by Donald Melanson, posted Jun 25th 2008 at 12:19PM Panasonic has been teasing us with this one for quite a while now but, as promised, it has now gotten fully official with its new Atom-based Toughbook CF-U1, including word of a price tag and release date. This one comes in squarely on the small end of the Toughbook spectrum with a 5.6-inch WSVGA display, which gets backed up by 1GB of RAM, a removable 16GB SSD drive (or optional 32GB), built-in WiFi, Bluetooth, and a whole host of optional add-ons, including 3G mobile broadband, GPS, a camera,a fingerprint scanner, and even an RFID reader (yet more add-ons are planned for later in the year). (Read the full post about ‘Panasonic Toughbook CF-U1 gets fully detailed, landing in August’…)
Long before I learned that a mushroom is a type of fungi, I was already playing Super Mario on my old Nintendo console.
Although it’s been decades since I first played Super Mario, I will never forget those adorable little mushrooms. And what best way to remember the vintage video game by other than growing your own 1-Up mushroom? This collectible straight from Japan could pierce any Marion fan’s heart. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to literally grow a mushroom, but sprinkling soil around the vinyl fungi could do the trick of creating an illusion of a real 1-Up mushroom (yay!).
(Read the full post about ‘Grow Your Own 1up Mushroom: Relive Super Mario Memories’…)
No matter how you slice it there is no computer out there which offers 100% protection from a virus or a Trojan horse. That’s even true for the Mac and its OS X Tiger and Leopard operating systems. One new Trojan horse can be especially damaging to not only your identity, but to your privacy as well. SecureMac has giving the Trojan horse a security risk of critical. That’s probably because of how damaging the AppleScript THT Trojan horse can be since it is capable of logging ketstrokes, taking screenshots, turning on file sharing and even taking a picture using the built-in Apple iSight camera. The good news is that the file can only be activated by someone downloading it and executing it. (Read the full post about ‘Trojan horse for Mac asks you to say cheese’…)
HP has just switched one of their two HP TouchSmart models to the in-stock and ships-same-day category. The HP TouchSmart IQ504 PC which retails for $1,249.99 is ready and available for order, the other model (IQ506) is still noted as being “out of stock.” But not to worry, because the IQ504 is still feature packed and includes a 22-inch widescreen touch-enabled display, a 2GHz Intel Core2 Duo T5750 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 320GB 7,200 RPM hard drive and a SuperMulti DVD burner. The TouchSmart also includes a built-in webcam, 5-in-1 memory card reader, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, wireless keyboard and mouse as well as the the standard variety of ports. (Read the full post about ‘HP’s TouchSmart all-in-one PC now shipping’…)
I swear there is nothing that can’t have a bit of extra lighting thrown in somehow. This Luminous Glass can be used as any type of tabletop you like. Be it a desk, an island or even the dining room table. Nothing says geeky headquarters quite like a glowing dining room table. It would look especially cool to replace the glass on a glass top desk to give it extra geek appeal. The table top is 3/4” thick and made of phosphorescent glass. The darker your room the brighter the tabletop will glow. (Read the full post about ‘Luminous Glass makes your tabletops glow’…)
Mitsubishi’s upcoming line of LaserVue TVs are ready for a Q3 release, which means anytime in the next three months to make for the perfect summer. First unveiled at CES this year, consumers will be able to choose from either 65″ or 73″ models, with the former arriving first before the latter makes an official appearance. Very little about the technology has been released by Mitsubishi, other than the fact that it uses lasers, but it is interesting to note a 200% increase in color gamut compared to traditional HDTVs. Not only that, Mitsubishi claims that the black you see here is real black, while the brights are more than up to the task for an almost lifelike experience. (Read the full post about ‘Mitsubishi LaserVue ready to rock and roll’…)
LG’s upcoming Chocolate 3 line will feature new colors in addition to black - and customers will be able to groove to a new light blue option. This newly colored device will feature a silver keypad and music wheel in favor of the gunmetal gray found in the black model. Well, I seriously wonder just how much of an impact will a wide range of colors have on the sales of a device? I know the Nintendo DS Lite is doing gangbusters at the moment with a wide array though. Tags: Ogg Vorbis, hdtv, AAC, home cinema (Read the full post about ‘LG Chocolate 3 Gets New Colors’…)
Most wheelchairs get along just fine with four wheels and an occupant, but this one is radically different. Crutchfield has a new grand prize winner for its “You Dream It, We’ll Help You Built It” contest, and the award goes to Eric Jarnagin and his souped up wheelchair - definitely one of its kind in the whole wide world. You get a subtle green glow around the wheels which translate into a mobile lightshow that grooves to the beat emanating from a formidable speaker set up which consists of an amplifier, speakers and subwoofers. The main music storage device of choice? A 160GB ipod. Now is this ever a wonderful street attraction or what. (Read the full post about ‘Wheelchair boasts a jukebox’…)
Panasonic released the newest member of its rugged line of portables earlier today, and it’s the one we’ve been hearing about for months: a Toughbook UMPC that’s supposed to finally bring some credibility to a form factor that’s been dissed, hissed, and summarily dismissed. But will it really? By most accounts, the Ultra Mobile PC has been bypassed in popularity by the mini notebook craze, but establishing a tough version of the handheld for a few select industries might be the best way to keep it afloat until a better consumer version comes along down the road. The shock-proof Panasonic CF-U1 Toughbook is definitely designed for the contractor/military worker in mind, as most of its features aren’t necessary for the average consumer. (Read the full post about ‘Panasonic Reveals Atom-based Toughbook UMPC, Mini-notebooks Shrug’…)
Our friends on sister site Uberphones have managed to snag a leaked image of RIM’s upcoming BlackBerry - the Kickstart. This one looks rather bulky, but it does hold the distinction of being the first clamshell handset from blackberry. Hopefully the specifications and performance are up to snuff when it is finally released. Tags: lcd, dap, AAC, consumer technology (Read the full post about ‘BlackBerry Kickstart Pic’…)
