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Jan 4, 2007 (Only #Hardware)

Samsung's New Generation Refrigerator

The smart guys (and gals, of course) over in South Korean's Samsung Electronics, in 2008 or 2009, plan to launch a new generation refrigerator, equipped with RFID, which detects when its contents are running low or approaching expiration dates.

The new 'fridge will sense when its inventory needs replenishment: such as when the milk is running low. It's expected that Samsung's refrigerator could even send a shopping list to its owner's cell phone or to the supermarket. Which is great, 'cause then my wife doesn't have to call me or text me... Now, inanimate objects can do that for me.

Samsung's spokesman Chae Hee-kook had this to say: "We are working on refrigerators wired for RFID. Technologically speaking, there is no barrier to come up with the new items. The refrigerator will be able to connect to cell phones for various new-concept applications."

It's even thought that the new generation device will also offer recipes using available food products. Which I honestly think is a very cool use of technology. Imagine the possibilities of what you could have. In fact, if it knows when certain things are low, it can even tell you what you might need to make something for dinner. Outside of creating and cooking for you, this would be the next best thing in applicance architecture.

[Via: del.icio.us]

| Comments [5] | #Hardware

Dec 20, 2006 (Only #Hardware)

A Twisty Tangle Of Sound

If you like your music twisted, or if you just like to see your music coming out of something twisted, then Tangle has a brand new pair of portable speakers for you!

Visibly they keep their namesake by featuring two speakers which are supported above the speaker base by four twisty, well... Tangles.





The ability to twist the Tangles in virtually any direction, ensures that you will be able to achieve optimal sound no matter where you are seated in the room. These beauties are formally known as the Tangle DNA Sound iPod Speakers. They are likely to be compatible with other devices such as portable DVD players, MP3 players, and portable media players.

Pricing is currently a Mystery

| Comments [46] | #Hardware

Nov 10, 2006 (Only #Hardware)

Sony Shows Us The Consistency

With all of the 80,000 folks in Japan sitting outside of stores praying to who-knows about their possibilities of actually getting their hands on a PS3, Sony has gone ahead and recently posted the PS3 manual on their site.

At least the interface between the PS3 and the PSP (and other Sony products, as of late) has been matched. The icons are the same and they actually mean the same things; that's something for the greater good! People identify pictures faster and more accurately than words, so the visual consistency is a definite plus.






Shack makes a good comment in that he says "Got any questions before you spend a half a grand and don't want to listen to a salesperson? look at the manual first!"

More product sites should show us the details of their wares for which they're trying to get us to drop some cash. Why not post a manual, some good pictures (with close-ups?) of the products? Like Shack said, if I'm looking at spending a half-of-a-grand on something, I should at least have a fair idea of what it does; from the gift horses mouth.

Granted, though, these great blogs wouldn't have anything to offer if we didn't get to see all of the groping and unboxing that these folks do for us. In reality, they probably give us more honest (if not tremendously biased) answers relating to the products they blog.

[Via: Shack's Blog]

| Comments [23] | #Hardware

Nov 3, 2006 (Only #Hardware)

nVidia GeForce 8800: Godzilla Card!

So far gone are the days of those cheesy video cards with 3 "colors" and low res visuals. The demand for more and more speed, shades of color, sharpness, and screen real-estate have brought the fantastic world of video adapters to some amazing heights. Now, here's the thing: with great speed, comes great space.

Check out the latest GeForce 8800 graphics adapter. It's got 768MB of GDDR3 memory clocked at 900MHz (at least the one that Daily Tech tested) on board, packing quite a punch! They tested it against the Radeon X1950 XTX and it beat it in all gaming benchmarks. With all of that horsepower, it's suggested that one be using at least a 450 Watt power supply on their gamer box.





It's a beast, though, taking up two PCI Express power connectors and two expansion slots. The card also has two SLI bridge connectors which would allow you to set up a three-card system.

[Via:Daily Tech]

| Comments [6] | #Hardware

Zune.NET Goes Live!




I'm sure you're all excited to hear that the ZUNE.NET website is live. Yes, that's right, it's official, Microsoft has opened it up, and now you can "see it loud and clear" while they "welcome [you] to the social."

On top of the good news that Zune now has an officially opened website, there's cool new Zune-Gear showing up, already! Check out the latest "Zune AV" stuff - very similiar to the current offerings for Apple iPods, fo sho!





There's all kinds of new stuff for the Zune, including Zune Car Pack ($80) and Zune Travel Pack ($100), as well as the Zune Home A/V Pack (pictured).

Looks like Microsoft is definitely ready to deliver on this one!

| Comments [0] | #Hardware

Nov 1, 2006 (Only #Hardware)

Tapping Rhythms Just Got Fun

Given that I'm drummer, I love things connected to drums and drumming; technology is no exception. So, when I saw this coolness from Hammacher Schlemmer, I thought... Neat!!





Hammacher Schlemmer has a 'finger drum mouse pad' that can produce 8 kinds of percussion instruments including bass, snare, two rack toms, a floor tom, hi-hat, crash, and ride cymbals using only your fingers. In demonstration mode, you can accompany six cool pre-set patterns. You can even have some more customized fun by recording up to 30 of your own rhythms. Included are volume and tempo controls. It measures 9" L x 8" W x 21/2" H. (1/2 lb.) and runs on four AAA batteries.

Now I'll never stop making noise at my desk! Thank goodness for headphones!

| Comments [0] | #Hardware

Oct 31, 2006 (Only #Hardware)

HomeSeer's New Pro-100 Series 2 Controller

My buddies over at HomeSeer have been making great products from the time they started. Rich has always had a great architectural design to his code, and his latest incarnation of his early dream has just seen an upgrade. The new Pro-100 Series 2 Home Controller.

Don't be fooled by the simplistic exterior, this box packs a punch! Included inside the small footprint (11”wide x 7” deep x 2” high) unit (which and can installed or mounted in a variety of locations) is

• Processor: 1 GHZ
• Fans: None
• Flash: 1152 MB; Memory: 512 MB DDR
• OS: Embedded (Windows XP Optional)
• Serial Ports: 2
• USB Ports: 2
• IEEE 1394 Ports: 2
• Video Out: VGA, S video, composite
• Video In: S video, composite
• Network: 10/100 Ethernet
• Audio In/Out
• SPF Out
• PS/2 Keyboard & Mouse ports





A nice little device that's able to communicate with many automation tools such as the older X-10 and the newer ZWave products. It works with many of the communications devices to those systems, too, like the Ocelot, JDS Stargate, and the much used CM controllers from X-10.

I wonder if I can get my pal Mark Colgrove to give me a loaner unit so I can do a review? I had, a while ago, promised I would do a write up of their Homeseer 2.0 product just after they released it and I interviewed Mark. I never wrote up the article because my ability to write the comparative article never surfaced (the company I'd planned to talk about never got back to me).

So, maybe I'll talk to Mark again and get the scoop and do a nice little review of their latest product. I love the HomeSeer stuff and have been using it for years. It's well architected and communicates with so many pieces of software and automation tools. A nice 10-foot interface via Windows Media Center doesn't hurt, either!

The device is available December 2006.

[Via: eHomeUpgrade and Homeseer]

| Comments [0] | #Hardware

Say Your Prayers, and Listen To God(smack)

So, you think you're Holier than Thou, huh? Well, now you can prove it, and listen to your favorite tunes in a Flava-Flav-esque DAP that shows your Christianity! ... even if you didn't want it to.





Man Works Design studio of Russia has created a DAP called the 'Saint B.' It features an OLED display, playback in the usual mp3 and WMA formats, and a USB port on the bottom for that quick-connect, copy/sync and pray design. The designer at the company said that "...the product design was inspired from a cross necklace." Hmmm... Ya think?

[Via: AVing]

| Comments [0] | #Hardware

Maxian's Sleek PMP

If you haven't gotten your hands on a video iPod, or aren't pining for the love of the Zune, then maybe you'll be interested in this very sleek looking PMP from Maxian.

The Maxian D900 "Neo" is a nice looking PMP, but has that one flaw I can't stand with most of these devices: SD cards! I'm sure I've said this before. Over, and over. HARD DISKS, PEOPLE! With that rant aside, the player has a beautiful 4.3-inch screen and a clever shiny black body design sporting 800 x 480 pixel resolution, 400:1 contrast ratio, and 200 cd/m² brightness. Nice.





Built-in speakers, DMB tuner, Burr Brown DAC, and a tilt-stand. The device also has WinCE 5.0 under the hood, so and features an 802.11b/g radio (which the Zune will have and we know Apple is eyeing that up for their next release). I wonder if you'll be doing email or web browsing like on the PSP?

Format support is WMV, DivX, XviD, MPEG-2, and H.264 video. Audio channel gives you MP3, OGG, FLAC, and APE playback.

[Via: Engadget]

| Comments [0] | #Hardware

Special Edition Zune

My friends over at Gizmodo found some cool intel on the new special limited edition Microsoft Zune. Based on pricey West Coast fashionista only designs, you'll beg like a dog for this device. It looks like MS made some kind of deal with Union, UNDFTD and Stόssy, that will be branding these new colors of Zune with logos from the fashion gods. Online only, though, and through an auction.






These Zunes are shipped with a pair of Shure E5c headphones, JBL On Tour portable speakers and a Zero Halliburton case. Yes, a Halliburton. Indestructible beauty! But if you want one, you'll have to have lots of money to burn, because only TWO special Zunes are being made available to each store.

Just to quote Gizmodo: "Oh, and just in case you're wondering, I've been informed that the proceeds for the auction goes straight to the store's coffers, so don't think you're helping out Dust Bowl victims or anything."

That's pretty sad, really. I mean, yeah, we live in the land of opportunity and no-one is in business to not make money, but, c'mon, they could have done SOMETHING useful with the ridiculous cash they're going to make from these coveted pieces of tech.

[Via: Gizmodo]

| Comments [0] | #Hardware