Archive for: April 16, 2008

April 16, 2008

Computer synthesiser enables Neanderthals to be heard

Filed under: Review - 16 Apr 2008

Filed under: Misc. GadgetsWe know, it’s a dream of yours to one day take in what Neanderthals from eons past sounded like when they conversed of DAPs possessing a few kilobytes of storage space and longed for computers that wouldn’t take up entire caves. Okay, so perhaps that’s a stretch, but an ant…

“Scroll” concept device packs everything but a sense of reality

Filed under: Review - 16 Apr 2008

Sure, there’s plenty of far fetched concept devices from big players like Nokia, but it’s nice to see that folks without millions of dollars in research funding can additionally come up with equally unrealistic devices, as evidenced by that so-called “Scroll” contraption created by 13 Tech Des…

Nomenta Industries intros Trinvo talking translator

Filed under: Review - 16 Apr 2008

It may not offer real-time translation, but Nomenta Industries’s new Trinvo talking translator looks like it should get the job done nonetheless, with it boasting cross-translation of no less than twelve languages (no word as to which ones). You’ll additionally get a 2,500 word dictionary, 750…

Psystar’s Open Computer: A $400 Rotten Apple Scam?

Filed under: Review - 16 Apr 2008

News of a $400 Mac clone on the market spread like wildfire that week — only to be supplanted by suspicions that the offering may well be a giant cheat. The first inkling that something was wrong came when a note arised on the Web site of the mysterious vendor, Psystar, stating it could not…

DIY’er crafts scientific calculator watch, TI-30 is like “what?”

Filed under: Review - 16 Apr 2008

Calculator watches, a staple of the average’s geek wardrobe since before your grandmother was born, have been called out, as David Jones’ own homegrown version totally trumps anything out there on the pre-fabricated market nowadays. The cleverly-titled µWatch was born after a Casio CFX-400 bit …

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Navigon’s 2100 Max and 2120 Max GPS units now shipping

Filed under: Review - 16 Apr 2008

Aw yeah, Navigon’s latest widescreen navigators are finally being assigned tracking numbers, meaning that you can get your roadtrip on for just $299 (US-based 2100 Max) or $329 CAD (Canada-only 2120 Max). For those needing a refresher, you can look forward to 4.3-inches of turn-by-turn guidance,…

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Sega Toys and ZMP team up for Miuro-like Music Robot ODO

Filed under: Review - 16 Apr 2008

ZMP’s Miuro may have been doing the whole music-playing, rolling robot thing even before Sony’s Rolly stole the highlight, but it had the slight disadvantage of costing nearly $1,000. The company now looks to be changing that situation, however, with it teaming up with Sega Toys to release a s…

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Republican lawmakers say Google “gamed” 700Mhz auction

Filed under: Review - 16 Apr 2008

Google’s plan in the 700MHz auction drama was never much of a secret: it was always assumed that the search giant would bid enough to trigger the open-access provisions, but wasn’t really interested in winning, and certain ample, the company confirmed that strategy when the bidding wrapped up. O…

OS X made to run on a Samsung Q1 Ultra Premium

Filed under: Review - 16 Apr 2008

With all the Psystar-related drama going on in the OSx86 scene that week, it’s easy to miss the fact that public are doing some pretty wild things with the community-led project — we’ve already seen OS X boot on a Sony Vaio UX, and now the crew at jkOnTheRun have managed to shoehorn it on to a …

Microsoft Charts Its Road Map for Windows Embedded

Filed under: Review - 16 Apr 2008

Microsoft has laid out a new roadmap for the development of Windows Embedded at the Embedded Systems Conference Silicon Valley 2008. The Embedded roadmap outlines the “renaming of its family of products and plans for new solutions in key device categories”. Kevin Dallaes, general manager of the Wind…

Outlook Contacts in Your Pocket

Filed under: Review - 16 Apr 2008
Outlook Contacts in Your Pocket

Q: I would like to put the contacts from Outlook on a flash drive, so I can take them with me when I'm on the road. Can this be done and if so how do you do it? Thanks in advance. - John Whitehouse.

appscout973:http://www.appscout.com/2008/04/outlook_contacts_in_your_pocke_1.php

A: Select File | Import and Export from the menu. Choose Export to a file and click next. Choose the file type Personal Folder File (.pst) and click Next. Select Contacts from the folder tree and click Next. Save the exported file as a file on your flash drive. I don't think the "duplicates" options are relevant here, so just click Finish.

Now you will be able to open the .pst file on another computer that has Outlook installed. If you need to have the addresses in hand even when Outlook is not available, go through the export process again but save it as a Microsoft Excel file. Then do it once more and choose "Comma Separated Values (Windows)". This last format is a plain text file that you could (awkwardly) open in Notepad and search even on a bare-bones Windows computer.

Can’t Play AVI Video

Filed under: Review - 16 Apr 2008
Can't Play AVI Video

Q: I have Vista Home Premium on my computer. I received an AVI of one of my great grandchildren. For some unknown reason I am not able to play it. Can you be of any help? - John Sloggett.

appscout973:http://www.appscout.com/2008/04/cant_play_avi_video_1.php

A: I had the same problem with my sister not seeing an AVI video of a robotics challenge for high-schoolers at UC Davis. You just don't have the right codec (coder/decoder) for that type of file. Probably what you need is the "XviD MPEG-4 Video Decoder". Get it at the XVid Codec download site. Accept the agreement and download the XviD codec v1.1.3 for Windows. It worked for my sister!

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