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Transcend debuts 500GB pocket hard drives

Transcend is kicking up its pocket-size external hard drives to 500GB, the company announced Tuesday. This is the second vendor I've run into that now offers compact external hard drives of this storage size. The first was OWC, with its Mercury On-The-Go, which came out awhile ago.

The new hard drives include two models: the StoreJet 25C and the StoreJet 25M, both of which are the company's most popular external storage products.

Both models are based on 2.5-inch 5400rpm SATA internal hard drives and feature USB-only connection interfaces with bus-powered capability. These drives are compact enough. However, … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 832: Kauai: one big digital converter box

In today's episode, Patrick Norton joins the gang for a rant-a-thon, IMDB turns 18, we're surprisingly not mad about the Android killswitch, Radiohead proves it made a winner with its digital album giveaway, and YouTube gives the Queen the giggles. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 832

IMDB turns 18 http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10067397-52.html

Android Market has a killswitch, but Google will refund your money if they use it http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/10/16/android-market-has-a.html http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10067543-16.html

HTC Dream T-Mobile G1 (black) http://reviews.cnet.com/htc-dream-t-mobile-g1/

FCC … Read more

Sony marks PSP 3000 release with firmware update that adds direct access to PlayStation Store

As of Tuesday, the Sony PSP 3000 is officially for sale. The CNET review has been up since late last week, but for those with short attention spans, here's the deal: It's an evolutionary step up from last year's PSP 2000, with a slightly improved screen (better color reproduction, slightly less glare), a built-in microphone (Skype users can now use regular headphones instead of a special headset), and improved video-out support (games can now be displayed on non-HD TVs). Otherwise, it's pretty much the same ol' PSP--which we've always liked.

In other words, it's not a must-have upgrade (unless you're dying for one of those above-mentioned upgrades), but anyone new to the platform will be getting the best PSP to date.

The PSP 3000 will be available in at least three configurations:

The Sony PSP 3000 Ratchet and Clank Entertainment Pack: this limited-edition $200 bundle includes a silver PSP 3000, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters UMD game, National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets UMD movie, 1GB Memory Stick Duo card, and a voucher for Echochrome (a downloadable game available at the online PlayStation Store). … Read more

Turn your iPhone into an organ

If you're a fan of retro music instruments, I've got some good news.

The Very Cool Software Company, a U.K.-based Mac OS developer, recently announced its first iPhone application: Dubreq iStylophone.

Dubreq Stylophone is an electronic musical instrument, originally invented by Brian Jarvis in 1968 and manufactured in the U.K. by Dubreq.

The Dubreq Stylophone, also known as "the original pocket electronic organ," was sold by the millions in the early '70s and used by artists including David Bowie, Brett Domino, Erasure, Hexstatic, Krafwerk, Marilyn Manson, Orbital, Pulp, The Raconteurs, and They Might … Read more

MobUI acquires Action Engine, plans iPhone apps

Mobile-app development company MobUI announced Monday that it has raised an undisclosed amount of funding and acquired Action Engine, a fellow mobile-app firm with customers including TiVo, AOL, and The Wall Street Journal.

Though terms of the acquisition haven't been made public, the motivation for MobUI's move is obvious: the success of Apple's iPhone App Store. Since it was launched on in early July, more than 100 million mobile applications have been downloaded.

Other Action Engine customers include MarketWatch, Barrons, MSNBC, and Sports Illustrated. With the acquisition, MobUI said it plans to rapidly create iPhone, mobile Web, … Read more

Digital City: Episode 1

Welcome to the first official episode of Digital City, our ongoing conversation about technology and urban spaces. Look for a new episode every Monday, available here at digitalcity.cnet.com or on iTunes. Listen now: Download today's podcast

Digital City rundown Episode 1

How will the fiscal crisis change the way we buy tech and gadgets? First, note that from here on 28th street in NYC, we are a mere 2.9 miles from Wall Street. That may not give us as much skin in the game as the average investment banker, but...

Note also that the big new … Read more

iTunes 8.0.1 Released: App Store Update Checking Fixes

Apple has released iTunes 8.0.1, a significant update to the media playback/purchase, and device synchronization tool.

Among the enhancements in this release:

Seamlessly plays the current song when creating a new Genius playlist. Improves syncing spoken menus to iPod nano. Addresses an issue of deleting HD TV episodes when downloading. Improves checking for updates from the App Store Improves accessibility with VoiceOver. Addresses problems syncing Genius results to iPod.

The new release is available through Software Update or Apple's iTunes page.

If you have problems after applying the update, please let us know.

Obama launches iPhone recruiting, campaign tool

Our good friend Raven Zachary is directing the launch of an iPhone Application for Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign

The most notable feature "organizes and prioritizes your contacts by key battleground states, making it easy to reach out and make an impact quickly," according to the software.

The application anonymously reports back the number of calls made this way: "Your privacy is important: no personal data or contacts will be uploaded or stored. Only the total number of calls you make is uploaded anonymously." The software is the latest effort by politicians to capitalize on … Read more

Keeping variety on top of the table with Log Bowls

I've always been a fan of thrift stores. I suppose it's a direct correlation to the fact that I absolutely hate shopping. That is, I hate shopping for specific things I need. It doesn't matter if it's clothes, electronics, furniture--or even kitchenware; shopping is a chore. I find that thrifting is a treasure hunt without that impending feeling of need hovering over my head. I could do just as well with or without that macram? owl, but when something I already own breaks, I know I have to go shop for a new one. Thrifting is … Read more