Gadgets Control

I’m constantly striving to increase my productivity. Either by reading a ton of books or posts on Lifehacker, Webworkerdaily, or various other sites, I probably spend more time reading about being productive than actually being productive. Seriously though, one thing I found mentioned that if you’re a person who works primarily on the web, the bigger screen you have, the more productive you are. When I read that little nugget I was using a 20-inch widescreen LCD. Now I sit here writing this on Viewsonic’s 26-inch VP2650wb widescreen LCD. So, has my productivity increased? The interesting part about switching from a 20-inch monitor to a 26-inch monitor is how much more you can have open at a time. (Read the full post about ‘Increase productivity with Viewsonic’s 26-inch VP2650wb’…)

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by Darren Murph, posted Jul 18th 2008 at 9:31AM At this point, it’s pretty hard to figure out which netbook is better than another, but if you’ve been keyed in on Acer’s version for whatever reason, Laptop has a review sure to pique your interest. The Aspire One was praised just as soon as it left the box for its classy styling and super portable design. After getting down to business, however, reviewers felt that the typing experience was only “decent” and the touchpad was “cramped” — two things we actually would expect from a device of this stature. Nevertheless, the port selection was tolerable, the performance was passable and the battery life left a bit to be desired. (Read the full post about ‘Acer Aspire One gets reviewed, lost in the shuffle’…)

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The day is finally here. The Dark Knight, the much anticipated sequel to Batman Begins, is now in theaters. We won’t speak for you (you can do that yourself in the comments!), but we’re mighty excited about this flick. Heath Ledger’s role as the Joker has everybody up in arms. Apparently it really does measure up to the hype. We came across this absurdly cool The Dark Knight Joker Poker Set and couldn’t help but wet our pants a tad. What a perfect piece of viral merchandise! This poker set includes a prop replica 54 card deck emblazoned with, the now classic,  Joker vandalism style. Every card is a joker to this guy! But the fun doesn’t end there. (Read the full post about ‘The Dark Knight Joker Poker Set’…)

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A dude decided to check his laptop’s innards during a repair session and discovered a hidden keylogger within. Read all about his experience in the excerpt below. What could this mean? I called Dell tech support about it, and they said, and I quote, “The integrated service tag identifier is there for assisting customers in the event of lost or misplaced personal information.” He then hung up. I called the police, as having a keylogger unknown to me in my laptop is a serious offense. They told me to call the Department of Homeland Security. At this point, I am in disbelief. Why would the DHS have a keylogger in my laptop? It was surreal. So I called them, and they told me to submit a Freedom of Information Act request. (Read the full post about ‘Hidden Keylogger Found in Laptop’…)

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Could it be? The way of the computer mouse will soon become obsolete? That is what an IT analyst is predicting.

According to Steve Prentice, research analyst over at Gartner, an IT analytical and consulting firm, in 3-5 years the mouse will be replaced by other human interface devices. Prentice said:

The mouse works fine in the desktop environment but for home entertainment or working on a notebook it’s over.

The reason for the prediction as Prentice sees it is the development of touch screens, gaming controllers like those made for Guitar Hero, Panasonic technology that detects hand movements instead of using a remote, and facial recognition technology that allows interaction through expressions.

Not everyone, however, is ready to ditch the mouse which has been around for almost 40 years.

(Read the full post about ‘The computer mouse to be obsolete in 3-5 years?’…)

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You’re an aspiring Peter Jackson. You scoured Craigslist to find the next great Andy Serkis, and the actor is ready to mime his way into your movie through the magic of motion capture. When it’s time to finally shoot the scene, you take a deep breath, mainly because there are no pro movie cameras around. Instead, you pick up your… phone. Action? It’s possible. Using the accelerometer technology available in many of today’s multimedia phones, like Nokia’s N95, software designer Tea Vui Huang has created a mobile application that can capture 2- and 3-axis motions for 3D animations in movies and games. So how does he do it? By using the accelerometer to generate motion data when a phone points, rolls & pitches in space. (Read the full post about ‘Use a Nokia 95 for Awesome Motion Capturing Movies’…)

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We’re into our fifth coolest gadget of the week, some cool entries this week (along with what I reckon might be the worst entry yet), what’s coolest, you decide (as usual one voter/commenter will win a $50 Amazon voucher). Panic Mouse Motorized Cat Toy Cats like to sleep all day, but they need some exercise to stay in good health. The Panic Mouse has a bendy “fishing pole” with a toy attached to a string that moves around in random motions. The cat will have a blast trying to grab (and will also forget to scratch the couch). Check out the website for a video of the toy in action! The full post can be found at S2999.com. (Read the full post about ‘Vote for CGOTW for a chance to win $50′…)

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Making any type of backup of your data is always a good idea. Those who have experienced the fun associated with a hard drive crash or stolen computer know all too well the feeling of complete helplessness when they realize their most important financial records, cherished videos, pictures or music are gone. External hard drives have become a popular option by many people when it comes to a backup solution. Unfortunately, external drives can also be stolen or lost during a disaster, especially if they are co-located in the same office or home as the primary hard drive. What is needed is an online backup solution to supplement the offline one. That’s exactly what Iomega is now offering in a single product. (Read the full post about ‘Iomega offers online and offline backup in one product’…)

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There have been rumors for a while, but it has now been made official by EA that a Knights of the Old Republic MMO is in development.

Confirmation came from the very top in an interview with EA CEO John Riccitiello on Portfolio.com. During the interview he said:

We’ve got two of the most compelling MMOs in the industry in development … And the one that people are dying for us to talk to them about — in partnership with Lucas, coming out of BioWare, which is, I think, quite possibly the most anticipated game, full stop, for the industry at the point when we get closer to telling you about it.

With a bit more prodding from the interviewer Riccitiello confirmed that he is talking about Knights of the Old Republic Online.

Further comments made during the interview suggest the game will follow just a PC release route.

(Read the full post about ‘KOTOR MMO is in development’…)

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by Darren Murph, posted Jul 18th 2008 at 6:16AM Oh sure, Rock Port, Missouri managed to snag the title of being “100% wind powered,” but Texas’ new plan will make the Show Me state’s gusty initiatives look awfully weak. Officials at the Public Utility Commission recently okayed a plan to “build billions of dollars worth of new transmission lines to bring pollution-free energy from West Texas to urban areas.” The ginormous Lone Star state is already the nation’s leader in wind power, but when said plan is fully implemented (pending final approval), it’ll produce more wind energy than the next closest 14 states combined. (Read the full post about ‘Texas wind power initiative to blow other states away’…)

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