PLAYSTATION 3 RELEASED IN JAPAN

Sony has released the new Playstaion 3 in Japan today with only 100 000 units available to consumers.

Reported from many different sources there are Japanese people rounding buildings with lines to get the new console.

North America still waits for its whole 400 000 units to come (although it was first reported to be 600 000 units) on November 17.

Sony has blamed many things for the low production of the PS3 including the blue-ray optical drive and the low-yielding Cell processor.

Many analysts expect the PS3 to win the next console war but not by as big of margin. Playstation has some the the biggest platform games out there including SOCOM: US NAVY SEALS and most people consider Final Fantasy a platform game as well (even though Final Fantasy XI was released for the XBOX 360).

One things for sure, if you haven't already slapped down some money for a pre-order of your very own PS3 you won't be getting one this Christmas.

MMMMM... HOTDOGS

One of the best Canadian inventions known to mankind : the Hot Diggity Dogger! The Duchampbell Sales company says this hot dog toaster makes the world's best hotdogs! All you have to do is plug in the toaster, place two hotdogs into the round vertical slots and two buns in the semi-circle slots and push down the lever. In about five minuits, your hotdogs are grilled and your buns are toasted! You can change how much your hotdogs and buns are cooked by adjusting the heat knob to lighter or darker. How easy is that?
This invention is sure to be one that Jeff and I would like to try out - and Kev, well, he's already saving up to buy one!
The Hot Diggity Dogger: $49.95
Hotdogs and buns not included.
-written by Cee-

TECHNOBABBLE PODCAST 10 SLIRPY PODCAST

Episode 10 is out. We have put it on a new feed however so if you want to subscribe to it please click here:

http://www.switchpod.com/users/jeffbreyer/feed.xml

This is a pretty laid back episode but a lot of fun.

Enjoy!

SQUARE-ENIX RELEASES FINAL FANTASY XII

Square-Enix has released the 12th volume in their Final Fantasy Series.

Not only is Final Fantasy XII the new addition to the family, it also leaves the rest of the Final Fantasy's in the dust when you compare the game design.

We were told early on that Square-Enix was designing a completely revamped battle system and we can see the results now. Final Fantasy XII's battle system is based more closely to Final Fantasy XI where all battles happen directly on the field rather than going into a battle phase like previous volumes in the series.

Square-Enix also had to drop the amount of polygons to allow enemies to be seen on the field. This makes no difference to game graphics because the world is very well designed and coloured. If I was to compare the colours used in this world I would probably compare them to Romancing Saga. There are a lot of pastel type colours but this also helps in the shaping of the characters as they don't have as many polygons.

I know that all sounded very technical so here's something you'll appreciate. The battle system is great. I'd say the only draw-back is the camera. I'm not sure how Square-Enix thinks but their cameras always act opposite to what they should. I've also had the camera get stuck a couple times and that's not good when you are being attacked.

The CG sequences are right up to par. Some of the beginning war sequences remind me of Star Wars Episode III.

You'll see for yourself when you pick up Final Fantasy XII.

BLING BLING : TEEHEE, THAT SOUNDS HILARIOUS COMING FROM MY MOUTH!

I know you've all at one point tied some ethernet wires together to make a colourful necklace or bracelet, but how about some of this stuff!

Gentlemen... how about adding some circuitboard cufflinks ($64) to give your suit a nerdish flare? I know Jeff can't wait to wear his suit with those stylish pieces.

Ladies... wouldn't you enjoy slipping a pair of capcitor earings ($15) on to complete that perfect outfit? Trust me when I say that know exactly what to wear with those!
Like it large and on a chain? Try on a gold microprocessor necklace ($50).

This is one of the most interesting websites that I've ever seen. I never really thought about using computer and electronic componants to make jewelry. You can find these inovative items at fractalspin.com along some other interesting objects made out of computer and "techno" parts.

-written by Cee-
-edited by Jeff-

PODCAST UPDATE

Episode 10 of technobabble podcast is done and now in edit. It should be complete by next Friday at the latest.

PIMPED OUT AT THE CLUB

The fashion at the club this season isn't the usual midrift revealing tops and mini skirts - NO! It's the T-Equalizer, coming in the ultra fashionable colours of red, purple, green and blue, or the original shirt of yellow and red bars. (This is no joke it's real.) Show off to your clubbing friends that you want to be the talk of the party.
When the music starts, the coloured panel on your shirt will magically flash to the rhythm of the music just like an equalizer on your computer. All you have to do is throw in 4 AAA batteries and wear it to the club.

The T-Equalizer comes in small - x-large, and costs $29.95. (Batteries not included.)

Don't lose your groove at the door, wear the T-Equalizer and become the center of the light show!

-written by Cee-

MICROSOFT RELEASES WINDOWS INTERNET EXPLORER 7

Microsoft has released Windows Internet Explorer 7.0.

Not much to say about this. I have a review about the beta version and it hasn't changed very much or even at all since then.

My recommendation is if you use Internet Explorer you should update. It is certainly a much better brower than before including tabs. If you don't use Internet Explorer you should update anyways. Most people believe it still has the same core as version 6 but it may turn out to be more secure in the long run.

Next recommendation to those of you who use Internet Explorer please switch to Mozilla FireFox or even Opera (I like it just a little bit more). These browsers are completely free and are far more secure than Internet Explorer.

Happy surfing.

SONY RELEASES SILVER PLAYSTATION 2 IN NORTH AMERICA

Sony has released a silver version of the PlayStation 2 in North America.

This confims the rumors that there was a special PS2 coming and as you can see by the picture from the left that the silver PS2 is real.

I picked up one from Wal-Mart today.

It comes complete with well, nothing. It come with a standard controller painted silver like the unit itself. It comes with an improved version 4 of the online software.

The finish is a little bit more elegent than the slate colour version. There is no difference in perfomance so there is no advantage to buying this other than the update online firmware/software.

I intend to keep this as a momento and eventually to use over my slate version because this is the very first time Sony has ever released a version of their hardware in a different colour than black and slate in North America.

UPDATE:

I have been doing some more research on the differences between the two versions of the PS2 and have found a new almost disturbing item having to do with a hardware change on the silver PS2.

As you know you have always had the option to use a dial-up connection for your internet connection all the way back to the original PS2. You could also connect via the network port on the back to get onto a broadband connection.

Sony has deleted the network port on the new silver PS2 obviously making the statement that no one uses a modem to connect to the internet.

Considering this, I actually can't remember the last online game that I have played that you could play over a dial-up connection. I searched through our own collection here and only found one title (ATV Offroad Fury 2; we haven't gotten rid of this because it is a "NOT FOR RESALE" title that came with our very first PS2) so I think Sony has figured that the dial-up connection is basically taking up space on the back of their trusty console.

Looking at the contents of the package I should have clued my self in when the "Online Start-Up Disc" (included with every PS2) said "Broadband Only" on itself and had a whole new version number (4.0).

Additional comments on the silver PS2 not relating to the deletion of the Dial-Up port is about the finish.

The finish like I reported in the original report was, well, exquisite. The major difference is that the exterior of the silver PS2 is no longer grained like the graphite PS2 giving the silver version a much sleeker, more metal looking finish.

Also the logos for what kind of media it can play are not engrained into the plastic and are instead painted on. The open logo has also been taken away from the flip-top as well.

DELL RELEASES AMD POWERED DESKTOPS IN CANADA

Dell is now offering to Canadians the option of having AMD processors in it's new E521 series desktops.

You can purchase a system with a AMD Sempron 3400+ all the way up to the AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+.

Even though theses are very powerful processors Intel still has the one-up on AMD with the Core2 processors on the market today.

This is a good move for Dell, allowing users to have true options between their computer line-ups. I am now ready to buy a Dell because I still prefer the AMD processor over the Intel.

Dell is pushing the AMD market basically only for the home user and has not released any business desktops as of yet. There are also no notebooks with the AMD processor in it either, which isn't really a bad thing since they aren't nearly as efficient as the Intel Pentium M.

TECHNOBABBLE UPDATE

Howdy all,

I (Jeff) have been very busy lately and haven't been able to update the website or get another podcast (or netcast?) because of my real-life job. Real life you say? Yes, the even I have to work to make money as well as my co-editors Cee and Kev.

I thought you all deserved an update so here it is.

So what's happened since my last post. Let's see...

Between the month of September to October I have seen a few changes. Well, maybe not that many. The RIAA is still trying to cut down on the rights of consumers, Intel has released the Core2 Duo, Apple releases a new iPod (well an update anyway), laptop batteries are still unsure of whether to work or blow-up, Apple releases a lemon version of iTunes and starts selling video on the iTunes store (only in the US I might add), and apparently Microsoft Internet Explorer has another critcal flaw (I beg of you all to download Mozilla Firefox and use it instead of Internet Explorer).

That's a lot of stuff.

Anyway there's going to be a new podcast coming out this weekend or next so be ready for it. We purchased a better microphone and have set up a new recording studio.

I also wanted to mention that I have partnered up with J. C. Hutchins to promote his podiobook trilogy 7th Son. He is currently on his second book in the trilogy Deceit. This is a great sci-fi audiobook and it's FREE!!! Anyway, J.C. is a great guy and I wish him all the best. I will put one of his bumpers in my RSS and in my next podcast. Check out 7th Son by J.C. Hutchins.

I will start updating technobabble more regularly very soon.

Until next time,

Jeff

STEVE IRWIN : CROCODILE HUNTER

Steve Irwin, crocodile hunter, was killed this week by stingray while shooting a film. The poisonous barb pierced Irwin in the heart and he was pronounced dead not much later.

To the Irwin family and friends,

Our hearts and prayers go out to you in this time.

APPLE UPDATES IMAC AND MINI

Apple has released and update to the iMac and mac mini product lines.

The biggest addition to the group is the huge 24 inch iMac that runs the Intel Core 2 Duo processor. The previous models also now run the Core 2. The price for the base 17 inch has went down due to the fact it has lost the ATI graphics card (it now has integrated Intel graphics).

Apple has also increased the amount of ram that can be put into the iMacs and just overall made the iMac a great value to anybody that's looking for a computer.

Apple also released an update to the mac mini. There is no option for the Intel Core Solo processor anymore so you get a Duo no matter what. Which is goo considering the Solo isn't that powerful.

I gues I have no option anymore but to get a mac ASAP.

32-BIT VERSION OF WINDOWS VISTA NOT SUPPORTING HD-DVD OR BLU-RAY

The MPAA (if that was who indeed stomped on this) has stomped on innovation and on the pocket-books of people once again.

This comes from an interview with Steve Riley when he announced that Windows Vista 32-bit edition will not play any of the next generation high-definition formats.

The people (I assume the MPAA) said that it is too easy to get around the copy protection with 32-bit processors and believes that the only way to protect their content is to use 64-bit processors.

This is bad news for the consumers that have purchased their computers with Intel Pentium and AMD Athlon (and even Sempron) processors thinking that they would just upgrade to Vista 32-bit edition. Now consumers will have to buy a completely new computer. Which begs the question:

How many of us really want and need this next generation format?

Doing this not only means spending money on not just the drive but also a brand new mid-range computer. THIS SUCKS! (unless you like to spend all your money)

Now to clarify, this wasn't Microsoft's fault (however they could have stood up for the consumer a little better) but Microsoft was told that if they want their operating system to run these new mediums of storage they need to use 64-bit technology.

Later, Microsoft released that you will still be able to use the drive as a back-up device but not play any of the movies released by either HD-DVD or BLU-RAY, which kind of defeats the purpose since we can buy external hard drives a heck of a lot cheaper.

Do we really want these new high-definition formats? Or do we just want an easy way to watch content at high quality play-back? IPTV is looking better and better all the time.

APPLE RECALLS 1.8 MILLION BATTERIES

Apple is the second in the not so distant past to recall 1.8 million of their own Li-Ion batteries.

The surprising thing to note is that the batteries included in this recall are made by Sony.

If you didn't read the story I posted a bit ago about the Dell battery recall here is the significance:

Both companies batteries are made by Sony.

Sony has been under attack for many things as of late including their batteries and the now famed "rootkit". Their own Playstation 2 had a recall on it power adapters a year or so ago.

What is Sony up to creating crappy parts? Are they too busy with the Playstation 3 or are we to expect and thrid-rate product from them for their next console as well?

DISCUSSION FORUMS NOW AVAILABLE

We have created a new discussion area for technobabbleonline.com and it is open for use.

Just click on the link the the right that says "Discuss the Topics" and it will go right to the discussion area.

There is registration required but I don't get any of the information so your safe.

DELL RECALLS CRAPPY BATTERIES

Batteries have been in the news for the past months with stories of explosions and fires. Dell is the latest company to be bothered with the possibility of laptop batteries exploding.

Sony makes the batteries that are in current recall, which includes 4.1 million batteries from thirty-three laptops in Dell's manufacturing line.

Lithium is a fairly dangerous element and anything that has to do with Lithium should not be taken lightly.

Many people blame the fact that since most parts for laptops, and computers in general, are crappy due to them being built in China.

Dell is reassuring consumers that the only way this happens is if there is a short circuit and that only happens in rare circumstances.

Dell isn't the only company that has been having problems with batteries lately. The first we started hearing reports of bad batteries was with Apple's new MacBook Pro. This has been photoed and you can find photos on the internet of swelling and exploding batteries.

Best advice for now? Keep your laptop off your lap and turn it off when you don't use it. Dell says for their computers in particular to shut down the laptop, take out the battery, and plug in your laptop to use it.

Who's next? HP/Compaq? Sony? Acer? Time will only tell.

APPLE RELEASES NEW INTEL DESKTOP

Apple has just released the last of it's Intel computers with the new Mac Pro.

This system promises to be very powerful with options of two 2GHz to 3GHz Dual Core Zeon processors, up to 16GB of DDR2 RAM, up to four hard drives with a total of 2 terabytes to local storage, 4 nVidia GeForce 7300 GT cards, as well as an option for 2 superdrives.

I think this system really puts Apple on the top end as far as desktops go. You can even get an optional fibre channel card.

If what everyone has been saying about the new Intel chip is really true this is the fastest computer on the market now.

AMD AND ATI BECOME LOVERS AFTER ALL

Rumors for the past couple of weeks have been flying about a possible merger between AMD and ATI.

Well, it seems our rumors have become truth as AMD and ATI joined hands in a coalition against Intel on July 24, 2006 at a cost of 5.4 billion dollars.

To most people this is viewed as a despiration move for AMD as they don't seem to have a new chip to compete with the new Intel Core 2 chips.

Though the real reason may never be know to us AMD and ATI seem to think the reall reason is integrating their processor and graphics chips to create a new chip.

This is an interesting move for AMD as nVidia has been making a fairly good chipset for AMD for a long time called nForce.

We'll see how long this lasts and whether or not this merger will really give AMD what it needs to beat Intel.

FINAL FANTASY BACK ON AOL RADIO

Final Fantasy fans were saddened when Final Fantasy Radio was taken off of AOL Radio. This made it quite hard to get Final Fantasy music to listen to (until iTunes started releasing it - though you still can't purshase Final Fantasy music in Canada as of yet) and now AOL has brought back the popular radio station thanks to popular demand.

I am a Final Fantasy fan myself and I always loved this station. Like I said above you can't purchase Final Fantasy music on the Canadian iTunes music store. You can only find it on eBay and some select other small resources.

If you are interested in listening into the radio station please click on the title or go to aolradio.com.

NEW TECHNOBABBLE LOGOS

You'll notice we've updated the logo for technobabbleonline.com. We'll see if this is the one we'll keep.

If you have any ideas for the logo submit it to us.

Enjoy.

MICROSOFT ANNOUCES 3 PART SERMON

Microsoft has announced "Windows Principles" that include twelve tenets. Apparently this is to encourage competition.

I will breifly state the points below, if you need clarification please click on the title above:

PRINCIPLE I: CHOICE FOR COMPUTER MANUFACTURERS AND CUSTOMERS

1. Installation of any software
2. Easy access.
3. Defaults.
4. Exclusive promotion of non-Microsoft programs.
5. Business terms.

PRINCIPLE II: OPPORTUITIES FOR DEVELOPERS

6. APIs.
7. Internet services.
8. Open internet access.
9. No exclusivity.

PRINCIPLE III: INTEROPERABILITY FOR USERS

10. Communications protocols.
11. Availability of Microsoft patents.
12. Standards.

[all of the above was a direct quote from the statement you can view by clicking on the title]

There are just a few points that I would like to turn on then I will let you all go home. If you could turn to "Principle I", chapter three (Defaults), I would like to point out some interesting facts about the new way Windows is going to work. Microsoft is stating here that Windows will no longer default to any if it's pre-installed programs such as Internet Explorer or Outlook Express (whether or not then decide to include Outlook Express in the new version I don't know). Now that's nothing new to what is happening now however this opens up the topic of whether or not Microsoft is still going to require you to use Internet Explorer for certain things.

Now if you could turn with me to "Principle II" chapter seven (Internet services). There is also something here to point out as well. Microsoft is clearly stating that Windows Live services will with come bundled with your computer that you buy or not. It sounds like you have the option somehow during the first boot I would imagine. Basically they are not forcing their software on you and that is a big thing. However, I have to say the Windows Live services are pretty good and I would still suggest to anyone to check them out.

My last point I would like to tell you about is in "Principle III" chapter ten (Communications protocols). Microsoft states here that all of ot proprietary communication protocols will be made available to anyone who is willing to purchase the documentation from them. However they're obviously still working on the documentation because the point states, "Microsoft will document protocols supported in Windows as part of the product design process".

In any case It seems that Microsoft is trying to move away from it's big bully character and try to become a little more friendly with everyone. It looks like they'll be doing a little open source work as well which is great. They're also going to try to get Windows to interoperate with "others" in the industry (ad hoc style0. What does that mean? I'll give a little push to Microsoft trying to work with another computer and operating system company with a fruit as its logo and leave it at that.

That concludes the sermon. Leave in Peace.

SONY DSC-W30

I recently purchased a Sony Cybershot DSC-W30 to review. This is my first digital camera however, I have had a chance to work with many in the past.

Many people don't consider Sony to be the best digital camera at this level and I am not about to spout my allegiance to Sony.

This camera was purchased first off to take pictures of Cee at her graduation and I can tell you switching from film to digital takes a little more than a sitting to get used to.

This digital camera has a quick startup time which is helpful when you try to get a shot really quick. However to get the high-quality shot you need the subject to be standin still. The save time for the camera is quite slow and if you want muliple pictures at the same time the only way to do that is with the Mulit-burst mode available with the camera.

The DSC-W30 is a 6 MegaPixel, 3x zoom (9x digital), and quite a large display on the back. The controls are fairly easy to use but I have to say the actual zoom switch feels a little flimsy.

This camera uses a proprietary Li-Ion battery and the Sony MemoryStick Pro Duo for memory. I purchased a Lexar 512MB memory card. The camera comes with outputs to USB and A/V for your television.

This camera will also do video just like other digital cameras however a unique feature to this camera, which other digital cameras have started to incorporated, and that is it can record not just 15 or 30 second bursts but as long as the memory card will record. This is really cool because the 512MB stick can hold over 22 minutes of video. It records in MP4 format.

I can't say this is the best camera in the world however this is a great choice for the price tag of $299 CAN.

My favourite part of this camera is how small it is. Without the camera pouch that I bought to go with it the camera would very comfortable fit in your pocket and leaver enough room for your iPod and cellphone (that is if you want to use the same pocket and you carry all those things with you at the same time).

MOVIES ON MEMORY STICK

Sony is reportedly in talks with the movie industry to distribute movies on Sony Memory Stick Pro Duos special for the PSP.

By the report that I read there will be four movies contained on a installation disc that comes with your memory stick purchase. You would then choose one of them and unlock them with a special unlock code provided.

This however is no indication that the UMD media is over and done with but it does show the ability of the memory stick media.

The only question now is how long until they put whole games on the memory sticks?

Send us your comments.

EBIBLE.COM

eBible.com is a cool site even if you are not religious in any aspect or are just exploring whats out there.

eBible is a great resource. On this website you can search for words that are in the Bible. You can also search for books of the Bible.

This site contains multiple translations of the Bible and when I asked if they would be including the New Internation Version (NIV - probably the most widely used in churches today) of the Bible eBible.com replied that they were looking into licensing for the version.

I will inform you all when the service is out of beta. If you are interested in an invite I will send you one but its first come first serve (I only have 3 invites).

BELL GLOBEMEDIA TO BUYOUT CHUM

Word comes today that one of Canada's biggest communications companies is to purchase CHUM, another one of Canada's big entertainment companies.

Bell Globemedia is on the way to purchasing CHUM and with it some if the biggest television channels on cable and satellite television. Bell owns the CTV networks as well as Discovery Channel. This buyout will give Bell Globemedia the CityTV channels as well as a network of other channels. This also include a bunch of radio stations.

This will give Bell the monopoly in Canada for entertainment.

A purchase of this magnatude has to be approved by the CRTC. Bell claims that they will sell of the smaller stations and keep the CityTV channels in Toronto.

Whatever the case, this will kill the entertainment in Canada. We will have to see the Bell Globemedia all the time and the programming will go to crap just like on all the other Bell channels.

THE CAPTAIN'S CHAIR

This one is especially for those who love their surround sound! The 115 lb, sued appolstered Multimedia Chair from Hammacher Schlemmer (www.hammacher.com) allows those seated in it to experience every movie, video game, or sports game as if it were in the cinema. Two 50-watt speakers blast sound into your ears from the headrest as you feel the crashes and battles through the chair's tactile sound technology - which is used in theme park rides and flight simulators to feel like you're really in the action. A 300-watt amp is in the base of the chair as well as a side panel to control both volume and vibration. Also, a headphone jack is in the side panel in case your girlfriend/boyfriend gets irritated with the noise from your chair.

To acquire this chair fit for the captain of any spaceship, you'll have to fork out $799.95(US).
Scotty, beam me up!

THIS WAS WRITTEN AND POSTED BY CEE

WINDOWS 98 AND 2000 NO LONGER SUPPORTED

Microsoft has been warning consumers who still run Windows 98, ME, or 2000 on their computers to upgrade or ship-out (well, not quite like that) because Microsoft is not going to be supporting those versions of Windows any longer.

Microsoft has also ended support of Windows 2000. This is worrying IT specialists inside corporations all around the world as they are hurrying up their testing and deployment of Windows XP on their networks.

As of today, July 11, 2006 Microsoft will not support either of these operating systems.

As soon as this was reported there are now reports that Microsoft is soon to chop Windows XP SP1. This cannot be confirmed at this moment, however XP SP1 will, of course, not be supported some time in the future.

A few weeks before the deadline there was a critical security flaw found in Windows dating from XP SP2 all the way back to 98. As soon as this flaw was discovered Microsoft announced that the flaws in 98 and 2000 were not going to be fixed because they would have to re-write a lot of the operating system code.

There is a fundamental problem with the decision that Microsoft made to not support 98 and 2000 any longer. There are a lot of people that still use these operating systems and especially 98. People that still have the computers connected to the internet are now vulnerable to all the viruses out there on the web and if these computers are not removed from the internet all other computers that run windows are still vulnerable.

A suggestion to all users of 98 or 2000: if you can afford buying an OEM copy if Window XP Home ($120 CAN online) and your computer meets the requirements (and if just barely) you should upgrade until you can afford a new PC. Even a new computer can cost as low as $399 CAN (Acer has a few of these as well as Dell).

If you still use Windows 98, ME, or 2000 please email us by clicking on the link to the right or leave a comment by clicking on the comment link below.

AND YOU THOUGHT ONLY SUPERMAN COULD SEE THROUGH WALLS

There are only two things I know of that can see through walls: Superman and the Griffin AirClick Remote Control for Mac and PC. This remote is a regular USB with "supermachanic" powers. All you have to do to tap into this power is to put the reciever into your USB port. The remote uses RF signals that will go through any wall up to 60 feet away. This makes listening to your music on iTunes while sitting on your couch alot easier(but is usefull for many other things as well). The five button remote allows you to play/pause, go to the next track, return to the previous track, and raise or lower the volume. Also a hold button and clip so your little brother doesn't switch the song on you while you're air-guitaring!
This power will cost you $44 US or $49 CAN.

Do you have the power in the palm or your hand?

THIS WAS WRITTEN AND POSTED BY CEE

WHO NEEDS BUSINESS CARDS ANYWAY?

Another of those interesting gadgets that gadget lovers must have. This one is the Kensington PocketScan Portable Business Card Scanner. This little diddy allows you to not have to take that ever-so-wanted business card and enter all the information into your contact database on your computer manually. Instead you can scan that business card, with the help of the Kensington PocketScan Portable Business Card Scanner, and all the information will magically appear in your contact database.

The features of this 2 year warrentied, handy-dandy scanner are:
• Multi-language support: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Dutch
• ‘Multi-Scan’ and ‘Double-Side Scan’ ensures a card with two sides can be scanned
• ‘Automatic Filed Identifier’ ensures that data is stored by the property of each field
• ‘Export Card Information’ allows card data to be directly exported to Outlook, Outlook Express, Palm, Win CE and most other PIM’s
• ‘Infrared Transmission’ allows card data to be exported to mobile phones and PDAs
• Requires no external power supply

This business card scanner costs £75.99 which is $140 US or $158 CAN.

THIS WAS WRITTEN AND POSTED BY CEE

TECHNOBABBLE PODCAST EPISODE 9 - JONES SODA

Episode 9 is now ready for download. We talk about Jones Soda (we are not in anyway supported or affiliated with Jones Soda, but it's good stuff) and the games we've lately reviewed on the website.

We have discontinued the contest due to lack of interest. We'll try again in the future.

We will be posting the podcast up on Podcast Alley soon and we are up on Podcast Pickle. I don't like to promote the pocast through bugging the listeners to vote but if you could do just that we would really appreciate it. Word of mouth is really good as well. If you refer them to the podcast please refer them to the website as well.

If you have any suggestions for the podcast email us by clicking on the link to the left.

Thanks for sticking with us. Enjoy!

NINTENDO DS LITE FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I have finally gotten my hands on a Nintedo DS Lite and boy am I happy that I got it.

Nintendo released the Nintendo DS in late 2004 to beat out the upcoming release of the Sony PSP.

Immediately the mobile console was a hit and sold out in Japan and sold many units in North America as well.

Nintendo has continued the tradition of updating their products and in May released an update the the Nintendo DS call the DS Lite.

The DS Lite decreases in size physically but still keeps all the power of the original DS. The Lite sports brighter back-lit displays, better buttons and shorter, thicker stylus as well as integrated wi-fi (that only works up to 20 metres)

The DS Lite also still supports the GameBoy Advance cartriges but I was sad to see there was no legacy support for the old GameBoy Colour and GameBoy games (so I still have to hang on to my GameBoy Advance SP).

The DS Lite is only available in a polished white colour here in North America. This colour may in fact remind you of a little company in California that has a fruit for its name.

The cartriges for the DS system are so small. They are just a little bigger than an Canadian "loonie" in size and only a fraction of the size of a GameBoy cartridge.

The DS Lite is a great system and is highly interactive.

I also purchased the New Super Mario Bros game and Konami's Lost in Blue. Both these games use all of the DS's features, even the mic.

The DS is a big seller in stores and has put Sony's PSP on the backburner.

The DS Lite will most likely sell out the PSP and will win the portable battle. The sheer simplicity of the DS just makes it a more fun handheld. To be fair though the PSP is not just a gaminig machine and also contains a processor capable of over 300MHz making it very capable.

It's up to you. If all you want to do is play games then there is no reasong to pay $70 (CAN) more for a Sony PSP but if you want to watch movies, listen to music and browse the web then the PSP is the best way to go.

TECHNOBABBLE PODCAST EPISODE 8

I hope all the Canadians out there had a great Canada Day on the 1st and the Americans that read and listen to the podcast has a great Independence Day on the 4th.

Episode 8 is now available for download by going directly to switchpod by clicking on the Podcast link to the right or by going to iTunes and searching podcasts for "techno_babble".

We talked about news and briefly on some technology developments in the gaming sector.

Episode 9 is going to be a game review podcast and hopefully Cee, Kevin, and I (Jeff) will be there for the whole podcast.

As always send us your email by clicking the Email link the right. We want to hear from you about anything you want to say about our website and our podcast.

ENJOY!!!

THE BOND OF ALL PENS

Something for all gadget lovers out there. This new toy is pact full of sweet buttons and pull-outs so the gadget happy won't get tired of it. This pen from usb.brando.com.hk is complete with mp3, fm radio, built in mircrophone for voice recording, data storage- usb port, LED indicator, shockproof and electromagnetic wave protection (!), and supports Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP, Linux or Mac Os. Cool, ain't it? Some of the other specifications are: 240mAh Li-Ion battery, 512MB stores up to 32 hours of voice recordings, and maximum playback time of 7 hours.

This nifty, little pen comes with:

USB MP3 Pen + FM Radio + Voice Recorder

Earphone

Driver CD

AC adapter

USB extended cable

User's Manual

The cost for a 512MB is US $48.00 and for a 1G is US$68.00

I've seen a few pens with a few gadgets added to them but never one that's shockproof and has electromagnet wave protection. I wonder what the holders of this pen are really hiding in the 512MB of storage that they don't want erased? Perhaps the location of that stolen helicopter, eh Bond?

THIS WAS WRITTEN AND POSTED BY CEE

WORLD OF WARCRAFT

I have been spending a lot of time lately on World of Warcraft. Yes, I'm just another World of Warcraft junkie.

I have been playing for about a month now and have one main character and several alternate characters including a twink (and character decked out with sweet weapons and armor meant for alliance and horde skirmishes at Warsong Gulch).

If you want to talk to me in WoW log into the Kael'thas server and whisper Capdauntless or Capintrepid. I am usually on after 4PM EST.

MICROSOFT INTERNET EXPLORER 7.0 BETA 3

Microsoft has released Beta 3 of their internet browser Internet Explorer 7.0.

Beta 3 has made some refinements from beta 2 graphics-wise and looks alot nicer. I need to check into the new version more and I will post an update as soon as I can.

YA CANADA CORP WALLACEBURG QUARANTINED

[WALLACEBURG, ON, CANADA]YA (Young America) Canada Corporation's Wallaceburg, Ontario facility was evacuated and quarantined June 29, 2006 pertaining to an "unknown substance" found inside the location.

Thursday at around 12:30 PM (EST) emergency vehicles and personnel arrived at YA Canada in Wallaceburg and proceeded to investigate a report on an "unknown substance". A little while later supervisors and managers within the company issued an evacuation order to all employees of the Wallaceburg facility.

Employees were surprised and startled to be evacuated and were just as surprised to see the whole facility cut off by yellow police tape and cars blocking all vehicle access in and out of the building. Employees were also concerned about belongings left inside the building and when the authorities were asked if they could retrieve their belongings they were denied and asked to remain outside of the building for one and a half hours.

A statement from the supervisor of the current shift announced that the faciliy would early-release all employees but the facility would be open the next day for overtime if the employees desired to make up the time.

The police cruisers were moved shortly and the employees were allowed off of the property.

No one was injured in this incident.

Young America Canada is a subsidiary of Young America Corporation from Young America, Minnesota. YA's facility in Wallaceburg, ON processes rebates for various fortune 500 companies from around the world.

I was close to the matter however I can't tell you how or why because that stomps on personal ground.

There are other things I would like to discuss but I cannot at this time because we have been asked by management to not discuss anything with the press.

I know this doesn't have anything to do with technology besides we use computers to input the rebates, but this is the most bizarre thing in which I've ever been involved.

MOTOROLA Q NOW AVAILABLE FROM TELUS MOBILITY

The fabled Motorola Q is now reality. It has been released here in Canada with Telus as it's service provider.

I haven't gotten my hands on it yet however I think we can make a few observations.

The actual dimensions are very interesting. It is alot thinner than my BlackBerry that I bought a while back.

It has a complete QWERTY keyboard, 1.3 Megapixel camera, 312MHz Intel processor and a mini SD card slot.

This is really cool but unfortunately there is no WiFi so you won't be able to use Skype on your Q just yet.

Stand by for an update when we get a chance to get a hold of it.

PODCAST UPDATE

The podcast has uploaded out of nowhere and I am updating links right now so you can get the podcast. You can subscribe on iTunes by searching "techno_babble" in the search box of iTunes Music Store Podcast section.

UPDATE: I have updated all the links and you can directly subscribe to my podcast feed. Thanks for being so patient.

UPDATE: As you can see I have episodes 6 1/2 and 7 up. They are basically the same thing as each other. If you want a short version pick 7 (25min) but it's just me (Jeff) babbling on in monotone. 6 1/2 is about an hour long but is more interesting because Cee was able to join me for the whole thing.

Thanks again for your patience while we had our technical difficulties. If you're curious, we were able to stay with Switchpod and we would recommend the service to anybody that does podcasting.

TECHNOBABBLE PODCAST

We are not podfading. We are looking for a new host for our podcast. We have done many podcasts and have had problems with uploading files to our current host.

In preperation for our new host we are having a logo contest. We want to put a picture in the podcast files and we want a new logo. All it has to contain is technobabbleonline.com in any form or fashion. Make is at least 800x600 in size because I need to make it big enough to put on the t-shirt.

Send your submissions to technobabble001@gmail.com.

The winning entry will receive a technobabbleonline.com t-shit with the new logo on it.

KINGDOM HEARTS II REVIEW

Square-Enix released Kingdom Hearts a few years ago for the PS2 and no one in the gaming industry was sure how a story based around Disney movies and final fantasy characters and an unsuspecting main character.

Up till a few months ago fans of the first Kingdom Hearts have been huddling around their Gameboy Advances playing Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories (which also included FMV - full motion video - from Kingdom Hearts for the PS2) and then there was Kingdom Hearts II (herein called KMII).

Being released almost 6 months ago I have definately had enough time to write a review for KMII and here it is.

STORY

KMII continues the story from Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories. You still have your cast of characters from the previous games including Sora, Donald, Goofy minus Riku.

You start as a new character named Roxas with his own band of friends and and his own set of problems.

You're looking for King Mickey still when you're in character with Sora and Riku's disappeared completely off the map.

If I tell you more it will give away the story.

GAMEPLAY

The controls are much better now. The triangle button is the dedicated action button now and also doubles as a special combat move button. During attacks on certain enemies you can press triangle and Sora or Roxas will execute a special attack.

Sora and Roxas also have the ability to use more than one keyblade. SAAAWEEEEEET!

The camera has improved like 2000%. It's not stupid anymore and it is controlled by the R stick now. So much easier.

The rest of the controls remain the same.

GRAPHICS

The graphics are a great improvement over Kingdom Hearts I. So much of an improvement that this game actually proves to push the PS2 to its limits.

Colours are rich, characters well-detailed, and menus graphically stuning and easy to navigate.

Beyond that there isn't much more to say.

They FMVs are visually stunning and really show the maturity of the PS2 and Square-Enix's artistic ability.

SOUND

Yoko Shimomura is the mastermind behind the music in KMII an deserves a round of applause. His music ranks up there with Nobuo Uematsu (who has now left Square-Enix and has his own company) and really adds to the game.

Utada Hikaru is the vocalist for the theme song again and the theme is just unreal. To add another demension she even reversed her voice for the soundtrack. Its so cool. It's a mix between J-pop and contemporary but it is amazing and if you have a chance check out Utada on the iTunes music store.

Overall KMII is a visually, and audibly stunning conclusion to Kingdom Hearts. Check it out. You won't be disappointed.

STORY________9.8/10
GAMEPLAY____9.5/10
GRAPHICS_____9.7/10
SOUND________9.6/10
OVERALL______9.65

OPERA WEB BROWSER

Opera is one of the "big three" in the internet browser world right now (Opera, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Internet Explorer). Notice I don't include Netscape. That's because it isn't that popular anymore.

I have used all of the above mentioned web browsers and must say they all have their times when they shine as well as the opposite.

Opera's browser is probably the slickest interface I've seen. Why is it the slickest, you say? Not only does every other browser (comparing Firefox 1.5 and Internet Explorer 7) have Opera's functionality but Opera also has a simple interface.

The browser is very fast and is quite easy to use. The "Home" page button disappears though when you are viewing a page. I find it annoying to do an extra click to go to my home page. Opera also doesn't load your home page automatically. I know that you can use your keyboard shortcuts to do most anything in the browser but most users don't use those shortcuts.

Other than that little problem the browser is pretty well on par with all the other browsers.

My personal pick for my favourite browser is still Mozilla Firefox just for its sheer small size and simplicity of use.

If you are interested in Opera please click on the title. If you are interested in please click here.

As usual you can email us y clicking on the Email Us link to the right.

ACER ASPIRE 3620

I have just gotten a hold on the Acer Aspire 3620, mainly becuase it has recetly been discontinued.

This laptop comes with an Intel Celeron M processor at 1.6GHz, 512MB of DDR2 RAM, 40GB HD, 14.1" WXGA Glossy monitor, built-in microphone, wireless A/B/G networking, bluetooth and a CDRW/DVD drive.

The battery lasts about three hours on minimum running specs that you can adjust in the provided Acer power management software.

I owned a Toshiba Satellite A10 previous to this and sold it off. I purchased an Acer Aspire T135 desktop PC (of which I have been very happy to own) and now to continue the legacy, as it were, I purchased the Acer Aspire 3620 notebook computer.

When I was looking for my notebook I was considering all makes (including Lenovo, HP, COMPAQ, Dell, Gateway, Toshiba, Sony, Averatec, and of course Acer) and was loking at the quality and thefeatures of each to see which was the best buy.

The Acer was the best choice. It was $50 cheaper than the other laptops that I was considering at a price of $699 with the same features.

For $50 more I could have purchased an COMPAQ with a DVD Burner and a 60GB hard drive but I couldn't get the trackpad to work on it no matter what I tried.

I also considered an HP but there are so many lights on the stupid HP notebook that I was concerned about battery life.

There was also an Averatec there as well. It was the discontinued model that they were selling and it had a mobile AMD Sempron chip in it. I was interested in it because It had the AMD chip in it as well as it looked just like and Apple iBook when it was closed.

I even considered getting a new MacBook. Unfortunately the price for the MacBook is just way out of my range.

Considering all of the features included in this laptop I was pretty much forced to go for the 3620. I would have preferred to buy an Acer notebook with a Pentium M with Centrino technology but you pay a premium of $200 for that Acer notebook. I am not a super traveller so I decided to stay away from that.

The 3620 also comes in a super small package. It is thinner than my Toshiba A10 was (and I can compare because my parents were the ones that purchased it off of me) as well as half the weight. The DDR2 RAM really boosts the performance as well. The 3620 only has a 4800 RPM hard drive but it is able to keep up with my much faster AMD Sempron 1.8GHZ desktop with two 7200 RPM hard drives.

I am happy with this purchase. Keep in mind this notebook is now discontinued so if you're looing for a good deal check out your nearest Future Shop (its on sale at Future Shop for $699)or another dealer that carries this specific notebook.

Like always if you have any comments leave a comment by clicking on the comments link or drop us an email at technobabble001@gmail.com.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE 1GB IPOD NANO

I have just received a 1GB iPod nano and will be reviewing it completely in about three weeks.

I have a current generation 30GB iPod as well as have owned in the past a fourth generation 20GB iPod but have never owned a mini or a nano.

I picked one up after work yesterday and decided to give it a try.

The nano's interface is exactly the same as current generation iPod with video but smaller.

I have been playing around with the sound setup and the backlight and compared it to the 30GB iPod as well and they are very comparable.

The 1GB nano can store 240 songs. If you compress the crap out of them. I have exactly 100 songs on it right now granted six of them are audio books that are about three hours each. Even so it would be hard to get 240 songs on the iPod.

The nano is really light. Heck, the only way I remember that the nano is in my pocket is the fact that I always have my earbuds attached to it. I also carry my 30GB iPod in the same pocket and when I grab for it in remember that I have a smaller iPod in there as well.

The only thing I have to gripe about is the price. it costs $179 to get your own 1GB iPod nano. That's alot of money when you consider that you can purchase a 30GB iPod with video for $349. So lets calculate this for price per MB. Assuming that they are counting that each player holds 1000MB per GB this is the result (even though technically its 1024MB=1GB):

1GB iPod nano =$0.179/1MB or $179/1GB
30GB iPod with video =$0.012/1MB or $11.63/1GB

I know there is a fundamental difference between the two iPods in the fact that the nano uses Samsung NAND flash memory cards and the iPod with video uses a hard drive but think about it. That's a lot of money for a GB of memory.

I will post a full review on the nano in three weeks. If you have any questions just email me at technobabble001@gmail.com or comment by clicking on the comments link at the bottom of this post.

UPDATE: I have completed my testing on the 1GB iPod nano and have come up with some conclusions.

The iPod nano is basically a smaller version of its biger brother, the iPod. It can store pictures and music and has a few games as usual.

I was very impressed with the iPod nano even though going from 30GB of storage down to 1GB was pretty hard.

The sound quality seems the be a tad better on the iPod nano than on it big brother. I especially noticed this on the low bass tones. On the iPod nano the heavy bass tones in some rap and even some pop music was very clear. On the iPod with the same settings the bass seemed to create inference and it ended up sounding flat.

The form factor of the iPod nano is so great and since it has no hard drive it is extremely light. My particular iPod nano almost went through the wash becuase I forgot it was in my pocket (thats something that would never happen with my 30GB iPod with video).

I would recommend this particular music player to anyone however with a strong suggestion to go for the 4GB model. I only bought the 1GB model becuase I didn't want to pay the $300 for a 4GB model. I don't make any money off this website after all.

Oh, and Apple dropped the prices on all the iPods by at least $10. The 1GB nano now is only $169.99 from Apple's online store.

If you have any questions or comments email us or leave a comment.

APPLE RELEASES U2 SPECIAL EDITION IPOD, AGAIN

Apple has released an update to their U2 iPod that was released a while back on the old black and white screen.

Its black. Everywhere. Except fot the click-wheel. The iPod has special black metal for its back now and of course you get Bono's autograph.

That's all that's new about the iPod itself. It's basically a standard 30GB iPod with video. Nothing more.

For the extra thirdy dollars you spend to buy the iPod you get a coupon for the music store for a special concert video.

As we all know this is telling of the current generation iPod's are getting long in the tooth when Apple releases a remake of an older iPod just like they did before.