The Plasma Mug with Electronic Coaster is made from hand-blown glass and creates this neat lighting effect. It also responds to touch. And, it's completely usable. You can fill the mug with hot coffee or cold beverages.
Together, the unit measures 5.0 x 4.0 x 6.5 inches and sells for $15.00 on CYI.com. The Electric Coaster requires 8 AA batteries, not included.
It's been quite an exciting afternoon here at PC Magazine. Our commerce producer, Arielle Rochette was hard at work when suddenly her monitor went crazy! As you can see in the image at left (click to enlarge), it looks like someone took a bite out of her screen!
When she had more than one program displayed, the whole screen would jiggle back and forth enough to induce motion sickness. Unfortunately, the video I took didn't capture the action.
The funniest part: she was still able to work through all this. She sent an IM to Whitney, another producer, "you have to see this!" Arielle was also able to log a helpdesk ticket. It read: "My monitor has a deep wavy margin effect."
By the time our IT guy, Mel, arrived, the monitor began smoking! He quickly unplugged the mad monitor (we think it was smoking crack, possibly) and replaced it with a sleek flat screen display.
I tried to convince him that my CRT was smoking as well, but he didn't buy it.
Has this happened to anyone else out there? Any ideas, theories. . . Possible relation to Dell's exploding laptop?
When it comes to wireless charging, Splashpower is the boss. And with its announcement of two new products, the Multi SplashPad and Single SplashPad, it looks like the competition might be left even further in the dust.
The Multi SplashPad will allow you to place your mobile phones, PDAs, MP3 players, and digital cameras (as many you can fit) onto the pad and let them charge away, with no need for wires. That's right, no more searching for outlets or cords: Just throw your Treo, D50, and iPod on that sucker and power up. The Single SplashPad will do the same thing, but only one of your devices can be charged at a time.
And just in case you have devices in the house that don't support wireless charging (also known as 98 percent of them), Splashpower will be selling accessories that you can connect to your device to let it wirelessly charge.
Splashpower is claiming a number of companies are on board to equip their products with wireless charging capabilities. Specifics on that, along with pricing and availability, will be revealed next month at CEATEC.
A zero-emissions car that runs on hydrogen will become available both in the U.S. and Europe in 2007 with the launch of the BMW Hydrogen 7. Because hydrogen fueling stations are few and far between, it will also run on gasoline. But when it's burning hydrogen, the only thing coming out the tailpipe is the byproduct from burning hydrogen and oxygen: water vapor.
Based on the current BMW 7 Series luxury sport sedan that sells for $76,000 to $130,000, the Hydrogen 7 will have two fuel tanks. A high-pressure hydrogen tank holds 17.6 pounds of hydrogen, good for about 125 miles of driving. The 19.5-gallon gasoline tank adds another 300 miles of driving. The engine is a V12 that produces 260hp, BMW says, and does 0 to 62 mph (100 kph) in 9.5 seconds, with top speed limited to 143 mph for those who call the Autobahn home. In comparison, the gasoline-only V12 760Li produces 438 hp.
BMW says power and engine torque are the same in either hydrogen or gasoline mode; if both tanks have fuel, precedence goes to the zero-tailpipe-emissions hydrogen fuel. While the tailpipe emits no pollutants (nothing beyond water), the process isn't without energy costs in refining, compressing, and transporting the hydrogen.
BMW has not yet announced pricing or exact availability dates. Some of the vehicles may go into limousine fleets where BMW maintains a close link to see how they fare in real-life driving. The vehicles will be nicely equipped, with climate-comfort composite glazing (that is, double-layer side windows), automatic air conditioning, electric seat heating for the driver, front passenger and rear seats; lumbar support; electric seat adjustment with memory function on the front seats, child seat fastenings, Park Distance Control, a rain sensor, exterior and interior mirrors with automatic anti-dazzle, Soft Close Automatic for the doors (they pull themselves shut the last few inches), headlight assistant, navigation, and a high-end entertainment and communication features.
Update, September 18: BMW now says about 100 of these cars will be made available for lease (not sale), and there will be no buyout option at the lease's end. The lease price will be comparable to that of leasing a 12-cylinder, gasoline-engine BMW 760Li, which is about $2,500 per month for a three- or four-year lease on the $120,000 (gasoline-engine) car.
Update:PC Magazine spoke with Microsoft and clarified a few of the fuzzy Zune details; you might want to have another look at the story, if you read it earlier.
Previously, Microsoft had confirmed that the device will be manufactured by Toshiba and will contain a 30-Gbyte hard drive and wireless capabilities. Microsoft confirmed the Zune's wireless abilities, although the company didn't officially disclose the actual technology itself. It will be manufactured in black, white, and brown. However, the Zune's price was not disclosed. It will ship during the "holiday season" this year, Microsoft said.
The Zune will only be able to share "full-length sample tracks of complete songs," which another user will be able to listen to only three times per day. If he or she likes a song, however, it will be flagged for download, and the user will be able to purchase it later. "Millions of songs" will be available to be downloaded from the Zune Marketplace, according to Microsoft. But every Zune will be preloaded with music from DTS, EMI Music's Astralwerks Records and Virgin Records, Ninja Tune, Playlouderecordings, Quango Music Group, Sub Pop Records, and V2/Artemis Records. The price of music purchased from the Zune Marketplace was also not disclosed.
Automakers finally got the cupholder right. But they've got a way to go in providing enough power—and the right kinds of power—for all your in-car technology needs. Here's how to cope.
Don't forget 12-volt Y-cables (you can get these at RadioShack or in auto-parts stores) that turn one car outlet into two or three. Also buy a spare set of fuses; all these gadgets could blow a fuse in the middle of nowhere. And if you're shopping for a new vehicle, some vans and SUVs let you order a built-in 120-volt adapter.
Auto/air laptop power.
Power your laptop from your car's 12-volt accessory socket (you can also do this when you're in business class on international flights) with a transformer that uses a plug-on tip for your notebook, such as the 70-watt Targus APD10US. The tip automatically adjusts voltage for you, which is preferable to having to set it manually. $75 street, www.targus.com/us.
Laptop/gadget universal power.
For a bit more money, go for an auto/air/wall transformer that works everywhere and also recharges a second device: an iPod, a cell phone, or a pager. The Kensington 70 Watt Notebook AC/DC Power Adapter does it all, with auto-sensing power tips. Most notebooks don't need the bulkier 120-watt version, which isn't a hassle in the car but weighs down your laptop bag when traveling. $110 street, www.kensington.com.
Universal cell-phone, iPod car charger.
Do you and your significant other have his-and-hers cell phones from different makers? One small charger with replaceable tips, the iGo Auto 15 Elite, covers you, for now. Next year, when you upgrade to a different brand, just buy a compatible $10 tip. While intended for cell phones, tips can also charge an iPod, cellphone or PDA when plugged into the car accessory jack. $30 direct, www.igo.com.
Play Xbox in the car.
Want to bring along an Xbox or Playstation for the back-seat crowd? Get a power inverter, which plugs into the 12-volt accessory slot and delivers 120 volts of AC power, enough for most game consoles--or for any rechargeable device for which you don't have a 12-volt adapter, such as a laptop, a cell phone, an iPod, or an electric razor. Most 12-volt sockets can handle 150-watt inverters such as the Monster Mobile PowerStation. For the Xbox 360, you'll need a 300-watt inverter, wired (very carefully) directly to the battery. $90 street; www.monster.com.
50-hour iPod battery.
If you're like me, you'll quickly run short of 12-volt car outlets for powering small devices. American Power Conversion's Mobile Power Pack provides USB jack power to run and recharge an iPod, a cell phone, or a PDA. I found that it added more than 50 hours to an iPod Nano. And amazingly for an APC device, it's in stylish piano-black. $70 street; www.apcc.com.
Universal external notebook battery.
With an external battery plate, you can add 10 hours of runtime to your laptop, even at full brightness. In the car, a battery such as the Valence NCharge VNC-130 can be a great convenience. Its 130-watt-hour output equals that of two to three notebooks batteries. $299 direct; www.valence.com.
iPod transmitter, iPod power.
A single Kensington RDS FM Transmitter Car/Charger LINK does three tasks with your iPod: It provides power and charging from the accessory jack, it transmits the signal to the radio via an FM modulator, and for cars equipped with radio data service (RDS) radios that show station names, it displays the artist and track names. Sound quality was acceptable for an FM modulator. $75 street. www.kensington.com.
Compact External Battery
Much like the Valence N-Charge but with a smaller form factor, the American Power Conversion Universal Notebook Battery provides 65 Wh or 80 Wh, equal to an additional internal battery. If you use several laptop brands or want to run a cellphone for, well, days at a time, tips are cheaper than the Valance adapters. $150 street for the UPB60, $200 for the UPB8. www.apcc.com.
Gadget Power
If you just need to power accessories, don't bother with the bulk of a laptop charger. Get the iGo everywhere Universal Power Adapter, which powers and charges a single 8-watts-or-less device at one time, or two with the addition of a $15 power splitter accessory. It's for cars and wall outlets. $40 street, www.igo.com
Tiny DC-to-AC power inverter
Most DC-to-AC power inverters are the size of a Tom Clancy paperback. If you need only about 75 watts of power (many laptops qualify), consider an AC inverter that's not much bigger than the 12-volt jack itself, such as the Xantrex XPower Mobile Plug 75. Buy it now, stick it in your glove box, and you'll soon find a use for it. $30 street, www.xantrex.com.
Now ready for production: the Chrysler Tomahawk, a four-wheeled motorcycle. Why so many wheels? The Tomahawk needs them to handle the power from its monster 500-hp Viper V-10 engine. Each wheel is separated by a few inches and has independent suspension.
Inside the Tomahawk's 1,500-pound frame, the engine breathes through twin throttle bodies mounted up front, giving it the ability to rocket up to speeds of over 300 mph with a 0-to-60 time of 2.5 seconds.
Though they share the same engine, at $250,000, the Tomahawk will actually be priced higher than the Dodge Viper.
If someone is trying to steal your cell phone, by all means you should scream to scare the culprit away. But why waste your own lungs when the phone can scream for you?
The Mobile Manager service from Synchronica, a mobile device management company for mobile operators and enterprises, can not only remotely lock and wipe data from cell phones as soon as you report it missing, but it can also send a horror movie-like scream to your cell phone to annoy the thief. So, if you realize your phone was stolen, contact the system administrator who's in charge of your company's Mobile Manager software, to lock the data and to activate the Synchronica Scream feature for you. The thief will not be able to access your phone book, calendar, music, or any other data stored on your phone.
But, if the thief is smart enough to take out your battery, then the scream feature is useless. However, even if he puts the battery back in, your phone will still be locked and will continue to wail.
Here in NYC, most of us commute by subway, train, or bus. Sure, many brave souls do take on the traffic and the challenge of finding a free parking space. But most people I know stay off the road. Many other cities don't have 24-hour public transportation on a wide scale, so commuting by car is the only way to go. Of course, this causes quite a lot of traffic. And it's just getting worse. Better highway planning is in the works, but we need a solution now.
Enter the TrafficGauge (pictured below), now serving LA/Orange counties, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Seattle. (Coming soon to Chicago.) It's a relatively inexpensive device ($79.95 plus subscription fees) that tracks traffic slowdowns on major freeways, updating every four minutes. You can view a on-screen map and see which roads to avoid, and which roads are less congested.
You can get this service on your cell phone in the above areas, as well as San Diego. A free Desktop PC version is available in many more cities, so you can check before you leave home or work.
Traffic receivers are available with many GPS device makers, including Magellan and Garmin, which use FM radio frequencies to receive and transmit traffic data. These devices come at a higher cost, but they cover all 50 states, rather than a select few.
So why is the TrafficGauge only available in select cities? Founder Ryan Peterson uses data from a network of wire-loop detectors that lie underneath roadways and sense automobile movement. Unfortunately many of these sensors break down and remain unfixed.
"Forty percent of all loop detectors are broken, and we don't want to launch a product unless the infrastructure meets our expectation," Peterson recently told the C
Remember when I posted about the Godzillatron? Well, our very own Jason Young, president of Ziff Davis Media's Consumer Small Business Group, witnessed the Godzillatron firsthand last weekend. Here's what he had to say:
The mighty University of Texas Longhorns might have lost the much heralded grid iron showdown versus the Ohio State Buckeyes last Saturday night, but they did lay claim to clear national dominance as the owners of the world's largest full screen video board.
The Jumbotron, aptly named Godzillatron, is a 7,370-square foot, high-definition Daktronics LED scoreboard. It's sheer size and image clarity is nearly as inspiring as Vince Young's final dash to National Champion glory in last year's Rose Bowl. All of the sudden that 50" screen in your TV room that made you so proud suddenly inspires feelings of inadequacies.
"Wii" have also been waiting for the release date of Nintendo's Wii to be announced. According to USA Today, Wii will sell for $250 and will launch on November 19 (which is two days after the PS3). Nintendo plans to have 4 million systems total shipped worldwide by the end of this year, and 1 million shipped here in the U.S.
Wii Facts:
-System is approximately the size of 3 stacked DVD cases -Includes Wii Remote (wireless and motion-sensitive) and Nunchuk controllers -512MB of internal flash memory, two USB 2.0 ports and built-in Wi-Fi capability -Four ports for classic Nintendo GameCube controllers -Two slots for Nintendo GameCube Memory Cards -An AV Multi-output port for component, composite or S-video. -Comes with Wii Sports game (with tennis, golf, basketball and bowling)
It's official! It's finally official! Blogging Molly and I couldn't wait for Griffin to announce its iKaraoke for the iPod. Just plug in the microphone to your stereo or wirelessly through your FM receiver, turn it on, and the lead vocals from your music will fade into the background, so that you can sing along!
You can pause the music, scan forward or backward, or temporarily add the vocals back in to help you find your place, which would come in handy when singing Destiny Child's "Bootylicious". (That song is so fast!)
Plus, iKaraoke includes "features to enhance your performance: three levels of reverb to blend vocals and accompaniment so you sound best."
iKaraoke works with the following iPods: iPod mini, 4th Gen iPod, iPod nano, and iPod with video. Look for it this winter.
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