NewerTech unveils NuStand Alloy for iPad and Mac mini

Shane McGlaun | Laptops | Dec 23, 2010 1:10 PM CST

It doesn't take long when you use the iPad a lot to realize that having to look down at the screen if you watch movies or read a lot can be a literal pain in the neck. There are a ton of stands on the market for the iPad to prop it up for you making it more comfortable to use. The latest stand to hit the market is from NewerTech. NewerTech makes all sorts of accessories for Mac computers and has for a long time.

The new stand is called the NuStand Alloy and is offered in version of the iPad and a version for the 2010 Mac mini computer as well. The iPad version of the stand is black and is sized to allow the iPad to be used in the stand while a thin case is installed. It has non-skid rubber feet and a rubberized black soft touch finish.

The stand holds the iPad screen in landscape or portrait modes at a 15-degree angle. You can pick it up right now for $24.99. The version of the stand of the 2010 mini is very similar with a silver rubberized finish. It has the same non-skid feet and won't scratch your computer at all. It sells for $24.99 as well.

Continue reading: NewerTech unveils NuStand Alloy for iPad and Mac mini (full post)

Tron Guy banned from watching Tron: Legacy in his suit by local theater

Shane McGlaun | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | Dec 23, 2010 11:04 AM CST

Any adult male that likes to be known as Tron Guy and wears a homemade replica of the original Tron suit for the 80's flick isn't all there in my book. I bet Jay Maynard peed his Tron Underoos when he heard that Legacy was coming to theaters. As the story goes, Tron Guy called up a local theater in Michigan and told them he was coming to watch Tron: Legacy in his Tron suit.

The theater staff told him that he would not be allowed to watch the flick wearing his suit. Apparently, a middle aged, pudgy dude in a Tron suit is distracting. I took my son to see the flick last weekend when it opened and he liked it, though he asked me tons of questions and I didn't get to watch as close as I wanted.

It's a bit ironic that my son is nine and I was nine when the original flick came out at the theater. I still remember going to see it with my dad, maybe in 20-ish years when the third Tron flick comes out he can take his kid. Legacy has much better visuals (naturally) and it was a cool flick if you haven't seen it you should go.

Continue reading: Tron Guy banned from watching Tron: Legacy in his suit by local theater (full post)

Kingmax unveils new nudist 2400MHz RAM with no heat sink

Shane McGlaun | RAM | Dec 23, 2010 10:04 AM CST

I like to see what's on the inside of my gadgets and hardware as much as the next geek as long as that doesn't mean I have to kill my gear. If you like gaming RAM for the speed and performance you probably know that each time a new set of RAM comes out it has increasingly garish and complex looking heat sinks to help keep it cool. Most of the heat sinks are for looks as much as cooling through. If you prefer your hardware to look like hardware with no aluminum or flashing lights Kingmax has your memory.

The company has just unveiled a new set of fast 2400MHz DRAM modules that have no heat sink. The RAM is designed for overclocking and is the only module that can operate at 2400Mhz without a heat sink according to the maker. The Nano Gaming RAM uses nano thermal dissipation tech to cool the chips.

The RAM promises bandwidth of 19.2GB/sec with 1.65v of power. Latencies are 9-11-9-27 and the maker promises the RAM is perfect for gamers. The Nano Gaming RAM series has modules with operating frequencies of 1600MHz, 2000MHz, 2200MHz, and 2400MHz that will work with different computer platforms. The 2400Mhz RAM is for Intel P55 chipsets.

Continue reading: Kingmax unveils new nudist 2400MHz RAM with no heat sink (full post)

Google's new New York office cost more than $1.8 billion

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Dec 22, 2010 7:00 PM CST

Google have dropped $1.8 billion like it's hot (shout out to Snoop Dogg!) on a new office in the concrete city where dreams are made of (wink Jay-Z), New York City.

They've spent the $1.8 billion on 111 Eighth Avenue in Chelsea. Google will also be leasing out the building to continuing and new tenants. Google have also said:

"Today, we're pleased to announce that we've closed a deal with the partnership of Taconic Investment Partners, Jamestown Properties and the New York State Common Retirement Fund to purchase 111 Eighth Avenue (also known as 76 Ninth Avenue).

Continue reading: Google's new New York office cost more than $1.8 billion (full post)

RumorTT: NVIDIA GeForce GTX560 details leaked

Anthony Garreffa | Video Cards & GPUs | Dec 22, 2010 5:50 PM CST

NVIDIA's GeForce GTX460 caused quite the stir in the market. It was very competitively priced, performance was explosive and stock was everywhere. SLI performance was great too, which meant great bang-for-buck SLI could be had.

NVIDIA is ready to sequel this card up with the GTX560 which will fight a very bloody fight with AMD's popular HD6950 which was just released last week. The GTX560 will still be fabricated using TMSC's 40nm process and will be designed as the cheaper alternative to NVIDIA's GTX570 and GTX580 GPU's, all without drastically reducing performance.

There has been a GPU-z screenshot making it's way around, which shows the GTX560 including 384 stream processors, 32 ROPs and a 256-bit memory interface f filled out with 1GB of GDDR5 memory.

Continue reading: RumorTT: NVIDIA GeForce GTX560 details leaked (full post)

NoseDial app for iPhone is great for cold weather if your nose is clean

Shane McGlaun | Mobile Devices | Dec 22, 2010 11:04 AM CST

It rarely gets cold enough here in Texas to need gloves. It was 80-degrees out yesterday for instance and only a bit cooler today. I can appreciate cold weather though because we do get it on occasion and I can see where users in really cold locations would have a hard time working their iPhone with gloves on since they would have to take the gloves off each time. A new app called NoseDial has surfaced that lets you dial the iPhone without using your fingers.

The app has a large list of icons for your contacts that are sized for hitting with your nose. The contacts can be navigated by tilting the iPhone. The big question in my mind is how users will unlock their phone, I guess you will have to do that with your noise and then find the page with the app using your nose, and then hit the icon with your nose to launch NoseDial.

If your nose is running, this app will be really gross. The app will sell for 99 cents and is on the app store right now for you to download. You can determine how many contacts are on each page and the size of the icons too.

Continue reading: NoseDial app for iPhone is great for cold weather if your nose is clean (full post)

TuneLink Auto for Android devices coming in January

Shane McGlaun | Mobile Devices | Dec 22, 2010 10:04 AM CST

If you have your smartphone packed with music that you want to listen to while you drive in the car you are not alone. In some cars, getting the music from your phone to your car stereo is a snap thanks to a line in jack. Other cars lack a line in making you need an FM transmitter. Those transmitters are often bulky and have lots of wires that you need to deal with. If you use an Android smartphone, a new FM transmitter that needs no wires is coming next month.

The device is called the TuneLink Auto for Android. It's a small FM transmitter that barely sticks out of the DC outlet in your car. The device uses Bluetooth to connect to your smartphone and allows the streaming of music from your phone to the car stereo. The device also has a USB port on it that you can use for charging your phone while you listen to music. The catch is that you will need to have a charge and sync cable with you to use that feature.

The TuneLink Auto can also be plugged into your cars aux input rather than using FM for sending the music out. The Bluetooth functionality supports more than one Android device at the same time and the FM transmitter is controlled by an app that is on the Android market right now. The kit will ship in mid-January for $99.99.

Continue reading: TuneLink Auto for Android devices coming in January (full post)

Beta Shell protects your lenses on the roughest of trials

Shane McGlaun | Cameras, Printers & Scanners | Dec 21, 2010 11:02 AM CST

Every time I take my DSLR camera with me on the road, I worry that it will get broken. I know how fragile the thing is and if I take an extra lens with me, I worry more. I can keep the camera secure around my neck when I am out and about, but any extra lenses just have to sit in the bag. If you have expensive lenses that you take with you on the road and you want the best protection you can get the Beta Shell is for you.

The Beta shell is a case with a threaded lid that is waterproof, impact proof, and resists temperature extreme. The case looks sort of like a high-tech coffee can with a lid that appears to screw on. The top of the lid has foam to and the bottom of the case has foam as well to pad the lens in case you drop.

The foam is visco-elastic memory foam. The Beta Shell will work with the top ten lenses for Canon and Nikon cameras. Even longer 70-200mm lenses will fit inside the case. That means you can use one case for several different lens sizes that you might own.

Continue reading: Beta Shell protects your lenses on the roughest of trials (full post)

Toshiba to show off 3D screens at CES needing no glasses

Shane McGlaun | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | Dec 21, 2010 10:04 AM CST

Easily the biggest thing hurting 3D today is that you have to wear glasses to see the 3D effects. The need for glasses is why many consumers haven't adopted the tech and the glasses are often very expensive too. There are a few 3D sets hitting the market that use passive 3D glasses that are cheaper than the active glasses often required to watch 3D programs.

Toshiba has announced that it will be showing off new screens at CES 2011 in January that need no glasses of any sort to view. The autostereoscopic screens will be larger than the 20-inch versions that Toshiba showed off this year at CEATEC. Although it has only been three months since the 20-inch screen was seen Toshiba says the tech is already better.

Toshiba plans to make even larger screens next year. The downsides to this sort of screen is that it has worse viewing angles that screens that need glasses and getting the best spot for ideal viewing is harder to accomplish.

Continue reading: Toshiba to show off 3D screens at CES needing no glasses (full post)

XIM allows mouse and keyboard use on your Xbox 360

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Dec 20, 2010 9:30 PM CST

Most people feel comfortable using an Xbox 360 controller, but a keyboard and mouse for FPS is a superior, easier and much, much more precise way of playing. It allows micro-movement of your aiming (while also being much faster) compared to much slower, un-precise aiming.

XIM devices have been around for a while, bu the new XIM3 seems to fix the previous editions issues. XIM3 is housed in an LCD box with a touch-screen display which should make connection and config much easier (and better to look at!)

The XIM3 acts as a "translator" or "bridge" between your Xbox 360 and PC peripherals - a user plugs in their PC's mouse and keyboard into the XIM3, then plugs the XIM3 into the Xbox 360 and you should be all good for some owning.

Continue reading: XIM allows mouse and keyboard use on your Xbox 360 (full post)