I feel like I’m missing something important with this concept. It appears that the keyboard slides out from the bottom of the monitor, but there’s no way to orientate it the way a keyboard should be. I’m not crazy, right? It looks like it only comes out vertically? I guess it’s still a concept, so they’ve got some time to work it out, but man, I wouldn’t type on a vertical keyboard for all the tea in China.
See what I mean? Is there any support there?
I would have stayed to ask, but they were being cagey about their other concept products, so I left in a huff.
A new report commissioned by Virgin Media and carried out by The Future Laboratory claims that two thirds of the UK loves being connected at all times and feels more relaxed when connected than when not. These people have even been given a media friendly name: ‘SOSOs’ – those who switch on to switch off. Apparently SOSO behaviour is not only reflected in a love of being connected to technology but also by anxiety caused by the implications of not being connected. Over a third (35 per cent) experienced anxiety when not able to use technology to stay in touch with their family, around a third (31 per cent) was most anxious about not being able to make money/work online and 27 per cent was most concerned with not being able to connect to friends. Anxiety is also apparent when technology can’t be called upon to provide advice, whether through online maps (25 per cent), dating (21 per cent) or shopping for the best deals (15 per cent). Says psychologist Nik Simpson: “At any moment, an urgent email may ping into an inbox, a client may call, an old friend may get in touch via Facebook or a family member may want to get in touch. Therefore, to disconnect from technology may mean missing something we cannot afford to. Always being connected actually becomes increasingly essential for peace of mind, further reinforcing SOSO values.”
The original Chumby was soft, cuddly, and cute. The new Chumby One is uptight, all-business, and commercial. I hate it.
The draw to the original Chumby was that there was nothing like it on the market two years ago. You could load it up with all sorts of pre-made widgets like YouTube, weather, news, or one you made thanks to the open source hardware and software. Sure, the upcoming One still has the original capabilities if not more thanks to the upgraded 454MHz CPU, but it doesn’t have the same crazy beanbag form factor. It’s missing something.
Not only was the functions innovative two years ago, but the design was as well. The pillow-like design had character and style. It was something you wouldn’t see at Target. But the new One model is made out of cold, lifeless plastic and will look right at home next to clock radios and cordless phones at Walmart – if it ever reaches that distribution channel of course. But anyway, the new model is expected to run $100 when it drops in a month or two.
By David Ponce
Coming in 8GB and 16GB capacities, these tiny SSD drives plug directly into the SATA ports of your motherboard. They feature decent 75MB/s (read) and 30MB/s (write) speeds and only measure 25 x 39 x 6.5 mm. Elecom is trying to market these drives as a quicker startup drive in a regular systems or even a primary drive in a Mini-ITX setup.
Unless we’re missing something, this seems stupid. For one, the square format will block adjacent SATA ports, severely limiting your system’s capacity. Secondly, much larger capacity SSD drives are available for decent prices, so the speed argument is moot. Sure, they’re not as small, but so what? Can anyone tell us, aside from the gee-whiz factor, why these are a good idea?
In any case, they’ll be available for pre-order from GeekStuff4U in a few days at an undetermined price.
[ Press Release (Translated)] VIA [ Gizmologia ]
I’m not sure I’m reading this exactly right. The Transformer cord lets you back up your computer’s files to an iPod, and also lets you pull your photos and music off the iPod. I’m guessing what it boils down to is something like Yamipod or Senuti, built into the cord. Sounds good to me; carry it around and you can always donate a few tracks to a friend when they hear something they like. Whether it works with actual iTunes tracks isn’t spelled out, but I’d guess no.
The weird thing is this. I’m not sure if I’m reading it right, so let me quote:
Simply connect your iPhone or iPod to the Clickfree Transformer, then connect it to your computer and backup will automatically begin. There is no software to install or setup and no manual to read.
Uhh, don’t we get to choose what we want to back up? I’ve got a couple terabytes scattered around and I don’t want it just picking willy nilly. A small front-end would be wise. Maybe they just left it out of the press release.
The plain white version will set you back $50, which I think is pretty expensive for something that can be done with software. The black “SE” version will work with regular USB drives as well as iPods, and costs $90. Either I’m missing something here, or these things are charging a lot of money for almost nothing.
I just got back from a screening of G.I. Joe and I’m afraid to report that it was pretty disappointing. However, Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow are totally worth it even though Storm Shadow speaks Korean in the movie when he’s supposed to be Japanese. Furthermore, why are the red markings on Snake Eyes arm Korean? Am I missing something? Also, Marlon Wayans or whichever one he is is the new Jar Jar Binks. If you’re going to see one Joseph Gordon-Levitt movie this year then pass on this and go see 500 Days of Summer. Hollywood is slowly killing my childhood. Please don’t touch Voltron, Thundercats or M.A.S.K., Hollywood.
I just hope the videogame is better. Check back for a review on that later this weekend.
