A fruity Bravia for Mother's Day?

Not a Mac, you silly! We're referring to the latest 20-inch Sony Bravia KLV-20S400A HDTV in fruity pink, green and orange. Also available in blue, black and white, it's based on the company's "Draw the Line" concept and is brilliant for kitchens as well as brightening your home. In fact, we reckon it's the perfect gift for Mother's Day. Unfortunately, this darling, with the rest of the larger piano black S4-series, will reach stores across Asia Pacific only in June.

Also announced today is the Bravia V4-series which shares an identical 2008 Bravia Engine 2 video processor and 1080p24 input capability (24p True Cinema). Furthermore, both have three HDMI terminals as standard, while the V4 has added Digital Media Port for accessories to synchronize with iPod, MP3 players and Sony Ericsson Bluetooth-enabled mobiles.

For the living room-sized 40- and 46-incher S4 and V4, Sony has gone one step further by going full-HD matched with upgraded 33,000:1 dynamic contrast. The latter is twice the performance offered by their smaller counterparts. Check back in June for updated pricing closer to launch.

Bet for your Mother's Day gift

Feel the pinch of increasing food prices and can't afford to buy your mom a gift this Sunday? Sure, you can buy a lottery ticket and hope to win the big one, but before you do that, check out this unique auction site which promises items for a faction of the retail price.

When one of our bloggers first wrote about Tatarah auction site, she did not have a chance to try out the special bidding system. At first blush, it looks like a scam Web site. After all, how can a business offer a brand new PlayStation Portable for a mere S$80 (US$52.63) without eventually going bankrupt? We took a closer look at how it works.
Read more »

The Hard Disk Crusher doesn't mess around

Oliver North found out the hard way that erasing e-mail doesn't mean it's gone forever. And in more than two decades since, countless others have shown that they still hadn't learned that lesson.

But there is one foolproof way of confounding even the best IT sleuths: The Hard Disk Crusher.

This no-nonsense machine from EDR Solutions does exactly what its name says, destroying a hard disk in as little as 10 seconds. "It basically 'drills' through the hard drive's spindles which physically creates ripples in the platters making it impossible to recover any data," OhGizmo says.

The Crusher can even work with an emergency hand pump in case your building is surrounded by enemy forces who have cut off the power. The only problem--and it's a big one--is its US$11,500 price tag. For that kind of money, a few medium-range explosives would seem more cost-effective.

Via Crave CNET

Jade camera case for mummy

Asian mums like jade, or at least I think my mom does. She owns a digital camera but the case looks crappy.

While shopping in Hong Kong, I chanced upon this unique camera case that looks like it's made of jade. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that it was made of acrylic instead and a jade-like finish was applied to give it a more authentic feel. A green strap is attached to both sides of the case to let users sling this over their shoulder.

Last year, Canon Hong Kong organized a project where it got six designers to come up with cases that exude the spirit of the Canon IXUS lineup. Douglas Young was one of them and the mastermind behind the jade IXUS case.

For Young, Chinese have a habit of carrying jade, and it is pretty much as indispensable as watches or gadgets are to metropolitans. Thus, he conceptualized the jade case by blending a touch of east (jade) and a dash of west (gadgets).

Sadly for those who are interested, the case is no longer available online. However if you happen to be in Hong Kong, drop by G.O.D. at Causeway Bay where I spotted it for US$49. It's a small price to pay to please mummy dearest.

A picture perfect gift this Mother's Day

I'll be the first to admit. As much as I'm a geek with electronic gadgets, buying my mother tech stuff hasn't always been the most brilliant of my ideas in the past. The last time I got her a digital camera, it took me a month convincing her to get started on it. That didn't even begin to include the numerous hours clocked teaching her how to operate the camera. So if you really must get your Luddite mum something tech, try simple. Like a digital photo frame. Most frames are easy to operate and require almost no intervention from the user. Best of all, it's a great way to display all those Kodak family moments and unforgettable vacation shots.

But don't just settle for any old digital photo frames. I like Viewsonic's new 7-inch DPX704WH digital photo frame (S$239 (US$157.24)) as it supports image, music and video playback, comes with a flash memory card slot, a remote control as well as clock/alarm/calendar functions. But the bonus to it is that for a brief month during this Mother's Day, Singapore customers get a free Swarovski Crystal Wrap to add some feminine sparkle to the frame. And who knows? Mum may just give that camera a second chance, just so to show off those snaps on the digital photo frame.

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