Windows Vista isn’t well liked by many computer users. The operating system has a reputation for consuming more resources than Windows XP did. The need for more resources to run Vista than many netbook computers offer led Microsoft to continue offering Windows XP alongside Vista.

Microsoft has announced today that it is extending the previous deadline for computer makers to move away from Windows XP that was set to retire on January 31, 2009. Microsoft has previously extended this deadline as well.

It’s the 21st century. Who wants to grow plants in soil? We don’t need to get our hands dirty. You don’t want to soil yourself. That’s why aeroponics is the future. Dirt is history when we can use specially formulated nutrient mists to replace it. This Broto Domestic Greenhouse lets you use aeroponics to grow plants, and it will babysit them too, constantly checking the pH, temperature, nutrients, and humidity to make sure they grow as healthily as possible.

No dirt. Well yeah, soil has been doing a fine job for millions of years, but as humans, it’s our job to find a better way. It’s clean. And dirt isn’t everywhere you know.

I have seen soundbars for home theater sets ups that provide good sound and a clean install look. They place speakers inside a long, slender box that is designed to sit under the TV in your living room rather than boxy speakers that are designed to stand beside the TV.

iLuv has introduced a new 2.1 speaker set for PC that looks like a soundbar. The long and slender device has a pair of speakers inside with a subwoofer. The system uses SRS-XT technology to simulate surround sound for movies and games.

It’s a familiar situation. You’ve just had some Taco Bell and something is trying to make a run for the border in your pants. Or maybe you just haven’t showered lately. Either way, what you need is a car Air Purifier. The Car USB Frog Air Purifier will eat bad smells like so many tasty flies and make it all better.

It’s designed to generate millions of negative ions to ionize and remove unwanted particles in the air. The frog air purifier comes with a car plug adapter and a USB cable, so you can use it not only in your car, but also in your office or at home. No matter where you use it, you’ll look like a dork for only $19.99.

Here’s a great idea. If you ride your bike at night, hopefully you have reflectors attached so cars can see you and you don’t get ran over. Thing is, there is now a better type of reflector for your bike, as in making the entire bike a reflector. Did I mention that it’s invisible?

Impossible you say? Not anymore. It’s made possible by retroreflective vinyl. The material looks black under normal light, but turns completely and utterly white and reflective when a bright light, like headlights shines on it. It also gives you a two-color chameleon-like bike. You can actually buy it and do it to your own bike.

Sprint isn’t in a good place right now. It’s losing customers as its service quality drops and other providers improve and Sprint’s is in a bad financial situation to boot. The cellular arm of the phone giant bet big on WiMAX and repeatedly had to scale the service back.

Sprint has introduced its first 4G/3G modem that can operate both on its 4G WiMAX network and on its nationwide 3G broadband network. The modem connects to a PC via USB and on Sprint’s 4G network provides download speeds of up to 4 Mbps.

Sierra Wireless has just introd two new ExpressCard modems for HSUPA wireless users. They feature download speeds up to 7.2Mbps and upload speeds up to 5.76Mbps. The AirCard 501 supports 850 / 1900 / 2100 MHz bands, while the AirCard 502 covers 900 / 1900 / 2100 MHz.

Both bend over backwards, being backward compatible with UMTS, EDGE and GSM networks the world over and they’re being called durable, because there are no little plastic pieces to break on you and make you curse. The AirCard 501 is scheduled for release later this month, but if you’re interested in the AirCard 502 you’ll have to wait until early 2009.

Look, I don’t care how rotten your kid has been. Nobody deserves these creepy MP3 dolls for children. Give them coal in their stocking if you must, but spare them the trauma that this wicked pair will cause. There’s not a whole lot of info about these unbalanced and obviously devious dolls, but their names are Man-Man and Niu Niu.

The controls are in the hands and feet, and they feature an automatic shutdown, you know, in case you catch them cornering your kid with a knife, while blasting the latest Britney Spears ear-rape. The MP3 players are hidden in the guts of the dolls. This fright-fest comes hot on the heels of H-Bouya, another creep-gadget that will have your kids shaking in the corner like a crack-addict and asking “Why daddy, why?”

A few weeks ago, we took a look at some pretty awesome geek cakes. Although we don’t necessarily promote tooth decay or stomachaches, here’s 25 more. All great confectionery nerd works of art, each and every one. Click through for a visual sugar rush.

Netbooks are selling in huge numbers this holiday season. Leading the netbook pack in sales is the Acer Aspire One netbook. Most netbooks are created pretty much equal today, but the One provides a good mix of portability and price.

Earlier this week I reported on the leaked sales flyer that claimed RadioShack would be selling an AT&T 3G equipped version of the One for $99 with a 2-year agreement for mobile broadband service. RadioShack has officially announced the $99 deal and confirmed the story just as we ran it on the 9th.

The Z-Nano is truly the world’s smallest mouse. It measures just 42mm (1.65″) x 21mm (0.83″) x 17.65mm (0.69″), it’s not much bigger than it’s attached USB cable or your fingertip. The cable even clips into the mouse itself with a powerful magnet for easy storage.

It even features a slot that you can use to slip in your own tiny photo to personalize the mouse. You’ll need to squint to see it. The world’s smallest mouse will cost you $60 and it will make your hand feel all weird and lonely, while your finger does all the work.

Cowon will be launching the Cowon S9 MP3 player in Korea on December 16th. This MP3 player features a 3.3-inch AMOLED capacitive touch panel display that provides 16 million colors on 480 x 272 pixels resolution. The player is powered by a 500MHz dual-core CPU, and supports T-DMB digital television tuner, Bluetooth, FM radio, text/photo viewer, electronic dictionary function, TV-out, and G-Sensor accelerometer.

The S9 also supports a touchscreen user interface, gravity sensor, zoom in and out flash menu and video clip preview function. The battery will give you up to 55 hours of music playback, 11 hours of video playback, and up to 350 hours of standby time. The Cowon S9 will be available in 4GB, 8GB and 16GB storage sizes. The DMB model will be released next year.

This is of course just a concept, but one can easily see the benefits. It actually looks pretty darn beautiful. Three screens in one with a trackpad the same size as the keyboard. The concept uses the aluminum hardware of Apple’s new laser-cut “brick” technology to provide rigidity and strength to the attached displays screens of the 21-inch triBook.

It’s got an 8x SuperDrive, a few I/O connectors, a high-quality hard drive and a CPU similarly to the MacBook. I’m guessing the screens fold into the main screen without scratching themselves somehow or they detach. Pretty sweet design. Let’s hope Apple is paying attention. I don’t know about the huge trackpad though.

Remember the Tomy Xiao TIP-521 digital camera with built-in Zink printer? It’s available in Japan now, and the above video illustrates how they’re trying to convince you to buy one.

Have you watched it yet? Good. Still want to buy one? If the commercial has sold you on it, the Xiao will be available for $350 in the US in Q2 of 2009. I don’t know. He seemed to be struggling a bit there. He might need some fiber.

Have a look at the sneer on this thing’s face. Yes, it’s so badass it has it’s own mean face. A face that will scare all but the bravest from climbing on and taking a ride, immediately sorting the poseurs from the rugged manly men. It’s a concept snowmobile from Dominic Shindler and you can color us impressed. The design is aggressive and intimidating while standing still.

It sports huge, wide tracks in front and skis in the rear. It’s basically a snowmobile on steroids that looks nothing like the typical winter off-road machines. It even sports a place for your skis in case you want to enjoy the next hill.