Crave Talk: To slim or not to slim?
Digital CamerasIn an attempt to flog more cameras in an age of plenty, HP is busy making a feature out of distortion. In particular, it's happy to announce that many models now have a slimming feature, a bit of internal processing that fudges the aspect ratio and takes just a little off the hips.
It's also the age of Flickr, but here I'm still a bit of a Luddite. I love slapping my pictures up, but always in unadulterated form. I have a constant argument with one of my more talented photographer pals -- he sees no problem with Photoshopping images before putting them online. Fine, but say that they're modified. Is that different from cropping or tweaking the exposure, he says, which a digital camera can do before your picture ever escapes? I think so. Continue reading...
Letter from Linuxland -- Part 3
SoftwareIf you've been at all interested in Ubuntu, you'll have read what it's like to use when you first install it. You've got the world's best browser, some damn fine office software, a few games, a nice clean windowing interface and almost everything you need right there on the desktop.
All that's true. One of the biggest buzzes I got from the software was that first heady half hour. All my Firefox extensions loaded just fine, I got my head around enough of Linux' idea of how the disk is organised to save files from OpenOffice and send them off through Gmail, my USB stick popped up on demand with the dragging and the dropping -- the revolution had begun, comrades, and not a drop of blood to be found.
Then I clicked on a link to an audio file. Something called Totem appeared, and sadly declared that it didn't know nothing about no MP3s, sir. I soon found out that Totem was also charged with video playback, at which it was similarly clueless. Continue reading...
iRiver S10: Not ideal for fatties
MP3 PlayersAs the Western world makes itself morbidly obese on offal shakes and Big Macs, MP3 players just keep getting smaller. We're all expanding like fleshy party balloons in some hellish jamboree, but the electronics industry is all about miniaturisation. It's a sad irony that as gadgets decrease in size, our grotesquely chubby fingers become increasingly unable to operate their tiny controls.
By 2050, we'll all be sat around on the remaining bits of dry land, a nation of Jabba the Huts, desperately trying to switch over from the Shopping Channel, but unable to on account of our fingers having reached the point at which they can no longer accurately pick out a single button on a TV remote.
The iRiver S10 (2GB) is ludicrously tiny, and just 1.9g heavier than the new iPod Shuffle, but, unlike Apple's offering, it comes with a built-in screen. On the downside, you'll have to contend with 8 hours of battery life, compared to the Shuffle's 12 hours. Continue reading...
Asus AiGuru S1: Make free calls and listen to streaming music
AccessoriesA couple of months ago you couldn't find a decent Skype phone for love nor money, and now four turn up at once. The latest to arrive is the Asus AiGuru S1, a wireless VoIP handset that doubles up as a streaming music device.
The handset has Skype pre-installed, but unlike some of the other phones it can't connect to your existing 802.11b/g Wi-Fi infrastructure. You'll need to use the accompanying Wi-Fi dongle and leave your PC switched on in order to make and receive calls. Bummer.
Still, the AiGuru S1 supports SkypeIn, so you can receive calls via your own personal local telephone number, SkypeOut, so you can call ordinary landlines, plus it lets you conference call, store contacts and access voicemail -- all from the handset.
The AiGuru S1 has an integrated 0.5W speaker for hands-free calls, which you can also use to play music that's stored on your PC (you can use a set of ordinary headphones, too). We reckon this would be useful for listening to music while pottering around the house or doing the gardening. Continue reading...
Access a webcam with a mobile phone
I'm interested in finding out what's the best way to set up a security camera at home that I can monitor with my mobile phone. How can I do this? Continue reading...
Crave Talk: All hail the analogue revolution
MP3 PlayersIt sounds like an unlikely revival, but vinyl is scratching and crackling its way back to the top. Seven-inch vinyl records are once again a popular format for some indie singles' sales in the UK. Sales of 7-inch singles have risen to well over one million this year. The last time things looked this good for vinyl was 1998.
It doesn't stop there --Â the NME's Alex Needham is championing the format to supersede CD. "I think it's very possible that the CD might become obsolete in an age of download music but the vinyl record will survive," he said. Continue reading...
USBCell: Batteries that recharge over USB
AccessoriesWe've seen some utterly bonkers USB technology in our time:Â USB heated gloves and slippers, a variety of USB-powered adult toys, USB barbeques and USB ashtrays that predict when you'll die of lung cancer (many of which we've discussed in the Crave Podcast).
They're all very entertaining, but nowhere near as useful as the USB rechargeable AA battery developed by Moxia Energy. It's an ordinary nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery with a USB adaptor hidden under the positive end. It can be charged simply by connecting it to your PC.
USBCells can be charged to over 90 per cent of their capacity over a standard USB port in about 5 hours, or in approved NiMH recharging cradles in about 7 hours. They'll work in pretty much every device that accepts AA batteries including digital cameras, wireless mice and keyboards, and remote-controlled cars.
The only drawback is that USBCells have about 40 per cent less capacity than conventional AA rechargeables because a third of their volume is occupied by the USB jack and associated circuitry. Still, the 1,300mAh they provide should be more than adequate given how convenient it is to recharge them. Continue reading...
Sky HDTV receivers: Software success story
TelevisionsNew technology is often blighted by teething problems, as early adopters of Sky's HDTV service will confirm -- ever since Sky's high-definition broadcasts launched earlier this year, its HD receiver boxes have been plagued by complaints from disgruntled consumers.
Thanks to a recent firmware upgrade, however, subscribers have been reporting that these problems with bugs and instability could be a thing of the past.
To check if your Sky HD box has been upgraded with the new software, enter the Services Menu, select System Set Up then System Details. The new model number should now read 607 120.
Sky claims this new software has improved several performance issues, promising a better relationship with your set-top box. This includes a faster electronic programme guide (EPG), more responsive fast forward and rewind controls (especially using 30x speed), and improved overall stability with fewer freezes and crashes.
Early reports of Sky's boxes also highlighted compatibility issues with JVC LCD TV models, which caused picture distortion while changing channels or aspect ratios. Sky says it has worked closely with JVC and claims this issue has now been overcome. Continue reading...
Samsung YP-K5: Boop bip beep bibble
MP3 PlayersIn the tribal howling ground that is public transport, the loudest speakered mobile phone is king. But what if you want to inflict your taste in music on not merely the top, but both decks of the bus simultaneously? The 2W speaker in your Sony Walkman phone is not going to cut it now is it, dear hoodie? There will be a passenger on the lower deck unable to properly hear Dre cussing his tricks. What you really need is this Samsung YP-K5.
Our review model arrived this week and its built-in speaker is louder than a Glock-toting G popping caps in a banshee. As tiny portable speaker systems go, we were impressed. The K5 filled most of our hive with music, albeit slightly tinny music. Continue reading...
Win a pair of tickets to the BT Digital Music Awards 2006
MP3 PlayersFamous people are cruelly put upon. They not only earn humiliatingly large amounts of money for trivial amounts of work, they also have to spend their life being given freebies, fending off desirable members of the opposite sex and going to interminable awards ceremonies.
CNET.co.uk is offering you the chance to experience the bitter disappointment of the celebrity lifestyle first hand -- we're giving away a pair of tickets to the BT Digital Music Awards 2006. You can't buy tickets to this hideously exclusive awards ceremony, which will be attended by a host of stars and key figures from the music industry. Nominees for awards include Lily Allen, The Streets, Kasabian, Girls Aloud and Will Young. Continue reading...
Truth or illusion: What's real on YouTube?
GadgetsA single homemade YouTube video can receive millions of visitors a day, so it's little surprise that advertisers are keen to exploit the site. This presents a unique problem though: how can an advertiser attach itself to video content that is inherently independent, user-generated and unendorsed?
This month, the answer seems to have finally occurred to the advertising industry. Instead of sponsoring easily ignored advertising on the page around YouTube videos, advertisers have taken to manipulating the videos themselves.
Over the past few weeks, visitors have flocked to home videos by a YouTube user known as Lonelygirl15. Her pretty smile and endearing accounts of her life drew many millions of visitors, inspired hundreds of fan sites and set the Internet buzzing with interest. But soon viewers became suspicious. The high quality of video lighting, slick editing and lack of copyrighted music led to accusations that Lonelygirl15 was a hoaxer. Continue reading...
Webaroo: Wikipedia on your mobile phone
Mobile PhonesThe Web can be a dangerously addictive thing. Many of us spend all day surfing at work then go home and surf some more. Here we surf, there we surf, everywhere we surf, surf. We'd surf more, but we occasionally have to venture into the outside world where Web access is limited.
Now, thanks to Webaroo, we never have to be separated from the digital need that is the Internet. This software stores entire Websites (including multimedia links) which you can browse later on your laptop without a connection. You can even transfer the data to your PDA or smart phone for a quick fix when you're on the move. Continue reading...
Microsoft Zune: All the excitement that brown can bring
MP3 PlayersThe Zuni tribe of Native Americans live in western New Mexico. Ancient and peaceable, they are most notable for their language -- which is unlike any other. They also do a nice line in fetishes, small objects that contain a spirit with a characteristic personality capable of influencing their owners' futures.
The Zune tribe of native Americans, on the other hand, live up in Washington State on the Redmond reservation. Stuck in the past and rather aggressive, they are most notable for their ritual monkey dance and a language that may be related to English. They also have a fetish, a small brown object with its own characteristic spirit personality. Whether it'll influence the future, though, is another matter. Continue reading...
Wi-Fi VoIP phones: Internet calls without a PC
AccessoriesInternet telephony is on the rise and moving away from its geeky roots. Even Tesco is selling an Internet phone that costs around 10 and plugs into your computer's USB slot. It uses Tesco's proprietary VoIP software, is paid for by buying airtime with your credit card and can be used to make cheap national or international calls.
It was Skype who took the concept of VoIP global, but until recently you needed to switch your computer on to make calls. Many VoIP applications, including Tesco's Internet phone, still require you to use a computer. This can be annoying, as you have to wait for your PC or Mac to boot up, even if you only want to make a quick call.
Fortunately, some clever people have made handsets that don't need a computer to work. Netgear has just launched a wireless Skype phone (SPH101) that connects to your wireless router and lets you make calls on your Skype account from anywhere in your house. It costs around 160 and is available now. Continue reading...
rock Cannonball 8000: Laptop for Porsche drivers
LaptopsAs you read this, 121 of the world's fastest road cars are hurtling from London to Budapest in the legendary Cannonball 8000 road rally -- an event based on the 1980 movie The Cannonball Run. Among them is Nick Boardman, CEO of rockdirect, and his co-driver Paul Shenton of Intel. Nutters.
Seemingly oblivious to the possibility of being arrested for speeding, having their car permanently 'confiscated' or suffering serious injury, Team Rock have just set off in a souped-up Porche Carrera GT3 (pictured). Before they left, they launched the special edition rock Pegasus 665 Cannonball laptop (also pictured).
We got the pleasure of fondling the Pegasus at the Canonball 8000 launch party in a swanky London nightclub last night. After attending this event, we can report with authority that where there are fast cars, there will be beer-gutted men surrounded by nubile women wearing very little clothing. Continue reading...
LG GBW H10N: Economy Blu-ray drive
Home CinemaWhile we're excited by the arrival of the high-capacity Blu-ray disc format, the exorbitant price of dedicated players is a big stumbling block. But there's a way around it that doesn't involve breaking the bank, although it will still leave a dent.
LG's latest Blu-ray disc drive, the GBW H10N, is an optical storage device that lets you read, write and erase data using Blu-ray discs. This means you can store and play high-definition movies, or over five times the data of a normal DVD. The GBW H10N will be available in two formats -- as a component for your PC and as a free-standing device, which will offer the same technology housed in a casing for storage underneath your TV. Continue reading...
What camcorder for filming kids in low light?
I need a camcorder to take video of my 1-year-old to send to my parents in Australia. I've never really had a camcorder before and don't know where to start. Considering that my child is very active and doesn't stay still for a second, and that it's coming into autumn now so most shooting will happen indoors or in lowish light, what can you recommend? Continue reading...
A Letter from Linuxland -- Part 2
DesktopsIn part 1 of his letter from LinuxLand, Rupert explained why he decided to leave a lifetime of Windows and hop onto the penguin bus.
I was ready to Ubuntuise, but Windows had one final goodbye insult -- it can't burn a bootable CD. Plenty of online advice recommended using a trial version of Nero that had recently been removed from distribution by the authors, so I used a free Windows utility, ISO Recorder. It's free, simple, does a useful job and its absence from Windows reminded me why I was quitting. I burned the disk, and pressed reset. Continue reading...
Olympus E-400: Another SLR beats the dust
Digital CamerasAs anyone who has made the move from a film to digital SLR knows, dust can be unexpectedly annoying. It creeps into your camera when you change the lens, then settles on the sensor and appears as an out-of-focus grey blob on your images. This wasn't a problem with film cameras, because the dust particles move with the film when it's wound on. But with a dSLR, the dust stays on the sensor until you find a way to remove it.
Like earlier Olympus SLR models, the new E-400 is fitted with a 'Supersonic Wave Filter' to combat this problem. Every time you turn on the camera, the supersonic wave engine surrounding the sensor's filter vibrates it at a high frequency, shaking off the particles. We tested the filter in the Olympus Evolt E-300 and found that it worked very well. Continue reading...
i-Steroid iPod valve amplifer: Drugged up, or quick and nimble?
MP3 PlayersThe warm glow of valves was once a familiar sight inside electronic equipment. These tiny fires of electrical power, burning so bright, give ancient tech a romantic appeal, something that today's innocuous silicon diodes lack.
For the uninitiated, valves look like small lightbulbs and are generally used to amplify a weak input. Stand by for some science...
Valves rely on the fact that a powerful current jumping between two metal elements in close proximity within a vacuum (the bulb) is easily suggestible while travelling in the gap between the two elements. By inserting a thin gauze in the gap between the elements and sending a weaker current through it (for example, the input from an electric guitar pickup), the stronger signal will pick up the characteristics of the weaker one. This is the basic principle behind valve amplification. Valves were superseded by silicon in most electronic equipment, but we still use them in specialist audio equipment today because of the subjective sense of warmth and tone they produce. Lesson over. Continue reading...
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