A headset is now the law in most states if you want to use your cellphone while driving. But what about your laptop? Here’s a low-tech hack from a New York Times reader who uses a laptop while driving to chat with his wife, who has hearing loss. Use brackets to hold a laptop in the car. Combine it with a lapel mike and a voice recognition software such as Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Add in a wireless card, and this could also be an easy way to get online and use a laptop from your car. Just be sure to keep your eyes — and your mind — on the road. (Read the full post about ‘How to Use Your Laptop While Driving’…)

A tipster tells us that select Google employees have started testing the Android phones. A New York Times report says that Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile division is preparing to introduce the phone later this year.

The phones will be made by HTC Corp, says the Times.

Google spokesperson Erin Fors confirms that the company is getting feedback from early users.

“To prepare for Android’s public launch, we are testing the platform on a variety of devices,” says Google spokesperson Erin Fors.

(Read the full post about ‘Google Android Phone: Testing in Progress’…)

JVC Everio GZ-MS100 "It’s a YouTube camera…It’s a camcorder made for uploading YouTube clips…We think this cam will be great for sending videos to sites like YouTube." Honestly, if I hear that phrase (or anything like it) one more time I’m going to punch the YouTube guys in the back of the head. Why? Because more than representing a simple distribution model, these days the moniker has come to represent just plain crappy video quality. Now thankfully, JVC’s Everio GZ-MS100 doesn’t suffer from YouTube bad videoitis.  In fact, this standard definition lightweight shoots better video and has a much smarter feature set than most of its competitors. (Read the full post about ‘Review: Jazzed Up JVC Camcorder Hits a Few Sour Notes’…)

This just in - T-Mobile Germany will be the first carrier that will offer Google’s fabled phone, and this will happen before US gets their own Google phone. Well, if you’re currently on the fence wondering whether to pick an iphone or the Google phone, you had best win the battle of the mind now lest you end up even more confused when both are available. There is still no definite date for the Google phone’s release, but it could be as early as October in the US or much later on near Christmas. T-Mobile has yet to comment on this piece of news though, but the deafening silence could prove their “guilt”. Whatever it is, we’re definitely living in exciting times. (Read the full post about ‘T-Mobile Germany First With Google Phone’…)

Hmm, they say that talking to your plants can be therapeutic - both for you and the plants themselves. Well, why not hook up a MP3 recording of your voice to the Sonic Impact Planter Speaker? That way, you can continue “pampering” your plants with your soothing voice even when you’re not around thanks to modern technology. Those who have not fallen that far down the rabbit hole can instead use these Planter Speakers to enjoy a spot of Mozart or Bach while gardening. Each planter comes with 35 watts of sound and are waterproof (duh!), more than capable of handling the harsh outdoor temperatures. Green fingers are not included with each purchase. (Read the full post about ‘Sonic Impact Planter Speaker’…)

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 14th 2008 at 9:58AM Look out, Pure Digital — you’ve got a new rival in town. Radiopaq, best known for bringing thousands of internet radio stations and podcasts to listeners via the web, has decided to hop into the hardware game. The Rp5 tabletop radio features a five-way speaker system, digital / analog processors, a headphone jack, remote control and a rather stylish design. There’s also an integrated WiFi module for tuning into the outfit’s website and even sucking down news, weather and traffic information. Of course, the more traditional FM / DAB tuners are there as well, making this one quite the multifaceted box. (Read the full post about ‘Radiopaq Rp5 does DAB, FM and internet radio’…)

by Paul Miller, posted Aug 14th 2008 at 10:50AM This makes sense on very many levels, but at the same time we’ve gotta think those long-suffering PS3 owners will be a bit “hacked off” by Sony’s announcement of a motion-tracking sword game headed for… the PS2. The PS2’s market saturation (every man, woman and child on earth has at least two), and the EyeToy’s general success (10.5 million units sold) make the combo the perfect trojan horse for fighting the good fight against Wii world domination. Sony’s using new (sort of) color tracking technology to beef up the EyeToy’s motion tracking that will let it detect and track brightly colored objects, instead of just motion, for two new EyeToy: Play games due for the holidays this year. (Read the full post about ‘Sony brewing up 1:1 motion tracking sword game for PS2 and EyeToy’…)

Floors aren’t the most interesting surfaces in the world. We cover them in wood, carpet, tiles or any number of different materials, but we tend to just walk over them never looking back.

Sensacell aim to change that though, with a floor you’ll want to stop and look at, walk over again and again and generally play with.

(Read the full post about ‘Sensacell makes walking fun with interactive LED floor’…)

Filed in archive Photoshop by jim on August 15, 2008 For those of you who would like to experience Adobe Photoshop, without having to fork over a small fortune, there's the free downsized version, which has just been updated, and improved. There are plenty of low cost and even free, high quality, digital graphics programs out there, but Adobe's Photoshop has always been the standard bearer because it can do just about anything a digital photographer wants. There's a new type of software being developed that is web based and can be used on all operating systems which cuts down on actual manufacturing and distribution costs. (Read the full post about ‘Free Online Adobe Photoshop Express Updated’…)

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 14th 2008 at 9:16AMWhat’s with all the hate, guys? For months now, AMD, NVIDIA and a host of other caps-locked companies have been harshing on the chip maker for withholding critical information in relation to the USB 3.0 controller specification. At long last, Intel can finally throw up its left hand and ask those pundits to talk to it, as the outfit has finally unveiled the Extensible Host Controller Interface (xHCI) draft specification revision 0.9 in support of the USB 3.0 (SuperSpeed USB) architecture. (Read the full post about ‘Intel appeases haters, reveals USB 3.0 controller specification’…)