Complete shutdown: Belkin's Conserve surge protector in action.
(Credit: Belkin)
The idea behind Belkin’s Conserve surge protector is pretty simple. Instead of having your electronics sit there in standby mode and each sip a little bit of power, the Conserve lets you completely shut down components so
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When it comes to smoking, you can settle for a pipe or rolling papers. Or you can drop $670 on a Volcano Vaporizer, the king of all paraphernalia. We took one for a test run.
So what makes the Volcano so great that people spend close to $700 on one? Well, first of all, it looks pretty awesome. If you didn’t know what it was, you’d think it was some sort of German-designed kitchen equipment, which isn’t too far off.
Each Volcano is built by hand by a small German company using top-notch parts. It’s got a classic design to it that will make you want to leave it out rather than hide it in a desk drawer. But that’s not why you buy it. You buy it because it gets you high really well.
You simply pack some vaporizables into the heating chamber and pop that into your Volcano, which has a handy digital readout to let you decide exactly how hot you want it running (it still stays cool to the touch on the exterior). You then attach a vapor balloon to the top of the heating chamber. Over the course of about 30 seconds, it fills up with vapor (not smoke, mind you). You then snap on a mouthpiece and pass the balloon around. It all sounds more complicated than it is.
So why is that so great? Well, it’s all about the vapor. The Volcano heats your vaporizables up, but not hot enough for combustion. That means all the nasty tar and toxins in your herbs don’t get released, just the active ingredients and flavors you’re looking for. What results is a healthier and cleaner-feeling experience. It also gets you high as shit.
So is it worth the cash? Well, not really. But if you’re a serious smoker and you have cash to burn, you will almost definitely absolutely love this thing and want to use it every day, not just because of the great experience but because of how good it looks. But if spending $700 on something to smoke with seems like a ludicrous and insane thing to do on your budget, it most definitely is. But hey, not everyone can afford a Porsche, either.
MSI’s eco-friendly Wind Top AE1900 has already been formally introduced and spotted over in Hanover earlier this year, but the outfit notorious for withholding price and availability information until the last possible moment has finally let loose those very details. The 18.5-inch all-in-one PC is available with an Atom 230 or 330 CPU, a 1,366 x 768 resolution touchscreen, integrated GMA950 graphics, 2GB of DDR2-533 RAM, a 160GB or 250GB hard drive, 4-in-1 multicard reader, dual-layer DVD writer, WiFi, gigabit Ethernet, a 1.3 megapixel webcam and audio in / out sockets to boot. Two configurations are available (both are shown after the break), with the lesser of the two going for $529.
Gallery: MSI’s Wind Top AE1900 all-in-one PC
Continue reading MSI’s Wind Top AE1900 all-in-one PC comes to US at $529
Filed under: Desktops
MSI’s Wind Top AE1900 all-in-one PC comes to US at $529 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Those of you guessing that our mystery Xbox 360 birthday prize was that rumored new Elite bundle with Halo 3 and Fable 2 were exactly right — and now that Microsoft’s gotten official with it we can share the full details. $400 gets you a 120GB Elite 360 with the two games, a free Netflix trial, a 12-month Live Gold subscription and tokens for the Halo 3 “Mythic Map” and Fable 2 “Knothole Island” downloads. Not a bad deal at all, especially if you’re looking to upgrade to a Jasper unit — anyone going to pony up?
Update: Microsoft pinged us to let us know that the free Live subscription and DLC tokens were just for the giveaway bundles they made up for us — the regular GOTY bundles just have the games and the Netflix trial. Lame, we know.
Filed under: Gaming
$400 Xbox 360 Elite Games of the Year bundle with Halo 3 and Fable 2 gets official originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Look, there’s really nothing special going on here — it’s just a theme for BlackBerry devices. A totally, totally awesome theme for BlackBerry devices. So awesome, in fact, that it makes our corporate-issued / controlled phone seem somehow cool again. What are you waiting for? Go get it.
[Via Gizmodo]
Update: Sadly, it seems the theme has been removed at Bethesda’s request — because, you know, this is obviously bad PR for the Fallout series… or something. Thanks, Behzad!
Filed under: Cellphones
BlackBerry Pip-Boy theme: a post-apocalyptic nightmare world in the palm of your hand originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Adobe announced that it will be bringing its popular multimedia platform, Flash, to televisions, set-top boxes, Blu-ray players and other home entertainment devices.
What this means is that internet TV providers will soon be able to deliver interactive content directly to your living room TV, without you having to attach a computer to that TV. The upshot? Hulu in your living room — we hope.
Adobe says that the first devices with the new Adobe Flash Platform for the Digital Home will be available in the second half of 2009. The company has already lined up an impressive array of content and cable company partners, including Comcast, Disney, Netflix and The New York Times Company. Adobe also announced partnerships with chipmakers, including Intel, STMicroelectronics, NXP Semiconductors and Sigma Designs.
The company did not announce specific partnerships with TV or set-top box manufacturers, but those are sure to follow once the chips provided by the likes of Intel, STMicro and Sigma Designs reach the manufacturers of consumer electronics.
Image: Mockup of Flash content on an HDTV, courtesy Adobe
(Credit: Microsoft)The high-end version of the Xbox 360 Elite will soon begin shipping with two of that platform’s top titles bundled in at no extra cost. Halo 3 and Fable II will be included with the $400 console, replacing Lego Indiana Jones and Kung Fu Panda.
What’s …
Got a ton of videos to store? Netgear showed off the Digital Entertainer Elite at CES this year, but it’s just now available. This digital media player is ideal for people who need to store huge movie collections. It wirelessly bridges your home network and home entertainment system with a dual-band 802.11n connection and stores loads of files on its 500GB hard drive. It includes an HDMI port and automatically upconverts videos and photos to 1080p.
This no-compromise media player works with Windows, Mac, and Linux computers, as well as Network Attached Storage devices. You can even pop in a Flash drive or digital camera to view content.
Connect your computers, and the device will search and organize all the media files on your home network, so that you can view them from an easy-to-navigate library view. You can pause a video in one room and begin it again in another, or use the Party Mode to synchronize music playback through your entire house. If your digital media collection keeps growing, the Digital Entertainer Elite offers user-upgradable disks so that you can add more room later. The Digital Entertainer Elite lists for $399.
Sean Tice and Adam Bedient, directors of the online Web series “Streak to Win,” join the show today to talk about college kids competitively streaking and the crazy antics they get into.
(Credit: Varsity Productions LLC)You can find the series online at streaktowin.com. On the Web site, you’ll also find a guide to the best techniques of streaking. Most importantly, you have to be sure to tape down all appendages. Their words, not ours.
We also discuss a bit about how the Web is really opening up distribution for films that might get overlooked on the traditional festival circuit. These guys obviously didn’t get too much love at Sundance when they pitched their film. And they share some interesting stories about getting arrested during the production of their Web series. Plus, plans for a follow-up featuring Ivy League streaking?
Also on the show today, we talk about a kid who mashed up Twitter, Twitpic, and the public arrest records of the Denton, Texas, Police Department. Kind of scary, but also pretty cool that there are more practical uses for Twitter than finding out that Ashton Kutcher just ate a sandwich. Just don’t ever get pulled over for possession in Denton. These mug shots aren’t pretty. As for Ashton Kutcher, we think this might be cheating a bit. There are starving people in the world, and someone donates money for this?
Be sure to send in your adventure stories and callbacks to 1-866-404-CNET (2638). Catch you all on the flip side.
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Originally posted at the 404
The Griffin Navigate adds an FM tuner and inline controls to your iPhone.
(Credit: Griffin Technology)
iPhones and iPods alike famously lack FM tuners, and while apps like AOL Radio, Pandora, and Public Radio Tuner can help pick up the slack, sometimes you just want to spin the dial.
Originally posted at iPhone Atlas
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