Hasta La Gadget!

Finally, someone has solved the problem of HDTVs that aren’t shiny enough. TV- and monitor-maker Sceptre has just released a 24-inch LCD HDTV in sleek sleek chrome.

It’s not all about the beautiful exterior, though. These sets offer 1080p resolution, a 2ms response time, 4,000:1 contrast ratio, and dual HDMI ports. You’ll also get a USB port for listening to music and viewing digital photos. The chrome TV is Energy Star 3.0 compliant, so maybe it’ll even save you a few bucks. The neck and base are detachable, and the TV features a Kensington security slot, in case you want to carry it around with you.

You can pick up the chrome set at Sears, Kmart, Costo, and NewEgg.com for a list price of just $399. If chrome isn’t for you, this model also comes in black, red, pink, and blue.

Zoom is kind of like Mitsubishi — it sort of does it all. Months after shipping one of the greatest pocket audio recorders every known to man, the company is now hitting back with none other than a pair of guitar effects pedals. The G2Nu and G2.1Nu boards both feature 100 preset guitar sounds, 20 of which have purportedly been given the almighty thumbs-up from Steve Vai. If you’re curious about differences, the latter adds a built-in expression pedal for additional control, but frankly, the expected capabilities aren’t what we’re interested in. Both devices sport integrated USB ports that enable them to operate as audio interfaces; in other words, axe slingers can record directly to their computer through this box, and the 1.9-inch display helps you keep track of what’s going on. Regrettably, pricing and availability details have been conveniently omitted, but we suspect it’ll be hitting Sam Ash, Sweetwater and the rest of the gang soonish.

Continue reading Zoom G2Nu and G2.1Nu guitar effects pedals offer direct USB recording

Zoom G2Nu and G2.1Nu guitar effects pedals offer direct USB recording originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scosche’s new ReviveLite II is barely bigger than any other iPod charging brick, and manages to pack in a flip-down iPod holder along with a glowing night-light. It is also $10 cheaper than v1.0, which had the additional handicap of being big, ugly and covering up not one, but two power outlets thanks to its side-saddle design.

The design is ingenious and simple. Plug it in and flip down the maw to reveal a shelf with a single projecting tooth: the dock connector. The nightlight is a glowing white LED which is housed inside the lip of this mechanical mouth, and can thankfully be switched on or off at the press of a button. Scosche also thought to include a USB port on the side (cheek?) for charging most anything else, and if you do overload things. the lamp will flash in warning.

The ReviveLite II is small enough to almost disappear behind an iPod Nano, but also big enough to accommodate an iPhone. And best of all, at $25, it’s cheaper than Apple’s own charger, which has none of the extras, and still requires an annoying cable.

ReviveLite II [Scosche. Thanks, Mark!]

Location-based services have finally melted our brains to the point where we’re completely useless without immediate and constant access to Google Maps or a reasonable facsimile — we couldn’t fold a paper map if we tried, and even if we could, we’d spend an hour looking for the pulsing blue dot. That’s why we’re so delighted to hear that AT&T has finally outed its very first GPS-enabled USB modem, the USBConnect Velocity from Option, that includes a so-called Option GPS Control Panel for injecting your whereabouts into popular services like Yahoo and Bing (Google, curiously, isn’t mentioned). The other newbie to the lineup is the USBConnect Turbo — AT&T’s very first modem from LG — with an “ergonomic design” and versatile connector for even the most awkward ports (MacBook, we’re looking straight at you). Both devices will be available on the 7th of the month; the Turbo will be free on contract after rebate while the Velocity comes in at $29.99.

AT&T USBConnect Turbo and Velocity are carrier’s first LG and GPS modems, respectively originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Paraben Corporation has begun shipping a so-called “porn detection stick,” a USB drive with embedded software that intelligently combs through your (or another user’s) file structure, looking for illicit JPEGs.

The “stick” contains a version of Paraben’s P2 Commander software, which added the anti-porn detection capability in 2008. Embedding it on the USB key, however, allows the software to be installed without physically loading the CD onto the target PC.

Examining a 500-Gbyte hard drive with 70,000 images will take about 90 minutes. The search isn’t perfect; in the company’s scan, the 70,000 images yielded about 400 false positive results.

The software will log its results, and a “remember this computer” option can launch an automatic scan when re-inserted.