Hitachi has always been a pretty reliable name when it comes to storage solutions, and this time round their expertise has led them to achieve a world’s first - a 2TB, 7200 RPM hard drive known as the 2TB Deskstar 7K2000. This model will blend in high performance and high capacity with low power and a host of other eco-friendly features which would make it a perfect fit for Energy-Star rated computers and other high performance desktop systems.
The new Deskstar 7K2000 is already part of a fourth-generation of hard drives in its line, where it will utilize Hitachi’s special five-platter design complete with relaxed bit density and proven perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) technology. It will run about its duties in an extremely quiet manner, featuring a 32MB cache and a 3Gb/s SATA interface. It doesn’t matter whether you are a power user, gamer or just someone who is looking for a big and speedy hard drive, the Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 presents itself as the ideal desktop drive. In an effort to remain as environmentally friendly as possible, Hitachi has also ensured that the new 2TB Deskstar 7K2000 is RoHS compliant and consumes very little juice while in operation. Not only that, it is Halogen-free, allowing it to earn the coveted Hitachi EcoTrac classification in the process.
Some of the features available in the 7K2000 include industry-standard 512-byte sector formatting, a patented ramp load/unload design to increase shock protection, and Thermal Fly-height Control (TFC) to maintain a consistent fly-height during the read/write process for added data reliability. There is no word on pricing as at press time, although we do know that volume production and worldwide availability of the Deskstar 7K2000 will commence in the current quarter. 2TB of storage space on a single hard drive? It would be interesting to see how Hitachi places this product, and how fast will the industry adopt this as the new average standard.
Folks who have long looked forward to the new myTouch 3G smartphone from T-Mobile need not fret and twiddle with their thumbs any more as the mobile carrier has already made the myTouch 3G available in both traditional brick-and-mortar stores as well as online sources. Apart from that, T-Mobile ensures that your myTouch 3G would not be released in an ordinary manner, having introduced a bunch of accessories and customized shells as well to help you personalize your latest device in order to stand out from others who have a similar smartphone.
The myTouch 3G is one smartphone that is worth checking out for both its exterior design and interior prowess. On the outside, you will find that it comes in a sleek design and has a lightweight feel to it, and you’re also able to churn up your very own shell design through a wide range of routes including uploading a personal photo, graphic design, or picking from various texts, shapes, icons or logos. Once you’re happy with the final design, it can be custom-printed onto the shell and shipped straight to your doorstep.
Personalization of the myTouch 3G doesn’t just happen on the outside though, as you can also opt to throw in a bunch of new widgets, icons and wallpapers that are added straight onto the home screen. The introduction of Android Market will further enable users to browse through thousands of applications that will further enhance your user experience, and you can remain connected at all times in a speedy manner thanks to T-Mobile’s ever expanding 3G network which has already snaked its way across 176 cities nationwide with no signs of slowing down or stopping. Interested? The HTC-designed T-Mobile myTouch 3G will retail for a relatively affordable $199.99 with a two-year agreement, where you can choose from black, white and merlot colors.
As a freelance writer, I receive most of the payments for my services online, but every once in a while, I get a check in the mail and have to go to the bank to deposit it.
It would appear that USAA bank is removing any reason for me to go to the bank with an iPhone app that allows me to deposit my checks virtually. All I need to do is take a picture of the front of my check with the iPhone, then turn the check over and snap the back of it. Once I hit e-send, the money is in the bank.
Of course, I don’t have an iPhone, and that is the case for many others. Another limitation on this new paperless service is it is currently only available for active-duty military personnel. I guess that just makes sense, doesn’t it? How can someone stationed in Iraq make a run to the bank?
In case you are wondering, the user of this service is required to destroy the check or, if nothing else, write “VOID” on it. If it were me, I would check just to make certain that my funds made it to the bank before I do something like that.
One of the problems with taking canned food with you on a camping trip is how to heat it. I suppose you could open the can and place it on the fire, or you could just get HotCans.
Yes, someone has actually figured out a way to heat canned food for meals on the go. As you can see by the illustration, it is as easy as 1-2-3. The user puts the can on the lid, pierces the outer jacket with the included key, and opens the can for a 12 minute waiting period.
Yes, a hot meal of vegetable chili, casserole, or franks and beans awaits you with just a simple exothermic reaction based on the technology in self-heating pads.
It reminds me of this episode of Babylon 5 where Marcus and Dr. Franklin were doing nothing but waiting in the cargo hold of a starship. They are getting sick of the food they had, until a stranger comes and offers them “Instant-heats”, which is the same concept as HotCans, but less time involved. I realize that there may be very few readers out there who know anything about Babylon 5, and that is a real shame.
Still, it’s always fun when an idea that I see from science fiction becomes a reality. Perhaps we are looking at an age where HotCans are the way to go for portable meals. If so, then hopefully the cuisine will improve drastically.
I have a great idea for a commercial. This buxom-looking wife is taking her husband out for a picnic in a romantic place, and the husband says to her: “Hey, honey, I like your HotCans”. Yeah, that is using sex to sell this product, but right now, it is planned to sell at $8 per can. It could use all the enticing advertisement that it could get.
There are very few gadgets left that perform only a single function. Many of them have more little functions than you can count. So why should your laptop sleeve only perform one task? That task being to protect your laptop from any bumps and scrapes it might get while it’s being transported from one place to another. It’s definitely a nice thing that the laptop does that for you, but it’d be nice if it did more than that. Well Kensington now has a laptop case that also converts into a laptop stand.
Just fold it back and forth to suit whichever need you might have at the moment and you’re set. Right now it’s not out just yet, but you can pre-order the item. Oddly enough though, they aren’t stating when you’ll receive the laptop case if you do choose to pre-order it. The sleeve will fit laptops ranging in size from 14.1†on up to 15.4â€. Right now this only comes in one size, but hopefully they’ll create more at some point. You can hit pre-order directly on the Kensington website or you can check out the list of retailers and how much they’ll be selling it for. The retailers have it listed anywhere from $25.99 on up to $45.95.
In case you’re not getting enough Augmented Reality with last week’s Best Buy ad, feel free to head over to A&E’s site to check out “The 5 Lives of Criss Angel MindFreak” ad campaign.
Heralded as “Print it. Play it. Mystify”, this unique ad campaign allows the user to play a game in augmented reality space, for lack of better words.
Essentially, the user prints off a special sheet, and then holds that sheet up to his or her webcam. The image that he or she will see on their display is a cube with a tiny object on it. The user must then turn the sheet in three-dimensional space so that the object follows a certain path, within a certain amount of time.
It really is kind of neat, and there is a video of it after the jump if you want a preview before you try it yourself.
This Mystify game was created to highlight a special marathon of episodes of the postmodern magician’s Mindfreak show, which carries a tagline of “5 Ways to Live. 5 Ways to Die”. Yes, be afraid, be somewhat afraid. (I think I stole that tagline from some other movie, but I can’t remember what.)
Anyway, leave me a comment if you think it is as neat as I think it is.
Everyone has had their days where they’d love nothing more than to pick up the toys that they loved so much as a kid and just kill an afternoon. Which makes me think that this Lego Dynamo Torch will be just as much of a hit among Lego loving adults as it will kids who are currently building various things with Legos. Even better than it being a Lego themed flashlight is that it’s eco-friendly on top of it.
It doesn’t require disposable batteries, instead you just give the hand crank a whirl and it’ll charge it up. It doesn’t say how long you have to crank it, but with most flashlights like that, it doesn’t take too terribly long. It being hand crank would make it great for a child to have in their room if the dark makes them nervous. The only down side, in my opinion, with the crank flashlights is that it never seems like they get bright enough. You can purchase the flashlight for £13.99 or about $23 from Play.com.
If you tend to run the battery out on your iPhone at really inconvenient times when you aren’t around a charger, you might want to consider an emergency charger. Actually this will also work with many other iPods as well. So when you’re in serious need of some battery life, you can just pull out this 1cm thick charger and charge it up again. Since it is so small you could easily keep it in your pocket or a purse.
The charger will work with the iPhone (all versions), iPod Touch (1st and 2nd gen), iPod Classic, iPod with video and finally the iPod Nano (4th and 3rd gen). Although I can’t think of many times when I was in an emergency situation where I absolutely had to have my iPod up and running. However, iPhone users will probably get plenty of use out of something like this. It has a built-in LED indicator to let you know it’s charging. To recharge the emergency charger, you can either plug it into your computer or into the wall with the included AC adaptor. You can purchase it for $24.99 from USB Fever.
Folks who are looking to conceive and have plenty of trouble doing so can always check out the DuoFertility gizmo that comes with a money-back guarantee, which is pretty surprising since not many people/parties are willing to include a guarantee in their products these days. The guarantee is good for a year, where they claim that you can always get your money back if you and your partner do not end up with a bundle of joy within that period of time. The entire package will comprise of ovulation detectors made from rubberized plastic which are then stuck below a woman’s arm near her bra strap. This is made possible thanks to an adhesive patch that covers the entire sensor. The sensor will hold a temperature probe and memory chip which will then keep track of essential data every few seconds. The wireless data reader will break down what it has gathered, translating them to a user-friendly piece of information that includes temperature readings as well as an ovulation diary so that one can always do the horizontal hokey-pokey where chance of conceiving is at its highest.
Those who do plenty of traveling, crossing various time zones along the way will definitely find the Jetlag travel alarm clock to be heaven sent. After all, this Sam Hecht designed travel alarm is a snap to use, and you can always tote it with you wherever you go since it measures half the size of a passport. The left side is used to set the time, while the right will allow you to adjust the alarm accordingly. Nice to see a lock mechanism included that helps prevent time from moving whenever you’re traveling with it in tow. The Jetlag alarm clock will retail for $40 and comes in a trio of colors, namely black, white and red.
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As a freelance writer, I receive most of the payments for my services online, but every once in a while, I get a check in the mail and have to go to the bank to deposit it. 
One of the problems with taking canned food with you on a camping trip is how to heat it. I suppose you could open the can and place it on the fire, or you could just get HotCans. 
In case you’re not getting enough Augmented Reality with last week’s 
Those who do plenty of traveling, crossing various time zones along the way will definitely find the