| Takahashi: Dress this cell phone according to mood
Dov Moran has a bright idea for the coming age where fashion and electronics will become intertwined. When you want a new look for an MP3 music player, put a new skin on it. If you want your phone to play cool videos, give it a jacket. And when you want to turn that phone into an alarm clock, find it a mate. Moran is chief executive of modu, an Israeli company that has created a tiny cell phone with a built-in flash memory music player that is highly modular. When you want to change the look and feel of the device, you simply slide it into another device. It's like adding a memory chip card, except it changes the identity of the new device. With it, you can change your electronic gear in chameleon fashion to suit your mood. You can, for instance, take your little modu phone and slide it into a digital camera.
Golden Treasure Caps off Record Year
Cage can attest to that. National Treasure: Book of Secrets spent another weekend at number one, banking $35.6 million between Friday and Sunday—plus another $13.7 million on Christmas Day—to bring its two-week total to $124 million. The adventure flick also had the third-biggest Xmas showing ever, behind only Meet the Fockers ($19.5 million) and Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ($14 million). Alvin and the Chipmunks and I Am Legend accounted for another $30 million and $27.5 million in receipts, respectively, leaving Smith's sci-fi tour de force just a few days shy of the $200 million mark. A resurgent Charlie Wilson's War remained in fourth place with $11.8 million, up 21.9 percent from last week, despite mixed reviews. But critics be darned—the film was nominated for five Golden Globes and perhaps people want to see for themselves what a lighthearted dramatization about what amounted to the U.S.
Verizon Video Customers Get Choice Seat to Premier Green Bay-Dallas ...
NEW YORK, Nov. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Consumers who subscribe to Verizon FiOS TV or to DIRECTV through Verizon have a choice seat for Thursday night's much-anticipated matchup between the NFL teams with the best record in the National Football Conference -- the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys. Verizon offers the NFL Network, which will broadcast the game nationally on Thursday night, at no extra charge as part of its standard (Premier) service package, as will DIRECTV from Verizon. The game, which most cable companies won't carry and for which others charge extra, also is available online to Verizon video customers who subscribe to Verizon broadband -- FiOS Internet or Verizon High Speed Internet -- and offers features not found elsewhere. Viewers of the NFL Network Game Extra online broadcast will have access to alternate camera angles and live audio feeds and have the ability to view one of four camera angles, or all four angles simultaneously.
Top picks for cameras, camcorders and related equipment
Mid-range: Olympus Evolt E-510 ($650). The 10 megapixel E-510 has image stabilization, a dust removal system and 19 scene modes. A big plus is Live View, which lets users compose shots using the LCD screen (most SLR digital cameras require using the eyepiece viewfinder for shooting to conserve battery life). Uses compact flash cards, micro drives or xD cards. Includes rechargeable lithium ion battery pack. Splurge: Nikon D300 ($1,700). The high-resolution 12.3 megapixel D300 is fast on the draw, with six frames per second, and has a self-cleaning dust sensor. Exceptionally accurate 51-point scene recognition metering system quickly tracks for automatic focus, exposure and white balance. Compose pictures with the eyepiece viewfinder or the 3-inch LCD screen, a first for Nikon digital SLRs.
Completing the home theater
For effect in the room we have got these chairs a little bit nicer than the ones I remember in the theaters but they are upholstered in the same type of material and fabric that we had. We also added brass rails and the faux painting on the walls to help again create this real theater feel. .
Holiday gift guide
For the diehard jazz lover on your list, consider signing them up for the 35th annual International Association of Jazz Educators conference being staged Jan. 9 to 12 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Aimed at education, teacher training and professional development, the event features an intriguing array of live interviews, panels, workshops and more than 100 concerts. The 2008 lineup includes a U.K. showcase helmed by British saxist Courtney Pine, performances by singer Kurt Elling (below), guitarist Lionel Loueke, The Tierney Sutton Band and trumpeter Christian Scott. Advance registration and membership costs about $540; lower for students. Visit iaje.org. - Ashante Infantry FOR THE FILM BUFFCool gifts for movie fans this season come in both small and big packages. Let's work our way up: iPod Touch: The latest extension of the category-killing Apple gizmo looks like the skinny brother to the iPhone, the super cell that still hasn't come to Canada.
Auto Chrysler, GM Feel Effects of CAFE Updates
Despite the upgraded power and improved fuel economy, vehicles like the next generation Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 will likely miss out on Hemi power. Instead, Chrysler is developing new "Phoenix" high-output V6 engine to take the place of the Hemi. The engines will feature dual overhead cams, variable valve timing and cylinder deactivation. Ranging-topping variants are likely to surpass 300 HP, like its competitors, and provide better fuel economy than its Hemi counterpart. When it comes to actual vehicle platforms, General Motors is already taking steps to comply with the update CAFE. The company originally planned to resurrect the Pontiac GTO -- again -- using the same underpinnings as the upcoming Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac G8. Those plans are now shelved. "I think (the Monaro/Pontiac GTO) is gone for now," said GM's Bob Lutz.
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