Roll it out for the USB Roll-Up Drum Kit

Frankly, it's far more satisfying to whack a full-sized drum kit than a sliver of soft plastic that claims to reproduce the real thing. However, coming from Hong Kong e-tailer Brando, nothing is sacred in the tech space. So (drum roll, please), get ready for a rollout of the USB Roll-Up Drum Kit (US$42).

We're assuming that sensitivity on this is almost nil since it resembles a mouse mat far more than a working instrument. However, if you're aspiring to be a drummer on a budget, this could be a (temporary) solution. Otherwise, if all you really want is to feel like a rock superstar, we'd suggest getting the far more elegant and fun-filled Guitar Hero III game for the PC or any of the game consoles.

Via Gadgets Club

One step closer to the Matrix

I don't know about you, but the scene in the Matrix film which showed rows and rows of humans being used as batteries brought a flutter to my heart. After all, imagine the possibilities. No more chargers. Bon voyage, batteries. If we need to charge our mobile phones, eat a chocolate bar. Playing games on a power-sucking gaming portable? Grab a buffet and have an ice cream, especially if the play goes into overtime.

Obesity is the new fit, while anorexics will be blasted back to the Stone Age. And the first important step in this direction? The invention of a chip powered by the heat of your body. Granted that, for now, its use is limited to military and medical applications. But we certainly look forward to the day when our bosses say: "Hey, go eat a champagne buffet on company account. We need you to power the server farm later."

Via Wired.com

Connect-A-Desk is a workaholic's dream

And here we thought the Hip Office concept was a joke. Now we have the Connect-A-Desk, a real product that's also ripe for an SNL parody.

Like the Hip Office, it straps to a computer to your body, but around the neck instead of the waist. It's kind of a laptop version of the keytar, with a dork factor that rivals the Light Head Magnifier.

The site claims that it's "ergonomically designed" but, depending on the weight of the computer, we can't imagine using this for any length of time before needing a trip to the chiropractor.

Our take? It's yet another devious tactic by management to chain us to our work.

Via Crave CNET

Intel's eight-core Skulltrail platform ahead of game

Intel let a variety of tech enthusiast sites run wild with benchmarks today showing off its forthcoming eight-core desktop platform, codenamed Skulltrail. You can get eight-core computing already in the form of Apple's Mac Pro or a pair of Intel Xeon 5400 processors, but Skulltrail marks the first eight-core platform we've seen aimed at high-end workstation computing and PC gaming. The Skulltrail motherboard not only supports two CPUs, but it also supports both Nvidia's SLI and ATI's Crossfire multigraphics card standards. The problem is that for all of Skulltrail's power, PC gaming isn't quite ready for it. Also, a better eight-core solution could be right around the corner.

Like all current eight-core machines, Skulltrail relies on two quad-core CPUs plugged into the same motherboard to achieve eight-way computing. The actual Intel D5400XS motherboard and pair of 3.2GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9775 quad-core CPUs required to build a Skulltrail system aren't due to market until "later in Q1", and we have no specific prices or ship dates. Intel has acknowledged that the QX9775 CPU will be more expensive than its current highest-end chip, the US$1,100 Core 2 Extreme QX9650.

As a workstation platform, Skulltrail probably makes sense. Some applications will benefit from eight cores of processing power, which should entice production houses and designers that need brute CPU strength. For gamers, Skulltrail is massive overkill, for a few reasons.

The first is that only one game right now supports eight independent processing threads: Microsoft Flight Simulator X (A demo version of Lost Planet: Extreme Conditions supports eight threads as well, but it's only a demo, and not a full game). To be sure, the flight simulator crowd is passionate, but it's not a large enough niche to justify an entire new CPU platform. The hardcore shooter fans and other PC gamers that make up the bulk of the enthusiast market have no titles out now that will put all eight Skulltrail cores to work. You might see some games that will benefit from the 3.2GHz core CPU speed and Skulltrail's wide 1,600MHz memory bandwidth, but you'll find those same statistics on the quad-core Core 2 Extreme QX9770 chips and the single CPU X48 enthusiast motherboard, both due out from Intel later this quarter as well.
Read more »

ASUS P5E3 Premium motherboard: Surf without Windows

A few weeks ago we told you about Splashtop--a technology that lets you surf the Web within 10 seconds of hitting the power button on your laptop. We also told you this technology was available on desktop PCs, but only via motherboards such as the ASUS P5E3 Premium.

We've just taken receipt of said motherboard and it's made our lives just a tiny bit more bearable. Splashtop seems to have had a name changed to Express Gate en route to desktops, but it's essentially the same thing--a Linux-based front end that runs independently of Windows.

The benefit, as we've already explained, is that you can load it up in as little as 5 seconds. Express Gate lets you surf the Web, use Skype, instant messaging, Webmail, YouTube and more--and you can do all of this even if your operating system is completely borked.

The board is pretty hot in other areas, too. It'll accept socket 775 CPUs including the new 45nm Intel models, a 1,600MHz front-side bus, up to 8GB of DDR3 1,800 RAM (overclocked), and it even has 802.11n Draft wireless.

It doesn't come cheap, but considering it has an impressive feature list, it's a pretty good buy.

Via CNET UK Crave

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