Best Gadgets World

by Paul Miller, posted Apr 28th 2008 at 5:46PM We’d explain this thing, but we’re really having trouble taking our eyes off of it long enough to string some full sentences together. Suffice it to say Festo’s AirJelly is powered by some magical jelly fish properties, a lithium-ion battery, an electric motor and a bit of helium. If that’s not floaty enough for you, there’s also a water version, AquaJelly. Videos of both are after the break.

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Filed under: Robots

by Nilay Patel, posted Apr 28th 2008 at 12:45PMSteve Ballmer kicked up a little dirt last week when he said that Microsoft could “wake up smarter” and keep selling XP after the June 30 cutoff date if customer feedback demanded it, but as you’d expect, the company is busily trying to “clarify” that statement by saying that while it always listens to customers, XP is definitely going to die on the 30th. Well, apart from the ultraportable exception that’ll last until 2012 or so. And the backlog of licenses still in reseller’s hands. Oh, and a little company called Dell, which, as rumored, is going to take advantage of a Vista licensing loophole that allows it to sell a copy of Vista but preload XP instead. Yep, that’s the plan — Dell’s going to report a Vista sale to Microsoft, but deliver an XP box with Vista upgrade DVD to customers. (That sound you just heard was a million accountants sighing in appreciation.) The program will be available for Latitude, OptiPlex, Precision, Vostro, and XPS systems (some with a minor fee), and Dell says it’ll keep going as long as Microsoft supports the “downgrade” license option, which could be forever. Looks like June 30 just got a lot less scary for XP fans, no?

Read - Microsoft clarification of Ballmer’s comments
Read - Dell to keep selling XP

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Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

If Tom Cruise had this gizmo when Katie was preggars with Suri, she never would have made it out of the house. Remember how he bought the fetal ultrasound machine for use at home and took photos almost every hour? (According to National Enquirer, and you know how they fact-check all their stories.)

KickTrak does just what you think it does. The non-invasive handheld device counts your baby’s kicks to track his movement and assure you that he’s doing well. Ultimately, its real goal is to prevent the risk of stillbirth. Starting at 24 weeks, the kickTrak records and stores the time it takes for your baby to complete 10 movements, including kicks, rolls, jabs, and turns– once a day, at the same time, when your baby is usually most active.

I’m a huge, huge Flip camera fan, but if I had money to spend and a really serendipitous life where there was good stuff to record more often than not, I’d invest in Sony’s Handycam camcorder, HDR-TG1. This hot little device will be available on May 30, 2008, in time for summer fun, the wedding season, vacations, and all your sun-filled adventures.

The HDR-TG1 is a small and slim titanium encased camcorder that delivers full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution video recording. In spite of this device being enormously sexy, expensive, and seemingly fragile, it’s actually built for taking everywhere and for the fumble fingers in all of us. The titanium body is protected with Premium Hard Coating to provide resistance to even the smallest scratches.

by Paul Miller, posted Apr 28th 2008 at 9:40AM
The last thing you want to do in a combat situation is bust out a keyboard and mouse and start clicking away just to send some simple commands via your embedded computer. Now RallyPoint, a Cambridge, MA-based startup, is building a new computer interface glove so that soldiers can operate their computers in the field without taking their hands off their gun. The Handwear Computer Input Device (HCID) has a whole mess of sensors built-in, including push-button sensors in the pinky, fourth finger and index, finger, a mouse-like sensor in the index finger and a trio of accelerometers on the back of the hand. HCID plugs in via USB, and can be used to activate radio, navigate electronic maps and send commands. No word on when HCID is going to be deployed, but despite its bulky looks it seems to be pretty much field ready.

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Filed under: Peripherals, Wearables

Emporia Mobile, from the UK, has launched its latest cellphone entitled Life Plus, that is specifically made for elderly people.

What features does it have to be made for that group? Here is a small list:

- huge buttons
- super loud speakerphone
- big display screen
- compatible with hearing aids
- inclusion of flashlight
- emergency SMS

Other features include a good battery life - 250 hours on standby mode - and being lightweight - 138 grams. This simple phone with basic functions costs 145.

via

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 28th 2008 at 9:22AM
Remember those AMD Business Class desktops we told you about, oh, just hours ago? Looks like the first of the family are starting to roll out, beginning with the HP Compaq dc5850 and dx2450 Business Desktop PCs. Both rigs support “next-generation AMD Business Class processors” (that’s the Athlon X2, Phenom X3 and Phenom X4) along with the usual complement of slots / ports, and while the former gets integrated ATI Radeon 3100 graphics, AMD’s Cool’n'Quiet 2.0 technology, up to 8GB of RAM, an optional dual-drive RAID setup and a dual-layer DVD writer, the latter boasts NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE graphics, room for 4GB of RAM and up to 500GB of SATA HDD space. Best of all, both machines come in pretty easy on the wallet, with the dc5850 hitting in early May for $599 and the dx2450 available now for $369.

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Filed under: Desktops

PayPal has been asked by the IRS via court order to provide records regarding the use of offshore credit cards. The request is part of the IRS’s off shore compliance program.  Many members of the online gambling community are protesting the action, calling it violation of Internet privacy. PayPal was involved with online gambling from 2000-2001, but the IRS claims they are simply trying to bust tax evaders who failed to report offshore accounts. While the popular online payment system says they value their member’s privacy, they have agreed to turn over the records, saying they feel obligated to do so.

“In my opinion this is a huge breach of personal privacy - they should not be allowed to comb through citizens’ accounts on a fishing expedition for illegal activity,” one tax consultant told Gambling911.com, asking to remain anonymous.  “I have a feeling, that while they were only in the gambling industry for a year - information obtained from this sweep could be used to nail a lot of people on unclaimed income.”

The order came from the US District Court for the Northern District of California and was entitled “In The Matters of the Tax Liabilities of John Does.”

Read [Gambling911]

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It goes to say a whole lot when even PC makers themselves want to extend Microsoft Windows XP’s shelf life beyond what the software giant themselves want. Currently, the deadline stands at June 30 where PC makers can no longer sell PCs with Windows XP after that date, and it is interesting to see some of the different PC makers take a creative approach to this apparent dilemma. Both HP and Dell plan to offer machines running on Windows XP way after June, taking advantage of the “downgrade rights” offered as part of the Windows Vista license agreement. Pretty interesting, as these computers are actually Vista Business or Vista Ultimate machines which have been factory downgraded to XP at the customer’s request. That’s the theoretical part, and we all know that rarely anything happens according to theory. Chances are these are XP machines that come with an already paid-for upgrade to Vista assuming the customer chooses to do so.

HP has given the final date where it will stop selling “pre-downgraded” desktops, notebooks, and workstations to its business customers - that is, until July 30, 2009. Dell, on the other hand, is trying to pitch a similar option on its online site while promising potential customers that its models will hang around long after Dell stops taking standard XP orders on June 18. Various other computer makers have yet to decide on a strategy, but they have expressed interest in selling Windows XP beyond Microsoft’s myopic June 30 date.

I don’t get it - why can’t Microsoft do the right thing and just extend the deadline? Windows XP is one of the most stable Windows builds ever, and with all the relevant service packs, it is one formidable operating system. There are tons of detractors for Windows Vista, so it is surprising to hear Microsoft saying that “customers and computer makers aren’t demanding a longer life for XP”. What a bunch of bollocks.

Source: News.com

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One of the most exciting HDTVs announced this year by the major brands is the Samsung Series 6 650 range. The Samsung 6 / 650 series consists of six different sized models, and sitting right at the very top of the series is the largest 52-inch Samsung LN52A650.

The Samsung LN52A650 seems to be a straight winner, with an amazing new look featuring Samsung’s “Touch of color” and the very latest and highest specifications and features to being the very best in HD viewing. If your looking for a stylish and modern LCD HDTV, with a large screen size, and also great features, the LN52A650 should suit you very well.

Offering the highest HD format called Full HD / 1080p the 1920×1080 pixel LCD screen offers the native resolution for blu-ray and will show the best image quality for a screen this large. Along with 1080p, Auto Motion Plus 120Hz high frame rate keeps image sharpness and clarity during fast moving scenes, and scenes free from image judder, often seen during image panning. A high 178 degree viewing angle enables easy viewing from around the room, and the fast 4ms response time works well with the 120Hz technology for motion blur free viewing. A massively high contrast ratio of 50,000:1 ensures vivid and natural colors with deep black levels.

From use of the Ethernet port on the Samsung LN52A650, you can access the latest news, weather, stock info and sports news with a simple press of the button on the remote via the InfoLink RSS technology.

Other connections on the LN52A650 are very healthy with a nice collection of four HDMI 1.3 inputs (1 on side), 2x component, s-video, composite and PC VGA input.