If you missed out on the digital camera from Fisher-Price due to short supplies before Christmas, you might not feel so bad once you see the surprisingly similar looking digital camera from VTech.

VTech has a excellent reputation for making quality, age-appropriate learning toys for kids and we’re pretty sure they will not disappoint with this. The company announced that are planning to offer a digital camera targeted for kids ages 4 and up called the VTech Kidizoom.

The Kidizoom will not only take digital photos, but it can also record video and offers games that can be played and viewed on the built in 1.8 inch viewer or plugged into a television. An interchangeable face plate also adds some customization to give the camera a different look depending on the user or their mood. The VTech Kidizoom digital camera will also have …

This little digital media player from a Korean company called Tomato has an interesting camera-like look to it with a brushed metal case, shiny buttons, a two inch view screen and a retro on/off switch.

The other side of the U20 from Tomato has no lens, but this media player does support the playback of MP3, MP4, WMV and ASF file formats. The video and JPEG photos can be viewed with the two inch 260,000 color TFT LCD screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio. The U20 also has a built in speaker and microphone as well as an FM tuner to pick up your favorite radio stations, which implies that the gadget can direct record voice along with the radio, most likely to MP3 format.

Capacities come in 1GB, 2GB and 4GB, which all are a little small for an significant number of video …

Just can’t bear to miss your favorite television show? Have some time to kill at work? Have to go to junior’s game but you don’t want to miss the big game on TV? The Slingbox Pro from Slingbox Media may be your answer. Slingbox is a media device which connects to up 3 standard definition devices and 1 high-def device to your internet connection and thus to the world. You can control your home theater from anywhere that has an internet connection. You can watch regular cable, pre-recorded shows, on-demand movies, basically anything you can watch in your living room, you can watch on the road.

This has to be one of the greatest advances of the new millennium. I can watch TV from anywhere. It was only a matter of time …

The Casio EXILIM ZOOM EX-Z1050 is the latest addition to the series of EXILIM digital cameras. The EX-Z1050 replaces the successful EXILIM ZOOM EX-Z1000 which won many fans by delivering 10.1 megapixel resolution in a size that fits in the palm of your hand.

The main features of the Casio EXILIM ZOOM EX-Z1050 include:

10.1-megapixel resolution
The EXILIM Engine 2.0 image-processing module. This improves image quality through blur-reduction and various anti-shake compensation functions.
A new 2.6-inch wide LCD display.
Battery life that allows up to 370 shots to be taken when fully charged.
The control panel displays shooting information on the right side of the monitor in addition to the subject matter.
eBay Best Shot mode

The Casio EXILIM ZOOM EX-Z1050 will have a suggested retail price of $299.99 and will be available in four colors – pink, blue, black and silver. Also available is the EXILIM ZOOM EX-Z75, a …

Seagate formally introduced DAVE, the Digital Audio Video Experience at the DEMO 07 Conference. DAVE is a pocket-sized device that provides 10-20 GB of wireless storage for mobile phones, PCs, and other wireless-enabled devices using Bluetooth or WiFi connections. DAVE is about the size of a centimeter-thick credit card, measuring 3.5 x 4.7 x .47 inches (61 x 89 x 12 mm) and weighing only 2.5 ounces (70 grams).

Previously known under the codename “Crickett”, the project has already created significant buzz in the mobile phone community. Products based on the DAVE storage platform will allow consumers to access and store all of their mobile media on one device. DAVE will also help alleviate the headaches associated with upgrading mobile phones as all your content can be stored on a DAVE-based device.

DAVE has a rechargeable lithium ion battery that provides up …

Yesterday Sony released a version 3.10 firmware upgrade to the Playstation Portable system with some increased security among other new features. By the end of the same day, hackers had already decrypted the 3.10 firmware to allow third party applications to run on the PSP.

The party claiming responsibility for the PSP hack, “C + D”, was boastful about the day 0 hack of the new firmware stating, “$ony has lost another batle and will loose the war…”. Obviously they are better at hacking than they are spelling.

The new firmware updates for Sony’s PSP include support for an expansion of Playstation titles, support of MPEG-4 AVC format video files, a Conserve Memory feature and a dynamic sound normalizer. In addition, and more interesting in this upgrade is the ability to download demos directly to the PSP or transfer …

A new company called Zink, short for “Zero Ink” along with Polaroid has developed a new type of printer that doesn’t require any type of ink cartridge or ribbon to print color images onto paper similar to common photo paper.

The technology uses specially patented Dye crystals which are embedded into the unique Zink paper. When the appropriate amount of heat is applied to the paper through the Zink printer, the crystals colorize creating the image.

“At ZINK Imaging, we are insisting on the impossible to deliver a revolutionary digital printing experience to the world. ZINK technology does not require ink to print, provides a magical user experience, can transform any device into a printer, is good to the environment and most importantly, makes people smile,” said Wendy Caswell, president and CEO, ZINK imaging.

The technology that Zink uses to create the photos allows …

One of the oldest controversies in online gaming is the re-selling of in game merchandise. Ever since the days of EverQuest to the present World of Warcraft phenomena, selling your hard earned, in-game items has been a somewhat dubious profession. EBay is putting the brakes on such practices however.

The practice known as RMT (Real Money Transfer), is usually discouraged by game publishers because it involves selling intellectual property which may in fact belong to game publishers and not the players themselves.

A spokesman for eBay, Hani Durzy, recently told SlashDot that eBay has made the decision for “the overall health of the marketplace.” Mr. Durzy also said that the selling of virtual items involved “legal complexities.” Mr. Durzy also cited eBay’s existing digital goods policy, which states that a seller …

A recent entry on the Google Book Search Blog highlights a new feature that integrates Google Maps with Google Book Search. With Google Book Search you can now see a visual representation of the places mentioned in a book through an interactive Google Map.

When you click the “About this Book” link next to a search result from Google Book Search you will be sent to a detailed page for that book. If the book contains a good share of quality locations it will also include an interactive Google Map highlighting those places mentioned in the book. The map points will contain snippets of text from the book and links to the actual pages where the locations are mentioned.

I did a search for “The Great Gatsby” and saw the following results:

This is an interesting …

It’s a well known secret; I guess then that it’s not really a secret, that you can get HDTV broadcasts over the airwaves. That’s right; if you have an HDTV tuner you can pick up many of the local stations that broadcast in High-Def. If you’re a mobile type and travel a lot and you want to watch HDTV broadcasts anywhere with an HDTV signal, you are in luck. AutumnWave’s OnAir HDTV-GT lets you connect an HDTV tuner to your laptop or PC with a USB connection.

The HDTV-GT features a remote control and DVR features so you can record and watch your High-Def shows any time you want. A rather surprising feature is that the HDTV-GT allows you to receive QAM signals, the unencrypted cable signals that cable companies sometimes use to broadcast local stations. …

A recent report by Unstrung Insider shows that 3G home base stations “Femto cells” could pose a market challenge for WiFi VoIP phones in homes and businesses. According to the report, “Ultra-low-cost home base stations that allow wireless users to communicate across any IP access network using a standard mobile handset will challenge WiFi VOIP for dominance in the consumer fixed/mobile convergence (FMC) market. ”

What this report is referring to is a challenge between phones such as the WiFiFone from Samsung, or one of the iPhone’s from Linksys (not Apple) and mobile phones that utilize a more traditional 3G technology which has a much broader coverage area.

The Femto cells are basically home base stations, much like a WiFi base station, which are connected to a broadband internet service. Instead of being hotspots for WiFi connections, Femto cells …

Casio announced the addition of the EXILIM ZOOM EX-Z75 to its series of EXILIM digital cameras. The 7.2 megapixel EX-Z75 features a newly-developed 2.6-inch wide LCD display for improved image viewing.

The EX-Z75 retains all the advanced features of last year’s EX-Z70, including Anti-Shake DSP for reducing photo blur due to shaky hands or moving subjects. The main improvement is the 2.6-inch LCD display with 14:9 aspect ratio which makes it easier to capture wide aspect ratio images and operate the camera’s settings.

The EX-Z75 can display camera settings and information on the right side of the screen, separate from the subject matter while shooting. This allows the user to quickly view and change settings when shooting.

The EXILIM line of cameras have an exclusive feature called eBay Best Shot mode. eBay Best Shot takes photos at a size that …

TeleFlip is a service that allows all mobile phones to receive e-mail, calendar alerts, and online content feeds. The service is free and consumers will be able to receive up to 5,000 e-mails from any e-mail account to any mobile phone regardless of their wireless carrier or mobile handset.

What makes TeleFlip unique is that it doesn’t require any special hardware to configure or software to install. To use the service, you add your mobile phone number and e-mail address at the TeleFlip Web site. The TeleFlip system then delivers your emails to your phone thereby eliminating the complexities associated with receiving e-mails through a carrier’s network.

Some of the specifics of TeleFlip include:

The service is free. Users can “TeleFlip” up to 5,000 messages monthly.
No hardware, software, or specialized service needed.
TeleFlip is compatible with all existing mobile handsets and every wireless …

Google has taken action to limit the impact of so called Googlebombs also known as link bombs. According to Wikipedia, A Googlebomb is an “attempt to influence the ranking of a given page in results returned by the Google search engine, often with humorous or political intentions.” The bomb works by relating key works to a link. For instance if you link to site with the words really great technology site, Google will associated those words with the site to which you linked. Now consider if 1000 or 10000 sites do the same thing. If enough sites link to the same site with similar terminology then the target site will become strongly associated with those terms in a Google Search.

Some of the famous Googlebombs involved slights against George W. Bush and Microsoft. The …

The consumer versions of Microsoft Windows Vista are finally available today around the world. Vista is available both at retail outlets and, in a first, via download. Microsoft’s tag line for Vista is The “Wow” starts now. And most consumers will be “Wowed” by the ridiculous number of different versions to choose from. Do you want Home Basic, Business, Home Premium or Ultimate? Good question. Most of the decision depends on knowing what you want to do. Unfortunately the technology experts in every family will end up answering many questions about Vista and most of them will not be happy about it. How many of them will answer, “Buy a Mac,” remains to be seen.

New Windows releases have been an event ever since Microsoft hired the Rolling Stones to perform for the Windows 95 release. …