Gadgets

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Connected mobile gadgets TechSession

SF Tech Sessions is back after a brief holiday break! This month’s theme is gadgets connecting people on the move, downloading relevant information and sharing new information with others through cellular and open WiFi networks. I’ve chosen three startups (two launched within the last 6 months) who are well on their way to changing an existing well-proven category with network smarts. This month’s SF Tech Session, Connected mobile gadgets, takes place this Thursday, January 18, from 7-9 p.m. at CNET in San Francisco. Recent Best of CES winners Dash Navogation , Zing Systems, and OQO will present their approach to…

Sony adds RSS to televisions

Sony’s latest HDTVs will support an optional component capable of streaming Internet video and downloading content defined using RSS syndication. The BRAVIA Internet Video Link is a small optional module attached to the back of your HDTV and connected to your home broadband network over Ethernet. Price and availability are still unannounced, but the first televisions supporting the new module will be available this Spring. The BRAVIA Internet Video Link operates independently without the need for a separate gateway computer on your network. It uses the Xross Media Bar (XMB) interface already present on a PSP to browse feed…

Grope-worthy Windows Vista laptops

The consumer version of Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system is only a month away and bloggers are already receiving their first review units. So far the review units sound pretty boring compared to the Windows Vista capable hardware available throughout the world. I put together my own list of five grope-worthy notebook computers ready to test Vista on multiple fronts. You might prefer a silent ultra-portable or a power-hungry luggable. You can search for WiFi without ever opening your computer or get online anywhere with cellular broadband. The latest Apple hardware runs Vista without a problem too. I expect this…

EmTrace WidgetStation

A Korean company specializing in smartphone development is releasing a hardware device next year focused on widgets. The WidgetStation from Emtrace Technologies has both a mono and color LCD and receives content update over Ethernet and/or USB connections. It’s a mini computer with an ARM processor, NAND flash memory for local storage, and RAM. The mono LCD is designed for long-term display items such as a clock or weather while the color LCD displays built-in and customizable content from the Internet or your desktop, including support for audio playback. Emtrace’s past developing for smartphones in a mobile-heavy culture such…

Fabrik storage at home and in the clouds

Fabrik creates smart networked attached storage software and online storage to help home users backup and share their digital media assets such as music, photos, and videos. Fabrik’s founders were previously executives on Maxtor’s OneTouch line of storage products, a product line with hundreds of millions of dollars in yearly revenue, and have spent many years thinking about the networked and online storage space. Fabrik’s software is included in Maxtor’s new Fusion line of networked storage. The first product launched on Thursday, and Dave Tang of Fabrik came by SF Tech Sessions on Thursday evening to show us the…

Webcams built for blogging

Microsoft introduced new cameras yesterday allowing users to post the camera’s 5 megapixel images to their Spaces account with one button click. Easy video posting shouldn’t be far behind. This new hardware might be the first mass-market webcam with push-to-blog built-in. I’ve been eyeing the Creative Live! Cam Voice and its adaptive array microphones with better specs for the same retail price. It looks like good hardware for podcasts and video chat….

PodSession: wireless broadband

I want high speed Internet everywhere. Forget the WiFi hotspot locator attached to your keychain or the questionable reliability of a local cafe, I want a reliable and fast connection everywhere I go, even if it’s on a train or car moving 60 mph. Thankfully the cellular phone industry is up to the task and rolling out wireless data connections with up to 3 Mb/s in the San Francisco Bay area and other large metropolitan areas throughout the U.S. These new mobile technologies are known as EV-DO or HSDPA depending on the carrier and are delivering high enough speed…

Cablevision tests remote storage DVR

Cablevision plans to give its more than 2 million digital cable customers access to 80 GB of remote storage for less than $10 a month. Digital cable boxes would receive a software upgrade allowing a subscriber to select favorite programs for recording on Cablevision’s servers. You can record two programs simultaneously while watching a previously recorded show. These types of services are only the beginning of what broadband providers are able to offer their customers on-demand over a high speed network. In the future there may be a channel produced by the cable company on a specialty subject such as…

Gadgets in the living room

The latest episode of Om and Niall PodSessions is now available for your listening pleasure. This week Om and I talk about the latest consumer electronics announcements from CES over the last week and some of the emerging trends for new gadgets in the living room. I liked the Intel Core Duo announcement and its energy-efficient design. New laptops utilizing the technology have over 11 hours of battery life! I was also impressed by XM Radio’s new XM Passport hardware, a tiny 1.5″ square satellite radio tuner that can be inserted into multiple devices similar to a SIM card. Om…

Pacific Digital WiFi picture frame with Windows Vista features

Pacific Digital is also showing off a WiFi picture frame at CES in Las Vegas. The new MemoryFrame products will connect to Windows Vista PCs using Windows Media Connect, Windows Connect Now, and Vista’s integrated RSS features. The picture frame can connect to other PCs on a home network using WiFi and display shared content. I could not find any pricing information but current 10.4″ wireless picture frames from Pacific Digital cost about $400. Tags: photos, windowsvista, windows…

eStarling WiFi picture frame

eStarling just released a picture frame with built-in WiFi that can receive photographs from any RSS feed or POP e-mail account. You configure the device once using a USB connection and it will automatically update itself over a 802.11b wireless network (even with WEP encryption). Pictures formatted in JPEG or bitmap format are displayed on a 5.6″ LCD. You could subscribe to a specific tag on Flickr or send e-mails from your cell phone to a special e-mail address such as a free Gmail account. I would love to give one of these to my mom and have it…

Engadget Labs launching October 15

The popular gadget blog Engadget is moving into new offices in New York and will be launching a testing lab for in-depth product reviews. The Engadget team announced the new venture at their San Francisco Engadget Reader Meetup. Engadget Labs will perform benchmarks and in-depth reviews of products. It sounds like a nice departure from the typical pay-per-article model of weblog networks. Editors Peter Rojas and Ryan Block will work out of their new office in New York with possibly a few other members of the Weblogs Inc. network. The new office space will include a special podcasting room…

Signed Treo

Today Jeff Hawkins signed my Treo 650 using a gold Pilot pen. I am thrilled with my new alpha geek bling bling.

iPod DJs

The Playlist Club in London promotes an open DJ atmosphere where club patrons sign-up for 15-minute sets playable from an iPod. The best DJs of the night, judged by audience reaction, win prizes. It’s like an open-mic night for DJs! (via PC Advisor)…

Verizon now offers RingBack tones

Verizon Wireless announced Ringback Tones, ringtones for incoming calls. When someone calls a user who subscribes to the service they hear music instead of a ring. Ringback Tones is a $1 per month service and users can license songs for $2 per year. Now available in Sacramento and Southern California, nationwide by mid-2005. You can play for New Kids on the Block for all those people you wish would stop calling you….

iTunes backup encouragement

Today I downloaded an album from iTunes and the complete download of the album an alert box popped up reminding me to backup my music. To an iPod perhaps? Apple needs to make it easier for people to use their iPod as a backup device or at least turn a blind eye to the tools that help people backup and retrieve their music using Apple’s hardware. I purchased Jack Johnson’s iTunes Originals. Good narratives between tracks, but only a few of the tracks are originals….

iPod photo thoughts

I kept quiet when Apple announced the iPod photo a week ago, not wanting to join the crowd and hype another Apple product like the rest of the cult of the Mac. On Sunday I visited the Apple store in San Francisco and played with the iPod photo for a little bit and realized what an iPod is really about. I want to be able to backup my data easily, and have that data available at all times, possibly enabling synchronization on multiple machines. I live on the edge when it comes to my software environment and sometimes I…

Delphi XM MiFi satellite radio

Delphi announced XM MiFi, the first portable XM satellite radio. It will be out in December and cost $350. Five hours of batter, five hours of audio storage, six-line LCD, sports score ticker, clock, and alarm. $350 is steep, especially compared to the $125 I paid for my Roady2. The bundled accessory kit included with the MiFi is pretty extensive. The home and car kits usually cost $40 each, the remote control is a $20 accessory, and case and clip cost about $20 as well….

XM Satellite Radio

Faced with a daily commute to San Mateo — 23 miles each way — I weighed my options for driving entertainment. I could buy a 40 GB iPod to listen to music, audio books, and podcast tracks every day. I could also buy a satellite radio. I knew a lot about the iPod, but very little about satellite radio. XM Satellite Radio is the dominant player with over 2.5 million subscribers compared to SIRIUS Satellite Radio’s 600,000 subscribers. XM is $3 cheaper at $10 compared to $13 a month for Sirius. I have also been reading a lot about the…

Printer forensics

Purdue researchers have developed a method of recognizing unique patterns specific to each printer regardless of print cartridge used. Edward J. Delp, Jan Allebach, and George Chiu developed software to recognize intrinsic signatures revealing the subtle differences from one printer to another. A second step involved extrinsic signatures from specially designed printers for purposes of identification. (via Engadget) Counterfeiters could be traced back to their printers but you would need to have the equipment on hand to compare. I doubt we will ever have to register our printers upon purchase but unless you are paying cash your new printer is…

Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 launch

Bill Gates will launch Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 next Tuesday, October 12, at 11 a.m. at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles….

Breast enlarging ringtone

Hideto Tomabechi claims to have developed a ringtone to increase breast size. He uses sounds “that make the brain and body move unconsciously. It’s a technique involving subliminal effects.” Tomabechi is famous for his work reversing the brainwashing of the AUM Shinrikyo doomsday cult. (via Engadget) [Update: Engadget has posted an MP3 of the ringtone….

Secret of iPod’s scroll wheel

Eliot Van Buskirk of MP3.com provided a history of the iPod scroll wheel on News.com. The scroll wheel is created by Synaptics. Synaptics also makes the scroll technology in the Creative Zen Touch….

Powered off?

Bill Machrone of PC Magazine decided to investigate how much power his gadgets were consuming when turned off or not in use. He found 80 watts were in use even though all of his devices were not in use. At 876 kilowatt-hours per year, the powered down gadgets account for over 9 percent of Bill’s yearly electric bill. (via Engadget) Cable box15 watts Small three-piece speaker system6 watts Larger three-piece speaker system12 watts Router6 watts Cable modem7.5 watts Laptop charger2.5 watts iPod charger0.6 watts HP OfficeJet multifucntion printer7 watts 19-inch Dell Trinitron display6 watts HP Pavillion desktop6 watts…

TiVo and Netflix working together

Later this month TiVo and Netflix will announce a new service allowing subscribers to both services to download movies to their TiVo boxes. (via Matt Haughey) Movie studios will now know who watched their movies, how many times, and at what hours of the day. All information you cannot obtain from a piece write-only media and postal mail. The move drives demand for higher capacity TiVo hardware and will make a new TiVo box a hot seller this Christmas….

Segway GT golf transporter

This fall Segway will introduce a customized version of their i Series: the GT, or golf transporter. According to Nick Kaye of The New York Times the new Segway “will come customized with a golf bag, cooler, ball and scorecard holders, seat and G.P.S.” The Segway’s batteries may not last an entire 18-hole round….

Engadget pictures of the Treo 650

Engadget has some pictures and more details about palmOne’s Treo 650. Bluetooth, 1.3 megapixel camera, video recording, and a high resolution screen. I want one….

Alcohol Without Liquid

Alcohol Without Liquid (AWOL) is a new machine that allows bar patrons to inhale liquor in a mist instead of drinking it. It takes about 20 minutes to inhale one vaporizer shot of alcohol. Most locations charge $10 plus the cost of a shot. It looks like an inverted bong. The user chooses which alcoholic spirit will be used and the alcoholic spirit is loaded into a diffuser capsule in the machine. The oxygen bubbles are then passed through the capsule, absorbing the alcohol, before being inhaled through a tube. The resultant cloudy alcohol vapor is then inhaled from the…

RetroPads

RetroZone takes original controllers from NES, Super Nintendo, Genesis, Atari, and Intellivision and converts them into USB game pads. You can now have emulation with the real controllers. I already have one of the top-loading NES systems from 1993 with the “dog bone” controllers. I like to have the full system, but finding and storing the games is difficult. Emulation combined with a nice controller is a good solution….

Designer iPod cases

CITY magazine summarizes some of the designer iPod cases currently available. Some designs need a makeover for the new iPod design (headphone cable position, no cutouts for small buttons). $265 for Dior Homme or Louis Vuitton designs: just slightly less than the iPod. (via Cult of Mac)…

Salon: Must-download TV

Farhad Manjoo of Salon writes about technology for trading television shows online. While TiVo asks for permission from the FCC to release its TivoToGo service, developers using BitTorrent and RSS have created a similar system without restraints. In recent months, a host of developers and TV enthusiasts have been working on ways to improve online trading — they’re building sophisticated networks to record and encode and distribute shows, and they’re improving peer-to-peer transfer systems to make downloading easier. The hottest new improvement is made possible by the merging of two Internet innovations, the peer-to-peer protocol BitTorrent and RSS, the popular…

Kodak Plus Digital Film

Kodak has new 35mm and Advantix film named Plus Digital Film. Take your 35mm camera, pop in the 35mm and I am sure most consumers will think they have just upgraded to digital photography. What is digital about this product? If you process your photographs using Kodak’s Perfect Touch processing service they will return your prints with a free CD. In case you regularly forget to check the box on the envelope indicating you would like a scan of your photographs on CD, your film’s packaging lets the photo lab know you would really like a CD with your…

Roomba Discovery

The Roomba Discovery is the second version of iRobot’s robotic vacuum cleaner. Twice as powerful, quicker charge time, self-charging home base, intense cleaning mode, and larger dust bin are just some of the new features. $250 from the iRobot Store. There is also a special page for current Roomba owners….

Bridging the Internet and the TV

Today’s announcement from TiVo regarding downloaded Internet content available on a personal video recorder got me thinking about how independent content authors now have the same path to the end consumer as Viacom, Disney, and General Electric. As I read the New York Times article profiling the new TiVo service, RSS enclosures came to mind. Microsoft might still use IPTV, but other software manufacturers can build support for RSS enclosures into their software with little overhead. What does this mean to the average user? Average users are able to push content to targeted subscribers. It could be the latest video…

AirPort Express with AirTunes

Bring iTunes to your home stereo system with AirPort Express. The AirPort Express can be used as a wireless bridge, and has a USB port for your printer. $129 retail….

No More Sony Clies

Brighthand: “Sony announced that it will no longer develop and sell Clie handheld models to the United States market”…

Open wireless access point

Micah Joel of Salon promotes open wireless networks for his own personal security. “By making my Internet connection available to any and all who happen upon it, I have no way to be certain what kinds of songs, movies and pictures will be downloaded by other people using my IP address. And more important, my ISP has no way to be certain if it’s me.” I am still torn. I use Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) Personal encryption at home. I live in an apartment building and others may be able to benefit from my wireless connection. Should I open my…

T-shirt television

Brand Marketers of San Francisco introduced the marketing world to moving image advertising on a t-shirt at E3 and Wired NextFest over the last week. Hollywood Reporter profiles the new technology. The t-shirts are embedded with 11-inch monitors and four stereo speakers and can play any type of media. Fox plans to use the devices to promote its upcoming movie, “I, Robot.” (via BoingBoing)…

Xbox Live for $20 a year

Microsoft has a special offer for Xbox Live. A 12-month subscription is only $20, and for $10 more you receive a headset and the full version of Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge. I ordered the Xbox Live 12 Month Starter Kit, currently on backorder….

Nike MP3Run

Nike has a new $299 MP3 player with 256MB flash memory and Bluetooth. ZDNet profiles the Nike MP3Run. It includes a special pedometer you attach to your shoelaces and your data is stored on the flash memory. “While you’re running, you can press a button to temporarily silence the music while a synthesized voice tells you how far you’ve run and at what pace. When you’re through with your run, you connect the player to your PC, and your time and distance are uploaded to the Training section of Nike’s running site, where a training log allows you to track…

PlayStation 2 video chat

EyeToy, Sony’s camera attachment for the PlayStation 2, will now allow PlayStation 2 owners with a network adapter to use video features. “The video mail feature will allow users to send 30-second video messages to anyone on their buddy list.”…

Wired News profiles Walt Mossberg

Alan Deutschman of Wired News profiles Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal and his influence on the technology industry….

MacMice MicFlex USB microphone

MacMice has a new USB microphone shipping May 7: the MicFlex. Bend it around the back of your screen and aim it at your recording subject. (via Gizmodo) I would like to record more of the technical presentations I attend with the online world, and this new microphone might be a good portable answer! If you have a better solution for audio recording presentations from the crowd, please let me know….

Independent : Decreasing life of a CD-R

Why do different CD-R media claim different shelf lives? Dutch personal computer magazine PC Active put 30 brands to the test by placing them in a dark cupboard for two years and retesting. Independent (U.K.) reports on the CD-R test results. 10 percent showed aging problems after two years….

Sports Illustrated’s digital workflow

Eamon Hickey follows the path of Sports Illustrated photography from the 2004 Super Bowl from the time the images leave the photographer’s camera. “16,183 digital pictures shot in Houston’s Reliant Stadium by eleven of the magazine’s staff photographers over the course of about six hours” reviewed and then sent to New York. He covers the different equipment used and the staff’s switch from film to digital. (via Tim Bray)…

Tiffany stylus

Tiffany & Co. has a sterling silver stylus for $70. It might work with the new Tablet PCs that do not require a battery in the stylus, but I am not sure. Luxury digitized ink!…

Travel Sentry certified TSA locks

Want to lock your luggage but know it will be busted open by the TSA and its purpose rendered useless? Travel Sentry certified TSA locks can open be opened by the TSA without breaking open your lock. You lock and unlock your suitcase own suitcase, but there’s a special TSA key that allows airport security to unlock your bags as well. (via Crypto-Gram)…

ATT Wireless music recognition service

“AT&T Wireless announced the availability of a new music recognition service today that allows customers to identify songs simply by placing their phones near a music speaker.” Customers dial “#ID” from any AT&T wireless phone and provide a 15 second sample. They then receive a text message on their phone with the artist and song….

NY Times : Glamour gadgets

Seth Schiesel writes in today’s New York Times about the new market for expensive gadgets. The article focuses on Sony’s premium brand: Qualia. “People want their name monogrammed in diamonds on the cellphone or they want the pagers entirely encrusted in diamonds. We had the wife of one rapper who had a pink phone and she wanted it encrusted in pink diamonds.”…

NY Times : Cruise Control So Last Century

Danny Hakim of The New York Times writes about the new safety technologies making their way into today’s cars. Americans in general still want to control their cars, and are wary of even a train that drives itself. Japan gets to tryout this technology first while the marketers figure out how to sell the idea to Americans. The Prius in Japan can park itself. An Infiniti can keep itself in the center of the lane. I would like to see car manufacturers abandon what they think we want and instead give us great products. Who would have thought the Prius…

Mechanized robot parking

Josh Levin of Slate writes about the Multiparker MP 710, an automatic parking system. The car engine is off, so there is no need for ventilation. Cars can be parked in tight space without need for illumination. Sounds cool! Does it save any money or is it just a cool gadget?…

Segway Robotic Mobility Platform

The Segway Robotic Mobility Platform is a modified Segway Human Transporter designed as a base for your robot. The Segway receives commands through a dual CANbus interface. 100 pound payload, 8 mph top speed, 8-10 mile range. Available in April….

Reset your MSN watch to factory settings

I was not able to find any documentation for resetting my MSN Direct watch to its factory settings, so I will post my findings here just in case another user would like to reset his or her watch in the future. I have a Fossil FX3001. Two buttons on the left and three on the right. Press down all three buttons on the right side. Wait for the watch manufacturer’s logo to appear. Keep doing this until the time resets to 12:00. The watch is configured to reset to factory settings if you reboot the watch ten times within five…

Ice-Link iPod car connector

Ice-Link hooks up to your car stereo’s CD changer port and connects to your iPod’s audio out and FireWire ports. Charge on the go and have access to all of your songs!…

Remotely driven rover

At Wednesday’s dinner we discussed controlling a rover or submarine over the Internet. It does exist. “RemoteDriver is a home made robot made out of a tablet-pc a webcam and an old rc car chassis. When online it can be driven by anyone from anywhere in the world. All you need is a good ammount bandwith and a flash player to interact with it. Login at the indicated time above for some hot rod realtime action.”…

First ever used MSN Direct (SPOT) watch sale

I may become the first person ever to sell his used MSN Direct watch when my eBay auction closes next Friday, March 26. Too bad my yearly subscription cannot be transferred to the new buyer. The watch is too big and I simply do not get enough utility from its added functions to justify the extra weight on my wrist. My next phone will most likely have the features included in this watch, such as the ability to receive instant messages, and view my calendar. I can always connect to the Internet using my phone to pull down the latest…

BMW 7 series equipped with HP tablet PC

According to the Inquirer, Intel is showcasing its concept of the digital car at CeBit. Powered by what I assume is the HP tc1100. WiFi access point built-in to the car along with UMTS and GPRS connections. Not many details on the full setup, but interesting….

Rugged HP Tablet PC

HP announced the HP Rugged Tablet tr3000 today. Can withstand 26 three foot drops onto plywood over concrete. Rainwater resistant. Up to 3 RF modems. It has a 8.4 inch screen and weighs 3.7 lbs. Starts at $3500….

New York Times on TiVo loyalty

Eric A. Taub of The New York Times writes about fans of personal video recorders and their best known brand: TiVo….

Fossil cobrand shows new MSN Direct (SPOT) watch features

SpotShop captured a few screenshots of a Fossil cobrand site today with listing MSN Direct channels coming soon. Customized sports, current traffic, dining guide, movie finder, and daily diversions….

UC Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeleton

UC Berkeley researchers have developed a robotic exoskeleton that allows a human to walk flat terrain and slopes carrying 170 pounds that feels like 5 pounds. More than 40 sensors and hydraulic actuators communicate and adjust themselves to the human’s motion so no load is transferred to the wearer. No driving device needed….

Toyota Sportivo: the car that governs you

Patrick Gray of Wired News writes about a concept car Toyota introduced in Australia: the Toyota Sportivo. A driver would need to enter a memory card into its console to turn on its engine. Along with the typical stored seat adjustments, mirror angles, and radio presets, the car also shows you the location of your friends on your navigation display. Based on the driver’s hours behind the wheel and driving record, the car adjusts its engine performance, cutting back for motorists with less experience or bad driving record. The current speed limit is displayed against your speed and the car…

New site by Gizmodo’s Peter Rojas?

I have noticed how sparingly Gizmodo has been updated these last few weeks. It looks like Peter Rojas is working on a new site with Weblogs, Inc. called Engadget. If you take a look at Peter’s resume you notice his relationship with Gizmodo ends in March 2004 and Engadget begins. Engadget is “a new web magazine with daily coverage of gadgets and personal technology.”…

TiVoToGo survey

TiVo has a new survey online for TiVoToGo, a program export feature they plan to introduce in the fall. Would you like more ways to control your content? Take the survey!…

NY Times : Inventing the TiVo remote control

Katie Hafner writes about the design process of TiVo’s remote control. I own a Sony TiVo SVR-3000 with a Harmony Remote SST-768. My main complaint with my SST-768 is the overlap of the directional buttons and the number pad, leading to never getting the action I really wanted….

KeyComputing Xkey

KeyComputing’s Xkey incorporates a microprocessor, a database, an application server, an Exchange client, a crypto engine, an embedded VPN, and 256 MB of flash storage onto a keychain device. Remote users can now carry a keychain and have access to their full Exchange store with no need for a client application or VPN install….

Samsung adding satellite TV to cellphones

Samsung is planning a cellphone with the ability to receive satellite TV broadcasts. 70 channels in Japan, 40 channels in South Korea. It will also support pay-per-view services. Trial service starts in April with a commercial launch in July….

Yumemi Kobo dream workshop

New from Takara Co, the company that brought you bowlingual and meowlingual to translate your pets, comes Yumemi Kobo dream workshop. Look at a photo of what you would like to dream about, record a story line, and the device helps to direct your dream….

Philips eXp5371

The Philips eXp5371 is a MP3-CD player with a LCD screen capable of playing Java games downloaded to the device via a USB connector. the eXp5371 can store up to five Java games at a time, in addition to the built-in games on the unit….

MSN Direct (SPOT) watch review

Microsoft officially released their MSN Direct watch line after some delays. The current incarnation of the device delivers news, weather, stock quotes, calendar, and instant message capabilities as part of the subscription fee of $9.95 a month or $59 a year. The $150 watch will still tell the time and sync itself to local time servers without service activation, but you lose all of the personalization and data. There are tens of choices of watch faces (ways of displaying time and date) to choose from, and an option to receive a new face monthly is available. You must dock your…

Tablet PC on a daily basis

Mark’s post promted me to write about my daily experience with my Tablet PC. I use the Compaq Tablet PC TC1000. First generation, convertible design, 3 pounds, integrated 802.11b, and powered by a 1GHz Crusoe 5800 with 512 MB of RAM. The power of a Tablet is the same as you would find for a regular laptop. I am sure some extra power is needed for the inking input, but I have not noticed a difference. Most tablets now use Intel’s Centrino chips. I am not running Lonestar. I bring my tablet with me to business meetings. A laptop screen…

Logitech QuickCam Orbit

Logitech has a sweet new webcam with a built-in mic and automatic face-tracking technology. I want one, but then again I never use the QuickCam Express I have now….

IBM Tablet, I feel Outdated

Looks like IBM is going to have their own Tablet, with their own handwriting software. Software competition on the base modules could be a very good thing, since I have been frustrated with the handwriting recognition on my Tablet so far. When I write on paper I often realize that I did not make the fourth leg of an “x” quite long enough, so I will go back and elongate the leg. On a Tablet I have not figured out how to concatenate the ink to enforce the “x” and not have it come out as “y”. All of my…

Sony Clie

I am having fun playing with my new Sony Clie. Pretty fun so far, although I am still getting a feel for things….

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