MCE Technologies’ new Mac specific Blu-ray burner takes care of this. Gone is the need for specific software. The Blu-ray SuperDrive behaves just like any other optical drive. Slide it into your Apple Mac Pro and you can drag, drop and burn files right from the Finder.

The 6x speed in the title refers to authoring one 25GB layer. For dual layer burning, you’ll get just 4x, and there’s a twist. The drive can also read and write CD’s and DVD’s, and burn logos into the discs with LightScribe.

The MCE 6X Blu-ray Recordable Drive plus one free 25 GB Blu-ray disc is priced at $499.00 USD.

You can also get a bundle with Roxio Toast 9 and the HD/BD plug-in which is priced at 599.00 USD.

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I also realized that offloading files, especially music files, to an external drive is problematic. The point of a notebook is portability, and hooking up a USB drive just to listen to podcasts in the kitchen is a pain.

What I need is something like Maxtor’s Central Axis, a one Terabyte Network Attached Storage (NAS). It has a Gigabit Ethernet connection to keep speeds up near those of a local drive, and two USB ports to add further storage when you need it.

And even if you are not hooked into the network via CAT5, you can still get your media via wireless connection when whipping together a tasty late night snack (via a Wi-Fi router).

It’ll even stream movies to your Xbox or PlayStation 3 (PS3) without a computer in between.

The price is not unreasonable retailing for $330.00 USD and will be available July 2008.

Source: Gizmodo

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The Kama Wireless Nunchuk provides all the same abilities and features of the wired version, but with no cables tethered to the Nintendo Wii remote.

I actually picked up two of these controllers today from my local Game Crazy. They were a little pricey at $35.00 USD each compared to the wired Nintendo version for $19.95 USD but they are so much nicer.

The Kama Wireless Nunchuck is compatible with all Nintendo Wii software that utilizes the Nunchuk attachment and requires no additional software or modification of the Nintendo Wii hardware to work, simply plug and play.

The lightweight and compact dongle attaches to the bottom of the remote and provides a wireless range of up to 3 meters.

Two AAA batteries, which Kama includes for free, provide up to 30 hours of game play for extended gameplay sessions, however I recommend getting some rechargeable batteries to save you in the long run.

The Kama Wireless Nunchuck is the ideal solution for users demanding more flexibility and freedom while playing their favorite Nintendo Wii games.

Here are some of the features:

• No restrictive wires for complete freedom while gaming
• Compatible with all games that require the Nunchuk
• Full accelerometer support for motion based gameplay
• Ergonomic design fits comfortably in either left or right hand
• Two AAA batteries (included) provide up to 30 hours of gameplay
• Included wrist strap keeps the Kama safely secured during gameplay

Here’s the catch… a few weeks ago Nintendo decided that the Kama is too similar to the official Nunchuk, and so infringes their copyrights.

To quote Bloomberg’s original report:

The Nyko product “wholly appropriates the novel shape, design, overall appearance and even the color and materials used in the Nintendo Nunchuk controller,” Nintendo said in the federal court complaint, filed June 10 in Seattle.

I personally feel that Nintendo is suing Nyko because they had the idea to make a controller that’s 100% better than Nintendo’s official Nunchuk.

If you have the means, I highly recommend you pick up a couple of these beauties before Nintendo or the courts decide they need to be pulled from gaming store shelves… that is if they haven’t already.

Just imagine how much these controllers will be fetching on sites like eBay and Amazon.com? It will be like trying to find a Wii fit or Wii… you’ll pay top dollar for sure!

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I’m guessing that a lot of the Gadget Blog readers might still own fully working console systems and have a box full of dusty game cartridges like I do as well.

Well for you gamers who don’t have the original console systems anymore because your mom sold them at a garage sale or donated them to charity, this is for you:

*insert angelic music*

The Retro Duo is awesome! I have one as a back up to my original classic NES and SNES console systems.

So what is the Retro Duo gaming system? It’s basically a tiny console from Innex that accepts both NES and SNES cartridges.

As an added bonus, it’s Region Free, so you can play import games that never got released in the USA as well.

The best part about the Retro Duo? It costs less then $50.00 USD and comes with two controllers.

I love my Retro Duo. Don’t get me wrong, I play my classic systems too, but this is a great system for a small price.

If you want to order one, here’s a link the official product page.

If you don’t have any games to play, you can check your local thrift stores or neighborhood garage sales as I’m sure some mom is selling off a kids gaming collection as I type this… *sniff*

Source: Retro Duo via RecycledGaming.com

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The strip has a couple of charge-only sockets along with the three-way mains AC extenders and even comes with a mini-USB cable, obviating the need to carry chargers for most gadgets.

The $25.00 USD box also squeezes in a surge-protector for those untrustworthy hotel power outlets.

Source: PlanetSean.com

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Reading the specs gives the answer — the QuickCam Vision Pro is a significant step up in performance from the built-in option.

The two megapixel Quickcam can supply 720p video via an autofocus Carl Zeiss lens, and has a built in microphone.

The camera will cost $130.00 USD and – floating eerily as it does in the product shot – the Quickcam reminds me of nothing other than the Empire’s Imperial Probe Droid, or Probot.

Source: Logitech QuickCam Vision Pro Product Page.

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Taken from the official BudFits website:

iPod earbuds have reached iconic status and are the outward symbol to the world that you own an iPod instead of a generic digital media player. Yet iPod earbuds can be uncomfortable and fall out of many people’s ears during physical activities like exercise and extreme sports. The solution… BudFits.

Apparently these little gadgets are snap-on earpieces that fit Apple’s earbuds and will prevent them from falling out of your ears.

For for less then $10.00 USD a pair, you can’t go wrong. I’ll be ordering a set today and rocking them on my iPod Classic in no time.

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The ITC One contains a 125 watt amp which is fed from a THX capable sound processor and a Netlinx controller so everything can run from one remote control.

There’s a built-in Hi-Def DVR and the touchscreen on the front takes care of things when you’re not on the couch, but what makes this $25,000.00 USD box special are the third party add-ins.

It comes standard with an Apple iPod dock and an Xbox 360 (including controller ports), and you can choose an optional Blu-ray player, an AppleTV or a Nintendo Wii.

Joining the speaker outputs around the back are HDMI out, analog audio-in, phone and ethernet jacks and a couple of sockets for a humble TV cable.

I specced one out on the site, adding in everything but the optional speakers and displays, but including $1,000.00 USD for the Blu-ray player and $3,700.00 USD for the cables.

I also chose black, so it looks a little less like office equipment, an option which adds $1500.00 USD. The final price? $34,500.00 USD.

Source: ITC One Product Page

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This coin-op 802.11b/g wireless access point is a throwback to better times, a golden age when the coins in your pocket were good for something other than tossing to a hobo in the street while on your way to buy a $5 coffee and enjoy some “free” Wi-Fi.

The kiosk works like this: drop in some pocket change and you’ll receive a ticket with an access code. When your time is up, you’ll need to go back and feed the meter.

I imagine it’s designed to work in unmanned environments, or to take the heat off a busy Starbucks Barista. I like the cash-only idea, which brings on-the-go access to non credit card holders.

I’m also looking forward to the first hack, perhaps an exploit which causes coins to cascade from the reject slot like some kind of bling-free Vegas slot machine.

Source: Handlink Wi-Fi KIOSK Product Page

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The massive 64GB CF card is the first to market, beating out Samsung, among others, and can carry 19,000 jpegs from a 20 MegaPixel camera.

Of course, that also means you’d have almost 20,000 images sitting in one place; hardly a sensible option for anyone who has suffered a corrupted or worse, lost, memory card.

I also wonder why anyone professional enough to be using a 20 MegaPixel camera and a presumably very expensive CF card would be shooting jpeg.

The Microdia 64GB XTRA ELITE CF has some impressive specs for their world beating card, including sustained read and write speeds of 300x or 45MB/second.

The card is available now, although the price remains unknown.

Source: PC Authority

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