TechLore - Regarding New Technology

Digital TV converter box coupons now available

Brandon C. — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 05:42:40 GMT

With a year to go until analog TV broadcasts give way to digital, the federal government on Tuesday started mailing $40 discount coupons for digital converter boxes to consumers who requested them. Do you need one? And if so, do you really need one now? Only consumers with older analog TVs who get their programming solely over the air — not through cable or satellite service — will need to plug their rooftop antenna or pair of rabbit ears into a converter box. If you use an antenna to watch television, your older set won't work after Feb. 17, 2009. One year from now all over-the-air TV broadcasts will be strictly digital. Analog TV is going away and your old television can't receive the new digital TV signal. So, if you use an antenna to watch TV, you'll need to buy a digital converter box for your older TV. As a side note if you use satellite or cable, you aren't affected. Converter boxes will sell for $50 to $70 and the government will even help you buy one. They will send households two coupons to buy converter boxes good for $40. It's not too often the government offers you...

NEC Flask Phone?

Brandon C. — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 15:01:27 GMT

NEC, the Japanese electronics manufacturer, recently unveiled a new concept phone that uses fuel cell as power. The handset is apparently named NEC Flask Phone and, at a first glance, it looks like a giant lighter that Bigfoot might really love (if he exists and if he smokes). At a second glance, things seem a bit more serious, as this device is said to pack some sort of a touchscreen that also has the role of a keypad. The phone has a transparent case that allows users to see how much fuel is consumed, thus knowing when to recharge, and it's intended to be a device that perfectly integrates advanced technology and simple but elegant design. There are no technical details regarding the Flask Phone concept, so we don't know much about the nature of the fuel powering it or about the features the phone has to offer. Although it seems a concept meant to be only a concept, the NEC Flask Phone might be ready to hit the market before the end of 2008, as the Japanese company is confident that such a phone can be created. Of course, there is no info on how much it would cost,...

How to Nab and Convert Videos from the Internet

Brandon C. — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 00:02:16 GMT

As usual I was hopping around the internet and came to a site I had never seen before. They have quite a few videos that you won't see on YouTube or other places. No, I am not talking about Porn or adult videos, just videos that I thought were funny and that I would like to share with my friends. The place I found was funnyjunk.com they have quite a few funny and interesting videos. I came across this video and thought that it would be nice to send it and share it with my friends and also to save to my computer and my Sansa. Unfortunately they don't have anything to allow me to download the video into some kind of Windows type format. After a little research, I found a way to do just what I want and with very little effort. The first thing I needed to do was download the video to my computer. I did this using a site called ClipNabber . This site allows you to paste the URL of the site that has a video you want and then you can download it into your computer. It's very simple to make this happen....

Put Slide Shows on your TiVo

Brandon C. — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 02:45:06 GMT

I have been making quite a few slide shows out of photos for Christmas this year. Using Nero Vision I have been making the slide shows and then burning them to DVD. This is a great way to give out nice presents without much of an investment. But depending on the length of the show, the resolution if the photos and other things I have found that the preview function in Nero is just not enough to rely on. You really need to see them on the TV, especially with the large screen TVs now available. The only problem is, after making the DVD and for some reason you want to make a change to the show, well, you already have created the DVD. So you have to trash it and make another. This can get expensive. So, instead of burning to DVD, testing it out, changing things, burning another, etc, we decided the easiest way to test them out on the big screen is to create the video and, using TiVo to Go, transfer them to the TiVo . Here is how we do it. After creating your show with Nero Vision, you burn the video to your hard...

Cool Japanese Cell Phone Services

Brandon C. — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 23:40:26 GMT

While doing research on this new phone , we came across a lot of cool an interesting services that the Japanese enjoy that we don't have. Check this stuff out. Omakase Lock - Lock your phone just by contacting DoCoMo. You can lock your Phonebook and other personal data as well as the "Osaifu-Keitai" IC card function on your phone if you misplace or otherwise loose it. PushTalk - PushTalk enables up to 5* people* (including the caller ) to participate in a single call. Calls between PushTalk compatible handsets can be made straight away as no application is necessary. Videophone - Convey Your Feelings Like You're There in Person Videophone conveys the nuance of what you want to say better than with words only. Sharing moments in real time as they happen is one of the many ways to use Videophone. Chara-den - Chara-den is a service where the user shows an avatar character instead of his or her own face to the recipient of a Videophone call. That avatar can then be controlled by the user. Chaku-moji? - Send a word to show how you feel or what you’re calling for before talking on the phone. The Chaku-moji...

A Wellness Cell Phone?

Brandon C. — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 16:16:58 GMT

Just when you thought you had a phone with every cool feature there is, out comes the Wellness Phone. The prototype Wellness mobile phone from Japan's NTT DoCoMo was unveiled this week at the CEATEC electronics show outside Tokyo. It can take your pulse, check your body fat, time your jogs and tell you if you have bad breath. It even assesses stress levels and inspires you with a pep talk. The phone has an inbuilt motion sensor that detects body movement and calculates how many calories you burn. The sensor can tell whether you're walking, running, climbing stairs, or resting, and counts the calories accordingly to tally daily totals. Hold the phone with outstretched arms, and it turns into a mini body fat calculator. A sensor at the top of the phone takes your pulse from your fingertip. Worried about bad breath? Use the phone's breathalyzer. Blow on a tiny hole on the side of the handset for about three seconds and it will tell you. The Wellness phone also asks questions to assesses stress levels and offers advice. At the show when a busy spokesman answered "Yes" to a series of questions - including "Do you feel lethargic?"...