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If you need some new fancy hardware start with the CPU, Intel or AMD are the main contenders. Build onto this with a great MSI, Asus or Gigabyte motherboard, Seagate or Western Digital hard drive, Nvidia or Ati/AMD video card and creative audio.

From here you need a great LG DVD burner, Hauppauge Video, great Microsoft Wireless mouse/keyboard combo and Internode Internet access. Add a fantastic case and some cool heat reduction.

Add some Kingston Ram and then use your imagination.

Articles

• How not to brick your Dopod 838pro

• Xbox Classic and XBMC

• Microsoft Media Center 05

• Freezing hard disks for data recovery

	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others August 17 2008 Optoma Introduces World's First Pico Handheld Projector Based on Texas Instruments' DLP Pico® Chipset, Features Sleek Design and Extreme Portability LAS VEGAS, NV (June 18, 2008) – Optoma, a leading manufacturer of award-winning digital projection and display devices, introduces the first Pico projector based on the DLP Pico chipset. Smaller than most smart phones, this new micro-portable projector fits in your palm and is the ideal companion to ultra-portable media devices such as iPods®, PDA's, smart phones and digital cameras. When connected to an ultra-mobile device, the four-ounce Optoma Pico Projector allows users to share photos and videos, and enjoy a far better visual experience with an image that is up to 100 times larger than the small screen of the source device. "The Pico Projector is the next step in sharing visual media for today's ultra-mobile consumers. Fitting in your shirt pocket, the Pico Projector can display pictures, videos or any content from a mobile media player or smart phone" says Jon Grodem, director of Product Management for Optoma. "Optoma's Pico breaks free from the limitations of the 2 or 3 inch displays found on today's mobile devices. This category defining projector creates a new benchmark for sharing content-on-the-go." Optoma's Pico Projector utilizes the latest LED technology resulting in a colorful and vivid image. The small and powerful unit is based upon DLP technology assuring the highest possible contrast. "The handheld Pico projector represents the latest advancement in the mobile device display industry. We view the Pico projector as a completely new and exciting market – one which dramatically expands the reach and potential of projection products into new end user applications," says Dr. William Coggshall, founder and president of Pacific Media Associates.
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others August 16 2008   Trackstick II Personal GPS Tracker Tracksticks are tiny GPS location recorders capable of continuously logging their own location histories for extended periods of time. The Trackstick records its own location, time, date, speed, heading and altitude at preset intervals. Traveled routes can be viewed directly in Google Earth TM . Includes GPX photo stamping feature for adding your favorite photos to your own maps. Very cool.
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others June 8 2008   POF, Plastic Optical Fiber. POF is similar to glass Fibre and consists of a core surrounded by cladding. POF can deliver speeds up to 3 Gb's per second and can run 50 Meters. The main advantages of POF are lower installation costs and maintenance costs (50% less than glass). You can cut POF yourself. It needs less technical help to install and maintain it. It has a severe bend radius (20 mm) and is easier to work with through walls and hide under carpets. Perfect for the home or small office !
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others June 4 2008   I use a Dopod (HTC/JasJam) 383 pro. Apart from the locks ups (Even with Windows Mobile 6) and the dropouts (I am sure this is the fault of Optus) it is a great phone. Actually, it is a great SMS and email tool , lousy phone for calls. The keyboard is fantastic, it is quad band, has a low powered camera and honestly, It can do everything I need. It is just a horrible device for making calls. Enter the I-Mate ultimate 9502. Same Keyboard, better camera and hopefully a better communications device. About the same size as the 383 pro but with ... VGA display (640x480) and external keyboard/display capabilities. (Bluetooth and USB keyboards). It is Australia's first commercially available HSUPA smart phone (Super quick broadband speeds) and offers a full, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, a 2.8in VGA touch screen and built-in GPS.   General 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 3G Network HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100 Announced 2007, October Status Available. Released 2008, March Size Dimensions 116 x 60 x 17.8 mm Weight 200 g Display Type TFT touchscreen, 256K colors (65K effective) Size 640 x 480 pixels, 2.8 inches   - QWERTY keyboard Ringtones Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3 Customization Download Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall Call records Practically unlimited Card slot microSD (TransFlash)   - Qualcomm MSM 7200 400 MHz processor - 256 MB ROM, 128 MB RAM Data GPRS Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 - 48 kbps HSCSD No EDGE Class 12 3G HSDPA WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP Infrared port No USB Yes Features OS Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Push Email, Instant Messaging Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML (PocketIE) Games Yes Colors Black Camera 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofocus, video, LED flash, secondary VGA videocall camera   - Built-in GPS receiver - Pocket Office(Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, PDF viewer) - Java MIDP 2.0 - Voice memo - Windows Media Player 10 - Video/audio album - File manager - Built-in handsfree - TV/Audio output - i-mate GPRS Configurator(WAP, MMS) Battery   Standard battery, Li-Po 1620 mAh Stand-by Up to 180 h Talk time Up to 4 h 20 min
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others March 29 2008   Wyse Technology has announced a laptop thin client that has no disk drive or fan, a relatively long battery life and a full-size keyboard. The device also supports multimedia and runs silently. The Wyse x90e looks like an ultralight notebook. But it has been designed to work with 3G high-speed cellular networks and Wi-Fi and to deliver applications via the browser available in the embedded version of Microsoft Windows XPe.
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others January 6  2008 Microsoft Roundtable Datasheet Have you ever joined a remote meeting and struggled to work out who's talking, who's in the meeting and what private jokes are going on? Microsoft Roundtable may solve this problem!  Roundtable is cool as it makes meetings much more fun and you are able to see who's speaking at any point in time as their image is brought into view as they do so. The device in conjunction with either Office Communications Server 2007 or Office Live Meeting 2007 takes panoramic video and audio of all participants. When watching a recorded meeting you are able to filter out the content to a subset of the speakers if you wish too. The Microsoft Roundtable area of the Microsoft website includes a wealth of information.    Looks kind of dorky but I want one!
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others December 4  2007 Imagine the possibilities; Adtron Flash pak with Array pro has been released. These are using high capacity NAND flash. They are from 1 Gb to 160 Gb and are available in SATA, IDE, SCSI-2 and Ultra SCSI. They have up to 78 MB's Sustained read and 60 MB sustained write rates. They have a 1,900,320 hour MTBF and a whole heap more. Imagine booting off a RAID 5 of these babies.   Then think about optical interconnects ! Yes, this is a picture of a optically enabled BGA IC. Here is the future. A way to get past the limits imposed by copper based interconnects on printed circuit boards. Suddenly the microchip is not limited as we know it. Clock speeds can increase and the data in and out can be increased. These units are out there.
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others October 27 2007   HP shows us an interesting printer, the Photosmart A826 home kiosk.   HP's Photosmart A826 is that blue egg-shaped printer you may have seen bopping around the web lately. This is a DIY home photo kiosk with 7" touch screen and I like it,.   For $399 I hope it is as good as it looks.   It boasts Fast, high-quality prints Lots of fun features such as clip art and captions Per-print costs are in line with other snapshot printers' costs Touch screen is easy to use and great for displaying slide shows Menus are logically organized however It is expensive The album options are a bit limited   The HP Photosmart A826 snapshot printer offers an attractive design, is apparently easy and fun to use, and has been touted to work better without a PC than any other snapshot printer due to it's its huge touch screen.   http://www.cnet.com.au/printers/photo/0,239035497,339282223,00.htm
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others June 2 2007   PC card mouse from HP HP has added Bluetooth PC Card Mouse to the list of available notebook accessories. Designed to fit in the laptop’s PC card (PCMCIA) slot, the optical mouse charges its battery automatically when stored in the slot. It can be used up to eight hours between battery charges. HP Bluetooth PC Card Mouse has two buttons and a “kickstand” for comfortable hand position. The new mouse is compatible with all HP Business Notebooks with a PC Card Slot and embedded Bluetooth wireless technology.   http://h18010.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/12618_div/12618_div.HTML
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others June 1 2007   Projector in a cell phone ? Microvision's ultra-tiny PicoP Personal Projector is barely 8mm thick and uses lasers to create video images. It was demonstrated at CES. The PicoP was embedded in a prototype cell phone and produced a decent color image from a few feet away. It is apparently watchable, though not a challenge to standard projectors. This device isn't aimed at people who want a movie theatre experience. It could be the video equivalent of a cell phone camera, intended for casual viewing. I can see how it would be fun to snap a photo and project it from a cell phone, and TV projected from a phone would be a lot more enjoyable to watch.
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others May 29 2007   Flytech Dragonfly Go and watch this short video and then return here. http://www.flytechonline.com/Watch.html Wouldn't you like to be R&D at flytech ? FlyTech Dragonfly is the world’s first radio-controlled flying insect. It has an  ultra-light, dual-wing design and “high-flex”, crash-resistant structure, the dragonfly is an easy-to-fly aeronautical marvel. You can Use the dragonfly indoors or outdoors, controlling its speed, direction and height with the 2 channel digital proportional remote. It features a unique indoor flyer: Capable of maneuvering in tight spaces, FlyTech Dragonfly brings radio-controlled flight into your home.   Also Innovative flying action: Based on an ornithopter design, FlyTech Dragonfly flaps its wings like a real insect. The dragonfly can take off from any smooth surface, soar, dive-bomb, hover and glide silently for soft landings. Strong and flexible: Built using a durable carbon-fiber structure, FlyTech Dragonfly’s impact-absorbing flexible body and wings can take a lot of punishment. Ultra-light design: Light weight design protects home interiors. Light-up LED eyes: Its eyes alert you of the dragonfly’s status by blinking, pulsing, or shining clear and bright. 2 channel digital proportional remote: Control wing speed and tail rotor speed; remote is also the charging base. Two skill levels: Beginner and advanced. Includes a tail stabilizer for additional control. Available in 2 frequencies.
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others May 15 2007   Samsung Solid-State Drive (SSD)   Key Features & Benefits     Reduced Power Requirements • No moving parts • Super-low operating and standby power needs • Extends battery life up to 10% Fast Performance • No spin up • No seek time • No rotational latency • Sustained high-speed data transfers • 56MB/s read, 32MB/s write speeds • Can cut boot-up time in half     Reliable • No moving parts to fail • Greater resistance to shock & vibration • Operates in extreme temperatures (-20° to 80°C) Improved Operation • Noise free • Virtually no heat emissions • Less than half the weight of conventional hard drive   Check it out at Samsung ...
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others May 9 2007 This is a cool idea. Super fast IDE access. The HyperDrive4 is Accelerated Logic’s latest generation Solid State Disk (SSD). A number of features makes the HyperDrive4 unique: New Integrated Ram Drive Electronics (IRDE) device Both a SATA connector and an IDE connector are present Supports up to 8 DDR memory modules Maximum storage capacity is 16 GB per Hyperdive4 board Is a native IDE device, hence no need for drivers Runs at UDMA133, full bandwidth Super silent minifans, only 20dBA Is 5.25 inch form factor compliant, CDROM Drive size No mechanical moving parts at all Much more shock resistant than a conventional hard disk Made out of DRAM but has its own power supply so it retains data when power is switched of or when PC is rebooted Battery backup to cover power cuts, typically 4.8AH / 7.4V Li-ion Pre formatted as FAT32 Has external power input for standby mode Is not bound to any file system or any Operating System Super fast boot up Has place for an onboard 2.5 inch backup hard disk Truly plug and play device
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others April 17 2007 A memory upgradable MP4 player with a colour screen for under $140 AU. This is the Synergy PMP / MP4 / MP3 Player with built in 512MB, Stereo 3.5mm Plug and USB 2.0 The DMP-209 includes: 2.0 inch (262k) TFT true color screen (220×176) Built in Mini SD Slot Support AVI video format files Play music format: MP3/WMA/WAV Support ID3 function and synchronized lyric display Support 7 EQ mode, Repeat mode, Speed mode Built in microphone, Record sampling frequency is 8KHZ, SNR/90db Picture browse of JPEG,BMP Built-in FM, support FM recording Built-in Speaker Support E-book browse Built-in rechargeable Li-ion battery System language: multi-language menu Supports Windows2000/ME/XP operating system Product packing accessories: USB extension cable CD & Manual Earphones
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others April 15 2007 Upgrade your PDA to TomTom 6 and one of these GPS beauties: SD-502: WAAS enabled SDIO GPS RECEIVER with Built-in 512 mb Memory! The SD-502 is the next generation in GPS devices that offers a combination of storage capacity and navigation all-in-one feature about the size of a few postage stamps. Its 512MB of built-in memory also allows for tracking signals and storage of large amounts mapping data. Included in this is the SiRF Star III chipset which helps this receiver provide higher sensitivity, lower power usage and a more rapid time-to-fix. Features: SiRF Star III high performance and low power consumption chipset. SD-502 has a built-in GPS omni directional antenna LED to show GPS signal fix or searching Built-in super capacitor to reserve system data for rapid satellite acquisition SDIO interface. Operating platform: Pocket PC 2002/2003, Win CE, Win CE.Net, WM2003 Built-in memory size: 512MB. Based on Bsquare SDIO I confirm this unit works on a HP Ipaq h5550 (not on the official list) For more information take a look here.
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others April 10 2007 It functions as a slide presenter, a laser pointer with digital ink, a media remote control and a 2.4GHz Bluetooth® laser notebook mouse. What is it ? Click here
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others February 19 2007 I would be extremely remise if I did not mention the iPhone. I was waiting for the Cisco / Apple battle to disappear before adding it here but there you go, a non Microsoft product from Apple that I really like. If you feel the need to poke fun at it (and I did originally) take a look at this spoof. After you have had your laugh, take a look at the real specs. According to Apple, the iPhone combines three products, a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls, and a breakthrough Internet communications device with desktop-class email, web browsing, maps, and searching. This is all in one small and lightweight handheld device. The iPhone also introduces an entirely new user interface based on a large multi-touch display and pioneering new software, letting you control everything with just your fingers. So it ushers in an era of software power and sophistication never before seen in a mobile device, completely redefining what you can do on a mobile phone.
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others February 1 2007 Windows home Server from HP. That is actually all I can say for the moment. Watch this space.
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others February 3 2007 HP TouchSmart IQ770 PC AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core TL-52 2048MB DDR2 SDRAM system memory 320GB hard drive Slot-loading SuperMulti DVD burner2 with LightScribe technology Touch enabled 19" diagonal widescreen BrightView LCD NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 graphics card with 256MB dedicated video memory (Up to 528MB Total Available Graphics memory as allocated by Windows Vista.) Integrated 1.3-megapixel HP WebCam with built-in array microphone HP SmartCenter Button to launch interactive mode with one touch NTSC TV tuner and over-the-air ATSC high-definition television tuner Wireless keyboard and mouse, stylus, and Media Center Remote Control
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others December 29 2006 The first chipset to feature a great new NAND flash technology, called Robson, which Intel previewed during IDF Fall 2005 in Taiwan. Robson flash is an integrated NAND component which acts as a secondary storage or cache, helping mobile devices boot up or run applications faster. Coupled with EFI to replace the legacy BIOS system, we should see quite an impressive boost in system boot-up and application launch times. This has been designed to be low cost with a high re write count. It will be used to Cache hard drive contents before it goes into Ram. It will considerably decrease OS load times and will likely benifit Vista.
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others December 28 2006 More cool gadgets for Vista !! Asus dual Screen W5fe A new series of laptops, codenamed Newport, are said to have a main screen and an additional external display built into the top of the lid. These could be used to scan emails, access a calendar, check network connections and monitor downloads without having to fire up the laptop. (The laptop will fireup occasionally to update the screen) The second screen could come in useful. It comes with its own power switch, a four-way directional pad with a central selector button, and a menu button for choosing which task you want to perform. The system is provided by PortalPlayer Preface, and known officially as Windows SideShow (a Vista-only technology) that lets you do all of the above while the laptop is switched off, on, or hibernating. PortalPlayer reckons SideShow will let you access flight departure information, movie show times, alerts, play games, movies, images and MP3s. And the best part: it can run for "hundreds of hours without draining your notebook battery," according to the PortalPlayer site.
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others December 9 2006 Ok, so there is no reason why this could not have been done so this is not all that exciting but it is very cool ! The Personal Internet Communicator (PIC) is an affordable AMD consumer device designed to provide managed Internet access for people in global, high-growth markets to enhance communications, entertainment, and education opportunities. Is is Cheap and very small. The PIC is driven by world-class AMD processor technology. It is an empowering connecting device – a simple and accessible platform designed to work with existing service provider dial-up or broadband infrastructure – that can deliver basic Internet functions such as e-mail, downloads, Web browsing, and more. The PIC is designed to be a high-quality, affordable, easy-to-use, robust consumer device suitable for first-time technology users. It provides a consumer-friendly user experience and is developed to be highly reliable – with a fully integrated, low-power computing sub-system. Check it out here
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others December 9 2006 $100 Laptop Now this is cool. A laptop with a crank handle. The proposed design will likely use a 500MHz processor, 1GB of memory and an innovative dual-mode display that can be used in full-color mode, or in a black-and-white sunlight-readable mode. The target is $12 for a 12-inch display with near-zero power consumption. Power for the new systems will be provided through either conventional electric current, batteries or by a windup crank attached to the side of the notebooks, since many countries targeted by the plan do not have power in remote areas. The machines, which will run a version of the Linux operating system, will also include other applications, some developed by MIT researchers, as well as country-specific software. For connectivity, the systems will be Wi-Fi- and cell phone-enabled, and will include four USB ports, along with built-in "mesh networking," a peer-to-peer concept that allows machines to share a single Internet connection. Check it out here or in Google
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others December 6 2006 Forget the Wii, I want one of these ! Homedics, makers of massage chairs and cushions, wants you to feel the beat--literally. By plugging in your iPod, TV, or game console, the iCush home entertainment cushion will pump out sound from the next-to-your-head speakers; push the Audio Sync button and the chair starts to vibrate to the beat of your music, movie, or games. You can limit the movement to just up and down, or go crazy and let it go all random on you. It's available locally from Dick Smiths Electonics in Australia ($199)
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others November 10 2006 Not exatly hardware but .... Very cool ! The Air Guitar Shirt ! The air guitar works by recognising and interpreting arm movements and relaying this wirelessly to a computer for audio generation. There are no trailing cables to get in way or trip over. Textile motion sensors embedded in the shirt sleeves detect motion when the arm bends - in most cases the left arm chooses a note and the right arm plays it. See it and wear it at The CSIRO websiteLook at the video on Youtube.
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others September 11 2006 Asus Crosshair nForce 590 SLI AM2 Motherboard This thing rocks !!! AMD AM2 platform NVIDIA nForce 590 Dual-channel DDR2 800/667/533 Extreme Tweaker SupremeFX Audio Array mic LCD Poster EL I/O Onboard switches Onboard LED Imagine, Capless power design (Nothing to pop when over clocking), Heat-Pipes and the motherboard comes with the EL I/O, an impressive design that increases convenience in connecting devices on the back I/O. The cool EL lights up your I/O panel under your desk, in the dark, or in a LAN Party. No more jamming devices into the wrong connectors! when you're in the dark! It has an LCD Poster (Lists post errors as the system boots - Debug with translation) and the ASUS Q-Connector !!! The Q-Connector allows you to connect or disconnect chassis front panel cables in one easy step with one complete module. This unique adapter eliminates the trouble of plugging in one cable at a time, making connection quick and accurate. As I said, this board rocks.
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others September6 2006 Via epia n 5000 e This is a single board computer with power (all in an itty bitty space - yes, this is a technical term). Check out this Nano-ITX Motherboard (12cm x 12cm 'Nano-ITX' form factor). Click the pictures below to go off and have a look.
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others August 14 2006 8Gb Segate Compact Flash Card The Superior Choice for Digital Photography These high-capacity, 1-inch photo hard drives are the perfect storage solution for professional and enthusiast photographers. Available in 4GB and 8GB capacities, you can quickly store thousands of high-resolution photos without changing the card. And with their rugged design and world-renowned Seagate quality, you can count on data integrity and protection from drops and falls. Ultra-fast 3600-RPM drives with 2-Mbyte cache. Built to last, inside and out, so the drive and data are protected. Designed for digital cameras with a CF+ Type II media slot. Compatible with a wide and growing range of FAT32-formatted digital cameras. 3600-RPM drives with 2-Mbyte cache consistently deliver the high performance you need. Worry-free, one-year warranty covers all parts and labor. Best of all, I have one and use it extensively. It rocks !.
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others August 13 2006 Dvico HDTV Nano - Cheaper Digital HD TV than you think! Wow, this device is hot. It also gets physically hot so let it cool before you touch it ! Other that that, this was very easy to setup. It pulls in all Digital channels easily, including Digital Radio. It works almost flawlessly with an indoor antenna. I have two criticisms. Firstly, the Picture in picture mode will not work with this unit (as it has only one tuner) however the button on the menu is enabled. Clicking it produces an exception error. Secondly drivers. I had to update my NVIDIA drivers to stop Video Overlay errors (not Dvico's fault really) and also to stop the software locking up, I had to download the latest drivers from Dvico (58 mb). Again, not really their fault. Other than this, the images are crisp and recording is made easy. For more specs click on the picture below to go to the site for the product. I bought mine off Ebay for $139 AU. Go and take a look.
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others August 6 2006 Toshiba answer Sony's call Ok, Sony have Bluray, whoopie !, Toshiba have a Qosimo G30 with HD-DVD Toshiba are the first out of the gate with the next generation of DVD technology by integrating HD-DVD into their latest Qosimo G30. Read more at Cnet.com laptop reviews
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others August 5 2006 USB MP3 Pen + FM Radio + Voice Recorder Features: MP3 FM Radio Built-in microphone for voice recording Data storage Memo taking LED indicator Stylish, portable Mobile data storage and exchange Easy to view, edit, and copy files Shockproof and electromagnetic wave protection Convenient for data-carrying Long working life High durability Plug and play Dimension: 148x18mm Weight: 50g Support Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP, Linux or Mac Os Specifications: Earphone Output: 11mW(L) + 11mW(R) (32ohm) Power: 240mAh Li-Ion battery Audio frequency range: 20Hz-20KHz S/N Ratio: above 85dB Max. Playback Time: above 7 hours 512MB stores up to 32 hours of voice recordings Check it out and many more USB items.
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others August 4 2006 Worlds Smallest and lighted PC Notebook Features: Microsoft's ultraportable 'Origami' concept copped a lot of flak when it was announced. the Idea is great but there are some usability hurdles the devices will have to overcome. Now, take a look at this. It comes with Windows XP pre installed ! Sony's VGN-UX17GP is the first ultraportable to widely come to market. It looks very cool and is really just a 15x10cm laptop with matching amounts of grunt, which is useful because unlike a PDA it isn't task specific and will run almost anything you throw at it. The screen is touch sensitive but runs XP Pro (not Tablet Edition). Technically, this means it is not an Origami device. This is a bit of an Oxi-moron as this almost wastes the functionality of the stylus. You however can tap the screen like a mouse and scribble notes into Sony's software. The stunningly detailed 1024x600 screen, which is the size of a PDA, is extremely sharp. This beats has a 1.2GHz Core Solo, 512 MB of RAM, a 30GB HDD, Intel 945 onboard graphics, Bluetooth and 802.11b/g. You can acheive up to two and half hours of battery life. you only have one USB port, Compact Flash and Memory Stick Duo card readers, two cameras (????), a fingerprint scanner and headphone and microphone ports. Using a dongle, you can connect to a wired network as well as getting VGA and TV out; and if you dock it in the included cradle you get these and an additional three USB and Mini-FireWire port. If you are into gadgets... this has your name written all over it. If you do not want to get RSI (much like people re expearianceing with SMS on phones) consider a laptop. Take a look here.
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others August 3 2006 Smallest TV Tuner With a pen-thin size and connected antenna, AVerTV DVB-T Volar is your perfect travel-mate, which provides you the ultimate portability with USB connection to experience the digital PC-TV entertainment wherever you like. Using the safest and highest quality components such as the fireproof casing and gold-plated connector to assure its safety and quality, A808 adopts the highest standards on the product reliability level with respect to the plug-fest test, heat-sinking test, etc. Its cooling performance outperforms other pen-drive TV tuners. A808 uses the strictest NorDig Unified specifications in RF sensitivity to guarantee its finest video quality. In addition, A808 supports Linux operating system, and it is compatible with Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE) 2005 To sum this baby up, very cool ! (On Mickyj's Christmas wish list)
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others August 2 2006 Sony Vaio adds Blue Ray Technology....... Sony have introduced the Vaio AR18GP. This beauty costs a whole packet but throws a huge punch. Weighing in at $5499 it is feature rich but I think I will only see ond second hand or third hand or .... Take a look at this beast here. "Finally what next-generation creators have been waiting for. Blu-ray's HD (High Definition) capabilities will put you ahead of the crowd, with detailed images that are bound to get your creations noticed. And with full HD viewing you can check your masterpiece or premiere it to an audience right on the spot. Count on the visibly superior performance of VAIO AR18GP to tell your story with a new level of realism."
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others August 1 2006 Clearsky Bluetooth Skype phones They look really cool. Have a look at these here. The ClearSky Bluetooth VoIp Phone provides a cost effective solution that allows you to make phone calls anywhere around the world. Streamline calling procedures by taking advantage of Skype features such as Contacts, Call List, SkypeOut, and Conference Call. The rechargeable Lithium-ion battery can also sustain 6 hours of conversation. Compliant with Bluetooth v2.0 Specification with EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) support Backward compatible with Bluetooth v1.1 and v1.2 devices Compliant with Class I Bluetooth Operations Support Full-Speed Bluetooth operation with Full Piconet support Support Graphical LCD display with status Indicators Support Long Life Lithium Rechargeable Battery Headset support for voice communication such as Skype, MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger and more Full Skype support allows users to use Skype features directly from the phone (such as SkypeIn™ calls, SkypeOut™, Status change, Conference Call and etc.) Compatible with Windows Windows 2000/XP Operating Systems ClearSky Long Range Support up to 100 meters (328 ft.) (depends on the environment) 2-Year Warranty
	Send feedback about this particular Hardware blog Read Feedback from others March 2006 Canon 30D SLR Digital Camera (8MP) Drool, Drool. I wanted a good camera for he Melbourne Commonwealth Games. I researched my options and settled on a 20D. I was all set to buy on the Friday afternoon. I was crawling the Australian Canon website, making sure my choice was just perfect. I thought about it all weekend. I went to the website one last time Monday morning and .... The 20d was gone. I could not find anything. Canon pulled it. It became the 30d. I rang all the national camera stores (and Ebay). Most stores sold out of the 20d, were waiting on more stock and did not know the 30d was coming. I found 1 unit in sydney. It was destined for Show in a display front but I got it. I had purchased the first Canon 30D in Australia :). Wow, what a camera. It is everything I beleived it would be. The amature and professional features are rich and astounding. It is fast and built to last. I then bought lens filters, LCD screen protector etc to look after it. The LCD screen is massive and the standard AS lens well worth the ticket. Enough chit chat. You want specs ? Noone does it better than Canon on their website. 8.2 MP CMOS sensor and DiG!C II image processor for low noise/natural colour High speed 9-pt wide-area AF and 5 fps continuous shooting - 30 frames in a burst Super tough and light weight magnesium alloy body providing exceptional durability Compatible with the range of 50 Canon EF/EF-S lenses and EX-series Speedlites

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