- Major League Baseball claims that Slingbox, the device that allows people to watch their home TV feed remotely over the internet, is illegal. Legal experts say users are not breaking any laws by using the device. The Slingbox, essentially…allows people to watch cable they’ve already paid for from another location. Cable or satellite prices can be high enough, especially when we have to buy 800 channels to get the three we actually want…now we have to pay because we want to see it when we aren’t at home?
- This spring, the XPower Powerpack Solar, a 10-amp battery with a 5-watt solar panel will hit shelves. The $169 device can run a laptop for 3 hours and a TV for 45 minutes. It takes 40 hours of sunshine to charge it…so it may not take off as much as the company hopes…although they expect people will charge it at home and top it off on the road…Green is in…is that green?
- Scientists at the University of Utah have succeeded in building small devices to turn heat into sound and then electricity. The devices could be used to produce electricity from waste heat in various industries. For the home, it could cool electronics, specifically the cooling of computers…it would also make them more energy efficient. A thermo-acoustic cooling device could cost about $100-200.
- The Free Software foundation has launched Playogg.com to promote awareness of the open-source multimedia format OGG as an alternative to MP3 and AAC, which are proprietary. Support for OGG on desktops is fully mature, with a variety of programs….hardware players are limited, although various ones do and several others can be hacked. We use OGG on some of our systems…
Category: Gadgets
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Things You Should Know About
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U3 is Gone, and Good Riddance
U3, as we said…is gone. Sandisk, which owns the product…has decided to discontinue the product. We always had a problem with it. It tended to take too long to load…was much too slow.
We had recommended the menu launcher and accompanying open-source software from www.portableapps.com. The menu takes very little in terms of system resources and it is optional…the programs there can run without it.
Sandisk, however, has announced it will replace U3 with a new software and hardware solution. For this, they have joined forces with Microsoft. The new offering is expected to be commercially available in the second half of 2008. It will include TrustedFlash security technology. TrustedFlash embeds digital rights management software on the card instead of the player. We are not about to embark on another diatribe against the inconvenience of DRM…but having it on the media instead of the player can be an advantage.
GigaOm directed us to another product…MojoPac…which we hadn’t previously noticed. MojoPac allows you to install almost any application to a USB 2.0 compliant storage device, including iPods, USB hard drives, USB flash memory drives, etc. One downside is that the current version requires administrative privileges on the Host PC. U3 did not, nor do the PortableApps menu launcher. MojoPac is working on the issue for future versions though…although most solutions require the cooperation of the administrator.
We’ve been experimenting with bootable USB drives that can either act using the PortableApps series of open source portable applications or boot a complete Linux or Windows based operating system…We’ll have more on this later.
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The More You Know
Our colleagues at Flight Wisdom have switched to a mostly roundup-based format in order to report on more news that isn’t worthy of a full article…so we decided to give it a try over here.
- Verizon last month introduced a $2 fee for customers who don’t subscribe to long-distance service and don’t pay for a long-distance calling plan. It is nice to know that it costs money to NOT do business with Verizon as well as all the surcharges we pay for doing business with them. You can get rid of the charge…if you happen to notice it….by disconnecting your long-distance access…but that will cost $6.75.
- Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs contain mercury…and thus you are advised to dispose of them in compliance with local regulations…The Consumerist has its review of this story which made the rounds in the media…of a woman who broke one of these bulbs and was advised to call a toxic waste team at a cost of $2000 to clean up the mess. The bulb has less mercury than a thermometer. It is unnecessary to have it professionally cleaned. Just take proper care…clean completely and then clean yourself afterward.
- We got a kick out of this cheap network rack project…which uses cheap Rubbermaid letter trays to keep and stack network equipment in a simple and aesthetically pleasing ways. Have a look here.
- Vonage has set up a website called Freetocompete.com as a result of their current legal problems with Verizon. They want you to sign their petition to keep VoIP companies from being unfairly hassled by Verizon by claiming they own patents that cover all VoIP services.
- For those of youwho use or consider using third-party ink refills for your printer(refills not made by the printer manufacturer…check out this investigation by TrustReviews.
- Popular Mechanics did a test on the light quality of a set of Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs.
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The PowerSquid
The Powersquid is an outlet multiplier…an alternative to the conventional power strip. Conventional powerstrips often find their outlets blocked by oversized cables and transformers. The Powersquid, which is available in models with and without surge suppression. Phillips Electronics also makes a version of the product found in stores.
Check it out. We have one and it avoids us having to use outlet extenders and other tricks to fill a power strip.
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Free Fonts
For those of you looking for free fonts, check out the EquippedCreative’s Ultimate Free Font Roundup. It has links to various free font websites. Since fonts are a subjective thing…we can’t tell you which one you’ll like.
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iPods to Get Flash Memory
Crunchgear reports that the video iPod line will transition completly from hard drive based storage to flash memory. Flash memory is more commonly used in some media players, including the iPod Nano line, due to its decreased power requirements and higher durability.
With increased features and functionality being in demand, and the decreasing cost and storage space of flash memory, the move can be a good one. But 32GB of flash memory is only as good as the lowest standard iPod storage space count…although the availability of larger flash memory modules is no doubt around the corner. Flash memory does have a shorter possible lifespan than hard drive storage, but the estimated lifespan is not that far off the warranty period of a standard hard drive.
We tend to prefer flash memory systems over hard drive ones. Mostly because we can’t foresee needing our entire music collection in our pocket at all times. With video…there is a need for more space to store each hour…but for those who need it…technology marches on.
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New Cablecard Allows Two Way Communication
The Philadelphia News reports that the standard for a two-way, interactive version of the CableCard has been approved. Several companies at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show demonstrated devices that would work with it.
As we’ve mentioned in the past…the idea of a CableCard is simple, and mandated by the FCC. The card would allow devices such as televisions and consumer owned tuners to become cable ready, by decrypting the content instead of requiring consumers to rent cable boxes from the cable provider at an expensive monthly cost. The problem has been so far that these devices are only one-way…blocking such features as on-demand programming, electronic program guides, and so on from being available.
Personally, while we have never seen an inexpensive television with a CableCard slot, this could pave the way for that option, now that the same experience as a cable box can be integrated and universal. We are hoping to see inexpensive CableCard options popping up within the year.
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iPhone
We have not yet used an IPhone…and we don’t intend to buy one. We are frugal people…and the iPhone is most definitely not a frugal purchase. Since we will not be reviewing the iPhone…we turned to the Consumerist’s roundup of professional reviews…people had issues with it. It seems the technology needs more time to mature.
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Vending Machine for Books
Slashdot directed us to report on a new $50,000 machine that can print books on demand. It can print up to 550 pages and bind it in seven minutes. It will debuting in some U.S. libraries this year. 2.5 Million books are now available, within five years, On Demand Books will be able to reproduce every volume ever printed.
It is very exciting. Such technology will allow bookstores to sell virtually any book by generating it on request, thus reducing inventory required in stock. For libraries, content now in the public domain and other information can be given out to patrons.
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Into the Wood
A while back, we commented on USB flash memory drives made of wood. We recently found this blog entry at Amazon. With the prevalence of cheap plastic casing, white, black, and brushed aluminum finishes…the wooden finish seems to have lost its appeal.
Perhaps the author has a point… but the current offering of wood encased products is somewhat lacking, although there appears to be a market. It inspired us to think of one forum in which wooden enclosures are still popular.
Not long ago, we thought about buying a cocktail arcade cabinet kit from ArcadeDepot.com. They manufacture kits and assembled empty arcade cabinets and we thought it would make an amusing dining table. It is one of the few options for a wooden enclosure that makes hardware a part of your furniture.