Engadget

Crazy-cheap DVD player to be sold in England for under $18

by Josh Fruhlinger posted Jan 29th 2007 at 4:37AM

ASDA, the Wal-Mart-owned supermarket chain in the UK, plans to start selling the Durabrand DVD player for just £9, or around $18. While DVD players have shown up during sales for under $30 in the past, often creating mini shopping crazes, this is the cheapest one we've ever seen. Durabrand has even offered dual-screen portable players for under $300. This one looks to be sold at supermarkets as a last-minute purchase item alongside gum and gossip rags, maybe bringing DVD technology to the final 80,000 (the number they plan to make) people in England who don't already have them. We have to imagine that there will be DVDs for sale right next to the units, most likely the real purpose of the cheap player. It's not the prettiest of things, but -- hey -- did we mention it's cheap?

[Thanks, Judith]

People ruining microwaves, creating a stink because of Reuters report

by Josh Fruhlinger posted Jan 29th 2007 at 3:27AM

The humble microwave: source of hot cups of water, stinky popcorn, and now, apparently, sterile kitchen sponges. A Reuters article recently reported that microwaves are great tools to sterilize bacteria-laden kitchen sponges -- but unfortunately for the not-so-sharp, it turns out that Reuters didn't tell the witless that the sponges should be wet before getting their nuke on. Apparently, more than one person threw his dry sponge into the kitchen microwave only to discover that the thing melted, burnt, stunk up the joint like hot bacteria, and reeked like burnt tires. One more for the Darwin awards. So for the uninitiated: yes, you can throw your kitchen sponge in the microwave for a few minutes to sterilize it. Do make sure it's wet, though, k?

Doggy Pedometer ushers in new era of dog training

by Josh Fruhlinger posted Jan 22nd 2007 at 5:51AM

Sometimes all we can do is tell you about a product and leave it as is. In this case, Yamasa Tokei delivers the canine accessory for which all jogging dog owners have been pining -- the Doggy Pedometer. Tripling as a dog tag, timer, and pedometer, this little gadget has several uses outside of the obvious. Say Scrapps runs away and you want to know how far he went. Or you don't have a pedometer yourself and go jogging with the dog all the time. Or you're a concerned pet owner and want to make sure Scrapps is exercising and running about in the back yard when you're away. Maybe you're a jealous spouse and want to see if your husband is running farther than he says. Perhaps you're an architect and you want to use Scrapper-do to measure long distances. Stop us now.

Subbuteo table football USB key from Marco Leone

by Josh Fruhlinger posted Jan 22nd 2007 at 3:31AM

Our friends across the pond have no doubt heard of Subbuteo table football (soccer, as we Yanks call it). As the hobby / diversion takes off here in random parts, we keep our eyes on reasons to talk about Subbuteo, and Marco Leone has given us that little excuse. Enter the Marco Leone USB key that doubles as a Subbuteo play piece, complete with attachable base. Turn a USB logo over and you have nothing other than a little 480Mbps guy (or girl, naturally) ready to play some footy. No word on the capacity of these little players, but that's sort of irrelevant once you have an entire team, innit?

Samsung pimps out 18K gold YP-Z5

by Josh Fruhlinger posted Dec 5th 2006 at 11:15AM

In today's "because they can" moment, Samsung has decided that in order to truly celebrate the 1-millionth YP-Z5 DAP sold, they must take 10 of them, dip them in 18K gold, and then auction them off to people who like shiny things. As you probably know by now, this blingification isn't anything new in the consumer electronics biz. The units come with interface designer Paul Mercer's signature on the back and arrive in gold-leafed boxes. You may remember Paul Mercer from such interfaces as the iPod (he defected to help with the YP line). According to Samsung, these ultimate extravagances are expected to net at least 120,000 Yen ($1,040) each. Yepp.

[Via DAPreview]

CE-Oh no he didn't! Part XVII - Ballmer to Linux users: You owe us

by Josh Fruhlinger posted Nov 19th 2006 at 8:29PM

While Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was taking a break from dealing with cranky users still waiting for Vista, he went ahead and told the entire Linux community that they owe him a big thank-you. Yes, yes he did. In a Q&A session at the Professional Association for SQL Server conference, Ballmer (sans sweat) said that Microsoft signed a deal with SUSE Linux distributor Novell in order to get some money back for its "intellectual property." Among other transactions, the one in question sends $40 million to Microsoft in exchange for Microsoft's promise not to sue Novell over possible patent violations. As to whether or not the SUSE Linux distribution actually infringes upon any patents, Novell's payment appears to be some sort of admission fee, and, according to Ballmer, Linux users owe him a big "thanks." After all, he was just assuring that Microsoft gets the "appropriate economic return for our shareholders from our innovation." Meanwhile, Red Hat called the whole thing an "innovation tax" and plans to protect its customers against any infringement claims by Microsoft, asking Ballmer to go ahead and show us all what part of the Linux kernel infringes upon Redmond's patents. So while Ballmer pens his report, get to it, open-source community -- start writing your thank-you notes.

[Thanks, Neonez]

MaxStream announces XBee, the 40-mile range ZigBee bridge

by Josh Fruhlinger posted Oct 26th 2006 at 7:58AM

Ah, Zigbee, that funnily-named wireless mesh network that has investors excited with thoughts of people controlling all sorts of things from all sorts of locations with Bluetooth-like two-way communication. MaxStream, the company already all over the whole 40 mile wireless thing, announced the XBee Xtender, promising to extend ZigBee and 802.15.4 networks up to 40 miles. Damn right we said miles. The XBee comes in an aluminum casing with dipole antennas and runs at the 900 MHz 1-Watt XTend frequency. This is pretty big news seeing as how ZigBee networks are designed to be so low-power, yet this little modem uses a powerful band at such a long distance; as for low cost (which is usually the words ZigBee proponents follow the low-power tagline), the XBee is set to start at $399. For 40 miles though, that's, what, just under $10 a mile?

[Thanks, Vernon J]

Zipit gets Linux, gets on the web, teenagers around the globe scream with glee

by Josh Fruhlinger posted Oct 26th 2006 at 4:32AM

Zipit, the WiFi Instant Messenger that lets kids IM and um, IM, has been stuffed with Pixil, a PDA Linux OS. Why? Well, for one it allows the hacker in question to browse the web on his little blue friend. So is this a sign of interesting things to come for the Zipit or just a "because we could" kind of thing? Time will tell.

LaCie announces LightScribe for Macs

by Josh Fruhlinger posted Oct 19th 2006 at 2:14AM

MacBooks and Mac minis use slot-loading drives. Slot-loading drives like to eat labels (they say they're delicious). While some Mac users have been using LightScribe drives on their systems for some time in order to avoid the dreaded label jam (and to make pretty label-less labels), they can finally -- officially -- get in on the label-free disc-etching thing with LaCie's software support. The drive company announced that their LightScribe drives and labeling software are now Mac compatible and ready to go. The drives are $99.99 and come with LightScribe Labeling software v1.4.105.1 for 10.3.9 or higher (check those dots, yo).

The little Music Mouse Pad that does everything

by Josh Fruhlinger posted Oct 6th 2006 at 2:24PM

Need a MIDI interface? Need a four-port USB hub? A microphone? How about a speaker? Look no further than the Music Mouse Pad. Yes, this little bugger sports all of the above in a could-be-aesthetically-improved-upon package for only around $30. Of course, you could get a $500 carbon fiber pad, one made of 200-year old elm, or one that sounds proves your FPS fansanity, but then you wouldn't be able to listen to your phat tunez on a tiny plastic speaker while programming your next hit in Garage Band. Granted, the price is right and this pad could be great for mobile users, but oh, how our minds reel with possibilities: secretly record your significant other's tawdry Skype conversations with that French girl! Program the mouse pad to say "ouch!" every time someone clicks! Attach a USB-powered fan to keep your fingers nice and cool!

Infrant Repertoire Digital Media Server

by Josh Fruhlinger posted Sep 16th 2006 at 4:23PM

Known for their ReadyNAS network server, Infrant is making a move for your living room with the Reportoire Digital Media Servier for home theaters. The Repertoire, like their ReadyNAS, features an X-RAID array of Seagate DB35 DynaPlay-enabled hard drives and comes in both 2TB and 3TB versions for $3,999 and $4,999, respectively. Also inside the machined aluminum case is a gigabit network port along with out-of-the-box support for Windows MCE, InteracTV, Squeezebox and Transporter, Sonos, as well as the Windows, OS X, UNIX, and Linux Operating systems (though the latter-most is most likely made possible because of a browser-based interface). While we haven't had a chance to play with the thing yet, the specs look nice; the price, however, is questionable for the high-end averse, and the unit's usability has yet to be proven.

Minox DMP 4 PMP arrives at party in last year's outfit

by Josh Fruhlinger posted Sep 16th 2006 at 12:20PM

When it comes to PMPs, screen size, storage capacity, ease of use, and file format are usually the things one is concerned with (never mind if it's headed to the States). As for those things, the Minox DMP-4, not unlike the DMP-3, DMP-2, and DMP-1, looks relatively run-of-the-mill, albeit on the serviceable side of things. With 2GB of internal memory, SD storage slot, a 2.5-inch TFT screen (960 x 240 -- which has to be a misprint), the Minox DMP4 definitely looks and sounds like a PMP. It also sports USB 2.0 and MPEG-4 video at VGA resolutions at 30FPS; other format compatibilities include JPEG, MP3, WAV, and WMA. A rechargeable Li-ion battery completes the picture, as it would, for a unit that weighs in at 69 grams at 90 x 68 x 16mm. Could be a nice little playback unit for photographers or those who relish single-button devices, but there are a few things that might be missed by the rest of us: TV tuner, hard drive, WiFi, Bluetooth, widescreen, GPS, DivX -- you know, the usual for your average Korean portable.

[Via Photography Blog]

Sharp XV-Z3000 DLP projector reviewed

by Josh Fruhlinger posted Sep 15th 2006 at 3:41AM

You know how every time you consider how cool it would be to install a front projector in your place to throw up an 80-inch screen for some movie-watching and gaming goodness, and then realize that all the really good HD projectors that can handle dodgy lighting conditions are at least $10,000? Enter the Sharp XV-Z3000 DLP projector. HT geeks, prepare for geekery. Non-HT geeks, we apologize in advance. This shiny black box shoots 1280 x 768 and sports (two!) HDMI and RGB PC inputs. While that all sounds pretty normal, the surprising $3,000 price point is even more impressive when one considers a 0.001 foot-lamberts black level at 3000:1 contrast ratio paired with some serious brightness (27 ft-L). There are issues, of course, according to reviews, such as a loud fan and a little more video noise than expected. But generally speaking, Home Theater gave the unit tip-top ratings, and at this price and performance, that basement fantasy of ours just might be one lumen closer to reality

[Via HDBeat]

2G nano announced!

by Josh Fruhlinger posted Sep 12th 2006 at 12:57PM

As expected, Apple's hot-selling iPod nano has been given a big-time update with some mini-like colors, new capacities, better displays, better batteries, and new pricing. They all sport an even-thinner aluminum case and are available in (again, mini-like) green, silver, black, blue, and pink. However, the 2GB and 8GB version are available in aluminum and black only, respectively. As for pricing, $149 for 2GB, $199 for 4GB, and $249 for the 8GB model. Apple sez: "Double the storage for the same price," and they're available today. What's more, the new packaging is 52% less volumetric than the old iPod nano, making it "environmentally friendly." Expect to see tons of these on the subway by next week.

Samsung's 4GB Vista flash SSD, under $200?

by Josh Fruhlinger posted Jul 28th 2006 at 3:33AM

After Samsung announced a new solid state drive yesterday, they came back today to clarify a few things. First off, they come in 2.5-inch and 1.8-inch form factors for mounting in standard PC case slots -- as one might've expected. Second, they're meant for high-end PC users who want to improve performance under Windows Vista to take advantage of Vista's "Ready Boost" feature, which we're sure is a part of the flash-based drive enhancements they've made (see: hybrid hard drives) to improve the lumbering behemoth's performance. Oh, and watch out for these drives to start appearing as OEM upgrades in "Vista Ready" PCs before they supposedly show up for the after-market at or under $200. Clear 'nuff?

The Alienware Area-51 7500 lands with Core 2 Duo and new chassis

by Josh Fruhlinger posted Jul 27th 2006 at 9:55PM

Perhaps the most notable things about the revamped Alienware Area-51 7500 are its new mood-lighting adjustable case and P2 chassis. The AlienFX case sports user-adjustable lighting in six different areas of its tool-less entry chassis, while the inside adds additional slots and inputs for the h@x0r in you - complete with AlienWare's AlienIce cooling system. Specs-wise, the new 7500 (an apparent bump from the MJ-12 7500) packs a dual core Intel Core 2 Duo processor or 2.93GHz Core 2 Extreme X6800 (at the high end - default config is a Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13GHz), nVIDIA graphics (options include both single and SLI configurations, with up to dual 512MB GeForce 7900 GTXs), and as much as 4GB of DDR2 SDRAM. The new machine starts at $1,799, but our configured uber-rig (with 30-inch LCD, mind you) got us over $6,800 within just a few radio button clicks. Do your credit card a favor and take it out to dinner before you lay this one on it.

[Thanks, David]