Best Gadgets World

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 19th 2008 at 9:56AMSure, you’ve heard the horror stories of faulty Xbox power cables sparking up fires in homes, but it seems the latest case involves the aforesaid console’s successor: the Xbox 360. According to Little Rock, Arkansas fire department captain Jason Weaver, a 360’s power cord was to blame for a blaze that injured no one (thankfully) but caused some $100,000 in property damage. Mr. Weaver asserted that the power supply was likely crammed in a tight spot with no “space to dissipate heat,” and while we’ve certainly seen no shortage of overheating Xbox 360s, this marks the first time that we’ve seen high temperatures wreak havoc on more than just the machine’s internals. Here’s to hoping this isn’t the start of a dreadful trend.

[Via Joystiq]

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Filed under: Gaming

by Paul Miller, posted Apr 19th 2008 at 11:40AM
We’re serious this time, people. No more kidding around with those international ship dates, we’ve got ourselves a real live release date from Asus: May 12th. The hotly-anticipated Eee PC 900 with that relatively bountiful 8.9-inch screen is going to sell for a starting price of $549, with Linux and XP versions available at launch.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: Laptops

So you’re driving around at night with no idea where you’re at, and your partner is having trouble reading the map? Obviously you haven’t heard of GPS navigation devices, so the next best thing is to flood the map with a light source, and what better way to do it than with the Seatbelt Light?

Just clip it onto your seat belt and turn it on when you need to read a map or follow directions. Passengers can use it without distracting the driver. Two levels of brightness from 4 LED lights (included). Uses 3 AA batteries (not included).

A set of two will retail for $14.99, although I’d say that using your car’s ceiling light ought to be good enough. Still, maybe you have a really old jalopy whose light has already expired a long while ago, making this little auto accessory a necessary purchase.

by Joshua Topolsky, posted Apr 19th 2008 at 3:19AM
What’s better than having a nice leather or cloth ipod sleeve to show off to your friends? If you’re thinking one made of imitation meat — you’re dead right! Apparently, a company in Japan is under the impression that you want to wrap your music player in a grade A lookalike, undoubtedly to the thrill of your vegetarian friends and family. Of course, don’t just get one for the shock value — this thing oozes pure, sophisticated style. If you’ve got ¥6,800 (or about $66) and dignity to spare, it can be all yours.

[Via DVICE]

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

You might have heard the news that the Microsoft Surface table has hit five select AT&T stores across the country, and are now available for you to try out for yourself. In case you haven’t had the chance to drop by any of these stores yet and seen the Microsoft Surface in action, we have here a video showing just how it can complement your AT&T experience by adding multi-touch and satellite mapping technology. The surface, it seems, could serve as a perfect tool for presentations with its touchscreen interface, and it adds a nice touch of interactivity while enabling easy, user-friendly graphics to complement the user-experience. Apple’s CoverFlow could make it much nicer, though. But that’s just my opinion.

Via [Gotta Be Mobile]

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It looks like we may have all misinterpreted PayPal’s announcement that it will block users who are using old browsers when doing online transactions at PayPal. Some reports have included Apple’s Safari browser as among those that will be blocked by PayPal.

PayPal has denied this report by saying that it has no intention of blocking current versions of any browsers that include the Safari browser from accessing it’s site. And to clarify, it will only block customers from logging into the PayPal when using obsolete browsers on outdated or unsupported operating systems, such as IE4 running on Windows 98.

Actually, the confusion may have started when reports cited that the Safari browser does not support Extended Validation SSL Certificates.

So there, the confusion is cleared and clarified. Safari users can still access PayPal’s site using their trusty browser. End of story.

Via [Mac Daily News]

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With the flood of oil money, Dubai is a hotspot for construction with extravagant buildings being built on what was once a barren desert wasteland. The skyline has changed so much over the last 10 years compared to many other cities around the world, with ever higher skyscrapers being planned and built to wow even the most seasoned traveler. There is a new project coming up that not only ranks right up there where luxury is concerned, it will also boast architectural genius with the ability to generate up to 10 times the power it will use. Want to know more? Head on after the jump to find out.

Each floor of Dynamic Architecture’s wind-powered rotating skyscraper consists of a single apartment with the unique ability to rotate independently, allowing residents to change the current view at the touch of a button. Imagine moving along to the sun’s direction as you attempt to hang dry your clothes - although with that kind of money to purchase an apartment like this you’d be better off using a dryer instead. Wind turbines peppered on each floor is capable of generating a surplus of electricity that will then be used to power the surrounding neighborhood. This new building relies on pre-fabricated segments before being put together, making the entire construction process totally radical from what is being applied at the moment. Not only does this make it more secure, it also lowers the overall cost as well as construction times by quite a significant amount. I wonder whether existing buildings around the world will be able to be retro-fitted with such power-generating capability.

The rotating tower will begin construction soon, with the final product boasting 80 floors at 420 meters in height. Imagine each city center featuring a few buildings such as these - we won’t be suffering from an energy crisis then, at least for a while. There are currently talks being held to construct similar buildings in the cities of Milan, London, New York, Hamburg and Sao Paolo.

Source: Gizmag

If you have not yet made the switch to Windows Vista and are still running XP, Microsoft has Service Pack 3 (SP3) waiting for you just around the corner. After three years since the release of Service Pack 2 (SP2), Microsoft plans on unleashing its delayed SP3 to the public. PC manufacturers and volume license customers will be given access to SP3 on April 21, while the rest of the public will be able to download the new update on on April 29, via Windows Update and Microsoft’s website. By June 10, the company intends to force the update on all XP users through Windows’ Automatic Update. Feature wise, SP3 adds only minor improvements, mostly improving security and network related capabilities. Nothing major.

Network Access Protection (NAP). NAP is a policy enforcement platform built into Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, and Windows XP SP3 with which you can better protect network assets by enforcing compliance with system health requirements. Using NAP, you can create customized health policies to validate computer health before allowing access or communication; automatically update compliant computers to ensure ongoing compliance; and optionally confine noncompliant computers to a restricted network until they become compliant.

Descriptive Security Options User Interface. The Security Options control panel in Windows XP SP3 now has more descriptive text to explain settings and prevent incorrect settings configuration.

Enhanced security for Administrator and Service policy entries. In System Center Essentials for Windows XP SP3, Administrator and Service entries will be present by default on any new instance of policy. Additionally, the user interface for the Impersonate Client After Authentication user right will not be able to remove these settings.

Windows Product Activation (key-less). As in Windows Server 2003 SP2 and Windows Vista, users can now complete operating system installation without providing a product key during a full, integrated installation of Windows XP SP3. The operating system will prompt the user for a product key later as part of Genuine Advantage. As with previous service packs, no product key is requested or required when installing Windows XP SP3 using the update package available through Microsoft Update.

Microsoft Kernel Mode Cryptographic Module. Microsoft Kernel Mode Cryptographic Module (Fips.sys) is a FIPS 140-1 Level 1–compliant, general purpose, software-based, cryptographic module in the kernel mode level of the Windows operating system. It runs as a kernel mode export driver (a kernel-mode DLL) and encapsulates several different cryptographic algorithms in an easy-to-use cryptographic module accessible by other kernel mode drivers. It can be linked to other kernel mode services to permit the use of FIPS 140-1 Level 1–compliant cryptography.

“Black Hole” Router Detection. Windows XP SP3 includes improvements to black hole router detection (detecting routers that are silently discarding packets), turning it on by default.

Windows XP Service Pack 3 is applicable to Windows XP Home Edition, Professional Edition, tablet pc Edition (any version), and Media Center Edition (any version). SP3 contains all previous updates from past Service Packs; however, Microsoft is requiring that Service Pack 1 (SP1) be installed first at the very least.

Read [Microsoft] Read [CNET]

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Transcend Information has a new mp3 player in our midst, the T.sonic 615. This MP3 player takes after the ipod in terms of color, coming in a glossy white casing complete with a dual-color OLED display and features an integrated FM radio, A-B repeat, and variable playback speed functions. You also get seven built-in equalizer modes to help you achieve the best listening experience possible (as far as something as tiny as this goes anyway) and Lyrics Sync. With a 13-language support and Transcend’s T.sonic Utility that allows users to add password protection to files, the T.sonic 615 will come in 2GB and 4GB capacities.

Source: Digitimes

For now, at least. Seriously speaking, how the heck are you going to cram in computer parts which are capable of running Windows XP or Vista in such a slim device as this? Surely motherboards have not shrunk to such a small size. The rest of the specifications as furnished by 13 Tech Design are possible though, including a touch screen display, a 10 megapixel camera with full HD camcorder capability, and integrated WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. It must run on nuclear power I presume, considering the rather power-hungry specifications. You’ll need to wait until 2020 for this to be released I guess.

Source: Gadget Insight