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SanDisk announced 6GB and 8GB microSD High Capacity (microSDHC) flash memory cards one-upping their previous maximum capacity of 4 gigabytes announced in February.

SanDisk's Jeff Kost bragged, "any mobile phone with a compatible microSDHC slot will have just as much storage as the largest-capacity iPhone." The ironic thing is Rich Tehrani recently bought a 4GB microSDHC card for his Windows Mobile 5 phone (Verizon XV6700) and it only supports 2GB maximum, so he had to return it. So unfortunately, most existing phones won't support the new higher 6GB and 8GB capacities either. So buyers beware! Check your device's specs before you buy a microSDHC memory card.

But certainly newer phone models can take advantage of the extra storage. Of course other devices will also be able to take advantage of microSDHC such as mp3 music players, hand-held computers, and digital cameras. An 8GB microSDHC card can store more than 2,000 digital songs, or more than 5,000 high-resolution pictures, or up to 5 hours of high-quality MPEG 4 video.

Retail release of the cards and availability to phone manufacturers and network operators are planned for later in 2007. Pricing has not yet been determined.

Note: SDHC is the designation for any SD or SD-based card that is larger than 2GB and adheres to the new SD 2.00 specification required for cards and hosts to support 4GB to 32GB capacities.

Genesis: And God said, Let there be light and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good.

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

And man did indeed be fruitful and multiply and gained dominion over all the Earth. Man gained in knowledge over the centuries. With increased knowledge came the Industrial Revolution, and new advanced technologies -- and with this unfortunately came an increasing appetite for more materials and more energy.

Whether you believe God created the Earth or it was simply 'random luck' in the vast cosmos, Earth's environment has provided Man will all his needs. Trees, a renewable source have provided Man with wood, heat, shelter, paper, and hundreds of drugs including aspirin and ibuprofen. Crops provide Man nourishment. Steel and other metals are used in millions of products. Oil drives the economies of most of the world's nations.

But Man has abused his environment with pollution, over fertilization, over fishing, carbon-emitting vehicles, and wasteful garbage that should be recycled. Many claim Global Warming is a result of Man's activities on this planet. Many others aren't convinced of Global Warming or at least that Man is at fault for it. But while the Global Warming debate continues, we all want to be as eco-friendly to the environment as possible. After all, we all need clean air, water, and food, to live, right?

In fact, many corporations are now seeing the financial benefits of investing in "green" technologies that not only add to their corporate profits, but also helps protect the planet. Green technologies such as wind power, hybrid vehicles and more efficient solar cells for generating power are just a few.

If you're environmentally-conscious and are interested in staying up on the latest "green" technologies and breakthroughs, then you should add TMC's new Green Blog to your RSS reader. It just started, but it already has over 10 posts and is growing daily. Go check it out!

I was reading SmithOnVoIP and read how David Pogue, a well-known technology writer for the NY Times, recently made 5 what I call "obvious" predictions. One of his predictions is free landline calls. According to the article, "Prediction Number One: Free Land-Line Telephone Service. Land line phone calls will be free, because of VoIP such as Vonage, Skype and others, said Pogue. Today, you can plug an existing phone into a box that plugs into a cable modem, $15 to $20 per month, for unlimited calls, no taxes or fees (he hesitated briefly noting that perhaps he should avoid making that point to a government audience.)"

So after plugging the heavyweights in VoIP, namely Skype and Vonage, he makes this "bold" prediction about free landline calls. Ho-hum, we've heard this before, haven't we? His second prediction? RFID becoming prevalent. Yeah, heard that one too. His third prediction - "ala cart TV". Gee, where have I heard that before? His fourth prediction - high-definition TV, which Pogue accurately points out that the federal government will turn off analog broadcasting in 2009. So, this isn't a "prediction" so much as he is stating a fact on what will happen by 2009. Just like I predict I will drive home tonight at 6pm.

His last prediction is "Web 2.0". A list of predictions wouldn't be a list without mentioning Web 2.0. Pogue throws around some Web 2.0 companies, including Facebook, MySpace, and digg.

C'mon David, you can make better predictions other than stating the obvious. I love many of your techology articles, but this list is pathetic! If you keep this up, this will be yet another reason for me not to read the NY Times.

Do you hate getting up and the blaring alarm clock only results in you hitting the snooze 5 times and arriving to work late? Surely, you curse the alarm clock and accuse it of snoozing for only 9 minutes instead of 10, robbing you of 1 minute extra sleep. (Actually, little known fact, most alarm clocks snooze for 9 minutes not 10.)

Truly, you want to make it to work on time, but ohhhhh how tempting hitting the snooze button just 1 more time is. More Americans suffer from "snooze button addiction" than any other. I myself suffer from snooze button addiction and that is why I was intrigued by this new alarm block from nanda called the Clocky that can help you break your snooze button addiction.

The Clocky alarm clock runs away and hides when you don't wake up. Clocky gives you one chance to get up. But if you snooze, Clocky will JUMP off of your nightstand and wheel around your room looking for a place to hide. That rascally clock! Damn thing can even jump 3 feet! Clocky is kind of like your dog or cat that comes pestering you on a Saturday morning wondering why this day is any different than any other day and why you're still in bed sleeping past 10am when you're usually up at 7am.

Of course, an obnoxious alarm clock that runs and hides while blaring the alarm could result in the alarm clock being thrown across the room, like Bill Murray did in the cute romantic comedy Groundhog Day.

Features:

Clocky is now commercially available.  He has a customizable snooze time, a sleek new look, and comes in 3 colors. Available at www.nandahome.com.

Today, BitTorrent has launched their licensed entertainment networl and an enhanced BitTorrent protocol that will allow it to offer copyrighted movies, TV shows, games, and other media. The BitTorrent Entertainment Network will launch starting with over 5,000 titles, including films from Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Lionsgate, and Warner Bros, as well as episodes of TV shows such as 24 and Prison Break.



According to the company, the service is aimed at young males who regularly use BitTorrent to download pirated versions of the same films and who prefer to watch these video programs on their PCs instead of a TV. BitTorrent is used by millions of users and in fact 1/3rd of all Internet traffic is consumed by BitTorrent traffic. The problem from naysayers is "converting" these pirates into legit-paying customers. Of course, the same naysayers were skeptical of Apple iTunes when it launched in the post-Napster age and iTunes is a runaway success.

The BitTorrent company claims that at least one-third of the 135 million people using BitTorrent software will be willing to pay for legitimate content. To entice the pirates, err, I mean potential law-abiding customers, they are featuring popular content at just $1.99 and targetting males between the ages of 15 and 35 years. Full-length movie takes about 30 minutes to download, while a TV episode should only take about 10 minutes. Movies will also be available for 24 hours at $3.99 for new and $2.99 for old titles. Sample movie content includes Superman Returns and Mission: Impossible III. The content will be protected by Windows Media DRM, and will only play back using Windows Media Player. Sorry Mac fans!

The library within the BitTorrent Entertainment Network is very extensive. It includes 3,000 movie and television titles as well as 1,000 games, and 1,000 music titles. Movie and record studios and associations have aggresively tried to shut down various BitTorrent tracker sites, including The Pirate Bay and isoHunt.com. Now that BitTorrent has gone legit, will the studios back off? Not a chance in hell.

Brian Cohen, the creator of BitTorrent has is working on some major enhancements to the BitTorrent client. While many other popular BitTorrent clients exist, such as Azureus, BitComet, etc., BitTorrent.com's client will most likely be the only one to support these DRM-protected downloads. I would venture to guess that both Azureus and BitComet are more popular than the official BitTorrent client, but things could quickly change. So it will be interesting to see if BitTorrent.com's client takes a larger market share and as such, if they start adding advertisements and/or adware to the client. The new version will support BitTorrent DNA Version 2. Unlike current versions of Bittorrent, the new version of Mainline will apparently NOT be released as an open-source client.

According to PC Magazine, the µTorrent client BitTorrent acquired in December will be used for portable apps. With DNA 2.0, users can start a BitTorrent swarm off of any Web object. The technology also recognizes when the user is Web surfing or using VoIP, by gracefully scaling down the network utilization to avoid interfering with the user's other Internet activities.

Agent Jack Bauer CTU (Counter Terrorist Unit) of FOX's 24 fame relies on his trusty GPS-enabled mobile phone to get him where he needs to go, as well as call in Curis Manning from tactical for backup or even airstrikes to specific GPS coordinates. Jack also relies heavily on GPS tracking devices to monitor the location of the bad guys.

But things just got a bit harrier for Jack.  DetectNu, a Holland-based company has come up with a GPS and GSM jammer that you simply plug into your car's cigarette lighter. It will block any planted GPS tracker in your vehicle from transmitting location data back to CTU (or Jack's phone).

It also shuts down GSM mobile phone devices. Hopefully, Jack has a triband mobile phone so he switch to CDMA or perish the thought - analog. But even if the bad guys jam Jack's GPS phone or GPS tracking devices, don't worry, Jack always gets his man (or woman) - even if does take him 24 hours to do it!

Looks like Pontiac is launching the 2007 Pontiac G5 on the Internet. I just saw a Google video ad on my blog stating that Pontiac is launching the G5 exclusively on the Internet. The images you see are snapshots I took of the Pontiac G5 video.






In the commerical they list off popular digital items, trying to market the Pontiac G5 as a "digital car". They list: digital watch, digital abacus, digital camera, digital phone, digital video, digital card, digital haircut (i.e. Photoshop), digital house, digital mouse, digital friends, digital planet, digital life (2nd Life), digital death (Pacman), digital mood, digital pet, and finally "digital car" - the G5. The ad explains the G5 has an mp3 jack for connecting your MP3 player, digital satellite radio, and even diagnostic emails. Not sure what the heck diagnostic emails are. Does that mean Pontiac will email you when it detects your engine is about to fail, or are they going to spam you with oil change reminders every 3,000 miles?

Apparently the Pontiac G5 is going to be nationally launched only on the Internet. I guess no one would pay attention if they launched this at the North America International Auto Show or the New York International Auto Show, when you have to compete with the likes of Porsche and Ferrari or even Vipers and Vettes. It's an interesting idea to launch on the Internet. Obviously this vehicle is targetted at tech-savvy youth who are looking for gadget-enabled digital cars to show off to their friends for the "coolness" factor. Obviously, with a base price of $14995, they are making it affordable for young adults as well.

I'll stick with my Viper and just add-on cool accessories and gadgets, thank you very much. Speaking of which, I still have a Kenwood 7" DVD player in the box I've been meaning to install.

Steve Jobs has outdone himself with the successful launch of the Apple iPhone at CES yesterday that continues to cause reverberations and major buzz today. What I would like to know is how Steve Jobs kept the iPhone so secret. In today's day and age where information leaks out faster than the NY Times reveals top secret anti-terrorism government programs -- how was Steve Jobs able to keep the iPhone under wraps?

Apple has been known to sue bloggers that have divulged past Apple secrets, so how did we not see this coming? Sure there were rumors about the iPhone coming out at CES, but there were just as many rumors saying it wasn't going to happen. One site predicted an iPhone device made by Motorola back in 2005. Of course, that became the relatively failed Motorola MotoROKR iTunes phone.

As part of this launch, Apple is partnering with Cingular for the phone service, as well as Google and Yahoo. That means three other companies were aware of the iPhone pre-launch and none of them divulged anything. What did Steve Jobs do to keep them quiet? The mainstream media - NY Times, FOX News, CNN, etc. all missed this juicy scoop. CNN/Time agreed to an NDA and did check it out before the launch. Of course, the mainstream media I can excuse for missing this big story, but the bloggers I cannot.

The Apple Blog and the Unofficial Apple Blog didn't get any "leaked" photos pre-launch (nor Engadget), nor did any bloggers access the FCC's online site to find any Apple FCC filings. Nor did any blogger slueths find any info on the online U.S. patent website. What happened? Are the bloggers slipping or is Steve Jobs just smarter and craftier than the rest of us?

Talkster today announced that their closed/invite-only beta is now open the public. Talkster essentially lets you place free calls from your regular cell phone to instant messaging clients such as MSN Messenger, Google Talk, and Gizmo Project. What's nice about Talkster is you don't have to have a telephone number to reach someone - you simply use their buddy (contact) name. Further, Talkster is convenient because it consolidates 3 popular communications services people and allows you to leverage them to make VoIP calls to any of these services using your mobile phone. In fact, during this now public beta, calls to instant messaging services are free. I talked with James Wanless, president and chief operating officer of Talkster and asked him why Yahoo! Messenger was notably absent since I knew they were SIP-based. James mentioned that Yahoo has put in several security layers to block anyone from connecting to their network. Wasn't Yahoo blocking Trillian and GAIM years ago? They're still playing these stupid games?

I asked about Skype and James acknowledged the importance of Skype and he pointed out that they have a desktop application that would allow you to view the presence of Skype users and make/receive calls. However, he stated, "In terms of providing a service, having to have people run clients on their PC and have to rely on the fact that the PC is always on and hasn't leaked memory or crashed  - that's not a good thing. It's really a bad thing. There are some services that have been looking at ways of replicating the desktop environment into a server and run many many Skype clients together, but that still is a really clunky non-scalable way of building out a service. Skype is a company who already has a SIP layer which sits on top of the Skype network. You know when you have SkypeIn and they give you a number, that is coming from a VoIP provider, but they've just chosen not to open it up right now."

I also asked about a native SIP client so there is no need for a callback or dialing into a local gateway and James mentioned that their network can support it today and stated  they he was looking forward to the day when these phones support open standards such as SIP and have the added processing horsepower to handle SIP calls. But he also pointed out "Yes it (SIP calls) works when it works, however there are a lot of issues with it disconnecting and not reconnecting."

There are two ways that calls can be connected using Talkster. Most services call you back, however Talkster can also dial a local gateway on an outbound call and then connect you to the far end. This local gateway method is important in Europe where the EU is in the process of regulating the cost of roaming by the Summer of 2007. This will enable a person that is traveling outside their home country to make a call to a local gateway while traveling and the roaming costs will reduced. When someone picks up the phone and goes to another country using Talkster's you can save substantially on the cost of the call. James wrote an interesting blog post on how the new rules will impact VoIP arbitrage.



From the web interface (a fat-client software application will be available next year) you can view the presence for any of your contacts. When you view the details for any of your contacts you have the option to call using four methods, including IM, mobile, PSTN, and VoIP. No doubt comparisons will be made between Talkster and Jajah, Talkplus, or Rebtel. One obvious difference is that Talkster supports both call back and dial-in methods, but another important differentiator is that Talkster is focused on the enterprise market, while the other solutions focus on the consumer market or special verticals such as dating using a second phone number.

The concept of using a person's buddy name instead of their phone number is not new. However, I do like how Talkster consolidates various popular IM platforms. This got me thinking what the future may hold. Right now Talkster, Jajah, Rebtel, Talkplus, and all the other interesting Voice 2.0 providers leverage the existing carrier's infrastructure both for the PSTN and the IP connectivity. The carriers have been slow to adopt Voice 2.0 or provide cool applications to their customers and instead have left it to upstarts. For instance, I can envision AT&T/SBC, which is already a huge Yahoo partner offering similar Voice 2.0 solutions, but in a more integrated fashion, since AT&T/SBC owns their own network. SBC offers packages of local and long distance, Internet, wireless phone and satellite TV (through DISH Network). Add in the fact that they are a Yahoo partner, and I can envision some intriguing Voice 2.0 possibilities. Then again, since when do carriers offer a nice integrated and feature-rich product without charging you an arm and a leg for it.

The OPPO Digital LT2007 20-inch LCD-TV DVD Combo Player is an interesting "combination" device, combining a 181-channel TV tuner, VGA input for PC/laptop video support, built-in DVD player, 5-in-1 USB Memory Card reader, component ports, built-in speakers, and a remote control -- all in a small, elegant, and stylish design that is perfectly suited for kitchens, dorms, dens, or other rooms with limited space. Oppo sent me a review unit to check out and put through the paces.



For my first test I inserted the DVD movie Cellular into the front-loading DVD slot. Similar to cars' in-dash DVD/CD players, the DVD player automatically "catches" the DVD disc as you insert it. Using the ultra-thin remote control, which actually uses a thin watch battery, I was able to easily navigate the DVD menus and start the movie. The video quality was very good on the LCD display, though the screen is 4:3 aspect ratio, so the widescreen Cellular movie was letterboxed. This 4:3 aspect ration is my first "room for improvement" - I'd like to see them offer a 16:9 LCD screen since most DVDs these days come in widescreen format. While the DVD is playing you can capture the current frame and replace the logo screen. A bit of feature-fluff, but hey, I'm a gadget freak, so the more features, the merrier! Also, the DVD drive plays standard DVD-Video, DivX, CD, HDCD, WMA, Kodak Picture CD, as well as DVD-R/+R/-RW/+RW recordable DVDs.


For my next test, I hooked up the included USB 5-1 Memory Card reader which supports SecureDigital, MultiMedia Card, Memory Stick, SmartMedia, CompactFlash. Next, I inserted my CF card which had both photos, DiVX videos, mpeg videos, and MP3s on it. From the remote control I switched the source to the CF card and was able to browse the folders on the CF card. I was able to start an MP3 music file and as the song was playing I could browse the photos and start a slideshow. The MP3 music would continue playing while the photos were browsed or in slideshow mode - a nice feature. Next, I tried playing Journey - Who's Crying Now.mpg, a live concert MPEG video in my video collection and it played flawlessly.

Next, I hooked up a laptop to the VGA input on the back of the unit. The LCD screen was very crisp (as expected), however I noticed the screen resolution displayed 800x600 even though the laptop was set to 1024x768. Thus, part of the Windows Desktop was obscured, such as the Windows XP Start Menu until you move the mouse and pan around the screen.
(Note: I switched to 800x600 resolution on the laptop for the photo below, so you can see the Start menu on this photo:)

Moving the mouse around would cause the LCD to "pan" around and I was able to get to the Start menu. I tried to change the resolution to 1024x768 but soon learned that 800x600 is the maximum resolution on this 20" screen. This is a bit surprising since I have never seen such a large screen only handle 800x600. I'm not sure if it was a cost decision to only do 800x600, but it certainly seemed odd. Similarly, the Component video inputs accept 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i HD video signals, however, all signals are scaled to the 800x600 resolution display capability. Composite and S-Video inputs are also included for connecting VCRs, camcorders, etc. I should point out that 800x600 is fine for the built-in TV tuner since DV NTSC resolution (DVD) is only 720x480. In fact, I was very impressed with the DVD quality as well as the 181-channel TV tuner video quality, but still would have liked to have seen 1024x768 supported. Nevertheless, this combo device will most likely be used in kitchens, dens, and other small spaces "more as a DVD player and TV" rather than a computer monitor. As such, this TV/DVD combo this is a great product with a really cool stylish design that almost looks like Apple designed it. Most importantly the Oppo OPPO Digital LT-2007 has a small footprint due its integrated LCD, speakers, and DVD player that won't clutter your countertop or table -- and at just $599, this is a bargain for the amount of features you get.

Pros:
- Integrated DVD player
- Memory card Reader with Photo Slideshow
- Plays DivX, and MPEG videos
- Plays mp3 files
- Elegant, small, and combines TV/DVD/PC monitor all-in-one

Cons:
- VGA maximum resolution (800x600)
- 4:3 aspect ratio not optimal for DVD playback
 
Specifications:

TV:

• Enhanced Definition Television (EDTV) with high quality 20.1" flat-panel TFT LCD screen.
• 800 x 600 pixel resolution, 500:1 contrast ratio, 450 cd/m² brightness, 4:3 aspect ratio.
• Tilt screen with adjustable angle.
• 181-channel NTSC tuner with automatic station searching and fine tuning.
• Last Channel Recall feature for quick switching between channels.
• Closed captioning capability.
• MTS/SAP decoding for true stereo sound and Secondary Audio Programs.
• Digital 3D comb filter for enhanced picture resolution and sharpness.
• Component video input capable of accepting 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i HD video signals.
• Composite video and S-Video inputs for universal compatibility.
• VGA input for use as a computer or game monitor.
• 2 stereo audio inputs for PC and video.
• 3W x 2 stereo speakers built into the base.
• Headphone output.
• Automatic shut-off sleep timer.

 
Built-in DVD Player:

• Slot-loading DVD player built into the TV base.
• Progressive scan and true digital connection to the built-in TV for best picture quality.
• Multi-format digital video/audio/picture playback supporting DVD-Video, DivX® video format, XviD, Audio CD, HDCD, WMA, Kodak Picture CD and more.
• Versatile media compatibility supporting disc types such as CD-R/CD-RW, DVD-R/DVD-RW, and DVD+R/DVD+RW.
• Official DivX® Certified product
• Plays all versions of DivX® video (including DivX® 6) with standard playback of DivX® media files
• Digital audio output supporting Dolby Digital and DTS for surround sound playback.
• USB interface for flash memory or external device expandability.
• Composite video and stereo audio output.

 
Connectors:

• Cable/Antenna input (F Type connector): 1
• Component video input (YPbPr/YCbCr): 1 group (3 connectors)
• S-Video input: 1
• VGA input: 1
• A/V input: 1
• PC audio input (for VGA): 1
• DVD A/V output: 1
• DVD coaxial digital audio output: 1
• USB port: 1
• DC power input jack: 1
• Headphone output: 1

 
Accessories Included:

• User manual
• Remote control and battery
• Power adaptor and AC power cord
• A/V cable (3 RCA to 1 mini-jack): 2 sets
• Stereo audio cable (2 RCA to 1 mini-jack)
• Coaxial digital audio cable (1 RCA to 1 mini-jack)
• 5-in-1 USB flash memory card reader and USB cable (SecureDigital, MultiMedia Card, Memory Stick, SmartMedia, CompactFlash)