Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2003 05:48:02 UT
From: WIRED Magazine
To: ***
Subject: WIRED Gadget Lab [Sept 23, 2003]
WIRED GADGET LAB
[SEPT 23, 2003]
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Welcome back to Wired magazine's Gadget Lab, the newsletter
that dishes on the latest tech toys.
Last week's launch was amazing -- thanks for all the positive
feedback. Tony, we're as psyched as you are; Mahdi, we're tweaking
the images so you'll be able to check out everything. And
Paul, thanks for the constructive criticism on our use of outdated
slang, but we think it's still totally gnarly to say "the bomb."
It's been crazy here at the office. We're knee-deep in prototypes and
demo units as we ramp up Wired Tools, December's holiday
gift guide. We're also hard at work on January's Wired
Homes, a look at the latest in digital domesticity. You'd think all
that would have us burned out on gadgets, but this week's Lomo
camera, super-prolific CD burner, and Wi-Fi sniffer are keeping our
technolust insatiable. -- Chris Baker and Sonia Zjawinski
Remember to forward this newsletter to all your buds, and drop us a
line at [email protected].
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Smart ID WFS-1 Wi-Fi Sniffer
[ RETAIL: $28 ]
Waving my laptop around while searching for 802.11b access got old
fast. So Smart ID's affordable handheld Wi-Fi detector seemed like a
godsend ... until I played with it. Strike one: It's tough to know
when you've got a signal -- the red LEDs are hard to see in sunlight,
and the unit lacks a beep or vibrate mode to alert you from your
pocket. Strike two: There's no on/off switch; you clamp your finger
down on an uncomfortable button for the duration of use. Ouch! Strike
three: The antenna is highly directional, great for honing in on a
known WAP but crap for sniffing out fresh hotspots. I had to wave the
thing around, practically dancing the hokeypokey trying to track down
new signal. And sadly, unlike some sniffers, the Smart ID doesn't
indicate whether the access it finds is encrypted or open to
freeloaders like me. -- Miriam Boon
[ RATING: 3/10 ] [ smartid.com.sg ]
Lomo Colorsplash Camera
[ RETAIL: $75 ]
Lomo knows how to have fun with photography, and the new Colorsplash
is no exception. The 35mm shooter's supersized flash has a rotating
color wheel that changes the bulb's hue. Two of the four filters can
be switched out, and the camera comes with 12 more for a variety of
effects. Unfortunately, replacing them was difficult, even for a total
genius like me. After a few hours of poking, crinkling, and sliding,
my buddy Sean finally got the suckers in place. It was worth the pain --
the
effects are crazy! The flash is just bright enough to cover the
foreground with a tint, so you can frame a purple dog against a
regular-toned background. Other trippy tricks: Tape one gel over the
lens and use another on the flash for psychedelic shots, or click to
the long-exposure setting and make lights bleed. -- S.Z.
[ RATING: 8/10 ] [ www.lomography.com ]
Kanguru Autoloader 100 CD Burner
[ RETAIL: $1,600 ]
I run a small record label, and my publicity budget is limited (read:
nonexistent). Yet it's impossible to build buzz without sending
promotional CDs to radio and press, so I could really fall for
Kanguru's Autoloader to mass-burn CD-Rs. Because it's a stand-alone
unit, I don't need to fiddle with any computer equipment. I just
insert my master and a spindle of blank discs, press Start, and four
hours later I've got 100 perfect promo copies. Although the Kanguru's
sticker price might seem high, consider that each factory-pressed CD
costs about $1.75 while blank discs run about a quarter. This
powerful machine is perfect for a wannabe music king like me -- and
for those annoying folks who pass out CD-Rs of their favorite holiday
music. -- Eric Steuer
[ RATING: RATING: 9/10 ] [ kanguru.com ]
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More hot and cool gadgets from WIRED's October issue:
> Drink in the DIY genius of tricked-out PCs.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.10/makeover.html
> Go high with our look at unmanned combat jets.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.10/start.html?pg=12
GIZMODO REPORTS:
Sony Ericsson accidentally reveals the P810
> Someone digging around on the Sony Ericsson site found a Flash
presentation for the still-not-officially-announced successor to the
P800 PDA phone, the P810 (also known as the P900). The file quickly
disappeared from the site, but not before some screen captures were
nabbed.
http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/008894.php#008894
Sunglasses that record everything
> Researchers at one of HP's labs in England have come up with a
prototype of a pair of sunglasses with an embedded digital camera.
The specs dump the thousands of digital images they capture to a PC
or handheld at the end of the day, and special software filters out
the good from the bad.
http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/008892.php#008892
Get more gadget reports at Gizmodo.com.
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