SoulStice is not your average emcee. Not only does he have a master’s degree in engineering, but he’s also a very skilled lyricist. His new single, “Crash the Party,” breaks new ground as the first to be released in three different languages.
Originally posted at Crossfade
Other than slowing down consumer spending, the economic downturn is deterring businesses from buying new computers for their workers.
The typical lifespan of an office computer is three years before it’s replaced by a new one, but 46 percent of businesses are postponing on purchasing upgrades because it’s one of the easiest ways to cut costs, according to a Wall Street Journal story. Though to the average consumer three years may not seem very long to merit an upgrade, office employees use their computers heavily and tend to wear them down faster. In consequence, slower computers (and massive layoffs) amount to office productivity taking a big hit.
Of course, fewer enterprise computer sales are affecting tech manufacturers as well, which is why research company IDC is projecting U.S. PC shipments will drop 1 percent in the fourth quarter compared to quarter four of 2007. The good news for consumers is that companies are slashing computer prices up to 30 percent to boost demand, but lower prices don’t necessarily bode well in a collapsing economy.
How Old Is Your Work Computer? [WSJ]
Photo: Brian X. Chen/Wired.com
The Sharp LC-46D85U is the company's first to offer a 120Hz refresh rate.
(Credit: CNET)
Ah, 120Hz. Like many features used by TV manufacturers to induce people to spend more money on step-up models (see also 1080p, HDMI 3.0), its visible impact on picture quality is often difficult to discern. In test patterns, 120Hz can reduce blurring, and when paired with a 1080p/24 source it can make film-based sources appear a bit smoother, but for the average viewer, and in many cases even experienced reviewers like me, the differences appear slight.
It’s easy to confuse 120Hz with dejudder processing, which can have a significant visible impact on picture quality–not all of it good, but that’s another story. The confusion increases because many manufacturers market 120Hz and dejudder in the same breath, and, in fact, nearly every 120Hz LCD also features dejudder. The Sharp LC-46D85U we just reviewed is one exception.
…
Now that Twitter is all the rage, there’s no reason why your house plant shouldn’t be on it.
ThinkGeek has a $100 do-it-yourself kit that combines the average gardening tool with some electronics to get your plant online.
Once assembled the probes go into the plant’s soil and the built-in ethernet jack should help connect to the internet, says the site.
Its safe to assume you will have to create the twitter account for your plant. But once that’s done, be ready to get those updates.
[via Gadgettasitc]
Photo: ThinkGeek
This week in the Gadget Lab Videoblog, we continue our roundup of the Best of Test gadgets from our Fall Test issue, including the Usain Bolt of cameras, the Nikon D3.
Daniel Dumas and Jon Snyder go over the $5,000 D3 and explain why it leads the modern brigade of DSLRs. Mainly, its crazy nine frame per second burst mode makes life easier for photojournalists, it takes gorgeous pictures, and has a sexy ergonomic build that make you want to squeeze its buttons all night long.
In addition, Mathew Honan and Joe Brown go over the best Home Audio product from the Test, Logitech’s Audio Squeezebox Duet streamer/audio manager.
If the video above is not working, please click here to view it on YouTube: Gadget Lab Videoblog: More Best of Test Gadgets — Nikon’s D3 and Logitech’s Squeezebox Duet.
You can also check out all of our previous videos at Wired’s channel on YouTube.
This episode of the Gadget Lab Videoblog was created by Annaliza Savage (producer), John Ross (camera), and Fernando Cardoso (editor).
By Rick Broida
Ring doorbell. Yell “trick or treat.” Ring doorbell. Yell “trick or treat.” What is this, the dark ages? It’s time to bring confection acquisition into the 21st century by stocking up on speed-boosting, performance-enhancing Halloween gear. Just grab these four can’t-miss gadgets and you’ll be enjoying a candy haul that lasts through Labor Day instead of going dry at Thanksgiving.
ATN Night Scout
It’s late, the porch lights are out, but you know every house on the block has half a bowl of candy left over. Find the doorbells others can’t with these head-mountable night-vision specs, which, incidentally, also make a killer addition to a Sam Fisher costume.
$650, atncorp.com
Skorpion Quadline Multi Terrain Skates
Walking from house to house? Feh, how pedestrian. Instead, strap up a set of Skorpion’s quad-wheel skates and whisk over grass, gravel, cobblestone and pavement sans stumbling and help fill that pillowcase to the brim. And hey, they’re also perfect if you’re dressing up like Roller Girl this year. (Note: it’s probably a good idea not to let your 9-year-old dress up like Roller Girl.)
$160, skorpion.com
SureFire E2D LED Defender
The flashlight special-ops commandos would use to “trick or treat”
in war zones, the Defender easily illuminates your path from one porch
to the next. Alternately, use its 120 LED-powered lumens to temporarily
blind would-be bag-grabbin’ teenagers conspiring to snatch your kids’
candy. Either way, it’s win-win.
$136, surefire.com
Verizon Chaperone
you the willies? Keep track of your troopers from the comfort of your
home base via real-time GPS on any one of Verizon’s Chaperone-compatible handsets.
$10 monthly, chaperone.vzw.com
Apple hasn’t yet been able to stop Florida-based company Psystar from selling Mac clones, and the rebellious manufacturer is trudging forward with more plans: a Mac notebook clone and a desktop Hackintosh equipped with a Blu-ray player.
Though scarce with details, Psystar told AppleInsider that the company is developing a Mac notebook clone that would be "very competitively priced." Psystar did not state a release date or product specifications.
Also, the company on Tuesday issued a press release saying its desktop Hackintoshes now include a Blu-ray customization option. Psystar criticized Apple for choosing not to include Blu-ray players in its new machines.
"Blu-ray has already won the format war," Psystar president Rudy Pedraza said. "Not only is there fully
functional and mature support for Blu-ray in other operating systems
but you can now rent Blu-ray discs from almost any rental chain.
Blu-ray has become pervasive technology that is being widely adopted by
consumers everywhere."
Apple in mid-July filed a lawsuit against Psystar alleging copyright, trademark and shrink-wrap license infringement. The suit centered on Psystar’s "OpenMac" — essentially a PC hacked to run OS X Leopard — which the company renamed OpenComputer. The sort-of Mac clone, which Psystar started selling in April, cost $399, or about $2,400 cheaper than a Mac Pro.
After about three months of squabbling, Apple and Psystar agreed to settle their legal dispute outside of court. The companies are expected to begin mediation sessions by end of January, but the amount of time they have to reach a settlement is indefinite.
A Mac clone notebook could create major headaches for Apple. Some analysts have already said the corporation would face challenges upholding strong sales of its popular Mac notebooks in the face of a broad economic collapse. Unlike other manufacturers already offering competitively priced notebooks, A MacBook clone more directly competes with Apple since it will run the same operating system.
Apple, Psystar strike deal to avoid trial in Open Computer tussle [AppleInsider]
See also:
Photo: Psystar
Filed under: Laptops
We’ve been fans of Samsung laptops ever since we laid hands (and personal cash) on the ultra-portable Q30 resold by Dell as the X1. As such, Sammy has our full attention after announcing proper plans to enter the US market with five different Samsung-branded laptop models. Slated for sale at US big box and the usual brick-and-mortarless on-line shops are the 10-inch NC10, the 13.3-inch Q310 and X360, 14-inch X460 and P460, 15.4-inch P560, and 16-inch R610 slab with 16:9 aspect — a silicon feast spread across thin and light, all purpose, business, desktop replacement, and netbook tastes. We’re talking premium rigs here folks, a bold move with very questionable timing given the sudden shortage of discretionary capital held by the average Dusty McSixpack. Hit the read link for full specs and prices.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Filed under: Household
Maybe the incandescent light bulb has been sitting in its socket-shaped throne for too many years — GE thinks so, anyway. GE R&D guys have produced a machine that prints OLED materials newspaper-style onto 8-inch sheets of metal foil in hopes that the sheets — which can be pinned to just about any surface — will start the process of home lighting biz regime change in 2010. Picture, if you will, wallpaper or window blinds that provide soft, diffused lighting for the living room after dark — no need for special fixtures, just a wall plug. OLED lighting isn’t yet cost-efficient for the average consumer, but GE hopes that will change soon. In the meantime, expect to see these sheets in a trip-out Flaming Lips concert in the somewhat-near future.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Filed under: Desktops
PC World has branched out its Advent brand, offering the Eco PC through its UK online store, aiming to best the average desktop power consumption by 78 percent. The system is priced at just under what you might expect to pay for a slightly dusty super computer — £599.99 (or about $1100) — but the specs don’t quite match up: 1.5GHz Core 2 Duo T5250 CPU, 2GB RAM, 160GB hard drive, 802.11b/g, and Vista Home Premium onboard. The environmentally-friendly PC is made from recycled materials, so don’t be surprised if it starts to reek of old banana peels after a while.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Motorola has come out with a phone, the Cliq, targeted at a specific market and utilizing the power of Google’s Android platform. It is the first of a family of new Motorola phones, where the Cliq stands at the patronymic fore. As far as features go, Cliq is doing all right. The phone is complete [...]
For Microsoft Outlook users unfamiliar with Xobni, pay attention. The venture-backed company’s first piece of software, not even two years old, is a powerful advancement for e-mail organization, Outlook style. Wednesday, the new version of the tool is available, Xobni1.8 which provides additional power. In addition, the previously free plugin is offering an advanced version, [...]
Ever since June of last year there has been talks of Verizon and Alltel merging, but now it is official. Verizon wireless has now become the largest mobile carrier with over 83 million subscribers. Alltel will continue to run under the Alltel name until a complete merger of the two brands later this year. Now [...]
Pioneer has released a statement saying they have developed a Super Multi-Layered Disc that will play using current Blu-ray players. The disc consists of 16 layers that can hold 25GB of data each, which totals a 400GB Disc. They plan on having a read-only disc available by 2010, a rewritable by 2012, and a 1TB [...]
One of the biggest reasons most Windows users are sticking with Firefox over Google Chrome is its extensibility—and the most popular Firefox extension by far among Lifehacker readers is Adblock Plus.
RSS
Home
New Gadgets