There are probably a number of you out there that went ahead and bought their Xbox 360 without the hard drive in it and saved some dough, only to find out when you got home that your really probably did need that hard drive to keep you from starting over at the beginning of your game every time. The drive also is needed to have somewhere to download games and demos.

Your options were either to live with it, or get a 64MB memory unit to at least save some things. Well, Microsoft has heard your concerns and coming April 3rd they will be offering a $49.99 512MB memory unit for sale that will hold a lot less than the 20GB hard drive that would have cost you twice as much, but it’s better than nothing. It’s also better than the …

It was recently announced that the global video carrier JumpTV Inc. well be bringing international television channels to Joost. Recently, Joost has been signing deals with many media publishers. One of the more noteworthy pact is the one with Viacom Inc. which will allow Joost to screen content from big channels such as MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount and Comedy Central.

What sets this deal apart from the rest is that JumpTV Inc. already has its very own online network for videos. However, they are more focused on local shows from around the world than anything else. The CEO of JumpTV, Kaleil Isaza Tuzman, said that they will continue to show videos on their network, but are using Joost to reach a ‘broaderwider audience’. Thanks to this, we can look forward to seeing more and more videos pop up on …

Goodness knows how many times you’ve missed your favorite of part of the song because of some loud noise or distraction. Thankfully, the invention of noise canceling headphones has come to our aid.

Recently released by Sennheiser is a brand new line of noise canceling headphones called the PXC 450s. Said to provide a ‘cloak of silence’, this high tech gadget will block out 90% of all that annoying noise around you, allowing you fully concentrate on whatever you may be listening to. The PXC 450s will run off of AAA batteries.

A neat little feature that is included is a TalkThrough button. Basically, you push the button so that you can hear what is being said, speak you mind, press the button and return to your music. In fact, it’s just a fancy way of saying a pause button isn’t it?

There new pair of …

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has announced a deal with YouTube to publish excerpts from the BBC news and entertainment programs on the popular video downloading site. The BBC clips starting appearing on YouTube Friday, which marks the first time an international broadcaster has made such a deal with the Google-owned YouTube site.

Mark Thompson, BBC director, hopes the agreement will help drive more traffic and subsequently more revenues to the BBC web site to supplement British license fees for taxpayers. “It’s essential that the BBC embraces new ways of reaching wider audiences with nonexclusive partnerships such as these,” said Thompson.

The BBC videos will be available through their own channels on the YouTube portal. One of the channels called BBC Worldwide will show popular BBC programs such as “Top Gear” and “Spooks” along with nature documentaries. A BBC …

If the theme songs and music that plays during some of your favorite games is not already burned into your subconcious and playing in your mind during all hours, Electronic Arts has now made the music from its best selling games available for purchase and download through the iTunes store so you can take them with you wherever you go.

The new addition to the EA website is at EA Trax which lists featured artists, news, videos, screenshots and of course music from some of the most popular EA games of past and present. Games are listed with links to the download through the Apple iTunes Store with currently listings for games such as Madden NFL , Burnout and Need for Speed to name a few, with specific songs such as Snoop Dogg’s version of “Riders …

To call the “Grand Theft Auto” game a popular franchise may be a bit of an understatement. The series’ last major chapter, “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas”, sold 12 million copies for the PlayStation 2 alone and the franchise as a whole has sold over 50 million units, making it one of the most successful video game series of all time. The series’ next chapter, currently known by the placement title “Grand Theft Auto IV”, is set for release on October 16, 2007 across North America and three days later for European gamers. Speculation as to what new features will be in GTA IV, its location, storyline and who among Hollywood’s A-list will supply character voices have been running high while Rockstar Games, the developer of GTA, has kept silent – but things are about to change.

The official website for …

When Sharp unveiled their new line of integrated television/personal computer called the Internet AQUOS, they were hoping to entice the eyes of first-time computer users, traditionally an older demographic. But what’s caught the attention of experienced couch potatoes and experienced online surfers is the remote control that comes with the new AQUOS: it’s got a touchpad built on its control surface.

The alphanumeric keys eliminate the need for a keyboard and the touchpad does away with the mouse, so what you’re left with is a simplified, one-stop universal control to command your PC or TV. Another added benefit is that the redesigned interface has eliminated about 40% of the number of buttons so you won’t have to take a few minutes just to figure out finding which button to press to get picture-in-picture.

While the MS Vista OS Internet AQUOS specs won’t blow away any …

Stephen Hawking is a name that by now we all know well. The Cambridge professor, best selling author and the world’s reigning expert on black holes is now set to take a zero-gravity ride out of Cape Canaveral. Since he has spent most of his life working around the nature of gravity, it seems only fit that he should experience it himself, first hand.

Said the executive of Zero G, “the idea of giving the world’s expert on gravity the opportunity to experience zero gravity” was irresistible. He will be accompanied by his own medical team to make sure that all is well with the genius.

Hawking, now 65, suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and is unable to move any part of his body, save his eyes and a small part of his fingers. Though this particular disease usually kills …

Recently released from Makita is the brand new BMR100 FM/AM Job Site Radio. Weighing in at approximately 9.2lbs, this radio delivers “rich stereo sound from two powerful 3.25 side-firing drivers.” Similar to the other Makita tools, the BMR100 is designed with a rugged weather resistance for tough jobsite conditions with a protective bumper design for additional durability. Should you ever happen to drop an anvil on this baby, it should be able to withstand it.

Even against an accidental bucket of water poured on it, the BMR100 should be able to hold its own. The super durable radion runs for “two working days” or 16 hours on a single charge, which in most cases I’m familiar that’s really only one working day but still pretty good nonetheless. It includes volume and tuning dials for easy control and has 10 preset FM/AM buttons.

Although …

On Thursday Sony launched its latest gadget in their line of Walkman products, adding a video player to the mix this time. The NW-A800 Video MP3 player marks the first Walkman from Sony that incorporates a video player with an MP3 player, according to the press release.

“The new WALKMAN Video MP3 player combines the best visual experience with the ultimate in Sony sound technology. The new WALKMAN is compact, stylish and affordable without compromising on screen size which is incredibly important for consumers.” said a Sony spokesperson in the press release.

This new video Walkman looks to be a viable competitor for Apple with the iPod through supporting some very similar features. The player has a 2″ QVGA LCD display at 320×240 pixels, comes in memory capacities of 2GB, 4GB and 8GB and comes in 4 different color options of violet, …

Due to the potential of overheating and a resulting fire Lenovo, a global developer, manufacturer and marketer of PC products and services, announced a recall of around 100,000 laptop batteries. This marks the second recall for the company in six months.

The company urges customers to stop using the recalled batteries immediately as dropping them in a certain manner could cause the overheating problem, and until a replacement battery has arrived you should power down your notebook and remove the recalled battery. Powering your notebook should only be done through the AC adapter during the interim according to the notice, although the Lenovo states a small drop will not cause the problem. “If you have it in your hand and it goes one or two inches and hits the ground, that’s not going to do it,” Mr Gorman said. “It has to be maybe …

Poor Perrin Kaplan. It was just a week ago that the Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Affairs for Nintendo America went on the record and said that the days of Mario’s masters making the GameCube were over. “Are we producing any more GameCubes? No,” Kaplan told GameDaily, and the news made the rounds faster than Wiis flying on the shelf at Wal-Mart.

No so fast, Perrin: the Japanese parent division is telling us that there is still life in the Cube. “We are continuing to manufacture and sell Nintendo GameCube, which is an ideal entry-level value system and has a strong library of games,” said a Nintendo spokesperson to Engadget, and similar reversals were issued by Nintendo’s European divisions. “The continuing appetite for new games is best demonstrated by strong sales of the GameCube version of ‘The …

Sony is reporting that its second audio-streaming AM/FM CD receiver equipped with Bluetooth technology will go on sale later this month. The MEX-BT2500 allows up to five different mobile phones to be linked to the unit, meaning that the whole family can talk hands-free when it’s their turn to drive (filling up the gas tank is not included.)

Additionally, if you own a phone equipped with A2DP you can stream direct from the handset to the receiver. The MEX also supports both wired and wireless playback for Bluetooth-enabled digital music players, and for non-Bluetooth devices you can connect direct into the unit via an audio cable jack that’s available separately. New noise cancellation and echo reduction technology makes your hands-free calls clearer on both ends. The faceplate portion is also detachable.

Stylistically, the unit has a sexy blue illumination …

Sony has been busy with product announcements this week. The latest announcement from Sony is a new line of seven BRAVIA high-definition televisions.

The BRAVIA televisions come in two series – the 1080p V-series and the 720p S-series. The V-series units include 40- and 46-inch (pictured) screen sizes, while the S-series offers 26-, 32-, 40-, 46-inch models.

The new televisions are compatible with Sony’s new BRAVIA Internet Video Link module which provides access to Internet video, music videos, movie trailers, user generated videos and RSS feeds. The module mounts on the back of the TV and connects to the Internet via broadband Ethernet connection.

The BRAVIA televisions are expected to be available in Summer 2007. The pricing details have not been released.

While snapping off a few photos here and there may not take any effort at all, it has always been somewhat of a hassle to print those beautiful pictures you take. However, conveniently, Sony has come up with a solution for all.

Recently debuted was a pair of lightweight photo printers with built-in carrying handles. While being able to print photos in less than a minute, the DPP-FP70 and DPP-FP90 PictureStation also offer “extensive editing capabilities,” allowing you to preview and edit photos on the 3.6″ LCD screen, before printing them.

In addition, you can select from a few pre-set phrases such as the common “Happy Birthday”, to print along with your photos and further ‘personalise’ them. Along with that, a vast array of features such as cross filter, partial color, paint filter, and fish eye filter are all available in both models.

These portable picture printers …