July 12, 2005, 5:34 PM PDT
Learjet or wagon?
Posted by: Wayne Cunningham

Mercedes-Benz announced its new R-Class vehicle yesterday. I got a quick look at it last week while visiting MBUSA headquarters in New Jersey, and it adds more evidence to my conviction that wagons are back. Of course, most automakers don't want to identify their models as wagons, because it still carries connotations of what your parents used to drive you and your friends to the pizza parlor in the '70s. However, consumers are starting to turn away from SUVs because of their poor mileage. Shrink down an SUV and you have a wagon.

Mercedes-Benz calls the R-Class a Tourer, a venerable and classy kind of designation that avoids the suburban wagon connotation. And even though the body is wagonlike, the interior is more Learjet. You won't find bench seats holding four kids across in the R-Class. Each of the three rows features two individual seats, with the front and middle separated by a console. With Mercedes-Benz leather and luxury (and excessively crowded airports), the R-Class should spur executive road trips all over the county. I'll have more on the R-Class after my test-drive next week.

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July 12, 2005, 12:48 PM PDT
Nvidia's next GeForce in a month?
Posted by: Rich Brown

We saw the link to this CoolTechZone story this morning on Blue's News. Seems an "insider" of unknown affiliation suggested that Nvidia may announce its GeForce 7800 GT 3D card at this year's QuakeCon, a massive LAN party of id Software enthusiasts held in Grapevine, Texas, from August 11-14.

Nvidia wouldn't confirm the rumor for us, but it would shock no one if it were true. But it would be shocking if ATI hasn't released anything new by then. Since ATI announced (but has yet to start selling) its Crossfire dual-graphics card setup back in May, the Canadian Nvidia competitor has been quiet, even in the face of Nvidia launching its flagship next-gen card, the GeForce 7800 GTX. Rumors of ATI's next-gen R520 3D chip persist as well. Stay tuned.

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July 12, 2005, 11:13 AM PDT
Skype and Boingo marry free VoIP calls with cheap Wi-Fi access
Posted by: Felisa Yang

Skype and Boingo announced today a partnership that would give Skype subscribers access to Boingo's 18,000 global hot spots to make free VoIP calls for a mere $7.95 per month for unlimited access (the Skype service itself is free). Skype users access the new service, called Skype Zones-Powered by Boingo, via a custom Skype version of Boingo's Wi-Fi software, which includes a Wi-Fi sniffer, connection management services, and roaming authentication capabilities. A single two-hour session on Skype Zones costs $2.95. The Skype Zones service alone won't allow you to surf the Web or check your e-mail, though. In order to do that through Boingo, you'll have to sign up for Boingo's $21.95-per-month service (and pay for Skype Zones on top of that). Skype and Boingo are touting Skype Zones as a "market disrupting" service that gives global travelers an alternative to expensive global cellular service. The service is currently in beta, and Skype will be asking for customer feedback in order to improve the service. Unfortunately, only Windows users can take advantage of this for now. The custom software can be downloaded from both Skype and Boingo's Web sites.

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July 12, 2005, 10:05 AM PDT
Finally--subscription-compatible Rio players
Posted by: James Kim

Rio this morning announced that its popular Carbon series is now compatible with subscription-based music services such as Napster To Go. In other words, the 5GB Carbon, the 5GB and 6GB Carbon Pearl, and the 2.5GB ce2100 are all officially PlaysForSure compliant. You can go download the firmware update (version 1.95) from Rio's Web site.

We've always been huge fans of the Rio Carbon series as they posed the first legitimate alternative to the iPod Mini. The compact and stylish Carbon features a useful voice recorder and an impressive 20-hour-plus battery life. Adding Janus subscription support makes it even sweeter, and prices for Carbons these days are incredibly low. Go get one.

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July 12, 2005, 8:39 AM PDT
PC Turn-off Week
Posted by: Rich Brown

A press release showed up in the in-box this morning from the PC Turn-Off Organization trumpeting PC Turn-Off Week. Slated for August 1-7, the idea is to get parents to shut off the computer and get kids out-of-doors. Moderation makes sense to us, especially in light of things like this (thanks, Fark).

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