Crave

The original SheevaPlug computer

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)

Six months ago, I had an exclusive First Look at Marvell's prototype plug-in computer, the SheevaPlug. Ever since, dozens of companies have contacted me about their applications. Most recently, CNET reviewed the Pogoplug from Cloud Engines.

That said, it didn't surprise me when Marvell announced Tuesday that 10,000 SheevaPlug units featuring Marvell CPU technology have shipped.

To celebrate this milestone, Marvell also announced Tuesday the launch of its worldwide Plug Computer developer competition, called "Free Your Imagination," to award the most innovative Plug Computing concept submitted.

You can participate or find out more about this competition at plugcomputer.org. This Web site is also the main Web resource for the plug application development community, where members can access software that facilitates the development of the SheevaPlug. Developers can also exchange ideas for free.

While the applications differ from one vendor to another, in a nutshell, Marvell's Plug Computer is a tiny unit, about the size of a small wall-plug power adapter. The little computer, despite its physical size, is equipped with Marvell's 1GHz processor and some 256MB of RAM. The computer also comes with a USB port and an Ethernet port to be best used as a network storage or an Internet-based cloud storage server.

One of the biggest selling points of the Plug Computer is the fact that it uses very little energy and therefore is the cheapest solution to offer users high-performance, always-on, always-connected, and environmentally friendly computing.

This TV tuner-DVR in a box is a steal at $29.99 shipped.

(Credit: Meritline)

Update (Dec. 22, 4 p.m. PT): Sorry, folks, the tuner is sold out--at least for now.

For several years I've relied on free over-the-air digital signals to bring high-definition TV into my house. And I've paired those signals with Windows Media Center for free DVR goodness.

The key bit of hardware in that equation is a TV tuner, and right now Meritline has the deal to beat: a Mygica U6012 Hybrid USB TV tuner for $29.99 shipped.

Because this is a "hybrid" tuner, it can pull in the aforementioned over-the-air HD signals (aka ATSC), Clear QAM (digital signals delivered via cable), or analog channels (aka NTSC, also delivered via cable).

Notice I said "or." I think many people mistakenly believe a tuner like this lets them view all of these sources simultaneously (and some of the negative reviews reflect that), but that's not the case.

What you can do, however, at least with software like Windows Media Center, is connect multiple tuners. Thus, you could have one devoted to, say, analog cable, another pulling down ATSC HD, and so on. That's what I do.

And it works beautifully, though over-the-air signal quality depends in large part on where you live and what kind of antenna you use. The Mygica tuner comes with a small set of rabbit ears, which should pull in at least a few local channels--but you may need something bigger or stronger. Read the FAQ on the product page for more details.

Also, be sure to read the info about updated and forthcoming drivers. I'm happy to see that there's one in the works that will allow the bundled remote to work with Windows 7.

In short, if you've been thinking of dipping a toe into the wonderful world of TV on your PC, this is a seriously affordable pool pass. Other hybrid tuners I've seen sell for upwards of $100.

Backup deal: A site called GameBay.com has Lego Indiana Jones and Kung Fu Panda for Xbox 360 for $13.49 shipped. That's a mighty sweet pair of games for the price.

(Credit: zerozeros.com)

Things are certainly winding down here at the CNET New York offices as The 404 finishes up its last two live episodes for the year. In the studio with us today is Natali Del Conte along with her CBS producer Will--so it sounds like the show is about to get some Early Show love on Friday morning!

Today's show starts off on an unsettling note as we talk about word of U.S. drones being hacked in the skies of Iraq. Apparently, all that was needed was a cheap $26 program that allowed insurgents access to our unmanned aircrafts--how comforting!

Bonehead military security issues aside, it's about time the FCC addresses the all-too-common issue of blaring TV commercials. How many times have you blown an eardrum after an ad comes on that's 35 times louder than the program you were watching?

In our unintentional effort to destroy the green movement, we uncover the ridiculous side effect some new LED traffic lights are having involving their inability to melt snow. It's actually causing accidents, so maybe good-old-fashioned energy-sucking, heat-producing traffic lights were the way to go.

There's more 404 fun in today's show: Y2K memories, "Iron Man 2" talk, and the year's best YouTube videos!

EPISODE 489

The Coordinates feature makes longitude and latitude coordinates a destination that can be sent to others via e-mail.

(Credit: Screenshot by Dong Ngo/CNET)

If you haven't purchased a GPS app for your iPhone 3G(S), now's a great time to do it. Wednesday, TomTom slashed the price of its app to just $50, and today Navigon followed suite with a price reduction and more.

The company released the fourth major upgrade to its iPhone navigation app, the MobileNavigator. Version 1.3 added essential features such as Live Traffic; version 1.4 adds features that, though not essential, significantly enhance the navigation experience with the app.

Navigon's iPod Mode now has a very well-thought-out Audiobook mode.

(Credit: Screenshot by Dong Ngo/CNET)

Among the new features, my favorites are the Audiobook Mode, Direct Help, and Coordinates. I tried them out and found them to be very useful.

Originally, Navigon was one of the first iPhone GPS apps to offer iPod control features within its GPS app, which allows users to control their music playback without having to exit out of the app. Now with the Audiobook Mode, this feature automatically rewinds a second of the book while the audio-driving instructions are given and resumes playing when the instructions stop.

Direct Help allows users to quickly access local help in an emergency situation. It comes with four predefined categories, including roadside assistance, police station, hospital, and pharmacy. Though you will, of course, wish you would never have to use it, this could be a life saver when you are in an unfamiliar area.

The Coordinates feature uses precise longitude and latitude coordinates as a destination and allows you to send the coordinates via e-mail. The recipient of the e-mail can launch that location either in Google Maps or start navigating to it if he receives the e-mail on an iPhone with the MobileNavigator installed.

The new Direct Help feature could be a life saver in an emergency situation.

(Credit: Screenshot by Dong Ngo/CNET)

Other than that, the 1.4 upgrade also includes these new features/changes:

• Google Local Search and enhanced pedestrian mode.
• Turn-by-turn route list provides a detailed list of directions, which update automatically during navigation.
• Favorites displayed in map: Destinations marked as favorites by the user are now displayed on the map in a named flag icon.
• Swipe screen integration for traffic messages: Users can now browse Traffic Live messages with the flick of a finger.
• Contacts as interim destinations: One-tap sets contacts as an interim destination. Using contact groups in the phone book as interim destinations is now also possible.
• GPS display enhancements: If the iPhone GPS signal becomes too weak during navigation, indicated by a red bar on the top of the display, MobileNavigator now calculates the approximate position and shows the estimated position in the map to provide better orientation. Active route guidance remains switched off but continues normal navigation until a valid signal is available.
• 3D map zooming: Users can zoom in on the map section, both in the 2D and 3D displays, using the iPhone's fingertip control.
• Country information: When the user crosses a country border, this points out the country's most important traffic regulations, such as the maximum permissible speeds or alcohol limits.

The best thing about this new update, however, is the fact that Navigon, for a limited time from now until January 11, has reduced the price of the app to just $60, down from the regular $90.

With this update, Navigon's MobileNavigator is now by far the most comprehensive GPS navigation application for the iPhone. I can't think of any features any other similar apps offer that it doesn't.

The 1.4 update is available now via the App Store. Make sure you use a broadband connection to download it as it's about 1.5GB in size.

Sigh. I should have known this morning's Best Buy Netbook would sell out. Grumble, grumble. Well, here's something just as good, IMHO.

Dell has the Iomega 1TB Home Media Network Hard Drive for $114.99 shipped. That's one of the best NAS deals I've ever seen.

An NAS (network-attached storage) system is great for backing up and sharing media between multiple household computers. It also makes any selected data available over the Internet--nice for sharing, say, photo slideshows with distant relatives.

Be sure to read CNET's review of the Iomega drive and watch the above video. We liked the drive's easy setup and support for external USB drives and printers, but found it lacking in advanced features.

Still, for just a few bucks more than the price of a regular old 1TB external drive, you get a NAS that's far more versatile. Definitely worth a look if you're in the market for copious home-friendly storage.

Backup deal: Also at Dell, you can snag one of those Wasabi PZ310 pocket printers, plus a 48-pack of paper, for $39 shipped. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, these things are really fun. Splendid little gift item.

The new Momentus Thin laptop hard drive.

(Credit: Seagate)

At only 9.5mm, the regular 2.5-inch laptop hard drive is already very thin compared with the 25.4mm of the 3.5-inch desktop hard drive. But Seagate, one of the bigger hard-drive makers around, just decided to go even slimmer.

The company announced Monday the Momentus Thin, a new 2.5-inch-based laptop hard drive that's 25 percent thinner, at only 7mm. This reduction in thickness makes the new hard drive comparable, in physical size, to that of most solid state drives (SSDs) used in Netbooks and ultraportable computers. However, it retains the advantages of regular hard drives, which include much higher capacities and, most importantly, a much lower cost per gigabyte.

The Momentus Thin offers the same performance as a regular SATA 2.5-inch hard drive, which is faster than most low-end SSD used in Netbooks. The new drive comes in two capacities (250GB and 160GB); sports 8MB of cache memory, supports a SATA 3Gbps interface, and spins at 5400rpm.

The Mometus Thin uses the same type of cable and ports as a regular SATA 2.5-inch hard drive. This means it will also fit in any application where a 9.5mm hard drive is used. This makes it possible for users to upgrade their existing storage by themselves.

The new Momentus Thin 2.5-inch SATA hard drives will be available in January, with the 250GB version costing only $55. It's unclear how much the 160GB version will cost, but it will obviously be cheaper than its larger counterpart.

(Credit: Josh P. Miller/CNET)

Price can be a huge determining factor when purchasing an electronics product. Nearly every week, I get blasted with e-mails asking, "What's the best sub-$100 monitor?" I rarely answer this question because, well, frankly, most monitors at that price are ones I wouldn't feel comfortable recommending.

If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say when purchasing a new monitor, the majority of consumers are more concerned with the price than the performance. As I see it, most consumers just want their monitor to fulfill very basic functions. Does it turn on? Yes. Does it show a picture? Yes. Does the picture look like what I'd reasonably expect? Yes. Sold!

Obviously, there are those who require something more high end. For those people I point you in the direction of the Dell UltraSharp U2410.

For all of you "I just want it to work and not break the bank" people, check out the full review of the Samsung SyncMaster 2233SW.

Also, be sure to keep your eye on CNET for the latest monitor reviews.

(Credit: Netgear)

For today's giveaway, we have the Netgear WNDR3700 wireless router. You may already have a router, the but the WNDR3700 offers a few state-of-the-art niceties, including simultaneous dual-band 802.11n operation (on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands), gigabit Ethernet and guest networking, and support for add-on USB storage. CNET networking guru Dong Ngo awarded the Netgear WNDR3700 3.5 stars when he reviewed it earlier this year, and CNET users are also positively inclined toward this model.

So, how do you try to win this Netgear WNDR3700? Let me enumerate the basic rules. Please read them carefully; there will be a test.

• Register as a CNET user. Go to the top of this page and hit the "Join CNET" link to start the registration process. If you're already registered, there's no need to register again.
• Leave a comment below. You can leave whatever comment you want. If it's funny or insightful it won't help you win, but we're trying to have fun here, so anything entertaining is appreciated.
• Leave only one comment. You may enter this specific giveaway only once. If you enter more than one comment, you will be automatically disqualified.
• The winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive (1) Netgear WNDR3700 wireless router. Approximate retail value is $189.99.
• If you are chosen, you will be notified via e-mail. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
• Entries can be submitted until Monday, December 14, at 6:59 a.m. EST.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENT OF ONE OF THE 50 UNITED STATES OR D.C., 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER AT DATE OF ENTRY INTO SWEEPSTAKES. VOID IN PUERTO RICO, ALL U.S. TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS AND WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Sweepstakes ends at 6:59am ET on December 14, 2009. See official rules for details.

Good luck.

Three brave batteries answered the call!

(Credit: Eric Franklin/CNET)

Even in the days of nickel cadmium and lithium ion batteries being used in most laptops, phones, and MP3 players, some of us still need traditional alkaline batteries.

Recently, I was forced by my superiors as if my life depended upon my cooperation I was politely asked if I could conduct some battery performance tests on a few regular, everyday, over-the-counter batteries. I, of course, responded: "Yes! Especially since you asked so nicely, I'd be happy to do it!"

I chose what I thought were two of the most popular batteries on the market, and one not so popular battery. The goal being to determine which battery would last longer under controlled conditions.

We looked at the following batteries: Energizer, Duracell Ultra Advanced, and Fuji Enviro Max. All batteries were of the AA variety with a 1.5-volt charge.

We used three identical Mini Maglite flashlights that require two AA batteries each.

We set up a Webcam, placed the flashlights in front of the lens, and started recording. When we returned a few hours later, all three flashlights were off and didn't turn on when we attempted to do so.

We then skipped through the recorded video file to determine exactly when each flashlight died. Using the video duration counter, we determined the following results:

I was not surprised that the purported "Eco-friendly" Fuji Enviro Max came in last place, but I was taken aback that a normal Energizer battery beat something called the Duracell Ultra Advanced.

Note that all batteries were brand-new and only used for the first time with each test run. Also, our goal was to determine which battery lasted longest. Sometimes, even after a device dies, batteries will still have a charge and knocking the device around or taking the battery out and putting it back in will give you more juice. We didn't do that here. The test was one run, repeating the test twice (three times total). The number you see above is an average of the three tests for each brand of battery.

Let us know in the comment section if you think we've missed something, or if you would like to request a different battery to test.