The Coolest Gadgets Of The Month
Popular Science has made a slideshow of twelve of the coolest new gizmos, gadgets and games on the market this month.
Next PSP to get built-in camera, PS3 video streaming
The next version of Sony’s PSP will sport an integrated digital video camera that will allow users to stream live video to the PlayStation 3. The feature, which will take advantage of the PSP’s Wi-Fi support, will be targeted at younger users as the new way to chat with friends while on the go.
Running Asterisk on your router!?!
No, really! You can do it. This story explains how to install (very easily) Asterisk on OpenWrt, and how to configure it to end up with your very own personal PBX. Includes a download of the infamous “has been carried away by monkeys” greeting.
Tons of PS3 Details Revealed!
The March issue of PSM not only reveals details about Sony’s new online service set to take on Xbox Live, but also that the PS3 will act as a DVR and a Location Free Player for the PSP. Let the hype begin! Here are some of the highlights
- PS3 will have online service that goes beyond xbox live
- PS3 will be a DVR
- It will connect with psp
- There are alot of games being worked on for it right now in the US (alot more then what people know about)
- The final ps3 dev kit is alot faster than they thought (according to the developer)
- The ps3 will have an itunes type service to let you download HI DEF movies, music, etc
- The Ps3 will take the media center functionality the 360 has even further
- PS3 will serve as a location free player for the psp, means you can watch the dvd’s that you have in your psp on your psp (from anywhere in the world), or any other video files you have on your ps3, though this is still only being planned.
- PSP will be able to send its files straight to the psp from anywhere in the world, and it can also control its DVR functionalities
- Firmware updates will add more functionality, much like with the psp
- The Blu Ray Player functionality doesnt cost as much as a stand alone player because the Cell and RSX can take care of alot of the stuff the ps3 will need to do to be able to read the disks
- Fall release date for ps3, no release date for online service, but expected to launch w/ the system
CableCARD certs rule out home-built Windows MCE boxes, other DVRs
This is bad news. Those planning on upgrading their media Center PC to take advantage of Vista’s CableCARD support had better sit down for this oneâ��you’re going to need a new computer, and you can forget about building it yourself. This could also be a big problem for MythTV and BeyondTV, as well.
Windows Media Center
Although I already have a Scientific Atlantic’s Explorer 8000HD DVR I thought I would want the capability to to save some of the things I record on DVD. So I purchased a Dell Dimension 5500 with Microsoft Windows Media Center on it. After configuring the tuner card that came with it, which was very buggy. I think I had to reboot the computer several times because I kept on getting the error “the tv card is being used by another application” well yeah the media center is using it. I finally got it all hooked up and started watching tv instead of working. It is very distracting working on your computer with a small tv window in the corner on your 21in widescreen (1680×1050) display.
New iMac Reviewed
Ars Tecnica has posted a review of the new intel iMac.
Build your own TiVo box
Ever had the urge to build your own TiVo box? Here is how to do it. Instructions on how to build a better DVR out of an old PC.
Making your Slingbox wireless
The slingbox is a little deceptive where on the side of the box it says it can connect to your 802.11a/b/g home network. It is true but you need a wireless adapter to plug into your slingbox to make it wireless. Here is how I made mine wireless. First you need to update your WRT54G/GS with DD-WRT. One of the newest features available in the administrator console in dd-wrt v23 is wireless bridging. Here is the setup.
Verizon Treo 700w
Verizon and Palm came out with the Treo 700w recently. Verizon’s Treo 600/650 comes with a software package called Intellisync, which allows you to push your corporate email (MS Exchange and Lotus Notes) to your Treo. According to a Verizon employee the 700 supports the same software except currently Verizon is experiencing problems with email taking 30 minutes to get to the 700w. The employee didn’t offer any more explaination just that Verizon wasn’t sure why or how long it would take to fix it.