Apple iMac and Mighty Mouse Are Upsetting Me

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: PC / Laptop, Peripherals,

What the heck, yo? I picked up a Mac mini and a PowerBook over the past few months, and both worked so well that I decided to drop $2,000 on a new iMac G5 to use as my main work computer. Not even a couple of weeks out of the box, and it is already giving me strife. Hooked up to it is my Mighty Mouse, which when connected to the PowerBook, worked flawlessly. Now I use it with the iMac, and the cursor jumps to the corners of the screen at random, even if I am in the middle of clicking or dragging something. I just finished running all sorts of utilities to get the iMac back into the stable world, as all programs just stopped functioning - and the Finder couldn’t be restarted. So I repaired permissions, and repaired the volume, and finally the iMac is back up to snuff…I think. The annoying-as-hell Mighty Mouse problem still remains. I have tried using the thing with two different mousepads, as well as without one. Still, no dice. If I could get this mouse working correctly, that would so solve a bunch of my troubles.

Anyone out there with a similar Mighty Mouse experience?

EDIT: Wow - it looks like the culprit of the iMac crash was the BlogAds.com order page. Everything works fine until I go there. In fact, right after I wrote the original post, I went there again, and as soon as I did, my monitor went a bit dim, and OS X told me that I needed to hold down my power button to reboot in about five different languages. Come on, Henry, let’s get that fixed. In other news, my mouse is still acting ridiculously stupid.

Logitech Harmony 890 Universal Remote with RF Capabilities

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Home Entertainment, Internet, Peripherals,

Even more from Logitech, and this one is pretty sweet. Basically, the company took the Harmony 880, made it silver, and added RF capabilities. This means that it has that nice 880-styled color screen, rechargeable lithium ion battery, and backlit keys.

Logitech´s Harmony 890 Remote Control uses both radio frequency (RF) and infrared (IR) wireless signals to deliver complete control of your home-entertainment system that may be hidden behind cabinets or in separate rooms. With a wireless range of up to 100 feet, the Harmony 890 remote sends RF commands to a base station, which then blasts infrared signals to any components in that zone. With the Harmony 890 remote, you can create a system that involves multiple remotes and/or base stations to deliver control of all the entertainment zones throughout the home.

This one is not too shabby, although at $399 USD, the only place we might see these in action is on MTV Cribs.

Read More | Logitech Harmony 890 Product Page

Logitech Harmony 520 Universal Remote, For the Cheapies

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Home Entertainment, Smart Home, Peripherals,

I love Logitech Harmony remote controls. I have yet to use a remote that is more intuitive, easy to set up, and recognized as many devices at the Harmony line. That being the case, I am looking forward to getting my hands on the 520 to see what kind of product they are putting out there at the $99 USD price range. It is a great option for those with just a few devices that they need to control, although the oddly-shaped housing does leave a bit to be desired. Hey, for $99 you still get the signature Harmony internet setup wizard via USB, which makes this thing cake. Look for it to hit stores by the end of the month. Jump down for the full press release.

Read More | Logitech Harmony 520 Product Page

Click to continue reading Logitech Harmony 520 Universal Remote, For the Cheapies

Nintendogs Strategy Guide, Including Secret Items and Dogs

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Nintendo DS, Simulation,

So I have been messing with Nintendogs since it launched, and it really is an impressive title. There is a lot on the surface, but there is even more if you dig a bit deeper into the game. I particularly love it when Apple (my Golden Retriever) happily finds me a present and brings it to me. If you are tired of walking your dog and putting it through competitions on to see it fail time and time again, check out the 1Up Nintendogs strategy guide. Within, you will find advanced tricks along with ways to unlock more dogs in your game. Unfortunately, still nothing on the whole “I don’t want to scoop poop” cheat code. Deal with it.

Read More | Nintendogs Strategy Guide

The Final Cut: A Closer Look At Underclassman, The Transporter 2

Posted by Devin Categories: Features, Movies,

This week, The Final Cut takes a closer look at two of Friday’ releases- Underclassman, with Nick Cannon; and The Transporter 2, with Jason Statham.  Also in theaters this weekend are The Constant Gardener with Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz, A Sound of Thunder with Edward Burns and Ben Kingsley, and in limited release, Margaret Cho: Assassin- the comedienne’s fourth concert movie.  As always, if you’ve had the opportunity to see one of this weeks’ releases feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts on it.  You can catch The Final Cut’s recommendations after the jump…

Click to continue reading The Final Cut: A Closer Look At Underclassman, The Transporter 2

Chad Dyner, Inventor of Heliodisplay Interviewed

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Misc. Tech, Peripherals,

The Heliodisplay is an awesome interactive tactile 3D display that projects images in midair that one can “touch”, causing the objects to react. OhGizmo secured an interview with the inventor of this technology, Chad Dyner.

Okay, so let’s turn to the technology. You say it will accept any video source, be it DVD, TV or computer. So, how exactly does the unit interact with a computer?

It’s essentially plug and play. Now, I realised early on that if we were to bring into the world a disruptive technology such as this one, we were going to have to take incremental steps. You have to understand first of all, that the infrastructure in the world right now is built for two dimensional data. So then, as soon as you say you have a display for two dimensional data, then you get different protocols for displaying this data: NTSC, PAL, VGA on the computer and different types of video signals that can be received into our system.

Read on for the entire interview.

Read More | OhGizmo!

Braun Tassimo Hot Beverage System Reviewed

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smart Home, Product Reviews,

The Braun Tassimo Hot Beverage System is like a coffee maker, but for any hot beverage you are in the mood for. Think coffee, tea, cappucino, latte, hot chocolate, etc. Our friends at Single Serve Coffee got their hands on one, and it looks like they were fairly impressed.

The Tassimo is a great machine and hot beverage system. Since the machine is not solely focused on coffee, but spans the entire hot beverage making arena, we have to give it high marks for making an excellent cup of coffee crema, decent espresso, and yummy hot chocolate.

I have never been into coffee makers, as I am more of an iced coffee kind of guy, but this thing does look pretty neat. Can’t go wrong with hot chocolate.

Read More | Single Serve Coffee

Gear Live Omega Giveaway: The $2,000 Gamestop Xbox 360 Bundle

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Announcements, Features, Video Games,

Okay, so I was discussing Gamestop’s ridiculously amazing, and horrendously overpriced Xbox 360 Omega Bundle on The Chris Pirillo Show last week. Before the end of the segment, Chris had convinced me to give one of these monsters away here on Gear Live. Thank him, because this is what we are giving away:

360 Premium Pack ($399.00): Xbox 360 Game Console, Wireless Controller, Combination High-Definition Component & Standard A/V Cable, 20GB Hard Drive, Ethernet Cable, Headset, Universal Media Remote, Xbox Live Silver, Xbox Live Gold 30-Day Trial
Omega Bundle Games: Perfect Dark Collector’s Edition, Project Gotham Racing 3, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Dead or Alive 4, Call of Duty 2, GUN, Quake 4, Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland, Condemned, Madden NFL 2006, Kameo, Amped 3, Ghost Recon, NBA 2K6, NHL 2K6, Ridge Racer 6, Top Spin 2, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Tiger Woods 2006, Frame City Killer
Omega Bundle Accessories: Extra Wireless Controller, Extra Wireless Controller, Extra Wireless Controller, Wireless Network Adaptor, Memory Unit, Fuego Faceplates, Play & Charge Kit, Rechargeable Battery, Xbox Live 12 Month Card, 1-Year Product Replacement Plan

This contest starts now, and will end a week before Xbox 360 launch. Here is how it will go down. In order to enter, you need to be a registered user on the site, and must place your mailing address in the signup form in the Sync Magazine box. No worries, as your address will only be used to mail you your Bundle, and send you a Sync subscription if you check that box. Once this is done, be sure you are logged in and leave a comment here in this post. What we want to know is the following:

1) Which game are you looking forward to the most in this bundle?
2) Which game are you looking forward to the least in this bundle?

Be sure to tell us why you are excited about (or not looking forward to) the games you choose. The winner will be someone who follows the instructions, and will be chosen at random. Once again, this one is only for those located in the good ol’ USA. There you have it. Someone is about to be buried in Xbox 360 games.

Xbox 360 Launching November 25?

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Video Games,

It looks like the Xbox 360 will not be launching on November 4 after all, as Microsoft opts to give developers a few weeks longer to put that extra shine on their launch titles. So it looks like Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is set to launch on November 25, 2005, which just happens to be both Black Friday and the day after Thanksgiving. This is the biggest shopping day of the year, so my guess is that finding an Xbox 360 come November 26 will not be an easy task.

Read More | Playfeed

Xbox 360 Ready To Roll on November 25, 2005

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Xbox 360,

Oh, happy day. After many long months of speculation, it suddenly looks so clear. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is set to launch on November 25, 2005 as we predicted, the day after Thanksgiving. That being the case, you had best run out and pre-order this bad boy quickly, as I would expect the entire launch shipment to be gone by the end of Black Friday. After all, it is the biggest shopping day of the entire year. You can rest assured that plenty of parents are going to be picking this one up for Junior. Of course, for us hardcores, the midnight launch should take care of us. Is it rude to skip out on family/guests after Thanksgiving dinner to head over to Gamestop?

Read More | IGN