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by Ryan Block, posted Apr 24th 2008 at 2:27AMComing in capacities ranging from 80 to 320GB, Fujitsu’s new MHZ2 CJ series drives don’t just spin at 7200rpm — these security-conscious drives also have full-disk hardware-based AES-256 encryption, which ought to forestall indefinitely any potential laptop-nappers. We don’t yet know how much the extra security will tack on to the bottom line, but they’ll be out by the end of next month (in Japan, anyway).

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Filed under: Storage

by Ryan Block, posted Apr 23rd 2008 at 11:22PM
Curious enough about the MSI Wind to sit through a video of a couple of nerds talking about it endlessly in Turkish? Check it out after the break — and we don’t want to hear a word about how you want those three and a half minutes of your life back.

[Via Mike Cane 2008]

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Filed under: Laptops

Sony is coming up with two new hard-disk (HDD) video recorders named RDX-HX1080 and RDX-HX1090. They both have 500GB of storage space, which the company claims can store up to 1420 hours (of Standard Definition TV recording). They have an integrated DVB-T Tuner (digital broadcasting not used in the U.S) but the 1090 model also has a “normal” analog TV Tuner. Both offer 1080p up-scaling (magnification), but do not record in 1080p (just to be clear). If you own a recent Sony camcorder, you can connect it to the recorder for direct video transfer.

Samsung’s other new device launched today is the Samsung S3 portable media player. Whilst the S2 Pebble gets a tiny, classy look, the Samsung S3 is thin media device.

Also, whilst the S2 Pebble is minimalistic in nature, the S3 Slim Portable Media Player is equipped with a 1.8-inch screen for video and picture viewing. At 1.8 ounces, the S3 Slim is only 0.4 inches thick and is around the size of a standard business card holder. It’s equipped with a 4 GB flash memory, and uses Li-Poly battery which has a 25 hour music playtime or 4 hour video playback. Other than being an audio/video player, it could also be used as a text reader and a compact game system. The Samsung S3 Slim PMP comes in black, while, red, green, and blue, to be available on June, 2008.

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The net neutrality battle has returned to Capitol Hill.  The Senate held a hearing on Tuesday called “The Future of the Internet” and during it Democratic politicians argued for the passage of a law that would prevent ISP’s from creating a fast lane for certain Internet content. Not surprisingly the cable industry, Republicans, and even the FCC opposed them.  FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said there was no need for any new rules as politicians discussed whether his agency has enough power to take action against ISPs who create unreasonable interference in user’s Internet use.

“To whatever degree people were alleging that this was a solution in search of a problem, it has found its problem,” said Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.). “We have an obligation to try and guarantee that the same freedom and the same creativity that was able to bring us to where we are today continues, going forward.”

Chairman Martin claimed no new laws were necessary because his agency already has the authority needed to enforce broadband connectivity principles, which give consumers the right to access any Internet content or apps they choose as long as they are legal. Republican Senators agreed. Committee vice Chairman Ted Stevens of Alaska said the new rules are “entirely unwarranted”.

This new debate comes on the heels of the Comcast-BitTorrent controversy in which the popular file sharing network and the ISP clashed over Comcast’s throttling of peer to peer connections. The cable giant was accused of trying to suppress competition with cable TV. (BitTorrent now legally distributes videos from its partners Warner Brothers, Paramount, Viacom, and PBS). The two companies eventually reached an agreement and settled their dispute but the FCC has not yet decided if Comcast violated broadband connectivity principles. 

Read [CNET]

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Marines are known to be tough SOBs, so what do you think Space Marines are made out of? ThinkGeek as Dueling Space Marines Copter Set up for grabs, and at certain angles it looks as though they’re shooting laser pee at each other.

This Dueling Space Marines Copter Set gets you a set of two mini r/c helicopters with infra-red laser tag style battle action. Take to the air from the palm of your hand then use the shoulder button on the remote unleash a plasma blast your opponent copter. Each shot causes the gun of your space marine to flash with simulated gunfire. The first hit causes your enemy to spin. The second makes the enemy copter lose power… the third cuts rotor power completely as your opponent plummets to the ground and you gloat in victory. However to truly dominate the sky, you’ll need to practice up on your flying skills. With stable flying characteristics and forgiving crash dynamics these diminutive space copters are perfect for hat impending battle against the betentacled alien planet hopper that awaits when you level up.

Plenty of practice is needed if you’re to remain at the top of your game. A couple of such copters will set you back by $49.99. Would be interesting to have a third party with a slingshot attempting to shoot down either Space Marine during the duel for that wild card factor…

Jon Canan, Program Manager of MSN Direct, has confirmed what we all figured would be happening any day now: no more MSN Direct-powered Smart Watches. Jon chose SpotStop as the place to make this semi-official announcement. In the announcement Jon makes mention of how the technology will live on in GPS devices and Windows Mobile, but states that the company does not have any immediate plans for a new version of the Smart Watch. That said, current watches in the field will still be supposed.

We reviewed the Smart Watch a while back and I actually really liked the tech behind it. For me, though, the execution was flawed. I always thought that the watch was too big and not nearly stylish enough. I liked having news and other things delivered seamlessly to my watch, but the watch was just too big for my tastes.

I believe in the whole concept of MSN Direct and still look forward to seeing where else the company can put it. They’ve already managed to include it in Windows Mobile, GPS devices, and coffee makers, so who knows where it may end up next?

Read more of the announcement at SpotStop.com.

Most people would have built up a pretty respectable collection of USB flash drives by now, and the Jt Baby USB flash drive would make a fine addition to any collection. This stylish mass storage device can function as a cell phone charm, making it a snap to tote around your data wherever you go. It doubles up as a boot device as long as your motherboard supports USB-ZIP or USB-HDD as the first boot device through the BIOS. The 2GB version will come in black, green or purple colors, while the 4GB model is slightly more cheery with blue, orange and red colors. You can pick up the 2GB and 4GB Jt Baby USB flash drive for $22 and $37, respectively.

I’m not a morning person. I never have been, and I doubt that I ever really will. I’m the kind of guy that gets up, showers, dresses and still looks and acts like a zombie. The last thing I need in the morning is some way to make my routine more dangerous, because lets face it, I’m clumsy enough when I’m not groggy. Needless to say, this toaster won’t be making its way into my kitchen any time soon.

I can certainly see the appeal of this toaster, as it looks much cooler than your average stand-up version. Unfortunately I can’t see any real benefits to this Fagor TP-2006 X Flat Toaster, except maybe you can toast larger items. That aside, all I see are negatives.

First, you’ve got a surface lined with extremely hot wires with no way to cover them (except with things to toast), so it is rather dangerous. Then, you’ve got to manually flip over your toast, instead of having both sides heated at once. No word on pricing or availability.

Source: SlipperyBrick

Art Lebedev’s Optimus Maximus keyboard, with its 133 tiny OLED display keys, is finally available to the general public (or more likely, photo-shopping enthusiasts) on ThinkGeek.com. The keyboard was only previously available through a limited pre-ordered list at the Lebedev website. Each key can be individually programmed to display different tasks, like playing tiny movies, HTML codes, or your favorite websites.

But if you thought that the price might have come down to bring in the curious consumer, you’re wrong. And endearingly naïve. At $1,600, it costs more than a few iPhones, most quality laptops, and even a couple of Danny Dumas or Brian Lam haircuts. Heck, you could even take a round trip to see Lebedev himself in Europe – why don’t you buy him a beer in Russia’s most expensive pub for coming up with such a cool and crazy-cracky product? Or you can stare at tiny screens and see your own fonts come to life, which is its own type of fun. 

We’ve heard that with this keyboard, you need to be really hands-on (sorry) and will take more than a few hours to get it working.  Coders and visual artists, however, are sure to love it. I can already see them hanging out luxuriously over it, picking out the most appropriate font for the ‘f’ key. 

Source: ThinkGeek.com