Archive for December, 2010

World’s first remote-controlled gaming computer

Posted in DIY by Conner Flynn on December 9th, 2010

Meet the world’s first remote-controlled gaming computer. It’s built from a Thermaltake case and built on top of a motorized, remote-controlled base. Oh and there’s also a robotic arm. Now that’s what I call a computer.

Sadly it doesn’t shoot lasers, but I’m sure that is just one mod away from happening. This one could be R2-D2′s long lost cousin. I’m pretty sure I saw this thing in a Jawa Sandcrawler.

Level Twelve Wooden PC

Posted in DIY by Conner Flynn on December 9th, 2010

The Level Twelve casemod from Jeffrey Stephenson is pretty decent looking if you like wood. The box is constructed from Teak and Birds Eye Maple and holds a 2TB hard drive, an optical drive and four front mounted USB ports.

Other specs of this mod include an i7-processor, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB Crucial C300 SSD and a Lenovo H320 case. Jeff makes computer cases look damn good. If we had computers in the 1950′s they would look like this.

iTunes’ 90 second song previews go live

Posted in iTunes by Conner Flynn on December 9th, 2010

Apple has now started extending iTunes preview clips to 90 seconds on songs that last for two and a half minutes or longer. It’s only effective in the US iTunes Store. So when you are checking a song out, you have a little extra time to decide if you like it or not.

It used to be that if a song was much longer than two and half minutes it wouldn’t get much radio play. Times have sure changed. Head to the iTunes store and preview away.

Notion Ink Adam Tablet available for pre-order December 9th

Posted in Tablet PC by Conner Flynn on December 8th, 2010

Looks like the company will start taking pre-orders on the Adam tablet starting tomorrow, December the 9th. We’ve been hearing about this tablet for awhile now. It features a 10.2 WSVGA display with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels, 1GB of RAM and an NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor.

Some other specs of this tablet include a 3.2 megapixel camera with built in auto focus, WiFi, 3G and Bluetooth, plus two USB 2.0 ports, and a miniUSB port along with an HDMI and a microSD card slot.

Speck DustJacket cases for iPad and Kindle 3

Posted in iPad accessories by Conner Flynn on December 8th, 2010

Speck has unveiled some new cases for your iPad or Kindle 3. Both are called DustJacket and come in red and black colors. These cases are made of fake leather and are designed to prop up the devices so you can read or watch video easily.

The DustJacket for the iPad opens like a book and has a protective cover that folds back and the screen can be propped at various angles. There’s also a micro-fiber interior to prevent scratches. The iPad case is $49.95.

Acer Revo 100 Media PC

Posted in Acer by Conner Flynn on December 8th, 2010

Acer has announced a new multimedia PC in the UK called the Revo 100. It comes in a compact slim design, and packs an AMD Athlon II Neo dual-core processor, and an NVIDIA ION 2 graphics card.

Some other features include up to 4GB DDR3 RAM, up to 750GB hard drive, built-in Blu-ray combo drive, memory card reader, WiFi, an HDMI port and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit is running the show. The Revo 100 is available for purchase in the UK right now for 599 GBP (about $942).

Fluid Stream 10-inch Windows 7 Tablet now available?

Posted in Tablet PC by Conner Flynn on December 8th, 2010

Remember that Fluid tablet that was supposed to arrive before Christmas? Well, it is here as promised. Sort of. Amazon started selling the Fluid Stream 10-inch Windows 7 tablet, but now it is just as quickly listed as out of stock.

The device packs a multi-touch display with a 1024×600 pixel resolution, a 1.66 Intel Atom N450 processor, 1GB RAM, a 160GB hard drive, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and an HDMI output.

Fireplace computer casemod

Posted in DIY by Conner Flynn on December 8th, 2010

Winter. It’s the time of year when sitting by the fire not only warms your body, but seems to warm your soul. But what if you don’t have a fireplace? Well, you could make your own fireplace in your computer case.

This LCD screen with a computer behind it may not throw off much heat, but just the sight of it might help on a cold night. It’s better than nothing. And anyway it looks great. This thing is hot. Pun intended. The case was recently on display at the PDXLAN 16.5 event over in Portland.

Blockbuster Express Kiosks test $2.99 a night rentals

Posted in movies by Conner Flynn on December 8th, 2010

Poor Blockbuster will try anything to keep up with Netflix. With movie studios keeping new release DVDs and Blu-ray discs out of instant rentals for 28 days after release, Blockbuster has come up with a way to hopefully bolster DVD/BD sales.

Some studios have relaxed those terms a bit as the DVDs for Warner Bros’ Inception and 20th Century Fox’s Knight and Day are being offered by NCR’s Blockbuster Express kiosks, rented for a $2.99/night rate. Will it pay off?

iPadLock protects your iPad

Posted in iPad accessories by Conner Flynn on December 8th, 2010

Apple’s iPad is a popular device, and so it is popular with thieves as well. Sadly the iPad doesn’t have any built-in security, but MacLocks is here to help with the iPadLock. It’s a clear case that will protect your iPad with a security slot, giving your tablet some extra protection.

The case is available for pre-order right now for $40 without the cable lock and for $65 for the version that comes with the lock.

Netflix licenses more TV for streaming from ABC/Disney

Posted in Netflix by Conner Flynn on December 8th, 2010

Netflix was rumored to be offering to pay $100,000 per episode for these shows. We don’t know if that was the price or not, but the company has reached a new deal with Disney-ABC Television Group that keeps episodes of shows like Lost on your streaming list and adds some new ones.

The delay time for adding new episodes is 15 days minimum so they will arrive soon. You can look forward to every single episode of Scrubs, Ugly Betty and Reaper due in 2011, plus expanded offerings from Disney Channel and ABC Family.

Hands On: dB Logic SPL2 Headphones

Posted in Review by Conner Flynn on December 8th, 2010

dB Logic’s SPL2 headphones are designed for healthy listening so they won’t damage your ears. The company was kind enough to provide us with a review unit so we could hear how they sound. These are no-battery-required ultra-low distortion sound pressure level headphones and earphones, which include models for adults and kids.

The SPL2 lowers the volume while still keeping the shape of the sound wave curve. The headphones regulate the volume when it is needed, while still keeping the “musical content largely unchanged”. How do they sound? Read on.

High-res pics of Motorola’s Tegra powered Honeycomb tablet

Posted in Tablet PC by Conner Flynn on December 8th, 2010

We had a look at Andy Rubin fiddling with an Android-powered Motorola tablet during the D:Dive Into Mobile conference, but those pics were from a distance. We know that you want to see some quality pics of the device and luckily for you, some higher resolution pictures of the device have surfaced.

Is it a Galaxy Tab killer? We don’t know yet. But it looks pretty sweet and sexy.

Tokyoflash Kisai Satellite Watch now for sale

Posted in Watches by Conner Flynn on December 8th, 2010

Tokyoflash is always busy cranking out unique watches and their latest is the Kisai Satellite. You voted for it and now it is a reality. It will cost you $93 and it’s available in either black or white. Unlike most watches from Tokyoflash, it’s easy to see the time on this one.

The top circle on the face shows the hours, while the bottom left circle shows the minutes in groups of five and the bottom right circle shows single minutes.

Samsung Gloria 10-inch Windows 7 tablet with slide-out keyboard

Posted in Samsung by Conner Flynn on December 8th, 2010

The latest tablet rumor makes a tablet more like a netbook with the Windows 7 tablet concept seen above. Blogeee is reporting that they have two separate sources who claim that Samsung is planning a 10-inch slate device called Gloria, which would run Windows 7 and have a slide-out keyboard.

The image above is a mockup of how Gloria might look. It will supposedly include a Samsung software overlay to make Windows 7 more touch-friendly. For now,take this with a grain of salt, but it would be an interesting take on a tablet.