By Andrew Liszewski

Here’s a surefire way to ensure there’s no doubt you’ll be viewed as anything other than a crackpot when the authorities finally discover your manifesto. Sure, jotting down your thoughts about corporations, government conspiracies (and that waitress at IHOP who totally spit in your pancakes) on a roll of toilet paper or in a phonebook from 1977 is one way to get yourself on the FBI’s radar. But keeping them in a coiled notebook featuring a 3D relief of a handgun, grenade or knife on the cover is a guaranteed one way ticket to surveillance vans sitting outside your apartment all night long.

I guess these Armed Notebooks are supposed to be some kind of commentary on somethingorother, but the irony is completely lost on me. What I do know is that the message, whatever that may be, is carried into the notebooks themselves as each page features unique designs inspired by what’s on the cover. $20 each from MollaSpace.

[ Armed Notebooks ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]

By Chris Scott Barr

There are many reasons to use water bottles. They help to save the environment by not using a zillion throwaway plastic bottles, and they’ll save you a bundle on buying cases upon cases of water. One of the main problems that might come up is when you down all your water, find a refilling station, and question whether or not it’s safe to drink. I know a lot of you germophobes like me out there are nodding your head.

The Bobble is a water bottle that has a water filter built in to the cap. Which means you no longer have to fear drinking the water you got out of a random gym or park fountain anymore. It contains a replaceable charcoal filter that will remove organic contaminates from regular tap water. Not to mention it will cut down on that weird “I may not be safe” water smell. It costs anywhere from $10-13, which is the same for any such type water bottle, so definitely worth looking into getting it.

[ Amazon ] VIA [ BookofJoe ]

By Andrew Liszewski

It’s kind of upsetting that a product like this even has to exist, and I feel that IntelliGuard is maybe fear mongering parents who have just sent their kids off to school, but their RAVENAlert keychain fob promises to keep students and staff at colleges and universities aware of emergencies or other situations within 15 to 20 seconds of the news being dispatched from campus security.

These days a lot of schools simply send out mass txt messages to keep everyone informed, but during an emergency cellphone networks can easily get overwhelmed as everyone in the vicinity starts making calls. But the RAVENAlert system uses a proprietary one-way wireless network to broadcast news, updates and instructions to individual receivers like these, or publicly viewable displays and news tickers. So while not everyone has to carry around one of these fobs, it seems like the most effective solution given it will sound an alarm and vibrate when an alert is sent out, ensuring everyone on campus gets it. Now I’m pretty sure the cost of this system will be carried by the schools since safety is a big selling point to parents these days, but given how often I would even forget to bring a pen to class, I’m less than convinced that every student will be diligent about keeping one of these on their person at all times.

[ IntelliGuard's RAVENAlert Keychain ] VIA [ Mobile Magazine ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Stalkers and peeping toms take note. Today Nikon opened the floodgates on their new lineup of P&S digicams, and while there’s nothing fantastically noteworthy, their new Coolpix S9100 will appeal to people who need to take photos from specific court-ordered distances. Its most notable feature, a wide angle NIKKOR ED glass lens with 18X optical zoom (25-450mm) provides an impressive amount of coverage for a single lens. And since it can be difficult to keep a steady hand when zoomed in so far, the S9100 includes a five-way Hybrid VR Image Stabilization system combining physical sensor shifts to compensate for your movements as well as electronic methods.

Thanks to its 12.1MP backlit CMOS sensor the S9100 should perform particularly well in low-light conditions too, while the ISO can be bumped up to 3200 to deal with especially dark scenarios. It also does 1080P HD video capture which is pretty much a must-have these days, and besides a host of mostly novelty filters, there’s also an automatic HDR mode tucked in there for those who’ve grown accustomed to having it on their iPhones. Available in March for $329.95.

[ PR - Nikon Breaks The Zoom Barrier With A Trio Of New COOLPIX Cameras, Including The New COOLPIX P500 With A Vast 36x Zoom ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Here’s an interesting thing. TVs are getting more and more features these days. Enough that they can actually start eliminating the need for other devices to be connected to them. The next device to go? If Sony has anything to say about it, they’re looking to replace your DVR.

Sony is releasing a trio of new Bravia TVs that come equiped with 500GB hard drives. What’s more is that they have support for external drives, just in case you run out of room. The only real difference between the three models is size, which range from 22-inches to 40-inches. The new sets will cost you a pretty penny though, with the smallest size fetching $1,000 when it launches next month in Japan.

[ Sony ] VIA [ Geeky Gadgets ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Taking advantage of the USB protocol found on Canon’s EOS DSRLs that allows their EOS Utility to remotely control the cameras, Okii Systems has created a USB-based follow focus dial that doesn’t require the camera to be strapped into a large mechanical rig. The handheld device, which is just 3 inches in diameter and weighs less than 5 oz. including batteries, features a machined aluminum dial and a set of buttons which not only lets you adjust the focus on the fly while recording video, but also store and cue up four specific focus points at the push of a button.

But that’s really just the tip of the iceberg. The open source USB follow focus also lets you remotely start and stop recordings or trigger the shutter, toggle the live view on or off, trigger autofocus and metering, adjust the ISO, aperture, shutter speed and exposure compensation. It also plays nice with the DSLRs’ HDMI output allowing you to use the follow focus while monitoring the video feed on an external monitor. Now Okii Systems goes out of their way to point out that their USB-based follow focus performs a lot differently than a mechanical system due to Canon’s USB implementation, but for just $400 it seems like a great addition to the DV Rebel’s toolkit.

[ Okii Systems USB Follow Focus ] VIA [ Coudal ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Besides death and taxes, here’s another thing you can always count on in life. Somehow, someone, somewhere will find a way to make flying and airports even more intolerable. If it’s not overzealous and questionably effective security, it’s the ever increasing number of ads and commercials playing on displays around every corner. Even the bathroom has stopped being a refuge, particularly in Chicago’s O’Hare Airport where a company called Clear Channel Communications, working with technology designer Mirrus, has created yet another way to annoy you with ads.

When someone is washing their hands or shaving or something, the bathroom mirrors work as expected. But when no one is standing in front of the sink, the mirrors switch to showing full-screen ads. And I’m assuming/hoping they don’t play sound since an entire row of mirrors would all be in competition with each other if they were showing different content. But that only makes them slightly less annoying. They of course also use sensors of some sort to tell when someone is standing in front of the mirror, but my success rate with motion sensing faucets, or lack thereof, also makes me less than excited about this idea.

[ PR - Clear Channel Airports Reflects Marketers’ Messages on New Digital Advertising Platform ] VIA [ Jaunted ]

This post is syndicated with permission from GamerFront.net

The upcoming Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is just about to hit the market after years of waiting. If the good ole fight sticks are just too much for you, PDP has created a more recognizable game pad for the Xbox360. There is likely going to be a PS3 version also if the 360 version goes over well. This is a Marvel Edition Versus Fighting Pad. It has a lot of busy Marvel artwork on it, but if you’re a fan it won’t really matter right?

The buttons and the thumb switch operate using actual micro switch actuators, just like a real arcade cabinet. You can pre-order this for $40, and it will be in on February 14th. Any nerd you love will love you more if this is their Valentines Day gift. Especially since they could put it to use the next day.

[ PDP ] VIA [ GamerFront ]

By Andrew Liszewski

‘Tis the season for new camera announcements, and if you’ve drooled over the retro charms of Leica’s P&S digicams but scoffed at their price, FujiFilm might have an alternative for you. Their FinePix X100 will officially be available in our neck of the woods come March for $1,199.95, and while expensive, it’s still thousands of dollars cheaper than Leica’s offerings. But what does your grand+ get you? Well besides the magnesium alloy body and “leather-like” accents, the X100 boasts a 12.3MP APS-C CMOS sensor, a fixed non-swappable 23mm F2 lens and an ISO range of 200 to 6400, which can be expanded to 100 and up to 12,800 as needed.

Round back you’ll find a healthy 2.8-inch LCD display sporting a 1,440,000 dot high-res image for framing or reviewing shots, but that can be switched off in lieu of using the X100′s classic optical viewfinder. They can even be used together in a hybrid fashion for showing additional shooting data on the LCD whilst framing through the viewfinder. If video is important to you there’s an acceptable 720P ‘HD’ movie mode that can capture clips using the camera’s aperture-priority mode for pleasantly defocused backgrounds, and an HDMI Mini port allows you to connect it directly to a hi-def TV. And for you Hipstamatic lovers, the X100 even has FujiFilm’s ‘Film Simulation Modes’ which makes your photos look like they were shot with the company’s Velvia, PROVIA and ASTIA color reversal film stocks.

[ PR - FUJIFILM Announces The FinePix X100 Premium Digital Camera Built By Photographers For Photographers ]