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PowerSnap bridges divide between local and Web-hosted photos

PowerSnap is a small and free Windows application that merges photos on your home computer with those on the Web photo service Flickr. Its purpose is simple: provide users with a way to view and manage all their photos, online and off.

PowerSnap has a Flash-based interface that lets you navigate, tag, and arrange your photos. It's similar to what you'd get with most photo browsing applications (see iPhoto or Picasa). What sets PowerSnap apart is its Flickr-user tracking, which essentially lets you create RSS feeds for Flickr members. You can add as many Flickr usernames as you … Read more

Guided tour of Netflix Watch Now service

Netflix has fleshed out some details of its newly announced movie download service. The Watch Now instant viewing service is scheduled to become available to all Netflix subscribers by June. It will launch with just 1,000 titles (movies and TV shows), but the selection will expand thereafter--slowly but surely--to encompass as many of the 70,000-plus titles in the Netflix database as possible. The online viewing feature will be a free addition to existing accounts, with subscribers getting a monthly allotment of online viewing time based on their subscription level. For instance, an $18-per-month plan (three DVDs out at … Read more

Kitchen computing at its best

Any modern homebuilder will tell you that the kitchen has increasingly become the most important gathering place in many houses, even more than a family or living room. New construction reflects that lifestyle change, often building computer hutches and other non-cooking facilities into the design, yet PC makers typically treat the room as an afterthought. (Water near the keyboard? Horrors!)

The "Icebox," however, is designed specifically for use in this ostensible danger zone. The wireless keyboard and remote are fully washable, according to Appliancist, but if you still don't want grubby little mitts all over them you … Read more

An adapter for all kinds of media

At CES 2007, Zyxel announced the DMA-1000, a digital media adapter for serving up multimedia files from the PCs in your home to your home entertainment system. The small adapter resembles a wireless router and, in fact, supports both wired and wireless connections via Ethernet and 802.11g Wi-Fi. In addition, it offers a USB port so that you can play files from any USB-based storage device, such as a flash thumbdrive or an MP3 player.

The DMA-1000 supports high-def streaming (1080i) and includes an HDMI connector, as well as S-Video. Unfortunately, 802.11g throughput is insufficient for HD streams, … Read more

From folks who brought you instant film and instant cameras. . .

Polaroid popped up on our radar again, this time introducing a handy photo backup device.

Plugging the portable storage device into a computer's USB port automatically prompts it to find and copy any images stored on the computer. The Media Backup Photo Edition, which comes in black or white, does not require installing software or clicking a sync button to activate but works automatically through its "ClickFree" technology.

The 2.5-inch 40GB hard drive can hold up to about 40,000 photos and can be used with Internet services for sharing and printing.

Polaroid launched the new media backup device … Read more

Epson Stylus Photo 1400: dye, prints! Dye!

It seems like decades ago that Epson released its last dye-based, 13-inch printer, the Stylus Photo 1280. Well, it's only been six years, but in this biz it feels like decades--and the printer is still pretty popular for a model so old. But even the most well-preserved stars eventually need a face-lift, so this week the company announced the Stylus Photo 1400, a 13x19-inch-capable model that uses Epson's Claria dye inks and 1.5-picoliter-droplet printhead. Dubbed "Ultra Hi-Def" printing--after all, if it works for TV, why not printers?--the 6-color Claria ink set has been rated … Read more

Smartparts digital photo frames keep it simple

If we've learned anything from reviewing digital photo frames, it's that putting photos onto one of these little snapshot displays isn't always easy. New Jersey company Smartparts, which announced two new digital frames here at CES 2007, is trying to remedy that situation with its OptiPix software. Smartparts is including the software with both of its new frames this year. Like most photo frames, they have memory card slots--in this case SD, Memory Stick, MMc, and xD Picture Card slots. However, if you're willing to connect your frame to your computer's USB jack, the OptiPix … Read more

Heroic camera lets your wrist do the shooting

I love gadgets, especially if they can fit on my wrist. Televisions are cool, but TV watches are cooler. Lasers are awesome, but watches with lasers built into them? Even more awesome. And now there's a camera you can fit onto your wrist.

The Digital Hero 3 is a 3-megapixel, wrist-mounted, waterproof sports camera. It's tiny and hardly the most impressive shooter at CES, but it can take 3-megapixel still images and 30fps VGA videos with sound. It fits inside a waterproof case that straps to your wrist, so you can easily shoot snowboarding, surfing, or any other … Read more