Best computer news

Flash drives that use capacity meters to give you a (fairly) accurate representation of available drive space aren’t anything new – we reviewed the Lexar JumpDrive Mercury and its LCD meter back in May, 2006 – but that doesn’t mean designers aren’t trying to come up with new variations and make use of this technology in new and interesting ways. Today’s example: a set of flash drives shaped like domino. Two drives fit together to make one domino and each domino dot represents 1/9th of the drive’s capacity – fill that amount and the dot lights up.

The domino design isn’t anything more than a mapped-out dream at this point, but looking at it, we think modern art more than anything else. We’re imagining an exhibit laid out like a game of dominos, with pictures and videos of dominos taking up the capacity on each drive to give the different numbers of dots.
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Philips has recently formed an alliance with RealNetworks to bring Rhapsody to its GoGear MP3 players. RealNetworks’ Rhapsody is like a all-you-can-eat music bar, so you can grab unlimited amount of songs given you keep your subscription alive for $14.99 a month. So far, Sandisk and iriver are the ones with players backing the service; Philips makes it the third. Designated SA52x5BT, the $139 DAP also comes with a 2.8″ LCD and built-in Bluetooth, which allows the player to pair with a set of wireless headphones and to share files wirelessly with a PC (or maybe another DAP).

In addition to bringing Bluetooth and Rhapsody compatibility, Philips debuted SA65x5 PMP with a 4″ 16:10 display. Somewhat unique to the player is the ability to record TV directly, likely from a composite or S-video source; otherwise, the SA6585 will need its own TV tuner. Also included is a timer for scheduled recording. Lastly, Philips SA2845 is the smallest of all Philips DAPs. This particular model isn’t exactly newsworthy since the company didn’t brag about it too much except stating it has 4-line OLED display, built-in battery and 20 hours of playtime.

Pricing:

• SA6545 4GB for $179, SA6585 8GB for $199
• SA5245BT 4GB for $139, SA5485BT 8GB for $159
• SA2845 4GB for $49

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Here’s an interesting way to restrict access to your data: rather than remembering an easily crackable password or relying on the sensitivity of a fingerprint scanner (we think back to that episode of Myth Busters where they opened up a fingerprint lock with a rubber mold and shudder), why not use an RFID scanner to store your data’s encrypted key? That’s the idea behind the STYSEN E08 RFID Security 2.5 Inch HDD Enclosure, a $56 kit that attaches to a SATA hard drive and connects to your computer via Hi-Speed USB 2.0. A keychain RFID transmitter stores the drive’s key; scanning the transmitter over the drive unlocks it so you can access your secure data with ease.

While you’re more likely to lose a keychain than you are your fingerprints, we really like two features about this kit: first, it’s easy to upgrade – change out the drive and you’re up to date with the latest technology without losing your security – and second, the kit includes a security feature that forces the drive into reformat mode if it’s ever separated from the kit. Maybe RFID is the way to go for secure, portable data…
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Those in search of a new digital video camera will be pleased to know that Toshiba just updated their latest addition to the crowd. The Toshiba Camileo Pro comes with a 7.0 MP CCD sensor, takes pictures, is an MP3 player, webcam, mass storage device, and motion detector.

To add to that hefty list of functions is the 3x optical and 4x digital zoom and has 64MB of internal memory. Additional storage can be added with the SD/MMC card slot. A device like this could go a very long way providing that it didn’t go through batteries like crazy as you could carry everything you’d ever need, minus your cell phone, in a single device. Expect the camera to set you back about $350 at least, depending on the model.
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Now that MacWorld is in full swing, we have a lot of new offerings from Apple to keep you drooling.

• Probably the biggest news comes in the form of the new MacBook Air. While super lightweight and thin, this little beauty doesn’t come with wireless USB or a user changeable battery. Expect to break the bank if you want to add the SDD option as well. MacRumors has a slightly more extensible list of features.
• To extend the usability of the Time Machine software, Apple has unveiled the Time Capsule. Essentially an AirPort Extreme with a hard drive in it, you will be able purchase it in 500GB and 1TB models. MacWorld reports that it’s so full of features that it will make almost everyone happy.
• If you don’t mind using your bandwidth all day long, I4U reports that you will soon be able to rent DRM infected movies via iTunes. You will be forced to watch the movies within 30 days of downloading and once playback is started you have 24 hours to finish it up.
• Something tells us that renting movies goes well with the updated Apple TV. Slash Gear says that it is updated for streaming content through iTunes and YouTube, surely you will see one of these in every home (:sarcasm:).
• And finally while not directly Apple related, PC World brings news that the Drobo gets a much needed accessory. Dubbed the DroboShare, it allows you to connect the Drobo to your network and lets it function as a NAS.

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About 15 years ago, AT&T had a commercial where they talked about exciting future consumer technologies; things like movies on demand, digital video recording, and my favorite, video phone calls, Star Trek style. The premise of the commercial was that AT&T was going to bring you this exciting future, so you should give the company lots of money now. As it turns out, the commercial was wrong, but the ideas were correct; we have on demand, we have DVR, and – thanks to instant messaging, VoIP, and webcams, we have video phone calls. This concept is something Microsoft understands very well – they’ve integrated a group of programs around a few different webcams, including the subject of today’s review, the VX-7000 USB webcam. Today we’ll be seeing whether or not this video package makes the video phone dream an easy-to-use reality.
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For those of you that are holding on the wireless-N bandwagon for an N-capable dual band USB adapter, the wait could soon be over. It looks as if Netgear’s WNDA3100 is set to extend their RangeMax line up as soon as the FCC deems it ready. It comes with all the goodies that you would expect like WPA/WPA2, WEP, and a/b/g/n compatibility and is conveniently packed in a nice small USB dongle for your mobile pleasure.

For those of you that don’t know, dual band adapters allow for you to connect on either the 2.4GHz or 5GHz range. This allows for backwards compatibility and even more importantly, better connections. Since it can operate at either frequency, connections can be mixed between multiple devices thus increasing your available network bandwidth and reducing wireless interference.
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The Eco Drive might be the most environmentally friendly hard drive on the market, but it isn’t the most environmentally friendly storage device anymore. ATP introduced the EarthDrive at this year’s CES and I think it is fair to say that it is going to be hard to be any friendlier to the environment than this drive is.

The EarthDrive’s casing is made completely of bio-recycled plastics and is also recyclable. While that is great, the fact that ATP has partnered with the American Global Forest Re-Leaf program to donate a portion of the profits and help replant trees around the United States. The drive comes in sizes ranging from 1GB to 8GB and is waterproof, dust proof, and shock proof.
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We’ve the WUSB hubs and dongles, but there aren’t any native peripherals yet until today. Alereon and SunPlusIT have teamed up to come up with the world’s first Worldwide Wireless USB hard drive reference design, based on AL5000 WUSB chipset of the former company. Being worldwide means covering the entire WiMedia spectrum from 3.1Ghz to 10.6Ghz for complying with regulatory requirement set by local authorities.

Details are sketchy, but this is one step closer to bringing practical WUSB devices to the market. The press release has also hinted Toshiba might retail an external drive based on the same design. So, this is probably the closest thing you can get to cutting cords for your hard drive without clogging up the WiFi pipeline.
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If you feel the need to record in HD – and really, with today’s emphasis on HD in TV and video, why wouldn’t you want to upgrade your personal recordings to the same level of quality – and will have a nice chunk of change lying around this coming March, Sony would like you to consider their newest DVD-based camcorder, the HDR-UX20.

Topping the list of impressive features: 1080p HD recording based on AVCHD technology; a new high-profile encoding system for optimizing the balance between image definition and file size; use of the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 video codec for compatibility with many pieces of third-party video editing software; face detection technology that allocates more pixels to the up to eight encoded faces than any other Handycam; a Carl Zeiss Sonnar lens; and support for 8cm dual-layer DVD recording, a media card for images, and 8 GB of internal memory that can hold up to an hour of high-def video. At $1000 MSRP the HDR-UX20 won’t be cheap, but for the A/V nut who has to have it all, Sony’s newest portable camera might just fit the bill.
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