Cool gadgets, we must all buy one…

Yubikey II – got it

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yubikeySo I just received my YubiKey II in the mail yesterday, it’s quite nice not as pretty as the original YubiKey but way more robust.

What is a Yubikey you ask, well that is complicated to explain, but basically it’s a token that will generate one time passwords – you can hence use it to login to websites and services (that of cause need to support the Yubikey), the cool thing here is that with “One time passwords” you do not need to fear that someone steals your password (malware, virus or keylogger) as you get a new password every time you use the key to login..

It’s way cool, and quite easy to implement on your own website or in your own software as there are numerous public API’s available..

The company behind and their description of the key
http://www.yubico.com
http://www.yubico.com/products/description/

Various videos on the Yubikey
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=yubikey&search_type=&aq=f

A technical walk through of the Yubikey
Security Now – Episode #143 – 08 May 2008 – 84 min.
http://media.grc.com/sn/sn-143-lq.mp3

Developers look here
http://www.yubico.com/developers/clients/

Update; 2010 January
Coupon/discount code available here;
http://www.ghacks.net/2010/01/12/yubico-usb-key-provides-extra-login-protection-security/

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PS3 slim

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ps3slimSony has announced that PS3 will be released in a new slim version (33% smaller), the new version is reduced in size by using newer components that use less energy and thus enabling smaller cooling etc.

Price for the new model is suggested at; $299 with a 120gb hdd which is cheaper than the old version.

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/blog/eyeonasia/archives/2009/08/sony_to_release.html?chan=technology_technology+index+page_top+stories

Nice, but if Microsoft did the same to their XBOX360 and added a blueray drive (why the f… have they not done this yet!!) I think that would be way cooler.  PS3 games are way too expensive..

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GPS surviliance for the family

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Want to keep track of your car, kids, wife or whatever, well there are tons of solutions for this today.  I just read about one called www.inanny.de (www.inanny.dk for Danes), this seem to be quite an organized setup and thus perhaps more reliable than some of the discount solutions on the marked.  So if you are in the marked for some GPS tracking, maybe the www.inanny.desite is worth a visit. I how done no research into pricing (the unit seem cheap enough however ther may be some monthly fee or what not)..

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Faulty usb hub caused errors in photo and video transfer

dsc02329For a while I have had problems when transferring photo and video from my camera and video camera, some pictures and most videos had errors in them – strange lines or on videos it was like it lost sync for a second.  Actually I thought my video camera may be defective and blamed Vista for the photo issues (I thought that it might have been caused by Vista trying to create thumbnails while transferring)…  But by pure accident I came to look at my usb cable and discovered that I actually had one with a magnetic protector near the usb plug, I plugged this into the front and viola all noise and errors was gone, but it turns out that it’s actually my usb hub that somehow is messing things up – I suspect it’s because it’s an unpowered version and it may be draining too much power!?

But it’s an important debug step to remember, try a different usb cable in a different usb port..  it may just be your lucky day 😉

(The picture represent how the error in pictures would manifest).

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Aiptek PocketDV AHD 300 – quick review

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aiptekI always wanted a video camera, but to be honest have had very little use for one..  But some day I came across IronGeek.org’s site and was intrigued by this cheap HD camera, and as it proved to be even cheaper in Denmark and I had just received a small bonus check from my insurance company on just that amount, well I ended up buying one..

So how is it really?  Well it’s small very light weight and I’d say good value for money, it lack optical zoom and the sound could have been slightly better (but it’s not bad at all)..  I’ll see if I can’t record a small demo video and put it up here for you to see some time in the future.  Recording is done in .mov format and thus you need to convert it if you wish to transfer it to DVD, but computerplayback works like a charm with Apple Quicktime (which also let you stick to HD)..  Recording of 1h full hd is 4gb, so I added a 16gb sd card which leaves plenty of space for recording.  All in all I am satisfied.

A few links to news/reviews;
http://www.product-reviews.net/2008/08/12/new-aiptek-pocketdv-ahd-300-1080p-camcorder/
http://www.aiptek.eu/index.php?option=com_product&task=view&productid=162&Itemid=278

And I bought mine here;
http://www.mobiludsalg.dk/pi/Aiptek_PocketDV_AHD_300_11694_.aspx
Which was the cheapest store at the time (DKK 1.000,-  €133).

Update; I had some minor problems with video’s I transferred from this camera (they would ‘pixelate’), I actually thought the camera might have been broken – but it turned out to be quite a trivial matter see the explanation here  https://readmydamnblog.com/?p=813  now video’s transferred from the camera is crisp and sharp..

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Iphone 3Gs released – Satio / Idou in the horizon

2009-06-09_0939Apple launched their new Iphone 3Gs yesterday, the main new features lists; Improved speed (3.6 times faster than the previous model) and a new 3.2 mbit camera with video option.

So will this cut it, well I don’t know, a 3.2 mbit camera seem a bit outdated today and still there is the problem with memory capacity 16gb is not all that much for a device that doubles as a portable video player. Yes I know, you can buy the 32gb model but at a ridiculous price and with no extra features other than more memory – it’s sad that apple could not learn from Creative and HTC and add support for SD cards 🙁

The previous 3G line will have their prices cut, which could mean affordable Iphones (the current pricing in Denmark is just horrific).

In the horizon however is the Sony Ericsson Satio or codename Idou (I wander, is that short for I + a Homer Simpson DOU 😉 )..idou

And this looks interesting, 3.5″ screen and 12mbit camera with a new Symbian os.  Now I have had a few Sony Ericsson phones K608i, K800i and C902, and I just love them (well except that the K800i had a far superior camera compared to the newer c902, but except from that).. But why Symbian OS, I have only tried an earlier verison of the Symbian Os on a Motorola A1000 and its predecessor, I was not that impressed seemed somewhat slow :-/  Hmm, but as I just HATE Windows Mobile maybe it’s still the right choice!?, Nokia seem to have had good experience with it..  So I am looking quite forward to seeing this wonder, though I fear the pricing will be ….. well scary :-/

Sadly judging from this youtube video the touch screen seem sluggish compared to the Iphone :-/ that would be catastrophically, my work phone is a HTC Touch and the touch on that is just horrific.. Guess we will have to wait and see the release version in retail stores before a true comparison is possible.

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JVC’s XV-PB1 Blu-ray player to support MKV!?

According to the manual for JVC’s first Blu-ray player to hit the United States, the XV-PB1 supports the  MKV multimedia format. It’s manual states it to support MPEG-4/AVC content up to 1080p (from file on USB, or streamed), making the MKV format support even better. MKV is a very flexible multimedia format that is used widely for High-definition content (also a very widely used format for pirated movies etc.).  Interesting stuff, sadly DivX seem unsupported which seem both strange and sad.

jvc_xvbp1_front1500

 

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First netbook with NVIDIA Ion chipset: Lenovo’s IdeaPad S12

Update Dec 3rd 2009;
Now available in Denmark with ION chipset
http://www.shg.dk/2193828

According to a press release by Lenovo, their upcoming IdeaPad S12 will be the first Netbook to utilise NVIDIA’s Ion chipset. The Ion platform has also made an appearance in Acer’s AspireRevo nettop and is the first computer to feature it.

The Ion chipset will among other allow for; Playing HD movies, a HDMI connector, lower CPU utilization = lower battery consumption and perhaps light gaming ability.

Specifications:

  • Display: 12.1 WXGA (1280 X 800) LED 200 nit, 250g
  • Processor: Intel Atom N270
  • Graphics: Intel integrated GMA 950, Nvidia ION
  • Memory: Up to 1GB DDR2 533 MHz
  • Hard Drive: Up to 160 GB SATA (160, 250, 320)
  • Battery Life: 3 hours with 3-cell, 6 hours with 6-cell
  • Weight: 1.4kg with 3 cell, 1.55kg with 6 cell
  • Dimensions: 292 X 216 X 22-28.9mm
  • Connectivity: 10/100m Ethernet, Broadcom 578M,
    Intel WiFi Link 5150 1X2 AGN, Intel WiFi Link 5100 1X2 AGN,
  • Non-Intel wireless b/g, Non-Intel wireless b/g/n, Bluetooth
  • Other: 3 USB, 1 Expresscard slot (Intel and VIA platforms), 4-in-1 card reader, VGA, RJA45, HDMI
  • Software: XP Home SP3 (32 bit)

It sounds like a real nice pice of work..  Perhaps a replacement for my old IBM Thinkpad X31.
Source link

UPDATE!
Lenovo S12 released, but without the Nvidia ION graphics processor, a later version released around the time of Win 7 will have the ION processor added. Bummer 🙁
http://blog.laptopmag.com/lenovo-holds-off-on-ion-until-windows-7-and-so-does-samsung

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Retrobright project

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Refurbish your old worn Commodore 64, your old favorite keyboard, your old matrix printer or whatever old geeky stuff you have lying in your basement because it has turned yellow and ugly..

If you ever had one of the older white keyboards, an old printer or an old C64 lying around you may have noticed that the color turned grown/yellowish in time.  No matter how much you rubbed with cleaning agents the color remained, some said it was caused by smoking (but if you as I am a non smoker it seemed unlikely) others claimed sunlight.

No matter what the problem was, someone now claim to have found the solution to it.  A gel “Retrobright” that can make your old device look like new once again.

http://retr0bright.wikispaces.com/

You can make the gel yourself from household items;
1 pint (500ml) Hydrogen Peroxide, 10 to 15% strength (40 vol) (available from hairdressers’ supplies, e.g. the ‘Sally Beauty’ franchise in the UK)
2 heaped tablespoonfuls of Xanthan Gum (available from health food shops or online)
1 level teaspoonful of Glycerine (available from pharmacies)
1/4 teaspoonful of “Oxy” laundry booster

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LP 2 CD – easy as pie

lp2cd_angle_medWell this is cool, I only have 2-3 lp’s lying around for sentimental reasons, but in case you got the basement full of old LP’s this is a must have..

http://www.ionaudio.com/lp2cd

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