Posts in PC & Peripherals
USB prosthetic finger gives new meaning to thumbdrives
Justin Yu | Mar 16, 2009
(Credit: Jerry Jalava)
This is a story about Jerry Jalava, a Finnish software developer who lost part of his finger in a motorcycle accident last July. According to his friend, Henri Bergius, when the surgeon assigned to work on Jalava's prosthetic finger discovered his hacking history, he made a clever suggestion: Incorporate a USB key into the new digit.
The prosthetic finger contains a 2GB USB key, and Jalava also loaded it with Billix distribution, CouchDBX, and Ajatus to run off the drive, throwing even more geek cred into the mix.
When Jalava needs the drive, he simply pulls it off his left hand, plugs it in, and comes back to pick it up after the transfers are finished. That dispels any parallels to that scene in Robocop when he uses the giant spike that comes out of his hand to transfer data from the OCP criminal database to the computer in his head.
Check out more pictures of Jalava's cybernetic finger below.
Read more »
Google Earth updates maps of Mars
Dong Ngo | Mar 16, 2009
(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET Networks)
There is now a lot more about Mars to view in Google Earth than there was just a month ago.
Google announced Friday a major update to show more details of Mars both in its history and the present day. Originally the 3D maps of Mars were available with the release of Google Earth 5.0, just a little more than a month ago. The update shows how our knowledge of Mars, and our study of astronomy, has evolved over time.
According to Google, the new update allows us to travel back in time to see the antique maps originally drawn by astronomers Giovanni Schiaparelli, Percival Lowell, and others. It also show present-day Mars with a "Live from Mars" layer, which is a continuous stream of the latest imagery, including those from NASA's THEMIS camera aboard the Mars Odyssey spacecraft.
Read more »
Eyeball Webcam is a classy way to Skype
Donald Bell | Mar 15, 2009
The Eyeball sounds great, but it looks more like a loose leaf tea strainer than a Webcam.
Webcams aren't the first product to spring to mind when you think of Blue Microphones. The company has a solid reputation in the pro audio world for making high-end boutique microphones, but it's been slowly dipping its toes into the waters of consumer audio products, such as the Snowball USB podcast mic, and its baby brother, the Snowflake.
Now we have the Eyeball, a US$99 Webcam that borrows on the design of the Snowflake, but leaves behind the intolerably cute product name. We compared the Eyeball with the Logitech Pro 9000 and the MacBook's built-in iSight camera and microphone.
To see and hear the results, check out our full review of the Blue Microphones Eyeball Webcam.
Via Crave CNET
A touching update to Dell's all-in-one desktop
Erica Ogg | Mar 13, 2009
(Credit: Rafe Needleman/CNET)
The Studio One 19 is the newest incarnation of Dell's all-in-one desktop.
The Studio One, has been given a slight cosmetic makeover, but the biggest change is inside, where the company has added a touchscreen and multitouch software.
With the touchscreen, Dell hopes consumers will use the desktop as a family PC in a common room, like the kitchen or living room, said Alex Gruzen, Dell's senior vice president of Consumer Products. "It's also a chance for parents to see what kids are doing on the computer again," he added.
Read more »
LaCie USB keys
John Chan | Mar 11, 2009
The iamaKey drive is on the right, above the itsaKey drive. The third one at the bottom is a microSD card reader called the PassKey. (Credit: LaCie)
When someone says memory key, you'd usually think of a small USB drive. Storage maker LaCie has taken the term to a new level with a range of USB flash drives that actually look like keys. Yes, the kind you use to open doors with.
The itsaKey and iamaKey flash drives, from a distance, are indistinguishable from real keys. They have a hole where you can put a ring through and the body extends downward to end in a USB connector. The specifications of the two versions are similar, but the itsaKey has exposed contacts which are apparently water- and scratch-resistant. This gives it a slimmer profile and, in our opinion, is the more attractive of the two. On the downside, if your keyring does not have a quick release option, it might be troublesome plugging one of these drives into your computer together with a big bunch of keys.
These attractive USB drives are available starting from US$15 and come in 4GB and 8GB capacities. The company also sells a microSD card reader version without internal memory called the PassKey for US$10. The online site ships only within the US, but LaCie looks like it has a wide network of distributors all over the world. Click here to see if your country is in its list and contact your local LaCie office if you want one.
Via Notcot
Crave is...
The name says it all. Crave is our blog about cool gadgets and other crushworthy stuff.
Drop us an email if you have tips or suggestions.
Crave for...
» Mobile Phones (2230)
» Digital Cameras (984)
» Notebooks (1233)
» PC & Peripherals (1312)
» Handhelds (585)
» Printers (82)
» Home AV (1145)
» Music & Play (893)
» Gadgets (1484)
» Future Tech (394)
» Green Tech (172)
» Lifestyle (157)
» Luxury (22)
» Home Appliances (57)
» Cars (99)
» Games and Gear (248)
» Software (95)
» Web (117)
Previously...
Hot Topics
What's Hot
apple apple inc. apple iphone apple ipod asia battery camera game google inc. iphone microsoft corp. microsoft windows mobile phone photograph singapore smart phone software sony corp. video
Copyright © 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.
