USB Data Transfer Device

Shuffling around files between various computers can sometimes be a pain, especially sans network. Maybe you have a flash drive or USB hard drive and those will usually get the job done but not necessarily very well. The USB Data Transfer Device is a new product that offers the perfect solution - simply plug it in and start transferring your data between two computers. It automatically displays the entire contents of each PC enabling you to quickly drag-n-drop files and file folders from one machine to the other. The device will support data transfer at speeds up to 25Mb/Sec and has a 4 foot retractable USB cable.

Available at Think Geek

Nintendo funds old-school gaming expo

Retro fun:

Fancy having a game of some of those old classics like Space Invaders, Pac-man and Donkey Kong? Then later this year you can head on down to London's Science Museum, where a Nintendo funded retro game fest will be starting. The expo will run until 2007, until it is finally replaced by an interactive gallery built to inspire aspiring programmers, which will run until 2009.

It's not all about nostalgia though - gamers will have the chance to get their sweaty mitts on the latest throbbing hardware and titles. Nintendo general manager David Yarnton said: "This exhibition means not only can we celebrate the great history of gaming, but also inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers to get involved in what looks to be an exciting future."

Mp3's through your cigarette lighter

Forget all the bells and whistles you have to mess with to get your MP3 player properly hooked up in your automobile, here's a nifty little gadget that replaces the whole shebang. The Yifang EM192F is a car charger, FM modulator, and USB MP3/WMA reader, all in one device. Slap this thing into your cigarette lighter and watch the magic. You'll now be able to listen to your music through FM stereo.

All in One Car MP3 Player - Power, FM Mod, and more

Thecus 1TB Music Server

The Thecus Y.E.S. Box is an all in one music server great for any home with multiple PCs all wanting to share music easily. There are a variety of different models, a barebones unit that comes with no hard drives, a base 120GB model and lastly a model featuring two 500GB SATA drives for 1TB of completely legal music goodness. The Y.E.S. Box can also function as a photo server and can also be an FTP server for music sharing anywhere. It is powered by a Intel chip, has 256MB of RAM, optional Wi-Fi, 2x Gigabit Ethernet and USB 2.0. The barebones unit begins at $459 and the 1TB model runs upwards of $1500.

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Belkin Freescale

Belkin is jumping on the wireless USB bandwagon with this four-port hub. That's right, it's packing wireless USB, letting you roam free with any USB device. Using Motorola spinoff Freescale's Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology, this hot connection gives you data rates that are a hundred times faster than Bluetooth. So imagine, you walk into a room with your notebook, plug in the wireless USB dongle and you're instantly connected to that USB hard drive you have stashed under the desk. No wires, no muss, no fuss. You'll have to wait until early spring of this year to give it a try, and when it ships Belkin says it will cost $129.99.

Press release

Anti-Virus USB Drive

This device has an embedded antivirus vaccine engine. Available in capacities from 128MB to 2GB, the IOCELL VaccineDrive's antivirus software automatically checks with the mother ship for the latest virus definitions each time you plug it in. No word as to exactly which antivirus software this baby uses, but it's said to protect against spyware, adware, scumware and who-knows-whatware. Not only will it frisk the files you put onto it for those creepy crawlies, it'll also cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war (against viruses) into your host PC as well. And it doesn't conflict with anti-virus software already running on your computer.

IOCELL, Launching "VaccineDrive" embedded anti-virus engine on USB drive

Windows Mobile 5 Coming to T-Mobile Next Month

T-Mobile put a page online this week for subscribers to pre-register for Windows Mobile 5 devices. Next month they will begin offering two of the many Windows Mobile devices offered by their European parent. The MDA is a Pocket PC phone based on the HTC Wizard. It features quad-band GSM/GPRS (EDGE), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a 1.3 MP camera and slide out QWERTY keyboard. The SDA offers all the same features in a handset-shaped design - including a QVGA resolution screen. Since it has a traditional keypad, the SDA does not have a slide out keyboard. Cingular launched the 2125 Windows Mobile 5 Smartphone this week. It is similar to the SDA but lacks Wi-Fi and the dedicated music playback buttons.

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Xbox 360 Won't Do Blu-ray

There was earlier speculation that Microsoft was going to offer Blu-ray support to its Xbox 360 (most likely via an external drive). This seems to have been a bit inaccurate as Microsoft has stated that it is "fully committed" to the HD DVD platform. Apparently, Microsoft was just touting the system's ease of expandability, implying that a Blu-ray drive could easily be added externally, but that the company actually has no such plans. Looks like you’ll have to wait for the PS3 to get your Blu-ray-on-a-console fix.

MS says no to Xbox 360 Blu-ray support

SEGA LAUNCHES VIRTUA TENNIS: WORLD TOUR FOR THE PSP

Critically-Acclaimed Franchise Now Available for Gamers on the Go

SEGA of America, Inc. today announced the release of Virtua Tennis: World Tour exclusively for the PSP portable entertainment system . Intense multiplayer action enhances the addictive, fast-paced gameplay of Virtua Tennis: World Tour , which players can now take with them wherever they go.

Play against three-time Wimbledon champions Roger Federer and Venus Williams, and 12 other internationally-ranked tennis pros such as Andy Roddick, Maria Sharapova, Lleyton Hewitt, and Lindsay Davenport . The latest installment in the critically-acclaimed franchise also serves up a make-your-own player mode, key court surfaces from around the world, exclusive mini-games and unlockable accessories. Multiplayer mode encourages up to four friends to play together.

"Virtua Tennis: World Tour tightens up the franchise's already superb gameplay and treats fans to a new set of innovative mini-games, customization and multiplayer modes," said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of Entertainment Marketing, SEGA of America, Inc. "SEGA delivers an even more authentic tennis experience with Virtua Tennis: World Tour , which features a robust roster of internationally-renowned pro-tennis stars that gamers can challenge or play as."

Virtua Tennis: World Tour features three core gameplay modes: In Exhibition Mode, players can step into the sneakers of a professional player and take advantage of their real-life strengths on the court. In World Tour Mode, players customize their own athlete to travel the globe and win cash; and Tournament Mode, which puts players in knockout sessions where only the best will see victory. In addition, Virtua Tennis: World Tour offers four brand new mini-games - Blockbuster, Fruit Dash, Blocker, and Balloon Smash - exclusive to the PSP system.

Virtua Tennis: World Tour has received several accolades for its visual excellence and addictive gameplay, including the IGN E3 Award for Best PSP Sports Game. Developed by the UK-based development team, SUMO Digital , Virtua Tennis: World Tour is challenging and fun whether you have just minutes or hours to play .

Virtua Tennis: World Tour is rated "E" for Everyone and is available at retailers nationwide for an MSRP of $39.95.

Logitech Harmony Advanced Universal Remote for Xbox 360

Logitech has jumped into the universal remote control market lately with a line of Harmony controllers. So far these remotes have received mostly praise, except for their generally high price tags. Logitech used the launch of the Xbox 360 as an excuse to produce another excellent remote that supports the media-savvy 360. The remote can control nearly all units of your home theater setup along with the 360, it has a built-in memory to keep track of all of your commonly-used components and power them on and off all together. It has an integrated backlit monochrome screen and retails for around $130.

Logitech Harmony Advanced Universal Remote for Xbox 360 Reviewed

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ALS Industries XBOX 360 Messenger Bag XB-3

Looking for a bag to carry your Xbox 360. Here's a good one, it's the ALS Industries XBOX 360 Messenger Bag XB-3. I picked one up this weekend. We all know the problem with packing up your 360 is the god awful "brick". The power supply is the only reason the 360 is smaller than the original Xbox.

This bag (beside sporting the 360 look), has a compartment in the bottom of the bag for the brick and the A/V Cables, which is nice. The bag is very padded and has room for 4 controllers and the remote.

You can pick one up at your local Rhino Video Games.

Using DivX on the Xbox 360

That the Xbox 360 can stream video from your PC to your nice big TV and is a well-known feature. Well, at least in video formats that Microsoft approves of. Naturally, that leaves out DivX. Sure, you could convert your files to 360-compatible WMVs, but where's the fun in that? Using mceDivX360, you can now stream all those DivX and Xvid movies you've accumulated over the years straight to your 360. While it technically still converts the files, it does it on the fly, so you really don't even notice.

mceDivX360 Hack Allows Xbox 360 Owners to Stream DivX Video in Real-Time

Banshee Virtual 5.0 MP3 Speakers

Here's another leap in virtual surround sound. Banshee Audio introduced its all-in-one 5.0 surround sound listening station for portable audio players, claiming to be the first of its kind. Quite decent looking, it basically gives you surround sound from its one single desktop speaker. And because it's small (11.5" L x 3" W x 6" D), it can obviously be used in the office or anywhere you have space troubles. It does, however, promise 50 watts of power. Retails for about $150 in mid-March.

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Antec Fusion PC Case

Better than a PC tower for sure, the Antec Fusion PC case is a nicely designed product with noise reduction and thermal management capabilities, perfect for those of you ready to add a PC to your living room, but not stoked about the usual form factor. With a vacuum fluorescent display, 430W NeoHE power supply and clean interior, you'll like the triple chamber design that actually isolates the power supply, hard disk drives and motherboard into separate cooling zones. The four expansion slots and three drive bays also make sure you'll be able to easily expand your system, and the two external USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire port and audio connectors are certainly convenient. Should be about $200, available later this year.

Antec Fusion HTPC Enclosure

Selection of Antec PC cases

3Gbps SATA II Hard Drive

Buffalo will be releasing a new line of hard drives with capacities ranging from 150 to 500GB. These hard drives will be in SATA II and offer a blazing 3Gbps (gigabits per second) transfer rate. It seems they will be available in Japan only for the moment.

3Gbps SATA II HDD

Levi's to launch iPod compatible jeans

January 14, 2006 Invented in 1873 by Levi Strauss, Levi's Jeans are the original jeans and have long since become the most recognised brand and most widely imitated product in the history of apparel - and somehow it seems entirely appropriate that Levi's is getting together with the world's modern day technological equivalent brand, Apple's iPod. Levi's is planning to introduce RedWire DLX Jeans in the Northern hemisphere autumn of 2006. Designed for both men and women, the jeans will seamlessly integrate an iPod docking cradle built into the jeans and "invisibly" housed within a side pocket. There's also a special joystick incorporated into the jeans' watch pocket to enable easy operation of the iPod without removing one's hands from one's pockets.

Philips MiraVision in New Sizes

Philips MiraVision Mirror TV is pretty much just that: A LCD monitor that, when turned off, is a reflective mirror. Certainly nicer than a big black screen in the bedroom. So it's nice to see that Philips is now offering the TV in 32- and 42-inch sizes. Check for these sometime in the next few months.

Philips MiraVisionTM Mirror TV

Lexar JumpDrive Mercury

Lexar's newest addition to its USB flash drives at CES is the JumpDrive Mercury. If you've ever had a problem with knowing how much storage space you have left on your drive, this Mercury takes care of that with an integrated capacity meter. In fact, this meter gives you the info you want without ever having to be plugged into your PC. The display, created by E Ink Corp, is paper-thin and unbreakable. The drive will come in 1GB and 2GB capacities. Also look for the JumpDrive Firefly, which is smaller and comes in 256MB, 512MB, and 1GB capacities.

Denon AVR-2807

If you've got some bucks to spend this new year and want to build a killer A/V system, there's nothing wrong with checking out Denon's new A/V receiver, which will include available Dolby and DTS surround sound decoding technologies, IR remote in/out terminals for integrated system control, and feature assignable amplifier configuration for either 7.1-channel surround operation or 5.1 surround with an amplified second zone. The AVR-2807 includes HDMI digital video source switching, room correction and calibration technology called MultEQXT from Audyssey Laboratories that maximizes room acoustics for multiple listeners, and XM Satellite Radio's new "Connect-and-Play" technology. And hey, at $1100, you'll get the quality of Denon without the $6000 pricetag of its higher-end receivers.

Quake 4 in review

I have been playing Quake 4 for the Xbox 360 the last couple of weeks and I would like to share my review with you all.

First I would like to answer a question that I hear too often. Is Quake 4 a next gen game? YES! When it comes to console gaming, never before has the line between PC and console been so close. The graphics on the Xbox 360 rival that of any computer I've seen. Not to mention playing it in Hi-Def makes a huge difference.

The gameplay is great, the story is well writtin and the controls are very tight. It has some vehicles to use but not to the point of Halo, but still nice. My only complaint is that there isn't a wide variety of enemies and there are alot of detail in the gameplay that you really do not get to use in the single player mode.

It has a very Doom 3 feel about it (coming from ID), but better. This time they had enough since to put a flashlight on your machine gun. I know, I know.... people claim that it added to the DOOM experience but to me, it was just plain annoying. However they did manage to preserve some of that experience by making the flashlight only available on your machinegun and the pistol (blaster).

All in all, I think it is well worth picking up.

Online gaming revenues to triple by 2009

Online gaming revenue is set to explode in the next few years, according to Parks Associates, who have published a report claiming that revenues from US online gaming services are set to triple from $1.1 billion in 2005 to more than $3.5 billion in 2009. Networked gaming services, such as online console gaming, multiplayer online gaming and mobile multiplayer gaming will account for almost 50 percent of revenues, the firm said. Digital downloads are expected to account for 23 percent of sales.

I know I'll be dropping a few $'s on Xbox Live Marketplace!

Interesting night

Last night, I went with some friends to the Huntsville Havoc game. We lost 3-6 after a three game winning streak. After the game we all went out to eat and we finally made it in around 1:30am.

Johnny and Diana got to meet one of the players.

On my way home I drove up on a house, fully involved in flames. It was too late for anybody to be in there and still living and the fire was spreading up a hill to another house. I called 911 and ran to the house and beat on the door trying to find out if anyone was in there. No one ever answered so I ran to the next house over and a young couple came to the door. They told me no one lived in both of those houses. The fire department arrived and ended up blocking my car in so I stayed out there till 3:30 in the morning. They put the fire out after fighting with it for quite a while.

I'm just glad no one was hurt.

Redecorating

I wanted to do something to the living room. This is what I came up with.

Before:

After:

Now this is my idea of redecorating!

Yamaha HDMI Projector

If you've got the $12,495 to spare, here is the DX-1300. It's a DarkChip3 DLP with 5:000 to 1 contrast ratio. It can also project 4:3 sources onto 16:9 screens and lots of other little features. But you better have some space in your living room, because this thing is a beast.

Synthetic Plant for Lazy Gardeners

From Think Geek:

In a perfect world, plants would take care of themselves. They would fetch their own water and get their own food. And always, always, remember to ask you if you wanted anything while they were up. But alas, this isn't a perfect world. So, we've done the only thing possible - found an artificial plant. The Flip Flap only needs light to survive - no batteries required. When it has enough light, its leaves will wiggle and bounce in an oddly organic way.

But there is another reason the Flip Flap holds a place in our hearts. One of our fondest memories is playing a "super" game, full of 8-bit wonder and odd creatures. One where two plumbers joined forces with a princess and her little mushroom servant-friend to rid the land of dreams from evil monsters; one where sprouts were frequently pulled up and thrown as weapons. And here on our desks is a little flapping reminder of our past glory. It warms the heart.

Each Flip Flap is approx. 4.5" tall and comes in really cool packaging. The Flip Flap locks and locks in for safe transport. It also comes with a tiny piece of clear plastic, which will let you display a card or sign behind the leaves. Just remember - the Flip Flap is plastic; don't eat it.

Verizon To Launch Music Downloads

Reports hint that Verizon is set to unveil a music download service for VCAST next week. The carrier has already been testing the service and early reviews are quite positive. This summer Verizon revealed they intended to launch by year's end and that the LG VX8100 would be compatible with it. As of yet there is no indication whether the service will be dual download for both phone and PC like similar offerings from Amp'd and Sprint. However one press conference indicates Microsoft will also be present at the announcement which could mean that Verizon will offer PC downloads to Windows Media Player as well.

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Got My 360!

Sunday, I had to go to Wal-Mart for the typical daily items and as I was checking out the electronics section (always a first stop), I was immediatley halted when I noticed 1 lone Xbox 360 sitting in the bottom of the case. Panic went into effect as I tried to find the nearest employee to open that bitch up. Two employees were standing nearby and I casually walked over to them, trying not to make a scene and ask one of them to get it out for me.

I had plans to go over to a friends house that night and play some regular Xbox, so now I had to pick up an extra controller and run home and get my copy of Perfect Dark Zero (which I will review later), that I received for doing some advertising. When I got home, I unboxed the 360, packed everything in a bag and headed over to my friend's house.

We ended up playing for almost 6 hours before calling it a night...Err morning and I left around 4:30 am. I'm really liking the 360 and I'll do a more in depth review later.