Crave

(Credit: Nicole Lee/CNET)

SXSW just launched its "panel picker," where the public is invited to vote (yes or no) on different panel ideas, as well as weigh in with comments.

Our Buzz Out Loud podcast is one of the panels up for your consideration. So head to the panel picker at panelpicker.sxsw.com, and search for Buzz Out Loud, or go right to this link to vote.

Of course while you're there, you can vote and comment on tons of other cool ideas for SXSW panels. And you should. There are some great proposals.

Even if you don't think you can make it to Austin in March, we'd still very much appreciate you telling the SXSW organizers you support us. Unless you hate us. In which case there's totally not a panel picker or anything. This was all a ruse.

Sanyo's Eneloop Portable Solar panel can charge mobile devices on the go.

(Credit: Sanyo)

If you plan on walking through the desert with a cell phone anytime soon, you might want to check in with Sanyo before you leave.

Its new Eneloop Portable Solar panels can charge portable devices through a USB connection. They're also relatively compact and a cinch to tote.

Sanyo's stylish Eneloop line of energy products includes a popular brand of rechargeable batteries and a lamp that doubles as a flashlight. Last time we posted about Sanyo's solar panels, they were chic but clunky. The new book-size, business-slick Portable Solar comes in sets of one or two panels (weighing about 8 or 15 ounces), with a handy hook to hang in a window.

(Credit: Sanyo)

Sounds great, especially if you're keen on saving energy and the environment.

But you'll also have to carry the Eneloop Mobile Booster (2.5 ounces) because it contains the lithium ion battery that stores the solar energy. You then connect your cell phone, gaming device, or whatever to the Booster.

You might also have to lug your laptop to charge the Booster if the weather doesn't cooperate. Though it takes 1.5 days to 3 days to fully charge the Booster, an hour's worth of sunshine is enough to power 20 or 40 minutes of talk time on a cell phone, which is fine for an emergency according to Sanyo. It depends on the number of panels you have and, of course, sunshine.

The included mesh bag at the back of the panel can hold the Booster, as well as a cell phone or other device.

The Portable Solar panels go on sale August 10 in Japan with no specified price from Sanyo, though Crunchgear says it will cost $90 for the single-panel unit and $150 for the double-panel one.

Is the miniremote really necessary? I'll let you know in a few weeks.

(Credit: Eric Franklin/CNET)

I haven't tested a 26-inch (25.5-inch) monitor in a good long while, and now I have two in testing: the Planar PX2611 and the HP w2558hc.

While the HP uses a typical TN panel, Planar saw fit to use an IPS panel as its underlying tech. The best thing about IPS displays are their viewing angles. In these shots of the Planar, you can see how wide its viewing angles are, especially when compared with the same shots of the HP.

Look for full reviews of both coming here, and in the meantime, take a look at the pictures and compare and contrast. Then get back to me with your thoughts.

Photos of HP's 26-inch feature-rich monitor

More panels for the Xperia X1.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)

A year after it launched its Xperia X1, Sony Ericsson used the 2009 GSMA World Congress here in Barcelona to launch launch new panels for the high-end smartphone. All panels will be available for download from Sony Ericsson in mid-March.

The Skype panel will offer quick access to the calling service. You'll be able to tell which of your friends are online, browse contacts, and call and instant message your friends. The evening, daylight, and event-based effects will let you customize your handset at will.

The CNN panel will constantly update with the latest news, sports, and weather, all of which can be tailored to your location. You'll also be able to access CNN's "i-Report" citizen journalism tool.

If you're ready for gaming, you can use the Mytopia panel to play bingo and poker with other users around the world and collect virtual coins.

Finally, the On the Road panel brings drivers' call-handling features and quick access to music and navigation tools. The interface will feature large icons and a simple design.

So what happens after 2 a.m.?

(Credit: Unplggd)

Usually a blight is something you'd want to avoid, but according to Unplggd, if designer Vincent Gerkens has his way, the more blight out there, the better.

Fortunately he's referring to Blight, a concept that involves attaching solar panels onto venetian blinds. As the Unplggd article points out, Blight is a word play on "blinds" and "light," which I probably would not have figured out on my own. The panels soak up the sun during the day, and at night they light up your life. Or room. Or whatever you need illuminated, I suppose.

Basically, sunlight charges a battery cell on the top of the blinds. Then when you're ready to do some reading or conduct your weekly game of Canasta, you now have the power of light (!), at night, using no extra power.

Hopefully this will hit the mass market soon, as I'm sure many YouTube videos will follow showing just how well these can illuminate a room. This is a start, but other than the obvious OCD nature of the guy in the video, it doesn't tell me much.

I've reviewed a gazillion speakers, and I can't remember more than a few dozen of them. They're just a string of big and little boxes; some sounded really nice, most were merely OK, and surprisingly few were truly awful.

Magnepan's speakers stand out from the crowd first because they're so thin, the MG 3.6/R is 1.5 inches thick, and standing 71 inches high, it's really tall. But it was the sound that blew me away. It's an incredibly clear, high-resolution sound, and sounds decidedly unspeakerlike. That's why it's the Audiophiliac's Speaker of the Year.

The 3.6/R at home

(Credit: Magnepan)

As I said in my Home Entertainment magazine review "That's why the MG 3.6/R will sound like a revelation to first-time listeners; the gap between the sound of real, live music and recorded music feels a whole lot smaller. The speaker projects a more full-bodied, three-dimensional soundstage than any box can; correction, the MG 3.6/R's sound was bigger and deeper than I've ever heard from a speaker retailing for less than $50,000. With the MG 3.6/R instruments and voices emerge closer to their real-life scale and size. Clearly, Magnepan engineers changed the way speakers move air."

Instead of the usual woofer and tweeter, the MG 3.6/R uses three "planar-magnetic" drivers: a 55-inch tall aluminum foil "ribbon" tweeter; a 199-square-inch 0.5-mil-thick Mylar midrange diaphragm; and a 500 square inch Mylar woofer. The speaker is essentially a panel that moves air, and projects sound from its front and rear surfaces. The drivers are Magnepan patented designs, all manufactured at the company's factory in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. American hi-fi at its best.

(Credit: ILVE)

Can't be away from the TV screen for long?

Australia's ILVE has a solution for you: an LCD TV built into a rangehood.

While it's certainly not the most heinous attempt at integrating a home appliance with electronics, I honestly can't think of a worse way to watch TV: standing over a hot stove and craning my neck ceilingward. Ouch.

Designed by Italian Marco Valerio Agretti, the Vela rangehood is stainless steel and glass and does fancy stove-assisting duties like increasing the interior fan's speed as the temperature over the stove rises, filtering out grease, and self-cleaning.

But the appliance seller is light on details when it comes to the LCD hardware. We do know it's a 10-inch LCD panel, and comes with a remote and RCA cable outlet and DVD input.

(Via Engadget)

Dong's new best friends.

In this episode, we pack a lot of content into a relatively small amount of time.

First off, Eric has his nerd cred questioned because of a Warcraft comment made in a previous episode, and Dong discusses making love, not Warcraft.

Serious business then as Dong presents another PSA: how to be on the lookout for fake antivirus software.

Then, can being left-handed be equated with being gay? Not usually, but Dong finds a way to connect them. Then, getting drunk. Dong tells a "scary" Halloween story about puking in a bucket.

Thanks to a resourceful reader, we have an even better way to determine what kind of panel is in your monitor or the monitor you want to get. Here are some links.

Sonic Vox voice distorter for your iPhone

Dong's hair growth plight

To subscribe to this podcast, visit us at our main page and click the link on the right. Don't forget to leave us a voice mail at 1-800-947-6399 or e-mail us at insidecnetlabs@cnet.com.

And we're BACK!!

(Credit: NBC)

This week we get started with a very heartwarming and inspiring tale of Dong and and his little sisters as they traversed miles and miles to reach slave mines in Vietnam 27 years ago.

Then we learn a bit about monitor panel technology and why your monitor vendor doesn't want you to know what kind of panel is in your display.

Here's a very useful site for figuring out what time of panel is in your display.

After that, it's fun with system glut! Dong gives us some tips on how to best alleviate new system lag. Cut out the fat!

Finally a little listener mail. Not very exciting stuff, but we make it worth listening to.

To subscribe to this podcast, visit us at our main page and click the link on the right. Don't forget to leave us a voice mail at 1-800-947-6399 or e-mail us at insidecnetlabs@cnet.com.