Archives for February 2005

Facebook

To add tags, you need to become a member. It's FREE.

Cancel

Log in or sign in

Professor's Cube

Juniper Foo | Feb 24, 2005

Depending on your idea of fun, the Professor's Cube is a steroid take on Rubik's Cube (which this journalist never cracked, aside from her sanity). Thirty years on since Hungarian Erno Rubik's 3x3x3 square of madness got the world into a twist with its 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 possible permutations, the 5x5x5 Professor's Cube extends that challenge such that no one's counting. Simply a great gift for any office colleague you're plotting to send to the funny farm.

Price: 2,999 yen (US$28.40)
Availability: Toys 'R' Us Japan
Device: Puzzle toy
Basic specs: N.A.

Filed under: Gadgets
Leave a comment | Bookmark | Share

del.icio.us

Digg this

Furl

Yahoo My Web

Facebook

To add tags, you need to become a member. It's FREE.

Cancel

Log in or sign in

Flu Fleur

Juniper Foo | Feb 23, 2005

It may sound Frenchie, but this gizmo can only be Japanese. Toymaker Tomy's Flu Fleur (read flower) appears to be both an alliteration and takeoff on the original Flip Flap (of which this journalist cheerfully owns one). However, rather than rely on light to propel the bunny-eared petals into frantic flapping, the Flu Fleur responds to sound to open and close its petals. It even glows in the dark. Lots of potty fun for your cubicle desk. Just remember not to water it.

Price: 1,680 yen (US$15.90)
Availability: March in Japan, by Tomy
Device: Sound-powered toy
Basic specs: N.A.

Filed under: Gadgets
Leave a comment | Bookmark | Share

del.icio.us

Digg this

Furl

Yahoo My Web

Facebook

To add tags, you need to become a member. It's FREE.

Cancel

Log in or sign in

SanDisk BookLocker

Juniper Foo | Feb 22, 2005

Ready for little tykes to cart USB thumbdrives instead of huge tomes of textbooks to school? SanDisk, which recently launched SD cards with built-in USB and translucent flash memory cards, aims to change the face of textbooks as we know it, while reaping a few e-publishing profits along the way. Its Cruzer USB drive strives to pack e-books into a special secure drive called BookLocker. While this is unlikely to raise eyebrows, the BookLocker begs to differ with enhanced software that securely provides electronic texts for educational applications and markets (albeit via proprietary DRM). Of course, unlike readily accessible paper-based books, users will still need a PC or notebook to read off the BookLocker.

Price: N.A.
Availability: The US
Device: USB flash drive for secure digital books
Basic specs: N.A.

Filed under: PC & Peripherals
Leave a comment | Bookmark | Share

del.icio.us

Digg this

Furl

Yahoo My Web

Facebook

To add tags, you need to become a member. It's FREE.

Cancel

Log in or sign in

Archos Pocket Video Recorder AV4100

Juniper Foo | Feb 21, 2005

By now, PVP or portable video player vendors would be scrambling to match Archos' AV4100 device with its groundbreaking 100GB of storage space. For those who download and rip a lot of video and TV programs, or snap a lot of heavy-duty photos, this pocket unit is a boon. Plus the AV4100 doesn't just play, it records as well via a cradle that features all the necessary video connections to hook up to a regular tube or cable box. We won't be surprised if Apple takes up the gauntlet with an iPod video recorder. No word, though, on whether battery life will end up being a snag.

Price: 899.99 pounds (US$1,705)
Availability: End Feb in the US, more details on Archos site
Device: Personal video recorder
Basic specs: USB 2.0, PC & Mac compatible, built-in CF Type I slot, records from TV with easy cradle connection, near DVD quality up to 704 x 480 at 30 frames/second in AVI file format, compatible XviD and DivX 4.0 & 5.0, photo viewer, music playback, 3.8-inch TFT LCD screen, TV output, rechargeable Li-ion batteries, AC charger, 100GB, 4.9 x 3.1 x 1-inch dimensions, 320g

Filed under: Digital Cameras
Leave a comment | Bookmark | Share

del.icio.us

Digg this

Furl

Yahoo My Web

Facebook