Tech Gadgets Reviews

Sebastopol, California had just recently passed a resolution in November permitting a local Internet provider to provide public wireless access. Shortly thereafter in a City Council meeting, a total of fourteen people made claims that the wireless service was causing a slew of health problems to the citizens in the small town’s vicinity. Now I understand that the wireless service might have made them consume more electricity, and not to mention the rise in fire hazards as most people would be spending lengthier times with their computers due to the service now, but dangers to their health? What on Earth could they have been smoking that day?

The World Health Organization itself states that “there is no scientific basis for the belief that EHS (electromagnetic hypersensitivity) is caused by exposure to electromagnetic fields.” But as far as the complaining citizens of Sebastopol are concerned, they’d rather spend their time promoting and adding more signatures to their currently 235-signature filled online petition. Most of those who have signed in the petition have comments similar to this: “I have had health challenges, and my body cannot handle wifi…it gives me headaches and makes me very sick. I would be unable to go to the store, shop. I have enough problems being limited in my travels, it is outrageous that a place so environmentally conscious would create this in our/my hometown. In Europe they are much more advanced than us, and there wifi is not allowed in cities in the European commonwealth.” Others prefer to just stay quiet and support the case silently.

I think it’s sad that some people still feel this way about technology, and can’t even trust Science to explain phenomenon that they themselves cannot comprehend. Is it really so hard for them to realize that if the hazardous claims they’ve made about wireless technology with regards to their health were true, then at least half the world would be bed-ridden by now? Somebody help these people get a clue.

Read [O’Reilly Radar]

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Intel’s Netbook was once a rumor but now, more and more images are starting to come out. Also called as the Eco PC, the Netbook is a sub-laptop set to compete in the ultra-portable market right along side the highly successful Asus Eee PC, which has already taken the world by storm.

The Netbook reportedly will sport both a 7-inch or a 9-inch display and will run a 900MHz Celeron processor and 512MB RAM. What’s notable is the carry handle of the laptop. It also looks very similar to the Intel’s Classmate PC but the Netbook will feature a larger hard drive, which is expected to be 40GB.

The price of the Netbook is expected to cost a little more than $300. No word yet on when this new Intel laptop will be officially launched. Keep reading for a few more pics, then click the “Images” link below for the full set.

Via [Eee Site] Images [Flickr user: mgminthu]

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Good news for Ubuntu users as Ubuntu developers have announced Ubuntu 8.04, also know as ‘HardyHeron’. Although it’s a beta release, it offers users the latest software and exciting features. As for those who are unfamiliar with Ubuntu, it is a Linux distribution for desktops, laptops and servers. Ubuntu is doing a great job, providing users with stable operation systems, focusing on usability, frequent updates and easy-to-install programs.

Ubuntu 8.04 HardyHeron features the updated GNOME 2.22 and Linux kernal 2.6.24. Other than that, this system uses the latest version of Firefox, which is Firefox 3 beta 4 to replace Firefox 2. PulseAudio is also enabled with the system by default. They also include Wubi (as pictured above), something that allows a Windows user to install and uninstall Ubuntu like other applications for Windows. The best part about the new Ubuntu 8.04 is that Wubi does not require a partition and it doesn’t affect the boot loader. With this, more users can come to enjoy all the goodies that Ubuntu has to offer with less worry about the once dreaded installation process.

HardyHeron, version 8.04 will be released in just a few weeks, a final release will come in April. An interesting tid-bit, the version number for Ubuntu releases corresponds with the month and year it was released, the current version 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) was released back in October of 2007.

Read [Ubuntu]

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Posted Mar 23rd 2008 3:07PM by Ryan Block
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

So we’ve had a SanDisk Sansa Fuze hanging around the office for a few days and already we can tell you that fans of the Sansa line will find it a welcome addition to the line. The interface feels pretty snappy and it’s got all the geeky things you’re after (FM radio, microSDHC, 1.9-inch display) at a price $70 cheaper than the nano at the 8GB level. Plus, we know it sounds old school, but we’re really into the tactile scroll / click wheel, and the Fuze has the best one we’ve used in a long time. Check out the photos below, including a couple side by sides with a you-know-what.

Gallery: SanDisk Sansa Fuze hands-on

If you haven’t heard of Cricket Wireless, you should be sorry my friend, because you are missing an absolutely awesome deal by being oblivious to them. Cricket Wireless is a smaller and lesser known wireless carrier compared to the likes of AT&T but they also offer unlimited Internet access just like the big players in the industry. The only difference is, compared to AT&T for example, you don’t pay a small fortune for Cricket’s wireless data plan. Instead you pay $35. I’m not kidding. Admittedly slower than what you’ll get with much more expensive plans with other providers, Cricket offers truly unlimited service with no limits or secret caps on the traffic. Probably the only caveat for would-be Cricket customers is that although the service is unlimited, unfortunately it’s not uninterrupted. The terms of service state that a user is prohibited from using the network “continuously, with or without breaks, so as to create the functional equivalent of a telephone line dedicated to continuous use.” Which is fine, considering your PC needs rest from time to time anyway. But one last thing to remember about this is that it’s only available in some US cities. So pray that it is in yours.

Via [Gear Log]

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The shiny new gadget pictured here is a design concept for a “transformer phone” that has many high-tech functions built-in alongside its conventional mobile phone functions. Aside from being an able mobile phone, possessing a camera capable of recording video and capturing stills, this phone will also provide 3D scanning and even a holographic projector. The flip-and-swivel mechanism serves the purpose of limiting the change in navigation interfaces by allocating them into separate fields. The phone and other functions come at the front where they keypad and other shortcut keys reside, while the 3D scanner, holographic projector, built-in camera and stereo speakers go at the back. And speaking of the keypad, by the way, notice that it has a very unique embedded metallic keypad design that looks as if it’s a touch-sensitive surface. Continue reading to view another shot of this amazing transformer phone concept…

Via [INewIdea]

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Posted Mar 23rd 2008 12:51PM by Ryan Block
Filed under: Peripherals

We’re still a little hazy as to exactly what ASUS’s new Splendid HD1 “video enhance card” actually does differently than most other 2D-enhanced devices, but the company claims it ratchets up 1080p video quality on both digital and analog outputs, and it’ll fit in right along side those Splendid-based Xondar cards. Of course, it’s also got HDCP (which is a start), but it’s starting to smell a little gimmicky around here, splendid or not.

[Via Far East Gizmos]

Instant Music Vinyl & Cassette Ripper

You can have this for ?39.95

There are many different things about your computer that are good to keep an eye on, especially if you’re one that enjoys pushing your PC to the limit. I tend to push my PC pretty hard, which means I need to keep an eye on the temperatures at all times. There are generally two options here: keep a software monitor running on desktop taking up valuable screen space, or you can have an lcd monitor installed on the front of your computer. Neither one is all that appealing to me, which is why I’m intrigued by this Gadget Display.

This little gadget is a 2-inch color LCD screen which connects to  your PC via USB. You can set this anywhere, likely near your monitor somewhere.  It can display dozens of different things ranging from a clock, CPU and RAM usage. We don’t have a lot of information on this little gadget, however, there is likely a way to get this to display other things such as your CPU or motherboard temperature.

Source: EverythingUSB

How many buttons does your mouse have? Many people would say three, while plenty of others  might say five. However, if you were using this next mouse, you’d proudly answer with 11. I can understand using a few extra buttons when gaming, or even for multimedia purposes, however, this 11 Button Multimedia Mouse just seems like overkill.

It looks like there are buttons for volume, play/pause, page forward, page backward, internet and even double-click. I’ve really never found it all that difficult to click on the Firefox icon, but I guess it would save you around a second or so of hard work. However, I can’t possibly understand why someone would need a button to double click for them. You’d think it would take more time and effort to train yourself to press the double click button than just click the left mouse button twice. If you need more buttons on your mouse than your keyboard, you can pick this one up for just $14.99.

Source: RedFerret