The Gadgets Page

Another product showcased at CES Unveiled was InternetVue by AddLogix. The InternetVue devices allow you to show the video output of your computer on any TV or monitor, without a wired connection.

Here’s how it works: the InternetVue software on your computer compresses an image of the the video display, sends it over WiFi, and the InternetVue device plugged into your TV receives the data and displays it. The compression is lossless so the signal quality should be good.

They have two models: one with composite and component video outputs for regular TVs, and a more expensive model for business with DVI-D and VGA outputs for monitors and larger plasma TVs.

Unfortunately, since it relies on custom software, this appears to be a Windows-only product. Other than that it looks like a handy device since people are getting more and more of their video from computers.

At CES Unveiled, they were also highlighting the winners of the Innovation Awards. I was tickled pink to notice that my Sanyo Xacti E1 is one of the winners!

I talked about the E1 before:

• Gadgets Page » Sanyo Xacti Waterproof E1 Review

• Gadgets Page » Xacti VPC-E1 Camera Test at the Craft Store

They were showcasing the winners of The Best of Innovations 2008 by having the living statues from the Venetian holding them. Here’s a photo of me taking a picture of him with MY Sanyo Xacti E1.

Here is the photo I took:

If you were wondering what the sign he was holding said, here it is in detail:

Congratulations, Sanyo! You really outdid yourself on the E1 and I love using it every day!

As always, the best stories from any convention always happen outside of the convention. Today, I met the entire Gear Live team (AWESOME nice folks, by the way). In particular, Andru Edwards was willing to let us see his iPhone. All of us had iPhones, but his is updated to Firmware Version 1.1.3.

He has a video showing the new update in action here:

• Bleeding Edge TV 195: iPhone 1.1.3 Firmware Feature Walkthrough | Bleeding Edge TV

Gear Live answers your version 1.1.3 questions here:

• iPhone 1.1.3 Q&A: Batch One | Gear Live

The real question is: is it real?

He could have just had a hacked iPhone that looks like it has a version update. He did, however, show me his version number on his About screen in the settings. One note: this IS a Photoshop edited picture. I removed his serial number so that it wasn’t shown (which is why his finger is over it). The only thing I’m wondering is why he also covered the number in the parenthesis to the right of the version number. He did that in both photos I took, which makes me wonder whether the number in the parenthesis would have given away his source somehow.

Speaking of his source, he was not willing to tell anyone HOW he got a copy of version 1.1.3 for his iPhone. He probably wanted to protect the person who leaked it to him, but it makes me worry that Steve Jobs’ Goons will show up at his door and whisk him away for attitude readjustment.

Let’s all say a little prayer for Andru, okay, folks?

Another innovative product I saw at CES Unveiled was the NRG Dock. Gadget docks were a popular present this holiday season, but the NRG Dock takes the idea one step further. You place it near a window and the solar panels will charge your iPod, Blackberry or Nintendo DS. You do not need to plug it in. You can keep all of your gadgets charged with the power of the sun.

Unfortunately, the photos from the event were unusable, so all I have are the pictures from their brochure and website.

These pictures really don’t do it justice. This is a tasteful dock to store your gadgets, wallet and other pocket items. The solar panel has four suction cups (which are not shown in these photos) so you can attach it to a southern-facing window.

If you have ever lost power completely and worried that your phone will become a useless brick, then the NRG Dock is for you. You could also use this camping, but it looks WAY better than something that you would have sitting in your car, gathering sunshine to keep your gadgets charged. If you want to be completely off the grid, the NRG Dock will work.

They also carry a version of the NRG Dock that you can just plug into the wall and charge your cell phone, MP3 player and handheld gaming device. It’s a beautiful addition to any dresser by the the bed and keeps all of your gadgets charged and in one place.

CES is the Consumer Electronics Show and it happens once a year in Las Vegas, Nevada. The writers of The Gadgets Page are attending the show again this week and we were invited to CES Unveiled, which is a pre-show event, showing us some of the gadgets that will be highlighted at CES this year.

It’s a very busy event and it’s hard to see anything there because of the crowds. Fortunately, Mike and I were able to find some really cool items. The Powramid is one of them.

The Powramid is a new kind of power strip. Instead of putting your power outlets on a strip, they are in a circle, with plenty of room for your power bricks. Most of the time, a power strip will only hold two huge power bricks, but the Powramid will allow you to use every one of its outlets, no matter how big your power bricks are.

Here is a Powramid fully loaded:

Sadly, the Powramid isn’t available for purchase right now, but coming next month, you’ll be able to buy them from their website. If you are sick of the huge tangle of cords underneath your desk, the Powramid might be for you.

I found this blog entry about misleading advertisements and it made me feel nostalgic.

• As Seen on TV: The 10 Most Laughably Misleading Ads | Cracked.com

I think my first love of gadgets came from watching television commercials like these. For example, the commercials for Miracle Blade have been on since I was a teenager. I love to watch how they cut on television.

I LOVE it when he starts hacking away at the table with the knife, cuts into a solid rock, the aluminum can, and even the sledge hammer. He then immediately goes back to cutting the tomato in thin, beautiful slices. Some of the best salesmanship is on infomercials. They really show their product very quickly and efficiently.

Just like this commercial, they used to cut through aluminum cans with the knives on the commercials they showed when I was a kid. The sight of cutting something that I would NEVER try cutting with a knife burned itself so much into my mind that I can still see it today.

It’s not like these knives are any better than the Henckels knives in my kitchen. They are just demonstrated in such a way that makes them look smooth and amazing.

I truly think that my love of gadgets came from the likes of Ron Popeil and other infomercial greats.

Via: AdFreak: Cracked’s 10 most laughably misleading ads

Okay, perhaps smackdown is a bit of a stretch when comparing what are perhaps the most milquetoast and genteel electronic devices ever made, but there is a battle of the heavyweights going on for control of the eBook buying public (all fifteen of them). The Sony Reader, weighting in at slightly less than an actual paperback, is the reigning champ, and the Amazon Kindle—bigger, heavier (at almost 11oz), and stronger—is the contender. It’s actually pretty easy to tell whose going to win, but the fight isn’t as one-sided as the recent press around the Kindle might make it seem.

(Continue Reading…)

Whenever anyone gets excited about an electric car, I cringe. Electricity isn’t free and it certainly isn’t “green.” Why do electric cars get to call themselves “green” when electricity is created by burning coal in some cities? With all the excitement about electric cars, it seems like we are going to have a surge in demand for electricity.

Fortunately, companies like Finavera are working on creating electricity from less polluting sources. They are harnessing the power of the ocean to create electricity.

• Wave power to go commercial in California | CNET News.com

They use Aquabuoys to create electricity:

Finavera makes a device called the Aquabuoy, a buoy connected to a long underwater piston. As the buoy bobs up and down on the waves, it pushes the piston, which pressurizes a chamber filled with seawater. The pressure cranks a turbine and electricity is made.

This sounds great, but what about the cost? The reason why companies burn coal or natural gas, is because it’s cheap. How much with Ocean Power cost?

Finavera’s long-term goal is to have the Aquabuoys produce power at 5 to 8 cents per kilowatt hour. That’s more expensive than coal (3 cents) or natural gas (4 to 5 cents) but less than offshore wind turbines (15 cents) or solar (18 or more cents, depending on the circumstances.)

That’s a lofty goal considering how temperamental the ocean can be. Finavera lost their prototype buoy to the ocean. All of it sounds like pipe dreams right now, because they aren’t planning to be online until 2012. By then, we may be desperate for ANY clean electricity, despite the price.

Here’s a video from Finavera about their Aquabuoys:

Via: Wave power to be put to use in California – Engadget

I love this comic from Ballard Street:

• Ballard Street – 12-17-07

The couple looks so happy sharing their earbuds. The first time I ever saw anyone share earbuds, Mike and I were in Vegas. A busload of teenage girls were waiting for their bus while we waited in the taxi line. They were all quite noisy and excitable, as only teenage girls can be. One girl had a lime green iPod Mini. I had been coveting that very model of iPod. I watched as she offered an earbud to another girl. The other girl came in close and the two of them danced to the music.

When I was a teenager, I never had a girlfriend that I would have shared an earbud with. I had plenty of guy friends that I would have shared with, but never a female friend that close. I had girlfriends, but never one THAT close.

I felt the jealousy wash over me and I wanted an iPod more than ever.

Our gadgets change us. Our gadgets motivate us. Our gadgets define us, no matter how much we want to deny it.

I wrote about the Aptera before here:

• Gadgets Page » Aptera Motors

You can now see it in action:

The Aptera is out of research and development and is in the manufacturing stage now. For $500, you can reserve one now!

Via: The Aptera Typ-1 | GearCrave | Stuff you want to touch