The eBook reader is a device for those trying to slim down the size of their library, save a few trees, and be able to take tons of books with you when you're on the go. The PRS 505 is easy to use and has eight levels of gray scale that provides crisp and clear text, images, and graphics. This reader has the capacity to store up to 160 typical eBooks with expansion slots for Memory Stick Duo media or SD memory cards and a USB slot to make the device's library practically limitless. It also has an auto-sync feature that lets users set up folders with books and documents that can be automatically synchronized when the device is connected to a PC. Positives * Supports most formats without any conversion. The included software makes it easy to add books to either the main memory or one of the memory cards - simply drag and drop. * The screen displays clear text that is readable under the brightest of lights. It's quite easy on the eyes. * Supports MP3 playback while you are reading. * It's lightweight and doesn't put a strain on the body. * It has the capacity to store multiple bookmarks to keep your place ...

Supercomputer leader Cray Inc. and Microsoft Corporation today introduced the new Cray CX1 supercomputer pre-installed with Windows HPC Server 2008. With U.S. list prices starting at $25,000 to over $60,000, "ease-of-everything" features and the ability to fit into standard office environments and workflows, the new product reflects Microsoft and Cray's shared goal to drive high productivity computing farther into the mainstream in a broad array of markets including financial services, aerospace, automotive, petroleum, life sciences, government, academic and digital media. [more]

Apple's announcement of the new super thin ipods yesterday in Cupertino got lots of geek's blood running hotter than usual. Of course TeXtra's very own Cali Lewis has a review of all the new models, capabilities and the pretty colors!!!  

The geek press will be out in full force in Cupertino today as Steve Jobs is rumored to present the new iPod range, just in time for the holiday shopping season. So far no links on the apple site to a live stream of the event, but you can always follow along with the Engadget livebloggers and of course check in after the event with our own Geek Goddess Cali Lewis for a wrapup of the latest offerings from Apple. Also look for reports throughout the day from our boyz over at the Apple Universe Podcast for video highlights.

It took 40 minutes to update my iPhone with the 2.0.1 update, but so far, it’s been good. The most annoying issue fixed by the update (for me) was how hitting the delete button once would activate delete, delete, delete, delete, etc., until my whole line of text disappeared. iPhone App reviews are at www.iCali.tv. John Carmack, anything but an Apple fanboi says the iPhone is more powerful than the Nintendo ds and PSP combined. The Boynq Swing is possibly the greatest design for a USB hub ever conceived. Planon, the company that brought us the DocuPen scanner (covered on Brief 22), now has a tiny pocketable printer called the PrintStik. It connects to a mobile phone or laptop via bluetooth, and based on one of the promotional photos, it’s apparently ideal for printing in a restroom stall. Maclife.com has a DIY solution for stoping GSM buzz coming from speakers when a mobile phone is nearby. It involves ferrite beads and electrical tape. The MacLife step-by-steps are here. We thought we had the fireplace portablity market cornered with our iYule Log, but the Travelmate Portable Fireplace has taken the throne with their fireplace in a briefcase. I’m just not sure how a story about fireplaces ...

GeekBrief.TV | Video Podcast » Archive » GBTV #403 | GeekBrief.TV Direct Download Links Small | Medium | Extra Large Windows Media Nokia N95 (Upload in progress) | Nokia N800/N810 (Upload in progress) NetShare is an iPhone app that allows you to use your iPhone as a modem to connect a laptop to the Internet. It’s been on and off the App Store. Hopefully by the time you see this, it’ll still be available. You can download it here. Neal, my husband and co-producer, has been asking me to show him how I use gmail filters to keep my inbox organized. I figured, if he doesn’t know how to do it, he’s probably not alone. I posted my tip on iCali.TV. TechCrunch says Amazon has sold 240,000 Kindles. John P. Falcone got his hands on the LG BD300, a Blu-ray player that’s definitely on my list when I get ready to buy a Blu-ray player. The IEEE approved Firewire 3200. That’s awesome, and I can’t wait, but someone needs to do something about the mini DV connector! Join us every week for our live weekly show called Cali Live. Our schedule for the next few shows is at www.iCali.tv and you can use my Gmail calendar to get updated when ...

GeekBrief.TV | Video Podcast » Archive » GBTV #402 | GeekBrief.TV Direct Download Links Small | Medium | Extra Large Windows Media Nokia N95 (Upload in progress) | Nokia N800/N810 (Upload in progress) I asked for video of Microsoft’s Sphere at the Research Faculty Summit. Todd Bishop provided it. Dell’s Studio Hybrid Desktop PCs provide a design alternative to the Mac Mini. You get your choice of 6 color sleeves or a bamboo sleeve. Brando released the SATA HDD Multimedia Dock, which lets you connect it to a TV. It’s a great price for a media center, even if it is a little unattractive. Slydial gives you the option of calling someone and going straight to their voicemail so you don’t have to talk to them. People like Louise and Neal are going to love this! I keep talking about Bacon Tech, and now we have some real bacon tech. The Wake ‘n’ Bake Alarm Clock will actually cook your bacon in the morning and wake you up happy. Cali’s Shirt Courtesy of Brew City Online Cali’s Necklace is a NeoCube

GeekBrief.TV | Video Podcast » Archive » GBTV #401 | Ones and 0s Direct Download Links Small | Medium | Extra Large Windows Media Nokia N95 | Nokia N800/N810 One of my friends, Jeff McCord recently wrote a post on his blog about the nastiness of comments on YouTube. I keep hearing the same thing about Digg.com users too. The Web is very much an extension of who we are as people and it’s really sad when we forget that. I think I’m guilty too. The episode where I made fun of Gary Krakow for saying Steve Jobs should “put the BlackBerry on the iPhone” was a perfect example of me not thinking about Krakow as a fellow human being. Even though I thought (and lots of bloggers thought) what Gary said was crazy, my goal is not to be mean to anyone anytime. Geoff Smith might be well known for his “can’t get them outta my head” jingles, but he’s a brilliant musician who records real music that I love. Jonathan Davis is a student filmmaker who interned for us last Christmas. This Summer, Jonathan is interning for one of the top music video producers in the world. Neal thought it would be cool to ...

GeekBrief.TV | Video Podcast » Archive » GBTV #400 | GeekBrief.TV Direct Download Links Direct Download Links Small | Medium | Extra Large Windows Media Nokia N95 | Nokia N800/N810 About 35 people joined us at the Emergency BBQ Meetup at Bluegrass Restaurant in Highland Park, IL. Thanks to Jim Lederer and Dave Teichman for their hospitality. John Pozadzides was also in town for Hosting Con. John Stopped by and let us know Woopra 1.2 RC2 is now available for download. Here are the links: Windows Version Mac Version Linux Version Google has been the top search engine for years. Some new kids are challenging the search giant. We looked at Viewzi a while back and I still think it’s the most interesting search alternative. Cuil (unfortunately pronounced cool) launched Sunday night. They’re new, so I want to give them a shot, but so far some of the results are a little odd. Rafe Needleman wrote about the Cuil launch on Webware. d-VISION is an internship program for product development and industrial designers. Flowlight is one of their current projects and it promises the ability to write on the air. At the meetup, I unboxed, or really I re-unboxed, the Beats by Dr. Dre headphones. I’m impressed and encourage you to try ...

Direct Download Links Small | Medium | Extra Large Windows Media Nokia N95 | Nokia N800/N810 Mike Arrington has an idea and I like it. He wants the tech community to build an Internet tablet that is inexpensive and that does one thing well…he wants it to browse the Internet. He’s laying out the specs and for the most part, I like his specs. Mike wants an Internet tablet that isn’t meant to do much beyond browsing the Web. Simplicity should lower the cost. He wants it to be Macbook Air-thin, with a touch screen that runs Firefox and Skype on top of a Linux kernel. He just wants a single button for power, a headphone jack, a built-in camera, low-end speakers, a mic, Wi-Fi, a USB port, a built-in battery, half a gig of ram, and a 4 GB solid state hard drive. I’m on board in support of the mission. This is actually my dream for Geek Brief … the democratization of product development. I want the tech community to work together to create a piece of kit that we want to own. If you want to jump on board, Mike is arranging the details at, Mr. Cynical’s post here. Samsung added something new ...