Filed under: Audio/Video, Computers, TVPlenty of companies have attempted to replicate the success of the all-in-one iMac design and failed ... often miserably. Sony has consistently come the closest to replicating Apple's success in the industrial design department, but has yet to really capture the hearts and minds of the PC buying public.Sony's latest all-in-one box just got the hands-on treatment from PC World, which liked what it saw and gave the new VAIO VGC-LT19U a 4/5 rating. ' VGC-LT19U' sure doesn't have the easy name recognition of 'iMac,' and it certainly costs quite a bit more, starting at $1,899 and topping out at $2,899 for the high-end configuration. What does this box have over the iMac? For one, the LT series VAIOs are not simply PCs, but they're also HDTVs with built-in Blu-ray burners, cable card tuners and up to 1 Terabyte of hard drive space (that's about 250 hours of HD programing). Plus, they're wall-mountable.On the downside, like all other Sony PCs this box is loaded with an obscene amount of bloatware -- trials, demos, and loads of other questionable applications PC-makers pre-install on a system in a deal with software makers that helps lower the unit's retail price. Also, the cable card tuner is not actually built into the PC, but is an unsightly black box that sits outside of the PC, detracting from and defeating the purpose of the sleek all-in-one design.Be sure to check out the rest of the PC World review for more.From EngadgetRelated Links:HP Delivers Nine New DesktopsNew iMac ArrivesLenovo Launches 15th Anniversary Thinkpad Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  Filed under: Cell Phones, ComputersCalling all technologically inclined high school seniors! Memory maker PNY launched its Seniors Helping Seniors college scholarship contest in which high school seniors (either individually or in teams of up to five) are invited to put together projects to help teach senior citizens about technology.Submissions are being accepted until December 31, and a $2,500 scholarship will be handed over to the winning team. There are also three prizes for honorable mention (a PNY-branded USB flash drive and a flash memory card) and undisclosed rewards for simply participating.Teaching seniors about the latest in computer technologies -- and how to utilize them -- is something we can all get behind. One caveat: The contest has a head-scratching requirement that all entrants be public high school students.From Gear LogRelated links:Microsoft Doubles Student Discounts on OfficeCollege Offers YouTube 101 CourseScratch-n-Sniff Old Book Smeel for E-Books Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  Filed under: Video GamesFor children, the best solution for battling obesity isn't surgically stapling a Roker ring to their stomachs, but rather educating them about exercise and healthy eating habits early on. That's the idea behind a new child-friendly video game aimed at quick-learning kids. Why quick-learning? Because the game only lets them play for 20 minutes at a time before requiring a 60 minute break. 'The Incredible Adventures of the Amazing Food Detective,' funded by mega-HMO Kaiser Permanente, tasks kids with objectives that teach them about foods and exercise, then boots them offline after 20 minutes to hopefully force them to go get less of the former and more of the latter.There are online challenges in both English and Spanish that have kids solving in-game puzzles, like why one character's energy levels are spiking and crashing and (spoiler alert!) how healthier snacks are the solution. There are also printable scavenger hunts thatkids can take with them if they can't get enough of the online version. The game is a move by Kaiser to try and reduce childhood obesity rates, which currently stand at a whopping 20 percent.The game is available gratis on the Web sites of both Kaiser Permanente and the CDC. It will also be distributed to 5,000 schools nationwide. If the kids are looking for something to do during the game's mandatory 60-minute recess -- and they're not fans of the outdoors -- might we recommend augmenting the curriculum with such blubber-burning video games as 'Wii Sports,' 'Dance Dance Revolution' and the upcoming 'Wii Fit.' From I4U NewsRelated Links: Nintendo Wants You Thinner, Smarter How to Play Video Games and Lose Weight, Simultaneously! Video games rot your brain, study says Video gaming not an addiction, says AMA  Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  Filed under: ComputersAs laptops get smaller and smaller they're becoming increasingly easy to steal. And, with some coming with luxe trappings like the saddle-grade French leather on Lenovo's recent 15th anniversary ThinkPad Reserve Edition, they're not necessarily getting any cheaper. Combine those assets with the saved bank account passwords and other personally identifiable information contained within and it's easy to see why laptops are becoming an ever more desirable target for thieves. Enter the Stop-Lock, a barcode-bearing, uniquely identifiable sticker that leaves a (supposedly) permanent "tattoo" on your notebook if forcibly removed.The sticker is applied to a laptop or desktop computer with an adhesive that creates a bond requiring 800 pounds of pressure to remove. The sticker contains the receiving end for a locking cable, letting you tether your device to something a thief won't be able to walk away with, like your desk or one of those Acme anvils from the cartoons. If the sticker is plied off, it leaves behind a permanent marking indicating "Stolen Property," along with a phone number others can call should they see such a laptop being used or for sale.It sounds like a step in the right direction, extending some level of protection for laptops when they can't be tethered down. However, we see two problems with this. The first, which TG Daily points out, is that often the most valuable part of the laptop is the information contained within. Once that is accessed, the stolen laptop can be dumped. The second problem is that there's certainly no shortage of sticker-laden laptops out there. It sure seems like one of those would pretty quickly hide any trace of a tattoo on the lid of your laptop.Now if only getting rid of questionable tattoos on your skin were that easy ...From TG DailyRelated Links: Lenovo Launches 15th-Anniversary ThinkPad How to Clean a Keyboard Spill How to Rescue a Wet Laptop  Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  Filed under: Cell Phones, BlackBerryThey say kids these days don't read. In Japan, however, teens are back into reading novels big-time with one major difference: They're reading them on cell phones.Mobile novels (called "keitai" in Japan), books written for the cell phone screen, have taken off with startling success in the east. These serial-based novels are delivered in read-on-the-corner byte-sized chunks on a regular basis to hungry young subscribers. Most are written by young authors in their teens and 20s, and are penned in a comic-like shorthand script.Several titles have seen huge success, especially when compared to how traditional novels have been selling lately. One such novel, written by a 27 year-old woman named "Chaco", receives over 25,000 readers per day. When a book company begged her to turn the mobile novel into a real book, it sold 440,000 copies. Meanwhile, a relatively new online community for cell phone novels called Maho i-Land has over six million members.Possibly more shockingis the fact that the authors of these books usually write them using just their thumbs and cellphones. Talk about a bad case of BlackBerry thumb!From textuallyRelated links:Friday YouTube Fix: Woman Taunts Polar BearDirect-To Cell Phone Advertising ComingJapan Promises a New Internet by 2020 Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  Filed under: Video Games'Halo 3' officially launched yesterday to almost universal praise, the sort of warm reception we haven't seen since ... well ... 'Bioshock' last month. But, there was one flaw in Microsoft's multi-million dollar 'Halo 3' launch extravaganza: scratched discs for those who ponied up the extra $10 for the tin-cased premium edition. For Microsoft, it seems 'premium' meant using clips that did a poor job of holding the game disc in place, leaving it to slide around inside the metal case and get scratched up. Thankfully, Microsoft has been quick to offer free replacements for those who find their discs scratched. The program is an extension of the disc replacement service the company already offers to those who have damaged their Microsoft-published games, but in this case the usual $20 fee has been waived. Can't Microsoft catch a break? This latest case of damaged goods follows the company's other, more publicized replacement program, which extended the warranties offered to Xbox 360 owners who purchased defective systems (estimated at one point to be as high as 30 percent of all 360s sold). That last lack of quality control cost Gates and the boys a whopping $1 billion. Ouch.As with the console warranty program, you'll have mail your defective copy of 'Halo 3' to Microsoft HQ in Washington and wait up to two weeks for a replacement disc. But, hey, what's another two weeks of waiting to spend some quality time with one of the most favored contenders for best game of 2007, right?Just in case you need it: Microsoft's Disc Replacement ProgramFrom JoystiqRelated Links: 'Halo 3' Receives Thumbs Up Across the Web 'Halo 3' Breaks Sales Records -- Before it Goes on Sale 'BioShock' May Be the Best Game Ever  Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  Filed under: Cell PhonesIn what is quickly turning into a game of can you top this, Arizona's cell phone industry is crafting its own little slice of inconvenience in response to Phoenix's new law banning texting while driving. The lobbyist for the Arizona Competitive Telecommunications Association, Susan Bitter Smith (you can't make this stuff up), is claiming that the new Phoenix law "unfairly targets cell phone texting by motorists as a cause of accidents" (it fine drivers up to $100 for sending or receiving text messages on cell phones and other handheld devices while their vehicle is moving). The penalty goes up to $250 if there's an accident.Bitter Smith and her organization's response has been to propose a statewide law, banning all activities that might distract one while driving. In addition to the text ban, the law could include everything from turning around to yell at the kids in the back seat to eating while steering.Rep. Steve Farley (D-Tucson) is calling BS. "She's gambling that people will be very upset by something that will not allow them to eat or put makeup on while they're driving," Farley said. "That would not have any support and the whole thing would die."Our take? We're all for keeping the roads safer by getting people off their BlackBerrys while driving, but can't think of anything more un-American than not being able to turn around and yell at your kids while choking down a Cinnabon as you do hit 50 mph in a 35 mph zone.From EastValleyTribuneRelated Posts:California bans cell phone use for teen driversVolvo's new safety features wake up sleepy drivers Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  Filed under: Cell Phones, MySpaceThe barrage of new iPhone killers continues on a pace with updated versions of the popular and user-friendly T-Mobile Sidekicks. Though specs and rumors have been floating around the blogosphere for the past couple of months, the new Sidekick LX and Sidekick Slide are at last official and should be available from T-Mobile's Web site and retail stores in a couple of weeks.True to their iPhone-killing essence, both new Sidekicks are significantly slimmed down, almost to the point of being as slim as the iPhone itself. But unlike the iPhone, these two quasi-smart-phones -- popular with teens, hipsters, and Hollywood types -- have actual keyboards that are among the more comfortable out there.The Sidekick LX (pictured, above) retains the phone's signature swivel screen, but adds a WQVGA screen high-def LCD, mood lights that flash in different patterns depending on whether you're getting an SMS, IM, e-mail, or phone call, an improved Web browser with better JavaScript support (so more animated Web sites will work), and a custom MySpace app. Out on October 17th for $299.99 with a two-year service agreement, the LX comes in brown or blue.The black and deep purple Sidekick Slide (pictured, right) eschews the swivel screen for a more traditional slide, but it's got the most sophisticated and sleek looks of any Sidekick so far (no surprise, given that it's made by Motorola, home of the RAZR). It's smaller than the Sidekick LX and has a little bit less battery time (5.9 hours of battery time versus the LX's 6.9 hours). The Slide is out on November 7th for $199.99 (with a two-year service agreement).Both phones will feature the same cartoonish, user-friendly interface the Sidekick is famous for, as well as built-in, real-time, AOL IM, Windows Live and Yahoo! Messenger support. Also: Bluetooth, support for up to 4-gigabytes (GB) of external memory, and quad-band world phone capability. The bulky size of previous Sidekicks was a big drawback, so we're loving these new slimmed-down handsets, but we're also a bit disappointed that the built-in cameras are still only 1.3 megapixels. And though the improved Web browser is welcome, it won't make much of a difference since neither device has Wi-Fi, so you'll have to depend on T-Mobile's less-than-broadband-idyllic EDGE network for data.Then again, the Sidekicks have always been about those easy-to-use keyboards. If you're a heavy text-message- or e-mail-sender, you may want to pick one of these up next month.Related Links:My Space Coming to T-Mobile SidekickThe Switched Questionnaire: Jamie KennedyCelebrity BlackBerry Addicts Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  Filed under: Audio/Video, Computers, iPodToday, Amazon.com quietly re-targeted its missiles to point them squarely at Apple. The Internet superstore has launched a public test version of amazonmp3, its new music download service that offers MP3s compatible with every digital media player on the planet. That means you can download tracks and listen to them with iTunes and iPod just as easily as you could with Windows Media Player and, say, a Creative Zen.The songs are also free of DRM copy protection, meaning you can freely copy them from device to device without getting tripped up by legal red tape. Unfortunately, that means the store is only offering songs from Universal and EMI, the two major labels that have gotten with the times and dropped DRM. Warner and Sony still won't set their songs free on the Internet without DRM, which means they won't be appearing on amazonmp3 any time soon. Even Universal and EMI haven't opened up their catalogs completely, further diminishing what's available on amazonmp3.That said, we like what we see so far. Unlike iTunes, there's no flat rate for songs and albums. Songs are generally 99 cents a pop, though the top 100 songs are offered at a 10-cent discount. Just like in a music store at the mall, there's a bargain bin for albums (usually priced $8.99) that price as low as $4.99 and under. We found some excellent multi-track singles from the likes of Nirvana, Lily Allen and the Pixies for dirt-cheap.One thing to note: While songs can be downloaded a la carte through your browser, you will need to download an amazonmp3 client program in order to download albums - but you're already used to that from using iTunes anyway.Overall, we think we've found a new way to buy music. The selection isn't as big as we'd like it right now, but if you've already got all of your information stored with Amazon as a customer anyway, this really couldn't be any more convenient.Related Links:Amazon Spins Up Digital Music Store (AOL Money & Finance)Five Annoying Things About iTunes' New Ringtone ServiceWal-Mart's New Downloads Play on iPods, Zunes, Cell Phones and More Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  Filed under: Cell Phones, Computers, E-Mail AddictionMobile, instant, always-on access to everyone you know is the new obnoxious forefront in communications technology. A new start-up calling itself Trumpia, has decided to take the obsession with constant communication to its absurd illogical extreme.Sign up with Trumpia, then betray your own sense of decency by inputting all of your friends' contact info ... and we mean all of it. Input, e-mail, cell phone and instant messenger information. Then you can "blast" all of your friends at once, hitting them on every communication device possible short of a ham radio.That way, no one can possibly claim that they didn't get your message -- unless they were lost for a few days in the Himalayas. In fact, the only way your (soon-to-be former) friends can stop you from "blasting" them, is to sign up for the service themselves and block you. If you think the whole thing sounds kind of shady and caustic, you're not alone.From TechCrunchRelated Links:NYC Subway Stations Wired for Cell PhonesCell Phones Get the OK in HospitalsEmergency Alert System 2.0 Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  Filed under: Cell Phones, CelebritiesThough most people believe the Vapors' 1980 hit song 'Turning Japanese' is a musical ode to pleasuring oneself, the song could also be used to describe Hollywood. For years, A-list stars who wouldn't be caught dead shilling for candy bar, energy drink or cell phone companies (is Catherine Zeta-Jones considered A-list?) have been happy to take the money of Japanese companies to appear in ads that would never be shown on this side of the planet. Or, so they thought. A Web site called Japander.com was the first to really blow the lid off of this grift and remains a top destination on the Web to watch Japanese ads starring American celebrities. But, the jig was officially up when YouTube rolled around and made video sharing so easy, your Grammy could do it. Aside from the shock of realizing that A-listers have no standards whatsoever, what's really great about the ads is watching the celebs chatter on excitedly about a product in Japanese -- as if they have a clue as to what they're saying! What celebrities are we talking about here? Harrison Ford, George Clooney, Jodie Foster and Kevin Coster, just to name a few. Our friends at GeekSugar spotted Brad Pitt's latest pitch for a cell phone, but here are some classics you can't miss: Ben Stiller gets excited for sodaArnold Schwarzenegger gets stupid for an energy drinkSean Connery kicks back with some Japanese ScotchNicholas Cage sings for his supperJodie Foster is washed upFrom GeekSugarRelated Links: Best Ever Celebrity Tech Ads Soccer Stud David Beckham Gets Naked for the MotoRAZR2 Star Athlete's Wife Gets Text Message Meant For Mistress The Raciest Ads on the Web  Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  Filed under: Cell Phones, Computers, MySpaceMySpace is playing catchup with Facebook which has offered a mobile version for a while. Oddly enough, the discovery of the soon-to-launch mobile MySpace comes right on the heels of a MySpace Mobile for Sidekicks announcement.Visiting mobile.myspace.com reveals a text-only, MySpace-branded page with the message 'MySpace has a new WAP mobile site that's free for every mobile phone user! It's fast loading, easy to use, and brand new -- look for it at this address going live tomorrow! -Tom'How this will affect paid-for applications like the AT&T, Helio, and soon-to-be launching Sidekick apps remains to be seen. No matter how much you love MySpace, though, we can't figure why it would be necessary to have 24 hour on the go access to MySpace on your RAZR. But, we won't judge.By the way, Switched mobile can be found at http://m.switched.com.From Crunch GearRelated links:MySpace Coming to T-Mobile SidekickFacebook Costing Businesses $264 Million Daily in Lost Man HoursYour Online Friends Aren't Real Friends, Says Study Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  Filed under: ComputersNine months after the much delayed, and much ballyhooed launch of Windows Vista, things are not looking good for Microsoft's new operating system. Since its release, users have lodged a litany of complaints against Bill Gates's new baby, including poor device and application compatibility, high hardware requirements, and frequent crashes. In order to sell new computers, which more often than not come with Vista pre-installed, PC manufacturers and retailers are now offering to downgrade customers back to Windows XP. The U.K. electronics retailer Dabs.com now offers to install XP onto new Sony VAIO computers instead of Vista, with the option to switch back to Vista in the future. As we reported last April, Dell has also begun offering XP as an option over Vista, and even Microsoft itself recently made it easier for partner PC-makers to roll machines back to Windows XP.But, there's more bad news for the ailing operating system. DSG Internation, the company behind several large consumer electronics outlets in Europe (Dixon's, Curry's, and PC World among others) has been forced to severely discount Vista machines after lackluster sales. To add insult to injury, many mainstream manufacturers are now offering or preparing to offer the Linux operating system as an alternative to any flavor of Windows.Microsoft's Service Pack 1 for Vista is now available in limited beta tests. This first system update is critical for Vista since, traditionally, most businesses wait for the the release of the first service pack before migrating to a new version of Windows. If user complaints are not addressed in this update, many consumers may choose to skip Vista altogether. Considering the fact that Microsoft just ended support for Windows 98 last May, it's possible people will remain with XP until something better comes along. From SlashdotRelated Links:Help For Moving Into a New Vista PCDell Selling Linux Based ComputersVista Sells 40 Million CopiesDell Goes Back to Windows XP Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

  This week, at the first international conference on breast enlargement taking place in London, Patrick Mallucci will present a formula that he claims makes up the perfect set of breasts. He is sharing his discovery in the hopes of helping other plastic surgeons that also perform breast enlargements.According to Mallucci, it's all about the location of the nipple. He says that on the perfect breast, "the nipple sits not at the half-way mark down the breast, but at about 45 percent from the top." Just what kind of research, field-testing and evidence gathering went into this calculation? Nudie magazines. According to the U.K.'s Daily Mail paper, Mallucci spent hours pouring over photos of topless women in magazines and newspapers (in the U.K., papers such as The Sun feature photos of topless models every day).His 'findings' combined with his own personal tastes formed a schematic of the perfect breast on which Mallucci now bases breast augmentation surgeries. "All of the models I looked at conformed to these parameters. None of them were augmented and yet they were clearly considered to have beautiful breasts, so I wanted to examine how that could be achieved in someone not so well-endowed by using an implant."Mallucci is the co-founder of the site MyBreast.org, a site where surgeons can share best practices and where women can find reputable doctors. According to Mallucci, the British model Caprice (above, right) is in possession of a perfect pair of breasts, while Victoria Beckham (above, left) has the breasts his clients most often cite as the ones they do not want.What do you think? Is this guy a crackpot or is he onto something? Is there really such a thing as the perfect breast, or is beauty in the eye of the...ehem...beholder?From Daily MailRelated Links:Are Your Gadgets Making You Sick?Cell Phones Interfere With Most Hospital Equipment, Study SaysResearchers Kill Viruses With Lasers Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments