Archive for March, 2008
Popularity: 1% [?] Axiotron Modbook Tablet One look at Axiotron’s slate Modbook tablet and it’s clear the company has given Apple’s 13-inch entry-level laptop the full Steve Austin treatment. Well, minus the 20:1 bionic eye with infrared capabilities. Nevertheless, the end result is…
Axiotron Modbook Tablet One look at Axiotron’s slate Modbook tablet and it’s clear the company has given Apple’s 13-inch entry-level laptop the full Steve Austin treatment. Well, minus the 20:1 bionic eye with infrared abilities. Nevertheless, the end result is a better, (slightly) faster, and, yes, even stronger Mac tablet. Sure, it’s the only Mac tablet for now, but this baby is certain to give anyone who dabbles in the dark graphical arts exquisitely rendered heart palpitations. One minor nit before we begin examining the goods. Some reviews have described the Modbook as a touchscreen device. While, technically, this is true, it’s important to note we’re not talking capacitive touching here. In fact, you can only use the provided Wacom digitizer pen and its 11 nibs as an input device. While that lack of skin on screen action, coupled with its high price, probably keeps the Modbook from being a truly mainstream device, it is by no means a deal breaker. The tablet touts both Bluetooth and the standard two USB ports should you want to use it with a full-size keyboard and mouse. Hell, you can even mount it on your wall or hook it up to an external monitor via the standard mini-DVI port (like we did), if you prefer a slightly more massive screen to show off your squiggly Garfield drawings.
As far as looks go, Modbook stays true to Apple’s overriding aesthetic sensibilities. It’s clear Axiotron has done some Frankensteining here and there (the bottom portion of the tablet is identical to the MacBook while the top half is basically a Wacom Penabled Digitizer), but the Modbook still looks like something Steve Jobs could potentially unveil from an envelope. Both the shell and interior display frame are built from aircraft-quality magnesium alloy — not that anodized crap. Axiotron also went for the trifecta of metal plating — that’s nickel humping copper and topped off with a tiny chrome for good measure. While that combination certainly attracts smudges, it’s also extremely scratch-resistant. Our only major quibble with the Modbook is its lack of graphical zing and relatively small screen. For designers, Intel’s standard GMA X3100 with 144 MB of SDRAM doesn’t exactly do the trick, and it would’ve been nice to include something like Nvidia’s GeForce 8600M GT cards that come standard on MacBook Pros. Similarly, the 13-inch screen size, while larger than other slate-style tablets out there, still isn’t the ideal dimension for a device that purports to be best for artists and designers. So yeah, it’s clear the Modbook isn’t for everyone. If your days consist of endless spreadsheets or you’re some hack banging out gadget reviews, the $2,300 base price is a hard thing to justify. That said, the fact that Axiotron has transformed a run-of-the-mill MacBook into a hyper-specialized device is probably a smart move considering Apple is undoubtedly working on its own mainstream ‘Macblet’. —Bryan Gardiner WIRED: Built-in GPS. Badass handwriting recognition software accurately renders chicken scratch into coherent words. Durable screen and shell makes porting this expensive device a relatively worry-free ordeal. TIRED: Did we mention this is a pricey ($2,290) device? Stylus pen occasionally loses connectivity or freezes and requires reset. Heavy; weighs as much as a 15-inch Macbook Pro (5.5 lbs). $2,290, axiotron.com
Popularity: 1% [?]
Mar
29
2008
 
Helio Ocean 2 Hits FCC, First Impression is Same Old Same-Old [Cellphones]Posted by: admin in Super Gadgets
Popularity: 1% [?] The Activexpression from Promethean is either brilliant or doomed. It’s a mobile phone-like handset designed for use in schools. The units, which use RF to communicate with the base station, sport a decidedly old-school monochrome 128×128 pixel LCD screen. The…
The teacher can issue quizzes and the kids key in answers via the familiar multi-tap keyboard. We don’t know why this is better than pen and paper, or even talking, but we know how much the teens love their cellphones, and from our point of view, more gadgets in the classroom is always better. Schools might be more popular, though, if they follow the lead of Michigan, where the state plans to buy iPods for every student. Product page [Promethean World]
Popularity: 1% [?] SlySoft, the makers of DVD cracking software, have finally released the long-promised BD+ crack for Blu-ray discs. We first reported on the company’s claims back in November of last year, but it has taken SlySoft until now to actually make…
Why? According to Peer van Heuen of SlySoft, “it was decided for strategic reasons to wait a bit for the outcome of the ‘format war’ between HD DVD and Blu-ray”. The company remains sanguine about the upcoming cat-and-mouse game which will inevitably ensue as Bluray fixes the security hole. “[W]e are well prepared for this and await the coming developments rather relaxed”, says van Heuen. The software, AnyDVD HD, removes AACS encryption (which was also used by HD DVD) along with BD+, and is PC only. The €80 ($125) price seems a little optimistic. The people who will use this crack are unlikely to want to spend that much on software. Of course, it is already freely available at your local BitTorrent tracker site. Press release [SlySoft] Product page [SlySoft]
Popularity: 1% [?]
Nope.
We’ll post the video when it’s released. [slam x hype]
Popularity: 1% [?]
Mar
28
2008
Pube Grooming Kit Makes Your Muff Best In Show [Pubic Topiary]Posted by: admin in Super Gadgets
Popularity: 1% [?]
Mar
28
2008
Send Your Ashes to the Moon for All Eternity, for a Price [Space]Posted by: admin in Super Gadgets
That’s just what Celestis, Inc. is offering: the ability to send some of your ashes to the moon for the low, low price of $10,000. Celestis has already been launching ashes into space for a few years now, but this new service will let your final resting place be right there on the moon, a place that you can be sure will see your ashes resting comfortably and not returning to the Earth from whence you came. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust is all well and good for some people, but some of us don’t want our cremated corpses used for growing trees in the woods or some other such indignity. No, the moon is the only place for decent people to end up. It’s that much closer to heaven, after all. [New Launches] Popularity: 1% [?]
Mar
28
2008
Clarkson Fires Automobiles Off a Cliff and Shoots Them With Massive GunsPosted by: admin in Online And Tech NewsTop Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson officially has the best job in the world. Below is his take on clay pigeon shooting, only the clays have been switched for cars and the gun for, well, massive, hazardous weapons. He starts with a… He starts with a pump action shotgun and moves up to some tripod-mounted death-spitting machine. I won’t tell you what comes last. Just watch the spectacularly joyful and un-PC Clarkson. I dare you not to smile or cheer. Forget Shooting Clay Pigeons, Go For Flying Cars. Top Gear Shows Us How It’s Done [Geekologie]
Popularity: 1% [?] Mystery Anti-Recoil Device for Guns
It appears to be some kind of lightweight anti-recoil device, but how does it work? The site offers no clues nor links, which is where you come in, Gadget Lab readers. How does this widget work, if at all? No-Uplift No-Recoil Handgun Insert [Stealth IR]
Popularity: 1% [?] |
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We know a bunch of you would never use a Bluetooth headset even if your hands were broken and it was the only way you could make a call. Problem is, a bunch of states are enacting handset-only call laws, meaning that you’re going to have to get one whether you want to or not. Here’s a Soyo FreeStyler 500 Bluetooth headset for $0.99 with $10 Google Checkout discount. Buy it and shove it into your glove compartment. [
The FCC has just leaked this image of Helio’s Ocean 2. How do we know that? Well, it’s carrying an OZ2 model and OZ was the alternative moniker of the original Helio Ocean. We can’t tell much else from the drawing, such as whether the Mark 2 Ocean will have the dual slider of its older brother, but we can see the body design will remain true to the original. However, having been 
How the hell did this travesty happen? The wrong soap in the dishwasher? Ibiza celebration gone awry?
Sony commercial. We should have known.
Anyone into heart-shaped boxes need look no further than the Just Kittyng Kit. In it is all the gear you need to turn your girlfriend’s lady-garden into something more, shall we say, ornamental. It’s got a bunch of stencils so that when you choose to transform her bush into a heart, star or arrow, it won’t look like something that Salvador Dali did. The three shapes are dull-ass dull, though. Whoever is behind this $36 thing needs to start thinking outside the box. [
Graveyards are so 20th century. If you want to be a cool and hip dead person in these modern times, you need to do something a bit crazier. Like get sent to the moon!
I need some help. This email arrived this morning, containing nothing but the freshest gadget spam:
