Gadgets Blog News

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 26th 2008 at 4:58PMHey, both of you Yahoo! Music Store customers, listen up. Just hours after Yahoo! affirmed that it would be powering down its DRM servers, along comes a spokesperson to alleviate any worries that you two will get screwed in all of this. According to Carrie Davis, customers “will be compensated for whatever they paid for the music,” and she continued on to state that Yahoo “had not yet decided what exactly it would do, but it would take care of its customers.” Some of the possible options include getting cash back for the money spent on tracks or receiving MP3 versions of the jams sans DRM (we’d take the former, thanks). (Read the full post about ‘Yahoo! to compensate DRM-protected Music Store customers’…)

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by Chris Ziegler, posted Jul 26th 2008 at 12:15PM At this point, we’ve seen the Tube from everyone but Nokia — heck, even Morgan Freeman got a chance to show it off — and it looks like that trend isn’t going to abate any time soon. Another round of in-the-wild shots of the supposed XpressMusic 5800 have popped up (yes, the latest prototype seems to have dropped the “XpressMedia” badge), showing off a pretty uninspiring keyboard that we can only hope has no bearing on the final product. Guess that’s why they haven’t announced this sucker yet, eh? (Read the full post about ‘Nokia 5800 gets touched in the wild — again’…)

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by Darren Murph, posted Jul 26th 2008 at 4:51AMIt has been a solid tick since we’ve seen a good FairPlay hack, so it’s with great pleasure that we pass along El Tunes for Ubuntu 8.04 users everywhere. Tested to work on Hardy Heron using RhythmBox (but assumed to work on any modern Linux Distro with GStreamer and a media player that utilizes GStreamer), said plug-in enables open-source aficionados to play songs purchased from the iTunes Music Store. As for limitations, the current version has no Pause / Seek support and cannot de-authorize a machine for playback, but a future version should hopefully cure those two quirks and add support for purchased video content and audio streaming to an AirTunes device. (Read the full post about ‘El Tunes gives Linux users iTMS playback capabilities’…)

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I don’t know why, but I love hose nozzles, maybe not so much for the device itself, but b/c I get to play with water! Probably goes back to being a kid. After all, what kid do you know doesn’t like splashing around or squirting someone else, and it just gets better with a high-powered nozzle!

This nozzle has 5 spray settings, and a 2-way shut-off. It’s heavy-duty, and is guaranteed for life. It’s made with stainless steel, fiberglass, brass threads and has a comfort-grip of santoprene rubber.

(Read the full post about ‘Stainless Steel Hose Nozzle - guaranteed not to break or leak’…)

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If you’re an avid jogger or cyclist who still wants to enjoy listening to your favorite tunes while working out a sweat on the pavement, perhaps it would be more prudent to invest in a pair of AirDrives? These allow you to groove to your tracks without missing out on ambient sounds that could mean the difference between life and death as a vehicle bears down on your six. The AirDrives rest just outside the ear, allowing you to stay alert to traffic, announcements and people around you. Audio from your mp3 player are transmitted using bone conduction technology. You can choose from adult, kids, and iphone versions which retail for £49.99, £39.99 and £59.99, respectively. (Read the full post about ‘Wear AirDrives if you love your life’…)

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Coming in a close 3-2 vote, the $3.3 billion purchase of XM from rival Sirius has been given the official seal of approval from the FCC. This news will now leave US customers with just one satellite radio service, which initially sounds like not the best of news, however at least some from the FCC think this was a good move. According to a recent statement from FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, “this merger is in the public interest and will ultimately benefit consumers.” As a consumer and a current Sirius subscriber I can only hope that turns out to be an accurate statement. While the approval has been granted, this decision does not come without some guidelines, which are being set in place to offer protection to consumers. (Read the full post about ‘Sirius, XM merger receive the official FCC approval’…)

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iSkin wants to pamper your precious new iphone 3G with the revo2 soft premium silicone protector, offering protection, quality and style in a single package. Crafted for a superior fit, the revo2 snugly encapsulates the iPhone 3G and provides complete coverage from everyday hazards such as impact, shock, dirt, dust and moisture. Complimenting this protection is an array of impressive features, highlighted by Microban antimicrobial product protection, a detachable ViSOR transparent face shield, a dust repelling micro-texture grip, integrated port-to-port protection, accented volume and power buttons, an anti-glare and anti-fingerprint screen film, unobstructed silent mode switch, mic, camera and speaker access, and an industry first: a special translucent silicone zone that protects the iPhone’s proximity and ambient light sensors without obstruction. (Read the full post about ‘iSkin offers revo2 iPhone 3G case’…)

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Going through airport security checkpoints can be a pain, especially for folks who carry notebooks with them. Some airports require you to take out the notebook from the notebook case/bag, boot it up (good thing they don’t do a check on the authenticity of the software within as that would probably cause plenty of folks from Third World countries to end up in the slammer), and shut it down.

(Read the full post about ‘Aerovation offers convenience at airports’…)

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Folks who travel frequently on flights often know the dreaded feeling of running out of juice on their favorite gizmos - and you will feel the effect to be more pronounced if you’re on a long haul journey. The inflight entertainment don’t really make the cut these days, and there are only so many pages in a newspaper that you can flip through. Duracell hopes to solve your power problems in your travels with a couple of portable power solutions - the Duracell My Pocket Charger and the Duracell PowerSource Mini. They are both small and versatile, making it an essential traveling item to pack while reducing the weight of your luggage as it does away with the need for additional cords, chargers and device-specific batteries. (Read the full post about ‘Duracell offers pocket-sized chargers’…)

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It seems like Fujitsu is prepping a new mini laptop/tablet pc called the Lifebook U2010. Don’t be confused by the model name though as it certainly is different from the Lifebook T2010 which was previously announced by Fujitsu. For one the U2010 sports a 5.6-inch 1024×768 display while the T2010 has a full 12.1-inch LED display. The U2010 also features a 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz Intel Atom processor, a 80GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, a 3G radio, GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. We don’t know about you, but those features are certainly top-notch for a tablet PC as small as the LifeBook U2010, hence it is expected to hit the streets with a retail of around $1300. (Read the full post about ‘Fujitsu’s new Lifebook U2010 spotted somewhere in Vietnam’…)

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