Gadgets and New Technologies

When it comes to top-shelf stereo receivers, Yamaha’s new RX-Z11 sets a high bar for feature-rich high definition amplifiers. Sure, it’s got your XM-HD, HD Radio, Dolby True HD, and neural surround. Yeah it’s Made for iPod, XM Ready, and it’s got network connectivity for getting your Windows Media Player on. But those are all just table stakes for modern HD-capable receivers, and the RX-Z11 is a high roller. It’s got support for HDMI 1.3a, and it can upscale video all the way to 1080p, or drop the res down to 480. It’s also the first receiver on the market to use THX Loudness Plus — a back-end audio feature designed to let you play movies at low volumes without sacrificing any surround sound details. (Read the full post about ‘Review: Yamaha RX-Z11 11.2 Surround Sound Receiver Rules Your Home Entertainment System’…)

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After weeks–months if you consider the rumors–of anticipation the MacBook Air is finally out in the wild. According to Apple, orders made today are shipping in two to three weeks but people who pre-ordered the Air right after the keynote should be getting their units quite soon. Even if you didn’t buy one you can finally stop by your local Apple store and check one out. I had a chance to do just that over the weekend. I got to the Apple Store early, slapped on some hand-sanitizer, and gave the MBA a test run. I didn’t bother to take a lot of pictures because there are lots of great galleries online already, but I did spend enough time to get some impressions about the notebook. (Read the full post about ‘First Look: MacBook Air’…)

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Ever felt so much rage at home or the office that you just wanted to shoot something or someone? Well now you can take out that aggression on a proper target with the N Range indoor target range. Yeah, that’s right, inside that beautiful armoire shown here is a target. Now you don’t have to go to the shooting range to “get your gun off”, but just open it up and shoot away. Blam! Blam! Blam! In case you are wondering, the target is steel-backed so the bullets will not go through the armoire and through the wall. So it’s an armored armoire. Of course, there is the matter of the deafening noise. Do you really want neighbors or co-workers reporting gunshots fired? (Read the full post about ‘N Range helps take out your rage’…)

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Wiinja Deluxe Nintendo Wii

The WiiKey Deluxe Wii Mod Chip is a popular Wii mod chip and is one of the cheaper mod chips available.

(Read the full post about ‘Wiinja Deluxe Nintendo Wii’…)

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Posted Feb 4th 2008 7:58AM by Thomas RickerFiled under: Cellphones, GPS, Portable VideoAfter teasing us with a lustful peep from their V900’s marketing collateral, E-TEN had the good grace to make their newest Glofiish official. Their first handset to offer mobile TV does so without hesitation — DVB-H, DVB-T, T-DMB, and DAB broadcast media are all supported on that generous VGA display. These consumer oriented Windows Mobile phones pack an unspecified GSM radio, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS underneath a new, E-TEN developed touch-based user interface. Presumably, E-TEN has a TouchFLO-like layer to hide the consumer-unfriendly ugliness of Microsoft’s increasingly dated and finger-meat hating mobile OS. (Read the full post about ‘E-TEN’s Glofiish M810 and V900 with secret touch-based WinMo interface’…)

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Gadget mavens Brando has a couple of chargers for the hugely successful Asus Eee PC, coming in the form of the Asus Eee PC Car Charger cable and the Asus Eee PC Travel Charger. The former retails for $18 while the latter is going for $23, with both capable of keeping your Eee PC juiced up no matter where you are. Needless to say, the car charger only works whenever you’re in a vehicle, while the Travel Charger makes it convenient to keep your Eee PC going no matter which part of the globe you’re at, supporting AC100v - AC240v with different plug heads that allows you to ditch your universal travel adapter. (Read the full post about ‘Asus Eee PC Chargers from Brando’…)

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Fancy a MP3 player that keeps you connected no matter where you go? At least, in areas that have WiFi networks for you to stream songs, podcasts and videos. This highly customizable MP3 player boasts a ton of skins that you will surely find something interesting even if you’re very particular about designs. Sounds like the perfect device for folks who no longer want to pay to own music they already have in many formats, but instead will want to go with the flow, listening to whatever’s currently available. (Read the full post about ‘ibiza Rhapsody WiFi MP3 player’…)

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Pollution represents a perennial problem that can not be solved except by means of the collaboration of all the world’s nations. During some last decades a great attention was paid to the air pollution and Green House effect. Many people and scientists are unison in opinions that the airline industry is one of the major pollutants at all. So in order to decrease its impact on the environment some drastic measures like using other types of planes should be taken. According to the recent news a new reaction engine was invented whose designers intend to solve given problem at least partially. This engine is a hydrogen-powered A2 aircraft concept that would be capable of hitting Mach-5 - five times the speed of sound (3400 mph), making it somewhat the spiritual successor of the Concorde. (Read the full post about ‘Jet engine powered by hydrogen’…)

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Posted Feb 4th 2008 4:12AM by Thomas RickerFiled under: Portable Audio Yahoo! Music Unlimited (and its customers) is the latest victim of the digital media shakeout. However, unlike the shutdown of Sony’s Connect service which left customers stranded with DRM-laden tracks, Yahoo has struck a deal to send its existing subscription customers to the PlaysForSure-friendly Rhapsody music service from RealNetworks. The shift will occur sometime in “the first half” of 2008 and leave Yahoo Music Unlimited’s payment plans and music libraries in tact for customers “for a limited time.” Eventually, Yahoo’s legacy customers will be required to sign up at Rhapsody’s relatively higher rates of $12.99 per month (Yahoo charged $8.99 per month or as little as $5.99 per month for a year paid in full). (Read the full post about ‘Yahoo! Music Unlimited shuttered — customers feel the Rhapsody’…)

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Don’t you just love how laptops nowadays are becoming more and more fashionable? Sony VAIO Style Japan (again, I love Japan) has released these nifty looking laptops. A new, made-over Sony Vaio T! I am totally loving the etchings on the new skins! (Read the full post about ‘Sony Vaio T Gets A Make-Over!’…)

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