Best New Technology

I’m notorious for being hard on my mobile gadgets. Phones, iPods and even cameras seem to have a way of getting dropped, scratched, ran over and all around destroyed when I carry them around for too long. I like to think that I’ve gotten better over the years, as my current ipod, laptop and camera  are all still in pristine condition. While I have considered getting a rugged laptop at times due to my clumsy nature, I can’t say that I’ve ever really thought about getting a rugged desktop.

If you’re working in extreme conditions and need something with a little more punch than your average Toughbook, this Vigor Evo HD from NextComputing would certainly be worth a look. It’s rugged case assures that it will stand up to just about anything you can throw at it. The integrated 17-inch LCD also means you don’t have to worry about breaking your monitor either.

The machines can be outfitted with just about anything you want on the inside. From the latest Intel or AMD CPUs, 3TB of storage and more. No word on pricing.

Source: Crave

Worst Case: Weddings
Get hitched without a hitch with the most invaluable (and probably funniest) wedding survival book on the planet.

You can have this for ?9.99

Aeryon Labs of Waterloo has released the Aeryon Scout, a brand new invention which is still in its prototype stage. Four connected foam rings, each 30cm in diameter with a rotor inside make up the Aeryon Scout. A camera is hidden in its underbelly, where a “quadrotor” is controlled by a remote control and can fly into places where it’s too difficult, dangerous or time-consuming for ordinary folk to go and snap a few shots. I suppose police and the military will find this useful, and so would the paparazzi.

Source: New Launches

Judging by the number of GPS trackers we have in the market these days, it makes sense to come out with an Anti GPS Tracker. This device blocks all GPS signals within a 5 meter radius, making it virtually impossible for you to be tracked. It is plugged inside your vehicle’s cigarette lighter in order to draw its power from. One major drawback is this - your very own GPS navigation device will be out of commission, too, so make sure you’re familiar with the roads around you before you make use of this puppy. The Anti GPS Tracker retails for £149.

by Donald Melanson, posted Apr 21st 2008 at 2:54PM

We’ve already seen one hack to automate Guitar Hero, but it had the slight disadvantage of having to be pre-programmed for each song, and even then it was slightly hit-and-miss. Now, a father looking for a way to finally beat his son at the game has taken things considerably further, with his hack actually using the composite video input to determine which notes need to be hit in real time. That, as you might have guessed, is way beyond any notion of practicality, and far outside the realm of the average DIYer’s skill level, but it seems like it does indeed work, although there are apparently a few minor kinks left to be worked out. If you’re still not undaunted, you can find the schematics and other information you’ll need at the link below, and check out a video of the setup in action after the break.

[Via Hacked gadgets]

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Filed under: Gaming

by Nilay Patel, posted Apr 21st 2008 at 3:28PM

The recent shakeups at the top of the OLPC hierarchy have apparently claimed another victim, as OLPC News is reporting that Software and Content chief Walter Bender has just left the project. Rumor is that Nicholas Negroponte is going to transition the OLPC XO entirely to Windows XP to spur sales soon, and Bender is reportedly unhappy about that. What makes this all the more interesting is that when security director Ivan Krstić left the OLPC project last month, he specifically said he was unhappy that the restructuring no longer required him to work with Bender, and said that he could no longer “subscribe to the organization’s new aims or structure in good faith.” Looks like something’s afoot at OLPC, and the old guard isn’t happy about it. What say you, NickNeg?

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Filed under: Laptops

While Xohm, Sprint’s oft-delayed WiMax service, still hasn’t graduated from trials here in the U.S., a few details are starting to emerge about how the company might sell individual WiMax-enabled devices. During a news conference in Taipei on Monday, Acer said its new WiMax-equipped Aspire 5920 notebook will be sold through various providers (including Sprint) wrapped up in nice little service bundles, similar to the way mobile phones are sold.

Here’s where it gets interesting, though. According to a report from IDG News Service, pricing for the Aspire 5920 will vary, depending on the individual service plan a customer selects. Whether this means you’ll technically be getting a subsidized WiMax notebook from Sprint remains unclear.

At this year’s CES, Sprint reiterated that it would not force its Xohm customers to sign contracts or subject them to early termination fees. That makes sense since the network is supposed to be device agnostic. As such, Sprint says it will rely on tiered subscription models. In other words, the longer the subscription a customers buys, the cheaper the service will be. At the same time, the company said this model would require that WiMax subscribers pay full price for all their hardware, which seems to contradict Acer’s announcement.

Sprint did not immediately return our calls for clarification.

SEE UPDATE BELOW

Acer, of course, is one of several laptop manufacturers who have committed to using Intel’s embedded WiMax/WiFi module, Echo Peak, which is a part of the chipmaker’s new Centrino Pro platform. Lenovo, Panasonic and Toshiba are also slated to ship WiMax enabled laptops later this year, although no formal dates have been announced by any of these companies.

Earlier this month, Nokia unveiled one of its first WiMax-enabled devices at CTIA: the N810 tablet, which is scheduled for an early summer release. Similarly, Everex and Asus have both shown off WiMax-enabled versions of the Cloudbook and Eee PC.

Update: Okay. A Sprint representative just got back to us and it seems either there was an error with the IDG report or someone at Acer was misinformed.

Says Sprint spokesman John Polivka:

Acer and other manufacturers are developing access devices which will work on WiMax networks, such as Sprint’s Xohm. Their device is not being sold by Sprint, and it will not be tied to any Sprint service plan. The source may be referring to other providers and their service plans. Sprint Xohm will indeed have subscriptions, versus traditional contracts, based on the customer and not the device. In traditional telecom, each device is a customer. We will accomodate multiple devices under each customer, in home and away subscription packages, though details have yet to be announced.

So there you have it. No discounts on WiMax devices from Sprint. [IDG News Service]

It’s not often that a single handset unites all four US national carriers (assuming the T-Mobile thing ends up going down), so we have to give Palm some credit here — it’s an honorable feat. And with the Centro being a surprise break-out success for Palm (a much needed one, may we add), there’s no reason to think they won’t be able to push a few units on Verizon, too. The first color to launch on Big Red (but probably not the last) will be the very same blue that we’ve previously seen launch in Mexico. How does everyone feel about it? Check out the gallery for the full host of press imagery!
[Source]

So you’re part of the remnant on this earth that still owns video tapes but have run out of players to play them. Why not digitize these video tapes instead? At least you will be able to loop them infinitely on your PC, and best of all is there is no need to rewind those tapes once you’re done as everything can be done at the click of a button. ION Audio has just released its VCR 2 PC device that connects to your PC via USB 2.0, with an adjacent composite connection for camcorders, while RCA output is located on the back to playback previews on a TV. In the PAL version, you will find the SCART output as well. All digital conversion will be in the H.264 for ipod/PSP or MPEG-2 for DVD authoring formats. The ION VCR 2 PC will retail for $249 each.

Source: Everything USB

Microsoft has recently launched a private beta test of its subscription version of Office and security software targeted at consumers. The launch package, called Albany, includes Office Live and OneCare, which is a form of anti-virus + general security product. In addition, there is an online storage and collaboration add-on called Workspace. It allows you to upload your documents and share and collaborate on them with other people. Sounds great doesn’t it? Well, not if you look under the hood.

A subscription-based service means it will work as long as you keep shelling out money. And whereas Office itself might be too expensive for many people, and a subscription service which brings down the initial investment significantly might be better, the truth is there are free alternatives which provide similar functionality.

We should be living in an age of significant competition in software spaces. But today it seems like the only software packages many people are willing to try come from big named software outfits. I just don’t believe that’s the way it should be.

There are many Linux communities, specifically related to the Ubuntu distro (a new version is coming out very soon), where the installation of software is maintained in a Windows-familiar package listing form, that offer tons of software for free. In fact, in the 7.10 release of Ubuntu, which is a Debian-based release, there are over 20,000 software titles all available for free.

My point isn’t that Linux is for everybody. My point is that there are alternatives. The Ubuntu CD can be created and booted from and test driven without ever having to install anything. Provided you have reasonably common hardware, everything will be automatically recognized and your machine will show you again how much fun it used to be to use your computer.

There are also additional features that are found in these non-mainstream versions, such as multiple desktops, a true 3D experience with Beryl Matrix that blows anything Vista has to offer completely out of the water (Note: the linked YouTube video is shown on an old Athlon 1800+, 512MB of RAM and only a GeForce 4200, running a version of Linux that is two distros out of date). Here’s a more modern one running the current Gutsy Gibbon Linux release and Compiz Fusion.

DRM, subscription services, remote data storage, online activation and self-destroying software if not activated … these are all signs of something that removes the direct control of the purchasing consumer to wield their equipment. In this author’s opinion, all of these software programs should be completely avoided and alternatives sought.

There are alternatives. They offer real functionality for free. They do not require you constantly “phone home” and tell the software author/company what’s up about your usage patterns, your content, how often you do anything on your computer. In this author’s opinion, it’s absolutely none of their business. If they want to make better software, they can ask for volunteers to participate in those kinds of information-gathering programs. In the alternative, they can simply hire very clever people who use their computers to find out what the best offering is, the one that will give people the most bang for their buck.

In the end, wouldn’t it be the best software that wins out? It doesn’t seem like it’s that way today. Not even close actually.