device

The first Demo 07 pitch today: DARTdevices. The company makes a technology that allows data and apps on mobile and fixed devices to sync up. So if you have a laptop, a camera, a phone, and a PDA, you can share the laptop-connected printer among all of them, automatically sync pictures, and even run the same games.

Users can add devices to their "crew" of devices even if they don't have DART software in them yet. That's the magic part. Cute demo tidbit:the presenter says, "If you think true mobile interoperability will happen only … Read more

Bored with what LaCie has to offer? Seagate has announced the Maxtor OneTouch III Mini Edition for Mac.

The metal-and-rubber external storage device offers up to 160GB of storage space and weighs less than half a pound. It includes software for automatic backup and file synchronization that will work for any digital content, including video files, photos and music tracks. Its firmware, called Maxtor DriveLock, works to protects data from prying eyes even if the internal hard drive is removed from the device, according to Seagate.

The Maxtor OneTouch III Mini Edition for Mac will sell for $130 for 80GB, $… Read more

Just a few days after one Adobe Photoshop co-architect rained on the 64-bit chip parade, another is trying to rein in expectations for another hardware advance: dual-core processors.

Photoshop co-architect Russell Williams cautioned that multicore processors don't necessarily speed up operations. Recapitulating Adobe's gripe about 64-bit chips, Williams said that memory access performance is a limiting factor that multicore designs don't fix.

"If your system is bandwidth-limited and the operation you want to do involves moving a big chunk of data from here to there while doing a limited number of arithmetic operations on it, adding … Read more

In the end-of-'06 wrap-up madness, there are a whole lot of people talking about Web 2.0, YouTube, social media, connected-home technology, the Wii and its corresponding Wiinjuries...the list goes on. But there's been almost no mention of the rash of completely useless USB-powered devices that infested the gadget market in 2006 with a viciousness that can only be compared to bubonic plague in a medieval village or head lice in a kindergarten classroom. I mean, they were everywhere. They're so ubiquitous, in fact, that I've decided I'm not going to touch 'em in '… Read more

A word of caution: If you have kids, don't get this. And if you do, be prepared to it within the first 24 hours of purchase.

As much as we love this robot USB key, we feel obligated to issue that warning from personal experience. But if you're not a parent, guardian or schoolteacher, then by all means have a look at this neat little device from Japan's SolidAlliance. Sure, 256MB isn't much storage space by today's standards, but how many other USB keys can you dispatch to do battle with Ultraman?

The world has been waiting for the ultimate all-in-one uber-device for years, only to be disappointed time and again. So many of us are destined, at least for now, to carry a few gadgets at a time. But where do you keep your cell phone, camera, MP3 player, PDA and anything else you can't do without?

Brookstone has one alternative with its "Technology-Ready Fleece Jacket," which goes where iPod apparel leaves off. The jacket has 12 hidden pockets designed to carry all your precious possessions, as well as a "patented routing system" for earbuds and … Read more

Matsushita Electric Industrial has unveiled a bodysuit to assist those recuperating from partial paralysis. The inflatable "power jacket" sells for about $17,000, according to Ubergizmo. The 4-pound exoskeleton has sensors at the joints and can control up to eight artificial muscles.

CNET News.com reported on the robotic jacket in late September when it debuted at the Home Care Rehabilitation Exhibition in Tokyo. This popular item, however, seems to be making the rounds this month on the blog circuit, so why deprive you of photos?

(Photo: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)

Who thought USB drives would go the way of the matchbook?

Solid Alliance, one of the companies that also brought you the sushi USB, will print whatever you like on this rectangular version of the device, Akihabara News noticed this morning. "Throw your passion to the canvas," says the Solid Alliance site.

Solid Alliance requests that customers send a JPEG or PDF of the image they would like printed and gives dimensions on the available print area as 77mm x 19mm. You can also have a different design for the front and back.

(Photo: Solid Alliance)

Given Imaging has come up with another pill for use in examining your insides.

Although it seems comical, this is one gadget you will really be happy about someday. The PillCam Colon Capsule Endoscope is essentially a large pill with cameras inside it for viewing the colon.

Like the PillCam ESO for the esophagus and the PillCam SB for the gastrointestinal tract, patients swallow the pill with water, according to Given Imaging.

The PillCam Colon can generate up to 144,000 images over a 10-hour period, and includes additional features suited to the large intestine that the PillCam SB lacked. … Read more