Gadgets Control

I never had much problem apologizing for the things I do wrong. Though, of course, I never do anything wrong. Just ask my parole officer. But for some of you gadgeteers out there, communicating an apology might be one of the hardest things for you to do. And you’re not alone. Thankfully, there’s a way to apologize without having to be respectful enough to do it face to face with the victim. These handy pads of Apology Forms provide a nice little template for saying your sorry, the easy way. Not to mention, it hosts a list of some truly awesome excuses. So, you left the toilet seat up, and your wife is pissed off. Ok, I guess that’s understandable. (Read the full post about ‘Apology Form makes saying “Sorry!” easier’…)

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I wonder whether Sony’s entry into China’s portable media player (PMP) market has anything to do with diversifying their portfolio, as you won’t be able to find the PMX-M80 anywhere else. Some of the features found on this PMP include :- Map browser suite 4.3″ 480 × 272 resolution display 16GB internal memory SRS 3D audio Support for MP4, AVI, WMA, MP3, and AAC formats Built-in microphone Memory Stick slot Sony has priced the PMX-M80 at approximately $331. (Read the full post about ‘Sony PMX-M80 Portable Media Player’…)

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Even though I cringed with each pull on a $5 slot machine, I still like the idea of Cantor Gaming’s new eDeck handheld gambling device. Available for high rollers (i.e., those who wrap chewed gum in $50 bills to play trash-can basketball with), the mobile gaming unit taps into the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas and allows gamblers to play slots, blackjack, and other games from the High Limit Slot Salon. Why would this appeal to someone like me, who now sticks to quarter slots? Sentimental reasons, really. First, my husband and I got married at the Venetian. Second, my parents go to Vegas three to four times a year (no joke) because my mom loves to gamble. Third, my best friend lives in Vegas. (Read the full post about ‘eDeck: Real mobile gambling for Venetian high rollers’…)

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Blizzard’s annual convention BlizzCon is extremely popular with gamers and getting a ticket is not only expensive, but likely very dificult unless you act quickly. So if you can’t make it to the Anaheim Convention Center, California between October 10-11, or you can’t afford the US$100 entrance fee, there is some good news.

For the first time Blizzard has done a deal that will see BlizzCon televised. The service is being offered through DIRECTV on a pay per view basis, and even though pricing has yet to be announced, they are promising 8 hours per day of HD BlizzCon footage.

(Read the full post about ‘BlizzCon to be televised via DIRECTV pay per view’…)

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Now is this a weird looking fireplace or what - it comes in the form of a briefcase which sends a message that this is highly portable, handle and all. Perfect for the upcoming winter (better be prepared than never, I say), the Travelmate makes it a snap for you to stay warm no matter where you are. No idea on what the Travelmate uses for fuel, but it is highly possible that it uses some sort of alcohol gel that other smokeless fireplaces make do with. Magnets will keep the glass sides in place, so you’ll have to remove those before you light it up. Make sure the glass sides are placed back in order to prevent any untoward accidents. The Travelmate fireplace ain’t cheap though as it retail for $3,300 a pop. (Read the full post about ‘Travelmate Fireplace’…)

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Move over, iphone 3G. Should the Plica phone concept actually be realized, it will surely overtake the iPhone’s popularity in no time thanks to a dual screen display (hello, DS Lite!). One of those screens is a touch screen keyboard while the other functions as a touch monitor. You can also choose to view an entire web page on a single display or have them spread out across both. It would be interesting to see what kind of battery life the Plica offers, and will it boast even more functionality to rival that of a netbook? Hopefully designer James Piatt’s idea will hit a chord with a hardware manufacturer somewhere and actually roll off production lines. (Read the full post about ‘Plica Phone Concept’…)

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The Adaptive solar Tree by Welsh designer Ross Lovegrove is smart enough to move its solar panels (more like solar-powered tree branches) according to the sun’s movements, and will be able to escape shadows in order to optimize the energy income. Sounds smart, but unfortunately this feature won’t be applied to all the branches. In addition, these branches have the grey matter to come close together during strong winds in order to prevent any breakage. Hopefully they come with some sort of oxygen generating machine in order to emulate a real tree. This won’t do too much for the local ecosystem though as birds won’t be able to feed off this tree and woodpeckers might end up with a broken beak. (Read the full post about ‘Adaptive Solar Tree’…)

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When the calendar hits October 1st, that is. The Nokia N96 will be available via 3, Carphone Warehouse, Orange, Phones4U, T-Mobile and Vodafone operators, so you had best start counting just how many quid you have right now before making the plunge. Tags: camera, DAB, toys, home theater (Read the full post about ‘Nokia N96 Arrives In UK’…)

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There was a time when we thought that Earth was the only planet like it. Then we created satellites and space ships to prove ourselves wrong. Today marks one of those occasions, as NASA announced that their Cassini spacecraft was able to confirm there is a lake on Saturn’s moon Titan.

The lake isn’t made of water, though, so we can’t start moving just quite yet. Instead, it’s probably comprised of ethane. Still, this is big news as it confirms a long-held theory that the many dark spots on Titan’s surface are, indeed, made of hydrocarbons and therefore liquid.

(Read the full post about ‘NASA confirms liquid lake on Titan’…)

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by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Jul 31st 2008 at 8:45AMIf you woke up this morning worried about what Yahoo! is planning to do for its Music Store customers who are about to be left in the lurch with its DRM server shut-down, have no fear. Yahoo! has announced that it will offer customers coupons or refunds for those songs you bought. Basically, you’ll get a coupon that you can use at RealNetworks Inc.’s Rhapsody download service. Their songs, of course, are DRM-free. For those of you who have “serious problems with this arrangement” (their words, not ours), refunds will be available. (Read the full post about ‘Yahoo! offers up coupons and refunds to DRM server-shutdown victims’…)

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