“Just a nice thing to do”

Toshiba Canada will now recycle notebooks (functioning or non-functioning), LCD monitors, and Pocket PCs through their Toshiba Environmental Recovery and Recycling Effort (TERRE). The service is free of charge and as an added bonus, Toshiba will mail out a complimentary 128 Megabyte USB thumb drive to all participants of the program. All you need to do click here and follow the step-by-step instructions to recycle your computer equipment. If only all the other electronic manufacturers would follow, the world would be a much better place! If you want more information about the program, you can click here or you can e-mail them by clicking here.

~Geekboy

Windows Vista: Not Available?

Consumers waiting to buy the next version of Windows will have to wait just a little while longer. Microsoft has announced that Windows Vista for consumers will be delayed until sometime in 2007. However, business customers/computer manufacturers should be getting their copies sometime in November 2006. This good be very bad news for many computer manufacturers looking to capitalize on this season's Christmas rush. Well, bad news for some, usually means good news to others, mainly, Microsoft competitor Apple Computers. Apple Computers has promised to ship their next version of OS X – Leopard, sometime in the first half of 2007. Microsoft vs. Apple: redux. This is definitely a must see, so let the good times roll!

Windows XP on MacTels? Finally…

As reported earlier here on this blog as well as news sources around the world, one could not install Windows XP on their new MacTel machines. Since then, a couple of ingenious "hackers" have successfully loaded and ran Windows XP on the new Intel based Macs. So, if you have one of these new Macs and a licensed copy of Windows XP, you can download the boot loader software from here and checkout this fantastic wiki that was written for the very purpose of booting Windows XP and OS X on a Mac.~Geekboy.

The World’s Most Desirable Laptop????

Fujitsu-Siemens is really going out on a limb by declaring their latest LifeBook – Q2010, the "world's most desirable" laptop. This particular model is an ultraportable model and is targetted to the business professional that is really on the go.

The Q2010 features:

• Bluetooth 2.0 and 802. 11g support
• 3G Mobile phone connectivity
• Gigabit Ethernet
• Voice of Internet Protocol (VOIP) ready. You can Skype right out of the box.
• Biometric fingerprint scanner
• 12.1" LCD Display (1280 X 800)
• 1.0 Gigabyte RAM
• SD and Express Card support for future expansion
• SIM Slot for cellular networking
• up to 8 hours of battery life
• "piano black" finishing
• incredibly small (less than standard sheet of letter size paper) and under 2" thick

If you are already salivating for one right now, the Q2010 will ship in limited quantities in the the next couple of months. The LifeBook Q2010 will cost around $6000 CDN. Start breaking those piggybanks!

WEIRD GADGETS: GOING TO THE DOGS

I personally have never owned a pet that wonder far enough that the City Pound, the local SPCA, or my neighbour cannot find. Unless, you have a lot of money to spare or you are just a uber techie. I, personally, do not see the justification in using GPS for lost pets. This GPS device seems to be overkill not matter how much I love my family pooch. The product is called the Global Pet Finder and it promises to alert you via cell phone or website where you pooch/cat is at this very moment. The GPS device will cost around $349 USD ($600 CDN). Global Pet Finder is a subscription service, meaning you have to pony up monthly fees of $18 – 20.Another wonderful gadget for all you pooch and cat owners is a cellphone service for pets call PetCell by Pets Mobility. PetCell allows owners to phone and talk to their pets through a speakerphone strapped to the dog/cat. No word on availability and cost of the service.

Largest LCD display in the world.

Today, at CEBIT 2006, LG and Phillips Electronics introduces the world’s largest LCD panel – 100 inches. No word on when they will become available commercially or how much this big boy will cost. Beautiful Korean girls not included.

WEIRD GADGETS: PILL CUP

Well, this really isn't a gadget per se, but what the heck – it's weird. If you have got problems and I mean very big problems (i.e. check out the size of the pill in the picture), swallowing your medicine, plus, you have got $4.00 to spare. This little item is just for you. An ingenious plastic cup that helps you digest to enormous pills.

Samsung YP-Z5

There has been a lot of anticipation for this little MP3 player from Samsung. Not only is the “flash based” MP3 player well designed, the user interface (i.e. menu system) was designed by the same fellow that brought us the iPod’s easy-to-use menu system. Click here for a wonderful review Anything But iPod.

LG Xnote TX: the very ultra portable

If you ever need a ultra portable laptop computer, LG Electronics may have just the model for you – Xnote TX. This “paper thin” laptop features:

• 1.3 GHz Pentium M Processor
• 12.1″ WXGA LCD Display
• 1 Gigabyte of Memory
• 60 Gigabyte of Hard Drive storage
• Weighs 2.4 lbs.
• Available only in Korea

Chalk up another win for biodiesel!

High school kids at West Philadelphia High School have stole the thunder at last week’s Philadephia Auto Show by building world’s first economical and fuel efficient sports car. The sportscar can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 4 seconds, which is just as fast as some of the fastest sports cars in the world made by the likes of: Ferrari, Porshe, Lambourghini, etc. The car runs on a biodiesel derivative made from Soybean oil.

Story Courtesy of: CBS News