Crave

The controls for the new iPod Shuffle are built into the headphone cord, which means you can only use Apple's earbuds.

(Credit: Apple)

Let me start by saying that I'm a fan of the iPod Shuffle. I run with one and I just recently bought a second refurbished gen-two Shuffle for $30 to give to my brother. But with the new gen-three Shuffle, Apple made some design decisions I just can't understand.

First off, the old Shuffle was small enough. There's small--and then there's too small. Yeah, it's great that the gen-three Shuffle is the size of a small USB thumbdrive, but the smaller the device is, the easier it is to lose. I feel the same way about microSD memory cards. It's great that they're tiny, but they end up disappearing really easily whenever you take them out of your phone (or other device).

New Apple iPod Shuffle photos

But the size thing is a minor infraction compared to what Apple did with the controls for this new Shuffle: it moved them to the cord of the headphones it bundles with the device (see video demo on this page). The only problem is I--and a lot of other people--simple can't use or don't like the earbuds that ship with iPods. We want to use our own headphones, particularly if we're using the Shuffle as an "active" MP3 player. The fact is the Apple buds just don't stay in your ears when you're running with the Shuffle (and yes, the new smaller form factor should appeal to runners).

As for the whole voice-over feature, it just seems like one of those "cool" innovations that isn't really necessary for a basic MP3 player--and I don't particularly want to hear a computerized voice in my ear announcing songs. In other words, I don't see it as a big selling point (the simpler thing to do would have been to just add a small display like competing entry-level models do). The generous 4GB of memory doesn't do much for me either, because without a display storing more than a few hundred songs on a Shuffle seems like overkill.

Now, Apple does say third-parties will be able to sell their own headphones that have the controls built-in as well as adapters that will allow you to use your own headphones with the new Shuffle. But that would just add another $15-$30 to the $79 price tag. So, thanks very much, Apple, but I'll stick with my second-generation Shuffle.

What do you guys think?

Is this Dick Cheney's "undisclosed location"?

(Credit: Newlaunches.com)

I live in an earthquake-prone city. I live in this city in a very old building made out of unreinforced brick. This building is on the back of a steep hill over a freeway and then a lake. Thus, I'm likely to be crushed under tons of rubble and debris if a major earthquake hits Seattle.

If that does happen, it might take rescuers hours--or even days!--to get to me. And when they do, they'll have to get me to safety somehow.

Hopefully by that time they'll be using this amazing Japanese safety robot tank stretcher thing we spotted on Newlaunches.com. Rescuers put an injured person inside and it protects them as they're whisked away to safety. All the while, it constantly monitors their vital signs.

The device has a dual-tread system to get across all kinds of post-catastrophe wreckage and a motor powerful enough to carry a person who weighs up to 240 pounds. It even has infrared cameras so it can operate around the clock. It's a powerful robot.

Not that humans couldn't do the job. It's just that if my apartment collapses on me, I at least want to be rescued by Japanese robots. Is that too much to ask?

ioSafe says its Solo external hard drive can withstand extreme heat, so Crave writer Dong Ngo put it to the test at CES. Here the drive is engulfed in flames. Click on the photo above for more from the demo.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CBS Interactive )

ioSafe claims its disaster-proof Solo external hard drive can survive both water submersion and intense heat. At CES Thursday, the company set out to prove the drive's hardiness by tossing it into a pool for several minutes and then setting it on fire at more than 1,600 degrees. Crave contributor Dong Ngo watched the demo, and reported back on the results. Click here for the full fiery gallery.

The Solo is designed to withstand water submersion down to 10 feet for up to 24 hours. Here it is at the bottom of a pool in Vegas. Click on the photo above for more from the demo.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CBS Interactive)

The ioSafe 3.5 has the same form factor and functions like any other regular 3.5 SATA hard drive.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET Networks)

ioSafe, a company specializing in disaster-proof storage devices, today launched the world's first internal hard drive with built-in disaster protection called ioSafe 3.5. On the outside, the new drive has the same form factor and functions just like any regular 3.5-inch desktop SATA hard drive. However, on the inside, it's definitely something I've never seen before.

The ioSafe 3.5 is actually a 2.5-inch SATA hard drive (found in laptops) covered by layers of protective materials. The materials, together with ioSafe's proprietary circuit board transform the drive into a 3.5-inch form factor drive that can withstand 15 minutes of intense heat up to 1,400 degree Fahrenheit and is waterproof down to a 5-foot depth. To put this in perspective, most fireplaces burn at only 700 to 800 degrees.

ioSafe came to CNET to show off its new product's ability to handle extreme heat and here are a few photos of its impressive and convincing demo:

The ioSafe 3.5 (left) and a regular 3.5-inch hard drive inside a burner, ready to be toasted.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET Networks)

The chamber lights up...

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET Networks)

...and the two drives were immediately engulfed in intense fire. The temperature inside the chamber increased very quickly.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET Networks)

After a few minutes, the thermometer registered 1,413.2 degrees. By the end of the demo, the temperature was more than 1,500 degrees.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET Networks)

After about 10 minutes, the fire was extinguished and the drives were taken out of the chamber. The regular hard drive (left) was now completely destroyed, while the ioSafe 3.5 was also very hot and smoky.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET Networks)

However, when the protective layers were peeled off, the hard drive inside the ioSafe 3.5 still seemed in good shape.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET Networks)

It was indeed in a like-new state with the original data still intact.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET Networks)

By the end of the demo, the hard drive survived with the original data stored on it still intact.

Based on a 2.5-inch hard drive, the ioSafe 3.5 comes in two flavors: the Pilot Series (5400rpm, up to 320GB) and Squadron Series (7200rpm, up to 200GB). Both series will offer more storage space as larger 2.5-inch laptop drives become available, and ioSafe also plans to make ioSafe 3.5 products based on solid-state hard drives in the near future.

While ioSafe 3.5 drives are not as fast as regular desktop hard drives that serve as a server's main hard drive, they are fast enough for most desktops and regular applications. They are definitely fast enough to be used as backup hard drives, and this is exactly what they are intended for.

The ioSafe 3.5's price varies from $330 to $450 depending on specs and sizes. ioSafe seems to be very sure about its new product and backs it up with a three-year warranty. It, by the way, is a very interesting kind of warranty that includes Digital Asset Recover Service. This means, during the warranty time, if disaster strikes, you can choose to recover the data by yourself, (which is a rather simple job that involves in peeling off the protective layers, hooking up the internal 2.5-inch hard drive into a computer, and copying data off of it). Or ioSafe will pay for you to ship the drive to them. Either way, you will get a brand-new replacement. In case the drive is damaged beyond the simple recovery mentioned above, ioSafe will pay up to $2,500 for a forensic-style data recover service.

All things considered, this is a very convenient solution to protect critical data from disaster, especially for home and small businesses. Before the ioSafe 3.5, the only alternative I could think of to keep your data safe from disasters was off-site backup, which is time-consuming and totally inconvenient.

(Credit: Gregg Fleishman)

The work of a true paranoid, we can say with first-person certainty, is never done. The soundproof "WhisperRoom" may be good for countering the eavesdropping devices we're sure are embedded in our walls, for instance, but it's just a start. What we really need is something closer to the "DH1 Disaster House."

The brainchild of California architect Gregg Fleishman, the European birch structure is meant to be used in the post-apocalyptic environment left by disasters of natural and human-made origin alike, according to SCI FI Tech. And at 14 x 14 feet square, it's bigger than a few Manhattan apartments we've seen.

One thing we're dubious about, however: The shelter, which can be constructed without screws or nails, supposedly can be built or disassembled in hours. Fleishman is obviously overestimated our skills at manual labor, having not seen the bunker we've been trying to build in our basement. Just once, can't we get a disaster shelter that comes pre-assembled?

Blub blub?

(Credit: Higo Blog)

(Credit: Higo Blog)

Over in Japan, the Oita Marine Center features a funky fish tank that seemingly defies the laws of gravity, matter, and sensibility: thanks to some vacuum technology, the fishies can swim "out" of the tank so that you can feed them, pat them, etc.

Cool, yes, but this would be an absolute atrocity if anything went wrong. Those poor fish! Though I must say, some hilarity would certainly ensue if water started randomly spewing out all over a crowd of unsuspecting aquarium patrons. But still...those poor fish!

(Via Geekologie)

When Crave launched its Wii Disaster Watch mini-feature a little over a week ago, many of you scoffed (light-heartedly) that you had to be a total idiot to bash up your TV or yourself with a video game controller. Well, that just doesn't seem like the case, unless you want to argue that humans are innately stupid. (Over here, the jury's still out on that one.) The latest news outlet to pick up on Wii disasters is Yahoo. Even the normally celebrity-gossip-focused Best Week Ever is on it. And in case you haven't seen it yet, there's a whole Web site, Wii Have A Problem, devoted to the phenomenon.

I think it's safe to say that the potential for Wii mishaps is now a fully documented phenomenon. We probably no longer need public service announcements whenever someone accidentally flings a Wiimote at his frat brother. But if something really awesome happens, like if Steve Wozniak figures out how to play Wii polo on a Segway. That's a disaster in and of itself.

They keep rolling in. Thanks to a Crave tipster, we found this hilarious YouTube video by user "RobotsPiratesNinjas." Set to Queen's "We Will Rock You," the clip details the antics of a group of teenage boys who claim to have accidentally smashed a light fixture in a Wii Sports tennis overhand serve. Even if they're exaggerating, it's still a pretty funny video. Especially with that soundtrack.

Additionally, Kotaku has posted a link to Nintendo's official safety precautions regarding the Wiimote and its tendency to fly out of players' hands and smack into stuff like TVs, lamps, and cats. My favorite line: "If you are having so much fun that you start perspiring, take a moment to dry your hands."

Wii will, wii will rock you.