by Techno Witch on December 30, 2008
I?ve played a few First Person Shooters (FPS) on the Nintendo Wii before, such as Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Tomb Raider: Underworld, and I?ve found that many of these ?gunframes? that game accessory companies make for Wii FPS games are not really up to snuff.
These gunframes are meant to make the Wii controls like actual guns, but they end up being difficult to use because most Wii FPS games require the use of the directional pads and the A button. Most of these gunframes take advantage of the B or trigger button, and ignore the other controls.
It appears the WeeP5 that you see here has solved that problem. The A button is under the foregrip, and the directional pad is conveniently located on the left side. All the other controls are ?centrally located along the spine or the sides of the gun for easy access?.
I will definitely give points to the WeeP5 for coolness, as most Wiimote/Nunchuk gunframes are just crude contraptions to hold the controllers together. The WeeP5 is the first gunframe that I have seen that looks like an actual gun.
In fact, it looks so much like a real gun that you might scare your guests. This is one toy that you don?t want to be holding in the presence of a police officer.
There is no word on when this cool gun frame for the Wii will come out, nor is there any word on a price.
Source
by Techno Witch on December 30, 2008
If your USB gadgets have been stacking up, you might be getting to the point you need a USB hub. At some point we all end up needing one. It might even be that you still have room on your computer to plug in more USB gadgets, however, sometimes it’s just easier to have a hub on the top of your desk. It means you don’t have to hunt around, sometimes at the back of the computer to find an available USB port to plug into.
Well this USB hub isn’t a novelty one that will show off your geeky side by being some Star Wars themed hub. However, it’s small and has a convenient layout to make sure that your USB gadgets will be able to be powered up. It comes with four USB ports and has a data transfer rate of up to 480 Mbps. The small design of the USB hub would make it ideal for travel, you could always have one for your desktop PC as well as one to toss into your laptop bag. Which would be easy to do since these are being sold for only $8 on Sourcing Map.
Source: TechChee
by Techno Witch on December 30, 2008
Samsung (SEO:005930) the Korean giant will be churning out it s own WiMAX and LTE based phones, some have already been able to sample Samsung?s very own WiMAX silicon as they have been available in small quantities to other companies and of course their own phone guys.
So you won?t be needing to pick off the 3G technology stickers soon on any new Samsung phone, although might have to wait a little longer for the LTE based technology as this is still work in progress.
Samsung have been very smart by doing things in house, not only are they going to keep costs down from not paying hefty royalties, which should help them in the global financial crisis but soon all phones will need the technology on board, so Samsung will be ready and waiting to go whilst others scramble to stay on top.
by Techno Witch on December 30, 2008
Today must be Advanced Watch Day, because I just finished reporting on a new Cellular Phone Watch from LG. This next watch feels just as advanced, as it comes with a 4GB USB Flash Drive.
This USB drive fits snugly into the case, where no one will look for it. In fact, that is one thing I like about this watch: it doesn?t look like heavily advanced spy watch. No, this watch looks completely innocuous with its fancy exterior.
The USB Hidden Flash Drive Watch has ?a plastic case covered by a stainless steel mask with brushed silver finish and convex mineral glass with a shiny raised index?. It may not be a Rolex, but it is fancy enough for James Bond to sport.
I can just see it being used in the next James Bond film. Here?s the scene: Daniel Craig sneaks into an enemy base, and then whips out the flash drive from his wrist and downloads the head bad guy?s plan. Knowing movies like I do, they?ll probably make it more suspenseful by showing a little bar that has to be 100% complete before a guard shows up to stop Bond.
So before Bond goes out on his next mission, he doesn?t need Q anymore. He can just order from the ThinkGeek site. That?s probably good, because the latest James Bond films don?t have Q in them anyway.
Source
by Techno Witch on December 30, 2008
Many of you might remember the Kooky Klicker pens, which I somehow missed. Well now they are being turning into Kooky USB Drives. They are far from compact, but at least they’re cute. They’d be great for any grade school kids that might need something small like this to store files on for school. It also would be great for any adult that’s not quite ready to change over all of their items into a dull grown up style.
These don’t hold much, just 2GB, but it’d be enough for the younger crowd. It could also handle the smaller jobs you might have in store for it. Really, these look about like a toy you’d get out of a cereal box, or one that you have to fill out a piece of paper and send in a few dollars to get it sent to you. I’m sure if they did sell them that way they’d get plenty of customers. However, as it is, this is currently headed for Office Depot. When they do become available the 2GB drive will be sold for $14.99.
Source: ChipChick
by Techno Witch on December 30, 2008
I recently received a CES Preshow Planner in the mail, and pasted on the cover is an ad for LG. Apparently, they are planning to unveil big things at the show this year, and one of them is the LG-GD910 Watch.
The LG-GD910 is a watch that is a 3G-enabled mobile phone. It has a 1.4-inch touchscreen, and is about 0.6 inches thick. I figured that a cellular phone on your wrist might be a little large, because I?ve tried out MP4 watches that tend to feel like a brick on the wrist.
The cellular watch phone also features a video conferencing, so you can talk into your watch to the person on the screen, like Dick Tracy or Electro-woman. I realize that many of you might not have understood that last reference, but Electro-woman and Dyna-Girl was a kid?s show with two superhero ladies whose powers were in their oversized wrist bracelets.
Other features include text-to-speech capability, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios, as well as a music player. It can also download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps on HSDPA.
This product is enough to make me drop by the LG booth at CES, just to see how well it works. I?ve heard that it is expected to initially be available in Europe. No word on a price just yet.
Source 1 and Source 2
by Techno Witch on December 30, 2008
A Storm that swept across the Eastern Seaboard and the US Midwest on Sunday caused AT&T lots of problems with some customers not being able to access voice or data services, and others having disruptive calls, AT&T said that it was down to a power failure in Bloomfield Mich.
AT&T customers complained on various tech websites to rant about not having a service, with some complaining they had no 3G network either. Luckily AT&T restored the power later with a backup system so by Sunday afternoon there service was completely restored.
The service being down at AT&T came at a really bad time, with the iPhone 3G selling at Wal-Mart at a bargain price on the same day. So the failure upset lots of people who had just brought their brand new iPhone.
by Techno Witch on December 30, 2008
It’s been a while since I’ve been sledding, and I’d imagine that’s the case for most adults, unless they have kids. I do remember the last time I went, I came to the conclusion that snow is cold and wet and I’d rather be inside. Also, trying to find a semi-comfortable position on a sled when you’re no long a small child is close to impossible. Sleds were just made for smaller people and eventually they aren’t so easy for our adult bodies to use. Well this Slegoon is made for those that want to make sledding a little more interesting.
Now these likely won’t work for the small hills that most kids would go sledding on, this would probably be better suited for skiing slopes instead. Don’t worry, no matter how dangerous the slope, this can take it. It features rollerbars to make sure you stay safe and it can keep going even when it’s rolled onto it’s side. For those lacking the coordination to ski, this would be a great way to get the same rush without the danger. Sadly as of now, this isn’t something you’ll see at your local sporting goods store, it’s still in the design phase.
Source: OhGizmo
by Techno Witch on December 30, 2008
These days we hear health scare after health scare with mobile phones, so today I thought I?d post on the mobile phone as a health care rather than a health scare, the other side of the coin you might say.
In the developing world, the mobile phone plays a rather unique role in life, a role that is helping to improve health care as they are increasingly used to respond to educate locals about illnesses, respond to disease outbreaks, and as a reminder to people to take their medication.
In essence, within developing countries the mobile phone has become a lifesaver; to mention just one project, CommCare, which is a mobile phone based program for healthcare workers in particular regions where basic medical care is limited.
Nice to see the mobile phone being put to practical uses rather than being blamed for most health problems isn?t it.
by Techno Witch on December 30, 2008
Well not the best news for Research in Motion (RIM) as we head into 2009, the BlackBerry Maker has been given a 2 star rating over at Motley Fool, the fools free investment community, obviously that?s slightly better than being given one star, however two-star rating does mean you should approach with caution, on the other hand, highly rated stocks have outperformed the S&P.
Here is a short overview of Research in Motions position as thought by CAP investors, 17.3 percent of the 800 investors asked think RIM will underperform the S&P 500, it?s also been said by investors that consumers are not rushing out to buy their new BlackBerry, many are making do with their existing BlackBerry Device, many investors think Research in Motion will find it difficult to stay in the games with competitors such as Motorola (NYSE:MOT), Nokia (NYSE:NOK) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) all in the race.
However looking back at RIM?s track record they might just have an ace card up their sleeve to keep them in the game.