iPod/iPhone Dock

I had a clock radio that was beside my bed all throughout the eighties, and this new Sharper Image Clock Radio dock for the iPod and iPhone reminds me of it.

I believe that part of Sharper Image’s re-launch is to make electronic products that are not only neat looking, but practical. And what could be more practical for life in the new millennium than an dock for the iPod or iPhone? Especially one that can double as an alarm clock.
With this Sharper Image Clock Radio, the user can wake up to the radio or some custom playlist, or just the usual beep tone. It also features a dual alarm and an auto off timer and nap feature that you can set 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes.
It is powered by two AA batteries (not included) or AC power, and the sound is to be expected from 2 inch speakers with 6 watts each. Of course, it does come with a handy remote control, that does include the battery. By the way, the remote has a snooze/nap button, which will make it easy to sleep through the alarm, doesn’t it?
You can get The Sharper Image Clock Radio Dock for the iPhone or iPod for about $99.99 on The Sharper Image site.

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Revo Domino

More and more it seems that you can find audio devices that have a subtle retro spin. You could of course also find something that’s blatantly retro, but not everyone wants something like that.

Instead you can get a mixture of the new and sleek while still getting a little bit of a vintage feel. Thankfully unlike the retro radios, this does more than pick up the local FM radio stations.
The radio comes in both satin black and pearl white. This radio comes with all of your favorite bells and whistles. It will charge and play both iPod and iPhones, as well as having multi-standard digital and internet radio. It also has an OLED display and a joystick-controlled user interface. As well as having all of that, it also of course has your standard FM radio capabilities. Right now this isn’t out just yet, you can expect to see these shipping out as of November 4th though. At that point you can pick up the Domino D3 for £169.95 or about $270.

Source: Ubergizmo

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QNAP introduces TS-410 NAS

QNAP Systems recently updated their Turbo NAS range by introducing the TS-410 desktop NAS server which was specially developed to target the SOHO and Prosumer market segments. Having said that, you won’t find top-of-the-line features in this, since it isn’t going to blaze through performance charts in any way, but the TS-410 does come with a decent enough feature set to get you up and running right out of the box without worrying about it becoming obsolete a few months down the road.

The TS-410 will come with a quartet of hot-swappable SATA hard drives that are capable of holding up to 8TB of storage with its 2TB maximum, supporting 2.5″ or 3.5″ hard drives for added flexibility when it comes to drive installation. Apart from that, you won’t find any Intel Atom processor within, since it will be powered by a Marvell 800MHz processor and 256MB DDR2 memory for sustained high performance with low power consumption. Users will be able to configure the TS-410 for RAID 0/1/5/6/5+ spare, and JBOD with online RAID capacity expansion and online RAID level migration for high data redundancy.
As mentioned above, the TS-410 is comfortable in SOHO environments, which is why it is fully compatible with Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and UNIX networks while boasting a built-in UPnP/DLNA media server (with TwonkyMedia enabled) that is able to support a wide range of DLNA media players including the Sony PS3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 gaming consoles. Apart from that, you can also opt to install the DLNA/UPnP application on your iPhone or iPod touch, giving you access to the TS-410 over the home network any time of the day, letting you play videos, music, and photos from the server directly over a network connection. With the high-speed PC-less Download Station working in tandem with the unique QGet utility, you can also manage your BT/FTP/HTTP download tasks remotely over the local network or the Internet.
Expect to pick up the QNAP TS-410 sometime later this month for $449 sans hard drives.

Press Release

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Netgear RangeMax Wireless-N Gigabit Router with USB

Netgear is back with yet another exciting (as exciting as networking devices can get anyways) model – the RangeMax Wireless-N Gigabit Routerwith USB, also known as the WNR3500L. This puppy is a full-featured Wireless-N router that is capable of offering high-performance wireless range and speed alongside the option to hook up other devices via Gigabit Ethernet ports and ReadyShare USB storage access.

t isn’t any ordinary router though, as it was also specially designed to function as a reliable, high-performance open source Linux platform that is capable of supporting a wide range of applications developed by multipledevelopment partners and the open source community. Several partners will include BigFoot Networks who are famous for boosting network speeds for online gaming, Leaf Networks who provide a convenient method for remote access, Paragon Software for high-speed USB file reads and writes, and Sputnik for hotspot solutions.
The RangeMax Wireless-N Gigabit Router with USB is no slouch when it comes to performance, powered by a 480MHz MIPS 74K processor core that features embedded hardware acceleration, accompanied by 8MB of flash memory and 64MB of RAM, which ought to be more than enough to run even business-class applications. You will be able to enjoy five 10/100/1000 (one WAN port and four LAN) Ethernet ports with auto-sensing technology with high WAN to LAN speeds that go above 350Mbps. In addition, the latest RangeMax addition will include an 802.11n access point with a wireless repeater mode to further extend its range within a building. A trio of internal Metamaterial antennas offer enhanced wireless range and reliable connections.
Security-wise, you will find that the WNR3500L offers protection to the network in the form of a double firewall and Denial-of-service attack prevention. It will ensure that the wireless connection remains secure with support for Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), WPA2-PSK, while Push ‘N’ Connect using Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) allows users to include computers that they want on the network, leaving everyone else out in the cold. You can pick this bad boy up for $139.99 when it hits retail stores later this fall.

Press Release

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10 Worst Cars of the 2000's

Even with the strides that cars have made in recent years, let's face it: There have been some real stinkers, too. Whether poorly executed, ill-conceived or downright dreadful to look at, these 10 stand out for all the wrong reasons. A car had to be sold at any point in the 2000s to be eligible for this list; some of these models were only on the market for a few years, while others are still being sold today.

10. Pontiac Aztek
2001-2005
The Aztek was criticized for the duration of its life for its ghastly styling. Design is subjective, so what do you think of the Aztek shown here? Were the critics wrong? Yeah, we didn't think so.

9. Daewoo Anything
1999-2002
We had just tested a Suzuki Esteem and marveled at how competent even the cheapest little econoboxes had become when a leather-lined Leganza midsize sedan showed up — the best Daewoo had to offer. We mused over which would kill us first: the toxic gases from the cheap interior or the recalcitrant transmission and inconsistent acceleration. Three days into the loan, the first Daewoo crash tests in U.S. history came out, and we called Daewoo and told them to come pick up the car. We'd never done that before, and we haven't since.

8. Isuzu VehiCROSS
1999-2002
The outrageous Isuzu VehiCROSS two-door SUV, whose extreme styling drew varied reactions, lasted from 1999 to 2001, and even that's surprising. The fanglike grille uprights made it look like it would eat you, which was scary mainly because inside the VehiCROSS was a place no one wanted to be. Headroom was minimal, and the low roof blocked even shorter drivers' view. If the noisy cabin didn't get to you, the punishing ride would. Isuzu deserved credit for taking a chance then on a design likely to find more admirers now, and it deserved scorn for a 2001 sticker price that would be just as preposterous in the current market. The VehiCROSS cost $30,350 by the time it fired up its interplanetary drive and went back where it belonged.

7. Jaguar X-Type
2002-2008

Jaguar X-Type
In the early 2000s, the class of entry-level luxury cars was growing. Most were sporty and started at $30,000 or less. Wanting in, Jaguar came out with the X-Type. From the get-go, critics warned that a cheap Jag would be bad for the brand and that Ford — which bought the company in 1989 — would probably cut corners and sacrifice quality. That was before they saw the product. Sharing its front-drive platform with a European Ford Mondeo, the X-Type was a too-small, not-so-sporty sedan with all-wheel drive that was hamstrung by some of the forewarned quality issues. The trap was clearly visible from miles away, and Ford walked right into it. A 2002 Jaguar X-Type can be had for up to $8,500. A 2002 Honda Civic goes for up to $9,275.

6. Pontiac Sunfire
1995-2005
The Sunfire managed the rare feat of having a worse interior than its GM twin, the Chevy Cavalier. Cheap interior plastics run amok, a coarse four-cylinder engine and horrendous crash-test ratings sealed its fate. On the flip side, the Sunburn was probably responsible for untold thousands of rental-car upgrades: "Honey, remember Fort Lauderdale last summer? Trust me, we want the Grand Am."

5. Cadillac Catera
1997-2001
To think that Germany's Opel is now the source of many of GM's strongest new models...

In the late '90s, the Opel Omega begat a Cadillac that was sporty in theory but soft and underpowered in practice, rear-wheel-drive in design but front-wheel-drive in feel. And that's just the car. Cadillac didn't help its case with advertising that included the tagline "The Caddy That Zigs," supermodel Cindy Crawford, an animated duck, and the suggestion to "lease a Catera" with the response, "Who's Lisa Catera?" The geniuses responsible for the Catera should have been exiled, but we suspect they went on to develop something called the Pontiac Aztek. Upgrades and deep discounts in 2001 couldn't save the Catera; it went to the duck blind in the sky in 2002.

4. Toyota Echo
2000-2005
The Echo subcompact's high seating position and center-mounted instrument panel were two well-intentioned features that were summarily rejected by consumers (though they would find their proponents in later years and other models). Call the Echo ahead of its time if you must; mainly it just wasn't a very good car. In taking over for the Tercel — a boring but popular choice against offerings from Suzuki, Geo and pre- renaissance Kia and Hyundai — the Echo proved that sometimes bland is better than bold. The problem wasn't that the youth-targeted Echo appealed more to older buyers than to younger ones, it was that there weren't enough of either.

3. Jeep Compass
2007-present
We could have easily chosen the Dodge Caliber for this list — a compact hatchback with unremarkable gas mileage, refinement and crash-test scores — but the hapless Compass edged it out. Why? Besides the fact that you shouldn't spread lackluster product around to more than one division (the Compass is related to the Caliber), it doesn't belong in the Jeep lineup, a brand known and respected for its off-road ability. The Compass is a soft-roading poseur, and not a good one at that.

2. Chrysler Sebring
1995-present
The previous-generation Sebring wasn't a bad car in its day, but Chrysler dropped the ball with the redesigned 2007 model. With a weak base powertrain, uncomfortable front seats, poor interior quality and haphazard styling, it never had a chance in the highly competitive midsize-sedan segment.

1. Smart ForTwo
2008-present

2009 smart fortwo
We don't have a problem with small cars in general (we're big fans of the Mini Cooper), just with ones that don't deliver on the benefits of going small. The pint-sized ForTwo sacrifices a lot of passenger space for a relatively unimpressive 41 mpg on the highway, has an SUV-like propensity to roll over, and is equipped with an aggravating sequential manual transmission. Sure, the ForTwo looks cute, but after you drive it you won't be smiling anymore.


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Notehall Wants To Be The eBay For Lecture Notes

If you’ve been a student before, you know how easy it can be to fall behind if you’ve missed a lecture or two. Notehall has a solution for you, with a smart marketplace that allows you to buy and sell lecture notes and study guides.

Founded by four University of Arizona students DJ Stephan, Sadi Chalfoun, Sean Conway, and Justin Miller, Notehall launched earlier this year with an undisclosed seed round from DreamIt Ventures. Starting with their native University of Arizona and Arizona State, the site has continued to add more coverage as it expands to offering services across the vast network of colleges in the United States.

The system is simple enough. Anyone can sell lecture notes or study guides using Notehall, and they earn 75 cents and $1 per download respectively. Buyers can either earn or purchase credits which can be used to obtain the downloads. Credits can be earned through member referrals, rating notes, or if you’re selling you can opt for credits instead of a cash payout.

Credits are offered in packages, with the most popular package of 300 credits for $6.99 delivering the equivalent of three study guides and 12 lecture notes.

Notehall is set to boom following an appearance on the ABC show “Shark Tank” October 6.

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New Google Logo Celebrates The Barcode

Google's new logo is a barcode which, as far as we can tell, says "Google." Today is the 57th anniversary of the first patent on the bar code. Inventors Norman Woodland and Bernard Silver filed the patent on October 1949, and it was granted, No. 2,612,994 (pdf), on October 7, 1952. The original patent was for a system that would encode data in circles (a bulls eye pattern), so that it could be scanned in any direction

The barcode on the Google homepage is Code 128 encoded, which is a standard way of encoding ASCII character strings (ie. A-Z, a-z, 0-9, etc.) into a barcode. It would be safe to assume that Google used their own open source barcode project, ZXing, to generate the barcode. The same library is used in Android for barcode recognition.

Google regularly changes its logo for holidays and other special events. Here's their 10th birthday logo from last year, for example. More recently they celebrated Gandhi's birthday. Google hosts some of their holiday logos here, and fan created logos here.

We had to double check that the barcode in this instance was correct (some of the geeks here insist the barcode isn't 100% correct), since Google have previously messed things up a little when they try and talk geek dirty.



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