Gizmo Cafe Blog
July 2007 - Posts
300 on HD DVD! It's out there, NOW. The only thing on my mind is viewing all special features (many of which are in HD), testing the HD DVD - exclusive feature called "Pick Your Favorite Scenes" and having a complete review prepared tomorrow. That is if
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Don't dropped cell phone calls tick you off? You're already being gouged with pay-by-the-minute and now you have to re-connect to find out the address of your McGuffin. What if your cellular provider not only offered voice-over Wi-Fi but let you
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Seriously, they can make electronics out of soybeans and hemp nowadays. Would you rather carry around a digital audio player full of lead, cadmium, and persistent bio-accumulative toxins (PBTs) or one made of soy-based plastics and biodegradable
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It's an age old misunderstanding that even yours truly has even been susceptible to. EDTV disguised as HDTV – or is it? This article has been edited to set the record straight and help in the understanding of digital TV resolution and aspect ratio.
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The Japanese adult film industry has received a shot in the arm from Sony. The industry will sidestep homegrown restrictions on porn by moving it to Taiwan. Back in January it looked like Sony was about to hurt Blu-ray's chances by disallowing
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Is consumer product "fanboyism" taking over? Or is fanboyism just a vocal minority of trolls causing trouble online? There are communities across the web where forums, message boards and blogs touch on certain hot-button issues. These discussions
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Don't get conned by marketing ploys. Few expressions have caused as much confusion about the definition of HDTV as the term "True HDTV". Remember that technical specifications exist to protect the consumer and ensure interoperability, not to confuse.
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And you thought you were a technophile! In Japan love for gadgets is taken to a whole new level. The society that gave us Tamagotchi (the electronics pets that require care and feeding) has now introduced a vibrator designed to respond to sound. The
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Just because everyone's talking about Wi-Fi today, does that make it right for everyone? Not necessarily. Let's indulge our inner Luddite before drinking the Kool-Aid of Wi-Fi technology. Wireless Internet, or Wi-Fi, is a connection to an
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Almost everybody in North America has seen the Energy Star logo. But what does it really mean? Green Gadget helps you understand the impact of consumer electronics on the environment. If you live in North America, odds are good that you've seen the
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If you're an Xbox 360 owner - HD DVD just got even cheaper. And if you buy in August, Microsoft will even throw in five HD DVDs that probably aren't on your must-have list. For Xbox 360 owners, it's already the least expensive option for an HD DVD
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Apple announced record Mac sales and huge third-quarter earnings. Are we seeing a return to Apple's glory days? Apple has posted a 73 per cent jump in profit for its third fiscal quarter, which ended June 30. This is partly fueled by a record number
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Is your cellular service provider holding your phone hostage? Surprise! If you're a North American cell phone customer, you're probably paying a monthly bill only to be denied functions built into your phone. Service providers put these restrictions
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Denon is up to its old tricks - building salivation inducing gear that you know you want right now! High-Def Digest has the scoop on the new Denon Blu-ray player. Just yesterday Denon announced the specs (and price) of its latest flagship disc player.
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TiVo follows up Series 3 with a version for the budget-conscious. It's the cheapest way to get a TiVo PVR in full HD. Series 3, the pricey HD PVR TiVo users had been waiting for, has $800 price tag - a pretty large number and it could make a serious
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Are you a strict thumb pusher or do you like to roll your hand on top of your controller to use your fingers typing style? Some game controllers lend themselves to different behaviors and may contribute to which console you prefer. The history of
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Are you interested in the new generation of optical storage? If the answer is yes, Sony and Toshiba will both breathe a sigh of relief because statistically there aren't enough of you. The next-gen disc-storage format war has been on in earnest since
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Last night while you slept Sony's little elves were busy unrolling the new update for PS3 and PSP. The North American release was thought to be coming along later this week but apparently it's out there today. How long have you been staring at that
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Hot on the heels of E3 where Microsoft was gushing loudly about how the Xbox 360 is statistically the number-one game console on the planet – Microsoft gets the almost $2 billion bill. Microsoft has posted a $1.89 billion USD operating loss for the
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The big three game consoles are in the thick of marketplace battle right now. Are you considering a console purchase for your self or for a gift? Here's where the three shake out these days and specifically how well they work as the control center for
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It's either a useful outreach to your customer base or a sign of the coming apocalypse. At least one company called Proximity Media has started selling advertising to Bluetooth users depending on where the user is physically. This advertising has been
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Ever wish you could see two violent first-person shooter games go at it? It looks like you'll get your wish in court. Epic Games, who makes the popular, longstanding Unreal Tournament franchise, is being sued by Silicon Knights over its latest games
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The rumor goes like this: 6th Generation iPod will be a potent WiFi device to support YouTube. It's either a whopper to be forgotten or Apple is making a mistake. Hot off the rumor mill over at CrunchGear.com is the little tidbit that the upcoming 6th
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Television is changing even as you read this. Sopranos creator debuted his new series Mad Men on AMC July 19th and today it's available for download through iTunes. Every episode will be available on iTunes the day after it airs on AMC. The originally
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The first part of a series of blog posts intended to help the absolute beginner break free from the bondage of RJ-45-cabled Internet. Let's start this off with a fun fact: Wi-Fi was originally the name of the trade group responsible for the early
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For the price of the average overnight rental of a new release, you can own one of finest Westerns ever put to film on DVD. Directed By: Sergio Leone Starring: Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale. 1968 Can a spaghetti Western be
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The latest twist in the saga of SunRocket's demise involves what looks like a new broadband phone service called Teleblend. Ostensibly the new service is dedicated to delivering SunRocket's denizens from its dial tone dereliction. But who is this new
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Is iPhone really a substitute for an iPod? To find out, we tested the iPhone with two different iPod-compatible head units by Alpine and were surprised by the results. This is Steve. Steve is a Mac addict. As a Mac addict, Steve wants to
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What does Apple do to follow up iPhone's release-day success? It makes a smaller, cheaper version, of course. Or does it? Rumors of a smaller, less expensive follow-up to the iPhone may be greatly exaggerated. The rumors started last week when astute
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Blackberry finally gets WiFi on a dual phone, but will Crackberry addicts really care? Research in Motion has just announced features for its Blackberry 8820, the thinnest Blackberry yet. The 8820 is a dual mode phone that can take advantage of a GAN
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Silence. That's what SunRocket subscribers heard through their phones on Monday. SunRocket is a VoIP service provider, that suddenly left some 200,000 customers with no phone service. No warning was issued to subscribers even though many had already
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You can feel the excitement on message boards throughout the Internet for the coming release of 300 on HD DVD. Over on the HomeTheaterShack, users have already ordered 300 and will be viewing it the day of its release. 300 is the latest Frank Miller
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It's hackers latest gift to Microsoft and the DMCA. The next cycle in the game between hackers and Digital Rights Management is finally here. Hackers created a program called FairUse4m that cracks Microsoft's Digital Rights Management. This is the
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Nine states are already considering legislation to ban driving while texting or DWT. Washington was the first state to actually pass a law that goes into effect in January. Senate in Washington had no problems passing the ban on DWT after a
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Hide-a-Pod is a brilliant idea, if not a bit cruel to the Zune nation. Apple fans came up with this brilliantly simple way to keep your iPod from being stolen - disguise it as a Zune, of course. Reasoning nobody in their right mind wants to steal a
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Mass Effect is set to finally hit Xbox 360 in November '07. It was during Microsoft's keynote at E3 2007 that Peter Moore Corporate Vice President of Interactive Entertainment announced the month of release. The hotly anticipated game was first
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Nintendo Wii has shown the market force of a game system that succeeds in bringing in casual gamers. A new breed of gamers are being made that are just in for casual, social gaming. But Nintendo managed to do it without alienating its long time fan base.
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Due to hit store shelves on October 30th 2007, this could be the most gory blood soaked, mass decapitation laden (greatest) video game ever! Among the many trailers presented at E3 was the this eye candy rich excercise in gore-fest. Created by THQ and
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During Microsoft's Keynote at E3 2007 Jeff Bell, VP of Global Marketing talked sports (EA style) with New Orleans Saint's Reggie Bush. Bush got to do what is probably pretty damned cool! Scored a touchdown with himself in the game. Microsoft's Xbox
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The Sony PS3 price drop so far – Sony drops the cost of the 60 GB version of the PS3 by $100 just in time for E3 despite what it said earlier about not planning any price drops. That's the good news. The bad news is the freshly cost cut PS3 60GB is
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Tired of sunny summer afternoons yet? Now you can enjoy summer outdoors and enjoy the mobility of a true gaming PC. Alienware introduces its Alienware m9700 for the summer of '07. It makes the perfect companion to that cottage with a Wi-Fi hotspot.
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If you've been waiting since it was announced at CES '07, the wait is finally over. Nokia's foray into the tablet PC got a communications boost with Skype on Wednesday. The Wi-Fi enabled tablet PC by Nokia still finds itself in an uncomfortable
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The Sequel to Unreal Tournament 2004 is finally coming in November - Unreal III. This time, Epic Games changed gears and went with a PC/PS3-only game. There is no doubt Gears of War is one of the biggest gaming hits to come along in awhile. Created by
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Disc format rivals Microsoft and Disney set aside differences for HD content on Xbox Live Marketplace. At this week's E3, Microsoft announced it will carry Disney movies in HD on Xbox 360's Xbox Live service. The Disney movies will be made available
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"Congratulations, you've won a free iPhone" … or something akin to the message that's sure to make any penny pinching Apple fan tremble with excitement. All you have to do is click a link, just one link to get all the details about the iPhone you've
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Amid recent criticisms that Xbox 360 has an astonishingly high failure rate compared to competing game consoles, Microsoft has volunteered to extend its warranty. Effective today, the coverage for Xbox 360 has been extended to a full three years
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A rumor is going around that Sony will drop the price on its PlayStation3 in the next week. CB Games documents some of the sources of the rumor that may have started with a Circuit City add for $499 on the 15th of July. To squelch the rumors Sony
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If it's not enough that Krispy Kreme makes a donut flavor milk shake soon you'll be able to edit and upload video to YouTube directly from your LG handset! LG Electronics YouTube handsets are set to hit the market in Europe by the end of the year.
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Don't mess with LG! It was only last February LG took TTE Thompson Electronics to court over the V-Chip technology. now the Korean electronics company is going after Quanta, a notebook computer manufacturer out of Taiwan. It seems Qunata has been using
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According to a games site called Ripten.com retailers suggest a staggering failure rate among Xbox 360s. According to the report 33% of Xbox 360s fail. A quote from someone identified only as Matthiew G - a former "Associate" says that other console
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Are you a gamer just wishing you could attend this year's E3? Sorry about that, it can't be helped really, someone has to stay home. But it'll come as a poor consolation that Microsoft will present the recently neutered event through Xbox Live in HD.
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Why do you need a new FREE home theater system? If you've got a compelling story you might just win it from MakeShifters.com. It's a joint effort between D&M Holdings (parent company to Denon and Boston Acoustics) and Circuit CIty. Essentially it's a
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Unwired View received info on an upcoming HTC device simply called Omni, successor to its Universal. The images are a mock up from Unwired View - the device looks slick and they promise some hot specs to go along. The display is a giant among mobile
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Apple has played back-up to another player in its market for decades. But in the online music industry, Apple is the undisputed king. Now Apple is feeling some of the pressures of success and from an unexpected source - there has long been a bit of
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I just saw the new Transformers movie (no spoilers, I promise) and one thing you can expect are prominent product placements. You could make a game out of naming products in the new Transformers movie, especially gadgets. The Chevy Camaro (classic and
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Blu-ray may have the edge in exclusive support from Hollywood film studios. But and you know what they say about giant Hollywood blockbuster films: Once you've seen one, you've seen about twenty - that is until next summer. But HD DVD is giving a
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It was musical while it lasted, but it's done - AllofMP3.com is finally sunk by the likes of the RIAA. AllofMP3.com was an inexpensive way to get your music legally online. But its status as a legal source of online music has long been a grey area.
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PricewaterhouseCoopers released a report predicting the video games market will surpass music in the US, UK and Australia. In its report PwC says videogames are a big growth segment of the consumer electronics market. The report cites that video game
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