Switched On: A keyboard PC seeks to Eee-peat success

Ross Rubin (@rossrubin) contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
The original Asus Eee PC took on the challenging North American market for a small notebook PC and was so successful that it created a new wave of product that's turned the PC business upside down. And although Asus has since released over a dozen permutations of its original Eee PC notebook as well as several desktop models both with and without integrated monitors, its next big test will be aSource: Engadget RSS Feed

Cool $40 HTPC remote features trackpad, QWERTY keypad

Photographer: Do we want to clip Jim’s fingernails before we take this photo?

Company: No.

Photographer: You sure? Looks kinda creepy from here.

Company: Take the picture, Brian.

Here’s what you get when you take a BlackBerry and replace the screen with a trackpad – a nice remote control for an HTPC. It’s compatible with Windows, Linux, and Mac and uses wireless RF signals to communicate with an included USB receiver.

Apparently “it can also beSource: CrunchGear RSS Feed

Free Squiz Business Cards for WebWorkerDaily Readers [WebWorkerDaily]

As Darrell noted in “Business Card Alternatives For the Real World,” the traditional business card doesn’t have the same impact that it once did. Squiz Cards are small (2.1″ x 1.1″), full-color, waterproof cards that won’t tear or get worn edges. Each set of 50 cards comes with a handy keyring dispenser, so you’ll always have your cards with you. You can design your cards using the browser-based editor, and cards can be shipped worldwide.

The folks at Squiz have kindly Source: GigaOM Network RSS Feed

Giant wriggley spider driven by windshield wiper motor

This creepy leg-waving giant spider prop is based on Village Haunts' Spider-Wiper, which we covered back in 2006. I really like the close-up of the drive mechanism at 0:12 or so. Here's what it looks like with the skin on.

Make: Halloween Contest 2009

Microchip Technology Inc. and MAKE have teamed up to present to you the Make: Halloween Contest 2009! Show us your embedded microcontroller Halloween projects and you could be chosen as a winner.

| Permalink | Comments |Source: MAKE: Blog RSS Feed

'Glowing' Stickers Illuminate Your Keyboard For Cheap

According to legend, John Milton lost his sight while struggling to write the epic 'Paradise Lost' under incredibly dim candlelight. While it's more likely that he went totally blind nearly four years before he even put quill to parchment, nighttime typists take heed! Wacky gift-purveyor Baron Bob has a $10 solution in the form of glow-in-the-dark keyboard stickers, for those of us who couldn't afford to hop on the MacBook Pro bandwagon with its snazzy keyboard backlights.
Source: Switched RSS Feed

“Googlle” celebrates their 11th Anniversary

To celebrate its 11th anniversary today Google has changed their logo to spell ‘Googlle’. That double ‘LL’ is not because they are changing their name but to promote their unofficial 11th birthday.

The exact birthdate of Google is unknown: Google last year celebrated its 10th anniversary on September 2 and according to Wikipedia, the company was founded September 4, 1998.

Google.com was registered on September 15.

Apparently Google thinks today is a good day toSource: The Next Web RSS Feed

Mobile Tech Minutes: Viliv MID Touch Interface [jkOnTheRun]

I’ve shown the Viliv S7 UMPC on video before, but felt it was worth it to show off the touch interface that Viliv is installing on its UMPCs. The MID touch interface is a program launcher and UMPC control that’s designed to be operated totally by touch. In this video you will see the interface, along with some special Viliv utilities including media players and the FastWeb browser.

Source: GigaOM Network RSS Feed

Hands On: Fighting the Magic Mirror in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep

TOKYO — Kingdom Hearts 3 might be far away, but Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep may well be the game to tide over Disney/Square Enix crossover fans while they wait.

I really liked Kingdom Hearts 2’s blend of fast action-RPG battles and surprisingly faithful re-enactments of Disney movies, and from my brief experience playing the demo of the new PSP version, that very odd pairing still works. The Tokyo Game Show demo lets you choose three different scenarios featuring each of theSource: Game|Life RSS Feed

Palm Pre coming to the UK and Ireland October 16, Germany October 13, all O2 exclusives

It might be about four months late, but the UK is finally getting its slice of the tasty new Palm pie. There'll be no shortage of outlets to buy this from, with the Carphone Warehouse, Phones4U and O2's online shop all stocked up, but the carrier options are limited to just one. You'll find tables of UK and Ireland pricing after the break, and you'll be happy to know that the Pre can be had for free on two-year contracts charging 34.26 per month, which come with "unlimited" mobile data andSource: Engadget RSS Feed

TGS 2009: Take a break from the MGS Peace Walker demo for these screens

Is one blurry image from Famitsu not enough to sate your desire to look at the new characters in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker? We hope it isn't, because we have many images of the game, and we'd be sad if nobody wanted to look at them.
Our new gallery includes not only screenshots (featuring many Snakes crouching in front of all kinds of different things), but renders and Yoji Shinkawa character artwork for Snake and the new characters. Check out Snake's armor! There's also some new Source: Houstonist RSS Feed

Mini-Video for Micro-Blogs, 'Flight of the Conchords' Meets 'Rock Band'

Filed under: Editor's Picks

Highlights from this morning's other big tech headlines....

• For all those Kiwi fans out there, TV stars/folk duo Flight of the Conchords will get three songs on the new 'Rock Band.' Well, we think. It's hard to tell whether those guys are kidding or not. [From: Kotaku]
• Robo.to lets users record three-second videos of themselves, via cell-camera or Web cam, and then post them to profiles on Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter.Source: Switched RSS Feed

Courier, the Miniature Surface Zune Tablet Emerges!

…and it is GORGEOUS!!!

All the rumours were spot on. For all the times I have wanted to feed my hat to the fanbois at 9to5Mac, it is now off to them… they really nailed this one and it is a BIGGIE! This dual 7 inch multitouch screen folding book-style beauty is indeed called Courier, it is a late model prototype shepherded at Microsoft by the dead sexy J Allard and currently awaiting a manufacturing partner and it is being deliberately leaked exclusively to Gizmodo. What’s more, Source: Mobility Site RSS Feed

PowerColor delivering Radeon HD 5800 six pack

Proud AMD board partner PowerColor has sent out word that it will bring to the graphics table six Radeon HD 5800 packages, three based on the HD 5870 and three on the HD 5850. The seemingly large offer is actually quite small as all six cards have stock GPU/memory clocks - 725/4000 MHz for the HD 5850s, 850/4800 MHz for the 5870s, and the only thing that differentiates them is the included bundle.
To detail, you have a 5870/5850 pair that doesn't have any extras, a pair that comes with Source: TechConnect Magazine RSS Feed

Now You See Chess, Now You Don’t!

So you’re on a road trip, right? You stop at your friendly “Everywhere America” restaurant and order a burger or a taco, and you sit down (with your travel buddy) and think, gosh, now I’m going to eat this food and we’ll have to just go again, without any chess at all. You want to play chess! But bringing a chess board in to a fast food restaurant is so awkward! What do you need? A Mirage.

Yes indeedy, a Mirage portable chess set from the kewlest designer named Yu that ISource: Yanko Design RSS Feed

Leaked: Alienware has new M15x and desktop gaming rigs for TGS

Well, that’s no fun. We just posted the Alienware teaser this morning that states the company was going to introduce new kits at the Tokyo Game Show and the systems have already leaked.

According to an Engadget tipster, Alienware has a new Area-51 m15x and four Aurora / Area-51 ALX systems at the show. All we know besides what they are is that the m15x is suppose to be the fast 15-incher ever. We can probably assume something similar about the desktops tooSource: CrunchGear RSS Feed

Valentine Notebook steps back to 60s

Remember the days before the laptop and word processor, the days of the old fashioned typewriter? Well what we have here isn’t a red hot looking typewriter but is in fact the Valentine notebook which was a project undertaken by Ettore Sottsass’ claim that design shouldn’t only be functional but attractive as well.

The Valentine notebook is a take on the original Olivette Valentine, something that many considered the ultimate fashion statement for a working Source: Cheap Laptops RSS Feed

Here Are More Apps for That: Three New iPhone Commercials From Apple [TheAppleBlog]

It’s fall premiere season, and that means new shows. But it also means sparkly new ads to fill all those commercial breaks. New Apple ads for the iPhone provided pleasant relief for me yesterday from the tedium of the two-hour Heroes premiere. On a side note, the Castle premiere was pretty good.

But back to those commercials. All three highlight popular and unique iPhone apps, some of which have already been featured in previous commercials. Let’s take a look Source: GigaOM Network RSS Feed

Global ozone layer depletion leveling off – rising slightly

From the European Space Agency. By merging more than a decade of atmospheric data from European satellites, scientists have compiled a homogeneous long-term ozone record that allows them to monitor total ozone trends on a global scale – and the findings look promising.

Monthly mean total ozone averaged over 60°N to 60°S from the merged GOME, SCIAMACHY and GOME-2 datasets (solid lines). The original datasets (dashed lines) before the adjustment are plotted forSource: Watts Up With That? RSS Feed

Celebrities Syncing Their MySpace and Twitter Accounts

MySpace is touting the fact that a bunch of celebrities have already synced their MySpace andTwitter accounts. The feature was just announced today, and MySpace has already issued an announcement listing a number of celebrities taking advantage of it.
When the feature is activated, a user's status update will appear in their Twitter feed, and any Twitter feed update will appear in their MySpace Status & Mood.

Celebrities that are already using the featureSource: WebPro News RSS Feed

The Daily Engadget: NASA Tests RATS Rover, Microsoft Phone Rumors

Our friends over at Engadget obsessively cover everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics, which is why we compile this daily roundup of their top stuff (or, at least, what we think is tops). For more details on any of these stories, click on the Engadget links in each story below.
NASA's Desert RATS Rover Survives Two-Week Test Mission
Getting around on the Moon (or Mars!) isn't easy, so NASA's been testing out the RATS rover in the wilds of Arizona. After passing aSource: Switched RSS Feed

The new healthcare: Smart band aids, digital pills, wrist bands promise to track your health

[The following story, by Dr. Eric Topol of the non-profit West Wireless Health Institute, is part of a series of posts about cutting-edge areas of innovation. The series is sponsored by Microsoft. Microsoft authors will participate, as will VentureBeat writers and outside experts.]

In the past decade, we’ve experienced the digitization of our music and our books; the next logical step is to take our health care digital. My friend Don Jones, who leads Qualcomm’s health care Source: Venture Beat RSS Feed

New Media Demands a New Kind of Media Company

The media like nothing more than to cover the media. For that reason, there has been near-endless coverage of the struggles of “old media” companies trying to succeed online. Pundits debate the possible return of “pay walls” to the web, the prospects for “freemium” products that coax some subscription revenue from a larger pool of non-paying users, and the like. All of these are appropriate and necessary discussions of media products and business models. But it’s time to start Source: GigaOM RSS Feed

Climate Alarmists rush to judgment on dead walruses, ignore other possibilities

Click to enlarge - Dead walruses litter the beach Thursday, September 17, 2009, on the shore of Icy Cape - Image: Tony Fischbach of the U.S. Geological Survey and distributed via The Associated Press

All over the web today, there’s the theme of: “dead walrus=caused by climate change”. On the Climate Progress blog they have this picture of the dead walruses (seen at left) which have been circulated by the Associated Press. I found the source photo on theSource: Watts Up With That? RSS Feed

New Monster Hunter Freedom Unite DLC: Arena of Blood and Tears

The latest round of DLC quest for Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is now available. According to Capcom, this weeks challenge is an epic hunting quest which pits you against four G-Rank monsters.

Arena of Blood and Tears - "It is not my usual practice, however, there is someone who wishes to test your strength. Therefore, can you show me your true power? You may expect to be compensated for your trouble."

• Monsters: Green Plesioth,Red Khezu,EmeraldSource: QJ.NET RSS Feed

Video: DFI hybrid motherboard runs two whole systems... simultaneously!

These days, the word "hybrid" gets tossed around like a rag doll. We've got hybrid cars, hybrid SLI and hybrid image stabilization -- and that's just for starters. But friends, this hybrid is one worth paying attention to. DFI has been working overtime in order to concoct the next great mainboard, and if this thing can really deliver as advertised, we'd say the gurus responsible for it will succeed greatly. The Hybrid P45-ION-T2A2 motherboard can actually house a complete Atom /Source: Engadget RSS Feed

Pirates: A Brewing Debate

I’ll be honest with you. I like Pirates. I dig the whole wooden leg, parrot on the shoulder, eye patch thing. I am down with Davy Jones (No, not the singer from the Monkees).

However, if we are talking about video games, then, all of a sudden, being a Pirate is well, less glamorous. It loses it charm and it puts everyone all up in arms ready to debate you to death with their moral compasses and what not. I get it. There is a moral issue with pirating stuff.Source: WiiNintendo.net RSS Feed

SoundCloud's slick music sharing

There are so many clunky, unattractive music-sharing sites out there, and SoundCloud is a clear exception. I first checked it out when I found out that one of my all-time favorite DJs, Jason Hodges, was using SoundCloud to share his mixes. Hands down, my favorite feature is the smooth interface and how user-friendly it is. You can listen, download, favorite, and (my favorite part) comment on the exact part of the track or mix you're referring to. No more conversations that go Source: MAKE: Blog RSS Feed

Listen to Halo 3: ODST's OST on AOL Radio

Next week's release of Halo 3: ODST extends the New Mombasa conflict, which first started in Halo 2. Aside from doing your homework on Firefight mode and the campaign, you may also want to prepare your ears for the audio assault they're about to undertake by listening to the Halo 3: ODSTOST.
AOL Radio has the goods on its Video Game Scores station, though you'll have to put up with non-ODST tracks between the good stuff. We just wish Sgt. Johnson was deejaying the station, butSource: Xbox 360 Fanboy RSS Feed

250GB PS3 Slim Bundles Not Good Enough For America?

It’s been a big day for bundles.  Not to trump the Xbox 360 Modern Warfare 2 Limited Edition in my mind, this PS3 Slim bundle featuring Uncharted 2 and a massive 250GB hard drive hit the blogs today.

Additional rumored bundles include:  Assassin’s Creed 2, and Gran Turismo 5 all packed with a 250GB hard drive to possibly be released in the UK in October for $494.

According to SCEA, definitely none of these bundles are scheduled for release on Source: Gadget Review RSS Feed

MySpace Music Rolls Out A Sleek, More Interactive Homepage

MySpace may not be the leader in the social networking space anymore, but its free music streaming site, MySpace Music, has been growing fast. Which is why it’s not surprising that the social network is continuing to improve on this popular product. Today, it appears that MySpace Music has launched a new version of its homepage with UI redesign and several new features (we’ve confirmed with the company that that the redesign is new).

The new homepage is moreSource: TechCrunch.com RSS Feed

What’s The Mystery Cadillac In GM’s Money-Back Ad? [Spy Photos]

The CTS Coupe’s coming next year, the STS/DTS-replacing Cadillac XTS is in the works, but in Ed Whitacre’s 60-Day Money-Back Guarantee commercial airing this week, there’s a Caddy peeking out from under wraps we can’t quite identify.

If we look closely at the 0:37 second mark of Ed Whitacre’s 60-Day Money-Back Satisfaction Guarantee commercial, there’s something that’s definitely a Cadillac, but not one that’s currently on the road. At first we thought itSource: Worlwide Cars News RSS Feed

Hands-on gallery of the HP Envy13 and Envy15

Section: Computers, Laptops, Reviews, Peep Shows

We got a chance to check out the HP Envy13 and Envy15. They’re slick machines, but a picture is worth a thousand words, so check them out. If you want to know more about the HP Envy13 and Envy 15 click through.

• Say Hello to HP’s Envy13
• The Intel Core i7-powered HP Envy15 has arrived

Full Story | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article

Source: Gadgetell RSS Feed

Google Fast Flip

Google Labs has been very active lately. The most recent service launched in Google Labs is Fast Flip, a visual version of Google News that encourages serendipitous discoveries.
"Fast Flip is a new reading experience that combines the best elements of print and online articles. Like a print magazine, Fast Flip lets you browse sequentially through bundles of recent news, headlines and popular topics, as well as feeds from individual top publishers. As the name suggests, flipping through Source: Google Operating System RSS Feed

Motorola E11 photos and specs show up

A new Motorola touchscreen phone has recently appeared o the Web and, although it’s not officially announced, we know most of its important features.

The phone is Motorola E11, a touchscreen handset that only supports dual-band GSM/GPRS connectivity (900/1800 MHz) – which probably means that it’s destined for China and other emerging markets.

As you can see in the image below, the Moto E11 is different from the ROKR phone we previously though it may be calledSource: Unwired View RSS Feed

Computers need Security; People need Privacy

I’ve been meaning to write about this for a while, following some sessions with various teams working on how government can make better use of technology to deliver their services to citizens. However, the same principle comes up pretty rapidly in similar conversations in a lot of different industries as we try to come to terms with our new ‘open’ online society. Mention doing things online - or moving elements of your business online - and within minutes comes the concernSource: CTO Blog RSS Feed

Google Voice Tip — Switch Phones While on a Call

Are you using Google Voice with more than one phone, like I am? If so, you might find this tip to be very handy. Aside from that, I think it’s totally cool and I can’t wait to actually try it! To switch phones while on a Google Voice call, you simply hit the * button on the handset you’re using. Once you do that, Google Voice will ring the other phones on your account. You just answer that call on one of the other phones and your original conversation will seamlessly switch to thatSource: jkOnTheRun RSS Feed

western dryer: wet hair’s worst enemy

Pimpin’ yourself up can now be more action-packed with the Western Dryer, a hair dryer shaped like a (huge) revolver. Its high-wattage drying element will take care of moisture, while its butch looks will appeal even to alpha males. I think.

Use the dryer’s hammer to switch bullets between the 3 settings – low warm, high warm, and cool. I think the nozzle is removable as well, as with the more modern dryer guns featured in The Presurfer, but the productSource: technabob RSS Feed

Scareware is evil

The screen shot below reminded me of the BW article on Security Essentials (I confess I still start with the print versions of BusinessWeek and The Economist every weekend…):

I saw this nasty stuff shortly after I opened an article in the NYT Sunday Magazine section this morning – very disappointing.

On the other hand, Microsoft Forefront Client Security caught it and quarantined it immediately, so it was a minor annoyance instead of a potentially majorSource: Peter O'Kelly's Reality Check RSS Feed

Mark Your Calendar: The Engadget Show Tapes This Sunday

Months in the making, The Engadget Show's first episode kicks off this Sunday, September 13th (that's tomorrow) with a taping in New York City at Parsons The New School for Design's Tishman Auditorium. Aside from the roundtable discussions and live music, the show will feature Palm CEO Jon Rubenstein chatting with the Engadget team.
Want to get in on this historic event by being part of the audience? Pick up free tickets at Tishman Auditorium at 2PM on Sunday. Doors open at

Facebook Lite Trims the Features Starting Today

While Facebook isn’t nearly as overbearing as MySpace is on its best day, for users out there trying to connect with everyone they know on a slow Internet connection, Facebook could be pretty daunting. There’s a lot of pictures that people like to share, after all, and those applications can be ridiculous at times. But Facebook has the answer for you: Lite. And just as the name has always alluded, we’ve got a fresh new look on an old friend.

You