Tech & Gadget Stream

One of the current trends in cellphones that I particularly hate is the lack of a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. (And I know I’m not alone.) Almost every phone on the market now has some degree of music playback capabilities yet for the most part to use your own headphones (as opposed to the crappy bundled ones) you also need to use some inconvenient adapter. Even my iPhone which is supposed to be the pinnacle of an MP3-capable phone requires a short adapter to deal with the sunken 3.5mm jack. So enough of my rant and onto a possible solution. These mobile phone plug adapters connect to a phone’s data port and provide a standard 3.5mm jack for plugging in any pair of headphones. And when not in use the adapters can be used as colorful phone charms ensuring they’re always with your phone whenever you want to use them. Unfortunately though I can’t figure out if the adapters are available in multiple versions for different types of phones/data ports or if they simply connect to any mini-U

Today Nokia unveiled a small bluetooth device which will give you GPS functionality on “a wide range of Nokia devices” (we haven’t received a list of supported devices yet). The price will be around $170 and it will be available in the near future - and I sure hope you can take away that plunger… The Nokia Bluetooth GPS Module LD-4W combines Nseries style in a slim and attractive core with navigation, so you can find your way around easily with your compatible mobile device. Continuing on our mission to bring location based services to even more people, this GPS module is compatible with a wide range of Nokia devices and Nokia Maps. Take your time getting to your destination - this lightweight (31 g) GPS module has up to 10 hours of operating time. The sleekly designed black and metallic module comes with a LED indicator to alert you to GPS activation, power and battery status, and Bluetooth connectivity status. The GPS module will be available globally.

The company behind the video camera that is promising to revolutionise documentary and movie film making has said that it is shipping its first 25 units out into the industry this Friday. Costing a cost $17,000, the Red One will have an 11.4 megapixel sensor and be capable of capturing up to 60 frames per second. Typical high-end HD camcorders have 2.1MP sensors and record video at up to 30fps. What's also revolutionary about the high-end camera is that it is modular based allowing you to add different rigs, lenses and a stack of other stuff on as you need it including the ability to shoot in a lower quality if the ultra high def isn't required. Currently, this camera is already being used by film directors such as Peter Jackson and Steven Soderbergh.

The NHC Ecolong is a miser when it comes to power consumption - this tiny digital audio player offers an amazing 85 hours of playback time all from a single AAA battery, making it perfect for those who have a long road trip up in their itenary. Other than superior battery life, the Ecolong isn't really special in other aspects, offering MP3 and WMA (non-DRM) support and a measly 1GB of internal memory. I would've been nice to see a memory card slot of some kind included, but that would then be reflected in a price that's higher than the current $52. The NHC Ecolong measures 78mm x 36.6mm x 18.5mm and weighs 36g.

Nokia has launched its 500 Auto Navigation system, making it the second of such systems to come out from the Finnish cellphone manufacturer. Not only does it provide you with instructions on getting to your destination in the fastest time possible, the 500 Auto Navigation is also a comprehensive handsfree, Bluetooth-enabled solution that allows you to carry on your conversations without having to take your hands off the wheel. The 4.3" color display is large enough for you to scroll through your contacts in order to make and receive calls, while the inclusion of Digital Signal Processing provides crystal clear audio for every conversation. The Nokia 500 Auto Navigation is tipped to arrive in Europe sometime in Q4 2007 for approximately $410.

Any Tom, Dick, and Harry can be seen on YouTube, but if you want to draw in the audience, you had better do something that will captivate everyone's attention - and this is where the mi VDO FX digital video camera comes in handy. It allows you to jazz up your home-grown production with up to 18 built-in special effects (presumably similar to those found on most modern digital cameras). After all, watching a video shot with a negative filter is definitely more impressive than an ordinary version. Other features include the ability to record directly from a digital audio player during filming, on-the-fly editing, 4x digital zoom, an SD memory card slot (up to 2GB), and an 1.5" color LCD display.

The Tie Clip MP3 player concept not only offers you the ability to put on a tie in the fastest manner possible, it even provides you with some audio entertainment as you sit through the long commute. Designed by Jin Woo Han, it comes with a single line LCD that allows you to flash a short message to all and sundry. Other features include basic navigation controls and some flash memory inside. I still wonder what's the relevancy of wearing ties as it serves no real practical purposes, instead it gives you the added risk of getting strangled to death should your tie actually get caught between the doors of a moving bus or train.

Rumor has it that LG will be preparing a Windows Mobile smartphone, and the one which we see here could be it. It share a lot of the LG Prada's styling cues, and also resembles the KU900 as well. Word on the street has it that this smartphone will be powered by Windows Mobile 6 as expected, bringing GSM/GPRS/EDGE as well as UMTS to the table. HSPDA is still unconfirmed, but that would be a bonus if included. Other features on the grapevine include a WVGA display (800 x 480 resolution) and a camera of unknown megapixel count. Well, let's just sit this one out and wait for an official announcement to get a clearer picture.

The GamePark GP2X F-200 will be released with a brand new touch-sensitive screen in the vein of the Nintendo DS along with a redesigned game controller for enhanced gameplay. The handheld console itself will come with pre-loaded homebrew games, and maintains the ability of uploading emulators such as MAME and GNGeo to help you get your retro gaming fix. The user interface has also been tweaked to enable multi-tasking which wasn't available on its predecessor. The GamePark GP2X F-200 will be released this October and it will probably retail for $200 tops. Will you be importing one, or do you already have MAME installed on your laptop?

Trekstor's iBeat Blaxx certainly comes with a pretty unique name, and I would say this is a love it-or-hate it affair. This MP3 player comes with all the bells and whistles of an ordinary MP3 player, and it looks pretty cool in its black get up complete with touchpad controls that hark back to the LG Chocolate design. Audio formats supported include MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG, and WMA DRM9, while the SMV format takes over when it comes to video. Measuring a mere 34mm x 81mm x 8mm, the iBeat Blaxx weighs a mere 26 grams. It will come in 2GB and 4GB versions that retail for €119.99 and €149.99 respectively. Would you pick this over the iPod nano?

Are you a proud owner of an iPhone? Brando has the iPhone Armband that keeps your spanking new handset in place while you sweat it out at the local gym. The armband has a length of 42cm, so unless you have overdosed on synthol injections, that ought to be long enough to fit just about any arm. The only problem would be the wired headphones - won't exercising with a wire dangling out be rather distracting to say the least? You can pick up the iPhone Armband for $14 a pop.

While probably not "the real bleeding edge," this MP3/digital cassette has managed to awe me, at least slightly. Chinavasion has created an MP3 Cassette Player, accepting songs from SD/MMC cards while still allowing the owner to play it over a standard tape deck. Yes, it is both an MP3 player and a cassette. This has many ramifications: has the cassette player, like Jesus or Kurt Cobain, risen from the dead? Will the Blu-Ray vs. HD wars be rendered irrelevant due to 8-tracks, vinyl and cassettes? Probably not, but its still nice to have something to play in my '65 Pony Mustang. [You do mean your pimping ‘88 Ford Escort, right? -Ed.] The revenge of the 80’s is available in the future, from Chinavasion wholesale electronics, for an unknown price.

Sony has announced a new fuel-cell battery that runs on glucose. It works by breaking down carbohydrates with enzymes, in much the same way as us humans do. It doesn't seem to be ready for release yet, but the video after the jump shows that it's already capable of powering an MP3 player. Sony are claiming 50mW per cell, so it's still not very powerful. Even the MP3 player requires a few devices daisy-chained together, so it will be some time before this is portable enough to be practical.

The Olympus SP-560 Ultra Zoom digital camera ($450) has an 18x optical zoom lens ranging 27 to 486 mm (that's 35 mm equivalent). that's not all this chunky funky camera has going for it. It features some of the newest attributes of Olympus cameras out this fall, including face detection and perfect shot preview, where you can view several different exposure, metering and white-balance options at once. It's got sensor-shift (mechanical) image stabilization as well as digital image stabilization. For people who want it, it also offers full-manual control. This 8-megapixel camera will be available in October.

Are you ready to buy an LCD TV? You must consider Sharp 92 series and Samsung's 65F series, top tier LCDs at the moment. They're both pretty well equipped with 1080p displays, 3 HDMI ports, 15000:1 contrast ratios, 120Hz tech, and more than enough brightness. The Sharp has a more dramatic picture, with a deeper black level and richer colors off the bat. The Samsung has a more natural picture, in terms of contrast, even if it looks washy at times. Adjustments bring them on par with each other. There are some differences, however. Sharp LC-52D92U vs Samsung LN-T5265F Samsung LN-T5265F: •Better visual adjustments, including individual color tweaks and gamma. •USB ports for photo and music playback. •Sidemounted HDMI and Composite ports. •Better bass from the built in speakers •A really shitty glossy screen that kicks up ridiculous amounts of glare •A more uniform backlighting (the Sharp is blotchy) •Much better grey detail, even if at the cost of looking a little washy •Somehow it

While the simple van may not be the most glamorous of vehicles, it's hard to argue against a practical electric version that could do the same tasks, but without burning fossil fuels. That's exactly what the MODEC does, an electric van with a 100 mile range that can shift up to 2 tons of goods from supermarket to customer's doors. Tesco, a UK supermarket company recently arranged a contract to upgrade its home delivery fleet to the MODEC , which has a top speed of 50 MPH with its 102 horse power electric motor. It's sure got style.

Flash drive innovation seems to be limited to bringing the price down, and adding on new security features. Corsair's Flash Padlock flash drive seemingly does both, by retailing at $29.99 and $39.99 in 1GB and 2GB variants, and tacking on a PIN based security system that limits who can access the drive. The benefit to the Flash Padlock is that its security solution is entirely hardware based, so it's supposedly impervious to hackers and crackers and other deviant folk: the downside is that if your computer's USB ports are out of reach, then this solution is going to be extremely bad for your back.

With everyone and their dog owning an iPod these days, I fear that the present generation will end up deaf sooner rather than later. Just in case you need to wear hearing aids , perhaps the Personal Communication Aids will be able to take away the stigma and shame (more personal than external) attached with wearing these, as they are barely visible and highly capable. Designed by the Phonak Group from Switzerland, these hearing aids greatly amplify high-pitched sounds such as consonants and rustling paper, helping you live out your life without missing out on conversations and the sounds of nature. Unfortunately, a high price is attached to these, retailing between $1,500 to $3,500 each.

  The sleekly compact black ALFiE home entertainment system is a mix of iPod dock, MP3 player speakers and CD / DVD player. The dock for the iPod is built in, but any similar player can be connected through the auxiliary-in point.  There's also a radio alarm and remote control as the cherry and chocolate sprinkles on top. Roth Audio has packed the ALFiE with the ability to spew out up to 40 watts of power, using a 2.1 amplifier.  The large sound from the compact body is apparently achieved with the use of a "downward-firing" subwoofer, and you can adjust the treble and bass for the perfect listening experience.  It's not your budget choice, though; the rrp when it hits the UK next month will be £400.

Sirius Stiletto 2 is the official sequel to Sirius' first portable player, the Stiletto. As with the new Sportster, the Stiletto's feature set has remained basically unchanged, keeping the Wi-Fi and SD MP3 playback of the original, while now supporting up to 100 hours of program recording. I think this new Stiletto 2 is the best looking, best designed portable satellite-radio player I've yet seen. Probably the coolest new attribute is its MicroSD card slot. There's no limit (yet) as to the capacity you can use to amp up the onboard storage. The slot is stashed under the battery, because Sirius doesn't think you'll be passing those tiny memory cards around. Also new are 802.11g for Sirius' internet audio stream up to 128Kbps, and redesigned car and speaker docks. Features: * SIRIUS and more on the go: enjoy SIRIUS radio PLUS your own personal MP3 music library anywhere * Radio Replays: automatically stores hours of fresh programming * Schedule recording: rec

While we're a bit skeptical of the company's claims to "redefine the listening experience," XM's new XpressRC radio does indeed look to be fairly impressive as far as satellite radios go, with it boasting a full-color split-screen display among other notable new features.  That screen will let you view information for your current channel on the left side, while letting you browse up to three other channels on the right side. Apart from that, the radio will give you a 60-minute buffer to let you pause and replay programming, and you'll be able to store up to ten of your favorite songs with the new "Songsaver" feature.  As with other satellite radios, you'll also be able to move it between vehicles, and make use of various docks and speaker systems for a little out-of-vehicle listening. Look for this one to set you back $170 when it rolls out this fall.

A self-proclaimed Batman fanatic happened upon an RC iteration of the Tumbler Batmobile, and as any true nerd would do, he wondered if a PC could be stuffed within. Sure enough, with a healthy amount of dedicated modding, the RC Tumbler was finally equipped with an AMD Sempron 2800+ CPU, a 40GB hard drive, and a basic DVD drive, but considering the main purpose is to race around the web and look sexy, we'd say it's potent enough for that.

Philips has made another silent introduction to the GoGear line of flash players. The SA3300 series carries a design very similar to the SA6000 series, but the 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB capacities have been complimented by an additional 8GB version. The QVGA LCD display will expand to 2.4-inches, but the 320 x 240 pixel resolution and 65k colors are retained. MTP has been dropped for the SA3300, and video formats have not been limited to Philip’s proprietary SMV, or exclusively to WMV (DRM). Support for MPEG-4 (SP & ASP codecs) as well as WMV is included, but there is nothing more given to the generic MP3 and WMA audio formats. With some significant adjustments taking place, the mediocre video battery life still remains: 20 hours of audio and 4 hours of video.

I am not sure why it has taken so long for an awesome looking Ghetto Blaster to be created that houses the iPod but hankfully Lasonic are about to release this beasty 15 lbs Ghetto Blaster iPod Dock which will pump out 2 x 15 w and also supports a USB flash drive and SD/MMC memory cards. I hope it is a portable device because this will be perfect for the park on a nice hot summers day. No info on the Lasonic i931 release date or price yet so you will have to keep checking the Lasonic website.

Google announced on their blog that they're offering additional storage for their Gmail, Google Apps, and Picasa services. Storage sizes of 6, 25, 100, and 250 GB are available at prices ranging between 20 and 500 dollars a year. We hoped for more flexibility in how the storage could be used, but it's nice for those running low on space.

Streetlights aren't really necessary when there's a full moon out, what with it bouncing all that sunlight down at us and everything. But your average streetlight isn't smart enough to know when it isn't needed, so it sits there, dumbly shining away for no real reason. That's not the case with the Lunar-Resonant Street Lights, conceptual LED-based lamps that dim down and turn off completely as the moon waxes. When it's a new moon, it'll be fully lit up, showing you your path. What results is an energy savings of 90-95%. Not a bad idea.

This design concept for a juicer by Gibli Ortal is quite beautiful, but perhaps its creator didn't realize that it might end up in a rather precarious location. It certainly seems like a great place for a juicer, hugging the countertop right there within easy reach. But, uh, it could end up being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It must have some sort of grippy backing underneath its lovely L-shaped form, holding it in place, and then when you're done with that it takes up very little space hanging on the wall and generally looking pretty: Just don't bend over. We heard yesterday that a large percentage of people clean their houses in the nude, but we wouldn't want to back into this thing while scrubbing the floor, especially when it's running at full tilt.

Google adds street view imagery to Google Maps for San Diego (go Padres!), Los Angeles, Houston and Orlando, Fla. The controversial Street View, which lets you virtually walk down a street and see ground-level, 360 photography of your surroundings, launched at the end of May with imagery of San Francisco, New York, Denver, Las Vegas and Miami.

Did I ever claim to have the super-human power to sniff out bad meat? Why does my mother keep putting raw meat in front of my nose and asking me whether there's "anything wrong with it?" As soon as I possibly can, I'm getting her one of these food smelling devices. The SensorFreshQ runs on two AA batteries, and detects the freshness of meat and poultry within one minute (I can do it 2 seconds, but my accuracy may be doubtful since raw meat always smells awful to me). It basically takes a sampling of the air around the uncooked meat and detects the presence of bacteria, which produce gasses that can be detected with this device. The results are color-coded so taht green means the meat is fresh, yellow means it's "okay" but not for long (for my mother, this would mean it's not okay and goes in the trash), and red means "don't eat it."

We all have our own ways to listen to music. Some of you probably love your ear buds, while others invoke a hipsters' throwback to when it was cool to carry that boom box and play it loud and proud for all to hear. On long bike rides, I do find that my ear buds slip out of my ears and their cords get in my way. On busy roads it's also hard to hear the traffic and other warning noises, but I really love my music. In search of a solution that didn't involve me mounting a boom box on my bike, I came across iHome's iH85B. This sleek-but-rugged water and impact-resistant polycarbonate case clips to your bike frame across from where you store your water bottle. Simply dock your iPod inside the case and get moving. Control your tunes by using the wireless RF remote control conveniently mounted on your handlebars, which helps you keep focus on the road. The passive speakers provide for a full, rich sound. Whatever your destination (beach, park, pool), unclamp the case and bring

Next month, SanDisk will launch a 4GB Extreme Ducati Edition USB flash drive whose reported 20MB/second write speeds have earned it the highly esteemed title of "fastest consumer drive" on the market. Fleeting as such honors may be, the $125 drive's sleek design and bundled RescuePRO Deluxe software may still be enough for it to edge out the competition.

For a birdwatcher with a particular fondness for owls or simply pursue other ‘hobbies’ that require the cover of night, a set of night vision goggles can be a useful accessory. But if those head mounted versions are either too cumbersome or too obvious to local law enforcement you might want to pick up this slightly more compact version from iGen. The NV2020 is only about 9 inches long but apparently has twice the sensitivity of older generation ‘intensifier tube technology.’ What that basically means is that it can amplify the ambient light of whatever you’re looking at up to 650 times the original level. And if things are still too dark it also includes an invisible infrared light source to boost the light levels without scaring off whatever you’re staring at. The NV2020 also allows for multiple color output options instead of just the traditional green and even has a composite video connection allowing the image to be recorded via a camcorder. It’s currently available from SkyMall

Avago Technologies, a Korean company, has just announced a new control unit for remotes, video games, phones, and media players called the AMRS-2325. The small, touch-sensitive pad is a multi-faceted input device which allows control to vacillate between an iPod-like scroll-wheel, a game joystick, or a four-way navigational pad.  The company also produces an electronic controller for the pads, called the AMRI-1000, which is an IC chip used to switch functionality between the various modes.  Together, the two technologies make for a supposedly low-power solution which Avago, judging from their artist renderings, seems to think would be equally suited to an Xbox 360 controller, Logitech remote, or Zune / iPhone hybrid -- an idea which should scare the living daylights out of Apple and Microsoft fanatics alike.

It may be a little slow out of the gate, but Florida-based SP Technologies is now taking aim at Apple over the iPhone's touchscreen keyboard, claiming that it infringes on a patent it has held since 2004. According to MacNN, that patent describes a "method and medium for computer readable keyboard display incapable of user termination," and the company is saying that Apple was "willful and deliberate" in its alleged infringement of it. As a result, SP Technologies is demanding that Apple pay "reasonable royalties" for each iPhone already sold, along with an injunction to prevent any further use of the allegedly offending intellectual property by Apple. No word on a next move but, as with most of these lawsuits, it'll be up to a federal court in Texas to sort things out.

  Watching a wee remote controlled, all electric vehicle hit nearly 200 miles-per-hour is quite impressive, but moving a vehicle large enough to stuff a moderately sized human into with just AA cells is, well, world record worthy.  Reportedly, the newly revamped Oxyride managed to maintain an average speed of just over 65mph and hit a top speed of 75.8mph, all while being powered by 192 AA batteries.  Unsurprisingly, the promotional stunt rocketed Panasonic into the Guinness Book of World Records for speed attained with a vehicle solely driven by dry-cell AA batteries, but we still wouldn't look at purchasing 192 batteries (each way) as an efficient method of powering your commuter car.

Sophia Mobile has recently unveiled the NANI PDA phone that runs on Windows CE 6.0 in Japan. This Japan-only communications device not only comes with a 4.3" widescreen WVGA display, it also features WiFi connectivity and accepts a W-SIM wireless card for a true mobile office. The display is huge enough to enjoy your favorite movies on-the-go as the NANI supports a wide variety of multimedia formats such as MPEG, DivX, XviD, WAV, WMA, MP3, and Ogg Vorbis. Other features include an Office Viewer, GPS navigation, a microSD memory card slot, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a miniUSB port. Sounds pretty complete to me - I wonder what the battery life is like.

I just can't seem to get enough of tiny R/C helicopters. They're taking my place by storm... swarming and amusing the office dogs. Buzzing delightfully as we procrastinate on our TPS reports. Even the robotic monkeys are impressed at the tiny size and amazing technology. These mini copters can take off from your hand and circle your desk as your co-workers gape in amazement. Full control allows you to hover and turn left or right as your copter moves slowly forward. Two different channels let you to fly with a friend. You will have to practice your flying before you can do as well as we do in the video. Keep the following in mind: You can adjust the forward speed of the copter by twisting the tail slightly right or left before flight. Right turns are wider than left turns due to the dynamics of the rotor. Luckily for you the Palmsize R/C Helicopter is forgiving on crashes. Features: * Amazingly small Infrared Remote control helicopter * Color Cycling Multi-Color LED for N

You really do not need a real coat when all you do is run from the house to the car to the coffee shop and then into the office. So we have the perfect answer for you... the Microfleece Pullover. It is a pullover with many secret surprises. The versatile Microfleece Pullover is a wardrobe necessity. The lightweight, breathable and wicking fabric is great for hiking, biking, travel... everything! The pullover has 5 pockets, including a specially designed chest pocket with a ZIP-PIP for sunglasses and "back-up," patent-pending magnetic closures. The Weight Management System (WMS) for this pocket was an R & D coup... you can't imagine how much testing went into this design. The pullover also features the patented Personal Area Network (PAN), a detachable key chain, an epaulet to attach devices, like walkie-talkies, ventilation eyelets and an adjustable waist cord. Available in Black MicroFleece. Machine Washable. Features: * 5 Hidden Pockets * Improved PAN *

What have your lithium-ion batteries done for you lately? Forget powering those handheld gadgets, the king of lithium-ion batteries is sitting in the heart of the Zero X electric motorcycle . Named for its lack of emissions and noise, the 120-pound Zero X still pumps out 20 horsepower and tops out at around 50 miles per hour. A single charge of the battery will take you 40 miles, but the battery packs can be hotswapped in mere seconds and fully recharge in about three hours. Though the engine is roughly equivalent to that of a 250cc gasoline-powered bike, the lightweight electric motor makes the Zero X accelerate much faster. If it's too fast for you, plug the bike's brain into your PC via the USB port to access the bike's virtual control panel. The ZBrain computer opens up a host of customizatin options for the electric bike, including the ability to create multiple riding profiles for different users. You can blaze to work at full throttle all week, then tone down the acc

A new portable guitar amp has been announced by Crate . It has a USB outlet for direct computer recording. The Crate Profiler 5 seems useful for those who want to quickly record a riff without taking the time (or spending the money) to hook up a mixer or interface box. The 5 watt amp features digital effects processing and can run off 6 AA batteries or AC power. It is shipping now with a $159.99 price tag.

Swedish gadget blog, Fosfor , got their hands on the svelte O2 Cocoon phone, and were gracious enough to produce an unboxing gallery. Not only is the phone simple and elegant, but so is its packaging. We're big fans of this newcomer, from its clean lines to the incorporation of a hidden LED display. Hopefully this will spur some better design into the industry.

Yesterday we write about B&W Zeppelin iPod speaker . Now there's another iPod speaker, but in white color. This tub speaker system is a unique dock that will keep your iPod upright while you play music and charge it. With easy access to your playlists, two speakers, and rubber feet to keep it nice and stable, this versatile speaker offers a cylindrical shape in a world of boxy speakers. It works with any MP3 player that has an audio jack. Priced at $40. Wouldn't this sleek iPod accessory look great in a bathroom or white bedroom?

High-end speaker producer Bowers & Wilkins (known on the street as B&W) is going all Hindenburg on your iPod dock. Named after its obvious inspiration, B&W's Zeppelin is a two-foot-long black ellipsoid with a bundle of goodies hidden inside, including a 5-inch subwoofer, four speakers and an amp that can pump out 100 watts of power. It'll also handle the classic iPod dock jobs like streaming pictures and videos to a TV. For $599, the least B&W can do is guarantee that it won't burst into flames and crash land in your living room.

You do not want to touch the button of this pen when sitting in a meeting. Or that is probably exactly what you want to do since you really shouldn’t. The Nintendo Sound EFX Stylus Pen ($10) is both a traditional ball point pen and a stylus pen for your Nintendo DS. Each push on the button will play 1 out of 6 different sounds from the Super Mario games.

Artur Bergman of Six Apart and O'Reilly got a tour of the new Virgin America planes and found some some amazing geek amenities. Every seat includes 110 volt AC current, ethernet, USB ports for charging iPods and phones, but will also accept a QWERTY for the linux-based, thin client, in flight entertainment system. And, it has Doom. But I'm not sure if it has internet. I wonder if that ethernet is actually internet-active. Probably not, which could be the killer, esp when American Airlines rolls their WiFi, but as a random aside, check out that purple mood lighting. More cool facts: The servers have about 3000 MP3s, and if you create a playlist, it links it to your profile, and the next time you book a flight, your playlists will reappear on your new flight, at your new seat. And, the system, called "Red", was developed in house and does the standard movies, sat TV, mp3s, and games. But it also has a plane wide chatroom, per-channel chatrooms, and private messages.

The OXO Good Grips Corn Stripper ($12) makes removing corn kernels from cobs a fun and easy task. Simply push it down the length of the cob and the kernels collect in a convenient 1/2 cup capacity container. Features: * Easily strips corn kernels off cobs * Kernels collect in a ½-cup capacity container (approximately one cob) * Convenient top opening for emptying kernels * Container separates for easy cleaning * Stainless steel blade Soft, non-slip grips

Some scientists at a company called LS9 claim to have figured out a way to grow petroleum from bacteria. The exciting prospect could shoot us to energy independence in a matter of years, as LS9 says their tech will be ready for the prime time in just a few years. How does it work? The company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy. Fatty acids are chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms strung together in a particular arrangement, with a carboxylic acid group made of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen attached at one end. Take away the acid, and you're left with a hydrocarbon that can be made into fuel. What does that all mean? I don't know, I'm no doctor. I just know that if we could grow our own gas it would solve a lot of problems.

While there have been computer mice that include the functions of a numeric keypad in the past, Prezzy Box offers something different by taking out the numeric keypad while throwing in a calculator instead. A scroll wheel is located right above the LCD display, but one glance at this USB Mouse Calculator tells me that ergonomics isn’t at the top of the designer’s list. The calculator can also double up as a numeric keypad should the situation calls for it, making this a notebook-centric peripheral. If you’re interested in being different from the rest, the USB Mouse Calculator can be yours for US$30.