Gadget Access

Well, just as expected, Best Buy has added the Windows XP based Asus Eee PC to their website, albeit with a slightly misleading picture. The image shows the Eee PC clearly running the default Linux-based operating system, but if you dig down into the “Product Features” it clearly states that it has the “Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition operating system preinstalled.” Sadly there is no mention of the 4GB SD card that was rumored to be bundled with Eee. Aside from that, we will offer a bit of friendly advise, while Best Buy is kind of enough to suggest the Targus Slipskin Notebook Case, we will remind you that the Eee ships with a small slip cover of its own. Perhaps the best news is that the Windows XP based Eee PC retails at the same $399 price tag.

Product [Best Buy]

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In a case of pure irony, Wall Street Journal reporter Kevin Delaney bought an OLPC XO Laptop for his kids, thinking it would be a good for them to learn to be creative on a computer. Well, turns out, the kids don’t seem to care about creativity. They reverted back to their five-year old desktop because it was “easier to play simple games and watch videos on the Web.”

“Generally, we limit the kids to one or two hours on the computer on weekend days. And at first, they were eager to spend that time on the XO. But they soon became less and less interested in the laptop. Once Jack packed it up in a briefcase when he was playing at being a grown-up—but he didn’t actually turn it on.”

Granted, you do have to note that he does write for the Wall Street Journal and seems to be a techie, so his kids have most likely had more experience than the audience this laptop is targeted for (those in under-developed countries, particularly, those in Africa) as they have very, very little to know computer experience, so they haven’t enjoyed the time-wasting goodness that is YouTube and various web-based game sites. I still believe the concept of having the OLPC XO in the American household is nice, but I think little kids would be better of with, at the most extreme, an ASUS Eee PC. Otherwise, for the less-fortunate children around the world, the OLPC XO is an amazing tool to learn.

Via [Notebook.com] Read [WSJ]

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Chinese Internet users from Beijing and Shanghai are reporting that they can now access the English-language version of Wikipedia after it was blocked by the Chinese authorities a couple of months ago. However, the Chinese version and other sites which have politically sensitive topics such as Tibet and Tiananmen Square remained restricted at this time.

The decision to remove the restriction followed after an inspector from the International Olympic Committee (OIC) told the Beijing Olympic organizers that the Chinese government should remove the restriction even just for the duration of the 2008 Olympics. According to the inspector, continually blocking the access to Wikipedia might reflect a bad impression about the host country.

If you remember, Wikipedia is one of the several sites that the Chinese authorities have blocked to avoid sparking dissent in the region. Yahoo’s Flickr photo-sharing site and Google’s YouTube were also a victim of Chinese Internet censorship before.

And since Wikipedia’s more than 2 million articles in English contain politically sensitive subjects such as Tibet and Taiwan independence, the banned Falun Gong spiritual group and the bloodily suppressed pro-democracy protests of 1989, it is but understandable that the Chinese authorities blocked the site from Chinese users.

Well, it seems that Chinese Internet users would have to thank the Beijing Olympics for having access to Wikipedia again, even if it will just be for a couple of weeks.

Read [Reuters]

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eBay is becoming the place to go for current Eee PC owners looking to get a little extra battery life out of their trusty little ultra-portable. While Asus currently has the standard battery available, they still have their 6-cell extended battery listed as coming soon. So once again we have the third-party manufacturers coming to the rescue, with extended batteries that are currently available and reported to offer up to 5-hours of juice. The extended batteries are 10400 mAh batteries and are selling for around $65. These batteries should offer much more time unplugged, which sounds like money well spent.

Via [Eee Site] Via [Eee User Forums] Image Courtesy [danMdan]

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Solid State Drives, or SSD, are the up and coming solution to the moving parts problem of current hard drives. Based on flash technology, the read/write times of SSDs are flat out blazing.

An Intel R&D group, headed up by Knut Grimsud, is responsible for developing new storage technologies, one of them being solid state drives. In the 2nd quarter of this year, Intel will likely make an announcement regarding these same drives. At the moment, Intel offers a chip for storage for end users, albeit one with a relatively small capacity. Small, in today’s sense, meaning up to 16GB’s.

Intel’s purported 2nd quarter announcement will reveal Intel’s intent to launch 1.8 and 2.5-inch solid state drives. These drives are expected to range in sizes from 80 to 160GB. Look for more as it happens.

Via [Crave]

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My birthday’s in May, and already my loved ones are asking what I want. So I’ve got a moral dilemma. I don’t really need an audio player because I’ve got two perfectly good iPods. OTOH, they are elderly and not equipped for video. I really would like a handheld video player, and I would like to have usable handheld Internet access.

I don’t need an iphone because I adore my Centro, which combines a decent phone with the Palm PDA software that’s kept me in approximate order for years. It was also really, really cheap: $99 plus the inevitable 2-year contract. My adoration, however, doesn’t extend to the Centro’s screen, which is really, really tiny, no good for either videos or the Web.

An obvious solution is the iPod Touch. But here’s my moral dilemma: am I going to let my lust for an ipod Touch overpower my desire to keep my loved ones from spending $300-$500, depending on gigabytes?

Wish you could keep a close eye on your pooch, and at least have a good idea of where it is after being dog-napped? The GPS Dog Tracking System might be able to help you out.

This is the dog tracking system that employs a small GPS receiver attached to your dog’s collar that alerts you when he goes missing or leaves a defined area and notifies you via text message or e-mail. You can then instantly pinpoint your dog’s whereabouts through the manufacturer’s tracking service (12 month subscription required) that provides unlimited on-demand reports of your pet’s current location 24 hours a day via toll-free phone, web maps, e-mail, or cell phone text alerts. The Assisted GPS technology (the same used by emergency services) uses GPS signals and cellular networks to track your dog’s location to within 30′. You can also create up to 10 safety zones (5 active simultaneously); once your dog crosses the boundary, you are promptly notified of his current location via text message to your cell phone or by e-mail.

This water-resistant locator has a battery life of up to 5 days on a single 4-hour charge, and retails for $199.95. The monthly tracking subscription could drain your finances in the long run though at $14.99 per month, but weigh that against the knowledge of not being able to find your dog if it runs off on its own?

Posted Apr 4th 2008 8:47PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Misc. gadgetsBelieve it or not, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen software created in order to determine whether a subject is drop-dead gorgeous, but scientists at Tel Aviv University have seemingly concocted a program of their own that can “interpret attractiveness in women.” Before you ask, the researchers have yet to perfect the art of computing the beauty of males, but they’re attributing said omission to the difficulty in “defining” attractiveness in dudes. Nevertheless, the software was purportedly able to reach nearly the same conclusion as humans about how lovely (or not) a hundred different ladies were, as it broke down features like face symmetry, smoothness of the skin and hair color. We’re told the development could eventually be used in “plastic and reconstructive surgery and computer visualization programs,” but c’mon, this is totally meant to automate the grueling Hot or Not process.

[Via Physorg]

We first featured the AeroGarden a looong time ago when they essentially only had 1 model and since then AeroGrow, the manufacturer has launched a number of additional models including this new $100 model.

The AeroGarden 3 has everything you need to grow your own organic herbs and vegetables, using CFLs and less energy than a single 60W bulb. Using its built-in computer, the AeroGarden monitors and adjusts the nutrient delivery, light and water for specific plants. There’s also a reminder system to tell you when you need to add more water and nutrients.

Gimme!
More info from the manufacturer
Price: $99.95
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

via Kitchen Contraptions

Posted in Gizmo of the Day, Home Automation, Miscellaneous

Posted Apr 4th 2008 7:29PM by Paul Miller
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
We just got a special surprise on our doorstep this afternoon in the form of an E100 from iriver. You’ve already seen the review, so we won’t bore you with a full rehash, but suffice it to say that this thing is well built but feels suspiciously lightweight — not to mention inexplicably thick. The software is all nice and responsive, though it takes a bit of getting used to the d-click interface, and while you’re certainly not going to get much mileage out of the built-in speaker, it is a nice touch. The screen is great straight on, but suffers from some viewing angle woes. We really can’t fault the player for much, but there’s nothing too compelling here to make us leave any members of our current assortment of DAPs. Video is after the break.

Gallery: iriver E100 hands-on