Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

At today’s Apple keynote, Steve Jobs announced the latest rendition of their popular iMac.  The new iMac comes in 20 and 24 inches and is very similar in design to the old style, except for a slimmer look, metallic casing, and a few other minor details.  Similar in design, but it definitely got a bump in specs. 

Apple will sell three different flavors of the new iMac; two 20” models, and one 24”.  The iMacs all come with 1GB RAM, unlike the 17-incher before, which came with 512MB.  The processors now have 2.0, 2.4, and 2.4GHz respectively, and have 250GB, 320GB, and 320GB SATA hard drives.  The three models come with ATI Radeon HD 2400, 2600, and 2600, and all ship with the new and improved Apple Keyboard - which is very slick looking.

All three models ship with iLife ‘08, and will set you back $1199, $1499, and $1799 respectively.

Read [Appletell’s Live-Blog of the Keynote]

The guys over at Appletell are Live-Blogging Steve Jobs’ keynote right now.  Head over there to read up on the new iMacs, software upgrades, and more.

[Appletell’s Live-Blog of the Steve Jobs Keynote]

Our buds over at Gamertell are live-blogging Nintendo’s E3 press conference today, which starts at 12:00AM Eastern, 11:00AM Central, 10:00AM Mountain, and of course 9:00AM Pacific - for you west-coasters..  The post will be updated every few minutes.  Tune into the feed by clicking the link below.  Go on, get over there for some exciting announcements from Nintendo… and leave a comment for them so they know you’re there!

Gamertell Live Blog: Nintendo’s E3 2007 press conference [Gamertell]

As we already mentioned, Sony has just announced PlayStation Home, a virtual world that you control from your PS3.  Check out the video and leave a comment with your impressions.

Via [Kotaku]

In what seems like an effort to fight off the Wii and it’s family friendly image, Sony has gone soft and announced its latest addition to the PS3, PlayStation Home.  During their announcement at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), they coined the term Game 3.0, conveniently inlcuding the same “3” that can be found in PS3.  Their new product, Home, is a community similar to your traditional MMORPG you hear so much about these days.  The 3D virtual world allows you to interact with other players around the world and fork over real money to Sony, of course.

Home will have 3D banner ads (like billboards) as well as offer you special promotions and what not.  You will be able to demo the latest games from developers (that probably pay a hefty sum) as well as watch movie trailers.  Conveniently however, you can also go Home in the game.  Your home is aparently designated an ad-free zone by Sony and is able to be customized however you’d like.  Throw up a poster on your wall, change the colors of your room.  These are bound to be some of the many ways to customize.

Another sweet feature of PlayStation Home is that you can go into an “achievement” area where you can admire your hard work and accomplishments in all of your other PS3 games.  You can also visit another hall and check out the “achievements” you haven’t gotten as well.

All in all, PlayStation Home seems like a great effort by Sony to take over the MMORPG space as well as the console war.  Head over to Gizmodo for some screenshots (along with the one above), and of course the NYTimes for more.

Read [NY Times]

Microsoft’s Bill Gates is still on his media tour following the launch of Vista.  Next up is his interview with CNN where he *claims* that Windows Vista is innovative, and that nothing was taken from Apple’s OS X.

Video [YouTube] Via [Cult of Mac]

Sometimes don’t you wish you could just leave on the same headset for music, and for talking on the phone?  The Jabra BT 8010 has two ear pieces, a mono one for talking on the phone and a stereo one for listening to streaming music - sounds perfect, right?  The device is compatible with Bluetooth 2.0, and you can listen to music for up to six hours or talk for up to ten hours.  The rechargeable lithium polymer battery can be charged in two hours, and can operate in the stand-by mode for up to 300 hours.  At 37 grams for the stereo unit, and 23 grams for the mono unit your ear won’t even notice you are wearing it.

Read [SlashPhone]

The i-volution Silver catarina leather case for the 60 and 80GB iPods is quite a futuristic looking case.  Personally, I think that having a great looking (and well protected) iPod is just as important as the video, audio and other features.  The case has access ports for the headphone jack, charging connection and other controls.  The cover can also be customized with text or graphics. 

The standard case does not come with a belt clip, but if you want one, just select an Ultra clip or Rivet clip and you’re back in business.  The case is pricey at $240, but if you totally believe that clothes make the man, then you need a case that will satisfy your thirst for iPod accessories.

Read [Vaja]

We have four fingers and a thumb.  The thumb is very useful, because when combined with our fingers, it allows us to grip tools, weapons, food, and lots of other things.  We can give the thumbs-up or thumbs-down, we can hitch hike with it and we can even wrestle with it.  But, as far as we know, there yet to be a thumb-related lawsuit… until now.

In the last few years, we have been introduced to the Blackberry device with its tiny keyboard that is only accessible with our thumbs.  The newest medical condition caused by this device is called the “Blackberry Thumb.” The condition causes pain, throbbing, swelling and tendonitis, according to the American Physical Therapy Association.  Many employers provide Blackberry’s to their employees to make them more productive.  We think that the gain in productivity might be out-weighted by the potential liability.  It will follow carpal tunnel into the annuals of Worker’s Compensation history.

USA Today talked to Frank Morris yesterday, an attorney in Washington, D.C.  Morris says “Employers need to develop policies on PDA use. They also face a liability risk because some employees could argue they’re entitled to overtime if a staffer is expected to use a company-provided PDA after work hours.” Lawyers will try to get overtime pay for their clients, and use the Worker’s Compensation laws to get big paydays.  Employers beware.

Read [USA Today]

This is bad for Cingular...very bad.  Check out the video above of some Cingular store employees beating the crap out of each other.  Obviously we can assume this is all in good fun, but it’s generally a bad idea to record yourself at work yelling out racial slurs.  It’s just not good for the career, you know?

Read [Consumerist]