Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Just imagine watching Monday Night Football with the players looking like they are running right at you.  Talk about experiencing the excitement of the game without actually being there.  Or fighting the bad guys in your favorite video game (and you thought the Wii made the fighting seem realistic).

Scientists have finally broken the barrier that had prevented this type of technology by creating the first updatable three-dimensional displays with memory.  Dr Nasser Peyghambarian, chair of photonics and lasers at the University’s of Arizona’s Optical Sciences department, said, “This is a prerequisite for any type of moving holographic technology.” Although there is still work to be done, scientists are still very optimistic they are getting much closer to this becoming a reality in the next five to ten years.

Find out much more about holographic TV after the break!

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Powering up a laptop with portable liquid fuel? It’s genesis is closer than you might think. The company PolyFuel, which develops fuel cell membranes, recently announced that it has developed a prototype laptop (the Lenova T40 ThinkPad), which uses methanol cartridges and a fuel cell as it’s power source.

Although the working prototype is not an actual finished product, but instead a proof of concept, the company plans to show it off to consumer electronics and PC manufacturers in the coming weeks.

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A study conducted by Australian consumer agency Choice said that video game consoles and plasma flat-screen TVs are the biggest energy users which shoot up consumers power bills.

From among the 16 electronic devices that were tested during the course of the study, both the Sony Playstation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 were found to consume the most energy. The study also noted that these game consoles still consume energy even if they are on stand-by mode. Following the Playstation 3 and Microsoft Xbox are devices such as laptops, stereo systems, DVD players and plasma TV’s.

In addition, the report also suggested that consumers switch off their electronic devices from the source and not from the remote control. As shutting it off using the remote control does not totally turn off the power. In fact, when left in power mode for a certain period of time, the study found out that the Playstation 3’s consumption is five times more than the energy consumption of a refrigerator.

Now that you know, we think it would be better to lower our console gaming time or better yet, to save more, we might as well stop using our game consoles. But of course this will be hard to do, especially if you are a hard core gamer. So, we guess the best thing to do then is to reduce the number of hours you use these electronic gadgets.

Read [Yahoo! News]

While everyone else in the world seems to be forgetting about snail mail, here comes the US Postal Service putting the old way of communicating into a fresh and yet good use – recycling electronics. The US Postal Service is advocating the recycling of electronic products, such as mobile phones and inkjet cartridges to name a few. If you’re sick and tired of your broken iPods you may put them in an envelope provided by the USPS and send those electronics via snail mail. The envelope will be provided by the USPS and will be strategically placed in 1500 post offices across the US.

The USPS “mail back” program does not only promotes and encourages environmental sustainability but it will help consumers to de-clog their homes and workstations with dead electronic products as well. 

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I just got back from dinner and there they were sitting on my driveway...the Black Friday ads in paper-form.  I can’t quite say why I enjoy getting them when I already know what they say - but there’s just something about the experience.  Maybe it’s the flashy colors on the paper?  Maybe it’s the exhileration associated with getting up at 3 in the morning?  Maybe it’s the humor in stuffing a crap-load of paper into a plastic sleave?  Whatever it is, it excites me.  Oh and if you were looking for some news...There’s clearly no news here, I’m just making an announcement that I received my ads.  Have a good night and a great Thanksgiving!

Read up on Black Friday deals by clicking here.

Do you eat, breath, and sleep technology? Are there any gadgets you don’t own?  Is your hero Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Sergey Brin, or some combination of the three? If you answered yes to any of these questions and can be in New York from October 12-15, 2006 then you have a chance to become a VIP at this year’s Digital Experience.

To enter for one of four VIP tickets to Digital Life 2006 NY at the Javits Center, send a photo to gadgetell @ gmail . com SHOWING ALL THE GADGETS YOU OWN. Only one submission per person is allowed. Submissions will be accepted until 11:59pm on October 9, 2006. At that time we will post the winning images and supply Digital Experience with your email address (they will then email you eTickets so make sure your address is valid).

Click on to see what the VIP package include besides free entrance into all days of the event…

• VIP Day takes places on Thursday, October 12 (9:00am - 4:00pm) and the VIP ticket-holders are entitled to an exclusive tour of the show floor, special sponsor product unveilings prior to the public opening as well as access to the following keynote addresses...


• 10:00 AM - The Beauty and Power of Windows Vista - Mike Sievert, Microsoft corporate vice president and head of the Windows Vista marketing team, will provide an in-depth look at the revolutionary and much-anticipated new Windows operating system and the impact it will have on consumers.


• 11:30 AM - HD World: The Fusion of Entertainment and Electronics - Stan Glasgow, President and COO of Sony Electronics Inc., will demonstrate how high-definition audio and video technologies are continuing to transform our entertainment experience.

The next International CES (Consumer Electronics Expo), where hundreds of electronics companies show off their latest and greatest products, will take place January 8-11, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV.

There are more than 175 sessions to choose from, under broad categories that include Digital Hollywood, Mobile Entertainment, VoIP Summit, Market Trends, Mobile Broadband & Content and Robotics Professional Development.

Passes can be ordered online through the CES website.

Read on for the pass options.

· Ultimate Pass: $799 advance; $999 on-site
Includes all CES Knowledge Track, Digital Hollywood, CES Mobile Entertainment and CES Game Power sessions

· Full Knowledge Track Pass: $499 advance; $699 on-site
Includes all CES Knowledge Track and Digital Hollywood sessions

· Hollywood Express Pass: $699 advance; $899 on-site
Includes Digital Hollywood, CES Game Power Showcase and CES Mobile Entertainment sessions

· Exhibits Plus Pass: FREE in advance; $200 on-site
Access to exhibit show floor, keynotes, SuperSessions and more than 60 conference sessions

· Single Session Pass: $179 advance; $279 on-site

Register on or before December 29 to get a free Exhibits Plus pass or expect to pay $200 more to peep the goods.

Read [CES]

Last week Philips had their annual “Holiday’s in June” showcase where they presented the hottest new Philips products in style in good ‘ol NYC. The video (though not prettiest coverage) walks you through the new products as well as this image gallery. It looks like there will be a bunch of great new product for us to feast our eyes and ears on including the new Portable Media Center, Ambilight Full Surround TVs, HTS6500 Home Theater System, MP3 players and don’t forget the HD7832 Senseo Coffeemaker.