ie8 fix

size

Are FireWire connections crave-worthy?

OK, I admit it. I want options, even though, most of the time I don't have much use for them. Take pocket-size external hard drives, for example. I want them to be compact, light, pretty, bus-powered, and especially I want them to support USB 2.0, FireWire 400, and FireWire 800. (I would take eSATA, too, though, that wouldn't make sense until it's bus-powered capable). However, the truth is, I've used mostly just the USB 2.0 connection for personal purposes. So today, I decided to find out if FireWire 400 and FireWire 800 are worth … Read more

Compact external hard drives now spin faster, too

More and more vendors have been joining the bandwagon of pocket-size portable external hard drives and it's interesting to see how each of them manages to make their product unique in its own right. The G-Drive mini Triple from G-Technology is one example of this.

The drive sports a very rugged, metallic look with its aluminum casing that also works as the cooling solution. Despite having metal all over, the drive is still very light, weighing only around 9 ounces. Designwise, the G-Drive is compact, however, if the Signature Mini appeals to the ladies, the G-Drive definitely screams masculine. … Read more

Gadgettes 77: The Songs Of Gadgettes Episode

That's right! You too can own all of the best songs from the critically acclaimed podcast sensation, Gadgettes. Order yours today by calling 1-800-750-2638, or email us at gadgettes@cnet.com. We're waiting patiently for your call, so call NOW!

Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 77

No links today... just a bunch of random clips. You're welcome!

Celio puts a notebook face on a smartphone

Here's a new twist in the ultramobile computer concept.

The Redfly Mobile Companion from Celio is a mini notebook-size device that effectively serves as a hand- and eye-friendly shell for Windows Mobile smartphones. It has a larger, relatively standard keyboard so you don't have to thumb type and an LCD screen measuring 8 inches in diameter. Connect the Redfly to the smartphone and the data going to and from the phone shows up on the larger screen instead.

You can also type e-mails or surf the Web while talking at the same time, explains CEO Kirt Bailey. Thus, … Read more

Killer Download: Make space on your hard drive

When I bought a gaming PC for home use a little over a year ago, I bought a middle-of-the-road machine that had everything I needed with a little room to upgrade later on down the line. I got a 2.2GHz processor, a high-end (at the time) video card so I could play the latest games, 2 gigs of RAM (on the advice of a gamer friend), and I opted for a 120GB hard drive to save a little money.

At the time, it seemed like 120GB would be more than enough. After all, I can remember when a 1GB hard drive was the pinnacle of storage capacity--120GB ought to be able to hold anything right? Games these days generally take up a few gigs each so I thought I would never run out of space. I now know I was wrong. If you wait long enough, even the biggest hard drives will fill up.… Read more

Start making sense: when it comes to speakers, size still matters

On Monday I raved about one of the best small speakers around, the Sunfire CRM-2. I love the little thing because it avoids most of the classic pitfalls of wee designs, but as good as it is, it can't completely mimic large speaker sonics. Priced at $800 each, it's as expensive as many larger designs; buyers are paying a premium for the wee speaker's radical technical engineering that's required to extract maximum performance from its compact dimensions. Big speakers have an ease that little speakers never fully muster. Small drivers, no matter how good or expensive … Read more

Open-sourcing my error on XenSource

The unfortunate thing about writing all your thoughts down in a blog is that it makes it very clear just how wrong I can be sometimes. My "code" is online, for everyone to see, analyze, and critique.

And critique you do. :-)

A case in point is my fulminations earlier Thursday on XenSource and its alleged abandonment of the Xen project. John Vigeant, a friend from my Novell days and XenSource's director of Business Development, kindly swatted me in an e-mail for errors in my post.

Witness my sackcloth and ashes (with John's permission--he must have some perverse pleasure in seeing me don this hairshirt :-):… Read more

See how big things are with Sizeasy

When new gadgets are announced, it's often weeks if not months before you can see them in person to gauge their size. Sizeasy is a slick and simple piece of Webware that lets you plug in the dimensions of any product and compare it to real-world objects.

What really makes it fun is selecting from a drop-down list of real products to measure your object against, such as a door, a mattress, a box of matches, or a wine bottle. You can include up to five objects for your comparison.

When you're done, you'll receive a link … Read more

Samsung goes nuts with 30-inch LCD

How big will flat-panel computer screens get? The sky's the limit, if the likes of Samsung have anything to say about it. The Korean manufacturer just joined Dell, Apple and others in introducing a 30 -inch monitor. (Model CX305T, for those keeping score.) Akihabara News gives the granular details: "a 2,560-by-1,600 resolution, a 1000:1 ratio for contrast, a 400cd/m2 brightness, and a 6ms response time." But what we care about is the price--about $1,657, by our calculation. Which means we'll be content to squint at our 19-incher for the time being.… Read more