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If I had a hammer...

Working in the technology industry is a daily geekfest. Personally, I love learning about the next generation of software architecture, network intelligence and server virtualization. Yet in spite of the fact that our industry persistently challenges the laws of physics, sometimes it comes face to face with basic obstacles.

I saw this when I worked at a fly-by-night telecom start-up where we pitched high-speed private optical networking services. It was cutting-edge stuff until we realized that dark fiber is far from ubiquitous. More often than not, laying fiber involves digging ditches, getting permits, dealing with unions, and spooling wires up … Read more

Dell spins into solid state drives

If there's one buzz topic that has laptop fans excited right now, it's the transition from traditional platter-based hard drives to solid state drives (like the one in your iPod Nano). These drives, like that flash memory stick hanging off your keychain, have no moving parts, give off less heat, and require less power to run--all good things if you're packing a few thousand dollars worth of battery-powered technology into your carry on bag.

The ultramobile Latitude D420 and semi-rugged D620 ATG laptops are the first systems in the Dell line to get these 32GB 1.8-inch … Read more

SanDisk Sansa Connect

Everybody knows that I am a sucker for the new crop of MP3 players featuring the ability to connect via WiFi in order to obtain music while on the go. The just released SanDisk Sansa Connect is an amazing step in the direction of my love. It has an amazing user-friendly interface and is set up to allow for access to internet radio at a cost of nothing. Even better for early adopters, is the ability to access the entire Yahoo music catalog with a subscription. All this for $250.00 makes this a compelling device for anybody looking for … Read more

Sony's tapeless XDCAM EX adopts a standard media format

This week, the National Association of Broadcasters converges in Las Vegas for its annual convention, a show we here at CNET usually ignore; after all, while the typical CNET reader may have a room dedicated to the worship of the moving image, we don't expect to see a TV studio in an adjacent shrine. And no, producing YouTube videos doesn't count. However, interesting prosumer news floats down every now and then, and Sony's announcement of its flash-memory-based XDCAM EX camcorder landed gently on my keyboard this morning, via Engadget.

In fact, I usually ignore Sony's XDCAM … Read more

It's not an MP3 travel mug

We were sure, at first glance, that these were MP3 travel mugs. But that explains why these items aren't marketed at consumers of our advanced age bracket.

The SanDisk "Sansa Shaker" is aimed at younger types with its bright pink and blue hues, as Engadget points out, as well as more conventional specs such as 512MB of storage, an SD flash card slot and a built-in speaker. But the most curious attribute is an cryptic "interactive 'Shake' feature" that remains to be disclosed, along with pricing and availability. We're not too concerned: Whatever it … Read more

SanDisk partners with Yahoo to offer a true on-the-go music service

Yep, that's right: Yahoo Music Unlimited To Go is available completely sans wires for Sansa Connect owners. That means you never have to connect your player to refresh your music selection, and that is pretty freakin' sweet. And unlike with the Zune, the music you receive wirelessly does not have to come from another (scarce) Zune user, nor does it expire after three plays. Of course, the Sansa isn't exactly alone in this regard: the recently announced Slacker Portable Player and accompanying Web service will offer a similar experience--and at half the price (YMU To Go is $14.… Read more

The hard-drive motorcycle

There was a time when people would collect America Online CDs for various art projects, but that got old. There was only so much you could do when working with materials of that size. Hard disks are an entirely different matter, however, as TechEBlog proves with this post on a "Hard Drive Platter Motorcycle" from some guy who obviously has far too much time on his hands. If you think this was a silly waste of time, consider this: It's more productive than setting up hard drive dominoes.

Dumpster diving to create fashion

Some design trends should be left alone--especially in fashion accessories. Just as Crave dismissed an unfortunate floppy disk purse from Fractal some months ago, we are similarly unimpressed with what appears to be a floppy disk messenger bag of the DIY variety. (Who can tell?)

It actually could have been worse. As Gearfuse says, the bag's creator had originally planned to make plate mail armor out of the dumpster-disgarded floppies.

We hope that for his sake--and ours--that this amateur Gucci doesn't try to sell his homemade wares. As fellow Craver Erica Ogg noted in her earlier item on … Read more

Seagate confirms 1TB single-disc hard drive is on its way

Back in April, Seagate released its first single-disc 750GB hard drive based on perpendicular recording technology. Today, Seagate's corporate communications team sent out an e-mail that confirms they're working on a 1TB 3.5-inch hard drive, also based on the same technology. There's no actual product announcement, which is, well, odd. But according to Seagate, we should see shipment of the 1TB drive in the first half of 2007.

And if you find visual aids helpful, check out Hitachi's jaw-dropping video that explains the gist of perpendicular recording. I apologize for foisting disco on you. Actually, … Read more