The robotic penguin called Pingo
(Credit: arimaz.com)Have hundreds of Facebook friends and still feel lonely and bored? Well, that's not new. What is new is the fact I probably have just what you want. It's a robotic penguin which, apart from being cute, can bring Facebook connections to life, quite literally.
About the size of a small chicken egg and taking the shape a penguin, the new device is called Pingo. It's an interactive electronic playmate that can move around your desk, express moods, respond to voice commands, sing songs, and read aloud e-mail messages, headlines, stock quotes, and weather.
Despite its little shape, Pingo comes packed with technology. It has two proximity sensors on the front, three ground sensors on the bottom, and two powered wheels. It also has built-in speakers, a microphone, and eyes that can change colors.
The device integrates into its owner's Facebook account via a Facebook application called MyDeskFriend. With this application, you can give Pingo a new name and customize its personality. After that it can be programed to read RSS newsfeeds or follow your voice command to send pokes, messages, or Facebook gifts, and so on. It can also follow your fingers around on a desk and is smart enough not to fall off.
Pingo is compatible with both Windows (XP/Vista and 7) and Mac OS (10.5 or later). It comes with a docking station that connects to your computer via a USB port. Unfortunately, it isn't cheap and costs around $150. If you want to get it as a Christmas present, you'll need to order it before December 14.
For the record, I think most cats are just lazy, not depressed.
We talk games. Yay! My favorite subject! Dong and I (well mostly me) talk about the games we've been playing and our impressions. We also discuss that whole Modern Warfare 2 controversy from a couple weeks back. I know, I know, we're late to the party, but at least we brought a huge case of beer!
Also, Dong continues his tales from Azeroth. He joins a new guild that sounds more like a cult, does horrible DPS, and realizes he has no tanking or healing skills. This was my interpretation at least.
Finally, what we're watching, what we can't watch, and we'd like to be watching. Yeah, we had very little to talk about this week, but that actually worked in our favor...I think, you be the judge.
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The frog returns in his LED splendor.
(Credit: NEC)LED is definitely the new black in the world of computer monitors. Most vendors have gotten behind the technology and many more are beginning to announce LED-based products. Check out my list of the five best LED monitors, and see what the current top-rated models are.
NEC is the latest vendor to drop its hat into the mix. On Wednesday, it announced the MultiSync EA222WMe, the company's first LED monitor.
Aesthetically, judging just by the picture, the monitor resembles the previously reviewed NEC MultiSync EA221WM.
Like the EA221WM, the EA222WMe has a 16:10 aspect ratio screen, 1,680x1,050 resolution, and a four-way ergonomic stand. In addition, the LED-based monitor includes a 250 cd/m2 brightness, 30,000 dynamic contrast ratio, VGA, DVI, USB, and DisplayPort inputs, and built-in speakers.
The monitor includes an Eco mode that caps the brightness, a carbon meter, and a cost meter. According to NEC, it also uses less packing materials than the company's non-LED monitors.
The MultiSync EA222WMe comes with a three-year, parts-and-labor limited warranty and is now available at an estimated street price of $339.
Of course I'm good at counting. I learned from the best.
(Credit: Sesame Workshop)We return to the current Facebook debacle in Vietnam. Allegedly, accounts are being closed or locked thanks to a lone Vietnamese princess and her inability to secure her password--or so says Dong, of course.
Then Dong talks at length about the very expensive Imation wireless USB hard drive as I remain unconvinced of its worth.
Finally, we delve into a discussion about the audio-Nazi, aka iTunes. iTunes obviously doesn't want Dong to workout in a timely manner and it's communicating this quite effectively.
To subscribe to this podcast, visit us at our main page and click the podcast link on the right. Don't forget to leave us voice mail at 1-800-947-6399 or e-mail us at insidecnetlabs@cnet.com.
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Just thought I'd show something different to illustrate how the XL2370 takes advantage of its technology.
(Credit: Josh P. Miller/CNET)Over the last few months I've seen a flood of LED-based monitors released, and by "flood" I mean like four. Thing is, four is a huge improvement over the first half of the year where we saw fewer than half that number of LED-backlit monitors come through these offices.
While I'm as excited as the next person about the prospects of LED-based displays, not all of them live up to their promise of brighter screens, thinner panels, and more accurate colors.
There are a few that do and a couple others that come close. I've compiled a short list of my current favorites.
Seriously, a plant pot in your monitor. I bet you'll never question the "greeness" of this monitor now!
(Credit: Josh P. Miller/CNET)LED monitors were the new hotness at CES last January, but it wasn't until the Samsung SyncMaster XL2370 debuted that we really started to believe in them.
That was the first monitor that really seemed to live up to what LED monitor manufacturers' have promised.That was the first monitor that really seemed to live up to what has been promised by LED monitor manufacturers'.
That monitor was followed by several more that, while not as impressive as the Samsung SyncMaster XL2370, were still good, solid monitors--like the LG W2486L and AOC V22.
The new BenQ V2400 Eco gets a few things right--very low power consumption and a thin design. Not to mention a small pot built into the footstand, just in case you wanted start a small garden in your monitor. Seriously.
Check out the full review to see what else it gets right (and wrong).
If you've wished you could connect your external hard drive to your computer without having to use the USB cable, now you can.
Imation announced Thursday the availability of the first wireless USB external hard drive, the Pro WX. The hard drive works just like any other USB hard drive, with one exception: it doesn't require a USB cable.
The Pro WX wireless USB external hard drive.
(Credit: Imation)Wireless USB has been under development for about five years, and some of the first products were demoed at CES 2009. This technology allows you to connect USB 2.0 devices to a computer wirelessly from up to 30 feet away with a throughput speed of up to 480Mbps.
According to Imation, the Pro WX wireless USB external hard drive offers less than that, with speeds of up to only 120Mbps or 15MBps; this is about three times slower than regular USB 2.0 hard drives. At this speed it can finish copying the entire content of a CD-ROM (roughly 800MB) in about 50 seconds. Other than that, this drive is based on the 3.5-inch desktop hard drive and offers 1.5TB of storage.
The Imation Pro WX features a sleep-mode feature to conserve energy and a one-touch, backup sync button for you to manually start a backup when needed. The device is compatible with both PC and Mac operating systems
In order to take advantage of the wireless USB, your computer needs to support this. As most computers don't have built-in wireless USB, there are adapters that you can add to the machine. It's unclear if an adapter is included with the Pro WX.
What's clear, however, is the fact that this is going to be one of the most expensive external hard drives you can find. At the estimated price of $500, about three times the price of regular external USB hard drives of the same storage capacity, I am not sure if it's worth it when the only benefit is losing the USB cable.
A typical ICL recording session (my foot).
Dong finally watches "The Wire" and not surprisingly sings its praises. I've been telling him it's the best show I've seen for years now and he finally takes the hint. Although, he has a bit of trouble understanding what a re-up is. Noob.
We then move to the communist empire that is Vietnam. Dong thinks that it is attempting to block Facebook from users in Vietnam, but has no real proof of this. I mean how can a government block Facebook for fear of their citizens getting "Americanized," yet continually revere KFC?
Then, via the backdrop of Linux, we ask why people like to spend their money and actually don't want things for free.
Lastly, we take the second half the episode to answer just two e-mails.
To subscribe to this podcast, visit us at our main page and click the podcast link on the right. Don't forget to leave us voice mail at 1-800-947-6399 or e-mail us at insidecnetlabs@cnet.com.
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Hey! A black ViewSonic monitor!
(Credit: Josh P. Miller/CNET)We get in a lot of 16:9 monitors, but this is the first we've gotten that didn't have a TN-based panel. The 23-inch wide-screen ViewSonic VP2365wb monitor has an Enhanced In-Plane Switching panel (E-IPS).
E-IPS panels usually have improved viewing angles over TNs, especially from the lower angle. The VP2365wb does, indeed, have the type of viewing angle you'd expect from an IPS model, but its brightness leaves a bit to be desired.
Check out the full review. Also, be sure to keep an eye on the monitor product door for new monitor reviews every week.
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The new labels for different versions of HDMI cables.
(Credit: HDMI Licensing)If you've caught yourself scratching your head trying to figure out what type of HDMI cable to buy, you're probably not alone. With so many versions, it's hard to know which does what. However, very soon, you won't have that trouble anymore.
In an effort to make it easier for customers to identify the right products for their needs, HDMI Licensing released Thursday, on behalf of the HDMI Founders, an updated version of the HDMI Adopted Trademark and Logo Usage Guidelines. HDMI Licensing is the agent responsible for licensing the high-definition multimedia interface specification.
The most notable changes in the guidelines are significant restrictions on the use of version numbers and new marketing requirements for cables. These new requirements are designed to simplify the product selection process for consumers, enabling them to purchase an appropriate product based on features, instead of having to do research on what each version does.
According to the new guidelines, adopters will no longer be allowed to use HDMI specification version numbers in the labeling, packaging, or promotion of their HDMI-compliant products. These restrictions go into effect immediately for cable products. Noncable products, however, have until January 1, 2012, to fully comply.
The new guidelines designate all HDMI cable products into five types:
... Read more
Eric Franklin's colleagues once had the following to say to him: "Eric, you've been doing this performance testing thing for over 10 years now. How about you try something different?" To which Eric responded, "How about you shut the #%$@! up?" This candid attitude
allows him to go toe-to-toe with the most extreme of personalities, including that of Dong Ngo. This bio was written by Eric Franklin.
Dong Ngo is a knowledgeable, opinionated individual who wants to convince the world that he's just a normal person; but he hasn't had much success. According to him, this is because the world itself is abnormal. Dong loves traveling and is well-versed in several languages. He, unfortunately, is not so well-versed in English. Still, it's best to ask him questions. From networking and how to optimize your system, to turning a strange place into home or what the meaning of life is…most of the time, he has the answers. The question is: Will he make himself understood? Subscribe and find out!
