New Home Gadgets

Posted Feb 27th 2008 11:49AM by Donald MelansonFiled under: Desktops, LaptopsIt looks like that little lawsuit over “Vista Capable” stickers on PCs could now be about to get quite a bit bigger, as a federal judge has now bestowed class-action status on the suit, which accuses Microsoft of misleading marketing. More specifically, as the AP reports, the suit alleges that the “Vista Capable” stickers slapped on PCs during the 2006 holiday season created an “artificial demand” for the computers, and “inflated prices for computers that couldn’t be upgraded to the full-featured version of Vista.” As we’ve seen, those stickers even took in at least one higher-up at Microsoft itself, who has made his thoughts on the program quite well known. (Read the full post about ‘Vista Capable sticker lawsuit gets class-action status’…)

Share This

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Has your door key gone walkabout once more? Or maybe you were able to find it yesterday but know in your heart that the Night of the Mislaid Key will come because it always does? Do you have a locksmith on speed dial because you’re pretty sure you’ll need one eventually–again? You could make one more try at promising yourself that you’ll do what the memory experts advise: establish a homeplace for your key and remember to put it there faithfully every single time. Or you could just give up and bypass a door key completely. One less thing to remember. Install a lock that opens at a touch–but only your touch. Your finger is the only key you’ll ever need for the the biometric fingerprint door lock. (Read the full post about ‘Biometric fingerprint door lock’…)

Share This

Vtech’s V.Smile gaming consoles are aimed at kids so squarely that you might never notice how interesting the technology is. Take, for example the handheld V.Smile Pocket. That it uses the exact same cartridges as the standard set-top V.Smile console is a neat touch that parents will appreciate. That it’s basically a handheld $40 SNES equivalent is an even neater one. There’s even a 3D-accelerated version called the V.Flash, sold for about $60. Of course, the games you can actually buy aren’t of much interest to mature gamers: they’re kids’ stuff, like alphabet learning games and basic platformers with movie tie-in themes. (Read the full post about ‘Hands-On With VTech’s V.Smile Kids’ Game Console (I’d Like Homebrew)’…)

Share This

Have you ever deleted an important file that you didn’t have backed up anywhere? When that happens it’s horrible, but you can’t blame anyone but yourself for not keeping proper backups. However, if you delete something like an important text message, you at least have the comfort of knowing that there’s no easy way to keep constant backups of those. What’s great is that now there is a device that will allow you to recover deleted text messages from your phone. The device from BrickHouse Security is actually being marketed as more of a device for spying, rather than for recovering important messages. (Read the full post about ‘Recover deleted text messages with the Cell Phone SIM Card Spy’…)

Share This

If you happen to want a Creative ZEN, then it is time to rejoice - in the UK, at least. Creative will be dropping the price of its ZEN portable media player, where the 4GB model now retails for £79.99 (a £10 discount) and the 8GB version finally plunges below the 100 quid mark at £99.99 from £119.99. You know what happens whenever there is a price drop - anticipation will be running high that Creative will soon roll out its “music sharing” model, hence clearing whatever inventory they have at the moment. (Read the full post about ‘Creative ZEN Gets Price Cut’…)

Share This

Posted Feb 26th 2008 5:43PM by Darren MurphFiled under: Desktops While one generally associates “Everex” with “bargain basement,” we can’t exactly see the incredible value in the gPC mini. Hinted at late last month, this minuscule desktop is now getting all official on us and comes loaded with a 1.83GHz T2130 processor, 120GB hard drive, 512MB DDR2 RAM, a DVD writer and Intel’s GMA950 graphics set. Furthermore, it’s packin’ gigabit Ethernet, DVI / S-Video outs, FireWire, four USB 2.0 ports, a 4-in-1 multicard reader and audio / in out. Granted, you’ll have to deal with the gOS that comes loaded in, but hey, maybe that’s not such a thorn in some folks’ sides, anyway. (Read the full post about ‘Everex gets official with $499 gPC mini desktop’…)

Share This

The ladies will be excited to find out that Louis Vuitton has released an ipod widescreen case along with a black checkered one designed by Takashi Murakami. The case comes with a dock plug-in, earphone opening, and a protective flap with 2 studs. You can get both of them for a price range of $275-$295. [Source] (Read the full post about ‘Louis Vuitton iPod Widescreen Case: Makes iPods Stylish’…)

Share This

A simple unboxing of the new MacBook Pro wasn’t enough for Anandtech. The engineers couldn’t stop themselves when they got down to the actual computer, and carried on until the innards were layed bare. Of course, there is a gallery up for your voyeuristic pleasure.Anandtech is the company which brought us the skinny on the macbook air’s custom Intel chipset, which turned out to be a sneak preview of the mobile Penryn chipset. The final Penryn chip is what you will find inside the MacBook Pros and the speed-bumped MacBook.In the picture above, you see the older, Merom chip on the left, and the new, 45nm Penryn on the right. The motherboard on which they sit is almost unchanged from the Santa Rosa days, leading Anandtech to say tha (Read the full post about ‘MacBook Pro Unboxing and Teardown’…)

Share This

Panasonic is bringing its TV expertise over to the world of cell phones with the P905iTV handset that boasts the following features :- 3.5″ 262k color widescreen display at 854 x 480 resolution 30 fps playback 4,000:1 contrast ratio HSDPA connectivity 2 megapixel camera with autofocus and image stabilizer TV and audio out ports SDHC memory card slotGuess this will be a Japan-only model at this point in time. No idea on how much it costs, but a pretty penny would be pretty apt. (Read the full post about ‘Panasonic Viera P905iTV Phone’…)

Share This

Dodge Ball Ball Game At last there is a good excuse to hurl balls at your ?friends?. Test your reflexes, speed, agility and throwing skills in one fun-filled game. Eshopmegastore.com accept no responsibility for the affects this game may have on your friendships. Set includes 2 dodge ball vests, 2 catch pads and 10 balls.Great Fun For All The Family This Summer Technorati Tags: Home gadgets (Read the full post about ‘Dodge Ball Ball Game’…)

Share This