The design could be a little more subtle—plus white rubberized products for the pocket always end up grody—but the “USB Smart Cable” lives up to its name as a simple cell-phone strap that unfurls into a USB cable, ending in mini USB, 18-pin, or a Nokia DC 2.0 connector. Only $9, plus shipping.
The 1394 Trade Association is already talking up FireWire S3200, but Symwave is taking baby steps, demonstrating a 1.6Gbps system known as S1600 (shocking) that’s backwards-compatible with FireWire 800 and 400 this week at a conference in China. That’s great and all — transferring 1000 four megapixel images in five seconds sure sounds like a good time — but speeds like that probably aren’t going to cut it when FireWire 800 devices are already thin on the ground, everyone’s looking forward to S3200, and the 4.8Gbps USB 3.0 spec is already making appearances on schedule for a launch in 2010. Not to mention that Wireless USB 1.1’s target speed is 1.0Gbps — you know we’ll take a slight speed hit if we can ditch the cables.
The Mobile Fragrance Communications Kit from NTT DoCoMo functions on the similar scent delivery technology that NTT currently utilizes in homes and movie theaters across Japan. All you need to do is download fragrance playlists onto your DoCoMo handset and transmit it via infrared to the portable “aroma generator” that is already pre-loaded with base fragrances. These scents will then be released into the room of your choice, accompanied by MIDIs and animated GIFs to keep that happy feeling up. Pilot programs will commence this April 10th until the 20th - do you think this idea will catch on outside of Japan?
Source: engadget
1.3 Megapixel Spy Sunglasses with Remote Control. Not only will these shades let you snap photos stealthily all day via the remote control and rechargeable battery, but they also play MP3s, which means you’ve got entertainment for those long drawn out surveillance duties outside the Spears’ houseboat. Comes with USB 2.0 tech for downloading images to your PC back at base. $99.99.
source: engadget
Logitec’s Bluetooth 2.1+EDR adapter retails for $22, and at that price you get signal range of up to 300 feet along with all the other features that accompany 2.1. It is capable of supporting up to 15 different Bluetooth profiles in Windows (9 on Macs). Certainly there isn’t much to argue about when it comes to price, and Bluetooth 2.0 seems like a distant memory all of a sudden.
Sony unveals a black Sony Rolly blinking and dancing loudspeaker.
Additionally Rolly owners can now customize the “arms” of their Rolly with different colors. I see already Japanese School girls sitting in a coffee and letting their customized Rollys battle on the table. To share cool Rolly moves, Sony setup the Motion Park site. The moves of the Rolly can be customized as well with the Motion Editor software.
Sony announced the Rolly music gadget last September.
Rolly only has a power button and a play button. All other functions are done by twisting or rolling the gadget. Measurements of the Sony Rolly are 104 × 65 × 65mm. The built-in flash memory is 1GB.
If you want a Rolly from Japan now, AudioCubes exports it for $499.99 internationally.
Rolly has been spotted at the FCC in the U.S., so a state side release of Rolly could be around the corner.
More details in this Sony press-release (Japanese). See also the Sony Rolly site (Japanese).
The Korg-approved DS-10 synthesizer from AQ Interactive will soon make its way to DS’ in Japan, featuring a couple of patchable virtual synths with two oscillators each, a drum machine, a sequencer, and an entire range of effects among others. Word has it that you can also hook up with several systems by taking advantage of the DS’ wireless capability, playing a tune together or exchanging sounds and songs. Music buffs who tend to take gaming breaks with their DS Lite will be able to pick up the DS-10 synthesizer for less than $50 if they import a copy from Japan come this July.Source: engadget
Computer security is a huge topic these days. So often we see the news where someone has lost a flash drive or CD with personal data for 50,000 or more people. What about other security risks such as unattended workstations, left logged in and with everything open? Sure you can set password protected screen-savers and other policies but that only goes so far as there is still an open window before they activate. ComputerProx looks to have an answer for this, the ProxMat.
Essentially the ProxMat is a pressure sensitive mat that send the Windows Key + L shortcut when a user leaves the workstation, thus forcing the system to lock. It connects via USB, doesn’t require any special drivers, and is available in a wide range of sizes. It can also be used to put computers into standby and save some energy. Now if it only had Wireless USB so that we wouldn’t get our feet tangled in the USB cable…
Source: Coolest Gadget.com
When you work on computers, one of the easiest ways to pull data off of a hard drive is to plug it into a different working PC. Rather than actually cracking the case on said PC, one of my favorite tools to use is an external USP adapter. While this method is much easier than putting the old hard drive inside of your computer, I always wondered if there was an easier way. As it turns out, there is.
This cool dock from Fujitsu actually lets you use a hard drive in the same fashion as your iPod when you want to sync it. Just slide in the hard drive and you’re good to go. This eliminates any of the annoying cables that you must plug and unplug with the traditional adapters.
It appears that this handy gadget is only compatible with SATA drives, though with an adapter will work with both 2.5 and 3.5-inch drives. Look for it to arrive in Korea by the end of this month, unfortunately availability in other areas and pricing are yet unknown.
Source: Aving
For some, having two hands just isn’t enough. At the PC especially, with one hand tied to the mouse and the other (or both) used for keyboard control, there’s often little or no time to use them for anything else at the same time. Ah, that’s why a cup of tea at the computer always goes cold.
That is, until now. Bili Inc’s FOOTTIME Foot Mouse makes controlling your PC as easy as… controlling a mouse with your feet, funnily enough. One foot goes into the slipper and is used to control the onscreen cursor, whilst the other deals with a footpad that houses customisable buttons for individually tailored PC navigation. Over to Bili Inc:
“In addition to its wide applications in ergonomics, rehab, aids to daily living, clean room (lab), dirty room (car repair), cyber room (video game), etc, FOOTIME Foot Mouse is especially useful for audio/video/movie editor, animator, graphic designer, architect, composer, arranger, product designer (CAD, etc), CT scanner, software programmer or any intensive computer user. It’s more than a mouse. It’s a smart mouse (programmable). It’s your stepping-stone to peak performance!”
In other words, it does everything and will change your life forever. Maybe. And it can be yours for a snip at just $199 USD. You know you want to.
Source: Gizmodo
