Gadgets Blog

Users who love food will love this latest thumb drive, though they’ll probably be very disappointed to find that it isn’t edible. Looking every bit like the real deal, these latest thumb drives from Brando come in BBQ (chicken wings or roast pork), fruit (watermelon or strawberry), fast food, and biscuit designs. They look incredibly realistic, and are quite practical, since they contain an actual 4GB thumb drive inside. Going at just $28, users should make sure not to accidently drop one of these into the picnic basket, or they’ll most likely end up in someone’s stomach.

Sitting in front of a computer desk all day long is not something most of us would like to do, but our bread and butter depends on it. Therefore, it is imperative that you get some sort of ergonomic setup if you treasure your back and hands. This is where the Zero-Gee ergonomic computer/gaming workstation comes in handy, merging both a chair and work area that does your body no harm even after seated in it for long hours at a stretch. Suitable for both offices and homes, this is something bloggers should have as well. Boss, can you get me one?

There are conflicting reports about the extend of the MobileMe outage: the Apple MobileMe support site says “1% of MobileMe members cannot access MobileMe Mail. We apologize for any inconvenience.” (look at the upper-left of the page). Meanwhile, a tuaw reader reports that Apple Care personal told him that the service will be down for 2 or 3 days: “and that it’s the whole system, not just the 1% as noted on the support site”. Is your account affected?

Acer America has just unleashed a new compact desktop PC geared for business use, the Veriton S461 touting an Intel Core 2 Duo processor with high-capacity hard drive and a dual channel RAM. This energy efficient PC is best suited for office environments since its dual core-processing power helps reduce noise when the PC is powered on. The Veriton S461 boasts of Acer’s LANScope 3.5 application which makes it easy for system administrators to manage and maintain asset inventory, diagnose, reboot and repair systems remotely.

Other features and specifications of the Veriton S461 include an Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100, 2GB DDR2 RAM (upgradeable to 8GB), an 80GB SATA II hard drive, DVD-Dual drive, low-profile expansion slots, Gigabit LAN, PS2 keyboard, and USB optical mouse. This desktop PC runs Windows Vista Business but comes with the XP downgrade CD.

The Veriton S461 is now available at all North American Acer resellers and will set you back $546.

Read [Business Wire]

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If you have had a rough day at the office, sometimes it’s nice to kick back at home and have yourself a cold brew. But what if you are stuck pulling an all-nighter at that very same office and can’t break away to get to your favorite adult beverage? We’ll, you could pretend to pound down a few with the iphone app known as iBeer 2.0.

This clever little iPhone app takes advantage of the tilt sensor in the mobile phone and lets you perform amazing beer tricks like brewing, drinking, shaking, and what brew wouldn’t be complete without the belch. Now granted, this won’t ever replace a frosty mug of golden hops and malted barley, but at least you can have a laugh with your friends or coworkers. Take a look at the video to see how iBeer works.

The iBeer 2.0 app is being sold for $2.99 and for you teetotalers, there is even an iMilk app. Just don’t have too much fun with iBeer though or others might think you have a virtual drinking problem.

Read more at iBeer via DVICE

If you have had a rough day at the office, sometimes it’s nice to kick back at home and have yourself a cold brew. But what if you are stuck pulling an all-nighter at that very same office and can’t break away to get to your favorite adult beverage? We’ll, you could pretend to pound down a few with the iPhone app known as iBeer 2.0.

This clever little iphone app takes advantage of the tilt sensor in the mobile phone and lets you perform amazing beer tricks like brewing, drinking, shaking, and what brew wouldn’t be complete without the belch. Now granted, this won’t ever replace a frosty mug of golden hops and malted barley, but at least you can have a laugh with your friends or coworkers. Take a look at the video to see how iBeer works.

The iBeer 2.0 app is being sold for $2.99 and for you teetotalers, there is even an iMilk app. Just don’t have too much fun with iBeer though or others might think you have a virtual drinking problem.

Read more at iBeer via DVICE

Pretty soon the check out lane of your favorite grocery store may be bright with flashing magazine covers making you feel like you are in the middle of Times Square. All this will be because of the new technology of E Ink that will transform the printed page into attention grabbing display ads.

According to Engadget, September’s issue of Esquire magazine will feature 100,000 copies with a flashing electronic cover thanks to E Ink. If you are thinking about grabbing this copy of Esquire as a technology keepsake, keep in mind the flashing text proclaiming, “The 21st Century Begins Now,” will last until the battery runs out, which will be in about 90 days.

Currently the E Ink technology developed by E Ink Corporation is being exclusively used by Esquire until 2009. After that, however, you could find more publishers taking advantage of the E Ink display technology. This could mean a future that has major magazines playing commercial ads on their publications like small paperbound televisions.

Read more at Engadget.

Macrumors is doing what they do best and they dug up some interesting news on Apple. We’ve all been waiting for a MacBook refresh and with Centrino 2 and a new crop of processors here the timing could be just right.

In addition to the MacBook being ready for a refresh and the new gear from Intel, Macrumors found out that Apple has big orders of display and notebook circuit boards on the way. Additionally Apple informed Best Buy they there would be decreased shipments of MacBooks over the next two weeks.

Any one of these details on their own could be nothing, but the combination of all of them right during the back-to-school season points to a refresh. Of course this could be just wishful thinking, but with recent rumors (and pictures) of a new MacBook Pro design it could be time to start saving those pennies.

Read more at Macrumors

When was the last time you played a game with Sonic the Hedgehog in it? Maybe you’ve been staying away from the little blue speed devil since his days on the Genesis, or maybe you’ve been playing all the way up to Mario & Sonic Go To The Olympics, and Super Smash Brothers Brawl. One thing is for sure, barely anybody played Sonic and the Secret Rings. So why would Sega want to revive that particular series? One can only surmise…

The new title, which will be previewed in the September edition of Nintendo Power is called Sonic and the Black Knight. A scan of the cover showed up last week, but there was no way to confirm if the image shown was real or not. Today, Sega has confirmed the rumor and given a few details as to gameplay. Apparently, the game is yet another Wii exclusive in which Sonic wields a sword “through a storybook world of Arthurian legend.” Really, though, Sega didn’t say anything else than this:

In this strange, enchanted medieval world, Sonic wields a sword in his effort to save the day. Encountering many friends and foes along the way, Sonic shows them what it takes to be a true hero and the ultimate knight. Master the sword and unravel the mystery behind this intriguing adventure…

It’s being touted as a sequel (somehow) to Sonic and the Secret Rings, as the second entry into the Sonic Storybook series; so this could go in a lot of directions. We’ll all know a little more once the Nintendo Power hits next month.

Read more at SEGA. Found via Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Creative’s ZEN line of MP3 players has been a sleeper success for a while now.

The series is also one of the most diverse and just two weeks ago they introduced the ZEN X-Fi, an mp3 player with Wi-Fi that can be used for instant messaging through Yahoo! and MSN. The other players in the line run from small MP3 players with built-in speakers starting at US$40 to the widescreen Tivo-loving Vision W. Now, a listing has shown up on their Hong Kong site for another new player.

This model, labeled the ZEN Krystal, takes another unique turn. Much like the Nike+iPod system, the ZEN Krystal has a built-in pedometer, calorie counter, and stopwatch. For about US$90, you also get a 4GB player with an OLED display, FM Radio, voice recorder, and even 3 games. Those games are Hurdle Race, Catch & Dodge and Dice Roll, so don’t get your hopes up that they’ll be the most fun you’ve ever had.

Also, the site touts the player’s ability to drag-and-drop files to and from your PC, but Creative’s been doing that for a while now. Right now, the ZEN Krystal only works on Windows (which may do even more to separate it from the ipod market).

Hopefully, it’ll be released in America because it’d be nice if there was an option in the MP3 player for runners market.

Read more at Creative, found via Crunchear