If you are looking for a quick setup web cam, this Linksys wireless web cam has a built-in web server and has the usual Linksys quick and easy setup. The video camera provides MPEG-4 video compression for a 320×240 stream that can be seen from any web browser. There’s even a security mode feature that will email you when motion has been detected.
Trackitback has partnered with eCost to sell it’s gadget recovery products which can be used on everything from iPods to PDAs, Treos to Crackberrys, digital cameras to digital camcorders, etc…
Basically, customers affix a label to their gizmos and if it’s found the label instructs the finder to call a toll free number on the label. Trackitback arranges for the item’s safe return and finders receive ten free labels.
Unfortunately if an item is stolen, I doubt the sticker will remain on the gizmo and only the stupidest theive will call the number! Other than that, this seems like a great way to ship your gizmos for free…
NetGear built a superior 802.11g wireless switch by stuffing 7 antennas into the box using MIMO (multiple antennas at both ends of the radio link) technology. You will not need range extenders, repeaters or external antennas but your house should be more than covered as the device delivers up to 500,000 square feet of coverage!
A groovy side feature are the blue lights that light up when a different antennas is used. If you’ve encountered dead spots in your wireless network, try out one of these wireless routers.
This article by David Derbyshire hits close to home for the Geeks as we have to deal with this growing problem. Of course we love it when users make more work for us!
Gizmos load numerous extra drivers and extra software on user’s machines and then the user’s wonder why their machines run slower! More importantly, as a security guy, I worry about viruses being introduced to our machines or networks thanks to various gizmos. I personally also love the tech support questions concerning various gizmos that I have never even touched before!
The Geeks recommendation… leave the gizmos at home or support your own machine!
Now you can go on on your next trip to a country that doesn’t speak your language with the Lingo Global 8 Language Translator which translates English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Chinese (Phonetic), Japanese (Phonetic), Korean (Phonetic) (in all directions). The Lingo Global 8 translates over 8,000 words and 500 popular phrases. The Lingo comes with a full QWERTY keyboard, but is lightweight (3.1oz) and fits into a shirt pocket. But it’s more than just a translator, the Lingo also stores your contact info, memos and appointments. It has world time for over 200 cities, an alarm clock, currency conversions, metric conversions and even clothes and shoe size conversions.
A study in Britain found that Britains are wasting electricity and put the blame on gizmos. What have gizmos done to these researchers to be picked on?
The study mentions that three out of four people leave appliances constantly in standby including chargers for MP3 players and cell phones and that the typical householders in the UK have up to twelve different electrical gizmos on standby or charging at home. I counted eighteen in my house.
Also, the study found that one in seven people think that turning off appliances takes more electricity than leaving in standby but according to the study, some items use 90% of their energy when plugged in.
Basically the article charges us geeks with the damaging climate change due to the excessive amounts of energy consumed by gadget users.
This would make a perfect gift for that person in your life that has ‘trouble’ waking up in the morning. The Shake Awake Vibrating Alarm Clock goes into your pillowcase or under your mattress and it gently nudges you awake in the morning by vibrating. This is supposed to be even better than an ear-shattering audible alarm. It’s also perfect for couples or college students with roommates on different schedules or commuters who like to take naps on their train or bus rides.
The fiber optic nightlight from Harriet Carter flashes in multiple colors from a plume of hair-thin fibers. The strands don’t actually move, but the changing colors have an undulating effect, which hopefully can hypnotically induce sleep. Hundreds of delicate strands form a shimmering fan of reds, greens, purples, yellows and whites above the plug-in nightlight.
Linux running a drive enclosure equals a really cool gizmo called Mvix’s Multimedia Player.
You need to purchase a a 3.5″ hard drive to put in the Mvix Multimedia Player since it does not come with one. The good part of that is you can put any size you want or can afford in the Player. Next you hook the MVix into a USB 2.0 port on your machine (make sure you have 2.0 or go on vacation as you are copying files to the MVix. Copy over just about every audio and video format file because the MVix can probably handle it. Finally, connect this drive enclosure into your home stereo equipment and using the on-screen menu system enjoy!
Samsung is going to sell a new handset with 3GB of storage. 3GB! The SPH-V7900 which will only be available in Korea, will be able to store a few high-def video clips and around 700 MP3 music files. Perhaps you may be thinking that 3GB is way too much. Heck, even the venerable Palm Treo only has 32MB of memory/storage. But I don’t think it’s going to be long before cell phone users are walking around with what passes for standard disk capacity in a laptop. It’s just progress and demand and convergence. Think One Ring to Rule Them All. In this case, it’ll be One Device to Replace Them All. No need for an MP3 player, cell phone, PDA or laptop. Just one device. I can’t wait. Can you?
