Crave

While other companies are trying to cram as many functions as possible into a single device, ASUS is going in the other direction with one of its newest creations. The "XG Station" claims to be the first external graphics card unit for laptops. What does that mean? According to Fareastgizmos, lab experiments showed 9 times faster graphics acceleration. That's probably from the company's literature, but it's still an interesting idea even if the device is mistaken for a dashboard radio hooked up to your computer.

The mad scientists at Samsung's R&D labs have apparently been working overtime. Their latest creation is a double-sided LCD screen that can show different images on the front and back of the same display.

It's able to do this, according to Fareastgizmos, because it's controlled by two gates that operate each pixel. Pretty neat trick, huh? The rear display is slightly less bright than the front, but that's a minor quibble at this stage of the game.

Speaking of games, we can think of at least one useful purpose for a double-sided monitor: Making … Read more

Futurist types have been talking about SSD drives for years--solid state hard drives with no spinning platters or other moving parts to slow you down on the road to rapid computing. It's not totally crazy--after all, that's pretty much how your iPod Nano works--but for desktop and laptop computers, the high price and low capacity of these little drives have kept them from being more than an amusing proof-of-concept.

SanDisk has got a new Solid State Disk for all the naysayers out there, upping the capacity to a reasonable 32GB (still small for a hard drive, but not … Read more

From the Tech Report yesterday comes the news that Apple and HP will release laptops in Q2 that will feature new LCD screen technology. Instead of the regular fluorescent lamps that serve as backlights for your typical LCD screen, the new displays will use LEDs. The Tech Report's story mentions that the effect will be a brighter image with better contrast. What it doesn't mention is that LED-backlit displays will allow for thinner laptop designs and longer battery life.

Apple and HP may be readying their designs, but Sony is already selling such a laptop. The Sony VAIO VGN-TXN15P/W … Read more

Solar power may be making great strides in mainstream usage, but energy efficiency doesn't necessarily translate to fiscal conservation. The "Ultimate Outdoor Webcam" by DigitalXtractions, for example, runs on the sun's rays but costs $450 plus another $150 or $250 for a solar panel, according to The Raw Feed. But here's the kicker: Not only do you have to pay those exorbitant prices up front, but you also must shell out $60 a year for a "data subscription" that includes Web hosting. We think we'll keep a USB port open for the &… Read more

As much as it pains us to admit it, some of us at Crave don't have the latest personal technologies in our personal possession. One such glaring omission, for example, is a laptop with a built-in Webcam.

As shameful as this is, we hope to still be able to partly make up for this shortcoming with something like the diminutive "Volvex," a USB stick with built-in camera from Sunyang DNT. Unfortunately, PClaunches says this little combo gadget will be available only in South Korea until further notice, starting at $59 for a model with 512MB storage. But … Read more

As part of our charitable holiday wishes, we've asked that people not neglect the MacBooks in the family while their iPod siblings get all the attention. The response, we're happy to say, has been admirable.

If you're looking for one more accessory to stuff in your laptop's stocking, the ever-fashionable Chip Chick has just the item: a "form-fitting leather wrap." The line of "Signature Suits" from Case-Mate come in various designs of black, white and red with contrasting accents.

The case covers are a bit on the high side at $149, but … Read more

It seems like not that long ago when USB hubs were nearly the size of the computer itself. In fact, it seems like not that long ago when few people even knew what USB meant. But then again, we're pretty old. Anyway, enough depressing digression.

Chip Chick has found what appears to be "the world's smallest USB hub," which seems to be barely bigger than most USB storage keys. The "T3Hub" can serve up to three devices, including one high-power gadget if needed. We wish these were around before the days when desktops and … Read more

Via sits a distant third behind Intel and AMD in the battle for CPU supremacy, but the Taiwanese company has found success over the years by finding niches for its products, from placing its C3 processors in thin clients and other low-power applications to building chipsets that supported SDRAM back in the Pentium III era, when Intel made the mistake of pushing RAMBUS memory exclusively. According to DigiTimes, Via is restructuring in order to put an increased focus on ultramobile PCs, believing that these UMPCs are a) poised to take off next year and b) the perfect platform for its … Read more