Best computer news

Microsoft used to have a line of gaming peripherals called SideWinder that had all but gone the way of the Dodo. Today Microsoft breathed new life into the SideWinder name with the new SideWinder Gaming mouse. The mouse has some interesting features including on-the-fly adjustable sensitivity up to 2000 DPI.

This is the first mouse to use an LCD screen to display sensitivity and macro bindings. Like Logitech mice the SideWinder Mouse is weight adjustable and ships with three different sets of feet to customize the feel on different surfaces. A cable management system is built-in to keep the extra cord from getting in your way. There is also a macro button that turns you around in game to check your perimeter. The SideWinder Mouse will be available in October for about $80.
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If you are tired of the harsh, industrial looking external USB hard drives that typically sit on our desks, Suissa Computers has a beautiful new external hard drive enclosed in real maple wood.

The drive comes in both horizontal and vertical versions and is called the Suissa Shadow external hard drive. It comes with a 750GB hard drive inside as well as four USB 2.0 ports and audio/mic jacks built in. The drive isn’t what I would classify as cheap at about $615, but this thing is more a work of art than a simple storage device. The case is handmade from sustainable harvested maple wood. The bottom of the vertical drive has what appears to be a flower pattern in a glossy finish.
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We have seen a USB lighter before, but not a lighter with a USB flash drive inside it like the Memlite. I guess the idea is that a smoker will always have their lighter with them, thus they will have a flash drive with them too.

Smokers who have the need to carry data, videos, MP3s or perhaps medical records around with them can store them in their lighter with Memlite. The USB drive pops out of the bottom of the lighter. I would assume that the lighter is refillable with lighter fluid, but the makes site says nothing about that. You can order the Memlite from a rather unsecure looking shopping cart for about $40 in black or orange with 512MB of storage. The color choices are odd considering the images plainly show several more options other than black or orange.
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Elgato has just updated the EyeTV 250 with the addition of a ASTC receiver. The new EyeTV 250 Plus is now a hybrid tuner exclusively for Mac, and like its predecessor, the USB TV box also has a hardware encoder that converts incoming NTSC or ASTC signals to MPEG-2. This is the most significant distinction between the 250 Plus and the Hybrid released just a year ago. Other than that, there isn’t much difference. However, Elgato should be aware by now that we Mac folks wanted most – H.264 hardware encoding capability. MPEG-2 simply takes too much space when dealing with HDTV content.

Elgato EyeTV 250 Plus will ship with Roxio Toast 8 Basic for disc burning as well as EyeTV 2.4 recorder software which is now added with Apple TV support.
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It seems like it was just a few months ago that we checked out Microsoft Streets & Trips 2007 with the GPS locator. Microsoft has launched a new and updated version called Streets & Trips 2008. You can still get the new 2008 version with the GPS locator included, as software alone or with a new MSN Direct device.

The MSN Direct device provides traffic updates, construction and accident information to help you avoid delays in your commute. It additionally provides gas prices and station locations in your area for price comparison. Neither of these two features requires a web connection as Direct receives real-time info from FM.

The 2008 version also features auto re-routing if you miss a turn and a perspective map view that gives a display similar to what you see through your windshield. The MSRP for the version with MSN Direct is$179.99 and it is available now.
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Solid Alliance has made a USB gadget that actually doesn’t suck. I know that may come as a shock to most of you, but check this thing out. This is a USB powered remote controlled car, a Mini Cooper to be exact. The car doesn’t have the square remote you are used to seeing though; this car is much geekier than that.

You connect the garage to your PC via USB, which acts as the transmitter and charge base for the car. You then control the car with your PC arrow keys. When the car needs to charge you put it into the garage and after 10 minutes you are ready to roll again. The garage door even pops open for a quick getaway. The range of the transmitter is 1M from the garage. The USB controlled car will be available in September for about $30. Check out the video after the jump to see the car in action.
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Back in March we did some unboxing action on the original Logitech Alto Keyboard and notebook stand. Logitech is now announcing a wireless version of the Alto that has a very similar stand, but ads the wireless keyboard to the mix. From the images I have seen of the new wireless Alto, the keyboard looks very similar to the older wired version, which isn’t a bad thing.

The Logitech Alto Cordless notebook stand works with Windows based notebooks up to 15.4″. All versions of Windows XP and Windows Vista are supported. Too bad for the Mac fans, you are left out in the cold. The stand also includes a three port USB 2.0 hub with an optional power adapter for high-power USB devices. No mouse is included, but I don’t know many notebook users that don’t already have a favorite notebook mouse. If you don’t the Logitech VX Nano would be great with the Alto Cordless.
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Anyone who has kids knows that little ones like those big board type puzzles. The downside is that they tend to not keep up with the pieces very well and once you get several puzzles it’s no fun keeping the pieces with the right puzzle. Lite-on Technology has a new twist on the puzzle for kids called the E-puzzle.

This puzzle uses e-paper technology which comes with pieces that can have any design on them you wish. The pieces appear to always fit together the same way, but the image on the puzzle can change. You connect the device to your PC via USB, which provides the electricity needed to change the puzzle design. This is similar to how the capacity meter on the Lexar Jumpdrive Mercury operates. The pieces stick to the board magnetically and a stand is on the back so you can display the puzzle like a photo when complete. At this time the E-puzzle is merely a concept, but it is a cool concept.
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Brando has released a new MP4 watch, and did I mention that it’s ugly. I mean so ugly, that it makes that dude from Fargo (Steve Buscemi) look like Brad Pitt. You can tell from the picture here that the watch is huge; the screen is a 1.8” TFT with a 168 x 128 resolution. This watch is quite a bit uglier than Brando’s other PMP watch.

The watch plays MP4, MP3, MP1, MP2, WMA audio and AVI video files. Images are supported as well in JPEG format. The watch also has a built-in FM tuner and E-book reader to round out the feature list. The watch weighs 57 grams and the built-in rechargeable battery charges via USB and flies are transferred over USB as well. A 2GB version is available for $92 with a 4GB version going for $118. The watch is compatible with Windows 98 to XP and Mac OS9.x, OS X and Linux 2.4 and up.
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Summertime: a time for shorts, sandals, sunglasses, and Warmmi’s USB Heating Slippers. Yes, thanks to the modern marvel of air conditioning, our work and home environments are either excruciatingly hot or bloody cold. With our luck, it’s usually the latter. Read on to see how this fuzzy footwear fares in our latest in-depth review.
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