Buffalo's 100GB external Solid State Disk drive

Considering how much we've heard of Solid-State Disk's superior act over conventional spinning hard drives which are often prone to hard disk failure, it's only a matter of time before vendors get on the SDD bandwagon. First up with a large-capacity external version is Buffalo's 100GB model in its SHD-UHRS series of external USB 2.0 drives.

However, as much as some of us would love to flaunt one, there's a hefty premium to be paid for being the Big Cheese among your tech geek pals. That 100GB Buffalo SSD will set you back a very pretty penny of US$636 (67,700 yen). Compare that to a 100GB Hitachi HD that's retailing for just US$90 (S$129) at the local electronics mall, and the consumer's choice is really very simple for now.

Via Japan Today

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.
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