Tech Gadgets Reviews

While I’m convinced that the universe is far too large of a place to not have tons of other living beings, I think that some of the alien abductions we hear about are nothing more than then result of an over-analytic imagination and/or dreaming. The dreaded Greys have become a household term because of pop culture. And more often than not, it’s the Greys which are doing the abduction. Coincidence?

And while you might not experience an abduction without a imagination gone wild, you can still feel like your sleeping experience is non-terrestrial. The Beam Bed is designed to shoot out an array of light beams from under your sleeping surface. It makes your bed resemble a UFO more closely than a comfortable place to rest your head.

Designed by Ewan Robertson for Lagostudio, this lacquered wood crafted Beam Bed emits a steady glow from the central base of the frame which is divided into beams thanks to borders set along the bed frame. What results is a beautiful light display which turns your boring bedroom into something that resembles an alien landing deck.

The Sun inspired design is both calming and unsettling at the same time. It might take some getting used to, but it’s a truly unique way for changing the entire landscape of your bedroom. No information yet on where or when we can see such a product for sale, but we think a lot of you might be interested.

Design Page via BornRich

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by Darren Murph, posted Jul 22nd 2008 at 12:44PM

With the prices of SSDs sinking daily, Super Talent is hoping to grab a few eyes by offering faster drives at comparably low price points. According to a data sheet posted up on the firm’s website, its MasterDrive MX line of SSDs now features a maximum read rate of 120MB/sec, while write speeds range between 60MB/sec (15GB and 30GB) and 80MB/sec (60GB and 120GB). Reportedly, the drives used to boast write speeds of 40MB/sec. A minor boost, sure, but a welcome increase all the same.

[Via DailyTech]

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Filed under: Storage

Here at Gadget Lab we’ve been paying close attention to Apple’s recent hiccups, beginning with iPhone 3G activation woes, followed by a buggy iPhone 2.0 release and topped off with three separate MobileMe incidents. We’d like to take this a step further and dig into other issues people have had — and continue to experience — with Apple products and services in recent months.

Here’s where you can help. Have a nagging Mac- or Apple-product related problem that just doesn’t seem to be getting addressed? Let’s talk. Send an e-mail to me at BrianXChen@gmail.com describing your experience, and I’ll look into it.

To give you an idea of the breadth we’re looking to cover, here are some examples of issues you can bring up:

- Tapeless camcorders and compatibility issues with the Mac
- macbook air battery issues
- Any issues related to iphone 3G, iPhone 2.0, or even the first-generation iPhone
- Bugs in OS X Leopard

And so on. Good to go? E-mail away!

(Photo credit: peterhoneyman/Flickr)

It’s not official at all, but the word on the street is that Sony is preparing a hardware update for the Sony PSP. The new version will contain an integrated microphone, which will be convenient for application like Skype for PSP (read review), but also for games like Crazy English currently present on the Nintendo DS. Obviously this is a rumor and should be taken with caution. We’ll ask Sony about this, so stay tuned.

Photo [Rupert Taylor-Price/Flickr]

Usually, when tootling around town on two wheels, you really don’t need to carry anything with you but a couple of good locks. If you snap a chain or pop a tire, you’re nothing more than a long walk or a subway ride away from the tools you need. But out in the country, or on a road tour, you need to go equipped for anything, with enough spares to at least get your bike to the nearest town, or better still, carry out a full repair right there. That, of course, requires some planning, so here is a list of five things you shouldn’t leave home without.

Multi-Tool

Purpose made multi-tools are great for traveling. They pack most of what you need into one small package and are often cheaper than buying individual tools. They do, however, have some disadvantages. Because everything is packed in together, you’ll be constantly twisting and folding the components into place. And because they are so small, it’s hard to get the torque needed to remove, say, a stubborn crank bolt. I’m off on a bike vacation soon, and I have my eye on the Toolbox Travel from German manufacturer SKS. In addition to the usual allen wrenches, spanners and screwdrivers, the Travel also packs a spoke key and a chain link extractor. That last is essential. You can manage with a nut, a nail and a hammer, but I usually end up breaking something when I try it that way.

The clincher for me is that the case doubles as a set of tire levers. Neat, and just $40.

Product page [SKS]

A Pump and Puncture Repair Kit

Obvious? Yes, but only because it is so essential. The thing most likely to go wrong is a hole in your tire, and unless you have filled the inner tubes with some kind of anti-puncture gunk, you’ll need to repair the hole before you go any further. From experience, most kits are equal, so go for something cheap and stock up on extra rubber patches. Some come with a bulb of compressed gas to quickly inflate a tire, but that’s single use and wasteful. Better to give yourself a quick bicep workout with a small, double stroke pump (one which pumps air on both strokes).

Photo [velozipedist [affected by censoring]/Flickr]

Photo [JasonRogers/Flickr]

Spares

This depends on the length of your trip, but a good basic setup will consist spare spokes, at least one spare inner tube (for the times when a patch just won’t cover the hole), and spare gear and brake cables (it’s no fun coming down a mountain without any stopping power)

Dumbbell Spanner

If you have a better option, I’d like to hear it, but the humble dumbbell, or ten hole, spanner will take care of almost everything that the multi-tool won’t, including wheel nuts and handlebar bolts. It’s not up to removing the collar around the handlebar stem, but if you’re’ taking a leisurely road tour, that shouldn’t be a problem. The best part? They’re cheap, at just a couple of bucks. Available everywhere.

Panniers

You’ll need somewhere to carry all this, and you really, really don’t want to cycle with a backpack. Panniers, like saddle bags, ride low, hanging by the wheels and keeping your center of gravity low. You’ll hardly notice the weight except on steep hills, and a good set of bags will be great for trips to the grocery store when you get home.

When I was living in Berlin, the brand of choice was Ortlieb. Specifically, the Ortleib Back Roller Classic pictured here. It’s a rear pannier with a roll-top closure that comes with a shoulder strap, lasts forever and is virtually waterproof. They’re not cheap, at $165 each, but Berliners know their bikes, and I trust them.

Product page [Ortlieb USA]

Advice

And now, your homework. Like I said, I’m off on a trip to a Mediterranean island and I’m taking my stately Gazelle bike with me. It’s not a racer, or a mountain bike, but we’re just touring and camping. The five items above are chosen based on experience and research, but I’d like your advice. I know a lot of you are bikers, so won’t you help a blogger out and share your experience in the comments? I’m particularly interested in Multitool recommendations, and anything I might have missed (do I need to take spare rim tape?)

Jackets are just meant to keep the chills out during those cold days, but this one from Xara does more than that - it is capable of carrying your iPod in style while offering full controls on the left sleeve while your ipod remains snugly tucked away in a hidden pocket, protected by an internal zipper. An easy-to-use earphone cord management system within the jacket removes any problems involving tangled wires that might arise while you’re warming up with your favorite tunes playing via the iPod. You will be able to pick up the Xara iPlay iPod Warm-up jacket for $100 in both men’s and women’s fit. Too bad it ain’t compatible with the iPod touch and iphone.

There are plans to bring in a battery-powered Mini into the US, although plans have not yet been finalized. There is no confirmation on the type of battery used in the car if this rumor is proved true, but Mini will be making an announcement later this year concerning its position, presumably somewhere near or at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Other details such as whether these electric-powered vehicles will be leased or sold, or the number of quantity produced are unavailable, leaving the answers open to speculation. I want to know what the performance figures are for an electric-powered Mini compared to a stock version.

Bikes are great for getting around. Cheap (no gas!), healthy and fast (cut through traffic jams). One thing a standard bike doesn’t do so well is carry a load. Too much shopping piled up on a rear carrier or front basket affect handling and can be dangerous. One option is a cargo bike, like Kona’s Ute, which has a long wheelbase and a big loading platform, but that costs $1200 — a lot for a second bike.

Instead, you can try an Xtracycle, an add-on kit to push the rear wheel of your bike backwards and add a cargo platform. You can even use it to carry passengers. The kit consists of several parts: a replacement for the rear forks which extends the wheelbase, called the FreeRadical Hitchless Trailer; a frame for panniers and a top deck for sitting on or strapping luggage to.

By making the distance between the wheels bigger, you gain stability. The load is carried low and shared between the wheels, meaning that as long as your legs can handle to extra weight you’ll have a safe and easy ride. Of course, with the extra weight comes decreased stopping power. The guys at Xtracycle suggest (and sell) an aftermarket disk brake for just that reason.

It costs $490. Still not cheap, but you’ll save that in gas on your trips to the grocery store. I know from comments that some of our readers have these already. What do you think of them?

Product page [Xtracycle via Cool Tools]

Sure, we have covered Parrot products before, with their MINIKIT, NFC, and Digital Frame products, and so it stands to reason they would make Bluetooth Hands-Free kits. One of their latest products is the MK6100, which allows for easy, hands-free Bluetooth compatibility.

Considering the new laws that have been passed in certain countries that require hands-free wireless devices for communication in automobiles, the MK6100 comes at an opportune time. One of its main features is that it allows users to establish a phone conversation in a vehicle without the use of a phone. The pairing has been made very simple, and all it requires is hitting the green button, and the call is picked up.

Another feature is the ability to synchronize names and phone numbers in the user’s mobile phone with the MK6100’s phone book function. When a user receives a call, the name and number are automatically displayed on the screen.

The sound is very high-quality, and each one of the two built-in microphones act as two human ears. I’m told that they can eliminate all noises in the voice range. The MK6100 is also able to play MP3s from any Bluetooth Stereo (A2DP) source.

You should be able to purchase the Parrot MK6100 at the Parrot site for about $299.99.

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Michael Arrington has been a prominent figure in the “blogosphere” for a while now, due to the success of his site, Techcrunch.com. It is constantly listed as one of the most read blogs among business-types, and for good reason. Somehow, Arrington is able to find scoops and secrets before anybody else. It’s what he does.

With that in mind, I noticed that one of his posts at the site today is a bit out of the norm. It’s also completely ingenious and somebody needs to get with it. Arrington has begun something of a contest, aimed at creating a new, cheap tablet pc that can just be used to run Firefox, “and possibly Skype.” He says that he’s tired of expensive tablet pcs, and that he has a supplier on the line right now who will create what he wants for a few hundred bucks. All he needs is for an intrepid team of programmers to create it for him. He said:

The idea is to turn it on, bypass any desktop interface, and go directly to Firefox running in a modified Kiosk mode that effectively turns the browser into the operating system for the device. Add Gears for offline syncing of Google docs, email, etc., and Skype for communication and you have a machine that will be almost as useful as a desktop but cheaper and more portable than any laptop or tablet PC.

With everybody’s information heading into the cloud these days, a tablet like this could be extremely useful. Arrington, who I must admit is my former employer, lays out his case here.

If you’re interested in participating, leave a comment on that post or head over to TechCrunch IT and do the same thing. Or just hit up TechCrunch in one of the other million ways possible.

The point is, this thing should exist already and Michael Arrington will make it happen.

Read more at TechCrunch