See FireWire

See iHD

The HD DVD menu system is called iHD. iHD was developed by Microsoft and Toshiba for HD DVD. iHD is built on open standards like ECMAScript (JavaScript) and XML. This allows any media content author to create interactive menus for any optical media, not just HD DVD.

Also known as HDi.

This story could also be titled “Attack of the Clones.” Apple is feverishly trying to fend off imitators and copycat sites that have created user interfaces for other mobile devices that resemble the iPhone’s interface just a little too much. Apple likes attention but not this kind of attention.

One such site, modaco.com, posted a cease and desist email supposedly from Apple’s attorneys. The text of the email says, “It has come to our attention that you have posted a screenshot of Apple’s new iPhone and links that facilitate the installation of that screenshot on a PocketPC device.” It continues, “While we appreciate your interest in the iPhone, the icons and screenshot displayed on your website are copyrighted by Apple, and copyright law explicitly prohibits unauthorized display and distribution of copyrighted works.”

To paraphrase, thank …

Sharp has recently updated its Mebius line of notebook computers with three new basic designs into 5 models which all include the new Windows Vista OS from Microsoft, among a few other nice hardware upgrades.

The Mebius PC-WT70S features a Turion 64 X2 processor (1.60GHz), up to 2GB of memory, 100GB HDD and 1,280Ã-800 resolution on a 15.4 inch screen. A lithium ion battery give it up to 1.2 hours of run time and the highest end version has dimensions of 360Ã-258Ã-36.7mm and weighs approximately 2.6kg.

The Mebius PC-WE40S/WE50S, a smaller sibling, sports an AMD Sempron 3200+ (1.60GHz) processor, half the memory at 512MB, an 80GB HDD and the 15.4 inch display. The battery time for this model is pretty similar to it’s bigger sibling with 1.3 hours of run time with the same dimensions and weight.

The Mebius PC-CH40S/CS50S has …

iCall is a VoIP service that allows you to make free outgoing calls to the US and Canada and receive free incoming calls from anywhere in the world.

More specifically, iCall is a software application that you download and install on your computer. iCall requires an Internet connection (cable, DSL, wireless, or dial-up) and a PC to access the telephone network.

To place a call, you start the iCall service on your computer and type in a phone number. iCall then uses your Internet connection to connect the call.

iCall also offers free inbound access numbers in almost every US area code so that your friends call you. They just need to call the access number in your state and enter your iCall extension. iCall extensions are free with a membership.

iCall makes its money by inviting its users to call the businesses who …

Proporta, a designer of cases, cables, screen protectors, and other accessories for smartphones and MP3 Players has released a new line of cases to protect your Treo 680 against damage and data loss.

The Proporta Silicone Case is a minimalist case that manages to leave all the buttons, ports, and other controls easily accessible. The case is made from impact absorbent silicone and will protect the 680 against drops, scratches, and any other damage caused by even the biggest klutzes.

For the leather set, there is the trademark Alu-Leather Case with a built-in ‘Screen Saver’ system made out of aircraft grade aluminum.

Finally, rounding out the line of cases is the Proporta Aluminum Case. The Aluminum Case is made from the same aircraft grade aluminum used in the Alu-Leather Case. Precision molded to fit the exact specifications of …

PayPal is strengthening its defenses with the aid of a new Security Key. The PayPal Security Key is a small, portable password-generating key fob that was developed in conjunction with VeriSign to help protect your PayPal and eBay accounts against phishing attacks.

The device works by assigning a unique six-digit security code each time you log in to your account. You will continue to use your regular user name and password to authenticate, but you also enter the security code that the device displays. The code is synchronized with a server at the time of authentication to verify that the code is the same. Once you are finished, the code expires.

The device will give PayPal an additional and much-needed layer of protection. While not foolproof, it should help thwart phishing scams which have been a serious problem for PayPal customers.

The …

A California woman who participated in a radio station contest to see who could drink the most water without using the bathroom, died of water intoxication. Jennifer Lea Strange was discovered dead in her home in Sacramento at about 2 pm on January 12th. Strange had participated in the radio station competition earlier in the day. The winner of the competition was to receive a Nintendo Wii.

The contest started at 9 am at 107.9 KDND “The End.” The “Morning Rave” morning show had a contest called “Hold Your Wee for a Wii.” Each contestant had to drink an 8 ounce water bottle every 15 minutes. After the first contestant dropped out each remaining contestant had to drink a larger quantity of water. Many of the contestants …

If you are looking for a remote control helicopter but don’t want to shell out the big bucks for a traditional R/C model, the Palm-size Micro Copter can be a lot of fun, with some practice.
This miniature toy helicopter uses an infrared remote to control the tiny flying machine throughout an indoor or no-wind environment, but it takes a little work to get the navigation under control according to the website. The Micro Copter comes with an extra rotor which tells us that you will probably need it while mastering the stick on this one.
This small toy helicopter is designed to always be moving forward, taking away one of the navigation dimensions that you have to keep track of, but it does not allow you to just hover. The control runs the altitude along with right or left turns, and forward speed can be …

SlipperyBrick originally brought you the story of the dual format DVD player that was the symbol of unity, happiness and sunny flower filled meadows in A/V land. Unfortunately, real life is not always so rosy.

It appears that the LB HB100 hybrid may be in trouble because it will not receive certification from the DVD Forum. That’s because the BH100 doesn’t really support HD DVD. Sure it will play the movie straight through if you put an HD DVD in the player, but you won’t be able to access the menu system.

The HD DVD menu system is called iHD. For those uber-geeks out there, iHD was developed by Microsoft and Toshiba for HD DVD. iHD is built on open standards like ECMAScript (JavaScript) and XML. …

T-Mobile along with Research In Motion (RIM) unveiled a new “Pearl White” BlackBerry Pearl mobile phone yesterday that will be available through T-Mobile.

The white BlackBerry Pearl builds on the already-successful BlackBerry Pearl that comes in piano black and could very likely be jumping on the trend created by Apple with the iPod and recently released iPhone products.

“The BlackBerry Pearl has proven that it’s possible to provide a full-featured handset at an attractive price point with an uncompromising user experience and an extremely small, light and stylish design,” said Mark Guibert, Vice President, Corporate Marketing, Research In Motion. “We are delighted by the immediate success of the BlackBerry Pearl in the market and we are pleased to build on this momentum with the addition of another stunning color and finish.”

I think Guibert sums it …

SavitMicro has just released a nice solution for backing up your flash memory cards when out on the road. The SPACE HyperDrive is a 2.5″ HDD enclosure which has slots to support 18 different types of memory cards.

The HyperDrive SPACE is the enclosure for the hard drive, and requires you to provide your own 2.5-inch hard drive of whatever capacity you would like. The storage gadget has an interface to control the action of transferring data to and from the drive, and connects to your computer via USB. The SPACE drive can transfer data up to 1Gbps, and has a battery that according to the web site lasts at least long enough to transfer 100GB of data to the internal HDD.

This drive is a great solution for backing up your multimedia from audio recordings pictures and video. Easier to …

Sonic Alert has some sleep disturbing Sonic Boom alarm clocks that are capable of putting out a whopping 113 decibel pulsating alarm. The alarm clocks, first developed by a man interested in helping out his deaf grandmother, has grown into a line of products for the hard of hearing and hard to wake.

To get an idea of what exactly 113 decibels sounds like, being near a jet taking off is about 140 decibels, and a loud car horn next to your bed would be about 120 decibels. Needless to say if this alarm doesn’t wake you up, more than likely your neighbors will be over shortly after it goes off to help you out.

Sonic Alert has a variety of Sonic Boom alarm clock models, both analog and digital and all with some sort of lights that blink and a 12 volt …

Jobs has stated in a couple articles this week, one from the New York Times and one from MSNBC, that Apple will be restricting third party applications for OS X on the iPhone, unlike the open OS X platform for the Mac.

Jobs describes the iPhone operating system to be more inline with the iPod, and less like the Mac or mobile computer, stating that the risk of loading custom built applications onto the iPhone could cause the phone to just not work, or even bring down the Cingular network.

“You don’t want your phone to be an open platform,” meaning that anyone can write applications for it, says Jobs in an interview with MSNBC. “You need it to work when you need it to work. Cingular doesn’t want to see their West Coast network go …