It’s almost the weekend, which means only one thing: a desperate race to find an all-consuming project lest one be found for you by your nearest-and-dearest. You could do a lot worse than put together a Shopping Cart Go-Cart, the entertaining end-result of MAKE’s shopping cart chair tutorial.
Video demo after the cut
Denon set tone with the announcement of DVD-A1UD (DVD-A1UDCI, US release), the world’s first universal desk with inclusion of SACD, DVD-A, HDCD in their flagship Blu-ray universal player months ago, and was scheduled to due this month. Interested buyers with deep pocket may have to wait couple months longer, the $4,200 do-it-all desk has been postponed to due in March.
Not content with the budget end of the ultraportable market, Acer have announced yet another Ferrari notebook as part of the branding deal with the Italian supercar manufacturer. The Acer Ferrari 1200 has a 12.1-inch LED-backlit display, AMD Turion X2 Ultra dual-core mobile processor and up to 4GB of DDR2 memory, but we all know that far more important is the carbon-fiber cover, anodized-metal touchpad (said to resemble the car’s pedals) and soft-touch coating.
A collaborative team between the Indian governments ministry of science and ministry of technology will unveil a super-low-cost computer on February 3rd, as part of the country’s $10 laptop project. Specifications of the notebook – which is intended for education use – are unconfirmed, but unofficial sources suggest it will have 2GB of memory, both ethernet and WiFi connectivity, the ability to expand the storage and low power requirements of just 2W, all in a small, portable package.
Further evidence suggesting Google is preparing to launch an online file storage service called GDrive has emerged, this time detailed in a file within the company’s Google Pack. Categorizing GDrive under “Online file backup and storage”, it goes on to describe it as “reliable storage” for files and media that can be accessed from multiple devices including cellphones.
We’ve seen plenty of netbooks coaxed into running the Windows 7 beta, and eventually doing so at a faster clip than Vista could ever manage, but how about a real challenge? The Amtek U560 UMPC was first demonstrated back in 2007, and uses an Intel A100 processor running at just 600MHz; it also only has 512MB of RAM. A tough prospect, but Windows 7 not only works but manages to give an Experience Index score of more than 1.
Video demo of the Amtek U560 running Windows 7 after the cut
Cyber E-Style’s Orbita Mouse caught some attention last month with its promise of full-spinning, squeezable flexibility. Fitted with a digital compass, the Orbita can be free-rotated for as much scrolling as you like, yet will always know which direction is up. Promising stuff, so SlashGear was keen to get the Orbita in for a play; it landed on our desk today, and so we’ve thrown together an unboxing video and preliminary gallery to keep you occupied until the full review.
Check out the video unboxing of the Orbita Mouse after the cut
We’ve all been there, tirelessly slicing through sheet after sheet of paper and nothing but the hum of the blade and our own thoughts to entertain us. Happily there’s salvation at hand – and at a bargain price, too – in the shape of the Fiskars Rock Paper Trimmer: a rotary trimmer with built-in speakers and a cradle for your MP3 player.
Garmin have announced their latest GPS-enabled exercise trainer, the FR60 Fitness Watch. Thanks to the ANT+ wireless fitness equipment standard, the FR60 can track time, calories burned, heart rate and other data from linked fitness equipment, then – with the supplied ANT+ USB stick – wirelessly transfer that information to your PC when it comes into range.
Having been rebuked by uncooperative Republicans in the House of Representatives earlier this week, with the first attempt at the DTV switchover delay bill rejected, the US Senate is back with a second attempt to postpone the shut-off of analog television. The resubmitted bill, which has already been passed by the Senate, is generally identical to the original version, but manages to pass the buck to the television broadcasters themselves.
SlashGear Japan
