SlingBox Sale

SlingBox Sale: "If you were thinking of getting the TV place shift gadget from Sling Media then now is a good opportunity. J&R is giving an instant $50 rebate which brings down the price of the Slingbox to $198.99 (offer valid until March 11th). As you know the..."

Celestron SkyScout now available

We've seen a ton of telescopes that can orient themselves to a particular star or constellation, but the upcoming Celestron SkyScout scope is the first portable model we've seen that's able to get its bearings and determine what it's pointed at regardless of location (althought the lazy stargazer should still go with a StarSeeker chair). Using both embedded GPS and gravitational/magnetic field sensors, the SkyScout is also able to guide the user to a desired target, or give a guided tour of the ten best objects visible on any given night. Even better, the scope connects to a PC via USB for software updates and temporally-specific events like shuttle launches and comet passings, and a built-in SD slot allows for additional content such as astronomy tutorials. Celestron will be showing off the SkyScout at CES, so it'll be available sometime after that

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RIM, NTP settle for $612 million ... finally

Blackberry users can at last breathe a sigh of relief: RIM and NTP have reached a settlement in their long-running patent dispute, with RIM agreeing to pay NTP $612.5 million. According to RIM, the settlement has been approved by the court, and NTP's suit has been dismissed, which means this settlement is likely to last a little longer than an earlier one, in which RIM agreed to pay NTP $450 million. That settlement eventually collapsed, leading to the most recent round of hearings (and NTP's little $162 million premium). Now that this battle is over, we're ready to see how RIM does in a real fight: the coming battle with Microsoft for dominance of the push email market (and we wouldn't rule out another lawsuit from RIM -- this time as a plaintiff, with the US Patent and Trademark Office on the other side).

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NEC's "KotoHana" LED flower knows how you feel

We were just saying to ourselves the other day, "man, if we just had an LED flower that could sense our emotions... then we'd have it all." Well dreams do come true, because NEC is going to be presenting their KotoHana (the talking flower) at CeBit this year. It's pretty hard to tell what's going on here, but there seems to be a "Sensibility Technology" that recognizes the user's feelings, and then tells the flower over a wireless connection. The system works over the Internet, so even from far away the flower's LEDs can light up to reflect your true feelings to that special someone.

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Gamepark announces redesigned XGP and surprise XGP Mini

Since the open-source GP2X handheld gaming console has earned itself quite a devoted little following, we're sure that several of you will be excited to learn that Gamepark (but not Gamepark Holdings, who had split off to release the GP2X) has released photos of two upcoming models that may or may not pack the same PMP and emulation goodness -- these may be geared towards the commercial market -- into slightly different packages. First is the the redesigned XGP (Extreme Game Player) handheld, which ditches the swivel screen design that we once opined "looks a bit like the bastard child of a PSP and a Sidekick," for a more traditional Game Gear / Lynx / Nomad-type form factor, while one-upping the GP2X in screen size (4-inches vs. 3.5), the addition of a DMB TV receiver, and a little standard known as WiFi. The real surprise, though, was the XGP Mini, an obvious rip-off of homage to the Game Boy Micro, which like the GP2X and XGP, sports an SD slot and 64MB NAND memory, but 32MB less RAM than the 64MB found in its brethren. Although release dates are unknown for either model, the XGP will supposedly retail for around $300, while the XGP Mini (pictured after the break) will cost $150.

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Rapsody DMB combines DivX player with DMB receiver

The Rapsody (sic) DMB from Korea's Dacos Technology is one of those specialty products that will probably be a huge hit in a very small niche. Billed as the first DMB-enabled DivX player, it's essentially a very small DivX-based DVR for DMB broadcasts. It also supports most popular audio formats, and has a "virtual DVD" mode, which we assume means you can rip your DVDs to it for later playback. All it needs is a display, and it could compete with some of the DMB-based PMPs that are already turning up in Korea. But we guess that's not its niche.

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microsoft oragmi heres what we know

We've learned a little more about Microsoft's Origami Project, and as always, we're here to share. After this morning's HTML source confirmation that Origami will indeed be a "Mobile PC running Windows XP," we have one more detail to add: our sources confirm that Origami will run XP Tablet PC Edition. A minor distinction, perhaps. But let's not forget that it wasn't very long ago that Microsoft refused to grant Tablet licenses to PC makers whose boxes had specs not dissimilar to those rumored to be planned for Origami. What else have we learned? Well, we don't mean to disappoint those of you who've become enamored of the box you've been peeping in the Origami video, but according to our sources, the actual device will look more like the basic black box that Microsoft showed off at WinHEC last year (pictured above). We don't necessarily consider that a bad thing, though we will be curious to see how well we can work with a machine with virtually no hardware controls. One thing is certain: we'd better carry around a supply of tissues to wipe off all the fingerprints. Maybe the first Origami accessory should a swanky leather carrying case for us to put them in.

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SMC SMCWTVG travel router with VoIP gateway

We've seen enough travel routers, and they all have pretty much the same features: plug one into the Ethernet in your hotel room, and your room is a hot spot. SMC's $130 SMCWTVG does that too, but adds another feature that makes it worth looking at: it's got an phone jack that turns any analog phone into a VoIP handset. Of course, you could accomplish much the same thing by plugging a headset into your PC once it's connected to the network, but this gives you one less thing to pack -- assuming, of course, that your hotel or other destination has analog phones. Otherwise, be prepared to pack your own or just go ahead and use a headset.

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NEC NeoFace time clock keeps workers in line

Think you've got it bad at work? Be glad your boss hasn't installed one of NEC's NeoFace time clocks. The system replaces the classic punch-card reader with facial recognition software, so that old canard of getting someone else to clock in for you is useless. For the ultimate in worker subservience, the time clock can also control access to the company locker room. Try to leave early, and you can forget about grabbing your street clothes; you'll have to sneak out wearing your grubby uniform, letting the whole world know you're pwned.

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TomTom redesigns Go in-car GPS kit

Dutch satellite navigation specialist TomTom today said it will ship an updated TomTom Go range of in-car route-planning devices on 1 April. No fooling, the new 510, 710 and 910 models will feature a "world first" 4in screen, "greatly improved" GPS performance and a new computer dock.

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Unicon Systems' MBridge image and details released

Any company with the guts to claim that their device is the "key to a computer free life" is going to be greeted with a healthy dose of skepticism 'round here. Still, Unicon Systems is digging in on this one with the release of a product image and an accelerated delivery of Q2 instead of October. Thankfully, much of the marketing rhetoric has been tempered making all this a bit more clear. Yeah, you can listen to MP3s but it's not a PMP since it doesn't support video playback. This device enables you to offload your data from media players, cellphones, digital cameras, etc via the MBridge's SD card slot, two USB 2.0 ports or USB Host port.

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Not content as a mere sideline mascot, Tux now runs Linux

Acme Systems is shipping a Penguin-shaped case for a tiny SBC (single-board computer) powered by an innovative MCM (multi-chip module) that runs Linux. The 6.7-inch tall, 30-Euro "Tux Case" houses the company's "Acme Fox," a 2.6 x 2.8-inch, 100-Euro, RISC-based board with Ethernet and dual-USB interfaces, and surface-mount connectors for other I/O.

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Logitech Harmony 520 Advanced Universal Remote

The Logitech Harmony 520 Advanced Universal Remote isn't just attractive, it's well designed and will work with all your entertainment-center components

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CD-burning Phone

This is the $900 FeaturePhone 175 Call Recorder. This is the ultimate in blackmail techniques. It will record phone calls and burn them directly to CD. No worries with complicated computer programs or strange speakerphone/tape recorder setups. One blank CD can store up to 15,000 calls depending on the call length. Additionally the phone can store up to 500 contacts and it has an integrated answering machine. If only Nixon had technology like this.

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Microsoft's Origami

Microsoft is about to announce a new product or technology from Microsoft Research, and the mysterious product offering is slowly coming into focus. A viral marketing website has been launched to create buzz, but it appears as though the cat may be already out of the bag.

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Meet the piggy bank for the 21st century

One slot piggy banks have been around for....centuries. But the world has changed. Now we have a highly sophisticated financial system, a system whose complexity has outstripped the ability of most adults, many of whom grapple with credit card debt, even bankruptcy.

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Oakley Thump Review

As if we needed a sign that MP3 players could stuffed into just about anything Oakley have finally released the Oakley Thump MP3 sunglasses. Yes they have crammed 512mb of flash based memory into a pair of expensive shades clearly thinking that we must all be too busy to use a standard MP3 player which involved a unit and a set of earphones.

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