Archive for September, 2007
September 26th, 2007, 9:21 am by Sonya Smith
At the end of this week, Apple promises an update for iPhones that includes a wireless iTunes store. And surprise, surprise, the update could result in “irreparable damage” to anyone who has unlocked their iPhone. Who didn’t know this was coming?
The company issued a statement earlier this week warning against hacking your $599 $399 phone to get it to work with other cell phone companies, play SuperMario and more. The statement goes on to say that if you mess with your phone, any damage is not Apple’s fault and the warranty is void. According to this article, the hackers are vowing to persist hacking the phones.
What do you think, is Apple just trying to scare folks away from unlocking phones? Why? Will you hack your iPhone? Why?
Posted in: iPhone • Apple • iGirl | 1 Comment »
September 26th, 2007, 1:18 am by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
::UPDATE:: D-Link says service is FREE unless channel already charges, such as Movielink.
I feel like I’ve heard this one before. A company jumps into Internet TV offering dozens — no hundreds — of “channels” for your viewing pleasure. Only the channels are obscure, content is infrequently updated or required spending money on hardware.
 Hopefully, Fountain Valley’s D-Link Systems has figured a way to make this work. Today, it announced a new service for its MediaLounge player, a device that connects a TV to the home computer network.
The service offers more than 200 channels of Internet TV to users of its MediaLounge player, a gadget that connects your TV to the Internet.
While watching D-Link’s new “TV” service only works if you buy the $250 DSM-520 MediaLounge, unclear is whether the Internet TV service will cost extra. Just heard back from D-Link. Service is free for most channels, just as they are online. But if they charge online, MediaLounge customers will have to pay up too.
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Posted in: Video & TV • Wi-Fi & networking • OC gadgets | 3 Comments »
September 26th, 2007, 12:00 am by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
More contests…
 
People I know with Sidekick cell phones really love their phone. Big QWERTY keyboard. A nice screen… So, good news for you all and anyone who wants to join in on the fun. T-Mobile is offering new models, the Sidekick LX and the Sidekick Slide.
The Sidekick LX ($299 with a 2-year contract) has a screen that uses Sharp Electronics’ high-definition Aquos LCD technology. Plus, it has a 1/3-megapixel camera with flash, mood lights and ships with a 128 MB memory card. Two colors: midnight blue and espresso brown. Available on Oct. 24.
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Posted in: Cell phones | Post a Comment »
September 25th, 2007, 10:15 pm by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
When Boost Mobile invited me to meet some X Games athletes at its Irvine headquarters, I should have known it wouldn’t be just a meet a greet. I couldn’t make it, but fortunately an OC Register videographer stopped by and shot some great footage.
Check it out:
This is part of the Boost Mobile Freestyle MotoX Tour, a national demo tour that travels the country and features a rotating rider roster. This stop includes Boost team riders - X Games Gold Medalists Jeremy “Twitch” Stenberg, Jeff Kargola (aka Ox), Derek Garland and Jeremy Lusk. Sorry I missed it!
Posted in: Cell phones • EVENTS • Geek culture • OC tech news | Post a Comment »
September 25th, 2007, 3:12 pm by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
Big day for Irvine’s Toshiba America. New projectors, new music players and now new laptops.
The HD series
 Qosmio G45, Qosmio F45, Satellite X205, Satellite P205 and Satellite A205 — count them up, five altogether. All have HD DVD drives.
The Qosmio G45-AV680, in particular, will set you back $3,200. But you get and HD DVD recorder, built-in HD TV tuner, 17-inch screen, four high-fidelity Harman Kardon Bass Reflex speakers and subwoofer, plus Intel Centrino Duo processor, WiFi (including the new draft-n technology), 320 GB hard drives and NVIDIA’s new GeForce 8600M GT with 512MB of VRAM graphics. More DETAILS.
 AMD computers
- Satellite P205D-S7479 — A desktop replacement, meaning it’s hefty with a 17-inch screen. Also, a AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core chip, 2 GBs memory, 250 GB hard drive, Wi-Fi, web cam… More DETAILS. Price: $1,350
 Gaming machines
- Satellite X205-SLI: Features dual NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics chips with combined 512MB of dedicated video RAM. To support the launch of this notebook, Toshiba is hosting a Gears of War tournament in New York. Notebook starts at $2,000. More DETAILS.
- Satellite X205-SLI3: Also has the dual NVIDIA chip plus a external HDTV tuner (connects via USB) and HDMI output. Price: $2,500. More DETAILS.
Posted in: Computers • OC gadgets | Post a Comment »
September 25th, 2007, 2:16 pm by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
 Toshiba unveiled some new music players today that will compete with probably anything that isn’t an iPod.
The gigabeat T400 runs on flash memory so it only has 4 GB of storage (that’s 1,000 songs at 4-megabytes a song). But it does have a 2.4-inch color screen for photo slide shows and videos — up to 5 hours on a single battery, says Toshiba.
And it features H2C, a high-end audio enhancement that improves the quality of compressed digital music. This appears to be a Toshiba technology — I’m waiting for more details on this.
This is a very Microsoft-heavy gadget, playing MP3, WMA, WAV, WMA Lossless and WMV files.
Comes in a dark magnesium case with trim in three colors: blue, pink and orange. Includes matching headphones. Price: $120 and available at toshibadirect.com.
And if you have an old gigabeat, trade up and get cash back from Toshiba’s recycling program. Details HERE.
Posted in: Music • OC gadgets | Post a Comment »
September 25th, 2007, 8:18 am by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
 If you missed today’s paper, here’s what happened last night:
+ Halo 3 goes on sale. See photos of Orange County fans.
+ About 100 people waited in line at the Best Buy in Fullerton. Watch the VIDEO
+ The business story: Halo 3 mission: Save Xbox (and the Earth)
+ Halo 3 review by Matt Degen: The ARTICLE (Halo 3 lives up to the hype) and the VIDEO
+ Earlier coverage on The Gadgetress Blog
Posted in: news • GAMING • Xbox | Post a Comment »
September 25th, 2007, 3:00 am by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
Toshiba just likes to top itself. Its new projector, the TDP-EW25U, can project a 60-inch image on a screen while a mere 2.4 feet away.
Toshiba’s “extreme short projection” technology must have really caught on with customers because it has shown up in other projectors announced this fall.
And ESP isn’t the only spec showing up as a regular feature in the new fall line of projectors. This projector can be connected to the building’s computer network via Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Plus there’s a USB port to plug in a thumb drive with a presentation. No need to drag along a laptop (this is heavy enough at 9.2 pounds).
New with this model: wide-screen image and compatible with Windows Vista Ultimate’s “Meeting Space,” which lets users share files remotely.
Price: $1,899 and available on Toshiba’s site.
The Toshiba TDP-EW25U projector specifications:
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Posted in: news • OC gadgets • Projectors | 1 Comment »
September 25th, 2007, 12:00 am by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
 Q: I read somewhere that there is a folder or something or other in my PC that keeps track of all my keystrokes. Is this just an urban myth or is there some truth to this?
Also, when I go into the Windows folder, I see a ton of text documents that date back to around the time I first got my PC. I’m tempted to delete them, but I’m afraid to muck with them, because I don’t want to mess up my computer.
Am I just paranoid or what? ~ Jason Beltran, Garden Grove
Gadgetress: Paranoid is my first response. If Microsoft built something so sneaky into its Windows operating system, the security world would be up in arms. Or at least I hope they would.
You are probably thinking about keylogging software, which can be installed surreptitiously on a computer without the user knowing.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Security • Security • STUMP THE GADGETRESS • Stump: Computers • Stump: Internet browsing, security | Post a Comment »
September 24th, 2007, 4:21 pm by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
+ OC’s Halo 3 midnight openings
+ Watch Matt Degen’s video review of Halo 3
+ Matt Degen’s Halo 3 review
 As of 3 p.m.-ish, there was no one in line at the Best Buy store in Fullerton waiting to be the first to buy Halo 3 at midnight tonight. I haven’t seen other news stories about the lines either.
I know there are hard-core fans out there but maybe they’re pretty confident that Microsoft has supplied enough games to retailers that the game can be had tomorrow. At a decent hour.
Still, there are quite a few stories about retailers who have pre-sold the games and are expecting long lines. And online retailers like Amazon, Costco and others have been taking pre-orders and promising speedy delivery.
I guess we’ll find out tomorrow whether the launch of Halo 3 will outdo Halo 2 or whether it’s been over-hyped. Will gamers show up at Best Buy tonight to get a photo op with Master Chief? If anyone plans to stand in line tonight — or already is in line — let me know. Maybe I’ll send a photographer to the store.
Update at 5ish p.m.: Reader “Royce” let me know that about 20 people are waiting in line outside the Wal-Mart in Foothill Ranch. I wonder if they know that the store won’t start selling the games until 7 a.m. Tuesday?
Posted in: news • GAMING • Xbox | 3 Comments »
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Tamara 'the Gadgetress' Chuang
