Crave

When we reviewed the Grace ITC-IR1000B Wi-Fi radio last year, we were almost uniformly impressed, except for two criticisms in the features department; the unit lacks a remote and an auxiliary input for connecting an iPod. So when Grace announced its new lineup of Wi-Fi radios for 2009, we were particularly excited by the GDI-IR2000, which looked nearly identical to last year's model but added a remote and auxiliary input.

We put the new Grace GDI-IR2000 head-to-head with last year's ITC-IR1000B.

So then how did the GDI-IR2000 receive a lower score than last year's model? Sound quality. We put the GDI-IR2000 head-to-head with the ITC-IR1000B, and the new model just couldn't keep up with the ITC-IR1000B's sweet sound. The GDI-IR2000 sounded tinnier and a little muffled on just about everything we listened to from jazz, to rock and classical. It's certainly not unlistenable, and casual listeners may not even notice, but our picky ears were disappointed with the drop off in sound quality compared with last year's model.

If you're not picky about sound quality, the GDI-IR2000 is an outstanding value and improves on all the major shortcomings of its predecessor. If sound quality is important to you, try to hunt down an ITC-IR1000B before they're discontinued or consider stepping up to the excellent (but more expensive) Squeezebox Boom.

Read the full Grace GDI-IR2000 review

Grace GDI-IR2000 photos

Grace GDI-IR1000

The Grace ITC-IR1000B Wi-Fi radio wound up being one of our favorite surprise products on the year. We weren't familiar with Grace before testing this radio, but its solid mix of design, features, and sound quality made us fans, and it stacked up well in our Wi-Fi radio roundup.

Photos: Five new Wi-Fi radios from Grace Digital Audio

The company has announced five new Wi-Fi radios coming out this winter, ranging from a second-generation version of the ITC-IR1000B to new products like the portable GDI-IRP600. Here's the full rundown:

If you're intrigued by multitouch technology as much as I am, you've probably been following it pretty closely and are at least impressed by its potential.

But what could it do better? According to Apple, taking the "touch" out of multitouch would be a good first step.

According to an article on AppleInsider, Apple has issued a 30-page patent that touches on the implementation of proximity sensors into its multitouch technology on devices larger than the iPhone.

The potential innards of a multitouch panel with proximity sensors don't do much for me, but robots may feel differently.

(Credit: Apple)

The multitouch sensors combined with proximity sensors would let users interact with the given interface without actually having to touch the screen. Now, this seems a tad ridiculous to me, and is anyone really too lazy to move their finger an extra inch? Yeah they are, but that doesn't make it a good idea.

Apple sees some different applications for the technology. According to the company, users would have the capability to turn off the entire touch-screen panel, or just portions of it. In addition, users would able to power down one or more of the computer's systems by dimming or brightening the screen as they see fit.

Awesome, huh?! Alas, no. OK, I may be missing something, but why would you need a proximity sensor to do this? You could just move your finger another inch and accomplish the same thing. The only unique feature Apple cited from the filing was the idea that you could highlight virtual buttons on a display without touching them. This could prepare the button for actually being pushed. Again, how is this useful?

The IR2BTci got the highest rating in our roundup, but it's probably overkill for most users.

The Sony PlayStation 3 is a game console first, but its Blu-ray playback also makes it one of the most popular home theater devices on the market. The only problem is that because the PS3 lacks an IR receptor, its difficult to integrate with home theaters centered around a IR-based universal remote, like a Harmony. For those who have become accustomed to controlling their gear using simple buttons that say "Watch TV" or "Watch a Blu-ray disc," it's a real pain that the PS3 requires using Sony's Blu-ray DVD remote or the game controller.

To deal with this issue, several essentially homemade devices have shown up on the market and we've done a roundup of the top three, plus a low cost alternative that's easier on your wallet. The main takeaway is that all the converters we tested performed essentially equally well, with only some minor differences in how user-configurable and upgradeable they are. And if you're willing to turn the console on and off manually, you might as well save yourself about $60 and go with the Nyko Blu-Wave.

Read CNET's roundup of IR-to-Bluetooth converter boxes.

With the new firmware update, the Grace should be near the top of our shortlist for Wi-Fi radio.

When we reviewed the Grace ITC-IR1000B Wireless Internet Radio back in March, we gave it a mostly positive review, but a couple annoying quirks and a general lack of connectivity kept us from a stronger recommendation. Since that time, Grace has released a firmware update that fixed most of the software bugs we complained about, and the company added the ability to access the Pandora streaming audio service. Since these changes added a good deal of functionality to the radio--and it's still one of the most affordable Wi-Fi radios on the market--we decided to take a second look at it.

(Credit: Canon USA)

Canon just added two new players to its roster of Selphy portable photo printers: the CP770 and CP760, both heavily marketed to families interested in printing photos directly off their phones and digital cameras. We liked its full-size sibling, the Selphy CP740, so we're looking forward to checking these out.

Let's take a look:

Canon Selphy CP760

(Credit: Canon USA)

• $100
• Familiar rectangular shape
• 2.5-inch color TFT screen
• Features Canon's "Portrait Image Optimize" technology for light photo fixes on the go.
• Print resolution: 300x300 dpi
• Connects via PictBridge, USB, IrDA, or directly through memory card slots

Canon Selphy CP770

(Credit: Canon USA)

• $150
• Shaped like a bucket you'd take to the beach, with a printer on top and storage underneath for accessories
• Number of buttons has been simplified from previous models
• 2.5-inch color TFT screen
• Print resolution: 300x300 dpi
• Connects via PictBridge, USB, IrDA, or directly through memory card slots

Both printers feature Canon's image-preservation technology that spreads a thin layer of lamination over the photo to reduce bleeding and smudging.

Canon also offers two optional accessories for the printers: a Bluetooth adapter ($50) for wireless printing and an external battery pack ($80).

The USBIRXR3: One man's quest for IR support on the PS3.

(Credit: Mike Muecke)

One of our original and most persistent gripes about the PS3 has been the lack of any sort of IR support that would allow you to program your universal remote to command the system. As you're probably aware, the PlayStation 3 uses Bluetooth technology for its wireless controllers, as well as an optional Bluetooth remote that's designed for movie watching. While home-theater buffs may love their PS3's AV capabilities, they tend to find the lack of IR really irritating. It means that every time you want to watch a movie (or play a game) on the PS3, you have to switch to a second controller. Not so with the Xbox 360, which has an IR port on its face.

One would think that Sony would put out some sort of IR dongle that would solve the universal-remote compatibility issue (or hopefully integrate IR into the next version of the PS3), but thus far, no such Sony dongle has emerged. However, a handful of other USB dongles are trickling their way onto the market.

(Credit: FLIR Systems)

Carbon dioxide is for suckers. If you really want to do some damage to the environment, sulfur hexaflouride is where it's at. According to Pollution Online (which, despite its name, is actually against pollution), one pound of SF6 has the same potential global-warming impact as 11 tons of CO2. Sulfur hexaflouride is used in high-voltage electrical equipment. If inhaled, it acts like antihelium, and, according to Wikipedia, makes one "sound like the god of hellfire." Finally, this dangerous (and potentially hilarious) gas is odorless, colorless, nontoxic, nonflammable, and extremely difficult to detect.

That's enough of a chemistry primer. The big news is you (if "you" are a master electrician or environmental engineer with deep pockets) can now buy a camera that can detect the gas. Infrared-imaging company FLIR Systems recently revealed the GasfindIR-LW, a thermal imaging camera that can detect SF6 and 20 other environmentally perilous gasses. If you ever wanted to hunt down acetylchloride; allyl flouride; or Freons 11, 12, 112, 113, or 114, the GasfindIR-LW is just the device you need.

Of course, like most fun toys, it's a strictly specialized piece of scientific equipment. The camera is a four-pound box that can capture footage only at 320x240 resolution. You can't exactly find it at your local BestBuy or Circuit City, either; this sort of device can cost several thousand dollars and must be bought either directly from the manufacturer or a very small number of professional supply stores.

Still, if you want to spend the time and drop the cash, it's a great way to find out just how dangerous the air around you really is.