TechBlog

How often have you thought to yourself “I wish I had an ice cube maker?” I’m going to guess that most of you won’t have ever had that thought. It’s understandable, since practically everyone owns a freezer, which makes ice cubes. However, if you need a lot of ice in a short while, you’ll be disappointed. This is why the Ice Cube Maker Machine was created.

This simple device can freeze up a dozen cubes of ice in just 10 minutes. When you’re serving a lot of guests at a large gathering, a steady supply of ice is always needed. It accomplishes this feat by utilizing a highly efficient compressor which can freeze at much faster rates than a regular freezer. You’ll also be happy to note that it is a low-noise machine, so your guests won’t be bothered by any loud humming noises.

Continue reading ‘Freeze a dozen ice cubes in just 10 minutes’ »

Sanyo has just rolled out its Xacti G9 MPEG-4 digital camcorder that targets beginners and newcomers to the digital video recording world. This pocket-size design is small enough for you to carry it virtually everywhere you want, and it is a snap to upload high quality video as well as high resolution still photographs to the Web in various formats, including optimized ones for instant sharing on social networking sites such as YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace among others. Sounds like the perfect tool to carry around if you want to record precious memories there and then.

According to Tom Van Voy, Vice President and General Manager of Sanyo’s Audio Video Division, “The SANYO Xacti CG9 is a high-performance digital video and still camera in one sleek, compact package. It offers great performance and exceptional value to those buying a camcorder for the first time and everyone who wants to easily capture their special memories and share them in a whole new way.”

Continue reading ‘Sanyo releases Xacti G9’ »

One of the most satisfying gifts I’ve ever given was livestock to needy villages, via Heifer International. Everybody love it (except for my dad who called up demanding to know where the goat was that I’d given in his namesake… er I mean name). So I’m seriously thinking about giving the family two computers that they’ll never see either, two XO Laptops donated to needy children via the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Project. For a donation of $399, you buy two XO laptops, one that goes to a child in need, one that comes to you to give to a child (or anybody) of your choice. I’d give my second one to the local homeless shelter.

In the late ’90s, when MIT Media Lab’s Nicholas Negroponte, the person behind OLPC (and Newt Gingrich), began talking about the benefits to the developing world of computers and Internet access, many people laughed it off. The critique even gained a rallying cry: “Let ‘em eat laptops!” It did seem a bit silly to be thinking about giving computers to people that didn’t even have basic food, water, and adequate shelter. And that’s still the case. But in the 1990s, the world wasn’t “flat,” to borrow an idea from NY Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman. And it still isn’t completely so today, but it’s a hell of a lot flatter. When you think of all of Google’s reach, all of the library collections online, the technical and how-to information, the ability to publish to a potentially global audience, the ability to organize, trade, fundraise online, the potential is amazing (for those within WiFi range, anyway). Alongside food, water, and shelter, knowledge could be an Earth-shaking power.

Continue reading ‘Heifer International OLPC Project’ »

Although Polycom just got around to shipping its HDX 4000 / 8000 HD video conferencing systems last month, you won’t catch this firm resting on its laurels — oh no. Instead, it’s pushing out an entirely new series in its HD video portfolio, the HDX 7000.

This one, which caters to small and medium-sized conference rooms, features 22kHz StereoSurround for “natural voice clarity,” Lost Packet Recovery (LPR) technology, 720p video support, a 16:9 EagleEye HD camera and the ability to adjust bandwidth for content. You’ll also find an RS-232 control port along with DVI, USB 2.0 and a number of audio inputs and outputs. Supposedly, to-be owners can expect the HDX 7002 to land in March for $9,499, while the HDX 7001 (SD version) lures in the bargain hunters at $7,999.