Wacom Bamboo: Mastering the art of the pen

The headline's actually pretty misleading since it isn't as serious as it reads. On the contrary, it's a lot of fun especially if you're using a tablet for the first time. If you belong to the corded mice era, there'll be a fair amount of relearning as replacing that familiar rodent with a digital pen is a different ball game. One example is that while we usually scroll down Web pages by flicking the wheel downward, with a pen, we have to draw upward strokes.
Read more »

New ASUS mainboard has 5-second bootup

Don't we just hate it when all we wanted was to quickly search a fact on the NET, but end up waiting minutes for the system to boot? Heck, some of us can wolf down an entire meal while Vista takes its own sweet time to start.

But if you have the new ASUS P5E3 Deluxe mainboard, this would be a thing of the past. Embedded into the hardware is a Linux operating system that takes only 5-seconds to load. The first to use the ASUS Express Gate technology, the Linux kernel is loaded with VOIP, Web browser and email software.

So next time your boss insists you fire off that email from home, don't tell him you have an ASUS P5E3 setup. That way, you can have a cuppa while "waiting" for the system to boot.

GPSMouse tries to find itself

The mouse seems to be undergoing something of a midlife crisis, no longer satisfied with its traditional role on the desktop. While struggling to find its way, it's been experimenting with everything from phones and numeric pads to massages.

But Deluo's "GPSMouse" has at least integrated its expanded function without completely losing its original identity. In addition to working as a standard optical travel mouse, according to Slippery Brick, it converts into a GPS receiver with a switch underneath, using the same USB line for its connection to the computer. It's not the first GPS mouse we've seen, but this one doesn't look like a maple bar.

Via CNET Crave

Philips' silicone peripherals

A well-known brand in the home entertainment arena, Philips takes a stab at the peripherals market with a wireless laser mouse and desktop combo. The common factor between them? Both are covered in soft silicon cushioning.

Actually, we believe the proper term isn't silicon (found naturally in sand), but silicone (found unnaturally under Pamela Anderson's mammaries). Unlike hard plastic, these devices have a soft feel and are easy to clean.

The Philips Wireless Desktop has a spillproof design for the keyboard, perfect for those who love to eat and surf. The mouse companion has a 1,000dpi optical sensor and a four-way scroll wheel. Both units can survive on a single serving of four AA batteries for up to seven months. It goes for S$119 (US$78.29) per set.

The Wireless laser mouse has twin laser sensors and 1,000dpi resolution. It, too, has a four-way scroll wheel and two AA batteries will feed it for up to one year. It costs S$79 (US$51.97) per pop. Both products are available this month in Singapore stores.

Mac mini to be replaced by Mac nano?

We approach all Apple-related rumors with skepticism, but sometimes we get a certain feeling about them, and Mac OS Rumors gives us that tingle of plausibility. Word from one of that site's "oldest and most reliable sources in Cupertino" is that the Mac mini is going to be replaced before the end of the year by what they refer to as the "Mac nano".

"Overall volume will be shrunk almost 25 percent, weight by about 20 percent, and an all-new enclosure will be strikingly different from the design that has been the Mini's defining feature since its introduction," according to the report.

We buy this rumor because it's been two years since the Mac mini's debut, and since then, it's received no significant revisions (which lends credence to this other Mac mini rumor). Apple quietly updated it with new CPUs in August, alongside the more prominent new iMacs. But in order to truly keep its budget Mac alive, Apple has to do more than just throw a new chip inside, especially with growing competition from HP's and Dell's smaller PCs. Besides the fact that it's due, both the iPod and the iMac received significant makeovers this year, so it seems reasonable to us that Apple might extend that reinvigoration across more of its brands.

Via Crave CNET

Crave is...

The name says it all. Crave is our new blog about cool gadgets and other crushworthy stuff.

Drop us an email if you have tips or suggestions.

Crave for...

» Mobile Phones (575)

» Digital Cameras (356)

» Notebooks (367)

» PC & Peripherals (372)

» Handhelds (213)

» Printers (37)

» Home AV (394)

» Music & Play (357)

» Gadgets (844)

» Future Tech (124)

Previously...

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

Subscribe to
Crave

Today on CNET |  Reviews |  Crave |  Blogs |  CNET TV |  Digital Living |  Downloads