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Dialing Home With the Vonage V-Phone
Posted by Nino Marchetti Categories: Broadband, Internet, Storage, USB,
Vonage has an interesting looking gadget out today in the form of a USB keychain drive. The new Vonage V-Phone is priced at $39.99 and looks to be available now.
The Vonage V-Phone comes with what Vonage feels is everything one needs to make and receive calls over a high speed Internet connection. Its primary features include coming pre-loaded with Vonage Talk software, having a detachable stereo earpiece microphone, offering 250MB of usable portable memory storage and offering a new Vonage phone number.
The Vonage V-Phone is plugged into any existing USB port on a PC. After also plugging in the earpiece microphone into the side of V-Phone, one is pretty much ready to use the service. When the drive is removed, all of the information is still on it and not the former host computer.
Read More 
| Vonage Product Page via Gizmodo
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Google has today launched a new e-commerce feature which creates a new way for consumers to checkout of participating online stores via a single Google login. The new Google Checkout service is live now and featured on sites like Starbucks, Buy.com and Levi’s.
Google Checkout, which can be found in stores by looking for the Google Checkout icon on AdWords advertisements or coming across the Google Checkout option on a Web site, lets users create a Google Checkout login by entering basic information, such as their contact details, payment preferences, and shipping information, once. This login can then be used to pay for any transaction at a participating Google Checkout online merchant.
Google Checkout, added Google, enables purchases using existing payment methods, including Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. The service conceals the buyer credit card number and provides reimbursement for unauthorized purchases. In addition, shoppers can keep track of their purchase history, including orders and shipping details, through the Google Checkout site.
Read More | Google Checkout
LibraryThing: MySpace For Books?
Posted by Stace Johnson Categories: Smart Home, Internet, Software,
Remember the naysayers of years past who said that computers would kill books? The ones who said that Ray Bradbury’s apocalyptic visions in Fahrenheit 451 would come to pass? Yeah, I don’t remember them, either; I don’t run in those circles. But if those people ever did really exist, they are being proven wrong by a new killer app: LibraryThing.
Think of LibraryThing as kind of a MySpace for bookworms; users enter their libraries into a website database for personal use or to share with others. As of this writing, the site catalogs over 3.3 million titles, the most popular of which are fantasy and science fiction titles, with J.K. Rowling’s books topping the list. Users who already have their libraries in databases (we know you’re out there, you bibliophiles) can import their books in one fell swoop or export a database to a file. Imagine being a bookseller whose inventory is on this system; you could check availability of a particular book from just about anywhere, even your mobile phone.
The service allows users to enter up to 200 titles into the database for free. Beyond that, there are two options: 1) pay for unlimited service at the rate of $10.00 per year, or 2) pay for a lifetime unlimited account for only $25.
(Thanks, Jason Musgrave!)
Read More | LibraryThing
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D-Link Introduces 3G Wireless Webcam
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Broadband, Internet, Wireless / WiFi,
D-Link’s newest webcam is fairly typical is many regards. It supports 802.11b/g and 10/100 Ethernet, has low light sensitivity down to 0.5 lux, and offers up to 640x480 resolution at 30fps. What does set it apart is its built in web server that allows you to directly connect and view streaming video from your 3G enabled cell phone or handheld device. Since the camera connects to the Internet through your home/work network, it’s only limited by your 3G service area.
The DCS-2120 is equipped with a 1/4-inch CMOS sensor, and while that isn’t as good as other webcams that may have CCD’s, it should be more than adequate for the task at hand. Other features include software which allows you to monitor up to sixteen webcams, 4x digital zoom, a motion-sensor mode that only records when movement is sensed, and a snapshot feature.
Full specifications after the jump.
Click to continue reading D-Link Introduces 3G Wireless Webcam
Read More | D-Link
D&D Fan Film Contest: Get Your Wizard Cloak On!
Posted by Nino Marchetti Categories: Internet, Movies,
If you’re a geek at heart, chances are you love Dungeons & Dragons. Have you ever wanted to produce your own D&D film and perhaps get recognition for it? Wizards of the Coast is offering you the chance now to do that.
The owners of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise are holding a first-ever D&D Fan Film Contest, with entries due for submission and upload to a special contest Web site by September 1. The final film must be no more than five minutes in length and submitted in one of four video file formats.
All films which are eligible will be posted online for viewing and voting around September 15, with polls closing September 30. The top ten films chosen from this polling will then be narrowed down to a top three via a panel, with the top winner being announced in Los Angeles during a Worldwide Dungeons & Dragons Game Day screening.
Read More | D&D Fan Film Contest
Test Drive A Web-based Office 2007 Beta *UPDATED*
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Google, Internet, Microsoft, Software,
Microsoft has made available today a website where users can take Office 2007 beta out for a test drive, without having to download a thing. Well, that’s not exactly true. While you aren’t required to download the hefty beta ISO, you are required to install a browser plugin from Citrix, and if you don’t already have one you’ll need to sign up for a Microsoft Live or Passport account as well.
Applications included in the Web-based test version of Office 2007 are: Microsoft Office Access 2007, Excel 2007, InfoPath 2007, OneNote 2007, Outlook 2007, Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager, Outlook Web Access, PowerPoint 2007, Project Professional 2007, Publisher 2007, SharePoint Designer 2007, Visio 2007, Word 2007, SharePoint Services, Project Server 2007 and SharePoint Server 2007.
This could be a sign that Microsoft is concerned about competition from Google’s online word processing and spreadsheet applications, or they could simply be looking at others avenues of growth for their Office products. Regardless of their motives, I decided to give the Office Beta Test Drive a little test of its own. Positive of the expected outcome, I loaded up Firefox 1.5.0.4 and tried accessing the test site. Microsoft didn’t let me down, and spurned my attempts to use a browser other than IE. So I dusted off IE 6.0, fired up the test site, and was greeted by the confidence inspiring message you see below.
Undaunted by this sign of either extreme popularity or poor planning on the part of the test site, I forge ahead. With the browser check complete, the next task up is the installation of the Citrix plugin. All goes well at this stage, albeit extremely slowly. So slow at times that I think the test site has given up and gone home for the day. The plugin does install though and I move on to the network check, and this is where things come to a complete, dead stop. Plenty of bandwidth is available on my end of things, so the hold up is definitely on the test site’s end.
And that’s where this story ends, for now. I’ll update this later today once the test site has decided to wake up from it’s nap, or once it finally succumbs and gives up the ghost.
*UPDATE* After a few tries throughout the day, the test site did eventually speed up and I was able to progress to the point of entering the waiting queue. With the prospect of a 173 minute wait in front of me, I finally threw in the towel and sent my IE window back to the depths from which it came. If anyone has the patience to wait it out, and is successful in trying the online beta, please let us know your thoughts.
Read More | Microsoft via Computerworld
Although the details haven’t been disclosed, there was apparently a trademark conflict of some kind forcing Pixoh to change their name. The new name, Snipshot, is even catchier than the old if you ask us.
If you’re not familiar with Snipshot, it’s an online photo editing program. Certainly it’s no Photoshop or even Elements, but for taking care of the basics, it certainly does the trick. Currently available editing options include cropping, resizing, and rotating as well as image color, hue and saturation adjustments. All of that and unlimited levels of undo and redo to top things off.
Read More | Snipshot
Microsoft Introduces Two New Webcams
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Cameras, Corporate News, Internet, PC / Laptop, USB,
It’s no secret that Microsoft wants to integrate PC and Xbox 360 users together when Vista debuts later this
decade. One step towards that goal is the integration of instant messaging between the two disparate platforms, and with the release of the Xbox 360 Live Vision Camera a short time ago, Microsoft is partway there. Keeping the momentum going, Microsoft is now releasing two new webcams aimed at the PC market, the VX-3000 and VX-6000 LifeCams.
The first two available webcams, the Microsoft LifeCam VX-6000 and Microsoft LifeCam VX-3000, bring a new dimension to Windows Live Messenger and feature exclusive industry firsts that streamline the webcam experience: • Windows Live Call Button. Located on the top of each LifeCam, the Windows Live Call Button makes placing a video call a breeze by eliminating the usual multiple steps. Just one touch brings up the Buddy Picker, a tool that shows users only current online buddies. They simply select their contact’s name and they are on their way to making a video call. • LifeCam Dashboard. Built right into the Windows Live Messenger window for easy access during video calling, the LifeCam Dashboard provides simple access to the controls people need most, including pan, tilt and zoom. Now users’ attention stays where it should be — on their video conversation. • One-touch blogging. Windows Live Spaces is one of the fastest-growing blog communities in the world, with more than 50 million individual Spaces. Now, users can post High Definition LifeCam pictures directly to their Windows Live Space blog with one click from within the LifeCam window. The new Microsoft LifeCam VX-6000 is a top-of-the-line wired webcam providing the highest quality still photography on the market (5.0 megapixels interpolated), High Definition video (1.3 megapixels)3 and 3x digital zoom. A 71-degree wide-angle lens allows enough room for up to three people to join in the conversation. The Microsoft LifeCam VX-3000 offers High Definition still photography (1.3 megapixels interpolated) and brilliant video (640x480 pixels). Both LifeCams feature a built-in acoustic noise-canceling microphone to ensure crystal-clear audio performance without adding clutter from extra headsets or external microphones. In addition, both new LifeCams come with fun Video Effects, such as falling snowflakes and twinkling stars, to personalize and enhance the background of video conversations. The LifeCams also have a Universal Attachment Base for easy and secure attachment to virtually any size monitor.
The webcams are available now with USD list prices of $99.95 (VX-6000) and $49.95 (VX-3000).
Read More 
| Microsoft via bit-tech
Gear Live Podcast 019: The Horrors of Cancelling AOL
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Features, Internet, Podcasts,
Okay, hold on. Over a year ago, we reported that AOL would make it easier for customers looking to cancel their accounts. Apparently, someone didn’t get that memo. Vinny over at Insignificant Thoughts made the decision to cancel his AOL account, figuring that $14.95 per month could be spent in a much more beneficial way than giving it to AOL. He recorded his conversation with “John at AOL” and has made it available for all to hear. Truth be told, we got upset just listening to the atrocious service that Vinny received. Be sure to download the clip below to hear for yourself.
Here’s how to get the show:
|Subscribe| - iTunes
|Subscribe| - RSS
|Download| - Enhanced AAC [Mirror]
|Download| - MP3 [Mirror]
Voices: Andru Edwards, Vinny of Insignificant Thoughts
Length: 05:58, 2.87 MB
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Pyrrha Lets You Record Pandora Streams
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Internet, Music, Software,
We’ve talked about the virtues of Pandora many times in the past so I won’t rehash old news, but wouldn’t it be great if you could record your Pandora streams and save them for later? A utility called Pyrrha lets you do just that. Yes, there are other utilities out there that let you “hijack” audio streams and record them for later use, but Pyrrha works a bit differently.
There’s no need to go to Pandora’s website to login as Pyrrha handles all of that for you. Enter your username and password, choose your radio station and recording duration, click the “generate” button, and away it goes, quietly recording your chosen station as a 128kbps MP3 complete with playlist.
With a Java version for non-Windows users available, it’s hard to fault an application that does so little, yet does it so well. However, I like to nitpick so I’d like more control over the duration of the recordings, and a feature to remember my username and password.
Read More | Pyrrha via eirikso
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