Best computer news

Toshiba America is making a comeback (or holding back) with the release of $99 GigaBeat U202 DAP. Its chassis, measuring at 3.02″ x 1.43″ x 0.45″, is generally reminiscent of its predecessor with its plus-style pad dominating the front. The screen is replaced with a 1.1″ OLED, and the built-in Li-ion battery boosts 20 hours battery life, rechargeable via USB in 2.4 hours. The only storage option is 2GB which has to hold pictures, MP3 and whatever you try to record from FM or audio-in source. The 1.48 oz. Gigabeat U202 actually reminds me of the Japan-exclusive U201 DAP powered by a 1-bit DAC except the the latter model is much more aesthetically appealing than its American sibling.
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D-link is getting back onto the USB bandwagon with its latest UWB Wireless USB hub & adapter. The OEM like many others has waited out until a fabless semiconductor company has come up with a Certified Wireless USB 1.0 solution which guarantees a wide range of USB device support including TV tuners, speakers and webcams, all of which might be more convenient to a user if they go wireless.

Today, D-link has announced three products: DUB-2240 WUSB hub; DUB-1210 WUSB adapter; and DUB-9240 adapter/hub bundle. They all share the same UWB chipset, presumably from WiQuest, and have a max. range of 30 ft. As the D-link and the Belkin are among the first WUSB hubs, they mostly focus on compatibility and user-friendliness over performance. If it works perfectly albeit slow, at least early adopters will likely upgrade for speed the next time around. If everything fails to work as advertised the first time, it will take a while before their confidence regains for this technology and the Certified WUSB logo.
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Last year we reviewed the fantastic Logitech VX Revolution notebook mouse and found it to be one of the best notebook mice you can get. Logitech has added a new notebook mouse based on the original VX called the VX Nano. The main differences are the ergonomics, and the tiny USB receiver for the wireless connection that is small enough to stay out of the way of adjacent USB ports.

The mouse uses 2.4GHz technology and has the same hyper-fast scroll wheel I liked on the original VX mouse and power is via two AAA batteries. What I am not clear of is the resolution of the mouse, I suspect around 800 to 1000 dpi. I also wonder how you turn the mouse off to save battery life. The original VX was turned off when you slipped the wireless receiver into the storage area of the mouse.

The VX Nano is also designed differently than the VX Revolution; it is more of an ambidextrous design and appears to have forward/back buttons in place of the zoom keys on the MX Revolution.
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Kanguru recently launched what they claim to be the most environmentally friendly hard drive available, dubbing it the Eco Drive. The drive has three built-in power saving modes to reduce power consumption by up to 75% and extend the drives life. Idle mode operates at 80% of normal power after 3 seconds of inactivity.

Standby mode operates at 10-20% of normal consumption after 3 minutes of inactivity, and power down operates at 10% of normal consumption after 5 minutes of inactivity. The reduced power modes are available on Windows 2000, XP and Vista only. The drive is also RoHS compliant and connects to the PC via USB 2.0. Like the Seagate FreeAgent Pro drive we recently tested, storage capacity is up to 750GB. I suspect that you will see some lag when the drive is operating in the reduced power modes and you try to access the drive.
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Either Sony is overcharging the Chinese for the new M70 PMP-series, or folks from this emerging superpower country have too much cash to burn. We just found out that the 8GB, the highest end of the trio – will retail for RMB 2799 ($358 USD). 4GB will cost RMB 2299 ($294) and the 2GB for RMB 1999 ($256 USD).

At first we don’t see the appeal of this China-exclusive PMP when one can get a PSP for $169.99 and a 8GB MS Duo for about $150. The two share the same 16:9 480×272 screen, and supports virtually the same array of video and audio formats including AAC2, AVC, MP3, WMA and etc. The PSP has an additional advantage of streaming media over WiFi and of course runs over 200+ games.

However, reading on reveals that the M70 PMP is a portable DVR though details of the implementation are sketchy. All we know is that the recordings are saved in MPEG-4 SP QVGA in 1.3Mbps at 30fps.

The provision of a MS Duo slot helps when storage runs out. It also records FM and analog via 3.5mm line-in, and doubles as a USB host device for importing pics from DSCs. We have to say flash-based Sony M70 is really going after Archos PMPs except the latter use primarily hard drives.
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care tactics aren’t usually my thing, but as a writer, hardcore PC gamer and general technology enthusiast that spends a large portion of my day at the computer, let me tell you that the dangers you hear about repetitive strain injury are real. At 20 years of age, I already have to deal with splints and ice. In hopes of aiding I and others who suffer from RSI, we’re running another ergonomic peripheral review, this time taking a look at Evoluent’s VerticalMouse 3 Rev. 2 – a pleasantly familiar mouse with(out) a twist.
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Stumbled upon of some leaked pictures of what the Chinese calls the Logitech G9 gaming mouse, supposedly an upgrade to the G5. The mouse looks a real product to us as we couldn’t recall any mice that are reminiscent of the subject in the shots.

Judging from the four images, the G9 (if real) has gone through a major overhaul for a more modular approach to their design. For one thing, it appears Logitech will allow interchangeable faceplates; you would also need to remove the shipping faceplate in order to access weight cartridge drawer.

The pics also show the DPI sensitivity buttons used to be under the scroll wheel are now removed. Both the thumb buttons remain in the same place, and the LEDs for the resolution display are relocated as well.
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If you are a motor head you have probably heard of Ducati motorcycles. SanDisk has recently launched a new, very cool line of Ducati products including the SanDisk Extreme Ducati edition USB flash drive. The design of the drive looks like the gas tank of a Ducati motorcycle. The Ducati logo is on the drive and the tail light of the drive flashes when the drive is in use.

Storage capacity is 4GB and write speeds are claimed to be 20 MB/s, making this drive the fastest in the SanDisk consumer portfolio, so SanDisk says. The Corsair Flash Survivor we tested was faster than the quoted speed of the Ducati drive. The Ducati drive is compatible with Windows XP, 2000 and Vista as well as Mac 10.1.2 or better. Pricing for the drive is set at $124.00 and it is expected to be available in August.
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Sony didn’t quite say what group this Net-Sharing CAM is targeting at, but their intention is quite obvious as everyone’s trying to get his free 15 minutes of fame on YouTube. (However, it should be 5 minutes less by now as Google has put a 10-minute limit on the video length.)

Designated NSC-GS1, the $200 pocket camcorder can take 15fps video in QVGA or 30fps video in VGA on a Memory Stick Duo (8GB max.) whose content can be transferred back to the PC via USB or a card reader. It only deals with one format – MPEG4 so that’s as friendly as online video sharing gets.

Also equipped with a flash but conveniently skipped over a much needed optical zoom, the Net-sharing CAM can take up to 5 megapixel solid still images for those who don’t high expectations. Other $200 camcorders have superior features than the NSC-GS1, yet the Sony’s 2.4″ swivel LCD dwarfs its rivals’ tiny 1.5″ or 2″ screens. Another overlooed feature of the Net-Sharing CAM is the ability to double as a USB 1.1 webcam.
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Apple recently filed a patent for a charge prevention system that would prevent their costly gadgets like the iPhone and iPod from charging up on non-approved charge cables. This means that if some thief rips off your precious iPhone he wouldn’t be able to charge it up once it ran down.

The part I don’t get about this is how exactly it’s going to keep someone from stealing your iPhone. Keeping it from charging back up doesn’t get it back to you now does it. Plus what if you loose or break your original charge cable? Or what if you want to charge at a friend’s house on another charge cable? Also, if you are on the road with your charge cables as well, this anti-theft method will do nothing for you if someone steals the whole kit.
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