Crave

The 404 crew goes to see the new "Star Trek" film by director J.J. Abrams. It's a reboot of the venerable Star Trek television series that most geeks grew up watching. Our good buddy and Photoshop contest winner Jacky W. Chen came with us, along with Edouard, our new bouncer.

(Credit: Jacky W. Chen)

We try to keep the show spoiler-free today, but in case you didn't know from the movie poster, Tyler Perry is in the movie. Overall, we think it's a great, fun film, but there are some deep plot holes you could fly the Enterprise through. Check out our video wrap-up from the opening here in New York on CNET TV.

On today's show, we find out the origins of the name Twitter. Apparently, its etymology is whale-based. The Natural History Museum Whale also follows us today. In more crazy news from the Web, "DJ Hero" comes out soon to ensure that the next generation of children will not know how to play a single real musical instrument.

In more video game news, Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier is rated T for teen, but on the box, it contains "alcohol references, fantasy violence, mild language, partial nudity, and suggestive themes." We wonder what you have to do to get a M-rating now. Finally, if you're still living your mother's basement and playing World of Warcraft, we've got a gadget for you that will ensure that you will never get a girlfriend. It is a hut that will let players isolate themselves from the outside world, feed them, and possibly even wipe their butts. We're not sure if the last one is really a feature, but it's definitely in the same vein.

Keep calling into the show at 1-866-404-CNET (2638). We love your voice mails. Next week, we've got Molly Wood joining us on the show along with the equally lovely @LizMoney from the Gadget411 and Anna David!

(Credit: Ultrasone)

When earbuds just aren't enough to keep the distracting masses from interrupting whatever it is you're preoccupied with at the time, portable headphones are the next step.

On Thursday, Ultrasone announced the HFI-15G headphones. Deemed the smallest headphones in Ultrasone's line--although exactly how small is unclear--the HFI-15G features Ultrasone's patented S-Logic Natural Surround Sound technology. What exactly is the big deal about that?

Well, according to the company, the technology reduces sound pressure on the eardrum by up to 40 percent. It's supposed to result in a safer listening experience for the user. The S-logic technology purportedly directs sound to the listener's outer ear as opposed to directing sound into the inner ear.

The company adds: "The human ear relies on the outer ear for three-dimensional understanding or defining the direction and distance where a sound comes from."

Cool. I didn't realize other headphones directed sound to the inner ear, but according to this Web site, the technology can be verified. Also check put this video for more information on the technology.

The HFI-15G costs about $109 and is available at Guitar Centers, Moog Music, Audio Midi.com, Bayview Pro Audio, and Northern Sound and Light.

(Credit: BBC Warner)

Want to really show off that new Blu-ray player? Get yourself the BBC documentary series Planet Earth, which Best Buy has on sale for $49.99. I first caught it when it aired on the Discovery Channel, and it didn't take long before I decided I had to own it.

The series' 11 episodes take you to oceans, jungles, deserts, rainforests, and other remote parts of the planet, where you'll see incredible environments and wildlife. You don't have to be a nature buff to enjoy this; you just need a heartbeat.

I paid about $70 to buy Planet Earth on HD DVD (sigh), and that was on sale from the $99 list price. Here's your chance to get it half off. Don't miss out; the sale ends on St. Patrick's Day (March 17).

Well, hello there.

(Credit: Gizmodo)

If you asked geeks which manufacturer would be the first to take a shot at the MacBook Air, Lenovo probably would not be at the top of the list. Yet a rumored update to the manufacturer's X series line of ultraportables could do just that.

Gizmodo is thanking Best Buy for spilling the beans on the ThinkPad X300, which will reportedly replace last year's ThinkPad X61s. The ThinkPad X300 is said to feature a 13.3-inch wide-screen LED-backlit display, full-size keyboard, and 64GB solid-state drive. (Sound familiar?) Even better, the laptop is expected to include an integrated optical drive, 3 USB ports, and an ExpressCard slot--plus Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, WWAN, and possibly GPS and WiMax connections--in a case that weighs as little as 2.5 pounds. (Though its thickness supposedly tapers from 0.9 inch to 0.73 inch, which if you want to split hairs--literally--would make it thicker than the MacBook Air.) Of course, all that awesomeness would cost some dough: Best Buy lists a price of $2,744.

Frankly, this report doesn't seem all that unbelievable, given the recent news that Lenovo and Fujitsu are readying systems that take advantage of the small-form-factor CPU developed by Intel for the MacBook Air. It is about time for the X series to get a refresh, if only to switch to a wide-aspect display. It's just that, while I heart ThinkPads, I wouldn't have expected to be throwing the solid black box into the arena with a fetish-inducing Apple product.

Sadly, Best Buy didn't blab about the ThinkPad X300's release date, so this is all mere speculation. While we wait for the official announcement to come down (or not), tell me: could this rumored ThinkPad X300 beat the MacBook Air in hand-to-hand combat?

Has Silicon Valley acupuncturist Ted Ray come up with the cure for jet lag?

Come and dig my herbs.

(Credit: FlyRight )

FlyRight is an herbal concoction that Ray says will ameliorate the effects of jet lag. Jet lag is often caused by the disruption in a person's circadian rhythms--the rhythms an individual establishes with the day/night cycles where they have been living.

But there are other causes--canned, recycled air; stress; dehydration; and poor blood circulation. All of these symptoms can be attenuated by the various herbs in the liquid, he says. Ginkgo? Good for swelling and fatigue caused by poor circulation. Linden works on circadian clock disruption. Avena? Helps take away the wooziness caused by that recycled air. The ingredients also can help fight off the risk of catching a cold from someone on a plane, the creator of the product says.

"Is there a perfect solution to flying? Not really, but if you can solve 80 percent of the problem, you're ahead of the game," he said. "If you get to Germany at 10 a.m., you don't want to be sleeping in your suit by 3 p.m."

Doubters exist the medical value of herbs, but, as Ray points out, every CEO at every pharmaceutical company has scientists trolling around the Amazon looking for natural medicines.

A $14 2-ounce bottle is good for a round-trip flight within the U.S. or a one-way international flight. The 2-ounce limit makes it small enough to carry on a plane. You can mix it with vodka too, but vodka will dehydrate you, so some of the benefit will wear off.

"Can you eat Big Macs and go to the gym? Sure, but it might make more sense to have a turkey sandwich," he said.

Ray, an acupuncturist and herbalist, developed the product after continually hearing complaints about jet lag from his customers. If FlyRight takes off, you can expect to see a lot of it on the San Jose-Taipei red-eye, which itself is sort of like a 14-hour meeting.

He's got a whole list of testimonials on his site too. But next week, on a trip to Japan, I'm going to try it out and give you a review.

(Credit: Doro)

Against all odds, land lines are valiantly forging ahead in hopes of making an unlikely comeback. Though thoroughly mocked by other gadget blogs, for instance, Motorola debuted its "MOTOLIVN" home phone this week for the European market.

Maybe that's a key part of the strategy: Europe. Because Doro, a manufacturer based in Sweden, is also expanding its continental land-line business. And like other European phone makers--namely Philips and Siemens--Doro is focusing its efforts on form as much as function, if not more.

The company says its "NeoBio" line of DECT phones, for example, comes with customizable skins drawn from the design trend of "Neo Naturalism." The skins, which can be applied both to handsets and base units, are "inspired inspired by the natural Scandinavian environment" and meant to blend in with the interior design of individual households. Or maybe it's just a desperate marketing attempt to stave off obsolescence.

(Credit: BornRich)

This LG laptop may be named "Return to Nature," but we're not buying it. After all, it's not made of bamboo or anything.

The limited-edition "Xnote S1" does have some nicely engraved foliage adorning its case, somewhat reminiscent of Medion's crystal flower design. More impressive is what's inside the 15.4-inch-screen computer--a 2.15GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of memory and a 160GB hard drive, according to BornRich.

The price of the laptop, which is destined for the Korean market, is unknown. We hope only that it's a tad less than the mysterious Luvaglio.

(Credit: Gadgetizer)

The au naturel look in technology design has given us computer equipment, digital photo frames and even LCD TVs made of wood. But oddly enough we haven't seen too many wooden handheld devices, by comparison.

Olympus apparently wants to rectify this situation with a camera that sports a casing made entirely of wood. Gadgetizer even includes a YouTube video that explains part of the crafting process, though the camera isn't available for purchase yet.

We're not sure if we would buy this particular model anyway, but we do like the look of finished wood over other natural materials used in some recent products, such as stone.

Alternative energy companies may be politically correct, but that doesn't mean they don't know how work a capitalistic marketing system. As winter approaches, for example, many are wasting little time to circulate word of products that provide some form of natural light to help fend off seasonal affective disorder.

The latest product making the rounds is the Suntracker One, which runs on a solar-powered motor and uses three heliostatic mirrors that reflect sunlight into the interior of a building. "Every ten minutes, the mirrors move to keep up with the sun as it moves across the sky, maximizing natural light in winter months when days are shorter and the sun's path is closer to the horizon," Treehugger reports. Or you can just book a flight to Maui.

(Photo: Nature's Lighting)