Control Christmas Lights in Malta from the Internet

This is hilarious--a guy has designed a custom Web interface that allows you to click the windows of his house and turn his lights on and off over the Internet. While the solution seems a bit over-designed, it's still pretty cool! Each person that wants to control his lights goes into a queue (I had to wait about a minute), and then they get 30 seconds to control the lights before the next person's turn.

http://www.christmas2006.lauriedenness.net/index.php

Quite Possibly the Ultimate Gadget--not!

Still, this is an interesting idea--combine a cup warmer with a 4 port USB hub, all for only $25. You can order one at http://www.boysstuff.co.uk/product.asp?id=13178&src=Home . My only question is this: what happens when you spill your hot coffee or tea on the hub? Hmm.....

Moving iTunes Libraries from one place to another

Being a self-proclaimed geek and iPod aficionado, I am constantly fighting the battle of hard drive space on my laptop. My machine has an 80GB hard drive, which I always thought was a lot, until I started loading iTunes music up on it--and at 30GB, my iTunes library is eating up about half of my hard drive space!

I do have an external 160GB drive, and the thought occurred to me the other day that it would be great to be able to move my iTunes music from my primary laptop drive to my external drive. I am a bit gun shy about the concept, however, as I have literally spent scores of hours rating and classifying my music library, and I don't want to lose all of that metadata.

So...after some research, I discovered how to easily move all of your music from one place to another, while retaining all of that valuable metadata (these instructions were made for Windows, but I believe they apply to the Mac as well):

1. Create a directory on the drive where you wish to move your music library
2. Start iTunes
3. Go to Edit...Preferences
4. Select the 'Advanced' tab
5. Ensure that the 'Keep iTunes Music folder organized' box is ticked
6. Hit the 'Change' button and navigate to the new drive/directory
7. Hit 'OK'
8. From the main iTunes directory, select 'Advanced....Consolidate Music Library'

At this point, iTunes will copy all of your music from the old location to the new, retaining all of your playlists, ratings, etc. Pretty slick!

The World's First Bluetooth Headset Watch

This is an interesting idea--rather than looking like Lieutenant Uhura and wearing your Bluetooth headset in your ear all day, you can strap the Bluevoice Telephone Watch to your wrist. The Bluevoice, which is available in analog ($127.95) and digital ($119.95), functions as a normal wristwatch until you get a call. At that point, you remove the headset component from the watch, attach it to your ear, and it magically transforms into a fully functional Bluetooth headset. Cool idea, and the watch isn't bad looking either!



Bluetooth Watches Home Page

Create exciting playlists from your existing iTunes library - free!

The Filter is an iTunes plug-in that creates playlists quickly and easily. All that is required is to pick a couple of songs that you like (e.g. with the mood and tone that you want to set for the playlist), and The Filter searches your iTunes library and automatically creates a playlist that matches the songs you specified.

The Filter requires iTunes 6 or 7, (Windows only at present), a broadband connection, and an iTunes library with at least 200 songs. It also works with other MP3 players including the Creative Zen, Nokia N series, and most USB-based music devices.

Update (Oct 23): I've been using The Filter for a couple of weeks now, and I'm very pleased with it--it really does an amazing job of creating playlists of related songs from just one or two "seed" songs. I highly recommend it!

Download The Filter

Apple released iTunes 7.01 today, which is reputed to fix a number of bugs that 7.0 introduced, including static and iPod sync problems.

Apple - iTunes - Download iTunes

A Slew of New iPod/iTunes Announcements from Apple

Apple Computer held a press conference (of sorts) on September 12 to announce a bevy of new products and services. Among the notable items:

1. Launch of a new iPod Shuffle, which is postage stamp-sized, priced at $79 (1 GB). "How small is too small?" you may ask. This may answer that question--I'm pretty sure I don't want my six year-old daughter losing an $80 postage stamp! The official size is 1.07" x 1.62" x 0.41", and weight is 0.55 ounce, compared with the previous version, which was 3.3" x 0.98" x 0.33", weighing 0.78 ounce. Shuffle pric
   
2. Slightly changed iPod Nano design (rounded corners, slightly thinner and lighter). The Nano is also now available in five colors, including silver, pink, green, and blue. The 8GB Nano is also available in black. The Nano also runs longer on a charge--24 hours vs. 14. Nano pricing is $149 for 2GB, $199 for 4GB, and $249 for 8GB.
   
3. Revamped iPod Video (now known as the iPod 5G), to include 60% brighter screens and drastically improved battery life (a great improvement, as those of us with 5G iPod Video units that run ~1 hour in video mode can attest). Screen size and resolution stays the same. The iPod Video is now available in 30GB and 80GB versions, and the battery life is reported to be 14 hours audio/3.5 video (30GB) and 20 hours audio/6.5 hours video (80GB). Pricing is $249 for 30GB and $349 for 80GB...in terms of dollars per GB, the 80GB iPod 5G is the best deal in Apple history, at just ~$4/GB.
   
4. iTunes Version 7, which includes a new and improved "iTunes Store" that now sells iPod movies and games in addition to TV shows and music. At this time, the only movies for sale on iTunes are Disney movies (no doubt Steve Jobs' position on the Disney board had something to do with that!), and the prices range from $9.99 to $14.99, depending on the movie and when it's purchased. The new iTunes also has an iPod backup feature that will burn directly to CD/DVD--a most welcome addition. iTunes V7 also includes support for "gapless" music, which allows some music, such as classical pieces, to play without silence between tracks.
5. An iPod software update, which no doubt is required primarily for the new iTunes capabilities to work on existing iPods.
   
6. An automatic software update application that will keep iTunes and QuickTime up to date, automatically.
7. iTV, which is a an estimated $299 wireless device that will receive iTunes content and display it on a TV.
   

Remote Controlled Car Jumps House, Still Runs

This is an amazing video--a guy builds a ramp and jumps his house with a remote controlled car (nitro-powered, I think)--and it still runs afterward. Man, I need one--think of the fun I could have....

RC Car Jumps House

EZ Jigger - Great fishing gadget

I just saw this on 9News--a local inventor (Littleton, Colorado) has created the EZ Jigger, which is a combination rod holder and automated jigging device that retails for about $50. The product is battery powered and comes with different cams that create different jigging actions, which is desirable depending on the type of fish you're going after.

The EZ Jigger also has an alarm that sounds when a fish is on the line, and it was designed by fishermen who also happen to be local aerospace engineers. Looks like this make it on to this year's Christmas wish list!

Easy Fix for iPod Screen Scratches

I first read about this on THE TENSION blog, and thought I'd give it a try...and it works pretty darn well.

The idea is that you use an off-the-shelf CD/DVD scratch repair kit (the one I used was a Memorex CD Scratch Repair Kit that I bought at Office Depot for $10), and basically just follow the directions (other than you use it on your iPod instead of a CD, of course!). (I noticed that the Memorex web site now mentions that the CD scratch kit is also effective on PDAs, etc.)

The entire three-step process (clean, polish, finish) took about 15 minutes, and while it didn't restore my iPod to its original "out of the box" condition, it did remove about 95% of the scratches. I suppose I could repeat the process again, I'm pretty satisfied with the results as-is. It's important to note that my iPod is nearly always in its case--it was actually the process of inserting and removing the iPod from the case that created the scratches, which were all abrasion-type "blurring" of the display (vs. actual deep scratches in the plastic).

I would whole heartedly recommend this process to anyone that wants to improve their iPod display. For the record, I have a 30GB iPod Video.

New Skype Phone Doesn't Need PC or Wi-Fi

Skype has partnered with Philips to create a cordless phone that takes my Vtech USB 7100 one step further, removing the requirement for a PC altogether.

The Vtech unit, incidentally, is a cordless phone that has two connections: a standard RJ-11 telephone line, and PC USB. The RJ-11 connection allows it to act like any other cordless telephone, and the USB connection allows it to connect to a Skype-enabled PC, which allows the user to place and receive calls via Skype. The problem, of course, is that it requires a PC to be running if you want to use the Skype features of the phone.

The new Philips phone removes the PC requirement, substituting the USB connection for an RJ-45 (wired Ethernet) connection. This intimates that the phone has a full Skype client embedded within, which is a great idea. The phone, which is supposed to be in the $150 range and will be available by the 2006 holiday season, is only one of many similar phones that are likely to hit the market in the next year or so.

While this phone is interesting, I still really like the idea of a self-contained Skype phone that will work over WiFi--particularly if it has an embedded Web browser and WPA client that would allow you to use it at virtually any hot spot--even those that require authentication. There are phones like this in development, such as the Netgear Skype WiFi phone, but they're going to be spendy ($300+), putting them out of range of most folks for a while yet.

The other issue I have with the current crop of Skype phones is that they only work with Skype--for that kind of money, it would be really good if they worked with competitive services like Yahoo, or even commercial VOIP systems like Vonage.

Pyrrha: Pandora to Portable Podcast

Now this is a great idea: take a Pandora music stream and turn it into a portable "podcast" (actually, just a single MP3 file) that can be used by any portable music player. Pyrcast has created a free utility that does just that, called Pyrrha, which was Pandora's daughter (clever!).

Pyrrha allows you to choose which Pandora station you'd like to convert into a Podcast, and the makers stress that the program is not intended to infringe on any copyrights.

Pyrrha is available at http://www.pyrcast.com/.

Palm Pilot Robot Kit

This page describes how to convert that old Palm III into a cool little robot--perfect for those old units that are gathering dust in the drawer. You can build it from scratch or buy a pre-made kit; there are also some cool add-ons like a digital compass that are available. Now if I only had the time..... :-)

ThinkGeek :: LED Binary Watch

Wow--a watch only a geek could love. The hours and minutes are displayed in binary--hours on top, minutes on bottom. Baffle your friends for only $70, and it's available with blue or red LEDs.

Windows In Your Pocket | Tom's Hardware UK and Ireland

Great HOWTO article that shows how to create a bootable version of XP that will run on a USB thumb drive -- 256mb or greater. Wonderful idea for emergency boot situations. I'll have to give this a try some time.

10 Oddest iPod Accessories

A good read: http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/07/ipod/index_01.htm

I'm thinking that the iPod purse and the iPod toilet paper holder might be over the top....

Ace Craft USA - GEN H-4 - One Man Helicopter

Super cool- a $30K personal helicopter!

The Ultimate Gameroom


This is awesome--Peter Hirschberg has converted his basement into what has to be the ultimate game room--over 50 authenic classic video games on two levels.

This is something for me to aspire to!

HiFiiPod » MP3 vs AAC vs OGG

An interesting article/test comparing the audio quality of MP3, AAC and OGG VORBIS. As I expected, the MP3 frequency response curve tails off pretty significantly over 10KHz, and OGG provides a relatively flat curve all the way up. Interestingly, OGG also sacrifices some linearity, which comprises natural reproduction of the music.

The biggest surprise is that AAC, which is a compressed (lossy) format that Apple recommends, seems to provide the best response curve across the spectrum. Looks like I'll be using AAC for most of my rips!

If you're interested in the frequency response curve for lossless (WAV/AIF) files, it's here. As you might suspect, it's completely flat throughout the spectrum, but of course it also requires a tremendous amount of space to store (like 10x more than compressed formats).

The HiFiiPod site also has some very interesting tests of the various iPod models; it seems that the audio circuitry compares favorably with low- to medium-end audiophile gear, which is pretty impressive for a unit that costs $400 at the top end.

AutoStitch: Automatic 1d and 2d panoramic photos

This is cool--free software that will take multiple digital photos and stitch them together to create panoramic images, both in 1d (horizontal) and 2d (horizontal/vertical).

Main Page - wikiPodLinux

This is a project that has created a version of Linux that runs on iPods. Unfortunately, they don't have support for the 5G iPods yet--but it's coming.

One advantage of running Linux on an iPod is that you can play codecs that aren't normally supported, e.g. FLAC, and you can also play some Linux games, or so I'm told.

Being the early adopter that I am, I'm eagerly looking forward to being able to try this on my video iPod!

Arty, modern 21C offers feast for the senses

This is an amazing hotel--they even offer an iPod in every room, pre-programmed with the guest's favorite music. Guests can take the iPod home--but it will be charged to their credit card.

Sounds like a great place--too bad it's in Louisville, KY!

Picoflyer contents

Very cool--world's smallest RC helicopter. The Picoflyer has 60mm diameter rotors and is incredibly tiny!

Unfortunately, you can't buy it--Prox only does R&D for other companies. Sounds to me like they ought to start manufacturing them!

Lenovo ThinkPad T60 Review (pics, specs)

A good review of the ThinkPad T60, which I think is the ultimate laptop (next to the new Mac!).

Jabra BT800

Preliminary review

I picked up a Jabra BT800 the other day at CompUSA ($99 manager's special; $149 retail and street price is ~$119). My previous headset (a circa 2001 Jabra BT200) literally fell apart on me--which wasn't unexpected when you consider that I've been using the same one for five years. Incidentally, the BT200 was Jabra's first Bluetooth headset ever and has been a great performer for me.

When contemplating the purchase of a new headset, I had already decided to go with a new Jabra as I was very pleased with the performance (and longevity) of my previous unit. After reviewing the Jabra line, which now spans around 10 different Bluetooth headsets, I had narrowed my choice down to two options: the BT800, which is literally the state-of-the-art unit (more on that later), and the BT500, which is the latest incarnation of their original Bluetooth headset.

Being a gadget guy, I was immediately drawn to the BT800, which has a number of state-of-the-art features:

1. LCD display that shows incoming caller ID information and enables the headset to have a menu system (more on that later);

2. Digital signal processing (DSP) technology: allows the headset to automatically adapt to environmental noise levels (e.g. if you walk outside into a noisy environment, the unit automatically raises the volume level!). DSP also allows the unit to cancel wanted noises, which benefits both the wearer as well as the person on the other end of the call.

3. On-the-ear design: unlike the BT200/500 series, which rides on the back of the ear and involves inserting an "ear gel" into the ear canal, the BT800 is much easier to don as it rides on the top of the ear.

4. Vibrating alerts and ring tones: the BT800 can vibrate and/or generate its own ringtone when the phone rings. The former is nice when you have the unit in a pocket and the latter is nice when you have the unit on your ear--both particularly so if your phone isn't on you when it rings.

5. USB and AC charging: the unit can be charged either via a standard AC "wall wart" or via a supplied USB cable--which means you can charge the unit directly from a PC>

6. Upgradeability: since the unit has a USB cable for charging, Jabra also took advantage of this feature to allow a PC to upgrade the software running on the unit, which I have already taken advantage of.

7. Menu system: through a combination of buttons on the unit and a "jog" switch, plus the LCD display, the user can configure the unit completely using the menu system. This includes pairing the unit (which can also be achieved by pressing a recessed dedicated pairing button), changing the earpiece ring tones, and even reviewing a list of incoming phone numbers. The latter is particularly interesting, as the unit can actually instruct the phone to dial a number in the earpieces' call list--a really cool feature.


8. Battery life: the unit has 6 hours talk and 125 hours standby time, which is excellent.

Field Testing

As you might suspect, I had to take the unit "in the field" for some testing, and so far the results are impressive. I was using the BT800 yesterday on my way in to work, which involves walking from a parking lot to a commuter light rail train, when three buses drove by me (very loud diesels). I reflexively reached for the volume control when I noticed that the Jabra had automatically increased the volume for me--very cool--and I was able to continue the conversation without having to adjust the volume. I also noticed that the Jabra does a decent job of dealing with wind--a 15 mph wind did not bother it, although later in the day a 30 mph wind rendered it unusable (not a big surprise--no headset can deal with wind very well). The unit also deals very well with background noise--to an extent. In noisy environments, the unit's DSP circuitry definitely helps, but once it gets too noisy, not even high-tech wizardry can help.

In summary, so far I am very impressed with the BT800--it's a nice melding of high-tech with usability. We'll see how I like it after the "honeymoon" period is over, but if my past experience with Jabra units is any indicator, the BT800 will be a long-term tool!

MakeZine.com

This looks like an awesome magazine; it's all about how to make fun things, and how things are made. For example, they show you how to make an inexpensive home camera "steadycam" for about $16, and how to re-use old gadgets. For example, they show you how to install Linux on an old iPod and turn it into an inexpensive MP3 recorder.

I'll definitely be subscribing!

The winners of the 2005 Engadget Awards! - Engadget

This is a great summary of the gadgets of the year, including both the Engadget staff picks as well as reader's choices. For some weird reason they didn't see fit to put links to the gadgets in the article, however--grrrr.

WebServUSB: world’s smallest Web Server on a USB Flash Drive

The march of USB drive applications continues--WebServ makes a USB drive that comes pre-loaded with a Web server. Price is $89-$399 depending on capacity, and the beauty is that you don't need to install anything on the PC (other than the USB drive itself) to get a Web server up and running on it ASAP. Great idea!

Heil PR-40: perhaps the ultimate Podcasting mic

One of my favorite podcasts is TWIT: "This Week in Tech", which is a weekly broadcast hosted by Leo Laporte. I have been very impressed with the audio quality of the show, which is comparable to FM broadcast quality--even more impressive is the fact that they do many of their recordings over Skype!

I remembered during one of the TWIT broadcasts that they had discussed a new microphone that there were using: the Heil PR40, and I decided to check it out. This is a professional quality microphone, but at an amateur price: $325 suggested list (OK, so a *serious* amateur!).

Since we are about to embark on a series of podcasts of our own at Proxima, I have insisted that we invest in a decent set of equipment, including microphones and a mixer. Fortunately, the price of this type of gear has dropped quite a bit over the past few years, so I think we can get set up to produce a decent podcast for less than $1000, including all of the various pieces of software that we'll need.

The biggest challenge is going to be around convincing the people that will be on our podcasts that they need to use a decent mic setup; while shipping PR40s to everyone is not a reality, we could purchase some inexpensive ($40) USB headsets for people to use.

I will be sure to document my experiences as a first-time podcast producer in the space in the coming weeks and months. I'm really looking forward to it!

Apple introduces $149 iPod nano, cuts price on Shuffle

Apple today unveiled a $149 iPod nano and reduced the price on the shuffle to $69 and $99 (512mb and 1GB, respectively). While I suppose there is still a place for the Shuffle at the low end of the spectrum, it seems to me that its' days are numbered.

The 1GB Nano will hold around 240 songs and, like the other Nanos, does not support video.

Inventor develops 'artificial gills': "An Israeli inventor has developed an underwater breathing system that literally squeezes oxygen directly from seawater, doing away with the need for compressed air tanks."

While this hasn't been productized in any way, it definitely shows promise for the future. Imagine diving without tanks!

Sling Gets $46.6M in Funding: "Sling Media, which makes a set-top box that allows users to access their television programs, music, and pictures from their laptops and other mobile devices, said Monday it has secured $46.6 million in a second round of financing."

Yowsa! Looks like we're going to be seeing many more SlingBoxes around. If they just combine a DVR with their technology, they'd have a killer app IMHO.

Digital Cameras Around $600

Evaluation of Digital Cameras around $600

• Introduction

The world of digital imaging has grown by leaps and bounds over the past couple of years. Five years ago, $600 would barely buy you a digital camera (we paid around $750 for a 3 megapixel Sony camera in 2000--a 3 megapixel camera today is around $100--or even less).  The good news is that today, $600 will buy you one heckuva nice camera, as you'll see.

• What Type of Camera Do I Need?

So what do you need to know about digital cameras? There are really two basic things: the resolution (measured in millions of dots, or megapixels), and the type of camera (point-and-shoot or digital single lens reflex, or DSLR). Both types of cameras mirror their counterparts in the analog (film) world--the big advantage of DSLRs is that you can generally change lenses, and the overall quality of DSLR cameras is better, as they appeal to professional and so-called "ProAm" (professional amateur) markets. In general, unless you have a specific need for an DSLR, such as if you're a hobbyist or know quite a bit about photography, and point-and-shoot camera is just fine. There is also a major price advantage in going with a point-and-shoot over an DSLR; you get more "bang for your buck" with a point-and-shoot camera. For example, a 6 megapixel DSLR costs $700-$1000 (not including lenses!), whereas a 6 megapixel point-and-shoot camera costs in the $300-$400 range.

• Megapixels!

The first, most important feature of any digital camera is the megapixel rating. As mentioned previously, each megapixel equals a million dots, or pixels, and generally speaking, the more megapixels, the better. There is an analog between the number of megapixels in a digital camera and the film speed in an analog camera--100 ASA film is roughly equivalent to 25 megapixels, so film cameras still provide much clearer images--under certain circumstances. If you are mostly printing small images (say 8x10 or smaller), any digital camera over 4 megapixels or so will yield satisfactory prints. What the higher quantity of pixels buys you is the ability to zoom and crop in on certain portions of a picture and still print a decent-looking image. It also goes without saying that if you decide to print even larger pictures--like 11x17--you'll definitely want a high megapixel camera (8 or better, if possible). What happens when you try to print too large of an image with too few pixels is that the image gets very blurry--it's called pixelation--and generally just looks awful.As a general rule-of-thumb, given today's price-performance ratios, that a minimum of 6 megapixels should be acceptable for most consumer applications, although going as low as 4 megapixels is fine for taking snapshots.

• Other Features to Consider

Besides megapixels, there are a few other features to consider in a digital camera:

1. Red-eye reduction: the camera's ability to "pre-flash" before taking the actual exposure, which reduces the red-eye effect when using the flash in dark environments


2. Exposure programs: most cameras have the ability to switch to different programs for different uses--sports, for example, is used when taking pictures of fast-moving subjects


3. Setup and recycle time: older digital cameras suffered from a lengthy setup and recycle time. This means that the time between turning the camera on and taking the first picture (setup time) was as much as 5-10 seconds, and the recycle time (time between taking pictures) was also very long--as much as 2-3 seconds. This effectively prevented any sort of spontaneous photos! Newer cameras generally have setup times less than 2 seconds and recycle times less than a second, but it doesn't hurt to check it out.


4. Storage medium: all digital cameras have re-usable, removable storage media (sometimes called 'digital film') that allow you to store images on a card-like device. When the card fills up, you can insert a blank one and keep shooting. You can also insert the cards directly into a computer and some printers in order to transfer the images over (for making prints and saving the images). The main differential between camera brands in this area is the type of card they use--there are three main formats: memory stick (Sony), secure digital (also known as SD or xD) (multiple vendors) and compact flash (known as CF--also used by multiple vendors). Of the three, memory sticks are the most expensive, due to the fact that Sony exclusively owns the rights to them. SD cards are the smallest, and CF cards are the cheapest. I prefer either memory stick or SD.


5. Storage capacity: when buying memory cards, buy the biggest one you can afford, and be sure to factor in the cost of the card into your budget. Keep in mind that the higher the number of megapixels your camera has, the bigger the images will be (in bytes, which is how images are stored), and therefore the less pictures you'll be able to store on a card. A general rule-of-thumb is to estimate 2 megabytes per image (some will be smaller, some will be bigger), and divide the size of the card by 2 to get an estimate of the number of pictures you can store on it. Bear in mind that digital cameras have one HUGE advantage: you can delete bad pictures right after you take them, freeing up that space on the memory card. So the number of pictures you calculate will be 'good' pictures. For example, a 512 megabyte memory card will store around 256 good photos--more than enough for most vacations, although you might want to spring for a 1 gigabyte (1000 megabyte) just to be safe. At the time of this writing, a 1 gigabyte card will cost between $50 and $100, so it's not a huge investment (in the grand scheme of things).


6. Brand: just as with film cameras, certain brands are better than others in digital. As a general rule, companies that made good film cameras also make good digital cameras. My favorite brands are Sony, Nikon, Canon, and Minolta. I would recommend you stay away from Kodak, and use caution with some Olympus cameras.


7. Batteries: some digital cameras have proprietary rechargeable batteries; others have rechargable standard batteries (like AAs), and yet others take regular alkaline batteries. In general, alkaline batteries last longer than rechargeable batteries, and they're readily available if the camera runs out of juice. Rechargeables are generally more environmentally friendly and are probably more economical over the long term. In the end, it's up to the buyer's preference, but take into account how you're going to use the camera (e.g. how accessable power outlets will be when the camera runs out of juice!)


8. Zoom: there are two types of zoom on most digital cameras: optical and digital. Optical is best--it involves a real glass lens doing the zooming. Digital zoom uses the extra megapixel resolution in the camera to zoom in--which means that you're giving up overall image quality whenever the digital zoom kicks in. The disadvantage of optical zoom is that the lens needs to be extended in order to zoom--so cameras with a lot of optical zoom tend to be larger, whereas digital zoom takes no room at all. In general, optical zoom of at least '10x' (that means 10 times normal) or greater is good, and try to get to most optical zoom possible in the size and weight that you desire in a camera.


9. Movies: many digital cameras today also have the ability to take moving images, or movies. The quality of the movies these cameras take are vastly inferior to even the cheapest camcorders, so don't consider them a replacement for a conventional camcorder. That said, the ability to take movies is a nice feature, as there are many times when a camcorder isn't available, and it's great to be able to take movies. Another advantage of these types of movies is that when you transfer them to the camera, they're already in digital form, and as such they're easy to email.


10. Interface: the method that the camera uses to connect to a PC. Most cameras use USB, which is virtually ubiquitous on PCs and Macs,  but be aware that there are two versions of USB: 1.x and 2.x. USB 2.x is far faster than 1.x, although computers older than 2003 or so are probably only USB 1.x. Cameras that support USB 2.x will work on older USB 1.x computers--they'll just transfer photos much slower. If possible, buy a camera with a USB 2.x interface (most are nowadays, but it doesn't hurt to double-check).


11. AV output: allows you to connect the camera to an external TV for viewing pictures and movies. A nice feature, especially on vacations when you want to show the whole family the pictures you've taken.

• Recommended Cameras

All of the cameras below are in the $500 range; add a decent memory card and some accessories, and you're right in the $600 range.

• Point-and-Shoot


• Nikon Coolpix P1, about $550: 8 megapixel, 3.5x optical/4x digital (14x total) zoom, automatic and manual modes, red eye reduction, movie mode, built-in "WiFi" allows camera to connect to wireless networks and transfer photos (really nice feature!), very fast recycle time, xD memory cards, movie mode, 6 oz weight, AV outputs, USB interface (didn't specify which version, but probably 2.x)


• Canon Powershot S80, about $550: 8 megapixel, 3.6x optical/4x digital (14x total) zoom, many exposure modes, red eye reduction, movie mode, xD memory cards, USB 2.0, 7.9 oz weight, AV output, nice small form factor.


• Sony DSC-N1, about $500: 8.1 megapixel, 3x optical/6x digital (18x total) zoom, many exposure modes, red eye reduction, movie mode, memory stick storage, USB 2.0, 5.5 oz weight, rechargeable proprietary batteries, AV output.


• DSLRs


• There are no DSLRs that fall into this price range; they start around $800 and go up from there.

• Summary and recommendations

I really like the features of the Nikon Coolpix P1 and the Canon Powershot S80; they're very similar in basic features, although the Nikon is lighter and has the WiFi feature. You also can't go wrong with the Sony; all three are strong cameras that will do a nice job. I'd highly recommend that you go into Best Buy to try them all out before you buy, to make sure that you like the feel of the camera and the controls, etc. Good luck!

How to Take Great Photos of an Electronics Product with a Digital Camera

Great tips!

Anywhere, Anytime TV

This is a really good review of ten next generation "anytime, anywhere" digital video recorders (DVRs), including TivoToGo and Slingbox.

How-To: Build a practical HTPC perfect for MythTV

This is a HOWTO that describes building the perfect PC for running Myth, all for about a grand. It seems to me that you could build one for a lot less than that..just buy one of the cheapie Dell boxes that go on special from time to time and put a TV tuner card in it...but that's the easy way, which isn't exactly the point!

Fedora Myth(TV)ology

Good site that describes how to get MythTV running on Fedora.

MythTV

This is a free Linux-based Tivo alternative (well, not exactly free--you need a PC to run it on, but you can build/buy one for pretty cheap, especially since Myth apparently runs on down to a 500 Mhz single processor box). In addition to Tivo functionality, Myth has some really nice features, like automatic commercial detection/skip and the ability to actually move the programs to another device (like an iPod). You can also use it to rip DVDs ono the PC and watch them just like TV programming.

Very cool!

Western Digital Caviar SE 320GB 3.5" IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM at Newegg.com

$119-no rebates. This is a one-day deal, so you'd better order quick!

hacks.oreilly.com -- O'Reilly Hacks Series

This is a great compendium of hacks for all sorts of devices and platforms.

Axbo Alarm Clock helps you wake up feeling refreshed

Hmm...might be worth a try. This alarm clock helps to make sure that you wake up at the right stage of your sleep cycle. Too bad it's going to be around $250! Ouch.

VoipSpeak - Phoenix Audio Duet PCS Review

A review of the Phoenix USB speakerphone reinforces the old saying that you get what you pay for--the $200 Phoenix unit works really well. I think this is exactly what anyone that's making heavy use of Skype should have.

Duet PCS USB Speakerphone: Skype conferencing

This looks to be just what people that need to do a conference with Skype should have; much higher quality than the $40 unit I purchased last year.

Album Art Finder: Artie

Artie is a service that utilizes Amazon.com's public database of images to retrieve any missing cover art for your iTunes library. You just upload the iTunes music library XML file and then drag the artwork right into iTunes. Very cool!

Damn Small Linux Embedded on a USB pen drive

For $60, you can get a 256mb thumb drive with Linux pre-installed on it. You can also download their Linux from the site and install it on your own thumb drive.

23 Things to Do With a Thumb Drive

This article has some novel ideas, including how to put an itty-bitty Linux on a thumb drive. Good read.

iTunes 6.02: Now with video sharing

This is cool--you can also share videos on your local network with the latest version of iTunes.

PodPlus: allows you to realize the full potential of your iPod. With PodPlus, you’ll be able to transform your iPod into much more than a simple music player. You’ll have the ability to turn your iPod into an information repository. You’ll be able to transfer all kinds of data to your iPod, including driving directions, contacts, appointments, email, notes, tasks, podcasts, RSS news feeds, weather forecasts, daily horoscopes, movie showtimes and more! You will have the tools necessary to copy songs off your iPod and back onto your PC. Cost is $15.

50 Fun Things To Do With Your iPod

Cool article.

Jabra BT620s - wireless Bluetooth stereo (music) headset

Cool--coming soon to a gear-head near you: a Bluetooth headset that works with phones, iPods, and virtually any other gadget. It supports two different devices, so conceivably you could use it to switch between a cell phone and an iPod, for example.

There is a catch, however--the devices must support the A2DP for advanced audio profile and the AVRCP for remote control and Bluetooth headset and hands-free profiles. In other words, I doubt that any cell phone out today will support the ability to transparently switch (because none of them support the A2DP and AVRCP) profiles.

The headset has two stereo "cans", plus a microphone, so it's truly a one-size-fits-all gadget. It also features music player controls on the headset (play, rewind, pause, etc) and it will charge off of a mini-USB cable (so you can charge it from your PC as well as a wall jack). Operating range is standard Bluetooth (10 meters, or 30 feet), it will work for up to 16 hours on a charge, and it takes 2 hours to fully charge. They will be releasing an adaptor for pairing the device with non-Bluetooth devices (can you say iPod?).

Pricing has not yet been announced, and neither has a date for release, so stay tuned to this channel for further details as they develop!

Highlights from MacWorld

Apple made some very interesting announcements at last week's MacWorld. Among them:

- During the holiday season, Apple sold 100 iPods a *minute*; total of 14M units Q4 '05
- Apple has now sold a total of 42 million iPods
- iTunes has sold over 850M songs; well on track to exceed 1B song per year run rate
- 83% MP3 player market share
- Chrysler to offer iPod integration on all models
- Apple announced several new Macs featuring dual-core Intel processors, including the new MacBook Pro notebook:
- Up to four times the performance of the PowerBook G4;
- One inch thin, weighing only 5.6 pounds
- Built-in iSight video camera, an Apple Remote and Front Row software
- The new agreement between Apple and Intel is fueling speculation that it may be possible to run both Windows and Mac OS on the new Macs; this is an intriguing option, particularly in the laptop area
- First billion dollar quarter for Apple stores
- Last quarter revenue: $5.7B: a record. Market value of Apple now more than Dell!

Should be an interesting year for Apple. With the Intel partnership, it will be very interesting to watch the corporate market--if PC users can get a machine that runs both Mac OS and Windows, will they switch? The MacBook Pro could very well be the new 'power' notebook for road warriors.....

Apple Computer iPod Radio Remote | iPod Accessory Review

A good review of the iPod remote. Now if you could only find one for purchase somewhere...(supposed to be released January 22nd)

Free TiVo: Build a Better DVR out of an Old PC

Another fun project to try.

The $174 DIY LCD Projector

This is actually a really interesting idea--take a classic analog overhead projector, buy a cheap LCD panel, buy a screen, build a housing, a wha-la! A $174 LCD projector featuring $10 replacement bulbs. Might be worth a try.....

The Anti-Printer, aka Shredder

This is hilarious--convert an old Xerox laser printer into a shredder!

PM: 15 New Tech Concepts For 2006

A fun read, although I'm not sure how important SPIT (Spam over Internet Telephony) really is....

Riding the Superconducting Maglev Train - Linear Motor Car

This is impressive--6 minute video of the experimental 500 Kph (~310 Mph) Maglev train in Japan. Very cool!

CDBurnerXP Pro: Free CD Burning Software

I haven't tried this yet, but it's supposed to be better than Nero, and it's free!

Thumb drives launch apps, media players

Another good idea coming out of CES: run full applications from USB thumb drives. With capacities climbing and prices dropping, combined with the speed of USB 2.0, thumb drives are becoming an ideal portable computing environment--just plug the drive into the nearest convenient PC and compute away. Store the apps and data on the same drive, and you've got a totally portable setup--just don't lose the drive!

Anticipated pricing was not disclosed.

iPodbank - iPod remote first look (w/pics!) - received it today

Great review of the new iPod remote. Looks like a must-have gadget for yours truly!

EETimes.com - U.S. details tax breaks for hybrid cars

It appears that the US government is going to extend the tax breaks for purchasing hybrid cars--$3,400 is the reported amount. This is great, except that some of the hybrids coming on the market aren't exactly fuel efficient--like the Chevy hybrid pickup truck that only gets ~20 MPG!

How To: Convert your Xbox to a NAS

For those gadget heads out there that have already upgraded to the Xbox 360, you can recycle your old box into a network attached storage device. Tom's Hardware shows you how.

Nikon Discontinuing Most Film Cameras

"As a result of the new strategy Nikon will discontinue production of all lenses for large format cameras and enlarging lenses with sales of these products ceasing as soon as they run out of stock. This also applies to most of our film camera bodies, interchangeable manual focus lenses and related accessories. Although Nikon anticipates that the products will still be in retail distribution up to Summer 2006.

In recognition of Nikon’s commitment to professional photographers we will continue to manufacturer and sell the F6, our flagship film model, as well as a number of manual interchangeable lenses. Sales of the manual FM10 will also continue outside Europe."

Wow! A major statement in the shift from analog to digital photography.

$9 Quick Vibrating Lockpick

All you need is a $9 toothbrush and some extra parts to make a lock picker--scary when you think about it!

Levi Strauss debuts iPod-compatible jeans

MacDailyNews - Apple and Mac News

Yes, it's true--Levi's for iPods, including a hidden pocket and 'hip' controls designed into the jeans' watch pocket. The jeans will be available in fall 2006, and the price has not been announced.

Wi-Gear presents iMuffs - The first wireless headphones for your iPod and Bluetooth phone!

Cool idea--retailing around $160, they're pricey, but going wireless is absolutely the right way to go. Unfortunately, based on the little connector on the top of the unit, these will not work with the iPod video (Apple, for some reason, did away with the remote connector that the older iPods had on the top--newer peripherals all must connect through the dock connector on the bottom of the unit).

I'm sure they will be releasing a unit soon that works through the dock connector. I'll keep my eyes peeled!

One more comment--they need to add a microphone and give you the ability to listen to your tunes on the 'pod and then seamlessly take a call on your phone. I am forever yanking my ear buds out and putting my headset on when my phone rings!

Gadget Review: iPod Radio Remote Announced

Apple announced a new iPod remote today that has an FM radio as well as a display that shows the song playing or the radio frequency being listened to. This is perfect--just what I've been needing (well, the remote capability, anyway). At $50, the price isn't too bad, all things considered, and it's supposed to begin shipping immedately.

The Last iPod Video Guide You’ll Ever Need

Excellent guide for those of us that have iPods with video; although it's somewhat Mac focused, it has a lot of great iPod-specific content as well, including sites where you can find free video content for your 'pod.

Linspire - The World's Easiest Desktop Linux

If their claims are true, this could be an interesting alternative to Fedora--for about $50, you get the OS and a registered copy of StarOffice, and it's supposed to be much easier to use than Fedora (or the other desktop-oriented Linuxes). I may have to try it out--they have a free trial CD that you can download and burn..you then boot your PC using the CD and give it a whirl.

The trial is available at http://www.linspire.com/live

Jabra BT500: Winner of CES "Best Bluetooth Headset" Award

This is the third or fourth generation of the trusty Jabra Bluetooth headset that I've been using for the past several years (I have the BT200, which I believe was their original headset)--makes me want to upgrade to see just how much they've improved the unit.

I also have a Motorola Bluetooth headset--the HS820--and the old Jabra beats it hands-down in the quality of the microphone and the audio quality (mostly due to the in-ear design IMHO). The main problem I've had with the older Jabra is that it's based on the original Bluetooth spec--and as such, it's somewhat susceptible to interference from other 2.4 GHz devices (like WiFi).

Interestingly, I've had very little interference issues with the Jabra since I upgraded to the Blackberry 7105t last week--the main reason for purchasing the Moto headset was because of the interference issues in my office. The main reason, however, was because the old Jabra did not support the Bluetooth audio profile required by my cell phone at the time...an issue that the 7105t apparently does not suffer from.

Major improvements in the BT500 ($120 at Hello Direct): USB (PC) charging, battery status LEDS, support for Bluetooth 1.2 (headset and hands-free profiles), 8 hours talk/240 hours standby time.

It does not appear that the BT500 has a couple of the features of its competition, including the ability to vibrate when the phone rings, and customized ring tones--but those are minor inconveniences, given the overall quality of the Jabra design.

Inexpensive iPod Video Cable

Those of you that have purchased iPod Video units (aka "iPod") and wish to output the video to a TV are in luck--there is an inexpensive work-around to purchasing Apple's over-priced iPod video cable (for which they're getting about $30). You can use any generic video/audio cable (like those that commonly come with video cameras)--and by switching the wires around, they work just fine with the iPod. Apple, in their infinite wisdom, played around with the wire ordering, no doubt in order to make people think that they need to buy their proprietary cable. No so!

The magic combination is as follows:

Video Cable Output->TV/Stereo/Amp Input
--------------------------------------
Yellow-->White
Red-->Yellow
White-->Red

In other words, you take the yellow cord coming from the iPod and connect it to the white input on your TV/Stereo/Amp, and so on.

I hope this helps save at least a few of you out there more than a few dollars!

Mark

Dvorak: Meta Coverage of CES2006

John Dvorak chose to sit back and aggregate everyone else's blog posts on CES this year, instead of going there himself. Not a bad idea (and much cheaper too!).

Give them an inch: Matsushita ups the ante with 103-inch plasma screen

Wow! A 103 inch plasma screen--no price announced (if you have to ask.....)

AuraGrid WiFi-over-cable extender

Cool idea--you plug your wireless AP into your existing cable (Coax), and then you can plug in WiFi antennas in any room that needs coverage. Only one (huge) problem: it won't work in homes that have satellite TV (they must be using some of the same bandwidth that the satellite downlink uses, or possibly it's because satellite receivers have dedicated point-to-point coax connections (not shared throughout the house)). That's a deal killer for me, unfortunately.

Optimus keyboard: each key is a separate color display

This is cool--a keyboard that is totally reconfigurable, as each key is a separate, programmable, color display. It's supposed to be released on Feb 1, and the cost to manufacture it is supposedly $200, which puts the retail price *at least* in the $400 range. Still, cool idea, and the price will definitely drop over time.

Sony Reader details and pics

Sony has released a new eBook reader that shows promise--although the pricing (between $300 and $400) is too high, this appears to be the first eBook reader that has a chance of surviving. The big deal is that is can read PDFs as well as Sony's proprietary format, and it only uses battery power when you flip a page--the display, once the pixels are set, uses no power. Pretty cool. I have to wonder, however, how many people will want to buy yet another gadget to put in their briefcases, what with the preponderance of iPods, Blackberries, etc. Yet another gadget to converge into the other mobile devices!

Pandora-Great New Music Service

I found a new music service on the Web that I really like: www.pandora.com

You create a personalized "radio station" starting with an artist or song that you like, and they play songs that they link you'll like (that are similar). You can then vote thumbs-up or thumbs-down on the songs they play, and it learns what you like and don't like from there. It's a free service if you don't mind a few ads, otherwise you can subscribe for $3/month. It's all based on a new music classification system that they developed that determines the song's "DNA" based on a number of criteria, with the idea that the music that you like all shares some common DNA. Cool concept, especially for free! You can also create multiple radio stations for different music tastes.

Update: I've been listening to Pandora for about 5 days now (free service) and have yet to hear a single ad. Not sure how they plan on making money, but it's a great service.

Cool stuff.

Build a MAME Cabinet in 24 Hours

This is cool--exactly the idea that I had about a year ago. Take an old PC, load MAME on it, build a cabinet with the various game controls, and wha-la! You've got an arcade console with virtually every game ever made on it.

FYI, MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator--basically it allows you to run the code from virtually any of the arcade game machines on a PC--you just have to find the ROM files, which are available on the Internet).

SendOver.com -- FREE File Transfer Service -- Up To 2 GB!

This is great for sending really large files to other people. I wonder what the business model is......

[Update] Apparently SendOver is a victim of its own success--I tried to upload a ~18MB file and it failed twice. I'll give it a try....later!

Wired News: Best (and Worst) Gadgets of 2005

A good read for all gear-heads!

Hacking Skype: Cool New Book from O'Reilly

oreilly.com -- Online Catalog: Skype Hacks, First Edition

There are also a few free chapters that you can download from their Web site. For example, one chapter tells you how you can make Skype calls from your Web browser; e.g. skype:phone_no?call will bring up Skype and dial the number (don't forget the in the beginning if you're using SkypeOut). You can also put a ?chat after a valid Skype user name; e.g. skype:markehr?chat will open a chat window, and skype:markehr?voicemail will leave a voice mail for that user. Cool stuff!

How to rip a DVD: Great tutorial on ripping DVDs

Elliott Back � How to rip a DVD: A Tutorial

Sling Media - View your TV from anywhere via the Internet

Sling Media SlingBox

This is really cool -- a box that grabs the output from just about any TV source (like DirecTV, Dish Network, and Cable) and streams it live over the Internet to a PC. You can even change channels remotely--it sends IR commands to the set-top box from your PC. Quality is very good--surprisingly good. Cost is $250 at Amazon or Best Buy. I wonder how this will play out from a rights perspective--I believe that they only allow viewing (e.g. no recording to the remote PC), which limits the amount of places content can be distributed, but I would also imagine that hacks will be forthcoming to get around that limitation.