Gadgets and New Technologies

Posted Apr 3rd 2008 4:04PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Misc. gadgets, Storage
Here’s a novel idea: rather than stressing over the choice between solar or hydroelectric power sources to keep that green data center running, just build the thing near a community pool. Apparently that’s exactly what’s happening in Uitikon, Switzerland, as an IBM-built center erected for GIB-Services AG is using its excess heat to warm a local swimming pool. (Read the full post about ‘Heat from data center used to warm Swiss swimming pool’…)

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Posted Apr 3rd 2008 11:49AM by Darren MurphFiled under: Storage You know what they say: you can never have enough ports, right? Apparently Buffalo Technology is nodding its head in agreement, as its DriveStation Combo4 features no fewer than four different interfaces and five total connection ports. Though it can’t be connected to multiple machines simultaneously, you can hook things up one at a time with USB 2.0, eSATA, FireWire 400 and FireWire 800 (x2). The drive, which comes in 320GB (HD-HS320Q), 500GB (HD-HS500Q) and 1TB (HD-HS1.0TQ) flavors, comes bundled with the PC / Mac-compatible Memeo AutoBackup software and a two-year warranty to boot. For the port lovers who just can’t resist, all three are available now for £79 ($156 (Read the full post about ‘Buffalo’s DriveStation Combo4 external HDD touts four interfaces’…)

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SoundID has announced its latest Bluetooth headset, the HD 300 with NoiseNavigation control. Boasting a narrow form and chic, high-gloss black finish, the SoundID HD300 Bluetooth headset was designed to complement the natural hearing process. NoiseNavigation is SoundID’s proprietary technology that optimizes speech intelligibility during conversation with two microphones that isolates speech and DSP algorithms. This is said to reduce wind and background noise when the Bluetooth headset is in used, in other words the person you are speaking with should not have any trouble hearing you. Aside from NoiseNavigation, the HD300 also features PersonalSound, which lets users select from three listening modes based on the most common hearing preferences. (Read the full post about ‘SoundID intro’s the HD300 Bluetooth headset with noise navigation, auto volume control’…)

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Velocity Mobile maybe a new player in the mobile industry but it seems they are going in full steam based on their two initial smartphones – the Velocity 103 and Velocity 111. Velocity Mobile is hoping to gain a share of the already crowded mobile manufacturing market with its promise of a smartphone for the masses without sacrificing functionality. For its initial offering, Velocity Mobile intros the Velocity 103. Brandishing a Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional OS, the Velocity 103 is loaded with Qualcomm Mobile Station Modem chipset, GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA, a 2.8-inch touchscreen display with a 640×480 resolution, 256MB ROM, 126MB RAM, Bluetooth, 2.0-megapixel camera on the back with a 0.3-megapixel cam on the front, TV/VGA output and microSD expansion slot. (Read the full post about ‘Velocity Mobile enters the mobile market; unveils the Velocity 103, 111 smartphones’…)

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AOL has announced 3 new developments in its drive to bring various services to customers via their mobile phones. The new AOL MyMobile services have been launched in beta, the AOL Mobile Search now enables easy access to blackberry devices and the expansion of the AIM TEXT across all major carriers in the U.S. The AOL MyMobile is a suite of mobile services that provides customers with personalized access to AIM, AOL Mail, AOL CityGuide, Moviefone, MapQuest, AOL Local Search, AOL News, Weather, Sports and AOL Pictures. All these services will run seamlessly together on users mobile phones. AOL MyMobile was built using Action Engine’s on-device portal technology. (Read the full post about ‘AOL launches MyMobile services, fires up MyAOL mobile search, AIM TXT’…)

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The iPhone Dev Team has released version 1.0 of its Pwnage utility. The app blows the lid off of any iphone allowing you to do essentially anything you want with the device. You can find Pwnage here.

For a full explanation of the benefits of Pwnage, please visit Matt Hickey’s in-depth run through over at CrunchGear.

Finally, and this is important, if you’ve somehow come in possession of iPhone firmware 1.2, make sure that it’s version 5A147. Any of the other versions, like 5A225c, floating around will not work and will simply brick your device.

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We have all become too comfortable with the idea of performing searches by entering a query in our favorite search engine, but Yahoo! is about to introduce a paradigm shift to the world by enabling users to use voice commands to search the web instead. Boerries, executive vice president of Yahoo’s Connected Life unit mentioned that “This is really a sea change. This is not about simple Web links any more.” Guess with more and more people surfing on their cell phones, it makes perfect sense to increase accessibility to web links on these handsets. Yahoo!’s latest oneSearch service will be the latest thrust from the Microsoft target in order to further gain market share that have eroded sharply since the emergence of Google. (Read the full post about ‘Yahoo! relies on voice commands for search’…)

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Mood Toast Stamp

Toast is a great snack and a favourite breakfast food. Why not make it more interesting by writing a message on your toast?You might think that it can’t be done without ink poisoning but it is simple really. All you have to do is press one of the mood toast stamps onto your piece of bread.  Then put your bread in the toaster like you would do normally. When the toast pops up, the message will be clear to read.Perhaps you want to cheer up a housemate or family member who has been down in the dumps making them breakfast in bed with “Good Morning” in their toast is sure to put a smile back on their face.  Or tell your better half how you feel with the “I Love You” stamp.

(Read the full post about ‘Mood Toast Stamp’…)

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A cell phone is but a communications device at heart, capable of doing a little bit extra such as surfing the Internet, running IM programs, checking your mail, capturing your favorite memories in a digital photo and playing video and audio files when you’re bored, right? Well props to online shopping pioneer Amazon.com who clearly aims to pile on the pressure (and potentially, misery) upon its brick-and-mortar rivals by offering a new online shopping service known as TextBuyIt, letting Amazon account holders to just about search virtually all products on Amazon’s website with the option to purchase whatever captures their fancy. (Read the full post about ‘Amazon launches TextBuyIt’…)

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Together with its announcement of redesigned laptops in its Satellite series, Toshiba has also announced a new technology called Sleep-and-Charge USB ports. As you can guess from its name, this allows the USB port to charge up your mobile devices whether the laptop is powered on, shut off or in sleep mode. The new USB port answer’s the shortcomings of today’s USB ports. That is, their dependence on the laptop or desktop for power supply. With the new Sleep-and-Charge USB ports, Toshiba has eliminated this problem. Now, for as long as the laptop or desktop where the USB port is plugged in to an electrical outlet, the USB port will continue to provide power. (Read the full post about ‘Toshiba unveils Sleep-and-Charge USB ports, charges even when PC is off’…)

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