New Napster Offers 6 Million DRM Free Downloads

While there are obvious drawbacks to the iTunes service (DRM compatibility immediately springs to mind) the principle behind the music download service is a great one. That’s why it by far the most popular of all online download services in the US, but the latest incarnation of Napster is ringing in some major changes that are likely to shift some of the balance of power.

The new pay per song service runs at 79 per song, which many believe is still a little too high although realises reasonable savings against new releases. However, perhaps the biggest benefit of the new Napster is that it will not only include over 6 million tracks, but will also be DRM (Digital Rights Management) free.

Tracks can be downloaded to your PC, transferred to another PC or audio device (including the iPod) or burned to CD or other storage device. While the new service is a step away from the monthly subscription plan, those customers that have downloaded music using that plan, will still be supported and have access to their collection of music.

The move is likely to help Napster challenge for the throne of music download service kings, although Apple is bound to have something to say about that.

What Could You Do With 1TB Of Hard Drive?

A terrabyte is one of those figures that sound incredible, but they’re just too large to truly fathom. It’s a bit like the prices that Internet companies are being valued at. In reality, a 1TB hard drive is going to offer little genuine use to most of us except that it gives us bragging rights to tell people we’ve got a 1TB hard drive.

You could store 200,000 mp3 tracks, roughly equivalent to every single one of Cliff Richard’s 17,500 albums. If you’re more of a movie buff you could, in fact, store around 1,500 avi format movies (that’s a lot of back up copies in anybody’s book).

I can’t think of a possible reason you would want to but you could choose to hold about 700 copies of Windows XP (without Service Packs installed – that would probably bring the figure down to more like 500) or 70 copies of Vista.

Is there a reason for this seemingly pointless list of figures? Well, surprisingly, there is a dim glimmer of a connection.

Sumvision offers a 1TB external 1TB hard drive at a smidgen over £100. That’s a lot of storage for very little money in our book and we felt it was worth the tenuous link.

Could The NightWatchman Save The Government £10m A Year?

The Government has reported that if public sector workers were to turn off their PCs when not working, it could save more than 55,000 tonnes per year in carbon emissions and save a staggering £10.2m per year in energy costs. Because, apparently, turning off a PC is a little too difficult for many government workers to manage manually they will instead rely on NightWatchman software developed by 1E.

NightWatchman is estimated to save businesses £43 per annum per PC and still enables patches and other downloads to be managed at specific times. Unfortunately, while NightWatchman is scalable for the average government it isn’t feasible for home use.

For those of us at home wanting to do our bit for the environment or save bucket loads of cash on energy bills, standby is believed to be one of the biggest culprits. Like government workers we apparently have problems using power buttons properly. Approximately 8% of the energy we use every year is through electrical equipment being left on standby – equivalent to 1.6m tonnes of CO2 or £290m in electricity.

Bye Bye Standby is an innovative solution that will, surprisingly, pay for itself within a few months. OK, so the average home only wastes around £40 a year on standby but it does genuinely add up. The Bye Bye Standby is a smart plug with remote control. It aims to resolve the problem of traversing the Great Wire Tangle that is present behind every TV in order to completely turn off the power on electrical devices.

For around £20 (Tesco) you can get three plugs with remote control, so it should be pay for itself within 6 months or so and you will be doing your bit.

Baylis Eco Media Player - Not Just For Tree Huggers

It’s hardly a secret that we should all be doing our bit to save the environment, but that doesn’t mean we have to be eco-warrior tree hugging hippies does it? The Eco Media Player offers a vast range of functions, a slightly odd design, and dual charging methods. OK, so we doubt it’ll ever be quite as popular as the iPod, but its ingenious nevertheless.

Treover Baylis has designed and developed this impressive bit of personal audio kit so you know that it’s going to do its job and more. Among its prestigious fans, Stephen Fry wrote a glowing review in his Guardian column last year.

First, to the features and functions it offers. The Media Player, as you hopefully guessed, is predominantly a media player. It doesn’t just play mp3, though, and can be used to playback video, view photographs and even store your vinyl music collection. An FM Tuner rounds off a solid display of media functionality.

As well as providing media playback, the Eco Media Player can also be used as an emergency charger for mobile phones, a flashlight, sound recorder, and data storage device.

There’s no disputing the fact that the Eco Media Player is pretty handy but how does it warrant the tags of Eco and ingenious I hear you ask. As well as offering USB charging through your PC it also features an ECO-Dynamo system. For every 1 minute of winding, you gain 40 minutes of playback time up to a maximum of 20 hours playback.

Dell Latitude XT Convertible Tablet PC

Dell has staged its first foray into the Tablet PC jungle with the Latitude XT – a convertible that combines lightweight form with heavyweight power. While it might be Dell’s first attempt, it has already proven popular and successful since its launch at the beginning of the year.

For those of you wondering, a convertible tablet PC is one that can be used like a standard laptop with vertical screen or it can be twisted so that the screen lies flat like a tablet PC. Where the Latitude XT does differ from many models is that offers the choice of stylus or touch input making it a versatile offering.

As is the Dell way, there are many options available to you when purchasing but you can enjoy 2GB of memory, a 1.2GHz ultra-low voltage Core 2 Duo processor and a 120GB hard drive. All of this hardware is designed primarily to help keep the weight of the system down and it does this particularly well without sacrificing power or usability.

Connectivity is a major part of the Latitude XT and you get pretty much every available connection going. HSDPA Modem, Wi-Fi, and bluetooth are all standard although the vnunet Latitude XT review did report some problems attempting to connect to the Internet using HSDPA – apparently, it’s all good in London but can be shaky (to say the least) anywhere else.

A fingerprint scanner offers biometric security options while an addition Media Unit costing £169 adds DVD-RW and serial and DVI video ports.

All in all, the Latitude XT is still a powerful tablet convertible that remains one of the better options even after several months of having been released. Connectivity is a major factor in its success, and Dell has done a great job of keeping the weight down without sacrificing vital features.

Will Nokia Ever Get N-Gage Right?

Last month saw Nokia making a second bid at releasing the N-Gage platform. The first attempt was a resounding failure, with the Nokia N-Gage handheld gaming device proving to be a failure. In a bid to make amends, Nokia’s latest attempt has seen them restructure N-Gage as a mobile service that can be used by any compatible device.

It has emerged, though, that the games can only be downloaded once and to one device. This may be a move to prevent pirating of software but it means that when gamers upgrade their mobile device they would need to purchase the game again for that new device. Understandably, gamers are disappointed. Read more

Curved LCD Displays, Thinnest Ever Display, And Improved Touch Screen Displays

Who can keep up with technology, eh? One minute, manufacturers are doing all they can to create the flattest form TV monitors imaginable, and then AUO come along and brag about their latest innovation – the curved LCD display on glass substrate. While e-paper displays don’t quite manage to get colours and image quality perfect, AUO claims that using new technology, they can do just that on glass substrate. Read more

Brew Your Own Beer

It may be too late to celebrate the Champions League win with some home brewed beer, but this fantastic beer machine can create 17 pints of beer (ale or lager, you decide) in seven to ten days.

The machine itself might cost £100 making your beer just short of £6 per pint (cheaper than it was in Moscow last night I’m told, and around the price you pay in London) but once you’ve bought the machine itself refills cost marginally more than £30 and that will make 50 pints – that’s about 60p per pint.

You can choose from real ales or lagers with each refill and the process is so simple you could set another batch going after helping to consume the last one. Simply add the beer mixture, which consists of natural ingredients only, and leave it for the specific period of time (seven to ten days).

The result is a natural, chemical free, pint that I promise will taste better than the home brew moonshine your granddad used to make in the shed. Now, you can sit back, have a pint of beer on tap and you can still smoke at the bar. Just add a few friends and you’ve got the ingredients for a great night.

The Beer Machine and refills are available at iwantoneofthose.com

Nemorelax - An Oasis Of Calm At Airports

In case you hadn’t heard, it was the UEFA Champions League Final last night. While the non-neutrals will either be basking in glory or wallowing in self pity, the neutrals will have undoubtedly found the plight of the fans to be the most entertaining factor of the evening.

Fans reported travelling for 3 days by ferry, or flying to Beijing in China and then travelling by train to the Russian capital. For those confined to airports under such gruelling circumstances, the Nemorelax could be the ideal (if a little pricey) solution.

Billed as an oasis of calm, the Nemorelax is due for release in European airports soon and passengers waiting at airports will be able to purchase 30 minute slots from the Nemorelax desk. The desk will take care of your luggage while you take advantage of the sound proofed pod that includes TV, radio, notebook computer, telephone facilities, and complete serenity and privacy.

The Nemorelax will offer the traveller an experience they might not ordinarily expect at an airport terminal. Unfortunately, no details of pricing have yet been offered but that’s usually an indication that it isn’t going to be cheap. And, as far as I’m aware, you can’t buy a single Nemorelax for your front room.

Sony Rolly – The Dancing Mp3 Player

Sony has taken a somewhat unusual step in its creation of mp3 players. Some may feel that the Rolly is a little gimmicky, to put it mildly, and others will undoubtedly complain at the current $400 (£200) price tag but it is certainly unique and, it has to be said, pretty cool.

The mobile mp3 disco is an mp3 player. It offers 1GB of flash memory and offers dual 20mm speakers mounted on either end. It’s hardly pioneering in its player capaibilities, but that’s not where the design is unique.

The Rolly is also an mp3 enjoyer or a mobile dancer and operates according to movement rather than the traditional and oh so drab method of using buttons. Flick it in one direction and you turn the volume up, flick it in another and it will start to dance.

The Rolly has LCD lights and can be programmed to dance to any music. Arms, shoulders, and wheels combine to give a floor show the likes of which you’ve only ever seen at family weddings. It is unique and certainly fun, but it carries with it an equally impressive $400 price tag (it was just released in the US).

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