Don't Call An Ambulance! (call your lawyer first)

phone
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

In an accident? Are you injured? Need Help? Well, don't call an ambulance, call your lawyer. In what might be one of the most desperate (and pathetic) marketing campaigns ever (which is hard to do for lawyers), WAPlaw.com offers quick access to legal help from WAP enabled cell phones, Palm Pilots and Blackberries. By filling in a short form, you can instantly send your legal request, right from the scene of an injury, to a series of interested attorneys.

People can use WAPlaw.com like a 911 service. In this age of instant communication, some lawyers are moving from the back lines of sorting out problems after they have happened, to the front lines of involvement as the incidents unfold.

An increasing number of personal injury lawyers prefer evaluating prospective clients from a submitted request containing concise pertinent information. And people appreciate being able to send just one form that is then sent to a succession of lawyers (really? Just who appreciates that?).

What's next? A toll free number that you can call to hire a lawyer before you have an accident - just because you have a sneaking suspicion that you might get into one. They don't call us sharks for nothing. (click headline for article)

Cool Gadgets for Kids - The FLY

LeapFrog Pen
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

This new technology platform is designed to bring computer interactivity to the most prolific and easiest-to-use interface of all -- pen and paper. The FLY pentop computer is the first consumer electronics device to give users real-time audio feedback as they write and draw on special FLY paper, making what you write, really work.

A user of the FLY platform will be able to write on a piece of paper and then interact with the writing directly on the paper. For instance, a FLY pentop computer user can draw a calculator, touch the handwritten digits and functions to perform an operation -- then hear the answer announced from the FLY platform. A user also can write a word in English and hear it translated into Spanish, or draw a piano keyboard and play it.

By LeapFrog, available in the Fall, pricing should be around $99.00 for the unit and application prices will range from $7.99 - $29.99.

New Sony Media PC

VAIO VGC -V2S
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

Some specs to start: TV tuner, four USB 2.0 ports, two FireWire ports, headphone and microphone jacks, digital audio-out port (S/PDIF), S-Video in, FM antenna (for hooking up a live analogue TV feed), video-, audio- and line-in ports, Memory Stick slot, Type II PC Card slot, 10/100Base-TX NIC, V.92 modem, infrared port, and built-in 802.11b/g (dedicated on/off switch at right-side of unit).

The system is run by for by a 3.20GHz Prescott Intel Pentium 4 processor, older Intel 865PE chipset, 512MB of DDR400 system memory (upgradable to 1GB), 250GB hard disk (7200rpm), nVidia GeForce FX Go5700 GPU, and a slimline DVD±RW recorder.

When not being used as a computer the system, of course, doubles as a TV and TiVo type unit running Media Center 2005.

I'm a big fan of Media PC's and it looks like Sony has put together another excellent, but expensive, package. Running about $2000 for the 17" model and $2700 for the 20". Click on the headline for the Sony Style site.

Shout It! Shout It Out Loud!

gigaphone
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

A $365.00 megaphone that only measures 85x48x135mm and still can project voice 40-50 meters. It does come with a microphone. I'm sure there must be lots of inappropriate uses for a tiny megaphone - just use your imagination and post your best inappropriate ideas in the comments section.

New Camera Bling

Olympus Verve S
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

This new Olympus camera won't set the world on fire with its mind-blowing features, but it "shure" does look pretty. Available in four colors; black, blue, champagne gold and pink. This new model has 5.0 megapixel resolution, the addition of night scene with portrait mode and a new metal strip on the front of the camera bearing the Olympus name (Woo-Hoo! Is that a real selling point??).

Like its little brother, the Verve S has no viewfinder but a 1.8-inch LCD, a movie mode limited only by the memory card and an 8cm macro function. The Stylus Verve S will be available in April priced for $349.99.

Thin Is In

Motorola V8
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

The Motorola SLVR V8 makes the most of your mobile experience by leveraging EDGE technology for high speed data exchange, allowing video messages to be shared without delay and downloads to be completed quickly.

Capture events in real time with video and audio and then share with friends and family via Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS).

When it’s time to work, utilize the mobile’s speakerphone for conference calls on the go. Motorola's Dynamic Idle solution provides zero-click access to news, sports, entertainment, and weather -- your favorite content available 24/7 on your phone's home screen, keeping you up-to-date and in-the-know! And, be sure to stay in sync – Bluetooth technology provides wire-free connections to Bluetooth-enabled PCs and PDAs for simple sharing of calendars, contacts and more.

No pricing available yet. (Via Mobile-Files)

100GB of Entertainment

Archos AV4100
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

Archos has just updated its extremely popular Pocket Video Line. The ARCHOS Pocket Video Recorder AV400 Series is the ultimate handheld digital video recorder that offers TV recording and a portable home entertainment center in one pocket-sized device.

Want to know what you can do with 100GB?

Record up to 400 hours* of TV programs and video content from a TV, VCR or cable / satellite receiver using the TV cradle

Program recordings using the Recording Scheduler, which directly controls the VCR or set-top box tuner

Store and watch between up to 200* full-length movies

Enjoy up to 4 ½ hours of video playback on the color LCD while on the go

Download / transfer / record between up to 1500* hours of music

Store and view up to one million* JPEG photos

The Archos devices are great, but the 100GB will set you back about $900.00.
Click headline for the AV4100 features page.

Get Your Groove On

Pioneer CDJ-200
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

It's a CD player - for DJ's. Pioneer's new "CDJ-200," a CD player for DJs that supports the playback of MP3 files recorded o­n CD-R/RW discs, should be available overseas in early April.

This DJ-intended CD player can play MP3 files stored on CD-R/RW discs, and these MP3 files can be operated by a DJ in the same fashion as normal audio CDs. It has functions such as "Quick Start" and "Cue Sampler" as were included on the "CDJ-100S." Also available are loop setting functions that can be changed realtime why a song is playing.

The unit has dedicated buttons for "Loop Cutter," which when its button is pressed while a loop is playing, a loop of exactly half that particular length will automatically begin playback. Also available is a dedicated button for "Beat Loop," which will automatically detect the 4 beats immediately after the button was pushed...and loop these.

Perfect for when you feel like listening to Justin Timberlake over and over and over again! Click headline for details.

Computer TV

Samsung TV
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

So it seems that everybody wants to watch TV. We have already had the TV phone from Nokia this week - and now we have Samsung Electronics saying that it has developed the world's first notebook computers capable of receiving land-based digital-television broadcast signals while moving. Kind of beats those Casio Portable TV's you used to take to the beach - don't you think?

But Wait, There's More!

Keyboard Scanner
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

Don't you just love convergence gadgets? Just how many functions can someone fit into a single device. I know that we won't be satisfied until we have our cell phone, iPod, pda, computer, printer, internet device, gps and toaster in one device - but hey, here's a new attempt at convergence anyway.

Take one computer keyboard and add:

Color Scanner
Color copier
Fax, e-mail & collaboration
Digital file cabinet
Business cards
Bank notes
Photo album & more..

OK, looks interesting enough. Click headline for site.

Mother of All BattleBots

SWORDS
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

I always *knew* that when military engineers went home at night the first thing that they did was turn on the Spike Network and watch one of those BattleBot shows. While those shows are entertaining, I bet those wacky engineers were thinking... hmmmmm.... what if we took a portion of our unlimited military budget and resources and built a battlebot that not even those guys from Yorkshire who built that cool one in their garage could beat. The result, from the New York Times:

"The robot soldier is coming.

The Pentagon predicts that robots will be a major fighting force in the American military in less than a decade, hunting and killing enemies in combat. Robots are a crucial part of the Army's effort to rebuild itself as a 21st-century fighting force, and a $127 billion project called Future Combat Systems is the biggest military contract in American history."

You can click on the headline for the rest of the story. I bet those upcoming episodes of BattleBots will be something else!! (Thanks Brett!)

Are You Being Used?

Is your WiFi safe? Do you know if anyone is "piggybacking" on your connection? McAfree has launched a free online WiFiScan product which is now available on the company's Web site. It downloads an ActiveX control that scans your wireless network and warns about potential security breaches and describes how to fix them. It can detect, for instance, the presence of an Evil Twin threat, as well as what networks and network-enabled devices are near-by.

The standalone product will proactively provide security. For instance, if it detects there is lax security, it could directly change settings in either a router or on a desktop or laptop computer.

If you have a WiFi network then click on the headline which will take you to the download page. Did I mention that this free? Go get it.

Never miss the O.C. Again

Nokia 7710 TV
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

You knew that it was only a matter of time. Television on your cell phone. Now you can be even more anti-social then ever and annoy all your friends while out and about. Nokia has just introduced the 7710 which has the ability to let you watch live TV right on your phone. Very cool technology (and I'll admit that despite making fun of the idea, I want one). Click on the headline for more pictures. (Via Mobileburn)

Google Hacks

Google
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

Well, not really hacks, but a great help sheet on how to do all kinds of searches on Google. Everything from performing math function to restricting searches to certain web sites or restricting searches to non-adult web sites (who would want to do that??) - this page is one to bookmark. Click on the headline to see the shortcuts.

New Samsung Slide Phone

Samsung Slide Phone
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

Not much information on this phone yet, but I like the style of the slide phones. The only specifications available so far are that the phone weighs 110 grams and will be powered by the Symbian Series 60 operating system. Triband and GPRS Class 10, MP3/AAC/AAC+ music playback, a 1 megapixel camera and a 176 x 208 pixel display at 262k.

Looks like all the new phones are really tryinghard to replace your stand alone mp3 player.

Get Your Preschooler Hooked on Video Games

Hasbro ION
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

How young is too young for video games? Apparently as far as Hasbro is concerned, preschoolers are primed and ready to spend hours in front of the TV ready to play. Who needs a backyard or a swing or friends for that matter when you have a TV and the new Hasbro ION game to play!

"Similar to EyeToy, Hasbro's learning system uses a small motion-sensitive camera that connects to a console which plugs into a television set. The camera lets kids actually appear live on TV. And by moving their arms, legs or their entire body, children become a part of the game.

The five games created for the ION system are based on popular animated children's TV shows such as "Dora the Explorer," "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "Blue's Clues" from Nickleodeon."

First the video game, after that can the Hasbro IV sugar injector (inject the sugar from all that yuummy candy and soda right into your veins - leaving you more time for video games) be far behind? Click on the headline for article.

Go Napster or How to burn 250 cd's of Free Music in Two Weeks

free music

Napster to Go is giving away two week free trials. The music you download from Napster is supposed to be DRM protected. Some people much smarter about these things then I am, figured out how to take your Napster downloaded music (for free), convert the stream (legally) to WAV, and then burn it on to blank cd's. You got that so far?

Neither did I, but there are easy to follow step by step directions. Just click on the post heading to go to the geniuses who figured this out and start adding to your record collection.

The Motorola E1060 (the iTunes Phone?)

iTunes Phone

Motorola announced this phone yesterday and the speculation is that this is the rumored iTunes phone. Although Motorola is apparently keeping its options open for other media formats, iTunes is supposedly what this phone was designed with in mind. Check out the specs (two cameras!):

* 1.3 megapixel camera with dedicated camera key for capturing still images
* VGA camera for 2-way video conferencing
* Bluetooth® wireless technology for seamless connections to compatible devices
* Streaming audio and video, video and audio capture and playback with support for MPEG4, WMV/WMA and MP3 files
* Dynamic idle for personalized portal connections
* 32MB of internal memory and up to 512 MB of removable memory
* Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) for sharing photos, animations, video and more
* Email and IM with presence indicators
* Downloading via J2ME MIDP 2.0 for adding new MP3 ring tones, screensavers, games and more
* WAP 2.0 browser

No pricing yet and it should be available the second half of this year. Click on the headline for link.

Update: I just learned that this phone is intended as a mock-up of the long rumored iTunes phone. No word from Motorola as to when the iTunes phone will actually be released. Still a nice picture though, don't you think?

iTunes Grammy Discounts

Apple announced that it will be discounting any albums which contain a Grammy Award winning track by $2.00 from the iTunes store. From the Apple website:

"In recognition of the tremendous achievements of this year’s GRAMMY award winning artists, Apple® is offering special pricing on all albums that include a GRAMMY award winning track on the iTunes® Music Store in the US. The iTunes Music Store has been an integral part of this year’s GRAMMY awards with previews and downloads for voting members of the academy, a showcase for nominees and winners, and the exclusive online music distributor of the live version of “Across the Universe.”

Starting today, all albums on the iTunes Music Store that include a GRAMMY award winning track can be downloaded for $2 off its original cost, which brings the price of most albums down to $7.99. The special version of "Across the Universe" performed live during the CBS GRAMMY telecast by leading artists including Bono, Stevie Wonder, Norah Jones, Alicia Keys, Velvet Revolver, Tim McGraw and Brian Wilson is also available as a 99 cent download exclusively on the iTunes Music Store in the US and Canada, with all proceeds going to the Southeast Asia tsunami relief efforts."

Go buy some new music. Aren't you tired of listening to that "Men at Work" album already? Click on the link on the right side of the page to shop at the iTunes store.

The PEBL (Can the Bam-Bam be far off?)

Moto PEBL V6
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

Motorola has just released a few very interesting new phones - this one being the PEBL V6 (V6? - what do phones now have car cylinders?).

The phone has a dual-hinge opening system that lets you open the device in one smooth motion. The PEBL makes use of a 262k color display with a 176x220 resolution inside, and a smaller 96x32 CLI display on the outside. The built-in VGA camera is capable of taking still photos as well as recording MPEG4 video clips.

Users can download and make use of MP3 ringtones, JAVA MIDP v2.0 applications and games, as well as screen savers and store them in the PEBL V6's 5MB of internal storage. Screen Savers? Since when does a cell phone use/need screen savers? Anyway, this should be available in the second half of this year. (Via Mobileburn.com)

My Valentine's Day Gift to You

CutePDF
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

No, I'm not getting you flowers or chocolate and certainly not any jewelry (consider yourself lucky that I even update this thing so regularly). My gift to you is a great little piece of free software (what, you weren't really expecting anything of value, now were you?).

CutePDF Writer (at least you can tell people that I got you something cute) is the free version of commercial PDF creation software. CutePDF Writer installs itself as a "printer subsystem". This enables virtually any Windows applications (must be able to print) to create professional quality PDF documents - with just a push of a button!

There's also free converter software on the very same page. This software is the best kind of free software - it is simple and just does one task extremely well without any fuss. Click on headline for link.

Also, as an extra bonus gift, I still have about 195 Gmail invites. Just ask and I'm happy to share.

Big League Dreams

field of dreams
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

Do you play weekend baseball or softball? Ever wonder how you would do against a semi-pro team? Now's your chance - from eBay:

"Your own Field of Dreams is waiting in Schaumburg, Illinois as the minor league Schaumburg Flyers Baseball Club is taking bids from teams to play a nine-inning exhibition game against the winning Schaumburg Flyers (2004 Northern League South Division Champs) on Wednesday, May 11, 2005. We are taking bids now from baseball teams, amateur and semi-pro!

Come to the Northwest suburbs of Chicago and play under the lights at beautiful Alexian Field, a 7,000-seat stadium. The winning bidder will receive the full experience of a visiting team in professional baseball."

The best part of the offer, if the high bidder team pulls of a victory on May 11, a standout player will receive a 2005 Northern League contract from the Flyers. How cool is that!

Current bid is $3,650. Click headline to go straight to the auction.

More Valentine's Day Gadgets for Her

ladies Knife
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

Sticking with the Batman utility belt theme, here is the perfect knife for all those female wanna-be McGuyver types out there. This little device contains:

Flashlight, Screwdriver, Keychain, Needle & thread, Perfume bottle, Mirror, Pill Box, Knife, Safety pin, Pen, Tweezers and Bottle Opener (love the bottle opener - now your significant other won't have to worry about getting callouses on her pretty hands as she is opening beers for you - who says chivalry is dead).

Just $19.95! (click headline for link).

Last Minute Gadget Gifts for Her

iPod Belt
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

Holy utility belts, Batman! It's pink, it's tres' fashionable, it holds her iPod - it's the iPod Hip Tunes belt!

It comes in lots of colors and is made of beautiful faux leather. It leaves both of her hands free to, ummmm, hug you (yeah, that's right - keep your minds out of the gutter). Only $29.99 and available now from Target (click post title).

Monday Morning Distractions - Bug on a Wire

Green Bug
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

Back to work? Looking to find a good time killer while your other work piles up? This is a simple game - three controls, left, right and jump. Avoid the birds. The first 30 seconds are a breeze. Let me know if you manage to last 90 seconds. Watch out for the flies after one minute. Requires flash. Click on the post heading for link.

Isn't it Romantic?

Geek Valentine's
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

Need a Valentine's Day present? Want a new desktop or notebook computer? Then, boy oh boy, does CompUSA have the promotion for you!

Just spend about $600.00 on a new desktop or notebook computer and get "Dining Dough" from CompUSA. What the heck is Dining Dough? Dining Dough is a gift that allows people to choose dining certificates to thousands of restaurants across the country. Your Dining Dough certificate code from CompUSA entitles you to four (4) $25 dining certificates that can be used at four (4) different restaurants, almost anywhere in the country.

I can see it now: "Hey Honey, I just bought a brand new $1200.00 computer. Want to know the best part? Tonight I'm taking you out. We're going to dinner at Friday's!"

Followed by: "What do you mean I'm sleeping on the couch?"

Valentine's Day Helper?

Eros
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

Is it possible for me to write about this medical device without getting all swarmy and stuff? Probably not. Although I'm sure that this advanced medical device is welcome news to a lot of people:

"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has already approved EROS-CTD, a battery-operated device that uses gentle suction to increase sensation and lubrication of [womanly areas]. It is available by prescription."

I read the description and am not quite sure how this, ummmmm, stays in place, but it reminded me of the following joke -

"Doctor, I don't think that these birth control pills are working."

"Why, what seems to be the problem?"

"They keep falling out."

Baduump-bump! Click on the post headline for article. (Via RedNova)

Last Minute Valentine's Day Suggestion - The Beauty of iTunes

iTunes Essentials
Originally uploaded by thegadgetguy.

So we will switch gears this morning and rather then talk about Microsoft (7 comments -wow!) we will talk about the gold standard for legal music downloads - iTunes.

We all know that iTunes is successful - over 200 million downloads of music. But how come? We know that the iPod is great. But we also know that despite its amazing sales, if you were to combine the sales of all other mp3 players from all other manufacturers, the iPod becomes just a small piece of the pie. Yet iTunes blows away *every* other music download service in terms of sales.

The site is well organized, easy to search, delivers only the product you want at a reasonable price (no requirement to download unwanted songs from an album) and the software is so simple to use that your parents can figure it out. How will Napster's new unlimited download service for a fixed monthly fee compare? We'll have to wait and see, but until then iTunes is the place to go.

Meanwhile, if you are stuck on what to get your significant other for Valentine's Day TOMORROW, get them an iTunes gift card or go download their favorite artist and secretly upload the music onto their iPod. There's an iTunes banner on the right side of this site if you want to get started before your significant other gets out of bed this morning. Hurry up! Time's a wasting!