Subscribe to Gizmag's RSS feed
Follow Gizmag on Twitter
Personal Computing
Flash Drive Lock fits any standard USB memory stick
By Darren Quick
20:49 August 12, 2009 PDT
If you’re looking for some hardware-based protection to supplement data encryption on your USB memory stick, you might want to consider the Flash Drive Lock. The combination lock fits to the end of any standard USB memory stick and can’t be removed without inputting the correct three-digit code, thereby preventing any nefarious types from inserting the drive into a computer’s USB slot. Read More
NVIDIA graphics cards with 'no fuss' BFG liquid cooling
By Mick Webb
17:27 August 11, 2009 PDT
The availability of increasingly powerful computer graphics cards is placing ever-greater demands on keeping things cool “under the hood”. Certain to have gaming enthusiasts sitting up and taking notice is BFG Technologies' announcement of the release of two NVIDIA GeForce GTX 200 series graphics cards featuring their built-in liquid cooling solutions. Designed to be installed “out of the box and maintenance-free”, the GTX 285 H20+ and GTX 295 H20C offer high performance water-cooled video cards without the fuss. Read More
Verbatim launches TUFF-CLIP USB drives
By Jeff Salton
00:16 August 11, 2009 PDT
If your lifestyle results in you constantly destroying or losing your USB drives – and the valuable information they store – then the new Verbatim TUFF-CLIP USB drives might help solve your problem. The drives come in 4GB and 8GB sizes with clip-and-go convenience and boast industrial strength toughness. Read More
Hitachi ships first 2TB 7200rpm desktop HDD
By Gizmag Team
22:18 August 6, 2009 PDT
Like death and taxes, larger hard drives are inevitable, and the latest biggest, a two terabyte (2TB), 7200 RPM hard disk drive comes from the usual suspect, Hitachi, which also shipped the first 1TB drive back in 2007. The new, colossal, 2TB Deskstar 7K2000 blends high performance and high capacity with low power and other eco-friendly features designed to enable Energy-Star rated computers and other high performance desktop systems. Read More
Logitech's tiny Unifying receiver connects multiple peripherals
By Paul Ridden
19:27 August 5, 2009 PDT
Shopping around for a wireless keyboard and mouse usually means choosing a package deal. But what if you like the keyboard from one package and the mouse from another? Each comes with its own receiver and may not be compatible with the other. Logitech is about to release a range keyboards and mice with a tiny USB receiver which aims to overcome this issue by allowing multiple peripheral devices to connect to just one receiver. Read More
Colossus: OCZ's 1TB solid state drive expected in stores this month
By Paul Ridden
22:23 August 2, 2009 PDT
Has the death knell finally sounded for the hard disk drive? As HDD manufacturers wrestle each other for best market position a newcomer lurks in the shadows - the solid state drive (SSD) is becoming a beast to be reckoned with. Taiwan's OCZ Technologies gave the world it's first glimpse of its 1TB (1024GB) behemoth named Colossus at June's Computex information technology show in Taipei, Taiwan. Read More
Dishwasher-safe, waterproof keyboard and mouse
By Jeff Salton
18:33 July 26, 2009 PDT
Seal Shield's range of keyboards and mice are waterproof, dishwasher safe and contain antimicrobial properties to resist the spread of harmful germs and bacteria, which means a cleaner, healthier work and play environment. Read More
Google Wave - the end of email as we know it
By Loz Blain
01:31 July 24, 2009 PDT
E-mail has been dawdling along in much the same form since the early days of the Internet. In fact, e-mail now feels like a pretty stodgy, clunky and formal style of online communication. But hold onto your seats, because Google is about to turn e-mail on its head with the release of a revolutionary new technology called Google Wave that's due to start trickling into users' hands this September. Wave combines the strengths of e-mail with the immediacy of instant messaging and the collaborative power of social networking - and wraps that all up into a killer web application that can then be embedded into any web page or used as a private communication system. Sound complicated? It is - but you'll understand it perfectly after watching this ten-minute video. Read More
Self-destructing online messages could save your job, your relationship, your bacon
By Jeff Salton
23:40 July 23, 2009 PDT
If you’ve got nothing to hide there’s no need to read to any further. But if you’re worried about someone digging up something from your past – and we’re talking non-criminal here – which may influence or damage job prospects, relationships, your social or professional life, then good news is at hand. The University of Washington (UW) has developed Vanish – a prototype system that places a time limit on information uploaded to any web service through a web browser. Electronic communication sent using Vanish - such as e-mail, posts on social networking sites and chat messages - would have a brief lifetime and then self-destruct, becoming irretrievable from all websites, inboxes, outboxes, backup sites and home computers. The University says that not even the sender could retrieve them. Read More
New software ensures no-one will ever read over your shoulder again
19:14 July 23, 2009 PDT
We need a name to describe that sensation you often get, in an office or out in public, that someone’s looking at your computer screen from behind you. Screen-dropping? Shoulder-surfing? Whatever it’s called, it’s annoying – and a potential security threat. Baltimore company Oculis, has developed a program that tracks an authorized reader's eyes to show only them the correct text. Anyone else looking at the screen will see only gobbledygook Read More
Microsoft Office for Web reaches testing phase
By Mick Webb
19:01 July 22, 2009 PDT
In a move anticipated for some time, Microsoft has announced that the next incarnation of its ubiquitous Office software will include free web based versions of several of the suites popular applications. Although late to the party, Microsoft’s foray into online applications - which have now entered the technical preview phase - is set to put the squeeze on well established online office suite rivals like Google and Zoho. Read More
Is this the world's most expensive (and annoying) 16GB Flash drive?
By Darren Quick
23:48 July 21, 2009 PDT
If there’s one thing you could expect to rely on when it comes to Flash memory it’s that as capacities increase over time, prices decrease. It’s a rule that has been borne out over the years and its continuation has been a source of comfort that everything is right with the world. Now Japan’s Solid Alliance has thrown our world askew with the release of the Mnemosyne, a 16GB flash drive that is yours for the paltry sum of one million yen (approx. USD$10,000.) Read More
Kingston DT300: the first 256GB USB Flash drive
By Paul Ridden
17:43 July 21, 2009 PDT
Remember those halcyon days when the whole world tingled with excitement as the first 8MB USB Flash drives were made commercially available? Things have certainly moved on at an incredible pace in the few short years since then, only last month Kingston announced the world's first 128GB Flash drive and already the bar has been raised with the announcement of a 256GB monster - the Kingston Data Traveler 300. Read More
Share your point of view with the EVGA InterView 1700 Dual-Panel Display
By Darren Quick
02:35 July 21, 2009 PDT
For users who find that one display is never enough and can’t afford the NEC CRV43, EVGA has released the InterView 1700 Dual-Monitor system. The unit consists of two side-by-side 17-inch widescreen LCD monitors suspended on a central frame, which houses a built-in 1.3MP webcam, built-in microphone, and three port USB 2.0 hub. With a supported graphics card the dual displays can be set up as a span to provide an extended desktop, or cloned to allow one display to be flipped 180 degrees for easy viewing by a second person on the opposite side of the desk. Read More
LG's XF1 external multimedia HDD looks the part
By Darren Quick
21:12 July 20, 2009 PDT
Those looking for a way to get movies and other digital media stored on a PC from the study onto the TV in the lounge have a few choices open to them. These include burning the content to CD or DVD, sending the content wirelessly to a media streamer or transporting the content on a USB drive. Those looking at the latter option have a new drive from LG to consider in the form of the XF1, which sports HDMI and composite outputs for direct connection to a TV. Read More
The SimpleNET USB Drive Network Adapter
By Gizmag Team
02:58 July 14, 2009 PDT
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies unveiled several new consumer products yesterday following the acquisition of SimpleTech. The most ingenious, and the one which really caught our eye, was the SimpleNET network storage adapter for easily sharing USB drive content over an Ethernet network. Read More
Shhhh! Silent Keyboard EX cuts the keyboard clatter
By Darren Quick
00:20 July 13, 2009 PDT
Writers often keep odd hours and the constant click-clack of keys on a keyboard is likely to annoy any partner within earshot trying to catch some shuteye. Such sleep deprived housemates are likely to be thankful for the Thanko Silent Keyboard EX that cuts the noise down to a mere 44.5 dB, which is 16.5 dB quieter than your average keyboard and roughly the sound level of a quiet library. Read More
Fragrance abuse - the next internet phenomenon
By Paul Ridden
17:26 July 7, 2009 PDT
Japanese telecommunications company NTT Com is currently seeking volunteers to test a pungent bit of kit which produces different smells at the request of programs downloaded from the Internet. There will be two separate trials of the i-Aroma conducted in Japan from mid-July to the end of August. One course will send out smells matching "the rhythm of daily life" while the other will release odors based on an ancient astrological system. Read More
Mimo Mini 710 USB Monitor - extra screen space on the go
By Mick Webb
17:20 July 6, 2009 PDT
The pivoting Mimo Mini is a low maintenance solution for some extra screen space on the go, and offers convenience by not requiring a separate power outlet like traditional monitors. The 7” high resolution 800 x 480 pixel display can be used for any number of programs, from a users IM client, to spreadsheets, email or video. Adding to the functionality of the units, they can be used in either landscape or portrait mode. Read More
Viewsonic enters the PC market with the VPC100 All-in-One PC
By Darren Quick
21:35 July 2, 2009 PDT
Viewsonic, well known as a manufacturer of affordable LCD monitors, has decided to add a little bit extra to its latest release by cramming the guts of a PC behind a 19-inch LCD display to produce the VPC100 All-in-One PC. Viewsonic’s first entry into the PC market maintains the company’s reputation for affordability with its USD$599 price tag and cuts office clutter with its lone cable. Read More
HP Professional Workstation gets Six-Core AMD Opteron Processor
By Darren Quick
22:42 July 1, 2009 PDT
Anyone looking at getting a HP xw9400 Workstation has a couple of extra processor options to consider with the company announcing the high-end workstations are now being offered with the Six-Core AMD Opteron 2400 Series processor. According to HP, the extra grunt provided by the new AMD Opteron processors will make the xw9400 a better option for 3-D digital content creation and areas that attract lots of “mega” and “multi” prefixes - “multi-threaded applications, multi-tasking and mega-tasking environments.” Read More
Computing with the more mature in mind
By Paul Ridden
18:02 July 1, 2009 PDT
The Designed for Seniors Go Computer has been developed for and extensively tested by those born before computers started tightening their grip on our everyday lives, and who are still trying to ignore or simply don't trust the computer age. The computer hardware is behind the monitor to save space and avoid clutter, the keyboard has over-sized keys and bright colors and the system comes with an ergonomic trackball mouse. But it's the user interface which will prove most beneficial to the seniors it was designed to serve. Read More
Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 speech-to-text engine reviews itself
By Loz Blain
05:05 July 1, 2009 PDT
Note: this entire article has been written using the uncorrected output of Dragon's NaturallySpeaking speech-to-text engine. Regular podcast listeners will know that a couple of weeks ago I had the misfortune of falling off my motorcycle. Well, it turns out I broke my wrist in the accident, which makes it pretty tough to type. This stupid plaster casts can be on for at least six weeks so I figured I'd better watch out an alternative that would let me keep writing. And here it is: the number one speech to text engine on the market, Dragon NaturallySpeaking. And what better way to review a speech to text product and the Post an article written entirely using it, and completely uncorrected will stop Read More
Wetsuit not supplied: Stealth WPC-500F waterproof PC
By Paul Ridden
01:16 June 25, 2009 PDT
It's absolutely vital for all life on the planet yet it can kill a computer with relative ease. Water, moisture, fluid, liquid - whichever way you look at it computers and wet stuff are not on friendly terms. Stealth Computers begs to differ however, and has recently announced the release of a completely waterproof PC. Incorporating a whole host of tough tech, the rugged new unit promises reliability and performance whatever you throw at it and whatever conditions you might find yourself in. Read More
Sandisk unveils fastest 32GB SDHC card
By Jeff Salton
01:08 June 25, 2009 PDT
With high-end DSLR cameras now shooting 20-megapixel images in rapid succession, few photographers would argue with the need for greater storage and data transfer speed. Sandisk is satisfying both with its latest SDHC card, which brings the 30MB/s transfer speeds seen in its SanDisk Extreme SDHC range last year to a 32GB model. Read More
Freedom Glen
- November 25, 2009 @ 02:47 UTC
