Gadgets Comp

Sit down in front of my computer and you will find upwards of five Internet windows each with at least eight tabs, all open to different sites.  Pages just don’t load fast enough for me.  The moment it takes a page to load, I feel like I need to be doing something else or it is time wasted. I am going be in trouble when they make things even faster than the cable Internet I have now.  It is in the works to increase Ethernet speed from 10 Gigabit Ethernet (”GbE”) to 40GbE or 100GbE (or 80 GbE,120 or even 160 GbE as the actual number is undetermined at present).  From the way it looks, I have about two years to figure out what to do about that and come off my multi-window addiction. (Read the full post about ‘Ethernet advancements to make your life better’…)

Share This

by Nilay Patel, posted Oct 19th 2008 at 4:31PM Toshiba’s R600 ultraportable got lost in the din of Tuesday’s MacBook announcements, but TrustedReviews got their hands on the 12.1-inch unltraportable, which replaces the crazy-thin-and-light R500 and goes up against some pretty tough competition like the VAIO TT. Not a lot of external differences here — it looks identical to the R500 — but the keyboard, screen, and overall fit and finish have apparently been much improved, and the bump to Centrino 2 and the corresponding 1.2 or 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo processors is certainly appreciated. (Read the full post about ‘Toshiba’s Portege R600 ultraportable get the hands-on treatment’…)

Share This

What looks like ordinary carbon paper is actually known as “buckypaper”, and this flimsy appearance of a material could potentially turn the way TVs and even aeroplanes are constructed if it fulfills its early potential. According to scientists and researchers, buckypaper is roughly 10 times lighter than steel whenever you stack sheets of it and pressed together to form a composite, but it despite the relative lightness, it is 500 times stronger than the aforementioned steel as well. When peered through a microscope, buckypaper is constructed from tube-shaped carbon molecules which are 50,000 times thinner than a human hair. (Read the full post about ‘Buckypaper could create future vehicles’…)

Share This

Pricing and Fade-Resistance Figured Out Kodak recently introduced two inkjet printers to their All-in-One lineup: ESP7 and ESP9.  The announcement came nearly six months after they released the ESP5. As a draw-in, Kodak claims these printers give us the lowest ink prices in the industry.  This is just like every printer they have ever put out, even going back to the first ones in 2004.  Even in 2007, when Kodak put out its first inkjet, they were singing the same song. Ink: Cheap prices or cheap quality? Last year, David Pogue wrote an article for The New York Times revealing calculations that HP black prints cost a tenth of a cent less.  I guess that was before these new and improved machines and ink were introduced. (Read the full post about ‘Kodak Reputation Redeemed’…)

Share This

Cats are truly a pain to teach anything, because they really just don’t care.  Then if they know you’re not looking, they are more than happy to take advantage of that.  One devious cat owner finally got fed up and decided to do something about his sneaky kitty.  What you see in the photo is a strobe light and blender.  Both kick on by motion sensor as soon as the cat decides to jump onto the counter.  He also has a video camera pointed at the area that records also when kicked on by motion sensor. (Read the full post about ‘The Blender Defender keeps cats off the counters’…)

Share This

by Nilay Patel, posted Oct 19th 2008 at 2:09PM We thought we had a handle on what the next-gen Prius was going to look like when we spotted those renders back in July, and Toyota’s just confirmed that some press shots that leaked out last week are the real deal, not just photos of a super-high-tech sneaker. The company isn’t providing any more information until the official debut at January’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit, but we’re hoping we’ll get some more details about those plug-in fleet tests, as well as those solar plans. (Read the full post about ‘Next-gen Prius semi-officially leaks out: yep, looks like a shoe’…)

Share This

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 19th 2008 at 10:02AM Not to get too nano-technical on you this Saturday afternoon, but you’re probably going to want to be briefed on these newfangled macroscopic aggregates commonly referred to as buckypapers. The devices, which are reportedly involved in a long-term undercover relationship with those buckyballs you discussed in 10th grade chemistry class, are ridiculously tough (albeit lightweight) sheets of matter made from intertwined carbon nanotubes. Put simply, these composites could see uses in making more efficient heat sinks, lighter background illumination material for displays and (at least in theory) transportation of the future. (Read the full post about ‘Ultra-tough buckypapers could build planes, trains and automobiles’…)

Share This

by Paul Miller, posted Oct 19th 2008 at 4:55AM We’ve accomplished many an hour of restful, mugger-prone napping on the subway, but there’s always the danger of missing your stop — a problem we’re usually too drowsy to consider at 2am in the morning. Not clever hacker Pyocotan, however. This resourceful fellow has built the Noriko-san sleeping mask for fashion-forward commuters, which broadcasts your destination to fellow passengers on a garish LED display, while you’re busy getting some shut-eye underneath the mask — in the hope that they’ll be kind enough to wake you up at the right stop after they’ve rid you of your ipod and wallet. (Read the full post about ‘Noriko-san subway sleeping mask lets other passengers know to where to wake you, looks really cool’…)

Share This

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 19th 2008 at 1:43AM
Just because you’re the elephant in the group, that doesn’t mean you’ll get away without suffering through the same humiliation that comes with being a hot new blackberry: dissection on camera. RIM’s first flip phone has recently been disassembled by the curious minds over at SycotecSolutions, giving us all an up close and personal look at what makes the Pearl Flip 8220 tick. Eager for more? (Read the full post about ‘RIM’s BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 endures old fashioned tear down’…)

Share This

BGR seems confident that the highly anticipated and delayed blackberry Bold will be available exclusively from AT&T on October 27.  They say that they have this rumor confirmed by many high ranking people from both AT&T and RIM.  Yesterday, we reported AT&T’s leaked holiday sales, and the BlackBerry Bold was listed on that as well.  I was thinking to myself that the BlackBerry Bold would probably be released sometime in December, because of all the delays.  However, it looks like we can mark the date on our calendars and expect the Bold to be released.  No wording on price as of yet.  Stay tuned for continuing coverage on the BlackBerry Bold. (Read the full post about ‘AT&T to launch BlackBerry Bold on October 27′…)

Share This