Gadgets Mobile

Kingston has recently announced the latest addition to their flash drive lineup, the DataTraveler Mini Slim USB Flash drives. These new drives are super small and thin, measuring in at just 1.529 x 00.645 x 0.253-inches which should make portability issues a thing of the past. Of course the danger with drives becoming smaller and smaller is the concern for of losing them grows, thankfully these have an option to attach it to something else such as a keychain.

The new Mini Slim USB drives will be available in either a 2GB or 4GB storage option and retail for $11 and $19 respectively. They are currently available and come in either black/grey, blue/grey or pink/grey color options.

Read [Business Wire]

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Recently we posted a full review of Alienware’s 15.4-inch gaming system, the m15x. This system ended up being a powerhouse (not unexpected given its $4619 price) and was one of the most impressive gaming notebooks that we have ever tested. Even without all the fancy upgrades the m15x, which has a starting price of $1499, can be a very capable gaming computer.

Given how interesting and versatile of a system is it, this article is going to quickly double back and look at a few of its finer points. Be sure to check out the full review if you want to get up to speed on all the basics though.

First off, there is the custom badge that system ships with. It is screwed to the bottom of the m15x as a unique identifier. There is no serial number, but you do get your name (in this case your website) engraved. This is just one part of the Alienware package though, the system also shipped with a hat, mouse pad, and a small binder with all the manuals and discs (Windows, recovery, drivers, etc.) placed neatly inside.

This first video features a quick walkthrough of the m15x’s lighting package. It is fully configurable through the included software so if you want the system to be green instead of blue, or if you want less lighting, it can be achieved in seconds. The lighting can go on/off and change color, but there is no option to strobe or for pulsing along with the music. The AlienFX software can also configure system performance (as in high performance, balanced mode, or battery saver as well.

The second and final video is a short demonstration of the m15x’s SmartBay. This is an expansion bay on the left side of the system. It normally holds the optical drive, but can also be used with a second battery or a spare hard drive, depending on your needs. It is hot-swappable and quite easy to use.

So by now you should have a much better idea of what Alienware is offering up with their m15x and the very similar m17x. These are high performance systems that are packed with cool features and upgrades, so it is worth it to investigate as much as possible before customizing your own.

Word has it that Apple might be prepping new Cinema Displays to debut at next year’s Macworld conference in January. These same rumors also reveal that the new range of Cinema Displays won’t rely on cold cathode fluorescent backlights (CCFLs) but lean towards LED backlights instead, showing Apple’s effort to help keep the environment green by getting rid of mercury while the situation remains “technically and economically feasible.” What do you think? If this rumor were to be true, you have less than half a year to start saving up.

There is a lot going on in the world of computing right now, more than we could ever cover or you could ever hope to read while still holding down a job. Here is some of what I have been reading and you might want to check if you want to stay up to speed…

• VIA sales plunge as company repositions itself
• AMD 790GX Chipset Platform Launch
• DIY $260 Vista-capable PC
• Intel to launch Calpella notebook platform in 3Q09
• MaxPC builds the first Intel Nehalem system
• Larrabee is Intel’s biggest leap since Pentium
• Hand’s on Panasonic’s Menlow-powered U1 UMPC

Those are just the highlights, but they should be enough to catch up on up the big news. Happy reading…

The ATP 8GB EarthDrive it touted to be the first earth-friendly USB flash drive in the world, but I am rather skeptical of the whole green idea - I’ll get back to my beef later after describing the ATP 8GB EarthDrive. This diminutive storage device is said to be shock-, water- and dust-proof, featuring pre-loaded securty software, drive partitioning, password protection, and 8GB of storage space. It is also manufactured from bio-recycled plastics and can be recycled at the end of its life cycle as well. Oh yeah, not to mention each $48 purchase will see a portion of the proceeds go to a tree-planting program. Back to my doubts about such a device - how many people actually take the trouble to recycle their USB flash drive once it has given up the ghost? Not to mention, the USB flash drive isn’t exactly disposed off on a large scale basis each day.

The Samba Team released a bug fix (Samba 3.2.1) on August 5. This patches a few issues of the major Samba 3.2.0 release from July 1. Samba is an Open Source product that lets Linux servers and workstations fully participate in file and printer sharing with Microsoft Windows on a network. I’ve used Samba for years on small (Pentium II or III) PCs running Linux to create small file servers for the home and small workgroups. PCs running Windows see these Samba powered Linux boxes as regular Windows shares and are able to copy files to and from these Linux boxes using Windows Explorer. You may have Samba running in your home without even realizing it since it is often used in consumer grade NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices.

The Samba 3.2.x releases include a number of new features including encrypted network transport, IPv6 network protocol support, and enhanced domain support when used with Windows Servers 2003 and 2008.

For more information read the Samba 3.2.0 press release and Samba 3.2.1 release notes.

Sharp has released three new budget-friendly flat-panel LCD TV’s featuring full HD 1080p (1980 x 1080). Released under Sharp’s SB series, these new LCD TV’s are the 52-inch LC-52SB55U, the 46-inch LC-46SB54U and the 42-inch LC-42SB45U.

Encased in a glossy piano-black bezel, all three LCD’s feature Sharp’s Spectral Contrast Engine, have a pixel response time of 6ms (except for the LCD-42SB45U with 6.5ms), built-in ATSC/QAM/NTSC tuners and array of inputs which include four HDMITM for the LC-52SB55U, two for the LC-46SB45U and three for the LC-42SB45U. In addition, these LCD’s also come with two HD component terminals, a dedicated PC input and OPC Power Save Function which adjusts luminance to adapt to room brightness and lighting conditions.

The Sharp LC-52SB55U, LC-46SB54U and LC-42SB45U are available now and retailing for $2,299.99, $1,699.99 and $1,399.99 respectively.

Read [Business Wire] Product [Sharp]

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Siemens have long dropped out of the race for being a serious contender in the cell phone market, but that doesn’t mean the company is going to stay out of the game forever. At least we know that they will be more environmentally conscious should they go ahead and decide to churn out additional handsets in the future after dreaming up of green concepts such as the “Gigaset Eco Visions” “Leaf” and “Solar”. All these phones will be constructed from recyclable raw materials and rely on solar energy to remain powered. That’s not too convenient unless the efficiency of solar cells of today are further improved upon.

Seiko Epson has worked on a 3D display that is touted to display high resolution 3D images to the naked eye without the help of special glasses, making the possibility of a portable holographic deck very real. It will utilize a “lenticular lens” that is placed on pixels, letting different images be viewed from various angles. The resolution currently stands at approximately 550ppi, making it one of the world’s highest resolutions of the direct-view-type displays which do not make use of projectors. Measuring a mere 2.57″, this 3D display comes with an impressive pixel count of 1,024 × 768. Seiko Epson will commercialize the display within a couple years’ time, so forget about true 3D mobile gaming for the moment.

It doesn’t seem all that long ago we were hearing news of a laptop being developed for children in developing countries that cost just US$100. That turned out to be the OLPC XO laptop, which still hasn’t achieved its price goal. Now it seems a new target is being set of just how cheap you can make a computer.

A group of graduates, including Derek Lomas and Jesse Austin-Breneman, are attending the MIT International Development Design Summit this week with the idea to build a US$12 computer. It may sound like a dream concept, but their idea revolves around the use of some 1970s tech in the form of the Apple II hardware.

The team of 6 are using the Apple II hardware as a basis, adding memory for storage and encouraging programmers to start developing for the system again. They have recruited members of the Apple II fan base and are already developing new software for the ancient hardware. An Indian non-profit organization is also interested in using the new machine locally.

Specific details of the machine are scarce, but it seems likely it would be a small unit with ports for keyboard, mouse and output to a standard TV. This would make it very portable and save money due to a lack of certain key elements such as the screen.

Lomas had the original idea when he saw a cheap machine while on an internship in Bangalore. He now believes they can produce a more capable unit that benefits everyone:

We see this as a model that could increase economic opportunities for people in developing countries … If you just know how to type, that can be the difference between earning $1 an hour instead of $1 a day. … My generation all had Apple IIs that we learned to type and play games on … If we can get buy-in from programmers, we can develop these devices and give (Third World) schools Apple II computer labs like the ones I grew up with.

Read more at BostonHerald.com

Matthew’s Opinion
One of the major benefits of the XO laptop is the fact it is a complete unit a child can use without needing anything else. This $12 concept does not have that, but is significantly cheaper because of it.

I don’t think the machine is trying to replace the XO and would clearly be limited, but would give access to a basic computer and teach skills such as typing. If the community get behind it then there is a lot of scope for common applications to appear, increasing the learning capabilities.

I’m interested to see how this project develops and imagine it’s going to end up looking similar to a small external hard drive. A no-frills casing with a few ports that can fit in your pocket would be my guess.