Gadgets Blog News

by Donald Melanson, posted May 8th 2008 at 4:19PM NEC’s ShieldPRO ruggedized tablet PCs have never exactly put much emphasis on looks, but the company seems to at least be trying to spice things up a bit with its latest FC-N22A model, which ditches the usual nothing-but-business appearance for something designed to turn a few more heads. That brightly-colored exterior will still give you the same IP55-compliant dust and water resistance, however, along with enough ruggedness to protect it from three-foot drops onto a concrete floor. Otherwise, you can expect the usual 12.1-inch display, low-power Core 2 Duo U7500 1.0GHz processor, a promised 12 hours of battery life, optional built-in GPS, and good ‘ol Windows XP for an OS. (Read the full post about ‘NEC rolls out new ShieldPRO rugged tablet PC for Japan’…)

Share This

In honor of the Big Day - of course, I’m referring to Mother’s Day this Sunday - Sony Electronics is offering a special package for all of you out there who are gift-challenged; the Sony DCR-SR45 Handycam camcorder with the DVDirect VRD-MC5. Tape those priceless family moments with the Sony Handycam camcorder and then transfer them to DVD with the DVDirect VRD-MC5 recorder. The VRD-MC5 recorder can transfer home videos to DVD without using a computer from virtually any camcorder, VCR or digital video recorder. Tthe Handycam camcorder has a built-in 30GB hard drive for storage and up to 20 hours of recording time (LP).

(Read the full post about ‘Mother’s Day Sony Camcorder Package’…)

Share This

One of the things that I love about airline travel is the ice cubes in the drinks they serve. I always liked the cylindrical shaped cubes that were somehow hollowed out in the middle. Somehow, they were always better than the cubes that you crack out of the ice trays at home. It appears that a Japanese company has cornered the market on unusual ice cube shapes with the Ice Mold, a spherical ice cube maker. Oddly enough, the Ice Mold doesn’t work the way I expected it to. I thought that what would happen is that water would be put into a small sphere, and the machine would freeze it somehow. Then the sphere would be split in two down the planned seam. (Read the full post about ‘Perfect Spheres of Ice’…)

Share This

Filed in archive Software by jim on May 09, 2008 Here's a free digital image program that is small, about 10mb, and will make your life easier especially if you have a need to process several image files at a time. This procedure, called "batch processing" enables you to simultaneously apply the same changes to a limitless number of digital photo files. This option is particularly helpful if you have a number of images shot under the same lighting conditions when you want them all to share the same parameters. If you want this free software grab it now because the offer is only open until midnight tonight. Here's the link to the "ImageBadger" free digital software download. (Read the full post about ‘Free ImageBadger Digital Photo Software’…)

Share This

Software giant Microsoft and Korea-based car company Hyundai reportedly have partnered so the former could provide music for the latter’s cars. By 2010, Hyundai cars to be distributed in North America only are expected to feature a voice-controlled system that is connected to the vehicle’s stereo and other mobile devices. No official specs have been revealed yet but it is safe to say that Bluetooth connectivity will be present aside from the direct cable connections that we usually find in car’s audio system to play portable devices such as the MP3 players and mobile phones. SlashGear even made a prediction that text messages could be read out loud by the system. (Read the full post about ‘Microsoft-Hyundai partner to offer perfect voice-control system by 2010′…)

Share This

I don’t care whether you’re a pilot or a frequent flier, there are still ways for the good old time zones to wipe your body clock clean of any past rhythms. Taking a trip from The U.S. to the U.K. is only fun once you’ve got your sleeping patterns back under control. At least enough so you can get a taste of both the night life, and the day light festivities. The BC4 Flight Timer from Oris is a awesome way to keep tabs on up to three time zones at once right from your wrist. The BC4 features an automatic movement with the second timezone subdial, while the extra-large crown can adjust the third dial for yet another time zone. (Read the full post about ‘Oris BC4 Flight Timer Keeps Jet-Setters Up To Snuff’…)

Share This