Filed under: Peripherals, Networking

Although there’s never been an overwhelming amount of success in any one category, just about everything has tried its hand at traveling over power lines, but Icron looks to be the first to channel USB 2.0 over the medium. Taking advantage of Panasonic’s HD-PLC technology and its proprietary ExtremeUSB magic that was already seen in a wireless USB endeavor, Icron’s system “extends USB 2.0 over standard power lines enabling remote connection of standard USB devices such as keyboards, printers, flash drives, hard drives, and web cameras over the AC outlets in your home or office.” (What, no hand warmers, aquariums, or drink chillers?) The prototype setup featured a four-port USB 2.0 OPL hub and dongle set that saw 190Mbps over standard power lines, and there won’t be any additional drivers necessary for this to play nice with Windows, Linux, and OS X systems. No word just yet on when these kits will be available for sale, but we’d wait on a review before labeling ourselves an early adopter on this one.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

So there you are, saving all your pennies for an iPhone (if you aren’t, you should!) but you still need an iMac – why not and build your own?

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Interactive billboards and advertisements have been (trying) to catch our eyes for some time now, but a team of Swedes are apparently hoping that adding speech abilities might convince you to take an even closer look. The Paper Four project has reportedly developed a prototype digital paper that uses embedded sensors to detect touch, and when you graze over a certain spot, it actually talks back to you via “printed speakers.” Now in the fourth generation of development, the device combines paper with “printed graphic codes and electronically conductive ink that is sensitive to pressure,” and it is already being showcased as a way to invite tourists or other customers to get up close and personal with ads in order to hear auditory information. Best of all, the team has hosted up a video showing exactly how this stuff works, so do yourself a favor and hit the read link to catch a peek.

[Via BBC]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Laptops

General Dynamics Itronix certainly has the rugged computer gig down pat, but the GoBook VR-2 scales things back a bit and only gets the “semi-rugged” treatment. Don’t think this bad boy’s not a workhorse, however, as this machine was reportedly designed to “meet the demanding needs of mobile workers in a variety of commercial, field service, public safety, and military markets.” Among the niceties that make the day-to-day a bit easier is a 13.3-inch XGA DynaVue touchscreen display, Intel’s 2GHz T7300 Core 2 Duo processor, up to 4GB of RAM, up to 120GB of hard drive space, an optional HDD heater for those chilly morns in Killington, DVD burner, PC Card slot, optional ExpressCard slot, VGA output, audio in / out, four USB 2.0 ports, gigabit Ethernet, 802.11a/g/n, integrated fingerprint reader, optional WWAN / GPS, Bluetooth, and a three-year warranty that should keep you feeling secure. Of course, this beast can handle a decent amount of shock, dust, and humidity too, but we wouldn’t expect anything less with a base price of around $3,500. Click on through for a few on-the-job snaps.

Continue reading Itronix’s semi-rugged GoBook VR-2 gets a day job

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Two DIY mappers in two days? Is it Christmas already?