Domain: thinkgeek.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to thinkgeek.com.
Comments · 3,072
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more keys == better?
Well if you've used a SUN recently (I have one on my desk at work), you'd probably know they have a full 8-something extra buttons. These include cut, copy, paste, stop, volume, and other such nonsense like that. To be honest, I don't use them, except for STOP. The new ones have USB connections on the back, so they're actually somewhat nice because they plug into anything. Having extra buttons can be fun if you like to play with your keyboard mapping.
If you want to go the other direction, the whole wearables scene has come up with some good ones, especially the twiddler.
And finally, if you're interested in other keyboards that might be questionably functional but still look cool, you can find virtual keyboards, a lit keyboard, and a rollable keyboard. But I think in your situation, you might find the twiddler the best bet for "cool and useful item". -
The keyboard itself is obsolete
Throwback to the 80's!? Rows of buttons and blinking lights just seem so 40's!!
Seems to me like the most promising development for command-oriented input like the kind that the poster mentioned are the recent batch of gesture-based devices like this one. -
Re:Reverse spam really isn't that new...Because the data is being sent from and to the same server, there's no chance that the email won't be delivered. So, you know that (barring a major server or internet breakdown) your data will be there waiting for you at the other end - no need to carry around any media at all.
Only, if you transmit via https. And if you are the only user of your webmail-service. Because the admin can still read your mail on the webmail server.
It can even be made practically secure - just zip up your files and attach a password to the transmitted zip file.
This is a joke, not encryption. I hope you are not entrusted any sensitive or valuable data.
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Re:Other Small PCs
Mini-ITX systems are cool if you need something low-power
You're right; they're not the best for playing the newest games or trying to compile Gentoo or whatever that's processor- or GPU-intensive. But it can play MP3s and be a dedicated server for small LAN parties, which is all I do with it. Yes, it is a niche product, so it won't always be the small system that works for everybody.
Also the Mini-ITX types are missing a point entirely, they need to make a board with at least dual if not triple ethernet for network gateways. You want to keep them small, hence this rules out the use of PCI carrds...
With one 10/100 ethernet built in and the ability to get PCI riser cards (you can fit two gigabit PCI cards on top of the mainboard with a riser from VIA) you could fill the need for three ethernet ports while only making it a inch or two taller. But again, the Mini-ITX motherboards are designed to do one task and do it well, rather than covering all the bases. I popped in one of these and use it as server for small LAN parties that I go to with friends. So, this board fits my needs, but may not fit yours. I'm just telling everybody about it because it is small, and can be fit into the same cases and form factors as the ones listed in the story, and costs one twelth less. :)
Orange -
Keylogger still available at Thinkgeek...
ThinkGeek continues to sell these...here
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Hardware based keylogger from ThinkGeek.com!Key Katcher at ThinkGeek.com. There is much talk about blocking keylogging software in the first place, but what about something like this?
This is a device that can be connected to a keyboard to record all keystrokes. It has a changeable password, keyword search, enable/disable option, and stores URLs. Records more than 65,000 keystrokes and does not require any software. Monitor unauthorized access to your computer or your network. Use it to troubleshoot or make fixes by tracing back through a users command sequence.
Key Katcher plugs in between your keyboard and your computer. A microcontroller interprets the data, and stores information in the non-volatile memory (which retains the information even when there is a loss of power.) This means that the Key Katcher device can be unplugged, and the information will not be lost. Key Katcher plugs in between your keyboard and your computer. A microcontroller interprets the data, and stores information in the non-volatile memory (which retains the information even when there is a loss of power.) This means that the Key Katcher device can be unplugged, and the information will not be lost.
To access the recorded data, you simply type your password in a text editor and the Key Katcher comes to life. A menu is displayed with options to erase data, view data, search data for keywords, change password, or disable the device. -
Re:MIT
Or even easier, this.
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Food for thought:
If it's a x86 box (does any other manufacturer use the PS/2 keyboard cord?), all you need is one of these babies. That'll catch the BIOS password (when/if it gets typed in) and all.
Ouch.
Of course, to do it right you'd probably need to power-cycle the machine (hate to fry the mobo while doing this...). Maybe try to get one right next to yours -- bump the power cord out of it...
But we're just talking here, aren't we friend?
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Re:MIT
Does it use a PS/2 keyboard? If so...
Key Katcher
Expensive, but will work on anything using a PS/2 keyboard.
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Re:Been A While
P.S. If you're getting a good wine, don't forget the corkscrew. If you've got a Geek Tool, then you're already set.
(Yes, that was the mistake I made that day. The next year, she gave me the above linked Geek Tool as a birthday present.)
Good Luck! -
Where to get a pen drive
For the people who don't know what pen drives are or where you can them, they're basically portable flash drives (i.e. solid state thus no moving parts like traditional floopy disks) that plug into your USB port and you can get them from pretty much anywhere including good ole Thinkgeek. For the more budget concerned, you can look at Yahoo! shopping for more choices (Yahoo! shopping link is just a quick search for 'usb pen drive').
Happy Shopping! -
Security by Obscurity?
Since "*BSD is dying", don't you think anyone with ambitious goals in hacking would focus on a more popular operating system? What's the point of searching for exploits on *BSD when the reward is access to free software downloadable with less effort elsewhere and the personal information of a poor, dirty hippie? What are you going to do? Max out his Greenpeace-branded, $200 limit, VISA card at ThinkGeek? According numerous posts in this forum, there are about 10,000 OpenBSD servers on the Internet. Fanatical Apple Newton owners, as a comparison, have 15,000 on the internet running as web servers -- they hard to reach as www tends to be translated as Purple Monkey Golf Spatula. Any hacker with a brain would go after the Newton web server guy. You can almost smell that mullah BBQ in their pocket.
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Re:Xbox mods should focus on a PURPOSE
I'm looking for an Xbox mod that allows me to playback my content stored on ANOTHER computer through the network (the 10GB HDD on the thing would never be enough to store my files), and still be able to play my original, legally owned games in a non-intrusive way. Simplicity and ease-of-use are valued above all else in a console.
What, you mean like this? Only for the PS2 now, but I imagine they'll be coming out with an Xbox version. -
Re:Anyone tried a programmable game controller?There are lots of ways that you could make a computer-controlled controller... Not all of them cheap. You could, for example, dedicate a section of the screen to I/O, and use a series of photogates to open / close the bridge across the controller pads. You don't get analog sensitivity, but it works. I was sketching out ideas for ways of recording to standard audio tape, using pitch in and pitch out filters for the line... or a simple big-ass array of tape decks connected together by common buttons. This would allow for playback of controller imputs, which would be a boon to testing.
However, I'm not so sure that simple playback of keyboard combinations would be good for anything but leveling. The dedicated programmable pads in vogue several years back were quite gimmocky, and was less responsive than was acceptable for fighting games at the time. Since then, fighters have gotten significantly faster, and even more picky about timing issues. It's easier just to imput the gamepad commands yourself.
This is not to say that programmable controllers don't have their place... a programmable controller took my Castlevania: SOTN character to level 92 in just under a week. Programmable controllers continue to exist, and can had for a reasonable amount of money.
But the problem with visual recognition on modern 3d games is staggering... MIT has entire departments devoted to similar topics. You might be able to do it if you could convince the game to output stereoscopic images, (there was an article recently on a stereoscopic voxel technology), but a subsection of this sort of problem is what you would write your doctorate on. If you can get your hands on the base textures for the game, and redo the graphics engine to give depth and object clues along color lines, you could do it. But not as it stands, and not to a remote box.
But a little controller hacking is always fun. Good luck!
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Possible alternative donation optionsFor those of us without spare hardware lying around, here are some (possibly) acceptible alternatives:
A Case of Bawls - $29.99
Caffeniated Soap - $6.99-$14.99
Caffeine Candy Sampler, v3.0 - $19.99And various other assorted goods and sundries.
Now, some people make think this is a joke post, but its not. Even if its not hardware, I think anyone who uses KDE should feel compelled to donate something. As someone who does a lot of Volunteer work for local charities, it always feels good when someone recognizes all the hard work you've put into a job. And since alot of these guys can't really spend alot of money on luxury items, I say give em something to make a geek's day a lil brighter.
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Possible alternative donation optionsFor those of us without spare hardware lying around, here are some (possibly) acceptible alternatives:
A Case of Bawls - $29.99
Caffeniated Soap - $6.99-$14.99
Caffeine Candy Sampler, v3.0 - $19.99And various other assorted goods and sundries.
Now, some people make think this is a joke post, but its not. Even if its not hardware, I think anyone who uses KDE should feel compelled to donate something. As someone who does a lot of Volunteer work for local charities, it always feels good when someone recognizes all the hard work you've put into a job. And since alot of these guys can't really spend alot of money on luxury items, I say give em something to make a geek's day a lil brighter.
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Possible alternative donation optionsFor those of us without spare hardware lying around, here are some (possibly) acceptible alternatives:
A Case of Bawls - $29.99
Caffeniated Soap - $6.99-$14.99
Caffeine Candy Sampler, v3.0 - $19.99And various other assorted goods and sundries.
Now, some people make think this is a joke post, but its not. Even if its not hardware, I think anyone who uses KDE should feel compelled to donate something. As someone who does a lot of Volunteer work for local charities, it always feels good when someone recognizes all the hard work you've put into a job. And since alot of these guys can't really spend alot of money on luxury items, I say give em something to make a geek's day a lil brighter.
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karma 4 me
The best place to buy all your geeky stuff is at ThinkGeek.com!
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Re:not even close
Dude, you must be worse off than this guy
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Re:Hopefully this will be as popular
or as the Zaurus.
Or maybe the HP iPAQ which was the banner ad I first saw when reading this article - ironic, I know. -
Re:I can't believe the ideas the RIAA thinks they.They think can get away with it because they have money to buy Congress. Why do they think this? Because it's true. They know from experience that they have enough money to make damn near any law they want to.
And consumer backlash about bad files, worms, etc? P2P is mainstream. Knowledge of what the **AAs are doing is not mainstream. I got some no-RIAA and no-MPAA stickers from ThinkGeek awhile back. Every single one of my friends (who all use P2P programs) had to ask what those 2 organizations stood for. Very few people who use P2P know about the **AAs and what they're doing, so how can they be pissed about it?
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Re:I can't believe the ideas the RIAA thinks they.They think can get away with it because they have money to buy Congress. Why do they think this? Because it's true. They know from experience that they have enough money to make damn near any law they want to.
And consumer backlash about bad files, worms, etc? P2P is mainstream. Knowledge of what the **AAs are doing is not mainstream. I got some no-RIAA and no-MPAA stickers from ThinkGeek awhile back. Every single one of my friends (who all use P2P programs) had to ask what those 2 organizations stood for. Very few people who use P2P know about the **AAs and what they're doing, so how can they be pissed about it?
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Re:Performance? That's not why I want it...
Perhaps then, you would like a set of these?
Note that I have a set of those installed in my machine, but I didn't buy them from Thinkgeek (mine are blue), and I figure you could get them just about anywhere.
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Micheal
That story is so short I don/t even know why taco even thought of hiring a homo like you. Remember Micheal, you can be replaced by small shell script smaller than the story. YES YOU CAN!
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Re:I want a premade one
Here's one I made earlier
;-) -
check thing-geek's
fully illuminated keyboard, $99
Auravision EluminX Illuminated Keyboard -
Vouchers for Some-Little American Flags for OthersTo paraphrase Mayor Quimby:
"Vouchers for some, little American flags for others."
Man, with one of these vouchers and my RIAA settlement check, ya think I can buy one of those cool transdermal food patches from ThinkGeek?
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Desktop R/C Mini-Rovers
Actually, I think that this is every Slashdotter's vehicle...well, according to ThinkGeek.
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once again, ARCHOS beat em to it.
Please examine the stats on the Archos Jukebox 6000. Not only does it have a built in screen to watch DIVX MPEG4 movies and a 20GB storage capacity, it also can use a digital still/video camera attachment (webcam quality, some places are shipping this with it) and a video output jack (RCA phono plug). The thinkgeek price is a little high, i've seen it for around 300 by cruising pricewatch.com. Yes, it's mac an PC compatible. The 29GB non-video enabled jukeboxes have sunk well below 300.
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Thumb scanners
Another idea would be finger scanners hooked up to a cheap pc that is connected to the door locks; ThinkGeek has some here for $119 (kind of expensive but if they work the way you want hey, who cares how much they cost?)
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Banner ads are still done wrong
Banner ads are still done wrong on a lot of sites. The problem is they are too often arranged to be paid based on the number of times clicked, and ignore payment based on impression. Impression is how ads work in newspapers, magazines, television, and radio. But on the web, many advertisers saw the possibility of interactive clicking and just assumed a consumer would click on the ad whenever they wanted to find out more. Just notice how many ads don't really tell you in the ad what company or even what product/service is involved.
Unlike most of the other media, web users often tend to be motivated for other goals at the moment the ad is impressed. For example when visiting a portal like Ask Jeeves, they have something on their mind they are looking for. The ad is just a diversion and they are unlikely to go there.
But
... ad impressions still work. They just have a latent psychological effect that builds up over time. Seeing the ad once, if its something you are really interested in, might get you over to that site ... later on today. Or it might even get you to buy that product ... later on this week. And if it's something you have no interest in at all, when you see that ad (best if it's not intrusive which would make it negative) many many times, you build up "brand awareness". Later, maybe many months later, when you do have a need for that product or service, or happen to be talking with someone who does, then the brand name comes up. When shopping for that kind of product and you see several choices on the store shelves, you're more inclined to pick the brand that was more advertised just because it now seems to be the more familiar brand ... and you never even visited their web site.If you like fast food and McDonalds adds a new product to their lineup which you might like, the banner ad for it might clue you in to this wonderful new treat. But are you likely to visit their web site? A few people might. Most won't. Are you likely to pull in the next time you're driving down the street while hungry on your lunch break? Very likely.
Too many web site operators think they have to be paid for advertising based on click throughs. That's just wrong, and it needs to change for web advertising to survive (the interactivity goals based on ads was never a realistic concept).
Too many businesses in product areas, especially consumer, where there is no real value of a web site to their product (fast food, small appliances, groceries, clothing, etc) are just not advertising on the web at all because they know people won't click on the ads to visit their site (no obvious value to it). What they are missing is that the impression model still works
... or that they are afraid of advertising based on impressions because of some difficulties in accounting and auditing (mostly because its still too click-through oriented and these problems are not yet well solved).Impression ads, of course, have to be cheaper per impression than a click-through. And this won't rule out still having click-through ads. While writing this comment the Think Geek ad for Bawls is blinking away at me. I'm not going to be visiting because I have no interest today. But if next month I happen to have an interest in it, I know where to go get it. That's latent response impression advertising. But it only works when the ad makes it clear where to go (domain names help if it's an online place to go). And it only works if the web site is going to get paid even if no one ever clicks on the ad.
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Banner ads are still done wrong
Banner ads are still done wrong on a lot of sites. The problem is they are too often arranged to be paid based on the number of times clicked, and ignore payment based on impression. Impression is how ads work in newspapers, magazines, television, and radio. But on the web, many advertisers saw the possibility of interactive clicking and just assumed a consumer would click on the ad whenever they wanted to find out more. Just notice how many ads don't really tell you in the ad what company or even what product/service is involved.
Unlike most of the other media, web users often tend to be motivated for other goals at the moment the ad is impressed. For example when visiting a portal like Ask Jeeves, they have something on their mind they are looking for. The ad is just a diversion and they are unlikely to go there.
But
... ad impressions still work. They just have a latent psychological effect that builds up over time. Seeing the ad once, if its something you are really interested in, might get you over to that site ... later on today. Or it might even get you to buy that product ... later on this week. And if it's something you have no interest in at all, when you see that ad (best if it's not intrusive which would make it negative) many many times, you build up "brand awareness". Later, maybe many months later, when you do have a need for that product or service, or happen to be talking with someone who does, then the brand name comes up. When shopping for that kind of product and you see several choices on the store shelves, you're more inclined to pick the brand that was more advertised just because it now seems to be the more familiar brand ... and you never even visited their web site.If you like fast food and McDonalds adds a new product to their lineup which you might like, the banner ad for it might clue you in to this wonderful new treat. But are you likely to visit their web site? A few people might. Most won't. Are you likely to pull in the next time you're driving down the street while hungry on your lunch break? Very likely.
Too many web site operators think they have to be paid for advertising based on click throughs. That's just wrong, and it needs to change for web advertising to survive (the interactivity goals based on ads was never a realistic concept).
Too many businesses in product areas, especially consumer, where there is no real value of a web site to their product (fast food, small appliances, groceries, clothing, etc) are just not advertising on the web at all because they know people won't click on the ads to visit their site (no obvious value to it). What they are missing is that the impression model still works
... or that they are afraid of advertising based on impressions because of some difficulties in accounting and auditing (mostly because its still too click-through oriented and these problems are not yet well solved).Impression ads, of course, have to be cheaper per impression than a click-through. And this won't rule out still having click-through ads. While writing this comment the Think Geek ad for Bawls is blinking away at me. I'm not going to be visiting because I have no interest today. But if next month I happen to have an interest in it, I know where to go get it. That's latent response impression advertising. But it only works when the ad makes it clear where to go (domain names help if it's an online place to go). And it only works if the web site is going to get paid even if no one ever clicks on the ad.
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what's next?
I have to disagree, the topic is, as they say, on.
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What about these?
What about things like this?
http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/lights/59b8/
or
http://www.gadgets.co.uk/aduki.html
or
http://www.gadgets.co.uk/faze3.html
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Re:I claim this new planet in the name of Slashdot
Then we put laser cannons on our coke tin satellites. Lets see them enforce their planet against our puny ground defences!
(0: Overrated? No fucking way.) -
Think Geek
They are just trying to get us fired up about so that when they start selling next month on thinkgeek they will make a load of money.
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Re:my list
Don't chicks dig slash and cisco certified hardware?
Well, chicks dig unix. -
Re:I have one
Yep, that's why I bought mine. It was a $10 impulse buy at walgreens. The cats go nuts trying to catch it. I hadn't even seen any advertising for it, other than the $50 one at Thinkgeek. Saying that spam fueled the sales is rather speculative.
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Tempation
I know it's hard, but dno't buy from the spammers, please.
;) Thinkgeek, the slashdot affiliate is selling the same RC cars online. Link here -
I'm getting one
I think Santa got me one of the Evolution Mini-RC cars. I saw them on ThinkGeek waaaay back. It wasn't until recently I noticed the spam. As far as I can tell, the ones going around in spam are the junkier versions. I think it's just another attack of people trying to sell cheaper imitations much like the Furby craze, which spawned tons of imitations that lacked the features of the original.
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Re:Use an icon-like sign
Ooh, I like the idea, but here's a better idea for the icon. Have you ever seen the LAN Party shirt at Thinkgeek? Get a sign with that picture on it, and put it up on the door to the server room.
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Karma whoring, and a comment...
...on why, perhaps, folks get slashdotted:
-rw-rw-r-- 1 jdf jdf 57197 Dec 17 10:12 original.html
-rw-rw-r-- 1 jdf jdf 10425 Dec 17 10:28 text.html
Yes, that's 47 kilobytes of javacript, headers, footers, CSS, and associated crap for about 10K of real info. Sure, there's also pictures and such, but this is basically 4x the original in overhead alone. Anyhow, here's the text from the site:
Pick a toy--any toy--for holiday gift-giving.
By Joan Lynch, Maura Butler, and Matt Miller -- EDN, 12/12/2002
Holy spokes, Bikeman!
Attach Hokey Spokes to your bike, and you'll have not only the coolest ride in the hood, but also the safest. Inventor and MIT graduate Dave Hoch wanted to take the terror out of night bike riding and designed the transparent "blades" to wirelessly communicate patterns or words with each other. You can put up to six blades on each wheel; a computer on each strip controls 16 LEDs in a variety of colors. Each blade costs $29.95 at www.hokeyspokes.com. Illumination Design Works, 1-617-924-4014.
Keyboard portability on a roll
Road warriors who prefer a full-sized keyboard with their laptops or PDAs will appreciate the Manhattan True-Touch Keyboard. When you're on the move, you can roll up the flexible, plastic unit and tuck it away. The keyboard features a QWERTY design and 104 raised keys that provide goodand quiettactile feedback, but using them will take some practice. Choose from PS/2 or USB connectivity. Units are dustproof and moistureproof and offer a lifetime of 15,000,000 keystrokes. Keyboards are available for around $27 from ThinkGeek, www.thinkgeek.com.
The "PC" PC
In an environmentally friendly move, NEC designed its PowerMate eco PC with 100% recyclable plastic and a 15-in. LCD flat-panel screen that contains no boron. The motherboard is made with lead-free solder, and the computer has no fan, which reduces the amount of dust dispersion for users with respiratory problems. The eco contains a 900-MHz Crusoe processor and a 20-Gbyte hard drive. And of course, it's Energy Star-compliant. The eco starts at $1599. NEC Corp, 1-800-338-9549, www.nec.com.
Free space
Combining a DVD player with a hard-disk-based PVR (personal video recorder), the Scenium Digital Media Recorder (DRS7000N) could be just the thing for overcrowded home-entertainment centers. The $599 unit features progressive-scan output for the clearest pictures and plays a variety of discs, including MP3 CDs and DVD+Rs/RWs. The PVR section handles the usual trick features, such as pausing live shows, and offers more than 30 hours of recording on its 40-Gbyte disk. Best of all, unlike PVRs such as TiVo, there's no fee for the EPG (electronic-program-guide) service. RCA/Thomson, 1-317-587-3000, www.rca.com.
The power of pictures
CyberLink's PowerProducer lets you produce your home movies and photos on DVD or CD for sharing with friends and family. If you're completely inexperienced, a step-by-step wizard-style program eases the way. It takes just three steps to import photo or video files from video-capture devices; you can then add special effects; adjust color; and trim, merge, and split video. The "QuickBurn" feature captures video from DV camcorders directly into DVDs in one click. Prices begin at $49.95. CyberLink USA, www.gocyberlink.com.
Mouse exterminator
Rid your desktop of mice with the iGesture Pad. The touchpad, which is just a bit smaller than a mouse pad, lets you use finger gestures to complete the same operations you would with a mouse. The $179 pad recognizes hundreds of hand gestures, including those that let you point, click, drag, and scroll. Twist your hand to open a file; spread your fingers to zoom. The USB-connected device is thin and small enough to travel and accepts commands from the right or left hand. Hmmm, wonder how it handles gestures you might make when your computer isn't behaving the way you'd like it to? FingerWorks, www.fingerworks.com.
Carry all
The multifunction Duex is an MP3/WMA player, voice recorder, and data-storage device in one portable package. Take off the bottom of the device to find a USB plug for attaching to the appropriate port on a computer. You can drag and drop music, image, video, and data files from the PC to the Duex and vice versa. The device features 128 Mbytes of memory for two hours of MP3 playback, four hours of WMA playback, and eight hours of voice playback; a backlit LCD shows song information in numerous languages. One AAA battery gives you more than 12 hours of music play. With a headphone/neckstrap, USB cable, software CD, manual, and one battery, the Duex mp302 costs $179. Innogear,
www.innogear.com.
Click it, stow it
The ultrasleek Pocket Digital is a handy, stylish way to capture favorite moments. The credit-card-sized digital camera captures and stores 52 high-resolution images at 1.3 megapixels. The lithium-polymer battery endures for hundreds of pictures and recharges through the USB connection. Image downloading is a snap. $129.95. Logitech, www.logitech.com.
The end of e-mail angst?
Neo (Nelson Email Organizer) might be just the ticket for reducing the stress associated with your daily barrage of e-mail. This add-on for Microsoft Outlook lets you work alongside or outside Outlook. Neo automatically sorts and prioritizes messages into intuitive folders. Searches are quick, and complicated filters are not necessary. The program deals with spam and bulk mailings and manages groups of messages by the type of attachments they contain (for example, all Excel files or Word documents together). Neo costs $39.95 for one copy; site licenses are also available. Caelo Software Inc, 1-250-354-5580, www.caelo.com.
Power protection
As more and more electronic equipment finds its way into more and more households, UPS devices could become commodity items for the average home owner. Six UPS models from Energizer will help protect home offices, home theaters, and PCs from power surges, spikes, brownouts, and outages. They automatically save open files, safely power down systems, and protect hardware when threatening power irregularities arise. Features include visual and audio warning indicators and USB connectivity. Prices range from $59.99 to $279.99. Eveready Battery Co, www.energizerups.com.
Surreptitious snapper
Fitting into the palm of your hand, the Mini Pen Cam 1.3 offers a still-image resolution of 1248960 pixels. Using its 16 Mbytes of flash memory, the device can store as many as 50 full-resolution pictures or 160 snapshots snapped at VGA resolution (640480). The $79.99 gadget also gives you the ability to shoot AVI-format movies, although their quality tops out at 624480 pixels and a choppy 10 frames/sec. In addition, the device, which runs on two AAA batteries, connects to a PC via USB to function as a Webcam. Aiptek, 1-949-585-9600, www.aiptek.com.
In touch, on the go
BlackBerry now lets you make and receive phone calls. The palm-sized BlackBerry 5810 wireless handheld device operates on GSM/GPRS networks to allow communication via wireless e-mail, SMS (short messaging service), or integrated GSM phone services, including call waiting, call answering, conference calling, and call forwarding. It comes with an earpiece and microphone for hands-free operation. You can even click on a telephone number inside an email message to place a call. The $499 device incorporates Java 2 Micro Edition. Research in Motion, www.blackberry.net.
Dude, you're gettin' a PDA
Like the PC before it, the PocketPC platform continues to attract more and more manufacturers. PC powerhouse Dell recently joined the fray with an aggressively priced model called the Axim X5. The device features a 3.5-in. transflective TFT with 240320-pixel resolution, as well as both CompactFlash and Secure Digital expansion slots. Two variants are available. The $299 model has a 400-MHz XScale processor, 64 Mbytes of SDRAM, and 48 Mbytes of flash ROM. A $199 configuration steps down to a 300-MHz processor and 32 Mbytes of each type of memory. Dell Computer, 1-800-999-3355, www.dell.com.
Risk averse
If you carry your office in a pocket-sized device, you're asking for trouble. What if you leave it on a plane or in a cab? The iPAQ h5450 tries to reduce the danger with integrated biometric security. A thermal fingerprint reader means only you can access your priceless data, and you can even add a layer of safety by combining the fingerprint sensor with a password. The $699 pocket-sized PC also includes a 400-MHz XScale processor, built-in IEEE 802.11b and Bluetooth capabilities, and an SDIO (Secure Digital Input Output) expansion slot. Hewlett-Packard, 1-650-857-1501, www.hp.com.
Bragging rights
The Zaurus SL-5600 gives the gadget geek ample reason to crow. It not only features a cool physical design with a hideaway keyboard, but also runs a version of Linux. The PDA boasts a 400-MHz Intel XScale processor, CompactFlash and Secure Digital expansion slots, 64 Mbytes of flash, 32 Mbytes of SDRAM, and a juicy 1700-mAhr battery. The device is slated to appear early next year, and pricing hasn't been announced yet, but its predecessor, the SL-5500, currently goes for $375. Sharp Electronics, 1-201-529-8200, www.sharpelectronics.com.
Stop graffiti
Thumb-pecked keyboards have become so popular on handheld devices that even Palm, the originator of the Graffiti handwriting-input system, now offers them. The $549 Tungsten W, slated for the first quarter of next year, features a tri-band GSM/GPRS radio and supports phone calls (via a headset), Web browsing, e-mail, and messaging. Powered by a 33-MHz Motorola Dragon-ball VZ processor, the PDA includes a Secure Digital expansion slot, Bluetooth, and a 320320-pixel color display. Palm, 1-408-503-7000, www.palm.com. -
Another great Geeky gift type place...Think Geek
Lots of neet stuff, T-shirts, coffee mugs, gadgets, etc. Mostly stocking-stuffer type stuff, but some larger items as well.
TM
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Re:What about keyboards
Drool proof keyboard that happens to be blue. I saw a kid spill a 32oz soda on one... worked fine, other than being sticky.
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Re:he should have called it...
Yes, it is already a real thing. http://www.thinkgeek.com/caffeine/drinks/3669/
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So how long
before I see this for sale on Thinkgeek?
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Re:Read the article? No, too hard?
...or perhaps a very small shell script? (and veering back off at a blinding rate for the sake of a bad pun AND a product placement...)
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This isn't too new of an idea =)
The Cappucino TX-3 has had similar or even better specs for quite a while now, and its pretty similar in size:
-Intel 815 motherboard
-1.2 Ghz Intel Pentium III processor
-512MB 144-pin PC133 RAM
-30 GB internal hard drive
-Your choice of 24x CD-ROM, 8x DVD-ROM, or 8x/8x/24x/8x DVD/CD-RW combo drive
-Built-in 10/100 base-T ethernet (RJ45)
-Internal 56K V.90 modem
-Four USB ports (USB 1.1)
-Two FireWire ports (IEEE 1394)
-No operating system installed.
-All standard I/O ports built-in
-Dimensions: 6" x 5.75" x 2.25"
-Manufacturer Warranty: 1 year
Also, CappucinoPC have the Mocha P4 machine which is slightly bigger and has specs rivaling current fully loaded computers.
Check out these links:
Cappucino TX-3 at Thinkgeek
Mocha P4 at Cappucinopc.com
A review of what appears to be the Mocha at Tomshardware -
c'mon, mod parent up
As the parent post shows, another possible up-and-coming processor is the via cyrix. It's a slower, lower performance processor like the celeron or duron, but it's also the coolest running processor that I know of. It can usually operate fine with nothing more than a standard heatsink! How many 1Ghz processors do you know of that can do that? I mean standard heatsinks, not this too... c'mon.
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Re:"Good Samaritans choose Linux"
Combine it with this bumper sticker!