly care to switch (the pretty graphics don’t tempt me). However, I’m keenly aware of my carbon footprint, and if there’s a way for me to reduce that without a real decrease in utility, then I’ll gladly use the Windows emulation environment if I have to.

via MacRumors

Posted in Computers, Portable

Product: Griffin Technology ClearBoost and Wave case
Price and Availability: Both currently available, the ClearBoost is $29.99 and the Wave case is $24.99
Rating: ClearBoost 5/10 and Wave case 9/10
Pros: Both cases offered solid protection for the iphone along with the display.
Cons: A personal issue, but they both make using the Apple dock difficult.
Overall: If you are looking for a solid case or a signal booster, then either of these from Griffin would make an ideal option to consider.

Keep reading to check out the full review, and don’t forget to check out our follow up post with some more “real-world” pics of the Griffin cases…

Read [Appletell] Product [ClearBoost] Product [Wave case]

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Every once in a while, some company will improve on something that you wouldn’t think needed any improvement at all. Take the grand piano, for instance. Its sleek blank ebony framework and perfect ivory keys are a symbol of pure music.

And yet, Yamaha has made the grand piano even more perfect with the recently unveiled Disklavier Mark IV, a piano that can “play itself, teach you to play, and perform in sync with your favorite CDs”.

It is also one of the first pianos to have a Wifi connection with 802.11b specification. As far as I know, the Disklavier is also the only piano with a remote control. This PDA-type pocket remote controller has buttons and a full-color LCD touchscreen, and some models include a tablet-PC remove with 10.4 inch touchscreen.

Another feature is its open-ended software-based architecture with Linux Operating System, which is fully upgradeable. The Mark IV’s hard drive is 80 gigabytes, which completely trounces the 16 megabytes of flash memory in the previous models.

Other features include some family entertainment features such as karaoke-file compatibility, microphone input and vocal harmony in the piano’s built-in speakers or external sound system.

I could probably fill three articles with all the other features. Anyway, these pianos are available in many models for about $11,000 to start.

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Many of us either remember or have owned a Mathmos lava lamp. I personally owned a purple one that I used until the lava turned into tiny little clumps that wouldn’t go back together to form its original nice and flowing form. Well Mathmos has created a new lamp that seems like a slightly more modern and fun lighting solution. However, it does seem quite a bit more boring than the lava lamps. The lava lamps had that cool moving lava, this just has a colored light bulb.

Alright, so it is more complicated than that. The bulb is a chrome metal bulb that changes colors with internal LEDs. The cover around it is mouth-blown glass. To turn on the lamp you just shove down on the top of it. Once you do it will fade gently from red to pink to purple then onto blue. The site claims it is much more mesmerizing than your average colored light bulb. Although I am extremely perplexed as to how it is in anyway different. It is meant to set a nice soothing mood, so likely it doesn’t flash away like a strobe light. Unfortunately, they are all sold out for those of us in the US, however, you can snag one through Firebox’s UK site for just under $55.

Source: pocket-lint

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If you’re one of those PC users who always find yourself doing other things while waiting for your machines to completely boot up, either you’d be glad to hear about Splashtop or feel sad since you might end up not doing those other things anymore. But that is if you are using an Asus notebook as these machines will be getting the Splashtop Linux OS treatment.

If you would recall Splashtop has been pre-installed on some Asus motherboards not so long ago, and soon enough it will be powering some Asus notebooks as a full-blown OS. If you think that the Splastop is just your ordinary Linux variant, think again. Well, that’s because Splashtop offers up a unique PC boot up experience. Soon, you can instantly fire up some application even if your machine has not completed its boot up sequence. What makes this possible is the fact that Splashtop will run out of your machine’s RAM. Hence, saving you some precious battery time.

In a nutshell, Splashtop offers a fast, secure and eco-friendly way of using your Asus machines. For those who are not using Asus notebooks, this might be a good reason to score one as soon as the Splashtop gets into these machines.

Via [Gizmodo] Product [Splashtop]

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Tasers have been used by cops for centuries, alright, maybe not that long, but long enough. By now you would think we know all we need to know about them. They zap, it hurts, end of story. One thing tasers are not supposed to be able to do is affect one’s heart in anyway. Well recent events have doctors concerned about the use of tasers. Apparently one genius was running from the cops and decided to hide in a lake. This brilliant criminal chose not just any lake, but a freezing cold one.

Since the water was extremely cold his heart experienced an atrial fibrillation, meaning, he had an irregular heartbeat. Once the cops tasered him his heartbeat returned to normal. Then upon this occurring, he began resisting arrest once again. Wow, am I glad they saved this guy’s life, I’m sure he will go on to do such great things. The entire event does have doctors concerned since tasers aren’t supposed to affect your body to that extent. The tasing company, have been quick to point out that this particular instance could be explained by many other factors besides the device itself. Which means as of now, there is no proof that we should be alarmed, so feel free to carry on and taser yourself to your heart’s content.

Source: Crunchgear

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Tasers have been used by cops for centuries, alright, maybe not that long, but long enough. By now you would think we know all we need to know about them. They zap, it hurts, end of story. One thing tasers are not supposed to be able to do is affect one’s heart in anyway. Well recent events have doctors concerned about the use of tasers. Apparently one genius was running from the cops and decided to hide in a lake. This brilliant criminal chose not just any lake, but a freezing cold one.

Since the water was extremely cold his heart experienced an atrial fibrillation, meaning, he had an irregular heartbeat. Once the cops tasered him his heartbeat returned to normal. Then upon this occurring, he began resisting arrest once again. Wow, am I glad they saved this guy’s life, I’m sure he will go on to do such great things. The entire event does have doctors concerned since tasers aren’t supposed to affect your body to that extent. The tasing company, have been quick to point out that this particular instance could be explained by many other factors besides the device itself. Which means as of now, there is no proof that we should be alarmed, so feel free to carry on and taser yourself to your heart’s content.

Source: Crunchgear

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by Thomas Ricker, posted May 29th 2008 at 5:58AM
Whoa, big day in the land of low-cost ultra-portables. First Dell, now Acer in what appear to be the first shots of Acer’s first sub-$500 ultra-portable. The images above were dumped into the forum over at UMPC Portal and show what appears to be an “Aspire One” branding to the right of the touchpad and what could certainly pass as the rumored 8.9-inch display. And although that UI is very un-Microsoft, there’s no denying the Microsoft flag waving back from the keyboard. We’ll know for sure if this is Acer’s contestant in the race to the bottom next week at Computex.

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Filed under: Laptops

How much pocket space is too much pocket space? I’d say that when you reach the point that you’re filling the pocket of your standard jeans and are fully ready to make the fashionable pounce over to MC Hammer jump pants for that extra storage room.

There’s no need to suffer for fashion. Or have your fashion suffer for you. If you’re just too much of a manly man to grab a messenger bag and throw all of your junk in there, just because of it’s similarity to a purse, then you’re going to need a new method of on-the-go storage. Meet the Freehand.

You wear the Freehand on your wrist like you would a orthopedic brace for carpal tunnel syndrome (interestingly enough, you could wear it to provide an excellent excuse for missing work.) The Freehand provides you an extra pouch for your various junk, including a cellphone or house keys.

While it certainly isn’t the prettiest kid on the block, the $20 Freehand is a great alternative for that certain prideful male specimen who refuses to have the term “bag” uttered anywhere near his flannel button-ups and polyester lounge pants.

Product Page via Fashionably Geek

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