Product Features
The VXA-3000 boasts most of the same features as the top end systems currently on the market, but also has an extra large 7 inch LCD display.

Like most on the market it has the following features:

• FM Transmitter
• 2D and 3D Maps
• SD Card Slot
• Preloaded with US and Canadian Maps
• Turn by Turn navigation with automatic rerouting
• Built-in media player
• Remote Control

What sets it apart from the rest?
The Plenio VXA-3000 has a few little features which make it unique, such as the extra large 7 inch display, and the ability to use the display to view DVD’s or to play games on!

What we think
The 7 inch screen is good if you like the larger display, but this will make the unit somewhat bulky and a pain in the ass to carry around, as you would not want to leave it in the car.
Watching DVDs on the system is cool, but in reality, I do not think I will be using the unit for this purpose, or to play games on.  For Gaming 7 inch display is too small, and not really worth it in my opinion.

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In September, the E-DT will be joined by an all-in-one PC/screen called the E-Monitor. Also running on the Shelton platform, the 19-21 inch device will also feature a TV tuner. Asus estimates that it will cost US$499, which is cheaper than Apple’s iMac and Dell’s XPS One.

The most ambitious and clear highlight of the range will be a 42in LCD TV with a built-in Linux PC. Not many details, including a launch date, have been released but Asus expect the E-TV to cost around US$200 more than conventional LCD screens of that size.

Local distributors contacted by PC World were unsure when the new Eee range would surface in New Zealand.
Source: http://pcworld.co.nz/pcworld

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You see, there are two things I’ve always wanted mounted in the front of my car – a public address system with a big amplifier (and a microphone within handy reach of the driver’s seat) and a cannon. The P.A. system, of course, would be a way for me to express my never humble opinions of (and offer helpful suggestions to) other drivers, oblivious pedestrians and bicyclists who think cars have to share the road but they don’t. The cannon, of course, would be for when the P.A. system doesn’t have the desired effect: if my high caliber “suggestions” don’t help, I’d have an even higher “caliber” solution.

Then along came Horntones (http://www.horntones.com), which does bupkis for my highest caliber aspirations but which could go a long way toward relieving road rage, assuming it doesn’t also create more than its share.

The Horntones FX-550 system bills itself as the first mobile audio system to let you augment the sound of your car horn using virtually any MP3 file. It’s a way to personalize your – and everyone else’s around you – automotive experience, kind of like using personalized ring tones for your cell phone, but taken to the next level of human (or is it inhuman?) interaction.

The $300 system includes a head unit for inside the car, and an amplifier and speaker you install under the hood. The head unit includes 256 megabytes of memory, and a USB port by which you can load your own devilishly clever sounds. It comes pre-programmed with 27 tones, and nine preset buttons with which you can choose from a variety of sounds to inflict on that unsuspecting guy or gal staring stupidly off into space ahead of you. The company has also built in the capability to organize tones into “Themes”, each of which can consist of nine tones (one per preset button). Themes include Tailgate Party, Car Show, Raiders, Carpool, Traffic, Politics, Advertisements or whatever.

And there’s an entrepreneurial use: you could rent out your Horntones setup to the highest bidder, and use the system to extol the virtues of “Brand X” or the specials of the day at “Restaurant Y.” You could even use it to proclaim your support for “Candidate Z”, dragging the old fashioned bumper sticker into the 21st century – and helping prevent the need for removing the sticker later (and the accompanying risk of getting your car keyed by the forces of tolerance).

Benign uses could include a special sound you can play when you stop by the daycare to pick up the kids someone else is raising for you – so the little dears will know it’s you out there waiting for them and not some ex-spouse or stalker.

On the other hand, and this probably won’t surprise you, it’s the malignant uses that appeal to me – like firing up a train whistle or a fighter jet when the oaf ahead doesn’t notice the light has turned green until it’s half over.

The company offers clips such as Daffy Duck opining that “You’re Despicable”, Steve Martin’s famous “Excuuuuse Me!”, some gaseous bodily orifice emissions (which I imagine will be quite popular) – and even a clip from the movie Full Metal Jacket, where drill sergeant F. Lee Ermey yells “What’s Your Major Malfunction, (censored)?”

I love that one, and could see it replacing the one fingered salute – which means that, since drivers will be able to keep both hands on the steering wheel longer rather than having to wave one around until it’s noticed by the offender, Horntones could actually be a traffic safety device. Just think of the lives that could be saved!

Or maybe not. But whatever the result, I have to get one of these things. It could keep me off the psychiatrist’s couch!

Another interesting gadget for people who drive manual transmissions, but who have trouble remembering which gear you’re in is: public transit!
Just kidding. While it’s fun to pontificate about how it should be easy to always know which gear you’re in, brain poots sometimes happen. And to that end, there’s the Indy-Cator which, besides being a great pun, is an aftermarket shift knob that lets you keep track of what gear you’re in.

The $220 Indy-Cator is designed to fit manual transmission-equipped cars that don’t have reverse gear locking mechanisms. It uses an LCD to give you a visual readout of the gear currently selected. The readout, which is on the top of the knob, is even equipped with a light monitor, so it gets brighter or dimmer depending on the conditions.

You can learn more about the Indy-Cator at http://www.indy-cator.com. A version for cars with reverse locking mechanisms, called the Indy-Cator Dash, will be available soon.

Of course if you’re watching the Indy-Cator’s LCD you aren’t watching the road….

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And what is the point of bringing out a completely new competing technology when something like USB is so well entrenched in every device we purchase today? Why not create an extension of the current technology to make it work better? Besides, the demo of the TransferJet technology at CES 2008 did not work properly…

So what is the technology supposed to do?
Well, apparently, you are able to transfer data between devices or from a device to a PC by putting the devices close together. Infact they have to be snuggled up pretty tight next to each other – at a maximum distance of 1.75 inches away. I guess it is a cool piece of technology to transfer photos etc between cameras or phones.

Here is a brief video of it explained:
Sony’s TransferJet

Wireless USB (or “Certified Wireless USB”) is the technology created by the Wireless USB Promoter Group, which is capable of sending 480 Mbit/s at distances up to 3 meters and 110 Mbit/s at up to 10 meters. This is obviously far superior to the 1.75 inches touted by Sony’s new invention.

But to make a product a Wireless USB Device, you need a wireless hub to facilitate the migration from wired to wireless.

So what is your pick? Are you betting on the new Sony TransferJet technology to come over and rule the world? Or do you believe the WUSB technology has the advantage?

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Britain is planning to implant “machine-readable” microchips – like those used on pets – under the skin of thousands of offenders as part of an expansion of electronic tagging.

Because of concerns about the security of existing tagging systems and prison overcrowding, the British Ministry of Justice is investigating the use of satellite and radio-wave technology to monitor criminals.

But, instead of being contained in bracelets worn around the ankle, the tiny chips would be surgically inserted under the skin of offenders in the community, to help enforce home curfews.

The “radio frequency identification” tags, as long as two grains of rice, can carry information about individuals, including identities, address and offending record.

The tags, labelled “spychips” by privacy campaigners, are used to track dogs, cats, cattle and airport luggage, but there is no record of the technology being used to monitor people.

A senior Ministry of Justice official said the department hoped to go even further, by extending the geographical range of the internal chips through a link-up with satellite-tracking similar to the system used to trace stolen vehicles.

“All options are on the table, and this is one we would like to pursue.”

The move is in line with a proposal from the Association of Chief Police Officers that electronic chips should be surgically implanted into convicted paedophiles and sex offenders to track them more easily, preventing them from going near “forbidden” zones such as primary schools.

“We’ve wanted to take advantage of this technology for years, because it seems a sensible solution to the problems we are facing,” a senior minister said. “Its time has come.”

The Independent on Sunday reports that ministers have been assessing the merits of cutting-edge technology that would make it virtually impossible for individuals to remove their tags.

The tags, injected into the back of the arm, consist of a glass capsule holding a computer chip, a copper antenna and a “capacitor” to transmit data stored on the chip when prompted by an electromagnetic reader.

Details of the scheme provoked an angry response from probation officers and civil-rights groups.

“If the Home Office doesn’t understand why implanting a chip in someone is worse than an ankle bracelet, they don’t need a human-rights lawyer; they need a common-sense bypass,” said Shami Chakrabarti, director of the Liberty rights group. “Degrading offenders in this way will do nothing for their rehabilitation.”

Britain has been forced to review sentencing policy amid serious overcrowding in the nation’s jails, after the prison population soared from 60,000 in 1997 to 80,000 today.

New Zealand has also faced a jump in prison numbers. A Ministry of Justice forecast last year showed the average monthly prison population was expected to go from 7656 in June 2006 to 9028 in June 2014.

However a Department of Corrections spokeswoman said last night that it had not looked at the British scheme and had no plans to do so in the foreseeable future.

- INDEPENDENT

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Take a look at the USB pole dance in action on youtube

Come have a look at some more weird gift ideas here.

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Take a look at the videos on how this works and how to add this Mod.

How to Mod the EEE PC to add a Touch Screen

Have fun with this mod!! I might be trying this myself soon.

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Iomega has decided to drop the name Zip, and call it the Rev Drive.
The Capacity of these new drives are up to 70GB at this stage, which is very cool.

Take a look at the Iomega Site.

If you would like to purchase the new drive, come visit our store

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AS company called Autopage has come out with an interesting new technology. Some of it very practical, and other features not so…

Apparently with their new Autopage C3, you can be sitting in another country enjoying your holiday, and call up your car back home, and just for kicks turn its engine on!
Well I dont really see how this technology is useful, but I am sure the designers have interesting future applications for this technology.

It did however win the 2008 CES Bes of Innocations Award, and I am sure this is due to its other features, and not solely based on this one feature.

The C3 will also send you a text message if your can moves more than 25 feet without your permission. Now that is a cool feature – even though I am sure I have heard about something like this in the past.

The C3 allows your to control all the functions of your vehicle security system via a javascript downloaded programme to your cellphone. This obviously means that your would need a top of the line cellphone that supports java script to be able to take advantage of all the features it has to offer.

The system will also allow you to track your vehicle via GPS through your cellphone, and will send you a message if you vehicle is exceeding the speed limit while someone else is driving it.

I guess another very useful feature about this technology is that you can lock the doors and disable the starter via your cell phone.

So what is the price of this technology?
The price starts from $149.

If you want to see the Autopage C3 previewed, you can have a look at a video on youtube about how the technology works.

And here is the official website if you want to find out more information about this.

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Not being from this part of the world makes it hard to keep track of what is on at certain times of the year, and when you are on holiday, you seem to lose track of time very easily.

There are some really cool new gadgets being released at the CES this year.
Some of the more interesting ones are notably by Pinnacle Systems, who are launching a product that will let you transfer video to any USB device without the need of a PC! Very cool in my opinion. – You can read more about it here

The cost of this product will be about $130 and will be available later this year. The technology apparently will let you transfer the video to an Ipod or PSP device in the H.26 video compression format, which is supported by both these devices.

Pinnacle have also said the technology will allow you to archive old VHS or Hi8tapes on any USB 2.0 Device. It could be a way to get those old family videos finally digitised, instead of going through the pain staking process of buying an expensive video card that supports svideo and RCA cables to make the tedious transfer to the PC!

But as will any new technology, we will have to wait and see if this lives up to the expectations. As I have had some bad experiences with Pinnacle software in the past! Notably Pinnacle 10 Video Editing which is not the friendliest product that Pinnacle has ever launched.

I think I will wait for the reviews and the actual product to make its appearance on store shelves before I place my preorder of this device!

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