Crave

It's not exactly quad-core for the masses, but Intel this morning released a lower-end, non-Extreme, quad-core desktop CPU. The Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 joins the Core 2 Extreme QX6700, Intel's first quad-core desktop chip, which it released last November. The new quad-core part is very similar to the preceding Extreme chip. it's priced just $150 less, at $851. And like the Extreme QX6700, the Q6600 features 8MB of L2 cache and operates on a 1066MHz front-side bus. The Q6600 is clocked at 2.4GHz compared with the QX6700's 2.66GHz clock speed. The biggest difference … Read more

It's a little ironic, don't you think, that with all the push for wireless this and wireless that, we're suddenly awash in PowerLine Ethernet adapters? One of Linksys' announcements at CES yesterday was for the HomePlug AV-compliant PowerLine AV Ethernet Kit (PLK200), which includes two Linksys PowerLine AV Ethernet Adapters (PLE200).

Setting up a PowerLine Ethernet network is one of the simplest ways to create a network capable of throughput fast enough to transfer high-definition data--such as video--smoothly. Simply plug in your first adapter to your router via an Ethernet cable and then plug it into an … Read more

I'm starting to believe that camera manufacturers are able to stuff tiny quantum singularities into their products. The only way I can explain the increasing range of the internal zoom systems in ultracompacts is with a fold in space. Casio's latest fold holds a 7x zoom, with the 35mm-equivalent range of 35mm-266mm, in an inch-thick ultracompact.

With a camera so small and light, shake can be even more of a problem than usual with long zooms. Casio compensates with no less than four different antishake techniques, including a mechanical CCD-shift image stabilizer and the usual combos of high-ISO … Read more

HD is more than just high resolution and huge TV screens--it's also better color. In this case, XvYCC color, a space that's able to encode a larger variety of colors that predecessors such as sRGB or YCC. Sony is first out of the gate to support XvYCC with its 2007 prosumer models, the HDR-HC5/7 and HDR-UX5/7, hard drive and DVD-based AVCHD models, respectively.

Of course, Sony being Sony, the company has branded its own version of the space as "x.v.Color". (Why the names always include random periods--think "i.Link"--escapes … Read more

For quite some time, if you wanted to have headphones that looked like the characteristic white iPod earbuds but were somewhat unique, you had to rely on finding a pair that were maybe a slightly different color, or had some rhinestone "bling" adorning them. But now, earbuds appear to have finally caught up with their iPod-skin siblings: a variety of companies are now manufacturing nutty earbuds and add-ons so that you can junk up your listening apparatus just as much as your MP3 player itself.

Take these neon flashing earphones from Evergreen, featured on ShinyShiny. Not only do … 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

Here at Crave, our specialty might be digital gadgetry (which you're undoubtedly seeing a lot of this week) but sometimes there's some less conventional tech that attracts our attention: for example, the wide array of luxury toys designed to turn bathrooms into high-end epicenters of relaxation. There was that nature shower designed in Kuala Lumpur, and the "Hydro Massage Bathtub" with a built-in TV. But personally, I think this one takes the cake. It's called the Oasis, and according to BornRich, it's supposed to "bring the feel of nature right into your bathroom&… Read more

It figures. Just when LCD monitors have gotten down to reasonable prices, along comes a new technology that threatens to replace the whole lot. That, at least, is the claim of Neurok Optics and its 3D LCD screens, which will be on display at CES this week.

The San Diego company will showcase a new 22-inch model from its "iZ3D" line, which it says provides realistic images with minimal vision fatigue. "Neurok Optics' engineers developed this unique technology to create an adjustable 3D environment without causing eyestrain, spatial disorientation or headaches," according to its press release. (… Read more

OK, so you think $842,000 is a wee pricey for a cell phone strap (tightwad). All you bargain hunters out there may be pleased to know that you can get a cheapo alternative for chump change-- just $250--that features a 24k gold charm as seen on Tokyomango to commemorate the "Year of the Boar" (or pig, if that seems more appropriate for this bit of conspicuous consumption). If you're so inclined, you can even get a set of genuine gold and silver USB keys as the perfect accessory. And at this level of decorative wastfulness, it'… Read more