Are you having issues with your wireless working in all areas of your house? You can use the coax cable run throughout your house to help distribute your 802.11b/g signals for better connectivity throughout your entire house. Read on to see how this nifty gizmo works.

Two days in a row we’ve now featured gizmos that better utilize infrastructure wiring (power and network over Ethernet and now extended 802.11b/g coverage using exisiting coax cables. Again, I’m still waiting for Power Over Wireless…

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Apple released a few new products to their arsenal today including the iPod Hi-Fi and a couple new Mac Mini’s featuring the Intel chipset. Unfortunately for me, the “iTablet” was not released (nor will this year).

“Apple is reinventing the home stereo with the new iPod Hi-Fi, the first iPod accessory that adds true high-fidelity sound quality to the iPod,� said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iPod Hi-Fi’s unrivaled acoustic performance and stunning design is at home in any room in the house.�

According to the press release, the iPod Hi-Fi is a “high-fidelity” (how 50’s is that!) speaker system that integrates with all iPods via a dock connector which recharges your iPod and allows from control from a remote control and is Apple’s vision to redefine the home stereo system.

iPod Hi-Fi also features a dual-purpose 3.5-mm auxiliary input that accepts either analog or digital signals for easy connection to a wide range of audio sources. You can power the gizmo via AC or 6 D-cell batteries making the device portable as well.

The Apple iPod Hi-Fi is available now from the Apple Store for $349.

If you get one, let me know how it sounds…

Not to be overshadowed by Apple’s iPod announcements, Apple announced new computer products too including two new Mac minis powered by Intel. According to the press release, the new minis base configuration include 512MB of memory expandable to 2GB, Intel GMA950 graphics processor, AirPort Extreme wireless, gig ethernet, four USB 2.0 ports, one audio in and out port, DVI and the infared Apple Remote.

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Wouldn’t it be great to just have to worry about either power or ethernet connections rather than having to worry about both? D-Link’s Power Over Ethernet Adapter allows you to provide power to an ethernet device over the same ethernet cable. For example, let’s say you want to add an IP camera to the babies room, you only need to worry about having an ethernet connection in the room. Of course, you could go the other route and get a wireless camera, but wired solutions are always more predictable.

Now I’m just waiting on the technology for Power Over Wireless!

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I needed this gizmo a couple of months ago when I tried to waterproof a regular X10 lamp module that ended up melting! The Outdoor Lamp Module allows you to remotely use an X10 or Freewire controller to control your exterior lights. This is perfect for controlling your Christmas/Halloween lights and other exterior lights such as landscaping lights and deck lights.

One reason my lamp module melted was that I used one to light my entire front and back yard with one module. The typical lamp module supports up to 300w where the B&D Outdoor Lamp Module supports up to 550w and includes a ground plug (that the interior lamp module does not have).

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Imagine being able to activate any device in response to temperature changes. Your smart home just needs the TempLinc along with a ControLinc Maxi to do just that.

To get your geek mind flowing with ideas… here are a couple of ideas of projects you could perform with this gizmo. Some of the more typical projects include turning on a ceiling fan when the heat from the sun heats up a room or turn on heat or signaling you when the temperature in your basement reaches a low temperature. Better yet, you could log temperature data and create a graphical representation of that data on the web. Also, you could use the device to check on your AV cabinet making sure critical temperature doesn’t damage your AV equipment.

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Normally the Geeks don’t feature video games but we had to feature Star Wars: Empire at War. First of all, what geek’s juices don’t get flowing at the mention of Star Wars? Secondly, this game allows you to follow your own path and either fight alongside Jedi and the rest of the Rebel Alliance or join management… er, I mean turn to the dark side.

I’m not a gamer, but it looks like I found the game I’ll play this year!

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I love Linux. I love it when companies use Linux in their products… especially when the products are cool! Video Without Boundaries has created a Linux-based Media Center.

VWB’s MediaREADY500 features TV Tuning and an Electronic Program Guide, PVR, Broadband Connectivity through PCMCIA Wireless Card and Ethernet support, Web Browsing, Media Jukebox, DVD/CD Player, TV Email, Wireless Keyboard and Mouse and provides connections for 1394, USB and various composite inputs. The Internet Media Players support Real, Flash, Java and other streaming video formats as well.

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According to the Bay of Plenty Times newspaper, Garry Leonard Muzyka, 46, from Cambridge Heights, built a James Bond-style gizmo on his motorcycle to hide his license plate at the flip of a lever. The gizmo tilts his motorcycle license plate to foil police and speed cameras but he “was left shaken but not stirred after crashing into a patrol car.”

He was fined nearly $1700 after pleading guilty on one count of speeding and has lost his driving privileges for six months. Amazingly he received no charges for the Bondish gizmo he used.

I’m sure everyone has wanted to create their own James Bond type gizmo… leave us a comment with your most creative Bondish gizmo!

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Samsung Camera announces three new camera models, the Digimax L60 and L85, which are the newest members of the Prestige Line, and the GX-1L, which is the second DSLR model developed jointly with Pentax.

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iPods are perfect gizmos for getting through the drudgery of workouts allowing your mind to wander to the music, but what if your workouts consist of water sports or swimming or anything more extreme that a stationary bike and treadmill? Otterbox says they have the solution with their line of waterproof iPod cases for the extreme and active geek. Combined with waterproof headphones, the Otterbox should allow you to swim while listening to your tunes. The Geeks think that’s pretty cool, but do the Otterbox cases actually work? Check out the rest of the review to see if my Mini or Nano get ruined testing the Otterbox cases and to see what we think of Otterbox’s products.

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