Gadgets Control

New York City is experimenting with segregated bikes lanes. This is what happens when the city’s transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan, is herself a cyclist. The trial sees a seven-block lane running down Ninth Avenue: The carriageway is separated from the main road by a concrete divider and sits between the sidewalk and a row of parked cars, shielding cyclists from the NYC traffic. The section even has its own set of bike-sized traffic lights, although we expect these will be as widely ignored as all other traffic signals. I have used these kinds of lanes in both Barcelona and in Berlin, and they make a huge difference to the comfort of cycling, and also benefit drivers. (Read the full post about ‘NYC Rolls Out Protected Bike Lanes’…)

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by Joshua Topolsky, posted May 27th 2008 at 8:39AM var Now, we know that the MacBook Air is one thin laptop, but some Apple forum members in Germany are claiming that the edge of the laptop is not only sharp — but downright dangerous. According to “Apple Talk” reader Bajuware, his MBA went kill-crazy all over his elbow while he was cold-chillin’ on his couch. The details are a little hard to suss out due to the language barrier (and machine translation), but it would appear the Air’s bottom edge made nasty work of the human flesh like someone had insulted its mother. Another MBA owner claims his computer is sharp enough to slice bread, though we assume it’s not used for buttering. (Read the full post about ‘German users claim MacBook Air can cut through bread, flesh’…)

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Just when I thought that the good old days of a “Turbo” button on my PC is long and gone, along comes MSI with its new GeForce N9600GT Diamond graphics card which coincidentally features a Turbo OC button. Features include :- 2GB of GDDR3 memory HDMI DisplayPort Dual DVI Optical audio outputNo idea just how much faster the card will go when the button is pressed, but it ought to show some sort of performance boost in order to back up its gimmicky status. The MSI GeForce N9600GT Diamond will probably hit the market sometime at the end of next month, retailing for no more than $300. Tags: video game, hdtv, consumer electronics, mobile phone (Read the full post about ‘MSI GeForce N9600GT Diamond Gets Turbo’…)

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Gamertell’s Pulkit Chandna is reporting that Alienware has again pushed the envelope, producing one of the most powerful notebooks known to us Homo sapiens. The Area 51 m17x notebook is Alienware’s newest addition to its lineup and it surely will make its owner the subject of very pleasant geeky envy. At its heart is an Intel Core 2 Extreme processor with a 4 MB L2 cache. Combine this with the 800 MHz front side bus and 4GB ofDDR2 RAM and one can already sense a winner. Read [Gamertell] Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! (Read the full post about ‘Alienware launches Area 51 m17x gaming notebook’…)

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Instant messaging programs have launched the creation of a whole new language. Yes, IM speak. Where every word is abbreviated and every emotion can be expressed with three symbols. Our new language really speeds things up. Though with as much emoting has been done via IM over the last decade, relatively little has been done to aid our emoticon habit. Sure, most IM applications now come stock with a click menu for the commonly used smiley faces, but most of us still like to use our hands for speed purposes. The look@me keyboard is made especially for emoticons. Featuring all of the commonly used (and even the not so commonly used) symbols which compose our online emotions, the look@me keyboard reminds us of the old accounting number pads. (Read the full post about ‘Keyboard Made For Emoticons’…)

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Brighthand reviews the Palm Centro and writes, “…on the rear of the Centro sits a 1.3 megapixel camera. Compared to the Treo 680, the camera’s shutter speed was greatly improved. However, picture quality did decrease. Photos from the AT&T Centro had a blue/purple cast in most lighting settings. Nevertheless, you could snap as many pictures as the 68 MB of internal memory, or up to 6 GB microSD card could handle. The camera features a neat 2x zoom that doesn’t do a bad job, but then again, except for the very high end, cameras in mobiles are just OK.” Read more about the Palm Centro. (Read the full post about ‘Palm Centro Review - Brighthand’…)

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VIA has just introduced its new VIA OpenBook mini-note reference design that will see action in the global ultra-portable notebook market, boasting a wide range of innovations such as :- Next generation VIA Ultra Mobile Platform All-in-one VIA VX800 digital media IGP chipset 8.9″ display Choice of WiMAX, HSDPA and EV-DO/W-CDMA modules Advanced video acceleration for MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WMV9, VC1 and DiVX video formats Windows and Linux compatible Up to 2GB DDR2 DRAM Choice between SSD and HDDI wonder when will we see one of these puppies hit the market? [Press Release] Tags: technology, cameras, CD, home cinema (Read the full post about ‘VIA OpenBook Now Out’…)

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Panasonic will be releasing its new pair of earphones known as the RP-HJE900 on June 15th in Japan. What makes this pair different from the rest in the market is the use of zirconia, a material often associated with the manufacturing of fake diamonds. Apparently zirconia suppresses sound distortion, or so the story goes. Sound pressure sensitivity has been rated to fall in the vicinity of 100dB/mW, with a frequency response of 6Hz–28 KHz accompanying each purchase. To add to the RP-HJE900’s uniqueness, it boasts removable cables, making it a whole lot easier to stow away without ending up with a tangled mess when you need it. No idea on how much it costs though. (Read the full post about ‘Panasonic RP-HJE900 Zirconia Earphones’…)

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It seems like Japan is always on the bleeding edge of technology. They always tend to get many of the best games and gadgets well before the rest of the world. Despite the fact that the Xbox 360 isn’t doing very well in Japan, they have a new way to buy points for the console; via cell phone. If you live in Japan and use DoCoMo as your phone provider, you can purchase additional points or Gold Membership service by simply using an application on their mobile phone. The charges are added to your monthly bill, allowing you to bypass going to the store for a card, or handing over your credit card info to Microsoft. I would definitely go for this option if it were made available in the US. (Read the full post about ‘Japanese gamers can buy MS Points via cell phone now’…)

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OmniVision’s latest 8 megapixel imaging sensor will probably make its way into cell phones sometime in the near future, as this CMOS image sensor apparently solves the pixel size problem thanks to a workaround using backside illumination (BSI) technology. BSI maximizes photon collection by “circumventing obstructive metal and dielectric layers on the top-side of the sensor die”, resulting in improved light absorption, thinner overall camera modules, and increased sensitivity as well as F stops with reduced crosstalk. While BSI is not new technology, OmniVision seems to be the first out of the stables to make this technology available to the masses. Just how many megapixels does a phone camera need, anyways? (Read the full post about ‘OmniVision 8 megapixel Imaging Sensor’…)

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