Best computer news

In a marketplace thick with competition, any webcam that has a hope of making an impact has to not only do the basic video and still functions to the best of today’s technological standard, but add in new features that might make you rethink how to use your camera. That seems to be the idea behind the Creative Live! Cam Optia AF, a 2.0 megapixel webcam that builds some unexpected features - like motion tracking and time lapse video - in the standard package. Do those secondary options make this camera worth your purchase? Today, we’re going to find out.
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Note taking has one big problem: whether you take notes by writing with a pen or typing on a keyboard, you’re forced to strike an uneasy balance between detail and speed so that you don’t miss anything but still have a reliable record that you can use hours or days after the initial presentation. Well, what if you had all of the context you needed thanks to a digital pen system that combined your written notes with a recording of the speaker talking? That would probably help eliminate a lot of the worries about accuracy or speed, leaving you to clarify the occasional point with some scrawl.

That’s the idea behind Livescribe’s new Pulse Smartpen system: it combines a digital pen with special paper that synchronizes your writing with the audio recorded by its built-in microphone, allowing you to download the result to your computer via USB and play it back while reading your notes through the pen’s core software. Though the pen isn’t cheap - MSRP is $149 for the 1 GB model and $199 for the 2GB model - Livescribe has eliminated one major obstacle to adoption: they’ve not only stated that their special paper will be comparable in cost to standard notebook paper, but will be offering a free template for use with laser printers starting in April.
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To facilitate the migration from wired to wireless, WUSB introduced a new Device Wire Adapter (DMA) class, commonly referred to as a “WUSB hub”; and Host Wire Adapter (HMA), which is essentially a USB 2.0 device that connects to a PC via a USB port or internally to a laptop’s miniCard interface. There are already several USB HMA dongles, which ultimately share the same resources with existing USB sub-system. For those with an older laptop that comes with a relatively unused CardBus slot, IOGear has a Certified Wireless USB CardBus HMA that does the same job as a USB dongle equivalent, but without clogging the bandwidth. Nothing on pricing nor availability yet, unfortunately.
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Everything USB (everythingusb.com) is looking for technical writers to provide content relating to USB peripherals and USB technologies (eg Wireless USB, USB 3.0). We are particularly interested in someone who can provide in-depth product reviews, and like to give priorities to people who are expert users of MP3/MP4 players, gaming controllers and TV recording features in Vista & XP environment.

We expect:

• Comprehensive, well-researched reviews
• Able to use a good mix of multimedia content
• An excellent, natural English writing style

To be eligible, you must meet the following requirements:

• Extensive knowledge of a wide variety of peripherals
• Windows XP Media Center Edition and/or Windows Vista Home Premium / Ultimate
• A relatively high-end PC (dual core)

Payment:

• $125 to $175 per review, depending on the product type
• Monthly payment

How to apply?
If you are interested, please contact Ian Chiu at this address editors (at) everythingusb.com with samples of your previous work and reasons you would be a good fit at Everything USB. International applicants are welcome.
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Native Wireless USB devices have yet to materialize, but you can now cut the cords on your peripherals with Silex SX-2000WG USB Device Server. The server’s software - SX Virtual Link - has a unique ability to emulate a direct USB port on Windows or Mac, and the SX-2000WG can transfer the USB packets out over the network, whether it be 100Base-T Ethernet or 802.11b/g WLAN.

While routers supporting MFPs and USB storage are common, the Silex server is different in its isochronous Full Speed USB (12Mbps) support, allowing streaming (low-res) video and audio like webcams and speakers to be easily shared among users on the same network. You can also sync your iPod over the Silex if you want to. Last but not least is the Server’s support for MS Windows ‘Connect Now’, saving you the hassle of manual configuration. This product may target at very niche market, but $149 isn’t too bad if you can find some practical applications.
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For those that are looking for large amounts of removable storage, there are but few options available. Multiple external hard drives have often been the way to go but even this can be a hassle when dealing with power adapters, labeling, encryption, and storage. Imation has come to the rescue with their Odyssey Removable Hard Disk Storage System.

The Odyssey is a removable hard drive system that utilizes cartridges and a docking station that makes it easy and simple to load and unload your hard drives. The cartridges are available in sizes ranging from 40GB to 250GB and are scalable to larger sizes in the future. The included EMC Retrospect Backup software even provides you with password protection and 256-bit AES encryption to help guard your data from unauthorized access. Their most recent addition to this series is the Odyssey Mobile USB Adapter, which will run you $29.99.
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Digital Pro Sound’s review of the Hauppauge XFones focuses on the sound production quality of the wireless 5.1 surround headphones from a pro audio standpoint - not surprising, given their site’s focus - but we’re more curious about another aspect of these 2.4 GHz wireless cans and their plug and play USB transponder: do the headphones support OpenAL? As we observed in our reviews of the Tritton 5.1 USB Headset and the ASUS Xonar U1, incorporating this open source audio standard into a sound generating device can mean the difference between a quality gaming experience and one where you’ll be struggling to figure out where sound cues are coming from.

From what we can see on the XFone’s product page, gamers might be disappointed: Hauppauge included Dolby Headphone technology for surround sound emulation that should please the movie lover, but didn’t include anything that sounded like OpenAL. On the bright side, the ‘broadcast mode’ allows for multiple headphones support, which is good for tune sharing and even better for Hauppague for selling more of these. So, we guess there are equal number of good & bad.
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Whether they help you do your job more efficiently or make your games more fun to play, most computer peripherals fall firmly on the practical side of things, serving you as tools. We suppose the ANEO GX-10 Web Camera from Brando falls into this category (according to the product description, it’s supposed to help you relax), although it’s really more of a goofy plaything with one hilarious usage: making you the star of one of three built-in interactive games. That’s right, interactive games: three colorfully-animated arcade-style scrollers (Kungfu, Super Knight, and Funny Stair) where your hand motions towards the camera’s sensor execute all of the actions, from karate chops to laser beam shots.

From the screenshots, it seems a bit like playing with a Nintendo Wii using a webcam. We can’t imagine playing any of these games in an office - or around anyone who didn’t understand why you were making wild flailing motions at your computer - but we can see how they’d be a lot of fun, especially if you can record yourself playing in the process.
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• Computerworld has a Top 10 list of the reasons you should wait to purchase the MacBook Air. While we have to agree with the majority of them, we do feel that the lack of wireless USB should be on the list too. Personally I like number three the best: Rev 1parts are glitchy.
• In what appears to be a failed attempt at reaching a 5-star rating in GTA, Japan Today reports a man was arrested after a police chase that involved 2,240 police, 460 cars, and one helicopter. It sounds like he should have used the handbrake to fishtail a little more so he could have kept going, but at least he wasn’t doing it in a white Bronco.
• After all the failures that everyone considers Windows Vista to be, it appears that it isn’t a complete flop. According to Engadget, Vista had less first year vulnerabilities than any other OS to be released in quite some time. Even OS X had more than double the flaws of Vista. Maybe the majority of them just haven’t been discovered yet, or maybe Microsoft did something right for a change.
• CNN tells us that millions of taxpayers could have some additional funds on the way from the government in an attempt to help kick start the economy… again. These checks could arrive as early as and will amount to something between $300 and $1200 depending on the circumstances.
• Asian Offbeat tells us that the 70-year-old Chinese man Liu Guojiang died Wednesday morning, leaving behind his “ladder of love.” After learning that he had hand carved over 6,000 stairs into the side of a mountain for his wife, the tale of these two lovers made it into the top 10 Chinese love stories for Chinese Women Weekly.
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Very few of us actually have to deal with external USB DVD burners since even the slimmest laptops sold in America have an optical drive. Exceptions are UMPCs, imported tiny Japanese sub-notebooks, and now Apple MacBook Air. Owners of the former two devices are already accustomed to compromises. On the other hand, Mac folks have been bashing Apple about the Air omission of a built-in DVD writer and limiting them to one and only optical drive option that won’t even work on other Macs, let alone PCs.

It looks like Apple has a good technical reason. In order for a USB burner to operate completely bus-powered, Apple had to ask Intel to design a motherboard whose USB port exceeds normal parameters to supply more power (> 500mA). Then Apple had to come up with a special SuperDrive that can tolerate the electrical load from this high-powered port. The $99 slot-loading optical drive therefore can’t work with other machines because of the power requirement.
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