Gadgets Power

Posted Mar 9th 2008 1:37PM by Joshua TopolskyFiled under: Portable AudioWord on the street (and by street, we mean mostly British tabloids) is that Paul McCartney’s deal to sell the Beatles back-catalog is done, and the Greatest Works of Musical Art Ever Recorded will be appearing on the iTunes store “within months.” Of course, we’ve been hearing whispers about this for what seems like a million years, and since both Apple Corps and Apple are delivering “no comment” and “rumor and speculation” responses on the topic, we won’t get too excited. Still, there does seem to be some serious movement on this front, with everyone and their mother saying the lot is to be sold any day now for around $400 million — which is no small sum. (Read the full post about ‘Beatles’ catalog coming online at long last?’…)

Posted Mar 9th 2008 2:08PM by Joshua TopolskyFiled under: Gaming Remember that Xbox 360 price cut we mentioned a few days ago? Well it appears that the Financial Times Germany is reporting that this Monday, Microsoft will trim the fat from the Arcade and Pro consoles, shaving €80 and €50 off the price tag, respectively. Of course, right now this is still unconfirmed by the boys in Redmond (or in any other official location), though the buzz in the community does seem to suggest that these cuts are coming. Hopefully if these become a reality, the company will break something off for folks on these shores as well — we need all the help we can get right now.Update: See that photo above? (Read the full post about ‘Euro Xbox 360 price cuts landing Monday says paper’…)

Duck Fadar Any jokes about us going quackers, will not - we repeat - will not be permitted. Now, here are the fundamental features that make these two deserving of a place at you bath side. See price Tags: speaker, tests, plasma, ipod (Read the full post about ‘Duck Fadar’…)

Posted Mar 9th 2008 3:35PM by Joshua TopolskyFiled under: cellphones Finally, iphone owners no longer have to mope around with a feeling of shame and embarrassment in their hearts: AT&T has blessed them with an “unlimited” calling plan. That’s right, if you so desire (and you do so desire, don’t you?), you can latch a $119.99 all-you-can-eat plan onto your super-device. Sure, it looks peachy, until you notice that despite your “unlimited” status, you still only get a measly 200 text messages, which is like a three-course steak dinner with no dessert. At least you’ll never again have to end a conversation with Mom because you’re worried about overages — though you’ll want to keep a close watch on those SMSs, (Read the full post about ‘AT&T iPhones get an “unlimited” calling plan’…)

Posted Mar 9th 2008 7:08AM by Paul MillerFiled under: Storage Samsung promised it was coming in March, and here she blows. The Spinpoint M6 is the first standard-height 500GB 2.5-incher available, at a lean 9.5mm, meaning you can cram it into most existing laptops unlike the 2.5-inch 500 giggers from Fujitsu and Hitachi. Samsung’s using some Perpendicular Magnetic Recording tech to cram everything in, stuffing three 167GB platters into the 5400rpm drive. The M6 goes for $299 and is shipping now. If DVD burning is more your pace, Samsung also just announced an “industry fastest” 22X DVD burner, the SH-S223. The SATA drive can stamp a 4.7GB disc in 12 minutes, and does dual-layer discs at a respectable 16X. (Read the full post about ‘Samsung’s 500GB 2.5-inch drive arrives, alongside 22X DVD burner’…)

My wife has a MacBook that I borrow from time to time. Now and then when I’m using it while plugged into the wall I’ll accidentally unplug the MagSafe power adapter. It’s really not a big deal, as it pops back into place rather easily. My wife, however, hates it when she knocks it out. I don’t really understand this obsession with having the plug stay in at all times, but at least I’ve found a simple gadget that will prevent it from happening in the future. This is one of those things that you know the company that designed it will make a small fortune. It’s a simple piece of plastic that probably costs peanuts to make, yet provides a function that tons of people are going to want. (Read the full post about ‘Keep your MagSafe adapter in place with MagStay’…)

Lavalamp Phone Charm You can have this for ?5.95 Tags: cool gear, dap, digital, games (Read the full post about ‘Lavalamp Phone Charm’…)

Dassault Systèmes invites the general public to join Fuchs in this charity race for Sports Without Borders via an Facebook application: virtual runners will be assigned 3D photorealistic avatars generated from 2D portraits and will select virtual running environments from a photo library. Once these steps completed, virtual runners will receive a video of their virtual run. They can also build support for Sports Without Borders by inviting Facebook friends to participate, which will result in the creation of a solidarity chain linking all friends’ videos in a single virtual relay. Dassault Systèmes will feature the longest and zaniest relays in its Virtual Relay Hall of Fame on the dedicated mini-website, as well as a real-time counter of virtual (and real) kilometers run. (Read the full post about ‘Virtual Plus Reality Challenge’…)

USB Poise Lamp This stylish retro designed USB lamp in silver is ideal for shedding a light on the subject when you’re burning the midnight oil. Due to the elbow design the angle of the lamp is adjustable to suit your needs whilst the power is supplied by any available USB port on your laptop or pc. USB 1.1 interface plug & play usable for Windows and Mac. Tags: camera, digital, gear, pvp (Read the full post about ‘USB Poise Lamp’…)

Brain Trainer - Exercise For Your Brain! Using the Brain Trainer will really help keep [your brain] functioning at peak levels. Tony Buzan, the world’s leading authority on brain learning and thinking skills. See price Tags: video games, CD, Ogg Vorbis, gprs (Read the full post about ‘Brain Trainer - Exercise For Your Brain!’…)