Amber Alert GPS is a tiny matchbox sized GPS device used to track the movement of your child. According to the manufacturer you slip the GPS into your child’s backpack (or other article that stays with them) and can then track their location for up to 24 hours. There’s also several interesting features like speed, temperature and remote audio monitoring that are offered as well. For the last few weeks I’ve been putting this to the test and using it to track my kids. Here’s what I found. … [visit site to read more]
If you or someone you know is a big audiobook fan, check out this Amazon deal. Sign up for an Audible.com gold account ($14.95/month), get $100 off any device that plays Audible books! This includes iPods, GPS systems, and even the Kindle!
Yesterday Larry posted that Skooba is having a big 25% off sale for the next few days. The Skooba bag on the left in the advertisement is a new item from Skooba designed especially for netbooks. The Netbook Messenger is just the right size for carrying a netbook and a few assorted accessories during a day of running around. I’ve been using one for the last two weeks.
Ever since Microsoft’s Surface concept debuted, I’ve been fascinated by the idea of a computer in a table. While owning my own multi-touch table is probably very, very far in the future, Ideum has released a multi-touch table for the Space Chase Gallery at the Adventure Science Center in Nashville, TN. This table demos the EM Spectrum using various NASA images as well as everyday items, and it sounds so cool I may have to road-trip from NJ to check it out!
I reviewed the Moshi Voice Controlled Alarm Clock a few weeks back and was rather impressed. It really works and makes setting the time or the alarm as easy as speaking. Love it! Well, turns out the company also has a travel alarm clock that uses the same voice technology.
Hey, guys. I, John Biggs, will be in Hong Kong and Guangdong next week (November 30-December 5) to visit some folks and would love to meet up with Web 2.0 and gadget purveyors in mother China. If you would like to chat, drop me a line at john @ crunchgear.com and let me know what’s up. I’m thinking about doing an informal meet-up on Thursday so advice on places to meet in Hong Kong are welcome.
Look forward to hearing from you all and “Ni Hao!”
The Zune HD has been kick’n it for a few months on retail shelves. But if you’re planning on buying one sometime soon and purple and magenta are your colors, you might want to wait until December 1st. On that day the portable will be available in those lovely colors in addition to the five that are already available. Of course you can customize your Zune HD even more with the signature Zune Original Artwork and through the holiday’s, free engraving. [via Gizmodo]
If you were a hardware manufacturer and your new phone was a ROMist’s delight you’d be all like “Our phone plays Doom and totally plays Super Mario Bros. 3.” Right? You’d be bragging from here to Scranton.
Well, Nokia tried to do that with the new N900 and got in huge trouble with Nintendo. They showed a video of an SNES emulator running on the device with this voiceover.
“There’s already a bunch of great retro gaming emulator apps available for you to download,” says the video, which shows buttons that appear to open emulators for systems including Nintendo’s Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, NES and SNES.
Ummm, right. Good choice. Nintendo is probably going to totally sue them out of business now. You know they should have just shown Altered Beast on a Genesis emulator and been done with it.
So far, I’ve avoided the CFL and LED light bulb revolution. The savings, it seems, come around in the second year, which means that whoever has my apartment next will have a reduced power bill. I could always take my light bulbs with me, but that seems a bit miserly. Besides, my power bill is like $5 a month and 90% of that is my fridge and my desktop.
But these Orbeos OLED lights are as bright and efficient as any LED or CFL, but are both warm, diffuse, and dimmable. I might choose them over regular bulbs just because they have the best of all worlds.
They’re extremely flat, so they can go just about anywhere, but that same flatness means they won’t work to illuminate a whole area unless you have a few. Some OLEDs, however, are flexible, and once they can stretch the matrix into a light bulb-esque shape, you might be able to put them into your regular sockets.
For the 4th year in a row, we bring you the coolest collection of toys on the planet. Continuing with last years trend we capped the list at lucky number 13. This list contains an eclectic mix of toys from a remote controlled transforming robot car to a Star Wars Force Trainer. Enjoy.
Here is a list of the previous coolest toys of the year:
The 29 year old classic puzzle has a new age makeover and it looks very cool.
Swipe your finger across the vibrantly lit squares to effortlessly slide the lights, mimicking evey move of the original puzzle.If you’re ever stuck, the TouchCube can give you a hint or solve itself step by step right before your very eyes. All six sides utilize cutting edge, easy to use touch sensor technology. The TouchCube’s powerful processor knows exactly the number of moves needed to solve at any time.
Start training your inner force and have some fun at the same time. So how does it work? The fine people from Thinkgeek always have a great descriptions:
It’s quite simple. depending on the amount of Midichlorians you have in your cells, each of you possess differing abilities to control your brainwaves. Using dry sensor technology, the Force Trainer can determine the differences between the alpha, beta, gamma and delta waves present in your brain. You can control these different brain ’states’ by using your ability to focus and to concentrate. A micro-chip inside the Force Trainer then uses an algorithm to figure out which brain state you are in and then decides how to raise or lower the ball based on that state. It’s kind of like magic, except the kind from a Galaxy far far away.
Ucreate will start molding your child into the next big DJ and make them the life of the party.
Music is an easy-to-use digital music-making system that allows kids to become a professional music producSearsSer! Kids and tweens can express themselves though creating their own songs, performances and re-mixes with the fun and innovative interface.They can record samples, mix and match loops, share creations with friends and update and explore new content on the music website at myucreate.com. Build from a collection of tracks, special effects and filters from the huge online library
Yoostar takes you from the front of the screen and puts you into the silver screen.
Yoostar is the revolutionary new entertainment system that lets YOO star in scenes from movies, TV shows and NBA games — and share those scenes with family, friends and everyone. The Yoostar Entertainment System gives you everything you need to turn your home into a movie studio — studio-grade web cam, portable green screen and stand, wireless remote, Yoostar software for your PC (Mac version coming soon), plus 12 movie scenes and 2 bonus scenes to start.
Yoostar is simple to use. You can easily replace actors and perform their dialogue, or add yourself to a scene, speaking dialogue you create. After shooting your Yoostar clip, you can post it on your Yoostar.com page — as private, open to friends or to the whole world. You can also place a Yoostar widget on other social networks, such as Facebook, twitter or Myspace. And you can enjoy your Yoostar clip with friends and family on your big screen TV.
Not only does this remote control car transform, it also fires off 5 suction cup darts as well. Check out the video below to see it in action.
This remote-controlled sports car transforms into a robot that launches suction cup darts from a rotary cannon. At the touch of a button, the hood and front tires elevate 10″ off of the ground, exposing the cannon that’s integrated into the undercarriage. Drivers can fire the five suction cup darts in rapid succession, transform the robot back into its automotive form, and race the car forward and backward, execute hairpin turns, and perform 360º spins. The remote control has three different channels, allowing up to three cars to engage in battle. Includes eight suction cup darts.
Instead of having your kids beat up each other, give them one of these infrared controllers and let the robots take the beating.
These pugnacious remote controlled robots interpret your hand motions to execute left jabs and right hooks as you attempt to outbox your opponent. The infrared controllers have built-in tilt sensors and accelerometers to detect when you move your hands–when you punch, the robot punches; directional buttons control forward and backward movement. Each robot has a target area in the middle of its chest; when struck, it registers a “hit” on the four-LED display just above the target. Four hits disables a robot and wins a bout. Includes two robots and two pairs of infrared controllers.
The classic Duck Hunt game comes to life and no real animals are hurt in the process.
This is the live-action shooting game that lets you hunt a flying duck with a harmless infrared gun. A 10-second charge on the barrel of the gun energizes the mechanical duck for a 30-second flight (Play Video). The duck’s 6″ long mylar wings flap up and down nearly 500 times per minute, and it can be set to fly in an erratic left- or right-turning circle or a level, straight line. Sharp-eyed hunters take aim with the infrared gun–the first two hits merely stun the waterfowl, momentarily interrupting his flapping; the third hit downs the duck for good. The single-shot blaster has a 20′ range and makes a loading sound with each pump
Recipient of Dr. Toy’s “Best Children’s Products” award, this electronic version of “hotter/colder” challenges children to find the monkey using a wand that beeps and lights up as seekers close in. Four LEDs on the wand begin to illuminate when it is within 20′ of the monkey. As seekers get “hotter,” more LEDs light up, and when the wand is within 5′ of the monkey, it beeps to confirm the monkey is close by. The monkey is small enough to be hidden under a child’s pillow and its curved tail allows you to hang it from tree branches or lampshades.
To win a water fight you need the best equipment and to stay as dry as possible. With this water cannon you get a 60′ water stream and a 30′ infrared control range. You can get everyone soaked without ever stepping outside.
This is the remote controlled water cannon that can direct a stream of water up to 60′. The cannon’s base connects to a garden hose; three interchangeable nozzles (spray, mist, and stream) fit onto the end of the cannon’s barrel, generating different spray patterns, enabling you to soak a wider number of playmates. You can control it with the infrared remote while in direct line of sight from up to 30′ away. The cannon can be rotated 300º for nearly complete horizontal coverage, and its barrel can be raised 20º and depressed 5º, allowing you to place it on the ground or on an outdoor structure to bypass fences, walls, or other passive defenses.
If you are going to give your child a remote control car why not give one that might pay for itself over time by finding hidden treasures.
This is the remote control dune buggy that can detect buried metallic objects when driven over suitable terrain, including backyards, dirt lots, low grass, or flat sand. The buggy can detect buried iron-based metals down to 4″ and when it does, it flashes a red LED and begins beeping to alert you of potential treasure. The remote controls forward, backward, left, and right movement from up to 30′ away. Metal detecting sensitivity can be modified to suit the terrain with a simple dial on the buggy. Includes four faux gold doubloons (metal) to bury and two plastic digging tools
I love this roller coaster set because it allows you to simulate your coaster on a computer. Unfortunately it works only on a Windows based PC.
Like a real roller coaster, this 1:48 scale roller coaster model plummets down hills, careens around turns, performs a loop, and twists through a corkscrew all under the power of its own momentum. Designed by a roller coaster engineer, the ride begins at the control area. A rotating spring lifts the train up the first hill, then releases the train, where it dives and rises into its second turn. The second hill provides enough potential energy for the train to continue smoothly around the loop and power it through its corkscrew. The kit consists of 464 pieces made of durable ABS and POM plastic. When fully assembled, it spans 4′ 9″ long by 15″ wide and stands 25″ tall. The included software allows you to to simulate riding conditions as viewed from any seat on the coaster and from any angle, providing you with real-time G-force readouts. Requires a PC running Windows XP or Vista
Digital GT Pit Box Track Set
This race track is the coolest race set I have ever seen. I want one.
This is the 1:32 scale slot car raceway that employs digital technology to create the most realistic racing environment available. Unlike its analog predecessors, this set considers fuel consumption, braking responsiveness, and pit rules. Each of the three included cars is equipped with a digital microchip that allows you to change lanes or pull in to pit row–do so too fast, and your car may be penalized a lap. A display shows you how much “fuel” you have, and if you fill your car to its maximum, its top-speed will be slower to account for the “weight” of the fuel, but it will go farther. The track includes curves with reinforced barriers, three lane-switch areas, and a pit row area–over 20′ of total track length. Cars include a Porsche 911 GT3, Chevrolet Corvette C6R, and an Aston Martin DBR9; all have working headlights and meticulously painted details
It wasn’t really all that exciting, but here is my Black Friday story. First, I got up about an hour later than I wanted to, and missed some of the things I wanted to get, but I am very thankful that I did! From what I understand, even if you showed up at my first stop, Wal-Mart, you likely would not have been able to get some of the Black Friday deals. Evidently a lot of people showed up at Wal-Mart at midnight, loaded up their carts, and hung around until the price changes started at 5 am. Even so, when I got there around 6 am, there will still lines for the $69.00 Kodak Camera at the photo center, and when I first got there the lines were HUGE. I am so glad I missed the 5 am rush, as I would have still been in line at the time I finally did get to the store.
Gigabyte T1028 touchscreen netbook which was unveiled at last CeBit is now available with preloaded Windows 7 OS. The Gigabyte T1028X comes with a sport a 10.1 inch touchscreen display with 1024 x 600 pixel resolution. Powered by a 1.6GH Intel Atom N280 processor and 1GB of DDR2 RAM, This Touchnote T1028X comes with a 250GB HDD and a 6-cell battery.
T1028X is preloaded with Windows 7 OS. Amazon sell this baby with a $688 price tag while another model which sport an integrated 3G module is listed with a $788 price.
[source]
The Kama version of the USB Neon Light. While it’s hooked up to your computer’s USB port and turned on, it shall obviously tell others you’re now having a break, do not wanna be disturbed, surfing the kind of websites that you love most.
When it’s time for some intimate lighting, set the mood karma-style. Each USB-powered glow lamp is a sure to be a source of inspiration, whether you opt for sultry red or decide to go blue.
Kohjinsha has rolled out their Dual Screen DZ Series laptop in Japan. This dual-screen laptop was once just a concept and Kohjinsha has managed to make it to come as a real product.
The Kohjinsha Dual-screen DZ laptop packs two 10.1 inch LED backlit screens, a Athlon Neo 1.6 GHz MV-40 CPU, 1GB RAM which is upgradable to 4GB, ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics card, 160 GB of storage, WiFi and 1.3 megapixel webcam. The dual screens of the Kohjinsha DZ laptop looks pretty similar to the gScreen Spacebook, which can have one screen to slide behind the other.
The Kohjinsha DZ will be priced around 95,800 Yen (around $1,107) and available in Japan. The is no indication whether it’ll be headed elsewhere. The dual-screens should be handy for those who need more screen space for intensive work. But bear in mind the dual screens also add more burdens, have pulled up the weight of the laptop to 1.84 kg.
MSI Wind U230 laptop which was revealed at MSI’s website last month is now official. This 12.1 inch laptop will arrive with Windows 7 OS and deliver 1366 x 768 pixel resolution to its screen. MSI Wind U230 is powered by a AMD Congo CPU MV40 processor, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM while its storage will be either a 160-, 250- or 320-GB SATA HDD.
Its other features will include Wifi b/g/n support, gigabit ethernet, three USB ports, HDMI port, 4-in-1 memory card reader and a 1.3MP webcam. Bluetooth available as an optional feature. Its graphic is driven by an ATi Radeon HD3200 graphic. Its release date is expected to be sometime in January 2010 with a $399 price.
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Amazon today offers the Garmin nuvi 285WT for only $129 as part of the Amazon Black Friday deal. The normal price of this navigation gadget is $250. The Garmin Nuvi 285WT comes with a 4.3-inch widescreen with text-to-speech capability and provides real time local weather, traffic, movie times, stock prices, gas prices, and news via MSN Direct. The gadget also supports Bluetooth for hands free calls using the embedded microphone and speakers. [Amazon]
It make take some time to set up. For one, the download (an image file), as put together by a few of Dell’s Linux guys, weighs in at 7.5GB. Not only will that take a while to download, but you’ll also need a flash drive with at least 8GB of free space on there—another thing I don’t have. You’ll also need access to another Linux-based computer (well, any computer that can run the “dd” command) to get everything up and running.
Beyond that, it does appear to be fairly painless to instal. You download said image file then copy it from the Linux computer using “dd” to the flash drive. You take this flash drive, stick it into you Dell Mini 10, and away you go!
What’s your reward for going through all that? Running Chromium OS, of course. Think of it as Google Chrome OS, but way alpha.
I’m going to file this under the “Why would you bother doing that? Because you can” category.
According to GeekWithLaptop, today (Nov 28th) is the day that S Korea has their iPhone launched. They’re pretty unfortunate, being one of the last Asian Pacific countries to get the iPhone, after launches in China and Japan, which got the iPhone last month and last year respectively.
The iPhone is to be launched by KT Corp, the country’s second largest mobile phone carrier. And they’re to hold a special launch event for around 1,000 customers who’ve pre-ordered the iPhone. South Korea has advanced 3G network, the iPhone shall rock in their high-speed networks.
The delay in having iPhone available in S Korea was due to regulations surrounding the location based services the iPhone offers. Now, the iPhone has arrived, LG, Samsung, Pantech must stay more awake on this strong competitor. iPhone is now available in 86 countries across the globe.
The 
