Best Gadgets World

Posted Jan 17th 2008 8:38PM by Joshua Topolsky
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video
Proving once again that the truth is stranger (and more entertaining) than fiction, Steve Jobs himself delivers one of the finest Oh no he didn’t moments ever. Apparently riding high on the thrill of introducing the MacBook Air, a hit of oxygen from his personal stash, and the espresso colonic he’d received earlier in the day, old Jobsy went “off” on Microsoft’s Robbie Bach when questioned about the executive’s statement that the Zune was a “worthy alternative” to the iPod. “Was he inebriated?” Jobs asked CNBC reporter Jim Goldman, and then went on to inquire, “Do you even know anyone who owns a Zune?” Uh, let’s be honest — that is way harsh. Robbie, we feel your burn… and eagerly await a response.

[Via MacDailyNews]

I was pretty harsh on Apple’s new Macbook Air yesterday, which feels a little odd for me. I’m generally an Apple enthusiast and give them the benefit of the doubt on new products. However, that doesn’t mean that I won’t go on a rant when they release something like this that just doesn’t seem like a logical purchase. Anyway, I thought I’d give an update on one negative feature that I pointed out in my post yesterday concerning the battery.

While it is true that the battery is not user-replaceable, Apple isn’t going to charge you an arm and a leg to get it replaced. The cost for a new battery is $129, which includes installation. I know a lot of people (myself included) were worried that it would cost several hundreds of dollars just to have something like this replaced.

Unfortunately for road warriors that like to carry around a spare battery, you’re still out of luck. On the bright side you will be able to squeeze five hours of work time out of it.

Source: Ubergizmo

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Posted Jan 17th 2008 3:30PM by Joshua Topolsky
Filed under: Laptops
Gateway knows that it takes more than a bunch of meaningless digits related to “CPU speed” and “hard drive capacity” to get today’s fast-paced teenagers buying its laptops — which is why they’ve just announced new “skin” updates to the M-Series and T-Series models. Beginning today, users will be able to purchase the computers in their original “Garnet Red” and “Pacific Blue,” as well as the new shades “Merlot,” “Siver,” and “Arctic Bloom.” Finally, there can be more to your Gateway than mere technical features.

Dell has made their new 24-inch 2408WFP monitor available. The new 24-incher is an Ultrasharp model that offers 1,900 x 1,200 resolution, a 178-degree viewing angle and a 1,300:1 contrast ratio as well as more ports than you can imagine. The available ports include HDMI, 2 DVI, VGA, DisplayPort, Composite, Component, S-Video, 1 USB upstream and 2 USB downstream. The 2408WFP is currently available and retails for $748.

Product [Dell] Via [Engadget]

I have a bizarre, infantile obsession with cotton candy, and I won’t buy the kind that comes in bags at the video rental store. It has to be “fresh,” meaning recently transformed from that artificial pink syrup the color of Pepto Bismol into fluffly stuff on a stick.

If you want a cotton candy machine for home use (because you just don’t get out often enough to carnivals, circuses, and state fairs to get your fill), you either have to get the industrial kind that professional cotton candy makers use or buy a flimsy toy-like model that might produce, with lots of effort, something the size of a cottonball.

But here’s something a little bit different - a machine that makes cotton candy at home, not from sugar syrup but from hard candies. You can use any kind of candy you like, though I’d probably stick with flavors that come close to authentic cotton candy flavor. But it would be fun to experiment with Jolly Ranchers, Japanese grapefruit flavored hard candies, and maybe coffee candy. Who would resist if you served it for dessert; it’s less fatty than cupcakes.

The machine is available at the Japan Trend Shop for $159.

Posted Jan 17th 2008 1:59PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
It’s no secret that gadget aficionados like ourselves have mounds of kit that was hot stuff in its heyday, but figuring out what to do with it once its prime has passed is still a mystery to some. ‘Course, the entrepreneurs in the crowd simply offer their previously loved wares up to the world via eBay (or similar), but for those lacking the time / motivation to do so, rest assured, companies are on the prowl to totally take advantage of you. TechForward and NEW are two firms that are looking to make a mint from entering the gadget buyback realm, and as you’d probably expect, the cash doled out to suckers individuals who bite on this is woefully less than market value — but then again, it’s ultra-convenient, shipping is free and it’s guaranteed, hassle-free money. Sounds like the pawn shop just got with the times, eh?

[Image courtesy of PlanoPawnShop]

With Apple’s recent announcement of its mapping service for the iPhone, this is one accessory we’ll need. Griffin’s “WindowSeat” mounts onto your car’s windshield so your device is at eye level for checking street maps, directions, how lost you really are.

WindowSeat’s mounting bracket holds your iPhone securely, while its corner-release tab lets you easily remove your device when you arrive at your destination, leaving WindowSeat locked in position for the next time you use it.

It won’t be available until March, but then it will only cost you $19.99, a small price to pay for such convenience

Have you ever dropped something or committed some other social faux pas while searching for your cell phone in order to turn the damn ringer off? Well, drop no more when incoming calls arrive, as so has help in the form of FlipSilent, a small software that helps you “use your phone naturally.”

FlipSilent utilizes accelerometer technology, which is the very same that is used to re-orient phone and camera displays horizontally or vertically. FlipSilent transforms the process of quieting an incoming call to an action as simple as flipping the phone from its back to its face (assuming of course, that you know where your phone is to flip, a malady that sometimes befalls a small segment of our population).

FlipSilent currently works with Symbian S60 phones, which are outfitted with motion-sensing accelerometers. Users willing to make a donation to PayPal can try out the latest beta version, which for the same money will also hush a phone alarm when you need to snooze just 5 minutes longer. (Again, finding the alarm clock is a prerequisite.)

FlipSilent definitely has its advantages. If you are in a meeting or on an important date and a call is coming in, you can flip over your phone to hush it and hang up or mute the ringer without even touching anything on the phone. All you have to do is flip it over and your phone will automatically silence itself. (The same cannot be said for talkative dates and visiting friends, and it is unlikely that Houdini and others of his ilk would be impressed with FlipSilent.)

That doesn’t mean, however, that YOU shouldn’t be.

Anyone want to buy a battered black hat and a very old rabbit?

Read[CNet)

Text Mining Tool. Vitaliy sends me notice of his new freeware product which quickly and easily grabs the text from inside PDF, HTML and other files. I tried it on a 76 page PDF e-book I had lying around and it worked a treat, extracting all the text into one easily copy and paste friendly chunk. I can think of lots of uses for this in terms of web site text, PDF text extraction without Adobe software etc etc. You’ll need the .NET framework to use it unfortunately, but it’s still a great tool anyway.

 Text Mining Tool is a freeware program for extraction of text from files of the next types: pdf, doc, rtf, chm, html without need to have installed any other programs like Word, Arcrobat, etc. The beauty of the program is that it works, extremely simply, on almost all common forms of documents. That includes HTML web pages, both DOC and RTF document formats from Microsoft Word and others like Open Office, Windows Help files ending in CHM, and portable documents using PDF format.

Euphonix MC Control. This new home studio controller is designed to turn your computer based music studio software like Pro-Tools or Cubase into a full fledged DIY studio system. You get some pretty fancy technology thrown in to the system for your $999.99, including a multi-configurable touchscreen panel which automatically sets itself for the software you’re using, motorized auto-recall faders just like the big boys use and full-on jog/shuttle controls for those intimate editing moments. Just another reason why the music industry is becoming irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, who needs a massive studio budget now, eh? Oh, and you’ll need an Apple Mac by the way.

  Building a powerful editing and mixing system has never been easier. MC Control and MC Mix units snap together and are designed to fit between keyboard and screen. Because each unit has its own Ethernet connection the units may be snapped side-by-side or placed anywhere – yes anywhere! MC Control and MC Mix Consoles Build your own recording, editing and mixing system with any combination of MC Control and MC Mix.