Tag: NEW PRODUCTS

We thought that maybe Microsoft had learned something after the disaster that was Vista and its maddening multiple versions: Vista Home Basic, Premium, Business, Enterprise, Ultimate... who could keep track? Well, things are about to get a little worse with Windows 7. Microsoft's highly anticipated new operating system (OS) will add a Starter version to the mix aimed at netbooks. Prices are ...

Lots of compact camera news today. Nikon announced eight new COOLPIX digicams, ranging from several pocket-friendly compact point-and-shoot cams to larger shooters featuring optical zooms up to 24x. We've got 4 new ones from the S-series, 3 from the L-series, and one P-series. Highlights? Colors are big this year, and you'll see many of the models available in multiple colors, ranging from ...

Our time is valuable, and there is nothing more maddening than spending it wading through automated phone menus. That's why we are excited by Fonolo, a new Web service that allows you to bypass those menus and hop straight to where you want to be. According to the Fonolo site copy, this new convenience is known as "deep dialing." Here's how it works: After creating a profile with your phone ...

Users of Google's Gmail service can now check their e-mail without an Internet connection, Gmail engineer Andy Palay announced yesterday afternoon via the Offical Gmail Blog. The feature, which doesn't seem to be showing up in our Gmail Labs yet for some reason, depends upon a program called Gears that downloads and regularly updates a cache of your Gmail messages. So, while your computer is ...

Though Apple unveiled its latest upgrade to the popular iLife software package back at MacWorld, it hasn't actually been available for direct purchase -- until yesterday. iLife '09 should be available at your local Apple store, as well as other authorized resellers such as Best Buy. Likewise, if you pre-ordered a copy online, expect that shipping e-mail to hit your inbox very, very soon. A word ...

Panasonic refreshed its Lumix line of digital cameras today with six brand new models and a range of colors. For the most part, you'll see 5x optical zooms and 12.1 megapixel sensors, but specs vary by model. We were hoping for some announcements along the lines of a sexy new micro four thirds camera like the DMC-G1, but it's nice to see a move away from 3x optical zooms, which have been ...

The Mosquito, a small box designed to irritate young people by emitting a high pitched whine only audible to those 25 years old or younger, is expanding its audience by lowering the pitch to annoy everyone. Great... Until now, the high-frequency box has been used primarily to keep young hooligans from bothering shopkeepers by loitering. But now that it can be heard by everyone, the box can be ...

We are so tired of touchscreens, especially since most of 'em don't really work that well, but we were certainly curious to see the touchscreen on the Nokia N97, which was shown off last night at a small gathering in New York. The N97's 3.5-inch, 16:9 touchscreen (think iPhone) slides up at an angle to reveal a handy QWERTY keyboard that essentially gives you the best of both worlds (sort of ...

Hard to say if these MLB-themed gaming PCs will be "a line drive to right" with gamers out there, but Commodore has certainly "rounded the bases" in order to deliver some pretty fanciful machines. The officially licensed desktops boast an exclusive C-kin paint job only possessed by the "true five-tool" PC manufacturing companies, though we have heard that the Core i7 within was "indirectly ...

If it's a 5-megapixel cameraphone you're looking for, there are decidedly cheaper entries on the market -- but if only a 5-megapixel WinMo Professional set will do, the Omnia's just about the best (read: only) deal you'll find on an American carrier these days. The CDMA translation of the smartphone that Samsung's been selling in other parts of the world for much of 2008 in GSM form carries over ...

Google is certainly not a company satisfied to leave a product well enough alone. Gmail, the already hugely popular free online e-mail service, has seen a number of upgrades in the past few weeks. First, it was integrated text messaging, then came easy to use video chat, and now Google is releasing a series of themes to make your Gmailing experience a little more aesthetically pleasing. Google ...

There comes a time in every disposable contact lens' life when it must move along to the big eyeball in the sky; when it's so slime-encrusted and foggy that the only thing it should be seeing is the inside of a trash-bin. If you have a hard time remembering just when it's time to break open a fresh pair, Countact is for you. It's a simple enough product, a contact dish that has a digital timer ...

If you spend a lot of time – maybe too much time – trolling around social networking sites like MySpace or Facebook, you may forget to drop the occasional line to your family and friends who aren't connected to the Internet. Save yourself a trip to the post office with Touchnote, an English company that lets you upload images to its Web site, craft a message with clever dialog or ...

digg_url ='http://www.switched.com/2008/10/29/muxlim-aims-to-be-a-facebook-for-muslims/'; Muxlim.com, a Finnish-based social network site for Muslim communities, has announced the arrival of "Muxlim Pal," a virtual world that adheres to the Muslim code. Muxlim Pal, essentially, is a Second Life for Muslims, where the women wear virtual hajibs, or veils, that cover their faces and and where ...

Treading in the footsteps of Hulu and various other basic and cable TV networks, MTV has launched MTVmusic.com, a free Web site dedicated to streaming music videos, AlleyInsider.com reports. Supported by advertisements, the Web site -- at least for now -- does a fine job of using a tight layout; although there are banner ads, they're relatively inconspicuous. A test-run of Young Jeezy's "Put ...