Apparently in an effort to produce even crappier-sounding music than earbuds, Japanese manufacturer Thanko is preparing to offer this VONIA bone conduction “Sports HeadBand,” which is designed to work particularly well with the new iPod shuffle. Electronista is reporting that the headband will not not have to sit directly over your ears in order to transmit those high beat rate tunes directly through your hard noggin, thus leaving you free to hear that dump truck on your morning run.
I’m not so sure about this one, but they go on sale in Japan soon for about $84. It’s not clear if they’re coming Stateside.
Hitachi and LG have teamed up to produce an optical PC drive that reads both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs, making it the first in the world to do so. In addition to supporting both new formats, the GGW-H10N can also read and write regular CDs, single layer DVDs and Blu-ray discs. Unfortunately, the GGW-H10N will be sold for approximately $1,200 to OEMs, making the final price tag much higher by the time it reaches the end user. At least home theater PCs can now have a hybrid drive to further lessen any spats that could result from a pseudo “format war”. The ball is in your court, consumers!
This is wild to me. Commodore is how I learned dos, so when I heard they entered the Gaming Biz, I wasn’t thinking much of anything. Their new gaming line will consist of four models ranging from the entry-level Cg to the top-shelf Cxx. The Cxx will have a quad-core 2.66GHz Core 2 Extreme, dual GeForce 8800s, and 4GB of RAM. This is direct competition to the Dell’s, Alienware, and Falcon. Will it stack up? Only Time will Tell.
These tiny iMono Card Readers from Brando are so small you might even lose them in your pocket if they didn’t have keychains attached, but they come in three different versions that accommodate your choice of T-Flash/MicroSD memory cards, M2 or miniSD cards, and all three can read SIM cards from your cellphone.
Transfer files to the PC, or slide in your SIM card from your cellphone and back up all your contacts and other information. Might come in handy right before you rock a firmware update on that balky smartphone of yours. Not a bad deal for $10.
They may look like a secret Wii accessory we haven’t seen, but these floating bowling pins are actually desktop speakers. They’re held up by a thin spine/rod which you can only see from behind to give the illusion that they’re floating in air. The speakers shoot audio straight into the circular base, which Audio-Technica says helps spread the sound. Here’s the catch, they only deliver 1.7 watts yet cost 200 bones. I don’t care how cool these bowling pins look, 1.7 watts does not equal $200.
The Efficient Mac User weblog posts 11 tips to optimize your Mac’s performance.
For example, the post suggests that you regularly “clean out” the Other section of the System Preferences, in which several programs you install on your Mac sometimes find a home. It’s a lot easier to go install-crazy on a Mac because programs don’t normally clutter up your system the way Windows apps do, but you should still keep in mind that some programs you’ve forgotten about are going to auto-start and add a little extra weight to your system if you don’t keep your eyes open. Share your favorite tips for how you keep your Mac clean and quick in the comments.
Holy shit. No, seriously, holy shit. This could be the most amazing marketing i’ve seen since Shai did porn for their catalog. No joke, this is amazing. Star Wars’ 30th anniversary is using these mailboxes in conjunction with the USPS to show off their amazing talent, and I don’t care if you hate star wars. This is outstanding.
Strike three for Vista’s product activation system: the latest Vista activation workaround is called “Timerstop t2a” which works by automatically renewing the 30 day grace period before the user has to “activate” their presumably legit copy of Windows. Besides the obviously malicious undertone to these kind of utilities, we’re certain that there are a whole lot of legitimate Vista owners out there that would prefer to go through this admittedly complex process rather than attempt the normal activation procedure. Just like with DRM, anti-piracy PSAs before movies, and heck, even excessive surveillance, innocent people tend not to like it when they’re treated as suspects. The lesson for Microsoft is that when people want to pirate software, they will: even in the face of increasingly complex activation systems. A pity then that Redmond’s fired up photocopiers technically can’t copy a function that — purposely — doesn’t exist in Mac OS X.
Even with certain forms of e-ink displays starting to appear into real world settings it’s still unlikely that you’ll meet someone on the street with some e-ink tech. E-ink is just too expensive, and regular people can’t dream of getting their hands on it for a while. The closest we could get is peeks at the E ink blueChute e-ink tablet. Even though it’s a good for something like a newspaper. Anything that could be or is written on paper could be transfered to this, to an interesting style considering it’s run with flash memory.
Apple and their eliteist ideals, appeal to those who like function, with a good art quality. They like form, and style as much as anything. These computer desks are right in the mac mindframe. iG0 Desk has taken up this burden, and it apparently passes the test at first glance. What do you get for a minimum of $333? For starters, each iG0 desk comes with a turn table for your display, an adjustable keyboard panel, a halo lamp for night owls, a cable compartment for a semblance of order, and a digital hub panel that helps keep all your gadgets in place. Additional features include a gel-filled wrist rest and mouse pad as well as a pair of multi-purpose integrated holders.