Best New Technology

The Everglide Bicycle Concept is certainly an eye-opener after it picked up third place at the recently concluded International Bicycle Design Competition (IBDC). This innovative, multi-purpose design sports a bicycle with a backpack. This is made possible by folding it down to its rear carry-case, allowing it to be wheeled, backpacked or cycled, depending on the situation. This integrated solution also enables one to satisfy a variety of needs for short-distance cyclists, making it convenient to carry aboard other forms of public transport such as cabs, trains and buses. It features a shaft-drive mechanism which is light-weight and compact, providing a clean smart drive solution while allowing handheld devices such as phones and iPods to be plugged in and regeneratively charged via frictionless magnetic dynamo technology. Can’t wait for the day such a design is realized.

During CES 2008, Becker announced the Traffic Assist 7827, and now, they are rolling out a similar GPS, the Traffic Assist 7977. This GPS looks to be one of the best that Becker has to offer. Some of the main features include a 4.3-inch touchscreen, live traffic updates, lane assistance, which basically tells you if you are in the correct lane or not, and maps of all of Europe. Additionally, it uses SD cards for memory expansion, can use USB drives for audio or pictures, Bluetooth capabilities for handsfree calling, and reality view which lets you know when you are coming near a freeway junction. This technology is also similar to Navigon’s Reality View, if you are familiar with that.

This GPS is so far already available in some parts of Europe, but no word on when it would be coming to the States, or for what price.

Via [NaviGadget]

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Well after all the hype during these past three months Microsoft has withdrawn their bid for Yahoo. With the final offer coming in at $33 per share or a total of $47.5 billion, that was just not enough to match the $37 per share or $53 billion that Yahoo was requesting. Steve Ballmer was also later quoted as stating that Microsoft would not proceed with a hostile takeover because they felt Yahoo “would take steps that would make Yahoo undesirable as an acquisition for Microsoft.”

That is that, the deal is dead.

Read [Yahoo! News]

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With a smart 49.9” diagonal widescreen, Panasonic VIERA TH-50PZ85U Television is the latest sensation in the television world. Offering you 1080p HDTV with increased Native Contrast Ratio, this plasma television comes equipped with many advanced features. Get to enjoy digital cinema reality with motion pattern noise reduction only on Panasonic VIERA TH-50PZ85U Television.

Features

• Built-in SD Card Slot.
• New Anti-Reflective Filter.
• Deep Color Technology.
• 3 HDMI Inputs.
• VIERA Link HDAVI Control.

Panasonic VIERA TH-50PZ85U Television comes fitted with two high-performance speakers that provide you surround sound experience. This new television from Panasonic also features an integrated ATSC and built-in closed caption decoder. You can also sleep while watching television without worrying to switch it off by setting its sleep timer.

Price

Panasonic VIERA TH-50PZ85U Television is available at a price of $ 2499.95.

Source: Panasonic

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Fujitsu has just made available two of its flagship ultra-portable computing machines, the U810 mini notebook and the T2010 tablet pc. Both machines boast of built-in AT&T BroadbandConnect HSDPA, which simply translates to a fast wireless data connection experience for users. Individually, both machines are equipped with good features as well, here’s what you can expect on these two new Lifebook’s.

The LifeBook U810 mini-notebook brags of being the world’s smallest convertible notebook with its 5.6-inch LED backlit touchscreen display and works like a traditional notebook with its ultra-slim QWERTY keyboard or by swivelling its VSVGA Crystal View illuminated screen. It also functions as a handheld tablet PC with a touch screen for finger or pen input. Other features of this mini notebook include an Energy Star compliant 800MHz A810 Intel processor, fingerprint reader, automatic BIOS lock, integrated webcam, 1GB DDR2 400MHz SDRAM memory, 60GB hard drive and Bluetooth.

While the LifeBook T2010 convertible notebook boasts of a 12.1-inch LED backlit display and a slim 1.3-inch chassis. This notebook is packed with an Intel Core 2 Duo 7600 ultra low voltage processor, 2GB DDR2 533 MHz SDRAM memory, 120GB SATA hard drive, Wi-Fi link and Bluetooth. The T2010 is also Energy Star compliant like the U810.

Both the U810 and T2010 are available now with retail prices starting at $999 and $1,499 respectively.

Product [Fujitsu] Product [Fujitsu] Via [SlashGear]

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Directionally challenged people know who they are. That is why electronic GPS devices are such hot items. They help you to navigate just about anywhere from around your town or across the country.

As you can imagine, it may be hard to get those results from a simple pen and paper. Have you ever started writing down directions and then realized that the paper was too small. The lines of instruction get smaller and smaller and then start circling around the edges. You drive along trying to read the scribbles and give up when you cannot tell which line came first. Hopefully you wrote down the phone number. It is hard for me to imagine that some people prefer low-tech devices. For those few there are low-tech navigation options – the most popular being ordinary paper map or pen and paper. Not too stylish but functional.

However, for those that prefer low-tech with some style thrown in there is an answer.  The Paper GPS notepad fulfills the need for organized and readable directions for as little as $6.50. Each of the 60 sheets allow for 10 turn-by-turn directions with pre-printed arrows and even a box for the distance between each turn. Simply circle the correct directional arrow, write down the street names or landmarks and the distance between each. At the bottom of each sheet there is ample space for jotting down other pertinent information such as a phone number. In case you keep a notebook of directions there is also a spot to notate whether you got lost or not. 

This is just another one of those “Wish I’d though of this” items.

Via [OhGizmo! ]

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In the UK a company called Which? carries out testing of consumer products and, for a small fee, lets you see the results giving an unbiased opinion of what products genuinely are the best to buy. Their latest test is a little different, however, and looked to see just how dirty the keyboards we use actually are.

Which? sent researchers to a typical office in London to take swabs from 30 keyboards. The results were pretty horrifying with a whole host of different bacteria found on the swabs. One of the more serious bacteria found is called staphylococcus aureus, also known as “golden staph”, that can cause skin infection and food poisoning. Another keyboard was so badly infested with bacteria it was recommended by a microbiologist that the offending keyboard be removed from use.

The same test also took a swab from a toilet in the London office, which was five times cleaner than the keyboard that had to be removed.

Satah Kidner, Computing editor at Which? commented:

Most people don’t give much thought to the grime that builds up on their PC but if you don’t clean your computer you might as well eat your lunch off the toilet … Why not give your PC a spring clean? It’s quite simple to do and could prevent your computer from becoming a health hazard.

The reason for the build-up of bacteria on our keyboards has been put down to the fact we eat our food around them. The tiny crumbs of food that fall in between the keys act as a great breeding ground for bacteria to grow on. Not washing your hands regularly, especially after visiting the toilet, was also partly to blame.

The research also asked the computer users about their keyboard cleaning habits. Just under 50% admitted cleaning their keyboard once a month, 10% said they had never cleaned it and 20% said they never cleaned their mouse either.

Read more at FoxNews.com and Which?

Matthew’s Opinion

Have any of you who use a keyboard everyday tried turning it upside down and giving it a shake? I recommend it if you haven’t just to be amazed at how much debris falls out. This is especially true if you eat at your desktop, but even if you don’t there is going to be an amount of dirt and skin fall out of it.

My cleaning regime involves shaking the keyboard on to some paper, then getting a disinfectant wipe and giving it a good scrub before letting it dry. It only takes a few minutes and makes the keyboard much more pleasant to use afterwards. I do the same with the mouse as well once every couple of weeks. It must work as I’ve never got a skin infection or food poisoning as suggested in the article.

It is more difficult for people who swap desks a lot in the workplace. You have no idea who has used the machine before you and what they ate around it. The only way to be completely safe is to clean the keyboard before first use every time you swap.