Gadgets Control

Up until now, vudu doing quite well alone, but we all know that it is important to have third party accessories, integration and support in order to have a thriving ecosystem. This is what vudu is announcing today: many partners are going to support the vudu by creating compatible hardware and services around the vudu box. Each partner will announce their own solution, but here are the names: Control4, Crestron, Logitech, NetStreams, Philips, Universal Electronics Inc., and Universal Remote Control, Inc. That way, vudu can focus on the on-demand experience, while others take care of the customization aspect. Let’s wait and see. Tags: MP3, tests, equipment, buyers guides (Read the full post about ‘Vudu XL Gets Some Love From Third Parties’…)

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Posted Mar 13th 2008 6:27AM by Thomas RickerFiled under: Laptops What, you don’t read the official Transportation Security Administration blog? No worries, we’ve got your back on this one with the TSA’s official reaction to Michael Nygard’s missed flight as a result of its incredulous macbook air inspection. TSA agents are in fact trained to look for anomolies. So along come the MBA laptop. It’s new (thus, rarely seen), ridiculously thin, and lacks a mechanical hard drive and any visible ports. Requesting further inspection is exactly what Mr. Nygard should have expected. As surly and detached as TSA officers tend to be, in this case they were doing their job just as they were trained. (Read the full post about ‘TSA explains MacBook Air grounding: just doing its job’…)

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The Slanket ranks high on my list of “Why didn’t I think of that before?”, as this modified blanket features a couple of holes for your arms to continue playing with your PSP while keeping the rest of your body warm and toasty. Needless to say, it works pretty much great with virtually any device, be it the iphone, ipod or even the humble book. All you need is a mug of hot chocolate beside you and some toasted marshmallows, and you’re good to go. I’m skeptical of the $50 price tag though, as at that level, I’m more inclined to take a pair of scissors and cut out a couple of holes myself. (Read the full post about ‘Slanket Keeps You Warm’…)

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If you like the Sony VAIO, but deem the designt too mundane for your taste, take a look at this. Presenting Sony VAIO’s Expression Collection. There are no major changes to the laptop, but the mere fact that you could actually customise it would surely please the fashionistas. Here are the choices you have to choose from: Colours: Pink Blue Black Pattern: Victorian Lace - A design resembling laces made during the Victorian era Flora - a floral design, of couse Leaf - A Japanese-inspired spring-type design Keyboard fonts: Bradley Hand Copperplate Synchro FZ Standard Customisation of the the VAIO’s looks incurs no additional fees, but customisation of the specs will cost you additional charges. (Read the full post about ‘Sony Vaio Gets Pimped’…)

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Overview Stay connected with your friends and family with the high-resolution video and clear sound using the advanced Philips Webcam 1.3 MP SPC1000NC. Use Philips Webcam 1.3 MP SPC1000NC and enjoy the 5-mega pixels and high quality images for online chatting and other purposes. Its 60 frames per second lets you create natural-looking and full motion videos for video chatting and high quality home monitoring. Fitted with wide-angle lens, this webcam gives you an 80-degree field of view. Features Precision glass optics. Face tracking. 5x digital zoom. Built-in digital directional microphone. Get an improved image quality with the precision glass optics of Philips 1.3 MP SPC1000NC Webcam . (Read the full post about ‘Philips 1.3 MP SPC1000NC Webcam’…)

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Posted Mar 13th 2008 8:16AM by Nilay PatelFiled under: Misc. gadgetsEven as RFID tech grows more and more ubiquitous, fears about its safety and security haven’t dwindled — which is why we’re just disappointed, not surprised, to learn that over 1 billion RFID cards based on the Mifare Classic RFID chip are now at risk. Two different teams of security researchers managed to crack the encryption on the cards, which form the basis of a national payment system in the Netherlands and are used widely in other applications around the world. With the encryption broken, hackers can now make perfect clones of the cards, spoiling all that radio-frequency fun. (Read the full post about ‘One billion RFID cards vulnerable to hacks’…)

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While I’ll be the first to admit that a blanket of any sort can’t really be considered a gadget, unless perhaps it has built-in speakers or something. However, this Slanket was designed with gadget lovers in mind. I try to keep my house on the cool side, which means from time to time I’ll find myself on the couch with a blanket trying to work. I enjoy doing this, except that it takes forever to get the blanket situated so that only my head and hands are uncovered. That’s where the Slanket comes in. This giant 60” x 95” blanket has two rather large sleeves through which you can put your arms, leaving only your hands exposed. (Read the full post about ‘The Slanket makes curling up with gadgets easier than ever’…)

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What makes the Securephone Encrypted GSM cell phone stand out from the rest? For starters, it claims to offer military-grade secure conversations that has been built into a standard cell phone form factor to remain as normal looking as possible. Just how secure are your conversations? Well, it features triple layer, 256-bit encryption based on AES, Twofish and Serpent ciphers. Of course, it is pointless getting just one of these since your conversations won’t be secure if the other person on the line is rocking to something commercial like the iphone. Hence, you will need to fork out a rather hefty sum for two of these, and each handset retails for a whopping £1051.63. Tags: tech, DAB, video, hdt (Read the full post about ‘Securephone Encrypted GSM Cell Phone’…)

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British Labour MP Austin Mitchell is as annoyed as we are about the UK police’s persecution of photographers. The Member of Parliament for Great Grimsby, England has tabled a formal motion to introduce a “photography code”, which would make clear the rights of people to take photographs in public places: [T]his house is concerned to encourage the spread and enjoyment of photography as the most genuine and accessible people’s art; deplores the apparent increase in the number of reported incidents in which police, Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) or wardens attempt to stop street photography, and order the deletion of photographs or the confiscation of cards, cameras or film on various specious grounds. (Read the full post about ‘UK Politician Calls Police War On Photography “Daft”’…)

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LucidTouch, Microsoft’s see-through touch screen concept is definitely going to be revolutionary when it comes out, although it remains to be seen just how much of an impact it can make in the consumer electronics industry. In order to further aggravate our Pavlovian response to all things gadgety, Microsoft has released a photoshopped mockup of a tablet pc that uses LucidTouch and I can say that I’m sold. The only problem with mockups is this - the final product is rarely as cool and tantalizing as what was shown in renderings, and as we all know, there will be a camera located at the back to detect your hand and finger positions. (Read the full post about ‘LucidTouch Mockup’…)

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