This week: A Consumer Reports feature on the best and worst phone carriers leads to (another) heated argument; Joey asks everyone for their holiday tech shopping lists; and New York gets buzzed by mini RC copters.
Bonus: You can download the show's theme song as a free MP3 here for a limited time!
Sometimes, old can be better than new, especially when old is cheap. Retro games have flooded the Nintendo Wii via the Virtual Console, and the Nintendo 3DS will receive similar treatment via its recently announced Game Boy Virtual Console.
Considering the Game Boy's history dating all the way back to 1989, that adds up to a heck of a lot of games that could come back into circulation. Not all of them should, of course, but there are plenty of gems well worth a price point that we sincerely hope wouldn't hover above $5.
In fact, a retro … Read more
First Take:
After several months of teasing Internet Explorer's upgrade with a series of feature-free developer's previews, Microsoft has unleashed on the world an Internet Explorer 9 beta (32-bit Windows 7; 64-bit Windows 7; 32-bit Windows Vista; 64-bit Windows Vista) with some impressive new features. Like any properly named beta, though, there are also some bugs to be ironed out.
This is the biggest overhaul to the browser since Internet Explorer 7 landed. The changes to the interface are enormous, the browser's overall usability has greatly improved, it's more secure, and it's significantly faster and … Read more
LilRacerz Pro Rally is a top-down 2D racer where you'll need to win races on various terrains to unlock more cars, tracks, and upgrades. The control system consists of two touch-screen buttons on the left for turning and a gas pedal and break on the right. You also get a turbo button above the gas pedal for brief bursts of speed on straightaways. LilRacerz has two game modes including Quickrace for practicing on tracks with cars you've previously unlocked, or Cup races where you'll race against the AI and unlock cars and tracks by winning.
LilRacerz Pro … Read more
Touch Racing Nitro lets you race around complex tracks with sharp curves, jumps, and obstacles using only one finger to control your car. The game offers a tutorial for learning the one-finger controls, and we recommend starting there first, because it's a little tricky. The two main game modes in Touch Racing Nitro are the Free Racing mode and the Tournament mode. Free racing comes in handy to practice your one-finger driving skills with no time limits and no opponents. But once you start a Tournament, you'll need to race against three computer-controlled opponents and try for the … Read more
When I reviewed and raved about the Energy RC-Micro 5.1 Surround Speaker System in late 2008 the MSRP was $1,000. It still is, but it's not hard to find the awesome sounding system selling for $399, delivered!
Energy is big on small speakers, so even though the Energy RC-Micro 5.1 is downright tiny, it sounds big.
How small is small? The four jewel-like RC-Micro satellites measure just 4.7 inches tall by 3.5 inches wide by 3.5 inches deep, a size that barely contains the unusually small drivers: a 0.5-inch aluminum dome tweeter and a 2.5-inch aluminum midbass driver. Each speaker weighs just 1.6 pounds.
The center speaker uses the same drivers, but they're housed in a slightly larger cabinet (3.5 inches tall by 5.9 inches wide by 3.5 inches deep), and weighs 1.9 pounds. Both speakers feature Energy's proprietary Convergent Source Module (CSM) technology that was originally developed for the company's flagship Veritas series speakers.
The 240-watt ESW-CS8 subwoofer has a down-firing port and a front-mounted 8-inch injection-molded woofer. The driver utilizes Energy's Ribbed Elliptical Surround--the rubber "rim" that surrounds the woofer cone has molded-in ribs--which Energy claims lowers distortion and allows the subwoofer to play louder than more conventional designs. A blue LED behind the front baffle's grille lights up when the sub is on. The sub isn't too big--just 12.7 inches tall by 10.5 inches wide by 12.3 inches deep--and it weighs a modest 16 pounds.
The entire RC-Micro 5.1 system is beautifully finished in piano black, and each component has a removable black cloth grille. The satellites and center channel speaker can be wall mounted with either their keyhole slots or threaded inserts.… Read more
Someone at Honda's been watching too much "Akira," because the automaker's latest electric vehicle concept looks a lot like the main character Kaneda's bike with training wheels.
Created by Honda's research-and-design facility in Milan, the 3R-C concept is an inverted trike that is powered by a battery electric drive train and seats a single passenger. When parked, the driver's seat and controls are covered by a clear canopy for added security and protection from the elements. This canopy rises and slides forward to become a windshield when the vehicle is in motion, protecting … Read more
Microsoft has provided some early testers with a near-final "release candidate" version of Office 2010 as the software maker works to make the suite broadly available in June.
"Microsoft made a release candidate available to members in the technology adoption program (TAP)," a Microsoft representative told CNET. "This is one of Microsoft's planned milestones in the engineering process; however (we) do not have plans to make this new code set available broadly."
A beta version of Office 2010 was released in November and had been downloaded 2 million times, as of last month. … Read more
LAS VEGAS--DigitTronics demonstrated its RCX4 Star Stryker radio-controlled helicopter to the delight of "Star Wars" fans at CES 2010.
Priced at $399, with a $299 sale price for CES attendees, the Star Stryker includes a quad motor layout with control for lift, cycle, and yaw. The helicopter comes with a custom-fit case, a 2.4GHz spread spectrum radio controller, and is already assembled.
Of course, Lucasfilm's lawyer team is probably drafting their cease-and-desist letter as we speak, so grab one while you can. At least we'll always have the photo gallery, right?
No word on when … Read more
Internet & Media
TV and Home Theater
1kFacebook Likes
454Tweets
234Google Plus Shares
Christina Milian and the gadgets she loves
Manage updates with the Download App