Archives for August 2006
Japanese know-how makes a difference
Darius Chang | Aug 18, 2006
| Editors' update:
There is an update on Fujitsu's use of third-party notebook batteries. According to new information from its engineers, some laptop models sold outside Japan are bundled with third-party power cells instead of Fujitsu-made batteries as mentioned in the article.
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With Dell's recall of its Sony-manufactured notebook batteries early this week, the safety of power cells have hit the spotlight. Since Sony laptop cells are used by several other vendors, the question of how this may impact non-Dell systems has been raised.
According to a recent report by Reuters, a Fujitsu spokesman claims that most Japanese makers design their charging systems such that high voltage does not pass directly from the AC adapters to computer batteries, hence avoiding spectacular pyrotechnic-like power cell failures. We spoke to Fujitsu PC Asia Pacific and were told that it manufactures its own notebook batteries for models sold outside Japan and does not rely on third-party power cells.
When approached by CNET Asia on whether its VAIO notebook line would be impacted, Sony Asia Pacific mentions that there have been no reported cases of battery failure in its product line. Moreover, "Sony's VAIO adopts its own design for safety technology," says the the Japanese vendor, "the battery charging system that VAIO uses is different from that of Dell."
Managing your photos on Vista
Damian Koh | Aug 18, 2006
We had our hands on Windows Vista recently and can't help but feel that Microsoft has either taken a leaf out of Google's Picasa book, or the Redmond software giant is taking a stab at the free photo management software. We've had our fun. Now we show you the pictures.
Archiving pictures in chronological order is probably the easiest way to manage a huge database of photos. Like we mentioned, the Windows Photo Gallery program on our copy of Vista Beta 2 works very much like Google's Picasa. For example, if you have a series of similar snaps taken over a period of time, you can label them with a common tag and pull all of them out at the same time.
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You can watch video clips with the program too. |
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Though there's still some catching up for the Windows Photo Gallery, we won't want to place our bets, yet, on which program will emerge the winner since what we're seeing is only the beta version.
Editors' note: We ran our copy of Windows Vista on a Vista-ready HP Pavilion desktop computer.
Peekaboo Chair
Juniper Foo | Aug 18, 2006
If you haven't quite mastered the inscrutable Asian face at boardroom power meetings, take cover with Stockholm designer Stefan Borselius' Peekaboo Chair. It's a felt-covered lounge chair with a difference--an optional hood with transparent plastic front that can be attached for privacy. Or retreat. When the going gets tough, it's shutters down. All that's missing is an automated hinge to bring that plexi hood down at the click of a button.
Get the big picture here
Via Coolest-Gadgets.com
Price: US$2,715 for chair, US$855 for hood
Availability: Check out the info at Borselius Design
Device: Lounge chair
Basic specs: N.A.
Hunny bunny iPods
Edvarcl Heng | Aug 17, 2006
If you ever see this bouncing towards you, don’t make like Alice and jump down the rabbit hole. Bunnies have a healthy libido. Trap yourself in its burrow and it might get funny bunny ideas involving you and a rather large carrot. Save yourself, dress up your iPod in an iAttire Bunny suit and sacrifice it to the harebrained wonder that’s all ready to hop into bed. US$19.90 a piece. Easter eggs not included.
Read more here
New Samsung R7 LCD TV lookalikes
Philip Wong | Aug 17, 2006
Slap on a pair of side speakers on a Samsung R7 and out comes the new Sonoma S7. It's a bit of an exaggeration here, though it's hard not to note the striking similarities between the two series of LCD TVs. With a selection of four display sizes ranging from 27 to 40 inches, the S7 flat panels are now available in Singapore at a recommended retail price of S$3,999 (US$2,630.92) and below.
Optimized for gaming at the touch of a button, the S7 models are equipped with Horizontal-Sharpness and Dark Area enhancements, and specially tuned to reproduce high-definition video games. This, coupled with its high 3,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and fast 8ms response time, ensures quality playback for contrasting, ghost-free pictures.
More info here
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