Digital Grafitti

Heely's Xbox 360 Shoes Get Right To The Sole

Perhaps, this is a case were game emulates passion (not to be confused as an obsession). Shoe maker, Heelys (makers of the sneakers with wheels), has now released a rendition of the Xbox 360 controller in all of its grandeur and splendor (that is if you're a fan-boy)!  Admittedly, the soles of the shoes do look cool with the Xbox 360 controller emblem emblazoned on them. However, the problem is that the person who wears them only will know that this design is there. And most hardcore games love to show their allegiance to their favorite console and do a bit of bragging along the way! In theory this idea may have been good, but the reality of it is that no one will shell out their hard earned bucks for this shoe. Here's an idea: Purchase a Xbox 360 game instead!

Thief Gets Nabbed By Calling Tech Support

The high jinx antics of the Keystone Cops pale in comparison to one thief's ultimate act of stupidity.  Case and point: Timothy Scott Short stole a high end vinyl card printer at the DMV thats used to print out drivers licenses. The ultimate act of ridicule came when Scott called tech support, which in turn allegedly lead law authorities straight to his door. Stupid is as stupid does!

Apple Drops New Universal Docking Solution For iPods

Hurray! Apple has launched a new Universal Dock ($49.00) for the iPod line, updated with new inserts for the 3G nano, iPhone and the iPod Classic and Touch. Gone is the S-Video input in favor of composite or component video (which translates into more cables to purchase) which replaces the IR sensor with a slot shaped like a sleep light on a Macbook. Also, Apple included its coveted Remote (which previously had to be purchased separately if one owned a PC).

Futuristic Pod Like Cars Provide Present Day Transport

There's nothing like schlepping your luggage in tow through an airport after spending hours traveling; Add to that the frustration of waiting for a shuttle bus to take you where your car is parked. Heathrow Airport in Britain is in the midst of implementing a personal rapid transit system (or PRT), that will zip passengers from the main terminal to their automobiles. The four seater cars do not have a driver and they operate on a closed system. Thus, there's no traffic or other bottle necks to deal with and the best part of the trip is that, there are no stops along the way! Also, these pod like cars offer a myriad of energy saving operating options (think electric or even renewable solar power). One can only imagine the possibilities if this proves to be successful. There's no doubt that other airports world wide would follow in Heathrow's foot steps!

A Foldable Space Saving Multi-Screen Display

When I first saw this cool looking multi-monitor display, the inner-geek in me began to jump for joy! Suffice it to say, my check book was burning a hole in my pocket. However, my jets were quickly cooled, after learning that ACME's multi-screen display was primarily designed and is being marketed to server administrators (so one can imagine the price tag on this baby!). When folded, the display and keyboard fit into a 3-rack unit mount that will slide in and out of server rack space. The unit went on display at the Taitronics Autumn 2007 show in Taipei, Taiwan, and is expected to ship in 2008 for an undisclosed price.

Woman Sues Apple over iPhone "Price Discrimination"

Dongmei Li's  lawsuit against Apple, accuses the Cupertino, California based company of  being"unfair and deceptive" by allowing it's iPhone product to sell out,  and ultimately cutting its price. Hence, leaving resellers high and dry.

Li further claims that Apple had a legal responsibility to inform stores that more 8GB iphones as opposed to the less attractive 4GB model would be manufactured after the day first blowout. Thus, Li states in the lawsuit that Apple took advantage of it's affluent fans by knowingly selling it at a high price before dropping it for mass-market success.

Sony's new Reader is Improved, But is Nothing Special

Personally, I think that there's some technology that takes away the human factor of things that are as personal and gratifying like curling up and reading a good book. However, there are times when technology such as Sony's new Reader 2.0, the PRS-505 ($300) is convenient and very practical for storing several volumes of books, especially, if one is traveling, and the prospect of physically toting a bunch of books can literally and figuratively become a back breaking experience.

The PRS-505 is Sony's second rendition to it's previous Reader. The latest revamped Reader has Sony claiming that it will have a faster response time, better contrast and more memory. Additionally, the only cosmetic change that was made was the optional silver finish paint job (the previous model was only available in black).

The good news is that this unit can now store up to 160 e-books on its internal memory and there's an extra slot for extended memory and battery life has been increased. Improvements in nascent technology are in the right direction for e-readers and I'm quite sure this technology will continue to evolve. However, one has to wonder will the future of e-readers involve introducing color? Yes, reading books and other documents in black is fine, but what about e-magazines and eventually comic books?  After all, we are in the 21st century!  The PRS-505 will be available later this month.

Memlite's One Hell of A "Smokin Flashdrive"

Forget about that old adage that goes, "Where's There's Smoke, There's Fire". How about if we slightly changed that to, "Where's there's an USB device, then there's a lighter". It seems that anything goes these days in pairing (a polite way of saying "stuffing"), a flash drive into a portable USB device.

This USB flash drive lighter by Memlite ($25) is available in an assortment of colors and the flash drive portion separates from the lighter (which is indeed an excellent idea). So now you can combine your passion for smoking and keeping your documents safe! Just remember to first remove the memory portion from the lighter before saving your info, or there could be potential hell to pay!