mail2web.com Blog

Sherlock Holmes is famously quoted as having said:

“What the deuce is [ the solar system ] to me?” You say that we go round the sun. If we went round the moon it would not make a pennyworth of difference to me or to my work.”

… some have viewed that as a curiously unprogressive attitude, but now …

New research at University of Oregon affirms Holmes’ maxim by suggesting that the ability to filter out useless information helps memory.

Experiments by researchers at UO show that those subjects who excelled at blocking out extraneous data had the highest memory capacity, which in turn is strongly correlated with intelligence.

Less cluttered brains ‘aid memory’ - Daily Mail, 23rd November 2005

Posted in General ~ No Comments

PDA functionality finally comes to the world of TETRA radios. The as-yet-unnamed device from Motorola will offer Bluetooth, WLAN, GPS and camera functionality, as well as access to TETRA (TErrestrial Trunked RAdio) networks.

The PDA is 145×83x35-50mm and weighs about 500 grams. It has a 3.5 inch screen — no word on battery life.

Motorola Launches First Pocket PDA for TETRA

Posted in Phones ~ No Comments

Gear Live has reviewed the HTC Wizard QWERTY phone – they gave it a rating of excellent, and a score of 8 out of 10.

They especially liked the keyboard, calling it the shining crown of the device. Software-wise, they thought highly of the Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system, but added that it could be improved in some areas such as support for IMAP.

HTC Wizard Windows Mobile 5.0 Device Review – Gear Live, December 09, 2005

Posted in Phones ~ No Comments

At 100 mph, Fly by Wire bills itself as the world’s fastest ride. FbW is a tethered prop-driven mini-plane circling around in a canyon in New Zealand. Seems to have been around for a few years, but its the first we’ve heard of it.

Fly by Wire - website

Posted in General ~ No Comments

So what do you get when you combine a PDA with a digital TV receiver? The answer is the new LG PM80.

The PM80 uses the Pocket PC 2003 operating system and requires access to a terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) service. The battery lasts a typical 2.5 video-hours and drives a 3.5 in QVGA screen . Hmm, judging from the photo, the PM80 also appears to have unannounced GPS capabilities.

LG Electronics launches world’s 1st terrestrial DMB-enabled PDA - Yonhap News, 2005/11/27

Posted in General ~ No Comments

Popular Science has just released its list of the 100 most impressive technologies of 2005. The gadgets sub-section consists of the following 8 items, and is surprisingly iPod-free. Their #1 gadget is the Sony PlayStation Portable.

1. Sony PlayStation Portable
2. Charge 2 Go
3. Delphi XM MyFi
4. Dish Network PocketDish
5. Nokia N90
6. Nokia N91
7. Sandisk Ultra II SD Plus
8. Sony Walkman Bean NW-E300 Series

Best of What’s New 2005

Posted in General ~ No Comments

Acer recently announced their n300 series of PDA’s. With a weight of 4.76 oz ( 135 gr ) and sized at 4.33×2.76×0.54 inches ( in metric, that’s 110×70x13.7 mm ), they are among the lightest & smallest full VGA hand-helds available. The following pic – the n300 is shown at the right – shows just how small this device is:

Acer n300 Pocket achiever - website

Posted in General ~ No Comments

The Microsoft Xbox 360 has finally arrived.

Walt Mossberg has a review of the Xbox in today’s Wall Street Journal – basically he calls it a “terrific gaming computer” and a “media powerhouse “.

The review starts out by acknowledging that the new Xbox is the most powerful gaming system ever sold and complaining about the unit’s price and lack of backwards compatibility. It goes on to extol the quality of the graphics and the Xbox’s mulitmedia capabilities. The review then concludes on a cautionary note re the lack of current game titles and the still-to-be-released competitors PlayStation 3 and Revolution.

Putting the New Xbox Through Its Paces - WSJ, November 23, 2005

Posted in General ~ No Comments

In a refreshing approach, PC Magazine reminds us of the dark side of gadgets, those that disappoint. They’ve listed ten of the worst offenders — devices that have bad quality, poor ergonomics and usability or are just plain terrible.

Their number one gadget to avoid is the Samsung Digimax V700 digital camera. Specifically, the reviewer dings the V700’s slow performance, lousy auto-exposure, and shutter lag.

Others to eschew include the ROKR E1 and the Oakley Thump.

Ten to Avoid?the Worst Products of 2005 - PC Mag, 11.22.05

Posted in General ~ No Comments

The new Ars Technica 2005 holiday shopping guide lists a total of 93 suggestions, broken down by games, gadgets, hardware and so on.

In a shocker –just kidding — the Guide identifies the best gadgets as being the iPod nano 4GB, followed by the iPod 60GB, aka the “video iPod”.

Ars Technica 2005 holiday shopping guide - November 22, 2005

Posted in General ~ No Comments