Eye-Fi X2 series of 802.11n Class 6 cards ships today, AT&T WiFi hotspots added to the fold

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/23/eye-fi-x2-series-of-802-11n-class-6-cards-ships-today-atandt-wifi/

The new Eye-Fi "X2" series we saw at CES is hitting store shelves and FedEx trucks today, bringing with it 802.11n radios, Class 6 SD card speeds, an "Endless Memory" mode, and expanded storage. What's perhaps even more interesting, however, is the fact that all Eye-Fi cards with an active hotspot account can now use AT&T's WiFi, which includes Starbucks and McDonald's in its ever-expanding grasp. The pricing tiers are pure Eye-Fi, of course, with the $50 Connect X2 offering JPEG uploads to sharing sites like Flickr, Facebook, and YouTube, along with 4GB of storage; the $100 Explore X2, which chews 8GB of capacity, and includes geotagging, uploading to the user's own computer over a WiFi network, and a year of free hotspot service; and finally the Eye-Fi Pro X2, with 8GB of storage, JPEG and RAW uploads, and support for creating ad hoc WiFi connections with a computer, all for the low, low price of $150. All the cards are available today at major retailers, PR is after the break.

Gallery: Eye-Fi 802.11n Pro X2 hands-on

Continue reading Eye-Fi X2 series of 802.11n Class 6 cards ships today, AT&T WiFi hotspots added to the fold

Eye-Fi X2 series of 802.11n Class 6 cards ships today, AT&T WiFi hotspots added to the fold originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

AT&T to provide wireless service for Vitality GlowCaps, Apisphere dog collar

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/23/atandt-to-provide-wireless-service-for-vitality-glowcaps-apispher/

We'd already heard about Isabella Product's new Vizit photo frame that relies on AT&T for wireless service (and is available today), but the carrier has just now announced that it will also be providing service to two other fairly unique products. One of those is Vitality's GlowCaps pill bottle caps, which are able to call or text you if you forgot to take your pills, and keep track of each time the bottle is opened and ensure that prescriptions are refilled before the bottle's empty. The other announcement comes from Apisphere, which is working with AT&T on a SIM card-equipped dog collar that will let dog owners keep track of their pet. Details on it are otherwise still fairly light, but pet owners will apparently be able to establish a "geo-fence" where their dog can roam freely, and be able to receive a variety of alerts if Buster slips outside of the established parameters. Unfortunately, there's not even so much as an image of the collar just yet (let alone a price), but it is expected to launch later this year.

AT&T to provide wireless service for Vitality GlowCaps, Apisphere dog collar originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Vitality GlowCaps, Apisphere, Isabella Products  | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

Nielsen data: you're probably watching too much teevee

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/23/nielsen-data-youre-probably-watching-too-much-teevee/

Nielsen's just released some zingers (also known as statistics) for you to chew on while you listen to a YouTube clip (something about Obamacare) drone on in another tab, tell your significant other to "hold on" and track your Domino's pizza in a completely different tab. The annual Three Screens report, as it's called, has some choice data on American habits, such as the fact that television consumption (average number of hours watched per day) has increased to nearly 35 hours per week per person. What else can we glean from this treasure chest of minutiae? Well, about 59 percent of Americans now multitask in front of the teevee with their laptops for an average of three and a half hours a month. A final interesting tidbit here -- flying in the face of popular wisdom, it seems that the older you are, the more television you're likely to watch -- so keep your eye on your great Aunt Dot, folks: it's possible she might be addicted to Gossip Girl. Hit the source link if you want to download the entire report (it's a PDF).

Nielsen data: you're probably watching too much teevee originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Three Screens Report  | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

Dell Inspiron Mini 10 with T-Mobile webConnect launches tomorrow, $199.99 on contract

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/23/dell-insprion-mini-10-with-t-mobile-webconnect-launches-tomorrow/

T-Mobile's selected CTIA 2010 this week as the venue to launch its customized version of Dell's Mini 10 netbook that's been infused with -- you guessed it -- T-Mobile-compatible 3G service. It's got a 10.1-inch WSVGA display, 1.3 megapixel webcam, three USB ports, VGA port, Windows 7 Starter Edition, and an Atom N450 core humming along at 1.66GHz with a claimed battery life of "up to" eight hours using a six-cell 56WHr pack. In terms of frequencies, you've got quadband EDGE alongside quadband (yes, quadband) 3G with support for Bands I, II, IV, and V, which means you'll be able to roam in 850 / 1900MHz markets and internationally. It's available starting tomorrow in "select T-Mobile retail locations" in Chicago, Dallas, Miami, and Los Angeles as well as through the carrier's site and sales hotline for $199.99 on a two-year deal.

Dell Inspiron Mini 10 with T-Mobile webConnect launches tomorrow, $199.99 on contract originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  T-Mobile  | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

T-Mobile USA reiterates that 'breadth' of 3G footprint will get HSPA+ this year

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/23/t-mobile-usa-reiterates-that-breadth-of-3g-footprint-will-get/

It's easy for something as grandiose as a national wireless network upgrade to get delayed ad nauseam, so we're happy to hear here in March of 2010 that T-Mobile is still looking to blanket the "breadth" of its existing 3G footprint with 21Mbps HSPA+ service by the end of this year, covering over 100 market areas and about 185 million peeps. That's an extraordinarily aggressive timeline for a carrier that was way, way late to the 3G game, and realistically, it's exactly what they needed to stay competitive in the face of 4G deployments coming down the pike from all of its national competitors -- in fact, they're specifically calling out the deployment as being "4G-like" and touting the fact that they'll be hitting way more pops this year than Sprint's WiMAX network will. Them's fightin' words to be sure, but hey -- competition is extremely healthy when it comes to fast, widely-deployed wireless, isn't it?

T-Mobile USA reiterates that 'breadth' of 3G footprint will get HSPA+ this year originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 19:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  T-Mobile  | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

NVIDIA's Optimus uncovered in Sony VAIO Z, along with TRIM support?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/23/nvidias-optimus-uncovered-in-sony-vaio-z-along-with-trim-suppo/

Sony's illustrious VAIO Z may have a so-called "Dynamic Hybrid Graphics System," but NVIDIA's Optimus it is not. Or is it. Notebook Review's own igorstef started digging deeper within the laptop's switchable GPU setup, and lo and behold, it sure looks as if Optimus is underneath. He went through the painstaking process of installing a slew of new drivers and tweaking some code within select .inf files, and in the end he seemingly found a way to get Optimus drivers working on the new rig. Of course, the debate has been raging on for five pages now, and it still seems inconclusive as to what's really going on behind the scenes. In related news, ZoinksS2k seems to have discovered a way to get Windows 7's TRIM feature working on his SSD-equipped VAIO Z, and if you're interested in doing some tinkering of your own in either case, you know where to dive in.

[Thanks, Bill]

NVIDIA's Optimus uncovered in Sony VAIO Z, along with TRIM support? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 21:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Notebook Review [Optimus], [TRIM]  | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

Kyocera Zio M6000 joins burgeoning Android ranks with high-res affordability

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/23/kyocera-zio-m6000-joins-burgeoning-android-ranks-with-high-res-a/

You know your mobile OS is going places when people start resurrecting their smartphone divisions just to throw out their own spin on it. Kyocera's approach with the new Zio M6000 has been to marry an 800 x 480 display to some rather middle of the road components and to sell that package at a significantly lower price point (between $169 and $216 unsubsidized) than most Android-infused communicators on the market. You know, for the people that like to have a handsome high-res phone, but don't need it to have the firepower to run Quake. It's still not a terrible slouch, coming with a 600MHz MSM7227 CPU from Qualcomm, 512MB of onboard app memory, and 3G, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. Look out for its US arrival in the second quarter of this year.

Gallery: Kyocera Zio M6000

Kyocera Zio M6000 joins burgeoning Android ranks with high-res affordability originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  PC Mag  | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

'The Panel' rechargeable LED monitor sentences you to a more productive life

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/23/the-panel-rechargeable-led-monitor-sentences-you-to-a-more-pro/

"It would let me set up shop at that posh cafe down the street." That's how you justified your laptop purchase -- but as you sat, gently sipping your macchiato, you realized it would never work without your decidedly non-portable 24-inch Cinema Display's extra real estate. We've been there many a time, and apparently so has a startup named MEDL Technology, which has just finished prototyping the answer to our telecommuting (and portable gaming) woes. Going above and beyond the average, tiny secondary display, "The Panel" is an honest-to-goodness 13.3-inch LED-backlit monitor that's less than an inch thick, but packs incredible connectivity (DVI, VGA, Component, S-Video, mini-HDMI and USB) in addition to a sweet folding stand and up to five hours of rechargeable battery life. MEDL told us that should they secure funding, the firm's looking to launch The Panel in Q4 2010, and is hoping to first sway business users with a sub-$350 price point. To work surrounded by coffee -- without being employed by Starbucks -- that's a small price to pay.

Gallery: METL Technology's 'The Panel' portable monitor

'The Panel' rechargeable LED monitor sentences you to a more productive life originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 01:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PR Newswire  |  MEDL Tech  | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

InVisage envisions a world where cell phone cameras don't suck, embraces quantum dots

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/23/invisage-envisions-a-world-where-cell-phone-cameras-dont/

The invention of nanocrystal semiconductors -- more commonly called quantum dots -- has spurred scientists to create everything from precisely-colored LED lamps to higher-density flash memory. There's also been some talk of applying a solution of the tiny crystals to create higher sensitivity cameras, and according to a company named InVisage, that latter utility is almost ready for commercial production. By smearing light-amplifying quantum dots onto the existing CMOS sensors used in cell phone cameras like so much strawberry jam, InVisage claims it will offer smartphone sensors that have four times the performance and twice the dynamic range of existing chips by the end of the year, and roll out the conveyor belts in late 2011, just in time for the contract to end on your terrible new cameraphone.

[Thanks, Matt]

InVisage envisions a world where cell phone cameras don't suck, embraces quantum dots originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 02:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  InVisage  | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

VIA introduces VX900 media processor, sets sights on Broadcom's Crystal HD (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/23/via-introduces-vx900-media-processor-sets-sights-on-broadcoms/

We like little computers, but we also like big-bitrate video content, and thanks to media accelerators like Broadcom's Crystal HD we can have our proverbial cake and proverbially eat it, too -- at least up to 720p. We've had issues with 1080p on that chip and, while that may be due to troublesome Flash betas, VIA is saying its upcoming VX900 media system processor suffers from no such limitation. A back-to-back video captured by Netbooknews seems to back that up, embedded below and showing a VX900 running the 1080p Avatar trailer at a higher frame rate with lower CPU utilization than Broadcom's option could manage the 720p version. It then goes on to play a massive 80Mb/s bitrate 1080p file with nary a stutter. This wasn't on perfectly equivalent hardware so it's a bit early to draw too many conclusions, but we're eager to see what this chip has to offer when it starts hitting VIA-powered laptops and nettops, supposedly at Computex later this summer.

Continue reading VIA introduces VX900 media processor, sets sights on Broadcom's Crystal HD (video)

VIA introduces VX900 media processor, sets sights on Broadcom's Crystal HD (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 07:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  VIA, Newbooknews  | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

Occasions and Holidays Drive Movie Box Office Sales, Not Advertising - http://bit.ly/1tWlvj

Read More...

Summary only...

What can search volume tell you? If winter is a good time to sell your house? If people believe the economy has turned? http://bit.ly/aRs6IM

Read More...

Summary only...

LightForm LED Strips Are Bendy, Cuttable, and Perfect For DIY Decorations [LEDs]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5499459/lightform-led-strips-are-bendy-cuttable-and-perfect-for-diy-decorations

Ever struggle to find an LED strip that's just the right fit for your odd decorating project? Me either. But it's good to know that there's such a thing as these flexible light strips which can be cut to size.

The strips are less than a millimeter thick and available in red, green, blue, and white. Pricing varies based on quantity. [LightForm via Dornob]

Read More...

Summary only...

SanDisk ships 32GB microSDHC card for $200

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/22/sandisk-ships-32gb-microsdhc-card-for-200/

Our 16GB microSDHC card has been treating us well since shipping early last year, but obviously no capacity is capacious enough. SanDisk has just announced that a Class 2, 32GB version of its microSDHC card is now shipping (remember that "something big" thing?), bringing gobs and gobs (and gobs) of storage space to whatever phones still support it. SanDisk claims that this is the first of its kind, but you can bet that other memory outfits won't be far behind in matching it. It should be hitting e-tailers momentarily for $199.99 (and around £200 if you're in the UK, we're told), which is almost certainly more than the (subsidized) price of the phone you'll be sliding it into.

Continue reading SanDisk ships 32GB microSDHC card for $200

SanDisk ships 32GB microSDHC card for $200 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 16:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

George Takei can't show you Sharp's fourth pixel, can still blow your mind

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/22/george-takei-cant-show-you-sharps-fourth-pixel-can-still-blow/

We've seen our fair share of thin HDTVs -- and pressed iPhones against them for comparison -- so it's no big deal when Sharp swivels its latest edge lit LED creation and shows off its 1.6-inch depth, but George Takei's "Oh My" reaction is priceless. We were in the house for Sharp's unveiling of its quad-pixel technology (now called Quattron) and weren't sure we got the difference, so there's no doubt they needed an extra something to show viewers why they should care (embedded after the break in case you didn't spot it during the NCAA Tournament) since your display just isn't ready for constant loops of sunflowers, saxophones and repeat playback of Oh Yeah via the USB media port.

Continue reading George Takei can't show you Sharp's fourth pixel, can still blow your mind

George Takei can't show you Sharp's fourth pixel, can still blow your mind originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 17:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  YouTube  | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

AMD six-core CPU prices and clock speeds unearthed

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/22/amd-six-core-cpu-prices-and-clock-speeds-unearthed/

The gang at DigiTimes have always struck us as processor obsessives -- constantly out on the streets, roughing up mobo manufacturers, getting them to spill their secrets (they probably look like Gene Hackman in Night Moves). And they've sure been busy, this time digging up some dirt on AMD's six-core Phenom II line. Hitting shelves as soon as the second quarter this year, the X6 1035T will clock in at 2.6GHz, the 1005T at 2.8GHz, and the 1075T at 3GHz. There is also a Phenom II X6 1095T possibly coming to fruition in the fourth quarter of the year, but we don't have any data on that one yet. According to Alien Babel Tech (where we did our undergrad, by the way) the 1055T is will retail for $199, while the as-of-yet unknown 1090T black edition will retail $295. As always, we recommend that in lieu of an official announcement you take all this with a grain of salt.

[Thanks, Blurib]

AMD six-core CPU prices and clock speeds unearthed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechPowerUp, Alien Babel Tech  |  DigiTimes  | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

Early reports show IE not faring well in the post-ballot screen days

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/22/early-reports-show-ie-not-faring-well-in-the-post-ballot-screen/

Most PC users hit the web using Internet Explorer by default, simply because that's what came along with Windows. Now, after antitrust investigations, European users get a choice of browser to install via ballot screen, and initial reports are not good for 'ol IE. According to Statcounter, IE use in France has dropped 2.5 percent since last month's implementation of the ballot, 1.3 percent in Italy, and 1 percent in Britain. It's still early days, and it'll take more than this to chip away from IE's 62 percent lead in the browser war, but it's certainly not a good trend for Microsoft. With that in mind, we're going to have to ask you to place your bets now.

Early reports show IE not faring well in the post-ballot screen days originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Reuters  | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

MIT Student Invention Deployed in Haiti to Save Lives

Source: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-03/mit-student-invents-life-altering-medical-pump

Hand-powered negative-pressure pump is designed to speed wound healing

While many MIT students busily build break-dancing robots or websites that let your pets network better at doggie daycare, PhD candidate Danielle Zurovcik has designed a $3 pump to drastically speed up the healing of countless patients in the aftermath of Haiti's recent earthquake.

The device simplifies and lightens a common piece of medical equipment called a negative-pressure pump. Used to accelerate wound healing and reduce the frequency that bandages need to be changed, even the most portable of these pumps costs $100 a day to rent, and weighs 10 pounds with batteries. The pump Zurovcik invented costs $3 total, weighs less than half a pound, uses only 14 microwatts of power, and can be charged with a hand pump.

The pump works by sucking bacteria and rancid fluids out of a wound, and by encouraging healing blood flow. Inspired by a toilet plunger, Zurovcik's device consists of nothing more than a bellows pump, a plastic tube, and a fitting that covers the wound or amputation site.

Zurovcik originally intended to test the device in Rwanda, but when the Haitian earthquake hit, she joined up with a wound-care team, and deployed her new invention. It may not be the most mysterious quantum doodad or augmented-reality monocle, but Zurovcik's pump proves that sometimes the most useful futuristic technology is actually just simpler, cheaper, easier, and fills a proven need.

[Technology Review]

Read More...

Summary only...

MakeMKV Rips DVDs and Blu-Rays With Just Two Clicks [Downloads]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5498519/makemkv-rips-dvds-and-blu+rays-with-just-two-clicks

Windows/Mac/Linux: It's still slim pickings when it comes to finding a good freeware application for ripping Blu-Ray discs, but ripping and converting tool MakeMKV is free for as long as it's in beta—and it's undoubtedly the simplest ripper around.

Those of you with large Blu-Ray collections have probably already invested in a good ripping tool, but those running a bit behind on the format changes (or that don't have the space on your HTPC to hold all those 50 GB files) should take advantage of this limited time opportunity. MakeMKV is a two-click decrypting, ripping and converting tool for DVDs and Blu-Ray discs. Literally all you do is pop in the disc, click the DVD or Blu-Ray icon, and then hit Make MKV—30 minutes later, you've got yourself a high-definition MKV file that can be played in most media players (like Lifehacker favorites VLC or XBMC). You can opt to rip only certain chapters, as well as edit a few advanced preferences, but the default settings work just fine for those not well versed in DVD ripping lingo.

MakeMKV is a free download for all operating systems. DVD ripping will always be free, but Blu-Ray ripping is only free as long as it's in beta, after which it will go to a to-be-determined price, so get ripping now!

MakeMKV [via AddictiveTips]

Read More...

Summary only...

The iPad Kindle App Is a Peek at Kindle's Full Color Future [Kindle]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5498724/the-ipad-kindle-app-is-a-peek-at-kindles-full-color-future

The Kindle iPad app's more than an upscaled iPhone port, with a new "tablet-based interface that redesigns the core screen and the reading experience," says Kindle VP Ian Freed. In other words, it's a peek at the future of Kindle.

Here's how the NYT describes it (the pic above is of Apple's iBooks app):

The Kindle app for the iPad, which Amazon demonstrated to a reporter last week, allows readers to slowly turn pages with their fingers. It also presents two new ways for people to view their entire e-book collection, including one view where large images of book covers are set against a backdrop of a silhouetted figure reading under a tree. The sun's position in that image varies with the time of day.

It's hard to tell from that whether it's going to be more like Cover Flow, or like the iPad's kinda cheesy wood bookshelves. But, it's likely our first taste of the Kindle interface for the new, super Kindles being developed with full color multitouch displays and Wi-Fi. Or at least, it's practice for Amazon. (Granted, those super Kindles at least a year away, unless Amazon had been working everything but the touchscreen before they bought Touchco, the company supplying their quite cool-sounding multitouch display tech.)

The reason Amazon and Barnes & Noble need apps to get their books onto your iPad, even though Steve Jobs touted the iPad's format of choice, epub, for its popularity and openness, is that they each use their own crazy formats and DRM (particularly Amazon). Amazon's books won't work at all, and the only B&N books that'll work are DRM-free epub files. Obviously, the apps offer other benefits, like syncing, but format compatibility is a huge reason.

The question, really, is whether or not Apple's going to let them build their own ebook stores into the apps, now that they'd be competing with Apple's own iBooks store. B&N's iPhone app, for instance, lets you buy books directly through the app, but iBooks wasn't an issue at the time.

The best thing Apple could do? Let them be. The easiest way to convert a Kindle customer into an iBooks customer is to let them seamlessly move to the iPad, bringing all their old books and their Kindle account with them. Then, if the iBooks experience is better than Kindle's or B&N's, for the same price, they'll switch. If people can't bring their old books along for the ride, they're less likely to hop on, plus if Apple gimps or bans Amazon or B&N's apps, they'll just look like callow dicks, afraid of the competition. If the competition makes everybody's ebook apps better, then everybody wins. Then again, if Apple's selling tons of iPads, making lots of money, I guess they win either way. [NYT]

(P.S. If you want to send us photos of the Kindle iPad app, that would be dandy.)

Read More...

Summary only...

MSI's 15.6-inch P600 gives a Core i5 to those 'business folks'

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/22/msis-15-6-inch-p600-gives-a-core-i5-to-those-business-folks/

MSI may still be struggling for respect here in America, but one thing's for sure: it's got you covered on all bases. From netbooks to entertainment rigs to this here business machine, MSI's got a lappie for just about every possible type of user. The understated 15.6-incher sports a fancy new Core i5 processor, the company's own ECO Engine (for saving power when you're not taxing the system), a battery good for eight hours, biometric fingerprint reader for keeping those top secret company documents under wraps and a multitouch trackpad to boot. Since it's meant for business, you'll only get an integrated graphics set, but you will find up to 4GB of DDR3 memory, a 1,366 x 768 resolution panel, a 250/320/500GB hard drive, SD / SDHC / MMC card reader, HDMI / VGA outputs, a pair of USB 2.0 sockets, eSATA, audio in / out, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 and a 1.3 megapixel webcam. Per usual, MSI's not dishing details on pricing and availability, but we're sure it'll be ready for the taking here soon.

MSI's 15.6-inch P600 gives a Core i5 to those 'business folks' originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 01:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Hot Hardware  |  MSI  | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

Infinite USB plug is a big idea for small conveniences

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/22/infinite-usb-plug-is-a-big-idea-for-small-conveniences/

In a classic case of "why didn't we think of this first," Chinese design student Gonglue Jiang has shown us a new way for overcoming the limitations imposed by the scarcity of USB ports on some computers. Instead of forcing you to constantly hot swap devices into that one port, Gonglue's Infinite USB plugs keep all your cables connected, thereby facilitating those smartphone syncs, spy camera recharges, and -- for the ultimate irony -- maybe even a USB hub. If you're thinking this would be brought down by a bout of bandwidth starvation once you start some USB multitasking, you're probably right, but power shortages shouldn't be an issue as the author has also come up with an external power connector that joins into his Infinite queue of connectivity. If only this wasn't just a concept.

Infinite USB plug is a big idea for small conveniences originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 04:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Yanko Design  |  Gonglue Jiang  | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

PageAddict Charts Your Web Surfing Habits [Downloads]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5497377/pageaddict-charts-your-web-surfing-habits

Firefox: Tracking habits—whether you're tracking your spending, amount of sleep, or other personal metrics—is an excellent way to get a big picture of what's going on in your life. PageAddict tracks and charts your web browsing for your review.

PageAddict is a Firefox extension that sits in the background and quietly monitors every web site you visit. You can review the list at any time and apply tags to the types of sites you visit to categorize them as work, research, personal, games, email, or any other category that will help you visualize what constitutes your browsing time.

In addition to providing visual feedback on what you're browsing you can also, if you notice a particular time suck in your browsing history, restrict access to specific sites. Your restriction can take the form of minutes or an outright ban. Check out the full site at the link below for additional information and screenshots. PageAddict is free and works wherever Firefox does.

PageAddict [via gHacks]

Read More...

Summary only...