Gadgets Power

Posted Feb 14th 2008 10:27AM by Paul MillerFiled under: Laptops That X300 preview from yesterday leave you wanting for more? Well since Lenovo doesn’t seem to keen about busting this laptop out and giving us the true skinny, we’ve got some detailed spec sheets to show you in the interim. Just in case you were on the hunt for an ultraportable, Lenovo has gone ahead and compared its new ThinkPad to just about every other tiny laptop under the sun — with one notable exception. (Read the full post about ‘Secrets of the ThinkPad X300 — what Walt didn’t tell you’…)

Posted Feb 14th 2008 11:29AM by Sean CooperFiled under: cellphones, Features, Handhelds Move along, nothing too new and thrilling here. We hunted down Nokia’s touch demo and were completely un-thrilled by the whole package. Sure, it’s still early days for the interface, but it’s a case of same old same old as it’s sporting the same UI, same OS, but now instead of using the d-pad, you’re able to poke about with your finger. The demo was running on a small tablet in software only, no hardware yet, though, as we’ve already mentioned, devices should start arriving in the second half of the year. (Read the full post about ‘Hands-on with Nokia’s S60 touch UI at MWC’…)

Keeping cool on a hot summer day takes a whole lot of electricity to work the air conditioner, but researchers from the Malaviya National Institute of Technology in India could provide the world with a greener solution thanks to a natural, passive method for keeping indoor environments cool. This system will bring together a wind tower and solar chimney as part of the building’s architecture, where the former provides a draft of air cooled by the stones that flows through windows upward through the building. This draft will then push the hotter inside air upwards, where it then escapes via the chimney’s thermally conducting panels. (Read the full post about ‘Passive Air Conditioning’…)

Nokia wants you to let your creative juices flow with its Yamake for N-Gage that enables gamers to create their own games. Conjuring mini-games involves adding content and with the ability to share and play it with your friends, you will be able to know if you have a future as a game designer or not. The design tools are meant to be easy-to-use so that anyone and everyone can pick it up, but then again if it is so simple, most of the games that are user-generated will most probably be pretty much the same from one to another. The mini games can then be shared with everyone on the N-Gage Arena. (Read the full post about ‘Yamake For N-Gage’…)

I’ve never really thought that anyone was “out to get me.” Sure, back in the day I thought I was going to get into some hot water over all of those Napster downloads I did (I was on dial-up at the time, so couldn’t have downloaded that many), but never to the point where I thought that someone was tracing my calls, or that I should be recording calls I received. However, were I needing something to do just that, I’d probably consider the Teleport 2.0. This neat little gadget hooks into your phone line and stores all of the information about your incoming and outgoing calls such as caller ID and numbers dialed. Of course every time you pick up the phone, it starts recording and sends the data to your computer via USB. (Read the full post about ‘Tap your own phone line with Teleport 2.0′…)

For the latest info on the coolest gadgets, emerging technology and wired madness, subscribe to our full news feed or have it delivered to your inbox. Always free. Always unique. Thanks for visiting! I like Valentine’s Day, especially in Japan.  You see, in Japan men are not expected to give any chocolates at all.  Women give chocolates to men.  We are inclined to reciprocate in March for White Day, but that is another story.  What I love is actually the post Valentine’s Day chocolate glut.  You can get some high quality chocolates for a fraction of the price that you would normally pay.  This weekend I am going to try to rustle me up this Carmania Chocolate V2 set. (Read the full post about ‘Valentine’s Day Today, Carmania Set Chocolate V2 Tomorrow’…)

Isn’t it just wonderful to look back and see what we thought our “future” would bring? Such is the case of the “House of the Future” in Disneyland. This was an exhibit that lasted ten years (1957-1967), and had things like a microwave oven, speakerphones, and a big-screen color TV. It is nice to know that most homes have those features, so it is about time Disney put a modern-day (or should I say futuristic?) spin on the House of the Future. House 2.0 is going to be a lot more expensive at a cost of $15 million. It will also be quite large with 5,000 square feet of floor space. It will also have actors living in it that will represent a “family of the future”. (Read the full post about ‘Disneyland’s “House of the Future” Gets an Upgrade’…)

Apple really wants $20 from you, or so it seems. Reports are sweeping the internet that iTunes won’t take no for an answer when it asks you to buy the extra application pack for the iPod Touch.The same thing has happened to me. Clicking the “No Thanks” button takes you to the store anyway, and leaves you there. The iPod is not accesible. It will show up in the right hand source list of iTunes, and can be right-clicked to sync it, but any other management features are disabled. The fix? Disconnect from the internet. If iTunes can’t contact the mothership, it will allow you to use your ipod Touch again. Those with quick mousing skills (or slow internet connections) can click the little x which appears in the iTunes status window and cancel the trip to the store. (Read the full post about ‘$20 iPod Touch Upgrade Just Won’t Go Away’…)

Simpsons Doughnut Maker
The Simpsons Doughnut Maker - or should that be d’oh-nut maker - is able to flawlessly produce a batch of six perfectly turned-out doughnuts in just a few moments

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Tags: hdtv, tests, PDA, mobiles

Now you can get your own “very limited first edition” HIllary-in-the-Box for just $30. This comes from Pop Art Creations, which will make you a custom jack-in-the-box in your image. It was cute on the Ellen Degeneres show, but for the rest of us, it seems a bit creepy to me, whether you’d be getting it for yourself or to send to a loved one. Either way, . . . why? And why just Hillary Clinton? What about the other candidates? Are they not jack-in-the-box worthy? What’s the message here? See our editors’ picks of toys and gadgets at the Popgadget Shop. (Read the full post about ‘Hilary Clinton jack-in-the-box’…)