|
|
|
|
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
 eFluxMedia | Spielberg's BOOM BLOX Game for Wii Is a Hit eFluxMedia - By Anne Shaw BOOM BLOX, a game developed by Electronic Arts, and with Steven Spielberg’s personal touch, is finally out for Nintendo's Wii and costs $50. EA launches Steven Spielberg's 'Boom Blox' Steven Spielberg's Wii-Inspired Videogame Is a Demolitious Block Party |
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
 MSN India | Neither fish nor fowl: Platypus genome decoded AFP - PARIS (AFP) - Arguably the oddest beast in Nature's menagerie, the platypus looks as it if were assembled from spare parts left over after the animal kingdom was otherwise complete. Platypus Looks Strange on the Inside Too Platypus genetic code unravelled |
Make Magazine senior editor Phil Torrone guides us through the wonders of Maker Faire 2008 in San Mateo.
First, we learn about "fuzzy logic," soft electronic circuit components, with Star Simpson -- the 20 year old MIT student arrested for a "fake bomb" at Boston's Logan Airport in 2007 when authorities mistook her interactive LED t-shirt for a terrorist device. Her trial is scheduled for May 23, by the way, so she wasn't able to answer our questions about that ordeal just yet.
Next up, also from MIT -- Ed Baafi introduces us to the fabulous "fab lab," where complex fabrication technologies are made easy.
Then, Phil shows us affordable laser etching to personalize your iPhone or laptop.
Inventor and hacker Mitch Altman demonstrates the "brain machine," a device that stimulates your mind's eye. Mitch also invented TV-B-Gone, a sort of secret kill switch for kills television sets ("the only TV remote you need!").
And Lee Zlotoff, the creator of TV's McGyver reveals plans for a McGyver film project.
Link to Boing Boing tv episode, with discussion and downloadable video.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
 Phone Scoop | Review: Samsung Glyde Cell Phone is a Slick Slip and Slider Wired News - There's something undeniably sexy about touchscreen phones. It's probably the fact that using such an advanced interface for mundane tasks just oozes cool. Samsung Glyde SCH-U940 Verizon Wireless Introduces the Chic Samsung Glyde(TM) |
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
 PSX Extreme | Can any game break the 'GTA IV' sales records? CNET News.com - 'Grand Theft Auto IV' broke the all-time records for single-day and one-week entertainment industry sales. It looks like it could be tough for any forthcoming game to knock GTA IV off the top of the hill. Video: Grand Theft Auto IV" Rakes in Over $500 Million  Comment by Gavin McKiernan National Grassroots Director, Parents TV Council |
Link (via Futurismic)
One of the central works in the exhibition “Design and the Elastic Mind” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (until 12 May), Victimless Leather, a small jacket made up of embryonic stem cells taken from mice, has died. The artists, Oron Catts and Ionat Zurr, say the work which was fed nutrients by tube, expanded too quickly and clogged its own incubation system just five weeks after the show opened...Ms Antonelli says the jacket “started growing, growing, growing until it became too big. And [the artists] were back in Australia, so I had to make the decision to kill it. And you know what? I felt I could not make that decision. I’ve always been pro-choice and all of a sudden I’m here not sleeping at night about killing a coat...That thing was never alive before it was grown.”
 BBC News | Google denies staff 'brain drain' BBC News - By Maggie Shiels Google has denied there is a brain drain of talent at the firm following the departure of its communications boss to social network Facebook. Top-shelf Googler Elliot Schrage heads to Facebook Facebook Snatches Another Google Executive |
Link (via Make)Taisin has introduced a mold that seamlessly creates a perfect sphere, no chipping and shaving required. Simple place a chunk of ice into the metal press and, as it melts, the device will close around the ice forming a ball, which is then released by the flick of a switch.
The Ice Mold, available in 55, 65, 70, and 80mm mold sizes, can make 30-40 ice balls an hour.
Spheres of ice are preferred by serious on the rocks drinkers because the reduced surface size means that the ice melts at a slower pace, keeping your drink
In presentations April 23 here at the Toulouse Space Show, these Chinese officials nonetheless said their global Compass/Beidou system would be fully compatible with the U.S. GPS, European Galileo and Russian Glonass global navigation constellations.Link (via /.)Like GPS, Galileo and Glonass, Beidou/Compass would be free of direct user charges but also feature an encrypted signal for authorized users only, presumably including the Chinese military.
Chengqi Ran, vice director of the China Satellite Navigation Project Center, said the secure Beidou/Compass signal would be "a highly reliable signal dedicated to complex situations."
Link (via Make!)
...[T]his exhibition, organized by PostlerFerguson, takes their paper AK-47 kit (first published in 2007) as a point of departure and asks participants to respond by altering the object. Featured artists include Ben Wilson, El Ultimo Grito, Oscar and Ewan, Pixelgarten, Hiroko Shiratori, Paul Wysocan, BASE23/DC|DE and more.
Link (Thanks to all the dozens of people who suggested this!)
Devotees of the culture read Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, as well as more recent speculative fiction by William Gibson, James P. Blaylock and Paul Di Filippo, the author of “The Steampunk Trilogy,” the historical science fiction novellas that lent the culture its name. They watch films like “The City of Lost Children” (with costumes designed by Jean Paul Gaultier), “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” and “Brazil,” Terry Gilliam’s dystopian fantasy satirizing the modern industrial age; and they listen to melodeons and Gypsy strings mixed with industrial goth.They build lumbering contraptions like the steampunk treehouse, a rusted-out 40-foot sculpture assembled last year at the Burning Man festival in Nevada and unveiled last month at the Coachella music festival in Southern California. They trawl eBay for saw-tooth cogs and watch parts to dress up their Macs and headsets, then show off their inventions to kindred spirits on the Web.
And, in keeping with the make-it-yourself ethos of punk, they assemble their own fashions, an adventurous pastiche of neo-Victorian, Edwardian and military style accented with sometimes crudely mechanized accouterments like brass goggles and wings made from pulleys, harnesses and clockwork pendants, to say nothing of the odd ray gun dangling at the hip. Steampunk style is corseted, built on a scaffolding of bustles, crinolines and parasols and high-arced sleeves not unlike those favored by the movement’s designer idols: Nicolas Ghesquiere of Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen and, yes, even Ralph Lauren.
 eFluxMedia | TorrentSpy ordered to pay $110m BBC News - File-sharing site TorrentSpy has been ordered to pay $110m (£56m) in damages to the Motion Picture Association of America for copyright infringement. TorrentSpy ordered to pay the MPAA $110 million Judge Favors MPAA, TorrentSpy Ordered To Pay $111 Million |
LinkDear G_d: Could you clarify the order of Creation? There are two different lists in Genesis, and people have died over interpretation. Please guide your humble flock.
PS: What did you do on the 8th Day?
The Aardvarks came first. Then the others, in alphabetical order. Except some of the really cute ones, like the panda, wheedled their way to the head of the line. And the zebra just stood there feeling this would be his lucky day.
Link (Thanks, Vikram!)Expo manager Peta-Marie McLeod said the designers were allowed to use two four-packs of the double length Cottonsofts toilet tissue -- about 16 normal rolls -- to make their dresses.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Even though Microsoft's Steve Ballmer bungled Yahoo and Vista is sticking to store shelves, the company he runs is as dangerous as ever, says the author of a new book about the future of Microsoft post-Bill Gates.
While Gates will remain as Microsoft's chairman, he will no longer be involved in day-to-day decisions, leaving Microsoft's showy, sometimes sweaty CEO Steve Ballmer to his own devices.
Many industry watchers are hesitant about Ballmer right now, partly due to the botched Yahoo deal and a bumpy Windows Vista release. Still, Mary Jo Foley, a ZDNet blogger who has covered Microsoft since Bill Gates first emerged from puberty, believes the company has a big future ahead of it.
We chewed the fat with Foley about the release of her book Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft Plans to Stay Relevant in the Post-Gates Era, the Yahoo fiasco, Microsoft's biggest challenges and the evolution of Bill Gates.
Wired: What's your prediction -- when do you think Steve Ballmer will give up or get kicked out?
Mary Jo Foley: I think he's going to stick to what he said. He said last year he would [serve as CEO] for nine years, because that's when his youngest son will be in college. I don't think they'll get rid of him before then.
[The board] would be hard-pressed to find a better CEO than Ballmer. He's pretty wedded to a lot of old-school ideas -- like, he's never going to say, "Let's just toss out Windows and start over," which is what a lot of people think is necessary. But he epitomizes Microsoft.
Wired: Do you think Ballmer's equipped to deal with Microsoft's biggest problems right now?
Foley: Their biggest challenge right now is to continue to profit from existing products while not neglecting new business models and strategies that come up. Many people think Microsoft's biggest challenge is competing with Google. That's not true. Their biggest challenge is to make sure Windows stays relevant.
Wired: So what do you think of Windows Mobile?
Foley: I've avoided it like the plague. Every time I get a new cellphone, everyone always warns me not to get Windows Mobile. The thing's awful. I think Windows Mobile is a huge challenge for them.
They've got this new "consumer" bug where they think they've got to be a player in every consumer market. I think they would be better served sticking to their enterprise roots and not chase every consumer trend.
Wired: You've covered this company for a long time. Did you have any "Aha!" moments when you were researching this book?
Foley: I was stunned by how quickly people count Microsoft out these days. It's almost like a knee-jerk reaction, like, "Oh, they're irrelevant." In the old days, startups pitching VCs used to have what they called the "Microsoft slide," they had to plan for what they would do when Microsoft came into their market. Now, instead of looking at Microsoft as a player, people think they don't matter. But it's dangerous for companies of any size to count them out. They're still good at figuring out how to come back into a market and steal everybody's lunch.
Wired: What did you make of the Yahoo takeover attempt?
Foley: When I first heard they were going to buy Yahoo I was completely incredulous. I thought, "This is going to be such a disaster." I had just submitted the manuscript the week before so I had to revise it. I knew a lot of employees at Microsoft didn't want it, and I just could not see how it would be a positive.
I sort of think they dodged a bullet -- I think it's going to be great for Microsoft [to have dropped the offer for Yahoo] and I hope they don't go back into negotiations.
Wired: And what do you think happens to Microsoft after Gates retires?
Foley: There's always been this dichotomy between "Bill's guys" and "Steve's guys." Steve's guys have MBAs and their roots are in sales. Bill's guys have been traditional technologists. The people who are more like Steve will probably get more power and will run the show, so I wonder who's going to be the tech champion for Bill's guys. I think that's going to be a big cultural and noticeable change once Gates is out from his day-to-day duties.
Wired: How has Bill Gates changed during the time you've covered Microsoft?
Foley: The first time I interviewed Bill Gates was in 1984, and back then, he was a really difficult interview. As a reporter you went into a Gates interview knowing that you were going to be insulted. He would say things like, "That's the stupidest question I've ever heard." Or he would look off into the distance and ignore you. He's a much better press-trained guy now. People attribute that to his marriage, having kids or getting older. But whatever the reason, he's more press-savvy now.
Wired: And Steve Ballmer?
Foley: He's the same. He's always been unpredictable and crazy. He's a really fun interview. You never know what he's going to say. You always walk out of a Ballmer interview with a great sound bite.
1790: The French National Assembly decides to create a decimal system of measurement. The metric system is born.
This came after the storming of the Bastille but still before the declaration of a republic and the execution of King Louis XVI. But revolution was in the air: "National Assembly" was simply the new name the upstart Third Estate had given itself.
The assembly was acting on a motion by Bishop Charles Maurice de Talleyrand. Under the ancien régime, France measured with an inch, foot and fathom (pouce, pied and toise) about 6.6 percent larger than their English counterparts.
The first meter was based on clockmaking: the length of a pendulum with a half-period (a one-way swing) of one second. Responding to a proposal by the French Academy of Sciences, the assembly redefined the meter in 1793 as 1/10,000 of the distance from the Equator to the North Pole.
The system was elegant. All conversions were based on 10, with Greek prefixes (deka-, hecto-, kilo-) for multiples and Latin (deci-, centi-, milli-) for fractions. The gram unit of weight was defined by the weight of one cubic centimeter (aka milliliter) of water.
The new "Republican Measures" became legal throughout France in 1795 and were made compulsory in 1799 when definitive platinum meter bars and kilogram weights were constructed. But resistance to the new measures lasted for decades.
France also used a quasi-metric Revolutionary Calendar with each month consisting of three décades of 10 days each. (Revolutionaries even attempted a metric day of 10 hours of 100 minutes each of 100 seconds each.) But Napoleon returned France to the Gregorian calendar in 1806.
The current International System of Units -- or SI, for Système International -- is based on the Treaty of the Meter signed in Paris on May 20, 1875. The United States was a signatory, and the metric system is the legal system in this country, although the legal alternate English system remains more widely used. (An online conversion engine can make translation easy.)
The meter was formally redefined in 1960 as 1,650,763.73 wavelengths in a vacuum of the orange-red light radiation of the krypton 86 atom (transition between levels 2p10 and 5d5). The new standard was 100 times more precise than the old. The current definition, adopted in 1983, makes the meter the distance traveled by light in a vacuum during 1/299,792,458 of a second.
That's 39.37 inches to counter-revolutionaries.
Source: Various
: The Z9 effortlessly satisfies the standard phone user, and pleases the rest of us with a couple extra perks. You get your e-mail and IM; you can listen to music from the microSD card or buy some more. Calls are above-average quality (trust us, we've been shouting into an iPhone for the last year). In addition to 2-megapixel shots and recording video, it can also video share -- send live video to other 3-G AT&T users, which is great for broadcasting scenes from your DIY fight club or natural disasters.
But the star of the show is the GPS. This is no cell-tower GPS Lite that only tells you what block you're on; this is the real deal, with turn-by-turn directions, live traffic info, access to the AT&T database for points of interest -- you know, stuff that's actually useful. If you don't want to punch in an address, just call the 877 number and speak it. On the downside, you will visibly age while it initializes, and it sometimes miscalculates your direction. Fortunately, goofs are few and far between and the Z9 picks up on them.
WIRED: Excellent call quality. Strong GPS capabilities. Lets you transmit (or receive) live video to other 3-G AT&T phones. Haptic feedback tickles.$249 (with two-year contract), Motorola
(Photo courtesy Jim Merithew, Wired.com)
Read our full Motorola Z9 review.
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.
: If Dr. Evil of Austin Powers fame were more musically minded, he may have demanded something like the beamz -- a musical instrument with "fricking lasers" attached to it. As a kid with his music career still ahead of him, beamz founder Jerry Riopelle frequented an ice cream shop with a laser-triggered doorbell. When the MIDI music format appeared in the '80s, he wondered whether the same concept could apply to making tunes. The result, decades later, is the beamz Music Performance System.
This large USB peripheral includes six beams generated by 12 lasers that, when broken, activate elements of 30 songs stored on your computer. Riopelle managed to create a laser-based instrument anyone can play -- a harder task than it sounds, since the musical parts have to mesh musically in nearly limitless permutations of hand waves. Music experience helps with timing, tempo, arrangement and composition, but it's so easy and amusing to play that only the Invisible Man could fail to have fun. — Eliot Van Buskirk
WIRED: Lets anyone make music. With lasers. Near-zero latency. One-shots, loop-based samples, dual-sample banks, "conductor" beams for toggling sections and a backing-track creator allow complex compositions. Exports in WAV format. Plans include a "third-party composer program," a Stevie Wonder play-along and other downloadable songs for $2 each. TIRED:
$600, Sharper Image
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.
: What RIM's aversion to 3-G is we'll never figure out. With version 8120, RIM updates its beloved Pearl smartphone with WiFi but still omits a 3-G radio and, oddly, GPS, the latter of which can be found on both the 8110 and 8130. The shell is virtually identical to older Pearl models, and functionally very little here has changed. Aside from some minor interface tweaks (woo, new icons!), the trackball-and-two-letters-per-key experience is fully intact.
The big news, of course, is the addition of WiFi, and RIM seems to have finally gotten the kinks worked out of its 802.11g implementation; we didn't encounter any of the troubles we experienced with the BlackBerry 8820 last year. If you dig the BlackBerry's mature e-mail features (who doesn't?) and can handle the whole bi-character key setup (and we know many who don't), the Pearl 8120's a solid upgrade to hold you over until a 3-G version (fingers crossed) arrives. —Christopher Null
WIRED: Camera upgraded to 2 megapixels plus flash and video capability. Software is somewhat better at word detection and correction; even works well with odd, multiword URLs. Crazy-loud speakerphone. Very sensitive mic offers exceptional call quality in our tests. Very fast battery charging, and nearly nine solid hours of talk time in our benchmarking. Stable WiFi implementation.
TIRED: Pearl keyboard still not for everyone. Lack of 3-G is absurd. No GPS.$200 (with two-year contract), RIM
(Photo courtesy Jim Merithew, Wired.com)
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.
: The latest effort to get the boob tube on a mobile device is AT&T's Mobile TV with FLO (Forward Link Only), and it's surprisingly good. Coupled with the LG Vu phone, it's a match made in couch-potato heaven. The MediaFLO service uses an unusual, nonstandard bit of spectrum to ensure that the streaming of your favorite flicks is uninterrupted. Instead of downloading the data over AT&T's 3-G network, the Qualcomm-developed technology operates primarily on the old UHF television band, though it does tap into the 3-G network in order to get started.
The result is that there's virtually no buffering and programming starts up within a few seconds. On the Vu's brilliant 3-inch screen we found picture quality to be insanely clear and frame rates to be smooth as the ice cubes in a tumbler of 30-year-old bourbon. "Mobile TV" is a bit of a misnomer. Only a few channels are simulcast, meaning you can watch them in near-real time. All other programming, like episodes of your favorite Fox shows, are time-shifted and updated when necessary. Still, watching live streaming TV or movies like The Karate Kid on the Vu's 3-inch haptic touchscreen is pretty amazing.
WIRED: Good selection of simulcast and time-shifted programming. No network lag. Live streaming CNN is a must for news junkies. Variety of programming packages should fit just about everyone’s viewing style.
TIRED: Unless you're in an area with strong 3-G coverage, the service simply will not work. Right now the service is only available in 58 locations nationwide.
$30 per month as tested, AT&T
(Photo courtesy AT&T Wireless)
: The Kensington SlimBlade trackball mouse is an aerodynamic, sleekly designed peripheral. It's also a tad schizoid. And that's a good thing. What I am crazy about is that with the touch of a button on top of this mini-size travel mouse, its smooth-gliding scroll wheel transforms into a responsive trackball. Finally, there's a pointing device for your notebook that works in tight spaces and is as comfortable to use as the larger desktop mice I'm more accustomed to.
The SlimBlade’s 1,000-dpi laser is dependable: No matter what surface it lands on, the mouse performs perfectly. The roller ball even offers 360-degree scrolling without having to physically move the mouse. Bluetooth connectivity means that the thin-profile mouse is all you need to carry -- no extra USB adapters or encumbering cables to schlep around. If your PC doesn't have built-in Bluetooth, Kensington's new USB Micro Adapter should do the trick. With a mouse of this caliber, don't be surprised if you find yourself plugging it in to your desktop PC as well.
WIRED: Thin enough to stick in a shirt pocket. Seamlessly switches from mouse to a 360-degree trackball. Auto-sleep mode automatically extends the two-AA-battery life up to six months. Seriously. Plastic chassis feels like metal with some heft. Amazingly comfortable to use despite its size.
TIRED: Mouse/trackball mode button initially takes some time to figure out. Hard to know when sleep mode has kicked in.
$100, Kensington
Read our full Kensington SlimBlade Trackball Mouse review.
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.
: This no-frills unit rocks a bright 3.5-inch QVGA screen encased in a black plastic chassis, and weighs less than half a pound. On top of all the normal manuals, the NAV730 includes a car charger, mounting bracket, 1-GB SD card containing U.S. maps, USB charging cable and a DVD containing backup maps. The WinCE-based OS was fast enough when navigating the menus, but the user interface was a bit of a downer.
Acquisitions were also a bit of a mixed bag. I was able to get a 28-second lock while outdoors on a relatively clear day. Meanwhile, attempting the same feat indoors took 2 minutes, 32 seconds. These aren't necessarily bad times, but other GPS units we've tested achieve faster locks in more challenging settings. Once I got moving, the voice-guided turn-by-turn directions were easy enough to understand via the text-to-speech feature and surprisingly loud 1-watt speaker. Unfortunately, these solid additions were marred by occasionally spotty destination markers. These navigational hiccups were extremely rare, but honestly there was a moment or two when I questioned whether the NAV730 would accidentally direct me into oncoming traffic.
WIRED: Extremely cheap and mostly effective. Excellent multimedia support (MP3, WMA, OGG, MPEG4, AVI, WMV, GIF, JPG, TIFF). Zippy menu navigation via 400-Mhz processor. Accurate text-to-speech pronunciation of street names. Traffic Message Channel compatible (subscription required). Voice guidance in 20 languages.
TIRED: Seriously light on preprogrammed points of interest. Hard power cycle necessary for charging. Clunky menus and overall UI can prove challenging. No Bluetooth support. On/off switch is too far recessed, hard to toggle. 320x240 screen is hard to read outdoors.
$170, V7
(Photo courtesy navigonusa.com)
Read our full V7 NAV730 GPS review.
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.
: For its price, the Navigon 2100 Max is fairly swank. If you plan out your trip far ahead of time you'll have a positive experience. The Navigon can switch from 2-D to a 3-D Reality mode that will even show you which lane you should be in. In emergencies, you can bring up the nearest tow truck, hospital or pharmacy. But once you leave the highway or want to navigate on the fly, prepare for frustration. It's hard to get the scroll buttons to register, address look-up is time-consuming and unintuitive, and the Points of Interest directories are hard to navigate, especially if you don't know the name of the business you're searching for.
The most aggravating of all is when the unit starts talking back, arguing like a real estate lawyer. If a community is not a "registered municipality," the Navigon can still find it, but won't let you navigate to a street within that area. One address we checked simply couldn't be found because we couldn't provide the correct hamlet for it. Yes, Madame Navigon is hard to satisfy and takes patience to deal with; if you don't have the time to convince or cajole her to do your bidding, then it's time to spring for a pricier model.
WIRED: Midrange features at a flea-market price. The speaker has a good set of lungs and demands to be heard. The unit's excellent mounting bracket is virtually shake-free.
TIRED: Sluggish response time frustrates and causes double-taps. Obstinate refusal to recognize certain towns even though they show up in auto-fill enrages the most gentle souls.
Price/maker: $299, Navigon USA
Read our full Navigon 2100 Max review.
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.
: The enV2 is apparently the end result of spilling coffee on a stack of consumer satisfaction surveys from the first enV. It's a lighter, slimmer package, but a botched facelift leaves it with all the style of that TI-36 you ditched back in high school. Easy to dial, but with the half-inch-tall screen on the front, the enV2 isn't really good for much else. Thankfully, once you open it up there's a full QWERTY keyboard -- not as wide at the original, but the keys are evenly spaced so it's still great for messaging.
There's a 2-megapixel camera, but even if you have figured out how to comfortably hold an Altoid-can-clamshell without blocking the much smaller lens with your fingers, pics and video turn out pretty grainy. Where to end? Do yourself a favor: If confronted with the choice of purchasing an enV2, think long and hard about it. After all, you're stuck with this device for two years. — Nate Ralph
WIRED: Bluetooth. Vibrant interior screen. External microSD slot. Stereo speakers.
TIRED: VZ Navigator (pay me!), IMs as SMS (pay me!), POP e-mail (pay me!) and the walled garden web "browser" (pay me!) will jack up that monthly bill. No WiFi.
$130 with two-year contract, Verizon
Photos courtesy Jon Snyder, Wired.com
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.
: Packed into a dual analog/digital face, the Tissot T-Touch is literally a flotilla of functions. So what exactly does it do? Well for starters, how about dual time zones, two alarms and countdown chronographs? OK, still not impressed? But how about adding a barometer, thermometer, perpetual calendar, compass, altimeter and an azimuth (sort of a GPS system on your wrist)? Oh what's that? Getting gadget fever? Wait, there's more.
What really makes this timekeeper unique is how all these functions are activated: the face is a touchscreen. By tapping on seven different points on the analog face the digital portion displays the results instantly. Of course to cram this type of instrumentation into a watch requires a certain amount of heft and the T-Touch does not disappoint, weighing in at more than a quarter-pound. Programming the T-Touch's ambitious functionality also takes the same patience that would go into solving a Rubik's Cube. But if you possess that patience, this just might be the ideal timekeeping, temperature-sensing, direction-finding, altitude-detecting, all-in-one, wrist-mounted wundergizmo.
WIRED: Dual analog/digital face provides actual temperature, directional readings and barometric readings. Backlighting and water-resistance to 330 feet useful for all you deep divers out there.
TIRED: Hard to program. Confusing eight-page instruction booklet almost as thick as an issue of Wired magazine. Quarter-pound weight plus J-Lo-class thickness make you conscious of the watch at all times.
$1,100, T-Touch
(Photo and wrist modeling courtesy James Merithew, Wired.com)
Read our full Tissot T-Touch Watch review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily. The iK500 iPod Dock's two 5-inch subwoofers and passive radiator on the back pump out the shock waves while the dual tweeters take care of the crispy bits. Whether it's thump or twitter, the Kicker sounds equally good. More than a brutish and simple set of speakers, the Kicker comes with a remote that lets you navigate your iPod menus to select playlists or songs and adjust the volume, not just the shuffle and volume of lesser remotes like the Bose SoundDock's. Knob revivalists will dig the prominent protuberance on the front of the case, which covers power, volume, bass, treble and aux-in selection. The back of the box offers a 3.5mm line-in port and stereo RCA-out for connecting external speakers.
:
WIRED: You can't get busted for disturbing the peace if you can't hear the cops banging on your door. Achieves ear-stinging volume without distortion. Volume, bass and treble controls are accessible with a poke and pinch of the front-facing knob. Zune owners can pick up a similar zK500 model.
TIRED: The iPod docks vertically (rather than at an angle), making the screen hard to read. The direction buttons on the remote slow down scrolling. No mic-in for high-decibel karaoke.
Price/maker: $350, Kicker
(Photo courtesy Jim Merithew, Wired.com)
Read our full Kicker iK500 iPod Dock review.
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.
: Admittedly, most people don't sit around thinking, "Gee, I wish I could set up a high-speed WiFi network here at this picnic. Or at the beach. Or in my minivan." But for us gadget junkies, we do think that. That's why this mobile router and EVDO card combo from Kyocera is perfect for us. The router signed on automatically go to Verizon's network after inserting the ExpressCard; you can also use older PC card modems with the router. Soon, we were sharing very snappy net access with everyone in the nearby park. Two small quibbles -- the router required periodic reboots, and we never got scalding download speeds on the Rev A network. Downloads topped out at 700 Kbps while uploads peaked in the 400-Kbps range. But for the price and ease of use, not to mention the McGyver-like ability to quickly throw up a network, the combo is hard to top. — Mark McClusky
WIRED: Dead simple to set up -- we went from box to internet surfing in less than five minutes. Routing functions worked well, easily managing dozens of clients. Handsome white case design. Router accepts PC card, ExpressCard or USB wireless modems. Four-port wired router included. ExpressCard protrudes less from laptops than competing models.
Router:
$250, Kyocera
Card:
$50 (with two-year contract) from Verizon, Verizon
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.
: Lasonic X Famous i931
The Lasonic X Famous i931 is a ghetto-fabulous boombox designed by former Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, and its ability to play music from iPods, SD/MMC cards, microphones, USB sticks and line-level sources hits us right in the feature-set sweet spot. But with an interface that somehow renders the user-friendly iPod nearly un-navigable and a chintzy plastic construction, it's best-suited for one activity: belting out rhymes over backing tracks stored in one of the above-mentioned formats. See, this thing has a quarter-inch input that works with a standard stage mic. A gain-control knob mixes vocals above or below the music, while an echo knob adds various intensities of delay to your voice. We would not recommend this 2x12-watt monster for regular music listening since it can be so frustrating to use. But if you know exactly what you would do with a microphone enabled iPod boombox, Lasonic X Famous i931 will get the job done in style — Eliot Van Buskirk
WIRED: Plays MP3s from iPods or flash memory. Displays song information. Lets you address throngs with a microphone (not included). Remote control and custom-fitted docks for various iPod models are included. TIRED: Flimsy construction not tough enough for the streets. Semi-opaque plastic obscures iPod screen; no display on remote. Controls are more confusing than MF Doom's rhyme schemes. Doesn't work with iPhone or iPod Touch. Even when blasting "Fight the Power," we didn't feel like tossing a garbage can through a window.$250, Famous Stars and Straps
(Photo courtesy Eliot Van Buskirk, Wired.com)
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.
: The 10-megapixel Olympus SP-570UZ makes a good shooter for the photo enthusiast who lacks experience yet has enough loot to drop on an entry-level DSLR. You can start out relying on the auto settings (they won't steer you wrong), and then explore the advanced functions as you build your skill. Even the most hopeless of n00bs can use this thing. The more experienced user can squeeze a lot from the camera in various shooting situations, and you can perform nearly all functions manually for more control.
The camera's lens barrel extends to a lewd length, but it packs a 20x zoom. The anti-shake controls help in the long shots, but you'll lose some detail unless you're using a tripod. The camera boasts a litany of functions -- face detection, burst mode, 22 scene presets, movie recording and epic zooming ability, but where it really excels is up close. Those who like to sweat the small stuff will love the super macro mode that captures excellent detail in flowers, bugs and other assorted tiny objects.
WIRED: Stunning macro function makes big shots out of the smallest subjects. Versatile controls soothe the enthusiasts while auto presets comfort the n00bs. Excellent manual. Top-mounted hot shoe makes swapping external flash options easy.TIRED: Pretend-professional zoom requires two hands. Zoom shots without a tripod can come out blurry. Stubborn clinging to proprietary xD media is irritating: Resistance is futile, Olympus.
$500, Olympus
(Photo courtesy Jim Merithew, Wired.com)
Read our full Olympus SP-570UZ camera review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily. The brand-new 15.4-inch (1280x800) Gateway M-151X comes in three hues (red, silver and blue) or wrapped in a blue and white floral graphic called Arctic Bloom. While the M-151X is, at heart, a mid-range laptop, its 1.66GHz Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM and 250 GB hard drive should provide all the power and storage you need for just about anything that's not specialized: Gaming is decent, graphics are solid and video editing is easy on this machine. The sea of mainstream laptops is littered with lackluster look-alikes, and while the M-151X isn't perfect, it manages to occupy that sweet spot between price and performance, not to mention style.
:
TIRED: Only three USB ports (no room for one more?), no FireWire. Speakers leave much to be desired, namely bass. Screen is very reflective, most noticeable with dark images, as when watching movies.
$850, Gateway
(Photo courtesy Jon Snyder, Wired.com)
Read our full Gateway M-151X laptop review.
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.
: The Z9 effortlessly satisfies the standard phone user, and pleases the rest of us with a couple extra perks. You get your e-mail and IM; you can listen to music from the microSD card or buy some more. Calls are above-average quality (trust us, we've been shouting into an iPhone for the last year). In addition to 2-megapixel shots and recording video, it can also video share -- send live video to other 3-G AT&T users, which is great for broadcasting scenes from your DIY fight club or natural disasters.
But the star of the show is the GPS. This is no cell-tower GPS Lite that only tells you what block you're on; this is the real deal, with turn-by-turn directions, live traffic info, access to the AT&T database for points of interest -- you know, stuff that's actually useful. If you don't want to punch in an address, just call the 877 number and speak it. On the downside, you will visibly age while it initializes, and it sometimes miscalculates your direction. Fortunately, goofs are few and far between and the Z9 picks up on them.
WIRED: Excellent call quality. Strong GPS capabilities. Lets you transmit (or receive) live video to other 3-G AT&T phones. Haptic feedback tickles.$249 (with two-year contract), Motorola
(Photo courtesy Jim Merithew, Wired.com)
Read our full Motorola Z9 review.
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.
: If Dr. Evil of Austin Powers fame were more musically minded, he may have demanded something like the beamz -- a musical instrument with "fricking lasers" attached to it. As a kid with his music career still ahead of him, beamz founder Jerry Riopelle frequented an ice cream shop with a laser-triggered doorbell. When the MIDI music format appeared in the '80s, he wondered whether the same concept could apply to making tunes. The result, decades later, is the beamz Music Performance System.
This large USB peripheral includes six beams generated by 12 lasers that, when broken, activate elements of 30 songs stored on your computer. Riopelle managed to create a laser-based instrument anyone can play -- a harder task than it sounds, since the musical parts have to mesh musically in nearly limitless permutations of hand waves. Music experience helps with timing, tempo, arrangement and composition, but it's so easy and amusing to play that only the Invisible Man could fail to have fun. — Eliot Van Buskirk
WIRED: Lets anyone make music. With lasers. Near-zero latency. One-shots, loop-based samples, dual-sample banks, "conductor" beams for toggling sections and a backing-track creator allow complex compositions. Exports in WAV format. Plans include a "third-party composer program," a Stevie Wonder play-along and other downloadable songs for $2 each. TIRED:
$600, Sharper Image
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.
: What RIM's aversion to 3-G is we'll never figure out. With version 8120, RIM updates its beloved Pearl smartphone with WiFi but still omits a 3-G radio and, oddly, GPS, the latter of which can be found on both the 8110 and 8130. The shell is virtually identical to older Pearl models, and functionally very little here has changed. Aside from some minor interface tweaks (woo, new icons!), the trackball-and-two-letters-per-key experience is fully intact.
The big news, of course, is the addition of WiFi, and RIM seems to have finally gotten the kinks worked out of its 802.11g implementation; we didn't encounter any of the troubles we experienced with the BlackBerry 8820 last year. If you dig the BlackBerry's mature e-mail features (who doesn't?) and can handle the whole bi-character key setup (and we know many who don't), the Pearl 8120's a solid upgrade to hold you over until a 3-G version (fingers crossed) arrives. —Christopher Null
WIRED: Camera upgraded to 2 megapixels plus flash and video capability. Software is somewhat better at word detection and correction; even works well with odd, multiword URLs. Crazy-loud speakerphone. Very sensitive mic offers exceptional call quality in our tests. Very fast battery charging, and nearly nine solid hours of talk time in our benchmarking. Stable WiFi implementation.
TIRED: Pearl keyboard still not for everyone. Lack of 3-G is absurd. No GPS.$200 (with two-year contract), RIM
(Photo courtesy Jim Merithew, Wired.com)
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.
: The latest effort to get the boob tube on a mobile device is AT&T's Mobile TV with FLO (Forward Link Only), and it's surprisingly good. Coupled with the LG Vu phone, it's a match made in couch-potato heaven. The MediaFLO service uses an unusual, nonstandard bit of spectrum to ensure that the streaming of your favorite flicks is uninterrupted. Instead of downloading the data over AT&T's 3-G network, the Qualcomm-developed technology operates primarily on the old UHF television band, though it does tap into the 3-G network in order to get started.
The result is that there's virtually no buffering and programming starts up within a few seconds. On the Vu's brilliant 3-inch screen we found picture quality to be insanely clear and frame rates to be smooth as the ice cubes in a tumbler of 30-year-old bourbon. "Mobile TV" is a bit of a misnomer. Only a few channels are simulcast, meaning you can watch them in near-real time. All other programming, like episodes of your favorite Fox shows, are time-shifted and updated when necessary. Still, watching live streaming TV or movies like The Karate Kid on the Vu's 3-inch haptic touchscreen is pretty amazing.
WIRED: Good selection of simulcast and time-shifted programming. No network lag. Live streaming CNN is a must for news junkies. Variety of programming packages should fit just about everyone’s viewing style.
TIRED: Unless you're in an area with strong 3-G coverage, the service simply will not work. Right now the service is only available in 58 locations nationwide.
$30 per month as tested, AT&T
(Photo courtesy AT&T Wireless)
: The Kensington SlimBlade trackball mouse is an aerodynamic, sleekly designed peripheral. It's also a tad schizoid. And that's a good thing. What I am crazy about is that with the touch of a button on top of this mini-size travel mouse, its smooth-gliding scroll wheel transforms into a responsive trackball. Finally, there's a pointing device for your notebook that works in tight spaces and is as comfortable to use as the larger desktop mice I'm more accustomed to.
The SlimBlade’s 1,000-dpi laser is dependable: No matter what surface it lands on, the mouse performs perfectly. The roller ball even offers 360-degree scrolling without having to physically move the mouse. Bluetooth connectivity means that the thin-profile mouse is all you need to carry -- no extra USB adapters or encumbering cables to schlep around. If your PC doesn't have built-in Bluetooth, Kensington's new USB Micro Adapter should do the trick. With a mouse of this caliber, don't be surprised if you find yourself plugging it in to your desktop PC as well.
WIRED: Thin enough to stick in a shirt pocket. Seamlessly switches from mouse to a 360-degree trackball. Auto-sleep mode automatically extends the two-AA-battery life up to six months. Seriously. Plastic chassis feels like metal with some heft. Amazingly comfortable to use despite its size.
TIRED: Mouse/trackball mode button initially takes some time to figure out. Hard to know when sleep mode has kicked in.
$100, Kensington
Read our full Kensington SlimBlade Trackball Mouse review.
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.
: This no-frills unit rocks a bright 3.5-inch QVGA screen encased in a black plastic chassis, and weighs less than half a pound. On top of all the normal manuals, the NAV730 includes a car charger, mounting bracket, 1-GB SD card containing U.S. maps, USB charging cable and a DVD containing backup maps. The WinCE-based OS was fast enough when navigating the menus, but the user interface was a bit of a downer.
Acquisitions were also a bit of a mixed bag. I was able to get a 28-second lock while outdoors on a relatively clear day. Meanwhile, attempting the same feat indoors took 2 minutes, 32 seconds. These aren't necessarily bad times, but other GPS units we've tested achieve faster locks in more challenging settings. Once I got moving, the voice-guided turn-by-turn directions were easy enough to understand via the text-to-speech feature and surprisingly loud 1-watt speaker. Unfortunately, these solid additions were marred by occasionally spotty destination markers. These navigational hiccups were extremely rare, but honestly there was a moment or two when I questioned whether the NAV730 would accidentally direct me into oncoming traffic.
WIRED: Extremely cheap and mostly effective. Excellent multimedia support (MP3, WMA, OGG, MPEG4, AVI, WMV, GIF, JPG, TIFF). Zippy menu navigation via 400-Mhz processor. Accurate text-to-speech pronunciation of street names. Traffic Message Channel compatible (subscription required). Voice guidance in 20 languages.
TIRED: Seriously light on preprogrammed points of interest. Hard power cycle necessary for charging. Clunky menus and overall UI can prove challenging. No Bluetooth support. On/off switch is too far recessed, hard to toggle. 320x240 screen is hard to read outdoors.
$170, V7
(Photo courtesy navigonusa.com)
Read our full V7 NAV730 GPS review.
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.
: For its price, the Navigon 2100 Max is fairly swank. If you plan out your trip far ahead of time you'll have a positive experience. The Navigon can switch from 2-D to a 3-D Reality mode that will even show you which lane you should be in. In emergencies, you can bring up the nearest tow truck, hospital or pharmacy. But once you leave the highway or want to navigate on the fly, prepare for frustration. It's hard to get the scroll buttons to register, address look-up is time-consuming and unintuitive, and the Points of Interest directories are hard to navigate, especially if you don't know the name of the business you're searching for.
The most aggravating of all is when the unit starts talking back, arguing like a real estate lawyer. If a community is not a "registered municipality," the Navigon can still find it, but won't let you navigate to a street within that area. One address we checked simply couldn't be found because we couldn't provide the correct hamlet for it. Yes, Madame Navigon is hard to satisfy and takes patience to deal with; if you don't have the time to convince or cajole her to do your bidding, then it's time to spring for a pricier model.
WIRED: Midrange features at a flea-market price. The speaker has a good set of lungs and demands to be heard. The unit's excellent mounting bracket is virtually shake-free.
TIRED: Sluggish response time frustrates and causes double-taps. Obstinate refusal to recognize certain towns even though they show up in auto-fill enrages the most gentle souls.
Price/maker: $299, Navigon USA
Read our full Navigon 2100 Max review.
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.
: The enV2 is apparently the end result of spilling coffee on a stack of consumer satisfaction surveys from the first enV. It's a lighter, slimmer package, but a botched facelift leaves it with all the style of that TI-36 you ditched back in high school. Easy to dial, but with the half-inch-tall screen on the front, the enV2 isn't really good for much else. Thankfully, once you open it up there's a full QWERTY keyboard -- not as wide at the original, but the keys are evenly spaced so it's still great for messaging.
There's a 2-megapixel camera, but even if you have figured out how to comfortably hold an Altoid-can-clamshell without blocking the much smaller lens with your fingers, pics and video turn out pretty grainy. Where to end? Do yourself a favor: If confronted with the choice of purchasing an enV2, think long and hard about it. After all, you're stuck with this device for two years. — Nate Ralph
WIRED: Bluetooth. Vibrant interior screen. External microSD slot. Stereo speakers.
TIRED: VZ Navigator (pay me!), IMs as SMS (pay me!), POP e-mail (pay me!) and the walled garden web "browser" (pay me!) will jack up that monthly bill. No WiFi.
$130 with two-year contract, Verizon
Photos courtesy Jon Snyder, Wired.com
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.
: Packed into a dual analog/digital face, the Tissot T-Touch is literally a flotilla of functions. So what exactly does it do? Well for starters, how about dual time zones, two alarms and countdown chronographs? OK, still not impressed? But how about adding a barometer, thermometer, perpetual calendar, compass, altimeter and an azimuth (sort of a GPS system on your wrist)? Oh what's that? Getting gadget fever? Wait, there's more.
What really makes this timekeeper unique is how all these functions are activated: the face is a touchscreen. By tapping on seven different points on the analog face the digital portion displays the results instantly. Of course to cram this type of instrumentation into a watch requires a certain amount of heft and the T-Touch does not disappoint, weighing in at more than a quarter-pound. Programming the T-Touch's ambitious functionality also takes the same patience that would go into solving a Rubik's Cube. But if you possess that patience, this just might be the ideal timekeeping, temperature-sensing, direction-finding, altitude-detecting, all-in-one, wrist-mounted wundergizmo.
WIRED: Dual analog/digital face provides actual temperature, directional readings and barometric readings. Backlighting and water-resistance to 330 feet useful for all you deep divers out there.
TIRED: Hard to program. Confusing eight-page instruction booklet almost as thick as an issue of Wired magazine. Quarter-pound weight plus J-Lo-class thickness make you conscious of the watch at all times.
$1,100, T-Touch
(Photo and wrist modeling courtesy James Merithew, Wired.com)
Read our full Tissot T-Touch Watch review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily. The iK500 iPod Dock's two 5-inch subwoofers and passive radiator on the back pump out the shock waves while the dual tweeters take care of the crispy bits. Whether it's thump or twitter, the Kicker sounds equally good. More than a brutish and simple set of speakers, the Kicker comes with a remote that lets you navigate your iPod menus to select playlists or songs and adjust the volume, not just the shuffle and volume of lesser remotes like the Bose SoundDock's. Knob revivalists will dig the prominent protuberance on the front of the case, which covers power, volume, bass, treble and aux-in selection. The back of the box offers a 3.5mm line-in port and stereo RCA-out for connecting external speakers.
:
WIRED: You can't get busted for disturbing the peace if you can't hear the cops banging on your door. Achieves ear-stinging volume without distortion. Volume, bass and treble controls are accessible with a poke and pinch of the front-facing knob. Zune owners can pick up a similar zK500 model.
TIRED: The iPod docks vertically (rather than at an angle), making the screen hard to read. The direction buttons on the remote slow down scrolling. No mic-in for high-decibel karaoke.
Price/maker: $350, Kicker
(Photo courtesy Jim Merithew, Wired.com)
Read our full Kicker iK500 iPod Dock review.
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.
: Admittedly, most people don't sit around thinking, "Gee, I wish I could set up a high-speed WiFi network here at this picnic. Or at the beach. Or in my minivan." But for us gadget junkies, we do think that. That's why this mobile router and EVDO card combo from Kyocera is perfect for us. The router signed on automatically go to Verizon's network after inserting the ExpressCard; you can also use older PC card modems with the router. Soon, we were sharing very snappy net access with everyone in the nearby park. Two small quibbles -- the router required periodic reboots, and we never got scalding download speeds on the Rev A network. Downloads topped out at 700 Kbps while uploads peaked in the 400-Kbps range. But for the price and ease of use, not to mention the McGyver-like ability to quickly throw up a network, the combo is hard to top. — Mark McClusky
WIRED: Dead simple to set up -- we went from box to internet surfing in less than five minutes. Routing functions worked well, easily managing dozens of clients. Handsome white case design. Router accepts PC card, ExpressCard or USB wireless modems. Four-port wired router included. ExpressCard protrudes less from laptops than competing models.
Router:
$250, Kyocera
Card:
$50 (with two-year contract) from Verizon, Verizon
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.
: Lasonic X Famous i931
The Lasonic X Famous i931 is a ghetto-fabulous boombox designed by former Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, and its ability to play music from iPods, SD/MMC cards, microphones, USB sticks and line-level sources hits us right in the feature-set sweet spot. But with an interface that somehow renders the user-friendly iPod nearly un-navigable and a chintzy plastic construction, it's best-suited for one activity: belting out rhymes over backing tracks stored in one of the above-mentioned formats. See, this thing has a quarter-inch input that works with a standard stage mic. A gain-control knob mixes vocals above or below the music, while an echo knob adds various intensities of delay to your voice. We would not recommend this 2x12-watt monster for regular music listening since it can be so frustrating to use. But if you know exactly what you would do with a microphone enabled iPod boombox, Lasonic X Famous i931 will get the job done in style — Eliot Van Buskirk
WIRED: Plays MP3s from iPods or flash memory. Displays song information. Lets you address throngs with a microphone (not included). Remote control and custom-fitted docks for various iPod models are included. TIRED: Flimsy construction not tough enough for the streets. Semi-opaque plastic obscures iPod screen; no display on remote. Controls are more confusing than MF Doom's rhyme schemes. Doesn't work with iPhone or iPod Touch. Even when blasting "Fight the Power," we didn't feel like tossing a garbage can through a window.$250, Famous Stars and Straps
(Photo courtesy Eliot Van Buskirk, Wired.com)
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.
: The 10-megapixel Olympus SP-570UZ makes a good shooter for the photo enthusiast who lacks experience yet has enough loot to drop on an entry-level DSLR. You can start out relying on the auto settings (they won't steer you wrong), and then explore the advanced functions as you build your skill. Even the most hopeless of n00bs can use this thing. The more experienced user can squeeze a lot from the camera in various shooting situations, and you can perform nearly all functions manually for more control.
The camera's lens barrel extends to a lewd length, but it packs a 20x zoom. The anti-shake controls help in the long shots, but you'll lose some detail unless you're using a tripod. The camera boasts a litany of functions -- face detection, burst mode, 22 scene presets, movie recording and epic zooming ability, but where it really excels is up close. Those who like to sweat the small stuff will love the super macro mode that captures excellent detail in flowers, bugs and other assorted tiny objects.
WIRED: Stunning macro function makes big shots out of the smallest subjects. Versatile controls soothe the enthusiasts while auto presets comfort the n00bs. Excellent manual. Top-mounted hot shoe makes swapping external flash options easy.TIRED: Pretend-professional zoom requires two hands. Zoom shots without a tripod can come out blurry. Stubborn clinging to proprietary xD media is irritating: Resistance is futile, Olympus.
$500, Olympus
(Photo courtesy Jim Merithew, Wired.com)
Read our full Olympus SP-570UZ camera review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily. The brand-new 15.4-inch (1280x800) Gateway M-151X comes in three hues (red, silver and blue) or wrapped in a blue and white floral graphic called Arctic Bloom. While the M-151X is, at heart, a mid-range laptop, its 1.66GHz Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM and 250 GB hard drive should provide all the power and storage you need for just about anything that's not specialized: Gaming is decent, graphics are solid and video editing is easy on this machine. The sea of mainstream laptops is littered with lackluster look-alikes, and while the M-151X isn't perfect, it manages to occupy that sweet spot between price and performance, not to mention style.
:
TIRED: Only three USB ports (no room for one more?), no FireWire. Speakers leave much to be desired, namely bass. Screen is very reflective, most noticeable with dark images, as when watching movies.
$850, Gateway
(Photo courtesy Jon Snyder, Wired.com)
Read our full Gateway M-151X laptop review.
Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.
Apple inks Latin American deal for iPhone The Associated Press - SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - In another step in the worldwide march of Apple Inc.'s iPhone, the top mobile phone operator in Latin America said Wednesday that it has inked a deal to bring the multimedia gadget to more than a dozen countries starting later this ... America Movil to sell Apple's next-gen iPhone in Mexico Mexico’s America Movil to sell Apple iPhone across Latin America ... |
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
 CNET News.com | Internet Archive proclaims victory against secret FBI demand for ... CNET News.com - The FBI has backed down on a secret request for information about a user of the Internet Archive digital library, thanks to a legal challenge from two prominent advocacy groups. FBI withdraws digital library's national security letter Internet Archive Challenges FBI's Secret Records Demand |
 Canoe.ca | Microsoft to show new search tech this month CNET News.com - Microsoft hopes to back up its refrain that it has a plan to catch Google by showing off some improvements to its Live Search product at a company-sponsored advertising conference later this month. Gates: We Don't Need No Stinking Yahoo Parsing Bill Gates: Is he saying Microsoft wants to be left alone? |
 GamePro.com | GeekDad Review: The Nintendo Channel Wired News - By Z. May 07, 2008 | 3:14:49 PMCategories: Videogames I awoke this morning to find the slot illuminator of my Nintendo Wii blinking softly, its happy blue rays adding a coy splash of color to the darkened den. Nintendo Channel Says Hello To US Dr. Mario WiiWare Named, Priced |
| World : News Archives | Business | Entertainment | Sports | Technology | Science | Marketplace Audio |
| India : News | Business | Entertainment | Sports | Telugu | |
| Blogs : Humor pages | Norkay's Blog | Kids Stories | Indian Recipes | Database Tech Blog |
| Sundries : World Video Clips | Songs Clips | Indian Video Clips | |
