Gadgets

Rumors from the tech world recently suggest that the search engine giant Google is testing an online hard drive, affectionately known as "Gdrive". Although still very experimental (and at this time unconfirmed), the Gdrive would act as a treasure ... chest for client files, essentially freeing up space on a user's computer and accelerating processing speed. For now, "Gdrive" remains the name given by Google's fans, those most excited about the potential project. In reality, it appears the project is codenamed "Platypus", according the one blog investigator who apparently stumbled across the Web ... (view more)

Speculation over Microsoft's entry into the world of portable entertainment has been a rollercoaster for anyone interested in the prospect. Rumors earlier this year labeled the device as direct competition for the Sony Playstation Portable (PSP) and ... Nintendo Dual-Screen (DS), but reports of a legitimate "Xboy" could never be confirmed. By the end of March, Microsoft had denied the rumors enough that tech writers simply gave up on the story completely. Theories are now again in the works, some including gossip that Microsoft's device may be more competition for Apple's iPod than its more ... (view more)

With the iPod phenomenon creeping into each corner of Mother Earth, TiVo has jumped into the mix with their own Desktop application for Windows. The new application allows TiVo users to transfer their favorite TV programs directly to computer, and ... then onto portable devices. Like most software of this kind, a premium version exists that allows users to transfer shows to a host of different portable gadgets, including the iPod, Sony Playstation Portable (PSP), and phones from Treo and Nokia. As you might expect, the premium edition, called TiVo Desktop Plus, is available for a fee of $24.95 ... (view more)

The crusade to combat data theft has produced a recent technology which was only previously seen in movies. Those interested in protecting sensitive data can now turn to software which erases files from a remote location, or by using a chemical that ... physically destroys a hard drive. Absolute Software's "Computrace LoJack for Laptops" can ask the company to wipe out files from a hard drive the next time a computer connects to the Internet. In a process which takes anywhere from ten to thirty minutes, random information overwrites the computer's data several times, rendering the original files ... (view more)

Nicholas Negroponte, head of the One Laptop Per Child Project (OLPC), is expected to start shipping his "$100 laptop" internationally by mid-2007. Initially, the laptops are expected to cost around $135 when they become available. However, ... Negroponte expects the price will drop to $100 in 2008, and even as low as $50 by 2010. OLPC hopes to ship around 100 million laptops world-wide. (Source: pcworld.com ) One reason for the low price comes from the elimination of a sales and marketing team, which makes up half the cost of a typical laptop computer, according to Negroponte. The other ... (view more)

Continued from Part 1 . Surveying the hundreds of new products introduced at the Photo Marketing Associations (PMA) trade show (Feburary 27 ~ March 1, 2006) revealed that technology companies have finally ended their fight for "the largest mega ... pixel" camera. The truth is that an average shooter only needs a 6 mega pixel camera for 5x7 or 8x10 to develop quality prints. So what's next? There are too many choices when camera makers introduce 15 new models and the competition is increasing as Samsung introduces it's first SLR with interchangeable lenses at the PMA showing Orlando ... (view more)

Got a new video iPod? Then ipodiway.com is for you! With ipodiway.com, you can export directions from Yahoo! Local, and then import the instructions directly to your iPod. Never be lost again! From the ipodiway.com web site: The website ... www.ipodiway.com is very simple to use. Just like using Yahoo Maps, you would enter your starting and destination address in the corresponding online form. Once you have entered your start and destination information, simply click on "Verify Directions" to make sure that you'll be given correct and accurate driving directions. Your very last step is to click ... (view more)

Every once in a while, things pop up in the news -- you know, techie things -- that makes the old crystal ball start glowing. Recently, I came across an article in which Samsung announced the development of 16 GB (GigaByte) Flash Chips. Flash chips ... are persistent memory devices that can take the place of hard drive components. The only limitation, up to now, is that the capacity has been 2 GB or less per chip. The Apple Nano iPod uses 16 of the 2 GB chips to store the songs and such instead of a mini hard drive like the older and bulkier iPods of the past. You can read the article here . So, ... (view more)

Back in 1888, George Eastman started selling the new $24 “Kodak”, saying “press the button, we do the rest.” All a snap shooter had to do was shoot, then mail the “box camera” back to Rochester NY, where Kodak processed the film and sent back small black & ... white prints along with the reloaded camera. By the way: for the young photographers, cameras back then were all mechanical, without light meters, and were pre-set for taking pictures on bright sunny days. ;-) Fast forward 117 years to the digital age. We are still hearing “Press the button, we ...view more)

Photographers have always argued which camera lens is the sharpest. Speaking from experience (and I have 30 years of it!), Nikon's 105mm f/2.5 Nikkor lens ("Nikkor") is by far my sharpest lens; in fact, I use it all the time when taking portraits ... and still-life shots. The Nikkor utilizes a simple design that traces back to the famed pre-WWII German Zeizz lens. Surprisingly, the 105mm is still on the market. But, with the digital camera, the "Nikkor" just isn't practical (I.E.: you don't want to get any dust on the CCD sensor when you change lenses). That's why zoom lenses only belong on ... (view more)