Is Microsoft Origami the Xbox Portable?

Microsoft's Origami project teaser site gives no real information to go on, other than to say check back on March 2 for more details. Engadget has their paws on some images of the supposed device. It looks like a cross between a large PDA and a portable media player.

From what I have seen the expected price is to be around $500. If it works well and comes in at that price, I bet Microsoft will have a winner. We will have to wait till Thursday to find out.

Panasonic's Lumix DMC-L1, first DSLR

Well we'll be a monkey's uncle, Panasonic tapped Olympus for a little bit of the old intra-corporate synergy to help fill in that weak spot in their digital product lineup: DSLRs. Among other things, Panny's new DMC-L1 features the Venus Engine III, a 2.5-inch live LCD (like in Olympus's E-330), and a 7.5 megapixel "Live MOS" sensor, as they call it -- which sounds more or less like a CMOS, though they claim it has reduced power consumption and more CCD-like image quality.

(Remember, Canon also uses CMOS sensors in their DSLRs.) Panasonic has also added Oly's Supersonic Wave Filter dust reduction system, which shakes dust off the sensor before it has a chance to sully the image.

The DMC-L1 also includes Panasonic's image stabilization system, and continues Panny's use of Leica-branded lenses -- though in this case the lenses use Olympus's Four Thirds system. No announcement on price or release date yet, but we aren't expecting this fine motha to run us che

A Little Fun with Apple

ThinkSecret and others are reporting that Apple has sent out invites to a secret conference on February 28 at Apple Town Hall (WTF?) in Cupertino at 10:00 am Pacific Time.

ThinkSecret sez:

Solid information on what Apple may unveil at the event has escaped sources, but reasonable speculation suggests the debut of further Intel-based Macs or a new video iPod. Think Secret recently reported details of Apple’s intentions to release a new iPod with a larger display and integrated touch-sensitive controls.

Pivi mobile photo printer

The Neoprint craze isn't what it used to be, which is unsurprising when you consider how easy it is to take a photo on the go, what with camera phones and neat mobile photo printers like the Fujifilm Pivi MP70.

The Pivi is only about the size of a CD and runs on lithium batteries. Simply beam your photo via infrared from phone to printer. Fujifilm sells plain photo paper for it, as well as photo paper patterned with a border of Hello Kitty or Disney characters.

The Pivi is only available in Asia at the moment, it seems, with a Charmmy Kitty edition (below), as well as a very pink Hello Kitty version, for certain Asian markets.

The OHSO self-dispensing toothbrush

So you'd like to simplify your once before "sex night" a day toothbrushing ritual, but haven't bought into the whole blue light teeth cleansing idea huh? Well get your pre-order on 'cause OHSO, from swingin' Austin, Tejas, is about to ship their new self-dispensing travel toothbrush called the, er, OHSO. The handle stores the grill wax which unloads via a gentle twist of the "knob."

Sure there are other toothpaste dispensing toothbrushes out there, but none with such robo-phallic style or option of using our personal fave — Princess Pink Bubble Gum toothpaste. Hell, the OHSO comes with a universal adapter 'cause even the dental community can't agree on standards

Star Wars Battleship Game

An exciting edition of a classic board game, this electronic version evokes the sounds and images of Star Wars™ in four different strategy games, including solo play and player-to-player challenge. The system guides players through the different games with digitized voice commands, while the distinctive sound of ion cannons, concussion missiles, and proton torpedoes signal salvo launches as players try to knock out their opponent’s Star Destroyers, X-Wing Fighters, Millenium Falcon, and other iconic ships from the movie series.

The game folds down into a laptop-computer-sized component that stores all game pieces internally for easy transportation and storage without mess or the loss of parts. Operates on three AA batteries (included). For 1 or 2 players ages 8 and up. Folded: 10 1/4” W x 10 1/4” L x 5” D. Unfolded: 10 1/4” H x 10 1/4” W x 22 1/2” L. (4 1/2 lbs.)

Nokia Rolls Out Two Midrange Cellphones

Nokia introduced two camera phones, the 6131 and the 6070. The 6131 is a folding design with a 1.3-megapixel camera. Unique features include its one-handed easy-open, and its dual-screen viewfinder, where you can use either the main screen and the outside screen as a viewfinder for the camera.

It also has a digital music player and an FM radio, and supports Bluetooth and microSD memory cards. Nokia says it will be available for $329 in the second quarter of this year, with a North American version to be announced later this year.

The 6070 is a lower-end offering from Nokia, and includes push-to-talk, a voice recorder, speakerphone, a camera which Nokia didn’t say much about except that it’s “basic,” and stereo FM radio. It’s also expected to be rolled out in the second quarter of this year at a price of $161.

ADHD Drug Dangers

Some of the most popular prescription drugs used to treat millions of Americans with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder may be more dangerous than previously thought In fact, the FDA is considering new warning labels for the medications.

According to a troubling new Food and Drug Administration study, 25 people including19 children have died after taking the medications. Another 54 people have suffered serious heart problems, including heart attacks and stroke. The FA says it has tallied another 26 deaths between 1969 and 2003 in ADHD patients involving death by suicide, intentional overdose, drowning, heat stroke and from underlying disease.

The drugs getting a closer look include amphetamines, such as Ritalin, Adderall and Concerta. Sales of drugs to treat the disorder have jumped in recent years, with the biggest growth in use among adults. Spending on ADHD drugs has tripled in just four years, from $759-million in 2000 to $3.1 billion in 2004.

The regulatory agency has asked its Drug Safety and Risk Management advisory council to discuss the feasilbility of different ways of studying whether the deaths are linked to the drugs, as well as specific ways to conduct such studies. The few studies looked at longer-term use of ADHD drugs provide little information on those risks, according o the FDA.

Death and injury reports in Canada led to a six-month ban on the sale of the drug Adderall XR last year. That ban was later lifted, because there wasn't enough evidence of increased harm from the Adderall XR compared to other drugs.

Dr. Larry Diller is a behavioral pediatrician and author of the book, "Should I Medicate My Child?" He says, "Four million children take this medicine. That's approximately one in ten 11-year-old boys take this medicine. And the other thing that would be very worrisome is many of these children are barely affected at all. They either have mild cases of ADHD, or you'd look at them and they look normal." That said, however, Diller also says the FDA review has found that the risk of problems is just one for every 1 million ADHD prescriptions filled. Also in some cases, the children who died were later found to have undiagnosed heart conditions.

Motorola Unveils Latest RAZR Slim Phone Z

Motorola, the world’s second-largest cell phone vendor, Wednesday took the wraps off a slim slider phone, which it claims is the ultimate evolution of its hot seller RAZR.

The 14.8-millimeter-thick model, codenamed Z to show its concept _ the final version of the ultra-thin phone series, was designed and developed in Korea.

As a result, the sleek model was first disclosed in Korea unlike its high-profile predecessor RAZR, a clamshell-type phone that hit the local shops last year only after a big success in the global arena.

``This is the thinnest among many slider phones available here but it by no means lacks applications compared to other handsets,’’ Gill Hyun-chang, chief executive at Motorola Korea, said.

Indeed, the model is outfitted with a 2.2-inch screen, a mega-pixel digital camera and an MP3 player on top of highly customized user interfaces provided on a metal keypad.
Motorola plans to market the Z through SK Telecom, the country’s primary mobile carrier, this month with a price tag between 500,000 won and 600,000 won.

Despite the upbeat expectation of Motorola, some raise suspicions whether or not it will repeat the notable success of RAZR, for which demands once outstripped its supplies.
The first and foremost hitch they present is that the Z cannot savor the status of the pioneer because slim sliders are currently flooding the market.

By contrast, the 14.5-millimeter-thick RAZR was the first wafer-thin handset in the market when it debuted last June and its popularity prompted other domestic producers to roll out copycat products.

On a more negative note for the new item, observers point out the prospects of the Z is uncertain since it is somewhat bigger than competitors.

``My first impression was that the Z is fit for foreigners’ big hands, not for Korea’s smaller ones. Its size is almost similar to that of the RAZR. But, the latter is okay here since it is a clamshell-type phone but a slider is different,’’ a Seoul analyst said.

``It remains to be seen whether tech-savvy Koreans will snap up the new phone as they did for the RAZR,’’ he added.

Sony Ericsson Intros BlackBerry Killer

CIO Today reports about Sony Ericsson's newly introduced 3G phone, the M600, which "is targeting both the business market and Research In Motion's BlackBerry" with its advanced messaging capabilities.

The M600 runs the Symbian 9.1 operating system and supports an array of push e-mail applications, such as Ericsson Mobile Office, iAnywhere OneBridge, Intellisync, Microsoft Exchange, and RIM's BlackBerry Connect, provides remote synchronization, enables users to surf the Web while making voice calls simultaneously. The M600 also is a dual-mode UMTS/GPRS converged voice-data handheld with 80 MB of internal storage.

According to IDC analyst Dave Linsalata, the M600 takes Sony Ericsson "communicator devices to the next level, targeting mobile professionals with links to a broad array of e-mail providers." He said, "The key for the company is developing devices that users need, with features for business users and consumers, as opposed to the BlackBerry, which is focused tightly on information and e-mail.

"However Linsalata noted that by "adding more bells and whistles, such as streaming multimedia content, to a converged voice-data handheld might not appeal to some enterprise users who want a mobile device that excels at a single task, like the BlackBerry does.

Document Management Software

Need a way to manage your documents? Want to control how documents are stored in your systems? If you need to take control then a document management software solution may be for your.

With document management software you can control the way documents should be created, named, filed, and organized. You can setup a structure that institutes standardization across your company.

Document management software can help reduce unnecessary document storage, which can help reduce your total cost of ownership. Document management software could be the solution for you.

What is Document Management Software?

Document management software is utilized to organize, distribute, standardize and control the process of how documents are managed in a business environment. Document management software comes with features that can help you achieve many of your document management needs. With document management software in place it will allow you to manage a document life cycle from start to end.

Document Management Software Benefits

Depending on your business needs and the document management software, you can hope to gain several benefits from utilizing document management software in your environment. Some of the benefits may include are:

• Track versions that are stored in the document management system
• Controls document check in and check out process
• Provides a form of labeling to make it easy to reference documents
• Search capabilities for documents
• Provides a form of a standard scheme for documents across the company
• Can aid in reducing your total cost of ownership

These are just several benefits that you may achieve by implementing document management software for your business. Since there are several document management software packages available, it is always a good ideal to make sure you've determined your document management requirements and implement a trial version before you choose your document management software solution.

Dell Drops Hard Drive MP3 Player Line

The passing of the hard-drive based MP3 players at Dell went very quietly. According to Bloomberg, the decision was made to discontinue these lines in late December and early January. Dell will continue to sell the DJ Ditty (pictured above), which has 512MB of flash memory, as well as players from other companies.

The hard-drive Jukebox players held 2,500 to 15,000 songs. The DJ Ditty, which weighs 1.29 ounces and includes an FM radio, stores as many as 220 songs, according to Dell’s Web site.

“We saw an opportunity to streamline and consolidate our portfolio,” Dell spokesman Liem Nguyen said. “We made a decision to transition from the hard-drive products to flash players at the beginning of this year.” Source: Bloomberg via Statesman.com

We Say: Much of the press on this has centered around Dell failing to take market share and thus giving up on the hard-drive based players. While this may indeed be much of the story, I wonder about the statement by Nguyen above. It could, in fact, mean that Dell is going to focus on and introduce more flash-based players this year. Or it could mean that Dell, like many companies before it, has found the iPod nut too tough to crack. view pic

Canon's new 4.3 Megapixel DC40 DVD camcorder provides widescreen and photos

Canon announces the DC40 DVD camcorder to help you in making recording precious memories simple, fun and convenient. With its super slim design and 10x optical zoom lens, this compact DVD camcorder includes a 4.3 megapixel CCD image sensor that produces outstanding widescreen video and doubles as a digital camera for excellent photos, which friends and family can cherish for years to come. The DC40 will be available at the end of March 2006 for $899...

PRESS SUMMARY

Whether capturing memorable honeymoon moments or baby's first small, staggering steps, Canon's new DC40 DVD camcorder helps make recording precious memories simple, fun and convenient. With its super slim design and 10x optical zoom lens, this compact DVD camcorder includes a 4.3 megapixel CCD image sensor that produces outstanding widescreen video and doubles as a digital camera for excellent photos, which friends and family can cherish for years to come.

"For people who capture images of family functions for posterity, or who wish to record vivid vacation images that they can playback on their widescreen TVs, Canon's feature-filled DC40 camcorder rises to the occasion—as Canon's camcorders are The Official Camcorder of Life," said Yukiaki Hashimoto, senior vice president and general manager of the consumer imaging group at Canon U.S.A., Inc. "The DC40 DVD model is small enough to fit into the palm of your hand, easy to use and delivers high quality performance to customers that also value convenience." view pic

B&W MT-30 Theater Speaker System

About Home Theater Systems Many modern households have large size color televisions and premium cable channels. It is no wonder that the next realm of exploration in entertainment is the true home theater system. Home theater systems are a customizable series of components that you install in your home for better sound and picture quality. For people who are not very technical, consider hiring a professional home theater and sound consultant to get your system on line.

If you wish to recreate the experience of watching a movie in the theater - at home, then there are some basic components you can start with for your home theater system. And of course, most of these parts are sound based.

A standard theater system will have a great surround sound system, where different parts of a sound track are heard from different speakers in the room. You can start by purchasing speakers for both the front and rear of the room in which you are planning your home theater system.

The other piece you may wish to get right away is a viewing screen. Projections screens are the ultimate in recreating a movie-going experience. You won't regret a sharp picture that allows you to see everything that is going on in the film. view pic B&W MT-30