jet

iTunes and Windows Media Player rule the roost when it comes to media players, but they're certainly not the only show in town. In addition to media playback, JetAudio Basic features CD burning, audio recording, and conversion to other audio file formats. Special features include effects such as reverb, smooth transitions between songs, and the skinnable interface lets you personalize your player just the way you like it.

Still not convinced? Then check out this First Look video for JetAudio Basic from CNET Download.com's Jason Parker.

JetBlue passengers, rejoice. Now there is yet another way to pass the time during flights. JetBlue's free in-flight Wi-Fi will no longer require Yahoo or BlackBerry accounts to check e-mail and chat with friends.

Starting Wednesday, JetBlue's plane equipped with in-flight Wi-Fi will let users with Gmail, AOL, Hotmail, and Windows Live Mail addresses check their e-mail while onboard. It also will offer Microsoft Exchange so travelers can communicate with their office on the ground. No Web surfing is available, but thanks to a deal with Amazon, passengers on the so-called BetaBlue plane can log on to the … Read more

During installation, you have to be careful if you don't want to set JetAudio Basic as the default application for audio and video files. However, the freeware application gives you plenty of reasons to make it your only player.

The interface has a modern design that looks like an equalizer. You can customize each section of the program, from CD ripping to format conversion, to your heart's content. The program can convert files among some a number of formats, as well as read and edit MP3 tags. The built-in Cross-fader, Reverb, and Wide-sound modes provide a nice touch … Read more

In a way, this story is left over from CES 2008, where I attended a blogger party hosted by the Parnassus Group and sponsored by, among other companies, Virgin America, the US domestic airline counterpart to Virgin Atlantic.

The party was a lot of fun, and all the sponsors did extensive giveaways. I got a flight suit from Intel and Zero G, a private company that offers "weightless" (parabolic trajectory) flights. Alas, I didn't win a Zero G flight, but I did win a free flight on Virgin America. In fact, I think pretty much everyone at … Read more

Algae may someday become a part of the jet set.

The pond plant is getting a boost from a joint biofuel effort announced Thursday that involves some marquee names in the aviation industry--Airbus and JetBlue Airways--along with International Aero Engines, Honeywell Aerospace, and a second Honeywell company called UOP. The group plans to study ways to make commercial aviation fuels out of so-called second-generation feedstocks such as algae.

Success with algae would be a salve for biofuel boosters who are feeling the sting of a backlash against early hype. Hailed just a few years ago as a potentially quick … Read more

Some of us at Crave are old enough to remember when the Harrier "Jump Jet" gained fame (or notoriety) in the Falklands War of 1982, an aircraft that seemed to arrive from the future because it could take off vertically like a helicopter. That, anyway, is what came to mind upon seeing this "RC Jump Jet Stealth Plane."

Unlike most remote-controlled aircraft, this one claims to have a Harrier-like vertical lift powered by four "gyro-stabilized" propellers. Unfortunately, OhGizmo says it looks more like "a four-bladed helicopter that's been adorned with small wings&… Read more

When it comes to software media players, computer users understandably follow what I'll call the "path of least resistance" rule of life: they use what's available on their computer out of the box. If you're a Windows user, that means Windows Media Player. Mac users have iTunes. Once Windows users take the step of adding their iPod (if that's their chosen player) into the fray, they will likely download iTunes to make it easy. But what if you don't like iTunes or Windows Media Player?

Before companies tied their portable players to their … Read more

Is your tiny desk space making you feel down? Do you have secret desires to dismember that elephantine beast your IT department calls a laser printer? Well, you can stop popping that Valium because HP has launched its smallest laser printer to date, the LaserJet P1005. Crave first learned of this black-and-white model last summer, but it's now available on the market.

Taking up about the same area as a 15.4-inch notebook, the printer claims to be able to push out its first copy in under 8.5 seconds (from the PowerSave mode) with an average speed of … Read more

CNET is all about the newest gadgets around, but looking around my home office, one beloved dinosaur stands out among the new devices. I still use the first laser printer I ever bought, a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet 5MP. I remember studying reviews in the spring of 1996 and sweating the extra $100 I kicked in to buy the HP printer rather than the slightly less fancy Apple model I was considering. That was an investment that was well-worth the marginal cost.

It's been almost 12 years and that HP LaserJet has produced all the drafts needed for one Ph. D. … Read more