by Darren Murph, posted Apr 10th 2008 at 9:08AM We can’t say we’d follow in this guy’s footsteps for any amount of money, but boy, does it make for fantastic drama. Shortly after the famed Zune Guy (you know, that cat with a trio of Zune-inspired tattoos?) decided to legally change his name to “Microsoft Zune,” the plan was put on hiatus after hearing that it cost a whopping $500 to get a name swap. After getting curious, investigating and discovering that he only needed $150 to have it done, he put the mission squarely back on the front burner. Unfortunately, there still stands a chance of the aforesaid name being denied, so he’s posted up a poll in order to let the general public give him a list of backups. (Read the full post about ‘Zune Guy’s name change endeavor is back on’…)

by Paul Miller, posted Apr 10th 2008 at 11:32AM Just what we needed, another couple of me-too MIDs dropped into the world without a purpose. USI is naturally putting some fine tech in these devices, like a 4.8-inch 800 x 480 touchscreen, up to 8GB of SSD, WiFi, Bluetooth, 512MB of RAM and a 1.2GHz Intel Atom processor, but given the lack of proof that an MID is even what consumers want at the moment, we’re having a hard time getting excited about these particular MIDs. The main claim to fame of the MID-200 (keyboard) and MID-150 (no keyboard) is a PCI-express slot for adding 3G or GPS, but the existing four hour battery life is certainly going to strain under the load of any additions. (Read the full post about ‘USI wastes some plastic on MID-150 and MID-200′…)

The moment I saw the Micro SD Card Projector, my skepticism alarm went off. After all, portable projectors often generate images that are not as clear as their non-portable predecessors. My skepticism lessened when I saw images of its projections from the product page. They looked like the projected images you would see from any other projector. Of course, it’s really hard to tell how good a projector is from a picture of its projection. It looks like my skepticism is now increasing. Especially when I saw this product being sold on a site called Drinkstuff.com. It’s almost like their company slogan would be “we sell stuff that drunk people should use”. (Read the full post about ‘Micro SD Card Projector’…)

The Sony Bravia E4000 series is Sony’s latest range of LCD HDTVs, with a unique “Picture Frame” design. As you can tell from the promotional shots below, the Sony E4000 series have been designed to look like a picture frame and display artwork or photos. These are fully functional, top spec HDTVs but they also feature Sony’s Picture Frame Mode, which lets you display still image to enjoy, from a selection of six pre-installed image, or your own from a USB stick. The Sony E4000’s look great, and can continue to look great while your not watching your favorite shows, by replacing the boring black rectangle with some beautiful photos. (Read the full post about ‘Sony Bravia E4000 | KDL-26E4000, KDL-32E4000, KDL-40E4000′…)

by Thomas Ricker, posted Apr 10th 2008 at 8:47AM Remember Thingamagoop, the little synth monster controlled by light thanks to the photocell governing the main oscillator? Well, this alarm clock mod requires a 9-volt DC jack and adapter, switch SPDT, and some audio cable and wire to bring it all together. A few snips and solder burns later and voila, the monster Moog alarm clock is born. Man, robots… synthesizers… it’s like the ultimate nerd sub-cult. Video after the break, detailed hacking instructions on the other side of that read link.P.S. Yes, he has throw-switch nipples and a uh, knob. ReadPermalinkEmail thisComments (7)Filed under: Misc. (Read the full post about ‘Video: Thingamagoop alarm clock mod haunts your dreams, wakes you to its nightmare’…)

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 10th 2008 at 8:31AM If you’ve been courting the idea of picking up a mini PC resembling an overstuffed history book with a glossy black finish, ASUS’ got just the thing. Housing an Intel processor, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, slot-loading DVD / Blu-ray (optional) drive, up to 1TB of hard drive space, a 256MB GeForce 8600M and 7.1-channel audio out, this thing is an ATSC tuner away from being a pretty potent little HTPC. You’ll also find gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, an integrated IR receiver, FireWire, 10-in-1 multicard reader, HDMI / VGA out (DVI via bundled adapter) and a multimedia keyboard / mouse combo to go along with that MCE remote. (Read the full post about ‘ASUS’ BD-equipped Essentio CS5110 mini PC gets official’…)

by Thomas Ricker, posted Apr 10th 2008 at 8:08AMThe Hollywood Reporter is stating in no uncertain terms that Blockbuster is developing a set-top box to stream video into the home. Now the real bombshell: it should be announced “sometime this month.” The device is expected to make the most of Blockbuster’s access to Movielink’s 6,000 strong Movie catalog just as soon as the content is migrated to Blockbuster.com (sometime before June). (Read the full post about ‘Blockbuster announcing streaming set-top box this month?’…)

If you are an avid paintball aficionado or are just looking to protect your little corner of the backyard then has EMT has the gadget for you. Say hello to your new little friend, the Paintball Sentry Turret. Evolution Model Technology has created the EMT Paintball Sentry Turret to add another dimension to paintball battles and even let those with physical disabilities a chance to join in some paintball fun. The unit itself is mounted on a tripod and is sealed to protect itself from paintball impact but can also be modded to add water and winter protection for all year paintball action. It is loaded with 400 round hopper and can also be upgraded to 1000+ to keep the action going. (Read the full post about ‘Guard your territory with the EMT Paintball Sentry Turret’…)

by Nilay Patel, posted Apr 9th 2008 at 6:09PM
We’ve been waiting to get our hands on the SlingCatcher ever since it was announced at CES in 2007 (and re-announced at this past CES) but it looks like we’ll have to wait a little longer — Gregg Wilkes, Sling’s VP of sales, has said the product won’t be released this quarter as scheduled, but rather sometime later this year. Sling hasn’t made this announcement publicly, though: Gregg simply emailed a would-be customer his apologies, saying Sling was committed to providing a “compelling and enjoyable user experience and value proposition,” and that the SlingCatcher is still being refined. (Read the full post about ‘SlingCatcher delayed again, this time until “sometime in 2008″’…)

Virginia was first with a law requiring public schools to teach classes on Internet safety. Hear, hear. Texas and Illinois have both followed suit. I totally agree. The Internet is something that has taken hold in the general public in the blink of an eye, relatively speaking. Its uptake has been rapid as compared to say, television or radio.

As an IT person who understands a fair amount of computers, technology and the Internet, I still maintain that computers are complicated beasts, and it is downright scary how little people know and understand. This doesn’t stop them from trawling the Internet, happily clicking away at things they don’t understand.

(Read the full post about ‘Virginia, Illinois and Texas say kids need to learn Internet safety’…)