Keith Shaw’s Cool Tools Alert
* LATEST COOL TOOLS VIDEOS:
A world without keyboards
If Nuance’s vision of the future holds true, keyboards will be a thing of the past and data entry will be powered by voice. Keith gets a rundown from Nuance of its latest text-to-speech and speech-to-text technology.
* LATEST COOL TOOLS COLUMNS:
Sony ships new VAIO
The arrival of spring brings rain showers, flower gardens and, of course, new colorful notebooks. Sony recently announced four Graphic Splash Edition notebooks available in its VAIO C and FE series.
* LATEST TWISTED PAIR PODCAST:
Calculator Dirty Words
Jason and Keith talk about the Microsoft emergency OS patch, whether we’d work for a $1 annual salary, and HP’s calculator video contest.
To listen on your Mp3, .
* LATEST COOL TOOL BLOGS:
Mio launches entry-level GPS device
Mio Technology today announced availability of the DigiWalker C220, a $250 GPS device that includes updated map data of the U.S. (including Alaska and Hawaii).
iRobot wants to clean your pool
First it took on carpets with the Roomba, then it went after kitchen floors with its Scooba. Now iRobot is taking on pools with its iRobot Verro Pool Cleaning Robot, which it says is “an easier way to a cleaner pool.” Two models – the Verro 300 ($799, pictured) and Verro 600 ($1,199) are now available from iRobot’s Web site.
SanDisk’s Wi-Fi MP3 player now available
SanDisk today announced a partnership with Yahoo! Music to offer music services for its new Sansa Connect device, a Wi-Fi-enabled MP3 digital music player. Using Yahoo’s free and subscription-based services, Sansa Connect owners will be able to stay connected to music, photos and friends via any open Wi-Fi connection. The $249.99 4GB device is now available.
Toshiba rolls out sub-$800 notebook
It may not be the cheapest notebook on the market, but Toshiba is hoping that its new Satellite A135-S4527 notebook has enough power and multimedia features for families students (and business users) who may be on a budget. The sub-$800 A135 notebook line is now available at consumer electronics retailers and the Toshiba Web site.
Another Star Trek ‘invention’ from Purdue
Researchers at Purdue University must really like Star Trek – a couple of months ago they announced they had created a handheld chemical analysis device that was designed like a tricorder. This week, the university said researchers using nanotechnology have taken a step toward creating an “optical cloaking device that could render objects invisible by guiding light around anything placed inside this cloak.”
