John P.

One Mans Blog

Specialization is for Insects.

Video Display in Thin Air

Princess LeahRemember that scene in Star Wars where R2D2 projected Princess Leah’s message into thin air? Well, it only took about 20 years to pull it off, but finally someone has actually invented it!
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Microsoft’s New Surface PC

Microsoft SurfaceThanks to Johny for pointing out that I should share this new technology on the old blog here. Actually, I’ve seen this several times before but never posted about it because I have mixed feelings about how successful this product is going to be in the marketplace. Nonetheless it is a sign of things to come, so you should all know about it.

Microsoft has released a new type of PC called the Surface. It is unique in that it has no input devices other than a touchscreen. Rather than telling you all about it, just take a look at the videos below and they will explain everything.
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Extract Revenge with the Annoy-a-tron

The AnnoyatronThink Geek brings us the Annoy-a-tron - a gadget that’s very effective at disturbing that guy in the sales department or your “friend” down the hall.

With its thin design and embedded magnet for easy hiding, the Annoy-a-tron can be placed in a variety of locations. Select one of the three sound choices (2 kHz, 12 kHz, or alternating) and push the switch to the on position. Place it in a proper hiding spot and let the “fun” begin.
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LCD TVThe Man received the following question from Steven:

I just purchased a 37″ Sharp Aquos. Is there somewhere on the Internet that I can find the best settings for picture/voice quality — or do I just have to go through it all via trial and error?

Well, Steve. First of all congrats on your new Aquos. I absolutely love my 42″ version and I think you’re going to love yours. Now, to answer your question, there is some personal preference involved with tweaking your audio and video settings, but there are a number of tools to help you with the project.
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Amazing Indoor Acrobatic R/C Airplane

R/C AirplaneI guess it takes practice to master any skill, but seriously… this guy must have practiced a LOT!

I’ve never seen a remote controlled airplane do anything like the stunts this guy performs - much less doing them inside a gym where you could hit walls, the ceiling and the ground.
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PhotosynthFolks, this is big!!! If you really investigate just one post on my blog, make it this one! It’s not often that I’m completely blown away by a new application, but the new Photosynth technology preview is the most groundbreaking advance in digital photography since… well, digital photography.

Photosynth reminds me of a scene from the movie Blade Runner. Some of you may recall the scene where Harrison Ford’s character is sitting in front of a screen examining a photo and he is able to “move around” in what appears to be a two dimensional space. Well, that’s the closest thing that I can describe to what we’ve got here.
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iPod in a BlenderI never imagined I could desire a blender so bad, but man do I want the $400 BlentTec Total Blender!

In what has to be the most brilliant marketing campaign of all time, the BlendTec folks decided to throw away (or at least blend) the manual when it comes to getting the message out about their product.
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Zen W Ready for DisassemblyAfter my previous review of the Zen Vision W I had a reader Ask the Man the following question:

Hi,

I just got myself a Zen W last X-mas. I think it’s fantastic as well. I bought the 30gb instead of the 60gb thinking I could probably upgrade the hard drive to a higher capacity eventually.

Do you think it’s possible or know what kind of hard disk format they have in those machines?

Thanks One Man!

No, thank YOU for the question! As far as the answer is concerned, there’s only one way to find out… crack that puppy open!
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Scan Business Cards with Your Cell Phone

ScanROver the years I’ve collected a huge stack of business cards. This is primarily the case because I just don’t have the energy to either type them all in by hand or scan them into one of those card readers - which incidentally cost a couple hundred bucks.

So, imagine my delight when I discovered a free service which allows you to take a digital photo of a business card, e-mail or upload it and then have the contacts information automatically e-mailed back in Vcard format ready to import straight into Outlook!
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InfomercialRatings.comMan, those guys in the infomercials could sell the proverbial ketchup popsicle to a woman in white gloves! But the real question is, did she enjoy it after she got it?

Well, InfomercialRatings.com is here to answer that question. Now, you’ve got to use some common sense when evaluating the ratings here and really read through them.

I found that many of the “reviews” seemed so positive and professionally written that they could only have come from the marketing departments of the product manufacturers themselves. The main weakness of their system lies in the fact that there are no user login and ratings functions, like for example eBay or IMDB.
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Creative Zen WAhh, toys… the latest one to enter the fold is the Creative Zen Vision W personal media player. This device does just about everything.

But is it any good? Well, read on to find out.
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Zen Vision WSo, someone gave you a new iPhone, IPod video, Creative Zen Vision, Archos PVR or other fancy device for the holiday and now you need to know how to copy your DVDs to it so you can take them with you?

Or maybe you didn’t get one of those, but you’d like to load a few movies onto your laptop for when you travel? I also encountered these issues so, after wasting almost two entire days searching for a simple guide and installing at least 10 different programs, I finally decided on two different methods to share. I hope this saves someone else countless hours wasted.
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