Archive for April 24th, 2008
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Microsoft just announced Live Mesh, a platform that aims to make data available anytime, anywhere on any device. If you wonder what Live Mesh is, here’s how Microsoft thinks of it: |
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A platform that defines and models a user’s digital relationships between devices, data, applications, and people-made available to developers through an open data model and protocols. A cloud service providing an implementation of the platform hosted in Microsoft data centers. Software, a client implementation of the platform that enables local applications to run offline and interact seamlessly with the cloud. A platform experience that exposes the key benefits of the platform for bringing together a user’s devices, files and applications, and social graph, with news feeds across all of these. The platform is the star here. In Live Mesh, Microsoft will use the accumulated experience from computing, storage, internet application, mobile devices and user experience to build what it thinks is the ultimate platform to store, process and deliver data. The concepts aren’t really new, but it is true that Microsoft has the know-how in each and every area required to build the desired experience. We always take these grand visions with a grain of salt, but while it might not sound revolutionary, if Microsoft can realize its vision, Microsoft Live Mesh could be to personal data what Microsoft Exchange is to enterprise email: a crushing dominance. The competition should take it seriously: the company is known to -eventually- get it right: look at the Xbox 360… [Live Mesh Blog] |
Popularity: 11%
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Honda not only makes great cars, they are also big on robotics. Honda has been working on a walking assist device since the end of the last decade and will parade it at this coming weekend in Osaka at the International Trade Fair on Barrier Free Equipments & Rehabilitation for the Elderly and the Disabled. |
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Visitors are welcome to give it a try, and it apparently uses data obtained from hip angle sensors, where the control CPU will communicate with the flat brushless motors and provide the right amount of assistance for those who want to lengthen their strides. It weighs a mere 6.2lbs and is wrapped around the waist and thigh. Assuming you take 4.5km/h strolls, the battery life ought to last for two hours. Hopefully the final version will be affordable enough for the layman to purchase.
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Popularity: 11%
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Sony has a quartet of new E Series projectors on offer soon, and they are all equally at home in a home theater or at the office. |
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The budget-minded VPL-EW5 is the first from Sony in that price range to support a native widescreen output, natively displaying 720p HD footage while matching the display resolution of most newer portables exactly. It has a brightness level of 2,000 lumens and a contrast ratio of 700 to 1. The EW5 also sports HDMI, VGA, RCA and S-video connections. As for the EX50, that 4:3 projector has 2,500 lumens and a 900:1 contrast ratio with a native 1,024 x 768 resolution, making it the most vivid of the bunch. The EX5 has 2,000 lumens with similar contrast and resolution to the EX50. The pocket-friendly ES5 is Sony’s most affordable entry projector yet with an 800 x 600. No idea when these will ship nor how much they will cost, but all four will hit Europe first.
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Popularity: 8%
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LaCie has bumped up its Rugged Hard Drive’s capacity to 500GB, allowing you to tote around more MP3s and video files that you’ll ever need for $400. Designed by Neil Poulton, this external hard drive features a scratch-resistant aluminum shell as well as shock-resistant rubber bumper that helps keep data inside the 500GB Hitachi hard drive intact. |
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You can choose from the plain USB 2.0 model or the bus-powered version that does USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and FireWire 800. Each purchase comes with a pre-loaded utility that makes setup a snap and the necessary backup software.
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Popularity: 15%
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Dell has added a new color to its XPS M1530 laptop, and this time it will appeal to those who love bright, garish colors. Flamingo Pink is the new addition, and it will add a $25 premium over the regular M1530’s price. |
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Mother’s Day is coming up, just in case you’re not sure what to get for mom. After all, she needs a new machine to continue her online poker sessions, right?
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Popularity: 22%
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Promate has released a universal laptop back-up battery known as ProBattery, and it ought to last you for quite some time considering it is capable of handling over 10,000 discharge cycles and can be charged during use. |
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Features include an integrated USB output that also turns it into an impromptu charger for USB-chargeable devices such as MP3 players as well as cell phones. Half a dozen LED lights keep you up to date on the charge status, while the aluminum casing helps dissipate heat in order not to burst into a ball of flames.
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Popularity: 7%
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Folks residing in the US will be able to get their hands on the Mickey MP3 player without paying an exorbitant amount to an importer - but it does have one major drawback. |
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Apparently, this MP3 player “contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer, or birth defects or other reproductive harm.” Are you willing to risk growing a third limb for 1GB of storage by forking out $70? Folks in Japan seem to be doing pretty well…so far.
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Popularity: 22%
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The Addonics Snap-In ExDrive25 allows you to make use of older 2.5″ hard drives without breaking the bank - you’ll just need to fork out $29 to be exact. With the Addonics Snap-In ExDrive25, you get hot-swappable connections through USB 2.0 as well as eSATA connectivity (hopefully your PC can support the latter). |
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You’ll also need to shell out another $15 for a power adapter since eSATA cannot power the drive through the bus at this point in time. At least put those old 2.5″ hard drives to good use in a stylish manner.
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Popularity: 8%
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I suppose anyone using one of those biometric hard drives would do well to own this SawStop Table Saw. |
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It boasts a safety system that stops and retracts the blade within 5 milliseconds upon accidental contact, greatly reducing the severity of user injury (and a severed digit which would then be a catastrophe, I might add). The price to pay for such safety? $1,500 a pop.
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Popularity: 7%
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BFG Technologies (a known add-in-card maker) is partnering with NVIDIA to auction 5 cards with a special edition box featuring Jen-Hsun (Jensen) Huang blasting aliens (He is the co-founder and CEO of NVIDIA). |
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This photo was taken by Rick Dahms for the cover of the issue of Fortune Magazine in which NVIDIA was named “company of the year”. Inside the boxes, the cards have been autographed by Jensen and Scott Kerkelman, President of BFG. The real point of all this is that the auction proceeds will go to Child’s Play, a “community based charity grown and nurtured from the game culture and industry” that provides toys and games to hospitalized kids in North America. Additionally, NVIDIA will match 100% of the auction proceeds. Add horsepower to your computer and do a good thing at the same time, it doesn’t sound like a bad deal. There’s also a chance to win a complete “package” at hardOCP
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Popularity: 7%
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