For those moments when your computer is lagging so badly you’d like to take a hammer to it, or when the realization that it just ate your term paper creates a deadly longing to chuck the whole damnable thing out the window, there’s a way to end it all. Presenting the Self Destruct Button USB! Three easy steps to total annihilation and…four extra USB ports. OK, so it won’t really kill your PC, but it looks like it will! Maybe someday you’ll really mean it, but for now function gets along with form in this sweet trigger-happy sort of way. The big red button will be available for desperation pressing starting the end of this month.
via SCI FI Tech
My gadgets should learn a thing or two
I have a lot of gadgets. MP3 players (got an iRiver Clix to check out too!), cameras (still need a new one…), convergence products, media servers, media players, etc, etc, etc. Not a single one of them can learn a thing from me, and I don’t understand why. Before you get too skeptical on me, let me be clear: I am not talking about “learning” as in artificial intelligence (AI), I just want them to have a few behavioral modifications.
My first example is my new Harmony 880.
Works great, about 90% of the time or so. Every now and then it misses a command, or in some way gets ‘off’ with the living room. The nice thing about the product is it has a Help button which basically steps you through the sequence of remote commands necessary to perform the function you are looking for. So, if I click “Watch Moviebeam” (this is an ‘activity’ much like a macro), the Harmony turns on the Sony receiver, Syntax LCD TV, Moviebeam and my DVD player (which is wholly unnecessary, but I can’t figure out how to remove this step), switches inputs on my Sony receiver to the correct audio input, switches inputs on my Gefen 4×1 HDMI switch, and switches inputs on the TV. Awesome.
But when I first started, it could never get the Gefen to switch right. So I clicked Help, and followed the on-screen ‘yes/no’ options until it worked. Eventually I went back to the Harmony setup application on my PC and found I could ‘slow down’ the commands to make it more reliable (which did in fact work like a charm).
I think it would be very easy for Logitech to add a bit of intelligence to the Harmony. Maybe after doing the same thing 3 times the remote could say “please dock to your PC for an update”, at which it uploads the info to the PC, and the PC application can have enough smarts to say back to me: “there is a problem with your activity, let’s try to fix it.” It doesn’t have to be smart enough to actually fix it independently (although that’d be nice too), but it should be smart enough to track little things like this. Extra points to tivoboy who seems to agree.
My second example is my Garmin Nuvi 350 GPS unit.
.JPG "Nuvi - Favorites")
Again, a device I absolutely love (full review still forthcoming, sorry, too busy working to pay the SF rent) and use all the time (as does my wife!). The Nuvi is absolutely great at getting us around town and the Bay Area, helped me go camping, helps my wife find her delivery locations, we love it long time (and we certainly do not leave it in the car overnight). I really like setting ‘favorite’ locations (pictured to the right), for work, for home, it’s quite handy. In fact, its versatility at finding locations is quite impressive.
What I don’t understand about it is the inability to learn just a few things. Remember, the Nuvi 350 can play MP3s, audio books, show pictures, find nearby ATMs (and more importantly, Dairy Queens) and even pump gas and check the oil pressure for you. But no matter what I do, it refuses to remember the fact that I live in San Francisco. Every single time I enter a city name, I have to type in “San F” and then select from a list.
.JPG "Nuvi - enter city")
How about, after the 5th time I make that choice, it simply auto-saves it, and then give me an option to ‘Change City’ next time? It even has the concept of a “home address” and knows I live in SF (can’t call it San Fran or Frisco, they hate that here… I don’t know who ‘they’ is, but I know I will get whacked if I use those terms). I’ve got two more ‘freebies’ for Garmin as well:
- If I click ‘detour’ give me the option to keep that detour. Maybe it’s a closed road, or just a really bad route. Better yet, if I deviate from a route multiple times, ask me if that’s a better way to go! The manuals state very clearly that the Nuvi will not guarantee the best way based on city shortcuts and everything. I totally understand and appreciate how much work that must be. But why won’t it pay attention to my driving and catch on after a while?
- When I turn on Nuvi, I always fall into one of two behaviors: I either wait 10-30 seconds then click View Map (this implies I am already driving), or I almost instantly click Where To. How about, after 20 seconds of inactivity, it automatically goes into View Map?
Now I know learning isn’t easy. I know AI is ridiculously hard (although improving every year). But even Windows has some basic learning features, and everybody likes to rant on how hard it is to use. Office automatically adds contacts. Word adds, well, words.
I think the gadget guys need to take a few cues and have their devices do so as well.
The proper way to learn physics
Have you always had a secret thirst for learning semiconductor physics? Have you always had a little bit of a crush on Britney Spears? Well this site has everything for you.
Don’t believe me? Check this site out for yourself.
Polite Thieves?
Here’s an interesting little story for you. A bit over a month ago, I walked to my car early one morning prior to my 45 minute commute (hate it). Before I got in, I noticed something was… off. I couldn’t quite figure it out, so I got in, and drove away.
Four inches later, I felt something very wrong with the wheel. I thought, perhaps there was something under the car, causing a drag or something. So I got out, looked around. Didn’t see anything, got back in, and drove off.
Five inches later, I knew something was very wrong. I looked closely at a wheel and noticed the lug nuts were loose. A second later I realized the hubcaps were missing! I recall thinking, “what is this, Detroit circa 1974???” When I went to the trunk, I couldn’t find the jack kit, but I thought maybe we had accidentally moved it into the apartment. Luckily another Civic driver pulled up a few cars away, and he let me borrow his to tighten the lug nuts.
I decided at first not to bother with insurance, figuring new hubcaps would just get stolen again.
About a week ago, my wife took the car in to get the tires rotated. When I took the car in the evening, I noticed a massive pull to the right. I asked my wife about it, she thought it needed to be ‘broke in’ a little bit (much like her shoes), but I assumed the rotation had messed up the alignment.
Earlier this week we dropped the car off for a wheel alignment, but the dealer informed us immediately that it was not an alignment problem. The problem was the fact that the wheels were not the ones that come with the car!
The fact that thieves stole my tires is somewhat surprising, as I live in a decent residential part of San Francisco.
The fact that thieves stole my tires and left other tires in their place, not to mention the lug nuts, is just plain weird in my book. Looks like I got hit by the most polite thieves around…
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A very bubbly site.
Ok, I couldn’t resist linking this most excellent website. Well it’s not really a website, but a time killer if you will. If you had the chance to transfer anything into a website, what would it be? If you were like me, you were thinking..BUBBLEWRAP!! Yes. this link sends you to the land of virtual bubble wrap and could literally keep you busy for hours on end. I highly suggest playing around with the manic mode.
The Birth of Kool
IM, that is. Huzzah for another bad pun! Monday the Alpha version of Kool IM launched, but how “kool” is it? As far as aggregating other chat clients, it does a decent job, even including Google Talk. If you register, Kool will remember your various accounts, but you still have to log them in each individually, which is disappointing. The main complaint is that it only takes the barebones chat part. No file sharing, no pix, no voice or video. Why would I want to leave these features behind? Is that really worth not having a couple chat programs running?
The current version also has some more minor bugs that need to be addressed such as chat windows that won’t scroll with longer messages and missing the first message someone sends you if using Firefox. Luckily, after browsing through the forum, it seems like the developers are very interested in taking user suggestions to heart and fixing the troublesome bits.
It’s definitely not quite time to leave your other chat programs behind. Trillian does a better job of bringing together more of the features and the programs (but not Google Talk as of yet); however, this requires a download, while Kool IM is just in your browser. The Alpha version is only the first step, so hopefully, with a lot of hard work, Kool IM will end up evolving into something a little more polished.
Girl's Gadget Report: Traffic emoticons
Driving is a lot like life: we simply want to enjoy the journey to the destination. But some forces frazzle us along the way. So, driving a car can be an incredibly stressful experience. It’s actually not so bleack as it is often painted. And I’m convinced that we are the ones who might make this a pleasant and salubrious undertaking.
This time I’d like to tell you about the gadget that was designed especially for cars. It’s an emoticon display that can express the emotions and feeling you experience behind the wheel. So, you can share your “thoughts” with the drivers behind you.
If it seems to you that the driver behind you is too close to you, just press the “:(” button and he will understand that the distance between you is too small. If somebody dropped back for you, you can thank the driver with the smile.
This gadget makes driving funnier and if driving alone you’ll have a wonderful possibility “to communicate” with others. The display module is battery-operated and is fixed to the rear widescreen. It is activated by remote control. No wires are needed.
It’s a nice way to make your journey more exciting! It is available at http://www.au-my.com/english/Driv-e-mocion.htm
The Weekly Girl’s Gadget Report is brought to you by http://www.gadget4girls.com/
Who'da Thunk it? – 4
This is going to be a special edition of the “thunk it” as my mail box has been flooded, completely bamboozled with inquiries as to when I am going to review a product that caters specifically to the cel phone crowd. There’s been everything available to the cel phone lover; computer-phones, video-screen phones, that wacky blue-tooth technology which I still don’t have a clue as to what is, but nothing…NOTHING is nearly as advanced as this next fascinating product. How do you show off to all your cel friends? Is it by boasting about the most advanced technology? No…it is by showing them the latest in retro phone…stuff. Ladies and gents, I introduce to you….
the cel phone handset
Isn’t this amazing? I mean who needs the convenience of a small portable phone when you can have the nostalgia of the old days?
Now this isn’t to be confused with this other handset concoction
The “Please Hold” Handset is available for use for most phones, even the blackberry and is available at amazon.com for a mere 22.95$. I know I can’t even use another cel phone again unless it has the old fashioned headset. If I had to describe this product in one word, that word would be….beautiful.
Coming to you with another wacky and useless product, this is Merv
Demystifying some HDTV technology
With roughly 20 million homes in the US today owning “HD-ready” TV sets, HDTV (High Definition Television) has become a bit of a catch-all acronym for roughly anything that is not standard definition (SD). Along with any new standard or technology comes the inevitable onslaught of abbreviations, acronyms, buzzwords, and otherwise cryptic terminology. For example, there is “over-the-air” HDTV content (used by the ATSC standard) – most people aren’t aware that a simple antenna bought at radio shack can potentially deliver a better quality HDTV signal than the latest digital cable box or satellite receiver! Want a better one? A recent study showed that of these HD set owners, roughly 25% had them connected to SD sources, and did not know they were not watching HDTV content!
Another key element to HDTV is the cables that are used to connect between a source and a display. Someone can buy the latest 61-inch top of the line Pioneer Elite plasma display and hook it up to a brand new Toshiba HD-DVD player and see a worse looking picture than on my $99 Samsung DVD player. Why? The cables. While it is technically possible to connect a player and a display using RCA or S-video cables, many buyers are aware that they need at least component video cables (they are red, blue, and green) to get an HD signal. Even then, however, it’s only an analog HD signal, and doesn’t compare to higher quality digital cable connections, either DVI or HDMI. The DVI (Digital Visual Interface) standard is slightly older and quickly becoming outdated by HDMI, its newer counterpart, although both offer the same video quality (and are compatible with each other). DVI connections are most commonly found today on monitors, as opposed to home theater environments.
HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) connections are able to carry both the audio and video signal from one device to another, which is easy for hooking up devices, and also much cleaner from the living room perspective. HDMI is relatively new, and only became commercially available in 2005, but has become the effective standard for most newer digital cable boxes and DVD players, and is even featured in the Xbox 360 (well, probably). Now there is already another standard being proposed to replace both DVI and HDMI, called UDI (Universal Display Interface), although it is primarily focused on the PC market. There is a new standard for HDMI (version 1.3) ratified just this past month that supports new audio formats included in HD DVD (and Blu-Ray) players. One other good thing to be aware of for digital cabling is that, unlike analog cables, there is a limit (typically about fifteen meters) to how long a cable can transmit a signal. It’s probably also worth mentioning that even a 2 meter long cable can cost upwards of $50.
It may seem unusual to have such flux in cables and connectors, but the real drivers for such change have nothing to do with picture quality, it’s all about DRM (digital rights management). Even with CDs and DVDs, the audio/video quality presented to the consumer was highly compressed, but in the HD landscape, the quality is so pure (though typically still somewhat compressed) that content owners have much more to lose than ever before. If a user has a perfect quality version of a movie, they could make infinite perfect (or degraded) copies and it would be virtually impossible to differentiate a ‘professional’ edition from an ‘amateur’ copy. All this wonderful looking and sounding HD content needs new protection, and it is coming in the form of HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection). Most new digital cable boxes, satellite receivers, and HD-DVD players use HDCP on all content emitted on HD outputs (MovieBeam too).
Now it’s time to put this information all together. The HDCP-protected content will not output on a display that does not include HDCP unlocking. This means if you hook up an HD-DVD player to your plasma display with component cables, everything will look fine. But when you hook it up with HDMI cables, if your plasma doesn’t have HDCP support, nothing will play at all (whereas if it does have HDCP support, it will look better than the component cables). The good news is most consumer-grade LCD and plasma displays sold in the past few years have HDCP support built-in, and everything should work fine.
With the next-generations of media PCs, cable boxes, satellite receivers, DVRs, DVD players, and game consoles all offering HDTV services, the future has literally never looked so good. While there is no real winner or loser in the HDMI/DVI space, it seems extremely likely that HDMI is bound to be the dominant cable format for the next few years. Especially because it supports up to 10.2 gigabits per second throughput (that is a LOT of data) and has built-in HDCP support for the content industry. Although with all that fancy technology inside, the nicest part for consumers is finally having the convenience of only making a single connection from device to device!
More reading:
My current picks for HDTV gear:
- For the absolute best option, with no price limitations, get a Pioneer Elite plasma – any size will be good. Year after year they are, as the wise Tina Turner once said, simply the best
- For a great midrange choice, check out Panasonic PX-60/600 series plasma or Samsung LN-S series LCD – both consistently get good marks from consumers
- For the absolute best bang for the buck, get the Syntax Olevia LT32HVM (or LT32HVE) 32” LCD – I like it so much, I have one at home!
- Do NOT forget to budget in cables, TV stands (or wall mounts), and shipping costs (if buying online) when shopping for HDTV. Also, check in with the local cable and satellite companies to understand all the available options for your area!
Good luck, and welcome to the HD club!
RCA's NaviLight 6 Universal Control
Sadly, it’s not often enough that one gets to write “Works as advertised”. Under normal circumstances, that wouldn’t be the greatest endorsement of a product, but all too often, things actually don’t work as advertised. Fortunately for us, and for this review, the NaviLight 6 works extremely well.
To be honest, I’ve had issues with ‘Universal Remotes’ before… they should do one thing only, and do it well: control all of my components. How hard is that? Harder than you’d think, apparently, as the NaviLight is the first one to be able to handle the job.
With a simple, black, rounded design, the remote fits well in the hand, with buttons that protrude just enough to feel accessible, without being in the way. All the usual features are here, including an interesting “Instant Replay” function which I did not get a chance to try out.
However, what makes the NaviLight 6 stand out is its “Light” aspect. When the button for a particular component (for example, the ‘DVD’ button) is pressed, all the buttons associated with that component light up in green, giving you a nice overview of your field of choices for control. No more fumbling around in the dark, pressing the wrong button and getting the wrong choice; now you only get the function you want, associated with only the component you’ve chosen.
The RCR660 model (the one I’m reviewing) gives you control over 6 components: TVs, satellite/cable boxes, DVD players, VCRs, audio systems, and an Auxiliary device. Other models include the 460, which controls 4 devices, and the 860, which can control up to 8, including DVRs. The 660 retails for about $24.99.
If you spend any significant amount of time with more than one remote control, the NaviLight 6 is well worth your money.
Slim Protection for Slim Devices
Today, you can go to almost any store and buy some kind of case, protector, or sleeve for almost any digital device. One such product, the InvisibleSHIELD, takes this to a completely new level. InvisibleSHIELD is a “skin” of sorts that protects your device (in my case, a black iPod Nano) from all sorts of scratches, bumps, and scrapes. It’s made of a sort of clear plastic film, and completely covers your device, protecting it from everyday wear and tear.
Installing the InvisibleSHIELD proved to be quite difficult though…
The problem is that the sticky side of the product is, in fact, incredibly sticky. After first getting it stuck to my finger, then my desk, then my finger again, then to a piece of paper (which, of course, created a mess), I finally got it applied to my iPod, after figuring out that I was able to rinse it all off, and still maintain the integrity of the adhesive (which was amazing).
After the 15 minute installation procedure, I was anxious to see how the product worked, but the instructions said I had to wait a full 24 hours before it was set, so, on to the next day…
I was, to say the least, expecting nothing from this product. How could a thin piece of plastic possibly offer enough protection fir my iPod to survive the worst of the worst: me? I was surprised. Not only did the InvisibleSHIELD protect my iPod from small scratches, it protected them from potentially dangerous ones. Always being one to thoroughly test any product I buy (or in this case, am asked to test), I quickly set about scratching it with my keys. After a few minutes, the primate in me became bored with this, and much to my happiness, my iPod (and the InvisibleSHIELD) appeared unscathed, a true testament to the protective abilities of the InvisibleSHIELD.
Overall, it’s a truly amazing product. Not only did it meet the expectations set forth by the packaging, it exceeded them. I’ve been using it for a little over a week now, and I have to admit, I’m still amazed. Before, I used to be really careful about where I put my iPod. I used to devote a special pocket in my messenger bag for it, but now, I just throw it in with everything else (keys, books, pens, pencils…) and don’t worry about it. I would whole-heartedly recommend this product to anyone looking for superior protection for their digital devices. It’s a small cost to protect a typically expensive type of product, without ruining or hiding the original design of it.
Future Gadget Alert: Self Cooling Soda
I have to make up for that last post.
I’m excited about this one, even though it might be a while before we see it. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have been working for years to develop a thin material that can be wrapped around buildings or other things and provide climate control to what’s inside. Think of it as wallpaper or packaging material that air conditions (or heats) whatever it surrounds. It would revolutionize the way we condition the air in our homes and businesses.
Great invention – kind of boring to talk about.
Something not so boring – they’re going to try to scale the idea down so they can use it in product packaging. Welcome to the world of the self cooling soda!
Imagine! No more refrigeration needed! Left the soda in the garage last night? No problem! You live in Phoenix? Still no problem! It’s ice cold! The can cools the soda for you! I guess it could heat beverages too – so bring on the always-hot soup or coffee.
This reminds me of an article I read a few years ago about a self-cooling beer can using a different technology. There were some UK companies that played around with the idea but I guess it didn’t catch on… too bad.