Find Our Latest Video Reviews on YouTube!
If you want to stay on top of all of our video reviews of the latest tech, be sure to check out and subscribe to the Gear Live YouTube channel, hosted by Andru Edwards! It’s free!
Laws have been passed, deadlines set (think Bill Gates), and ludicrous concepts conjured up (e-mail postage) - yet the scourge that is spam still marches on. One of the latest weapons in the war on spam is the Spam Cube. This diminutive little box provides spam protection for as many as four computers regardless of the operating system installed (although their website is a bit contradictory on the OS part). Unlike many other hardware/software solutions there’s no monthly fee for using the Spam Cube. Simply purchase one, jack it into your network per the instructions (assuming you read them), and away it goes. The company offers a virus protection service as well (Security OnDemand), and while it’s not free, it’s not terribly expensive either. Keep in mind that their virus protection only covers e-mail, so you’ll still need to retain your existing anti-virus software.
Pre-order yours now for $150 USD. An annual subscription to their Security OnDemand service is $52 USD.
Read More 
| Spam Cube via PR Minds
Photos: iPod 60GB, In-Ear Headphones, A/V Cable
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Apple, Portable Audio, Portable Video,
iPod 60GB, In-Ear Headphones, A/V Cable, with packaging
Originally uploaded by JoshB.
Here are some photos I took for the Unboxing Ceremony when I got my iPod 5G 60GB, along with the Apple in-ear headphones and the A/V cable.
You can see all the photos in this photo set on Flickr.
Advertisement
Sekio TR-006 Bluetooth Watch
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Smartphones, Wearables, Design, Wireless / WiFi,
Seiko Instruments has produced a working prototype of thier TR-006 Bluetooth watch; a watch that should probably be sent back to the drawing board for re-design. Seriously, the size of this thing is huge, and while the guy (whose arm appears in the picture above) looks malnourished and underfed, there’s no getting around the watch’s massive dimensions. On the upside, the watch can display your phone’s signal strength, Caller ID information for incoming calls, SMS messages and more. Pre-set rings are available to alert you to the aforementioned calls and messages and for when a bit of quiet is needed, it can vibrate as well.
If you’re into having large objects strapped to your arms,
then the TR-006 might be right up your alley.
Read More | Seiko (jp) via Slashphone
Latest Gear Live Videos
There’s nothing quite like the thrill of opening a new piece of gear. The smell, the excitement and anticipation, and the feeling of holding whatever it is in your hands for the first time. While it’s not quite the same, I suspect that you get a little of that feeling when you share in someone else’s Unboxing Ceremony. I know I do.
My name is Josh Bancroft, and I’m a geek. I blog over at TinyScreenfuls.com, and I love gadgets, gear, and new toys. Whenever I get a new piece of gear, I usually document the “Unboxing Ceremony” in some way - photos, usually, but sometimes video if it’s really special.
It seems like I’m not the only one - across all the blogs that I read, I see lots of other people posting pictures or video of their own Unboxing Ceremonies. My Unboxing posts at TinyScreenfuls.com continue to be some of the most popular pages on the site, and I even get emails from people telling me how much they enjoyed the ones I’ve shared. So I got the wild idea to create this site, to aggregate them in one place.
I’ll be sharing my own Unboxing Ceremonies here (past, present, and future!), and linking to others I come across in my wanderings. If you have a Unboxing Ceremony you’d like to share, drop me a line at {encode:share@unboxing.com}.
Subscribe to the feed, and get all the vicarious thrills of new gadgets as soon as they’re available.
Thanks for dropping by! 😊
My friend Tod at work is a Mac head, and ordered a MacBook Pro as soon as the keynote was over. It arrived last week, and he was gracious (and strong willed!) enough to wait until getting into the office to open it, so I could come and gawk and oooh and aaah.
You can find the rest of the photos of the Unboxing Ceremony (25 in all) in this photo set on Flickr.
Ah, the excitement of vicarious geekiness!
Hidden passageways are the sort of things kids dream of. The ability to sneak from one room to another, a place to hide from your pesky brother/sister, or a cool thing about your house your friends don’t have. Creative Home Engineering creates and installs hidden passageways, and has also designed a DIY kit for those willing to tackle the project on their own.
Imagine every type of hidden passage you’ve seen in the movies, or read about in a book, and the folks at Creative Home Engineering can make it a reality. Revolving fireplace? Check. Stairs that lift to reveal a hidden entrance? You betcha. A candlestick on the mantle as the triggering switch? Piece of cake. In fact, from looking at the movies and animations on their site, you’ll get a glimpse of how varied hidden passages can be. Fulfilling one’s childhood fantasies isn’t the only reason for a hidden passageway. Security plays a major role as thieves can’t steal what they can’t find. Technology also has it’s place with biometrics, optical scanners, and voice recognition as optional items.
Prices can range upwards of $10,000 USD, and the DIY kits start at $1,500 USD.
Read More | Creative Home Engineering via The Red Ferret
Concept cars are nothing new. They’re utilized by auto manufacturers to gauge public response to body-styles, used as platforms for new technology and ideas, and sadly, rarely ever see the light of day as real vehicles. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, Daimler-Chrysler has seemingly been turning more of their concepts into production vehicles than any other manufacturer.
Daimler-Chrysler released their latest concept car at the Geneva Auto Show - the 2007 Dodge Hornet. Bearing a striking resemblance to both the modern Mini Cooper and Suzuki Swift vehicles, the Hornet is designed as Dodge’s new low-cost vehicle (below the Caliber). Small enough for the European market, but big enough for the U.S., the Hornet is equipped with a supercharged 170hp engine that will zip it from 0-to-60 in approximately 6.7 seconds (firmly in Mini Cooper territory). The grille has Dodge’s trademark look, while the rest of the exterior and interior speak of European influences.
Will the Hornet make it to market? Only time will tell, but given Chrysler’s past track record there’s a good chance. Estimated sticker price will be below that of the Dodge Caliber (which lists for $13,985).
Read More | via Leftlane News and Dodge-Hornet.com
The Xbox Live guys have pushed a new dashboard upgrade out, available now:
The March 2006 Xbox 360™ update will prepare your Xbox 360 console for future system and title updates. This free* update is available to all Xbox Live® members. Your console will be updated the next time you sign in to Xbox Live.
*Requires a broadband connection and an Xbox Live account.
Being that the last Dashboard upgrade bricked my Xbox 360, I am not to keen on installing one that doesn’t give details on what’s in the upgrade.
Comcast Digital Voice Modem Is Frickin’ Huge
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, Internet,
So, here at the office we got rid of Vonage and added Comcast Digital Voice to our cable package. Aside from the hike on the Comcast bill, the biggest change we have noticed in this process is the insanely large telephony modem that they gave us to replace the little Motorola cable modem that we knew and loved. I mean, we understand that the new modem includes a battery backup that allows us to maintain phone service in the event of a power outage (although Internet drops out thoroughly in the same situation,) but what should we make of the two times the phone service did cut out? Oh, wait - that was due to Comcast performing “standard area upgrades.” Sweet.
The M1 Super Battery
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Corporate News, Misc. Tech, Portable Audio / Video, Transportation,
It’s been said that if you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door. While that may have been true some years ago, in today’s ever mobile world, the proverbial mousetrap is now the battery. Electronic devices of all kinds require power, and if it’s not plugged into the wall, that power has traditionally been supplied by the humble battery. Fuel cell technology, while promising, isn’t quite ready for primetime yet so batteries are still center stage. With the battery industry worth billions of dollars, it’s no wonder that companies are always vying to outdo one another for dominance.
With the introduction of the M1, A123 Systems has introduced a remarkable upgrade to the Li-Ion battery. In comparison to a standard Li-Ion cell they’ve been able to double the power density, increase the peak power fivefold, and significantly reduce the time required for charging. Those gains have been accomplished by shrinking the size of the particles that coat the battery’s electrodes from 5-20 microns (standard Li-Ion) to below 100 nanometers for the new M1. Another benefit to the technology is safety. A typical Li-Ion cell when penetrated will explode, whereas an M1 cell will merely emit smoke.
One of the first adopters to bring the M1 technology to market is DeWalt. Their new line of 36-volt power tools have batteries that weigh the same as competitor’s 18-volt products, yet deliver more power and longer runtimes. While DeWalt’s application is all well and good, A123 Systems have their sights set firmly on the automotive industry. For example, the 100-lb battery in a Toyota Prius could have it’s weight reduced by nearly 80% and a quick re-charge to 90% capacity would only take 5 minutes! Certainly a technology to keep an eye on.
Read More | A123 Systems via Wired
