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The second version of the popular MSI Wind netbook is due to hit U.S. stores for the holiday season.

The specifications are as follows:

• CPU: 1.6GHZ Intel Atom
• Graphics:  Intel GMA950
• Memory: 1GB DDR2 RAM
• Display: 10 inches (1,024 x 600) LCD
• Hard drive: 160 GB
• Multimedia: 4-in-1 (SD/MMC/MS/XD) card reader
• Connections: USB 2.0 (three ports), Mic-in, headphone
• Battery:  6-Cell (about five hours)
• Wireless: 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth V2.0EDR
• Modem: Intel WiMAX Technology / 3.5G (HSDPA) Solution
• Camera: 1.3-megapixel webcam
• Dimensions: 10.23 x 7.08 x 0.38 ~ 1.29 inches
• Weight: 3 pounds (with battery)

Not much has changed from the previous model. The main difference is that the standard configuration ships with 160GB (as opposed to 80GB in the older Wind), and there’s an option to add a 3.5G modem. Other than that, MSI slightly altered the appearance of the netbook: The older Wind was all white or all black with rounded corners; the new one has straight edges and is all white with black accents.

The company hasn’t announced an official price yet, but a spokesman said the Wind U120 will be "significantly under $600." The current U100 model is selling for roughly $400, and I think we can expect to see a similar price tag. There isn’t an official release date, either, but MSI said the netbook will hit stores sometime mid-December.

See Also:

• MSI Wind 2 Netbook Set for November Release
• Early Photos: MSI Wind 2 Netbook
• MSI Announces Wind 2, Says Customers Hate Linux
• These Mites Be Giants: We Test and Rate 6 Netbooks

Photo: MSI

Look, we know how much you love Ratchet & Clank-oriented PSP SKUs, don’t try and hide your desire. This latest PSP-3000 bundle to feature the respectively furry / mechanical duo includes a black PSP and Everyday Shooter in addition to Ratchet & Clank Size Matters, instead of the silver PSP and echochrome featured in that other bundle. These are all very important distinctions, we assure you. A 1GB Memory Stick Duo card and the ever-diserable National Treasure 2 are included as well. The new bundle hits on December 15 for the same old $199 pricetag. We’re still waiting on that $169 standalone PSP-3000 with bated, Skype-ready breath.

[Via PSP Fanboy]

Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

Ratchet & Clank headline another PSP-3000 bundle; you’re simply thrilled originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Displays, Peripherals

Just when you thought you’d seen it all, along comes a photo printer that is also a photo frame (or vice versa) to completely rearrange your concept of reality. The P71-A2-JP from Keian Japan houses a 7-inch, 480 x 234 LCD for doing the photo frame thing, complete with SD card and Memory Stick support, a USB host plug and even a little bit of MP3 playback. What’s surprising is that there’s a full-on photo printer in back to print out those shots worth cherishing a bit longer than ten seconds on a repetitive cycle. The 300 dpi prints probably won’t blow minds, and that screen is depressingly low-res, but all-in-all this is a pretty neat little solution to a problem you didn’t have.

Keian Japan P71-A2-JP: part photo printer, part photo frame, all modern marvel originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sometimes you need a fancy camera bag, with a tripod strap and little slots with which to pamper your memory cards. You need a waterproof hood, a padded strap and a big fat StealMe™ logo on the front.

Other times, you just want to sling your camera into the most anonymous sack possible, get out into the street and start shooting. But using an old canvas bag doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be protected. Today we’ll see how cheap and easy it is to turn an army surplus shoulder bag into a stealthy, knockabout camera carrier.

First, the hardware. The bag cost me €12 (€15) from the local Army Supplies store. It wasn’t the cheapest, but the €1 bargain basement bin contained specimens too ratty even for this project. I took my camera with me to check sizes. This bag has two compartments inside, separated by a single cloth flap. I have bought other army bags in the past and this double pocket setup seems to be pretty standard, and also makes compartmentalizing the interior a lot easier.

After choosing the right bag, I headed to the local hardware emporium and checked out the foam. The roll in the picture cost me another €10 ($13) for roughly one meter by 30cm (40 x 8 inches), which in the end turned out to be enough for a few bags. Here it is unrolled:

It’s made from a dense foam which is quite squishy but takes knocks well. I picked the thinnest foam that seemed to still give enough padding — we don’t want the bag to be too stiff or to have too much bulk, and this foam can always be doubled up if needed. In the picture you also see the roll of gaffer tape I planned to use, but in the end it stayed in the toolbox.

Next, planning. You don’t want to start cutting the foam before you know exactly where it’s going. I used cardboard and kitchen scissors to get the sizes right. Here’s the rough design, which involves one piece of foam slid in to cover the back and the bottom, plus two more pieces – one in each compartment – to protect the front and sides:

Here’s the card, sized and bent, on top of the foam. Now, with a straight edge and a craft knife, cut the foam.

With this piece slid into place, I re-bent the card to size up the front and side pads. I then cut them and slid them in.

I was expecting to use the gaffer tape to stick the pieces together but the sections fit snugly, and the foam had just the right amount of grippiness, so the whole lot holds together nicely without it. Here is a shot of the interior:

You can’t see the back sheet of foam because it is behind a sheet of canvas, but the black padding is just peeking out at the front.

I chose not to put any padding on the center divider, but a simple sheet on one side of the fabric strip shoulf do the trick. In this shot, you can also see the handy pocket on the left. This is great for spare memory cards and other essentials. A bonus indeed — I was just expecting a featureless sack, after all.

Here it is closed, with both camera and lens safely inside.

The one problem is my rubber lens hood, which catches on the rubber pads inside. Everything fits, but quickly grabbing the camera is a little more tricky. This bag is also too small to take a camera with a zoom fitted, so I’m thinking of cutting out the middle divider and reattaching it with velcro. Best of all, it looks like nothing — a cheap bag slung over my should with no hint of what’s inside. The thin canvas and light foam make it almost weightless, too, so it should be a good all-day shooting bag.

One more thing. The Stealth Bag is far from waterproof, although it would be easy enough to slip in a plastic bag in case of emergencies. The bag wont offer the protection of a “proper” gadget bag, but it is good enough as a city day pack.

If any of you take up the callenge and make one of these, post the results at the Gadget Lab Flickr Pool.

Filed under: Laptops

LG may not have strayed to far from the outward appearance of the XNOTE P300 with its new P310 model, but it looks to have given the “premium” laptop a decent enough upgrade under the hood, with it now finally getting bumped up to the Centrino 2 platform. That upgrade also includes a speedier 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo T9400 processor, 3GB of DDR3 memory, 2GB of Intel Turbo Memory a 320GB hard drive, and some decent enough NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics, not to mention the same LED-backlit 13.3-inch display as before. No word on a price just yet, but we’re guessing it won’t be too far off the €1,599 (or just over $2,000) its predecessor demanded.

[Via Hallyu Tech]

LG debuts 13.3-inch XNOTE P310 premium laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Wireless

We’re relieved, here’s why: we don’t have to report on this on-again / off-again relationship like we’re a celebrity tabloid rag anymore. Around the same time it gave the thumbs up to Verizon and Alltel, the FCC also decided that timultuous lovebirds Sprint and Clearwire can finally get hitched. Their eventual offspring will be the WiMAX network they’ve been promising with a bunch of other partners — the plan is to offer wireless broadband to 140 million people within 30 months’ time, so today’s a big day for WiMAX and corporate romantics everywhere.

Sprint, Clearwire to finally get hitched thanks to FCC approval originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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pimg src=”http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/10/canontop.jpg” width=”494″ height=”144″ style=”display:block;float:none;” /Digital cameras are generally closed platforms, built and programmed under the assumption that they would never be modified. To get more features, you pay more for different firmware, even though the guts are mostly the same. Canon didn’t batten down their hatches quite enough. The result is a href=”http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK”CHDK/a, a full-featured OS substitute that runs from your memory card and unlocks the tremendous unrecognized potential of most Canon A-series and SD Elphs plus several othersmdash;for free./p pCHDK isn’t hacked firmware, and it doesn’t require any risky flashing or OS replacement. It’s non-destructive software that runs directly from a memory card, so it won’t affect your warranty. But you’ll still get an experience akin to an entirely new operating system. What new features will your tired old Canon gain with CHDK?/p blockquote ul liSave images in RAW format/li liAbility to run “Scripts” to automate the camera/li liLive histogram/li liZebra mode (blinking highlights and shadows to show over/under exposed areas)/li liAn “always on” full range Battery indicator/li liAbility to turn off automatic dark-frame subtraction/li liA higher compression movie mode, and double the maximum video file size/li liMotion Detection/li liExposure times as long as 65 seconds/li liExposure times as little as 1/10,000 of a second/li liAbility to use the USB port for a remote trigger input/li liA depth-of-field calculator/li liFile browser/li liText reader/li liCalendar/li liGames/li liand a href=”http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ#Q._What_does_the_CHDK_program_do.3F”others/a/li /ul /blockquote pscript type=”text/javascript” charset=”utf-8″ galleryPost(’dealzmodocanon’, 3, ”); /script/p pThe installation process is fairly straightforward, and about as risk-free as these kinds of things can get. You’ll need:/p ul liA Canon digital camera from a href=”http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ#Q._What_camera_models_are_supported_by_the_CHDK_program.3F”this list/a, with compatible firmware/li liA card reader for whatever format you use (probably SD)/li liA build of CHDK for your camera from a href=”http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/Downloads”this page/a/li /ul pOnce you’ve got all your stuff together, you’re ready to load CHDK up:/p blockquote p1. Copy the PS.fir and Diskboot.bin from your downloaded ZIP file to the root of your SD card (not in a folder)/p p2. Turn on your camera in “Play” Mode/p p3. Press “Menu”, and select the menu item “Firm Update” and confirm/p /blockquote pFor instructions for automatically booting into CHDK, check a href=”http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ#Q._How_can_I_make_the_CHDK_program_load_automatically_at_startup.3F”here/a./p pAgain, since this is not an actual firmware upgrade, you can just pop out the SD card and batteries should anything go awry. When you put the batteries back in and restart your camera, you’ll revert to where you started./p pInstalling CHDK isn’t quite like getting a new camera, but it’s a sure value-add to your trusty old one. For more information, hit up CHDK. [a href="http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK_in_Brief"CHDK Wiki Home Page/a]/p pemDealzmodo Hacks are intended to help you sustain your a href=”http://gizmodo.com/5059598/zero+cost-gadget-upgrades-for-the-next-great-depression”crippling gadget addiction through tighter times/a. If you come across any on your own that are particularly useful, send it to our tips line (Subject: Dealzmodo Hack). a href=”http://gizmodo.com/tag/dealzmodo-hacks”Check back/a every Monday and Thursday for free, DIY tricks to breathe new life into hardware that you already own./em/p br style=”clear: both;”/
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pimg src=”http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/10/dealzmodoroundup1029.jpg” align=”left” hspace=”4″ vspace=”2″ width=”600″ height=”400″ style=”display:block;float:none;” /We’ve got some pretty nice deals in today’s Dealzmodo Roundup, including a way for you to snag a $10 Best Buy gift card and 1600 MS points when you preorder Gears of War 2, a $135 iPod nano and a deal to get $100 off a Blu-ray player when you snag some movies along with it. Hit the jump for the full list of the deals./p pbGaming/b/p p• a href=”http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VTQ3LU/?tag=ubgdf-20″PlayStation Eye camera for $23/a (originally $40)./p p• a href=”http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=208608#promotions”Receive 1600 MS Points and a $10 gift card when you pre-order Gears of War 2 at any Circuity City for $59.99./a/p pbHard drives and flash drives/b/p p• a href=”http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148138nm_mc=OTC-RSScm_mmc=OTC-RSS-_-Internal20Drives-_-Seagate-_-N82E16822148138″Seagate 400gb 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive for $49.99/a (originally $64.99)./p p• a href=”http://www.grassrootscomputers.com/Western_Digital_500GB_USB_2_0_MyBook/WDH1U5000N_RECF/partinfo-id-349072.html”Western Digital 500GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive for $69.00/a (originally $119.99)./p p• a href=”http://www.woot.com/Blog/ViewEntry.aspx?Id=6355″16GB USB Flash Drive for $24/a (originally $52.99 - valid only on 10/29)./p pbAudio/Video and Accessories/b/p p• a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8ref_=amb_link_7767122_2docId=1000279241tag=bluraynews-20″Save $100 when you buy a Blu-ray Player and Four Warner Blu-ray Discs together - for as low as $180/a (originally $450 value)./p p• a href=”http://dealmac.com/New-Apple-i-Pod-nano-8-GB-MP3-Player-for-135-free-shipping/257991.html”New Apple iPod nano 8GB for $134.94 plus free shipping/a (originally $149.99)./p p• a href=”http://www.buy.com/prod/philips-universal-remote-control-tv-vcr-dvd-player-satellite-receiver/q/loc/111/206609332.html”Philips Prestigo Universal Remote Control for $39.99/a (originally $199.99)./p pbMemory Cards and Card Readers/b/p p• a href=”http://itrimming.com/phubcrdrxx01.html”USB 23-in-1 Memory Card Reader for $4.99/a (originally $10.79)./p p• a href=”http://www.supermediastore.com/pqi-sdhc-16gb-secure-digital-high-capacity-memory-card.html?WT.mc_id=cjtext”16GB SDHC Memory Card for $30 plus free shipping/a (originally $89.99 - valid through 10/30. Use coupon code “MET35P”)./p br style=”clear: both;”/
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Eerily similar to the memory-erasing concepts in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, researchers have found a chemical that has proven to target and erase specific long-term memories, which could be useful in treating people with severe phobias or post-traumatic stress disorders. However, although these tests have been producing amazing results in mice brains, human memories are so much more complex that it could still be a while before you can forget that time you pissed your pants while giving your Abraham Lincoln presentation in the second grade, and Helen Vanderly, the cutest girl at school, pointed and laughed at you. Remember: although you may be able to one day forget, it doesn’t mean that others will too! [Technology Review]