Shoe phones are so passe. If Maxwell Smart were around today, he'd most certainly have some GPS footwear instead.

A company called Quantum Satellite Technology plans to market a pair of shoes with built-in satellite transmitters and "panic buttons" that can immediately signal the location of the footwear, according to The Raw Feed. Let's hope that they can't be hacked to penetrate the "Cone of Silence."

It's resolution season, as we know all too well, and that means the dreaded twins Kitchen and Carbs have reared their larded heads once again. But those of us who are looking to shed that holiday padding too often find ourselves weak of will, if not appetite.

That's why we'll be giving some serious thought to the "Fridge Alert" spotted on Uber-Review. Although it's being marketed as an alarm that sounds when the door is left accidentally ajar, we suspect that its true use is to bust the perpetrator who lingers too long--and too … Read more

A variety of eclectic art will be up for auction online starting Wednesday, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the James Kim Memorial Fund.

Arts and crafts by dozens of artists will be available on the 5-day auction--among them, Jill Bliss, a featured artist at Doe, the Kims' boutique located in the Lower Haight district of San Francisco. Along with Bliss, 43 other artists have contributed their work in efforts to raise money for the Kims.

In addition to painted goods, there will be prints, pottery, soft toys, stationery, clothing, jewelry, home accessories and more. All of the … Read more

Soundmatters' last virtual surround effort, the $400 MainstageHD, did an excellent job of delivering a faux surround effect from a single box. Now that more established players such as Yamaha, Polk Audio, Niro, and Sharphave joined the single-speaker surround-sound fray, Soundmatters has upgraded its product portfolio to compete accordingly. As evidenced by the name, the Slimstage promises to deliver a surroundlike effect from a thin, flat-panel-friendly form factor. Despite measuring a mere 39 inches wide by 3.3 inches high by 3.4 inches deep, the single enclosure encompasses four main drivers plus nine "bass drivers," including three … Read more

During this week's inauguration of actor and Hummer fan Arnold Schwarzenegger to the California governor's office, guests will be driven to a multitude of events in zero-emission fuel cell vehicles. The California Fuel Cell Partnership is organizing a fleet of fuel cell vehicles from manufacturers such as DaimlerChrysler, Ford, GM, Honda, Toyota, and Volkswagen. There will also be a few fuel cell buses from Oakland's and San Jose's public transit fleets. The inaugural celebration starts in the state's capital on Thursday, January 4, with an afternoon event titled "Leading the green dream," which … Read more

It takes some doing to create a significant buzz among jaded bloggers, but BMW has managed to do just that (and just as it had planned, we assume). The minicontroversy centers on a special Flash page that teases what looks to be some kind of uberdevice that "touts the ability to play MP3s, DVDs and CDs, has USB and Bluetooth connectivity options, can recognize voice commands, and has a 65,000-color LCD to boot," according to Engadget.

The question, of course, is universal: What is it? And BMW has done little to answer it, naturally, thereby heightening the … Read more

It's getting down to the wire. This Friday will be your last chance to vote for the CNET Tech Car of the Year. Will the Mercedes-Benz S550 sway you with its night vision, or will the Lexus LS 460L's self-parking win you over? Or maybe you prefer the less ostentatious but oh-so-green Toyota Camry Hybrid? Or the blue and white roundel of the twin turbo BMW 335i? Check out the cars and place your vote. We also have nonvoting subcategories for Best Audio System, Best Navigation System, and Best Communicator, this last subcategory covering cars that respond when … Read more

By this time next week, Steve Jobs' Macworld Expo keynote address will be history. While guesses about what will be announced run the gamut from the mundane (OS X upgrades) to the lustful (iPod phone and/or wide-screen video iPod), it's a near certainty that we'll get more details on Apple's so-called iTV product. The iTV--its final name is still pending--is Apple's take on the digital media receiver. It's a small box designed to stream your computer-based iTunes media (movies, TV shows, music, podcasts) to your big-screen TV and home theater system--basically, a networked &… Read more

With storage devices getting smaller all the time, MP3 players have followed suit--and some have gotten so small that they look almost identical to flash cards themselves.

The credit-card size of a new wallet MP3 player by (who else?) Walletex, which integrates music into the company's similarly sized flash cards, is apparently limited only by the thickness of a USB plug. And Krunker.com notes that it has a "large double-sided branding area for high-quality printing"--a hint at their possible future use as promotional giveaways.

Maybe someday Walletex will do a deal to use Samsung's … Read more