Electronic Toy World

Posted Jan 19th 2008 4:49PM by Paul Miller
Filed under: Laptops
We’re fairly certain this BoringTrash fellow’s statement that his IBM ThinkPad R50e “tried to kill” him is a bit unfair — it appears to us that the R50e was merely attempting to get him out of the way so that it could completely devour his bed. The best part of it all is that the three-year-old exploding laptop still works when plugged into an external monitor, but BoringTrash is keeping this one away from from mattresses for the time being.

Posted Jan 19th 2008 3:37PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Peripherals, Portable Audio
Yeah, the whole igloo comparison loses some steam once you peek this thing from the side, but when glancing it head-on, we can’t help but be overcome with imagery of our childhood days spent in the plains of Greenland. Unfortunately, this thing’s ability to conjure up said memories is probably its standout feature — well, aside from the RF remote that enables users to browse iPod content right on its screen (shown after the break). Outside of that, you’ll find a totally average speaker setup consisting of twin one-inch tweeters and three-inch woofers along with a set of touch-sensitive controls atop the device itself. Reportedly, the iBoom JukeBox is slated to further saturate the iPod speaker system market this Spring for $199.99.

[Via MacMinute]

The new Microsoft shopping cart promises turn your next mundane shopping trip into an adventure! Four years in the making, collaborating with Texas-based MediaCart Holdings Inc, Bill Gates has launched a grocery cart-mounted console that does everything but remove money from wallets to pay for items! It helps shoppers find products, then scan and pay for them without having to wait in line at the checkout counter (a blessing in itself).

But Bill Gates is not completely altruistic. (Indeed, no mogul ever really is.) Microsoft’s acquisition of Quantive, an online advertising company, last year for $6 billion increased the company’s capacity to serve video ads onto these grocery cart screens. MediaCart will begin testing in the second half of 2008, focusing on Wakefern Food Corporation’s ShopRite supermarkets on the East Coast. The way it will work is customers with a ShopRite loyalty card will be able to log into a Web site at home and type in their grocery lists. The list will appear, like magic, when they get to the store and swipe their card on the MediaCart console. As items are scanned and placed in the cart, the console gives a running price tally and checks items off the list.

As if this isn’t rendering the shopper and his or her judgment and abilities enough, this system also utilizes radio-frequency identification (RFID) to sense the location of the shopper’s cart. The rationale behind this aspect concerns understanding consumer shopping patterns and recognizing strategic points to send ads to shoppers for products living on the shelves in those aisles they are either in or about to enter. Presenting coupons and commercials are still in the works.

Is there no escape from ads in this world? Or do we all represent just one giant coupon to be clipped and redeemed for software companies who don’t need the money in the first place?

Read [New Launches]

Line 6 has just dropped news on its Micro Spider which is part of the best selling Spider III family of modeling amplifiers, making this an essential friend of any self-respecting traveling guitarist. The Micro Spider features a quartet of Spider III amp models, an entirely new acoustic guitar model, half a dozen Smart Control FX (complete with reverb, chorus, and tap delay among others), and a precise chromatic tuner. All these are crammed into the Micro Spider that touts to bring intuitive functionality, total versatility and sensational tone to any budding guitarist who is looking for a chance to make it big time.

They also say that good things come in small packages, so I would highly recommend that you don’t judge the Micro Spider by its size. This tiny box packs in quite a punch, where six C batteries are capable of pumping out six watts of screaming electricity through a 6.5″ speaker. While that is what’s touted by the press release, it remains to be seen whether real life experience will be able to live up to its reputation. You can also use the Micro Spider to practice with a pair of headphones and easy direct recording thanks to the POD 2.0-style direct output. In addition, with a microphone input and dedicated trim knob, the Micro Spider would feel at home whether it is electric guitars, acoustic guitars or vocals.

According to Darrell Smith, Line 6 Product Line Manager, “Micro Spider is loud, fast and out-of-control. The combination of flexibility, convenience and sheer Spider III ferocity makes Micro Spider as powerful as it is portable.” For those who want to pick up the Micro Spider III, they will have to wait till spring this year for shipping to commence, and not to mention the $199.99 price tag attached to it.

Press Release

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Sony Ericsson has sold over 100 million handsets during 2007, which by itself is an impressive feat, however that also means an 18% increase over sales from the previous year.

Admittedly a good amount of the sales comes from the “lower priced” end of the spectrum. Sony Ericsson has already introduced a few new models in 2008 and most likely will have many more to come in the remainder of the year.

Read [Sony Ericsson]

Are you proud of everything on your office computer? Are those items you might not be so eager to display really hidden from the view and scrutiny of others? Alas, for the answer is now unequivocally “no.” Your office PC, thanks to Microsoft’s new Big Brother-style software, may now be considered a weapon loaded with ammunition!

This new software is a lazy, ineffectual office worker’s nightmare, for it is capable of remotely monitoring a worker’s productivity, physical well being and competence. This monitoring system would enable computers to wirelessly pick up on a user’s heart rate, galvanic skin response, brain signals, body temperature, facial movements and expressions, blood pressure, and respiration rate. Previously, this technology was only the headache of pilots, fire fighters and NASA astronauts. This patent from Microsoft marks the very first time a company has proposed such a software for use in mainstream offices.

The US Patent Office confirmed that the application was published last month, 18 months after being filed. Patent lawyers said that it could be granted within a year.
According to The Information Commissioner’s Office:

“Imposing this level of intrusion on employees could only be justified in exceptional circumstances.”

Although there’s no question that by any definition of the word “privacy” in any language that this new software violates it, there is an empathetic rationale behind it. The spyware does provide a means for employers to “troubleshoot” problem behaviors and issues and nip them in the bud, so to speak. It is obvious, however, that the mere mention of this idea is causing civil liberties groups and privacy attorneys to check their elevated heart and pulse rates more often than was previously necessary.

Read [New Launches]

The Flipstart pricing has been dropped, and almost to a point where it could be considered affordable. It was originally launched at a whopping $1999, initially it had a $500 price drop and when that price seemed to high to drive sales it was then cut in half, dropping all the way down to $699.

It seems strange that an initial price of $1999 seemed logical now that they have it all the way down to $699, regardless, it now seems almost like a fair price. For those unfamiliar the Vulcan Flipstart is a “ultraportable PC” that has a small but full QWERTY keyboard with a 5.6-inch wide SVGA display and opens similar to a regular laptop. The Flipstart features a Pentium M 1.1Ghz processor, 512MB RAM, 30GB hard drive, is Sprint Mobile Broadband Network ready and has a high-capacity battery. It will also ship with your choice of Windows XP Professional or Windows Vista Business.

Personally for $699 it seems there are still better options out available.

Product [dynamism.com] Via [Boy Genius Report]

Video games and quilting sound like they should mix about as well as oil and water, but lately, they seem more like the delicious blend of chocolate and peanut butter. First we had the Q*Bert quilt, followed by the Galaga quilt and more recently the Legend of Zelda quilt. The latest mash-up between games and sewing features a fun Super Mario theme.

Designed and sewn by a Crafster contributor going by the brilliant screen name “iddosteveperry”, the quilt features pixelated icons from the 8-bit Nintendo series. Each of the game characters’ bitmaps was painstakingly assembled from 1.5-inch squares, then combined into this enormous 8′ x 8′ quilt.

While it doesn’t feature the likeness of Donkey Kong, it is big enough that he could be sleeping underneath.

[via DS Fanboy]

read more about:

craft, fabric, mario, nintendo, pixel, quilt, sew

The Red Ferret Journal Product of the Year 2007: Imaging – Sony Alpha A700. The Sony marketing blurb cheekily asserts, ‘What you once called a photo album you can now call a portfolio’, and that’s a remarkably accurate assessment of the market positioning of this excellent 12.4 megapixel digital SLR camera. On the face of it, this is just another entrant into the increasingly crowded digital SLR market, as manufacturers desperately retreat from the advancing quality of cell phone cameras at the low end of the market.

But look closer and you see that Sony have applied all their consumer smarts to a product which cleverly straddles the line between professional and aspirational digital photography, and does so with a product which really does the job superbly. The price and feature set indicate that this should be a complicated piece of equipment to master, but the reality is that it’s probably one of the simplest ways you will find to take superb photos. The excellent Minolta imaging heritage, coupled with very clever implementations of tech like Super Steady Shot, eye proximity triggered auto-focus and great firmware means that it’s hard to take a bad photo, and surprisingly easy to take good photos if you’re prepared to invest a small amount of time in learning some DSLR basics.

I’ve been playing with one of these for a while now, and it’s a beauty. The body feels great in the hand, just about every control you need is just a fingertip away, and the optics mean that you can take shots you never thought were possible and they’ll work 7 times out of 10. This is especially evident in low light and indoor photography, where you can grab some handheld shots that should be impossible and they’ll come out looking great. I am *clearly* not the world’s greatest photographer, but even I have managed to grab some images that I think are half reasonable. Here’s a small sample all taken handheld (and without flash indoors).

True purists will sneer at the lack of lens options and accessories, but for anyone who’s just starting out, or who comes from the Minolta-Konica camp this is a great way to move to prosumer level photography in one jump. And don’t be fooled by the raft of 14 megapixel look-alike dSLRs due to arrive this year from some of the major Far East consumer brands. They may be half the price, but they’re not even in the same universe when it comes to photo quality and functionality.

I’ll leave it to veteran camera reviewer Steve from Steve’s Digicams to sum it up. “These days the amateur dSLR market is quite competitive and the A700 has a wonderful combination of quality and shooting features to keep it in the top rank. With 12 megapixels of resolution, impressive shooting performance, superb image quality and the combination of Super Steady Shot image stabilization and anti-dust technology, this camera it a very worthy contender.”

Posted Jan 19th 2008 4:27AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
Truth be told, Teclast’s M30 seems be to a real looker at first, but we’re knocking off a few style points due the complete absence of originality. All it takes is a simple glance at the unit’s predecessors to realize that the outfit isn’t exactly going out on any limbs to innovate. Nevertheless, those still interested can look forward to a 2.8-inch 320 x 240 AMOLED display, USB 2.0 connectivity, FM tuner / recorder and support for AVI, RM, RMVB, BMP, MP3, JPEG and GIF file formats. Thankfully, the mediocrity is met with a suitable price tag — just $69 for the 2GB model and $82 for the 4GB edition.

[Via DAPReview]