This wireless keyboard from gadget mavens Brando looks like an ordinary keyboard at first glance, but it holds a trump card by including a two-button touch pad similar to those you’ll find on a notebook. The keyboard itself comes with 88 standard keys, 11 programmable media hot keys (I’ve never used these before as I find them more to be a novelty than anything else) and is compatible with Windows ME, 2000, XP, and Vista. The keyboard probably communicates via 2.4GHz RF and is powered by a quartet of AA batteries, with no word on the battery life. If you’re so used to a touchpad, then this $57 keyboard for your home PC is a candidate to consider. Otherwise, get a mouse and get on with the program already. (Read the full post about ‘Wireless Keyboard Takes Slim Route’…)
Wal-Mart’s decided not to restock stores with the $200 desktop computer from Everex, though it’ll keep plugging them at its online store. Linux simply isn’t ready for its customers, according to the mega-retailer. "This really wasn’t what our customers were looking for," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Melissa O’Brien told the AP. Though it sold out fast, the gPC was not without its flaws, and nor was Everex’s $400 linux subnotebook, the CloudBook. My general opinion of these machines is that they’re great as cheap Linux machines for geeks to experiment with or use as home servers, but that the included Linux setup (and hence the desktop experience) isn’t much cop. (Read the full post about ‘Wal-Mart: Linux Not Ready For Our Shoppers’…)
It seems to me that the more gadgets I acquire, the more USB cords that I am collecting. Is it just me, or are we steering away from charging our mobile devices with traditional electronic outlet plugs to charging exclusively to USB power. I suppose that is all right if you have your computer on the whole time, or if you travel by laptop, like most businesspeople. However, what if you are in a situation where you have a gadget that powers only by USB charging and there is not a USB port to be found? Fortunately, Belkin, a company known for PC peripherals, has a solution. You will notice that the power strip in this picture has a few outlets on it, but also has some USB ports on it as well. (Read the full post about ‘Belkin Powerstrip has USB Functionality’…)
Rumored to cost around $500 or higher, The MSI Wind will be the newest ultra-portable laptop in direct competition with the recently announced 9-inch wonder from Asus. The MSI Wind, unveiled at CeBIT 2008, will come with Intel’s new Atom chip, 1GB of RAM as default and a 6-cell battery that could last roughly 6 to 7 hours. It’s bound to run on either Linux or Windows, offers a 10-inch display and the option to get fitted with either a 2.5-inch HDD or SSD, depending on user preference. All that’s available right now are just profile shots from the MSI booth, with no sign of the general user interface (or even a power on screen) yet. (Read the full post about ‘MSI to take on the Eee PC with the Wind Laptop’…)
LaCie has just launched a new range of external hard drives known as the Desktop Hard Disk. It supports USB 2.0 only and comes in a simplistic black design that makes one remember all those Model Ts from Ford’s factory many, many years ago. You will be able to choose from 250GB, 500GB and a whopping 1TB version for all your additional data storage needs. Just in case you have a job that requires you to travel all the time, the Mobile Disk range is available in 80GB, 120GB, 160GB, 250GB and 320GB capacities, and is small enough to fit into most pockets. The Desktop and Mobile drives retail from €80 upwards, depending on the capacity.
Tags: amps, AAC, equipment, video
Posted Mar 11th 2008 9:31AM by Joshua Topolsky
Filed under: Desktops, Media PCs, StorageRemember that tiny little Windows Home Server glitch that was causing files to become corrupt for no apparent reason? Well, Microsoft has stepped up to bat with a fix… for June! That’s right, all you have to do is hang on to your data-shredders for a few more months and the boys in Redmond will have this one sealed up tighter than a drum. The company has changed this issue’s Knowledge Base article to reflect the new target, and suggests that users can avoid problems for the time being by using a command-line tool to move files, setting shared folders on WHS to read-only, and not using things like WMP to import to a home server — certainly not the solutions most people are after. (Read the full post about ‘Microsoft addresses Windows Home Server file corruption, promises fix’…)
After selling out of the linux-driven machines, Wal-Mart is sending the gPC packing to the online store. From the looks of it Wal-Mart got a lot of returns and/or complaints from folks not savvy enough to deal with the uniqueness of a linux machine. The company will continue to sell them online, where according to a company spokesperson, they continue to sell well. “This really wasn’t what our customers were looking for,” said Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spokeswoman Melissa O’Brien. The company will not be restocking the retail stores. The gPC was made by Everex. For a computer novice looking for a bargain, I am sure the eccentricities of a Linux machine were just too much to bear. (Read the full post about ‘Wal-Mart boots $199 gPC out of stores’…)
This MP3 player definitely looks like a cell phone at first glance, but it is actually nothing but an ordinary mp3 player. Dubbed the Blade Runner MP3 player, you get the following hardware specifications in your palm :- 1.8″ TFT display 2GB of storage space Integrated FM radio Built-in speaker Voice recording capability Compatible with MP1/MP2/MP3/WMA/WMV/ASF/WAV formatsIt costs $49 to bring this Blade Runner home…the naming convention department could make do with an overhaul. (Read the full post about ‘Blade Runner MP3 Player’…)
One of the main reasons why I’m holding off on buying the new Nokia N95 is because I don’t want to get frustrated every time I run out of batteries while I’m on the road. I consider myself a power user and I know for sure that with all the features the N95 is packing under the hood, I’ll suck the batteries dry before I’m even halfway home. But then Brando, who seems to have been reading my mind lately, has come up with this very helpful new gadget that will definitely be included in my to-buy list next week. It’s a solar-powered key chain cellphone charger, that can um, charge you cellphone using solar power. (Read the full post about ‘Brando portable solar charger powers your gadgets with the sun’…)
Posted Mar 11th 2008 4:08AM by Ryan BlockFiled under: StorageSSDs definitely seem like the boldest new frontier in computer electronics these days, and Intel, which lately has been making some solid developments in the NAND memory department, is apparently still on track to do that whole SSD thing they’ve been talking about. According to CNET, Intel’s NAND marketing manager Troy Winslow supposedly said the company would be coming up with some 80 - 160GB capacity drives in Q2, and 128GB capacity drives in Q3. (Read the full post about ‘Intel on its way to making consumer SSD drives. Yes, still.’…)
