-
We have seen our fair share of LP conversion devices in the past, but the LP 2 CD this time round takes a different route by converting all your old records into CD format directly, all without the need for a PC.
Step up, the LP 2 CD: a one-stop-shop for popping your 33, 45 and 78 rpm records direct to compact disc, with zero bother. And because it doesn’t need to run through a computer, you can hook it up to a pair of speakers to use like a regular stereo for records and compact discs. The LP 2 CD cuts out the middleman by incorporating a flash memory and CD burner, so you never need to connect to a PC or Mac at all; it’s all right in one place with no cables for the mice to nibble through. Just whack your old vinyl platters on to the turntable, start playing the record and press the record button on the control panel. Your grooves will be automatically transformed into digital sound files as they play and stored on an inbuilt flash memory that can handle up to 80...
-
Arkon will be making available premium upgrade aftermarket car mount bundles for both the Mio Moov and Navman S-Series GPS, and each of these mount bundles comprise of a custom cradle adapter as well as a location specific pedestal that is meant for use in the vehicle itself only.
Users can choose from a variety of different mounts that attach to the windshield, dash, cup holder opening, lighter socket, sun visor, and air vent locations. Arkon offers the most extensive lineup of car mounting solutions for use with Mio, Garmin, Magellan, TomTom, and other leading GPS makers.
If you’ve grown extremely attached to your GPS navigation system and can’t live (drive) without one, then I would suggest investing a small sum of money (anywhere from $17.95 to $29.95) on one of these puppies.
[ Arkon offers car mount bundles for Mio Moov and Navman S-Series GPS units copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Gift Ideas: The Coolest Gadgets Gift Guides.
-
We’ve seen portable iPod/iPhone chargers in the past, but this time round there is something strangely different and yet still the same - the iPower Portable Power Station with Speaker. Yes, judging by the name of the device itself, it is able to juice up your iPod/iPhone within three hours (taking an equal amount of time to be fully charged at a power outlet as well), functioning as a portable speaker as well for you to share your tunes with people around. You can pick up the iPower Portable Power Station with Speaker for $44 from Brando.
Product Page
[ iPower Portable Power Station with Speaker copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Pressy idea: Educational Toys
-

Sony will be making available a quartet of new Xplod in-dash head units sometime next month, enabling iPod owners to hook up their beloved portable media players to the Xplod units while they’re on the road. The four models are the CDX-GT630UI, CDX-GT430IP, CDX-GT330 and CDX-GT130, and we’ll take a closer look at individual models right after the jump.
The top-of-the-line unit (model CDX-GT630UI) is Sony’s first car stereo that can connect directly to iPod players, other digital music players and USB thumb drives via a USB connection. It also includes Sony’s unique ZAPPIN function, which offers a way of searching and listening to music. Providing several options for connectivity in the car, the CDX-GT630UI head unit connects to compatible iPod or other digital music players via USB, allowing users to control and charge their devices and enjoy exceptional sound quality. CDX-GT630UI also supports iPhone.
The CDX-GT430IP CD receiver comes with an interface that allows for control of most iPod players. The included 1.5-meter cable has a 30-pin connector provides full menu control and allows the head unit to charge compatible iPod devices. The unit’s selectable front and rear/sub preamp...
-

Epson America Inc. has recently made available two new all-in-one printers that look set to cause more than a stir in the printer market with the Artisan 800 and Artisan 700. Both models look set to blaze the industry thanks to their superb performance, highly desirable features and stylish piano black finish that always seem to guarantee attracting the fingerprints of whoever lay their eyes on it. The Artisan series will look great be it at home or at the office, so head on after the jump to read more about the specifications before you decide on whether to purchase one for yourself or not.
The Artisan 800 is the higher end version of the two, and will boast Wi-Fi connectivity that makes it a whole lot easier to share with other people in the network, not to mention doing away with yet another wired connection that could potentially trip some careless soul. In addition, the Artisan 800 will come with fax capability, an Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) and the ability to churn out Ultra Hi-Definition photos. Thanks to the 7.8″ smart touch panel and...
-

TV manufacturers are constantly trying to out-do each other on specs. Brightness, contrast, number of inputs - it’s all fair game. We’ve already had the worlds Largest plasma but it looks like the next battleground will be the thickness of the screen.
Sony are proudly proclaiming the new 40″ Bravia XZ1 holds the title of “World’s thinnest LCD TV” measuring 9.9mm at it’s slimmest point. To put that into perspective, it’s slightly thinner than my K660i. Quite a feat!
More details after the jump
- Edge mounted LED lighting, replacing the conventional backlight.
- A separate receiver hooks up the inputs, sending the HD signal wirelessly to the screen. A nice touch, it means the screen can just sit on the wall with no distracting cables hanging down
- Newly developed Bravia Engine 2. The Sony Bravia processing engine is one of the better ones out there, doing a good job on upscaling SD content.
You can read the full press release with all the details here.
No word yet on a price, but I wouldn’t expect to see it at the budget end of the market…
[ Competition hots up on slimline TVs...
-
SlappingOysters writes "In the lead up to the World Cyber Games finals in Germany, Gameplayer has an incredible interview with Tournament Director Alex Walker in which he freely admits knowledge of participants taking illegal drugs to enhance their performance. The interview came in response to a previous article by the site in which they examined whether there was a need to bring drug testing into professional gaming events to ensure a level playing field. Walker said, 'I've seen a number of players at national tournaments who came in "baked" (that's stoned for the uninformed) purely so they could play better. In most cases they did, although obviously they couldn't just pull out another joint midway through. In one WCG, a player I knew took amphetamines an hour before his match to boost his reflexes.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-
Vigile writes "In a somewhat surprising move from a company that is used to holding its proprietary technologies close to its chest, NVIDIA has announced that it is opening up a 'certified SLI motherboard' program for boards using the upcoming Intel X58 chipset. The X58 is Intel's core logic offering for Nehalem/Bloomfield processors and many people wondered how NVIDIA would support SLI on a platform for which they had admitted to not developing a chipset. At first, NVIDIA was pushing the use of their dedicated nForce 200 chip, but have instead decided to open up the SLI technology to X58 motherboards that meet certain NVIDIA requirements. This leaves a lot of questions about NVIDIA's previous SLI statements, how the pricing of the certification affects partners, and if NVIDIA's chipset business is truly at its end now."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-
Tim writes "English, German, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese versions of Internet Explorer 8 have been released for public beta. New features include accelerators, which provide instant context menu access for a number of common tasks; automatic crash recovery, which prevents a single page's failures from taking down your entire browser; and browser privacy, a feature that didn't make Firefox 3. I'm primarily a Firefox user, and I've been using IE8 at work (MS) for the past few weeks. It's a definite improvement over previous versions, and brings a lot to the table that Firefox requires extensions for. Give it a spin, submit feedback, and help keep all browser makers on their toes by facing each other's competition."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "Wikileaks seems to be a bit hard-up for cash, so they're trying a little experiment. They plan to auction off an archive with three years worth of Hugo Chavez' email. The winner will get a period of embargoed access to break any stories they can find in the files, while Wikileaks will later publish the archive in full. Wikileaks plans to use the profits for their legal defense fund, but they may run into trouble because most reputable news outlets have policies against paying sources."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-
Mathieu Lutfy writes "The CBC is reporting that 'Quebec's open-source software association is suing the provincial government, saying it is giving preferential treatment to Microsoft Corp. by buying the company's products rather than using free alternatives. ...Government buyers are using an exception in provincial law that allows them to buy directly from a proprietary vendor when there are no options available, but Facil said that loophole is being abused and goes against other legal requirements to buy locally.' The group also has a press release in English."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

-
risinganger writes "BBC News is reporting that a customer had his password changed without his knowledge. After some less than satisfactory service the customer in question changed his password to 'Llyods is pants'. At some point after that a member of staff changed the password to 'no it's not'. Requests to change it back to 'Llyods is pants', 'Barclays is better' or censorship were met with refusal. Personally I found the original change funny, like the customer did. After all, god forbid a sense of humour rears its ugly head in business. What isn't acceptable is the refusal to change it per the customer's requests after that."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.
