The Rotobotmouse!

Everyone has their own personal spin on what a steampunk mouse should look like. Which is just fine by me. It’s definitely better than staring at the same old ideas all of the time. Where most steampunk gadgets look extremely old, more of the 1920’s range, this one almost looks like it belongs in the 50’s. Although it might not appeal to some steampunk enthusiasts, if you’re looking for something different this is it.


The most surprising part of this mouse is that it’s actually available to be purchased. Usually all you just get the joy of drooling over several pictures. This time you have a shot to pick one up. Sadly though it definitely comes with a steampunk price tag. The odd coil on the side of the mouse is where you slip your pinky through. Then you can pretty much guess how the rest of the buttons work. Don’t worry, it is an optical mouse. You can purchase it for $300 through Makers Market.

Source: Gizmodiva

Robot Land amusement park set for South Korea!

What you’re seeing here is the Robot Land theme park, scheduled to be completed in 2013 at Incheon, South Korea.

This theme park is planned to feature all manner of robot entertainment mostly from films that featured robots such as I, Robot and The Matrix as well as Minority Report. I actually don’t remember any robots in Minority Report. As far as rides go, there is a robotic arm ride, as well as some sort of aquarium that allows visitors to watch and manipulate robotic fish.

I’m told that there will be robotic performers and cashiers, which should save money on human labor. Just kidding. Robot Land is expected to boost the national economy by creating 18,000 jobs to serve the 2.8 million visitors. By the way, there is more to populate Robot Land than just robots. Robot Land is also a technological park for residential complexes and office buildings.

Of course, I think we all know what is going to happen next. Remember that episode of The Simpsons where they went to a park inhabited by Itchy and Scratchy robots? As I recall, it didn’t take them long before the robots just up and attacked the humans. Yeah, it’s Westworld after all.

However, we have hopefully learned from science fiction and won’t make the robots in Robot Land sentient, yet.

Toshiba rolls out Highest-Capacity Small Form Factor Enterprise HDD!

Toshiba Storage Device Division (SDD) is one of the pioneers in the industry to bring small form factor enterprise-class and mobile hard disk drives (HDDs) to the market, and they relied on their expertise by unveiling a new high-capacity, high-performance, power-efficient small form factor product line which will target enterprise applications. Capable of holding up to 600GB of storage space in its high end range, the new MBF family will represent the industry’s highest-capacity 2.5″ enterprise-class HDD which boasts Toshiba’s first enterprise-class self-encrypting drive (SED) offering. We will see more about it right after the jump before you come to a conclusion on whether you would want to make a purchase decision or not.


The new MBF series is capable of demonstrating the successful integration of Toshiba and Fujitsu’s HDD business last year, where it underlines Toshiba’s capability and commitment to consolidating their leadership in the enterprise segment. This series is more than capable of meeting the exacting standards of the enterprise market with 10,025 RPM spin speed and a 6Gb/s SAS interface which is great for action in mid-range volume servers, mainstream storage arrays, blade and rack-mount servers and other business-critical, power-conscious, data-intensive applications. Apart from that, Toshiba has not forgotten about being green, thanks to its inherent lower power consumption which reduces power consumption up to 28%, thanks to a new enhanced power condition state that allows the hard drive to spin at a lower RPM when it remains idle.

Selected models of the MBF series do come with an option of drive-based encryption that was specially designed to the Trusted Computing Group (TCG) Enterprise Security Subsystem Class specification. Basically, it means that you don’t have to worry (too much) about your data being hacked into, leaving you with peaceful nights of sweet slumber whenever you are away from work. The MBF product line will come in 300GB, 450GB and 600GB capacities as they ship in volume this April 2010, where samples are already available for design development.

Press Release

Best Laptops and Desktops of 2010

HP TouchSmart 300

$800+
HP has been producing finger-friendly desktops under its TouchSmart moniker for years now, but the native touch features added with Windows 7 truly bring this system into its own. Besides integrating touch even more tightly with built-in software, a reasonable $800 price tag, more refined build quality and 2.8GHz AMD Athlon II X2 240e processor coupled with ATI graphics make the TouchSmart.

Lenovo ThinkPad X100e
$449+
Netbooks don't have to feel cheap. With the X100e, Lenovo has bred real ThinkPad durability and build quality into a machine only a little more expensive than your average netbook. An 11.6-inch display and AMD Neo processor help further differentiate it from the toy-like netbook crowd, but be warned: Battery life does suffer a bit. Expect no more than four hours under typical use.

Sony Vaio CW Series
$810+

Sony Vaio CW Series
The name "Sony" doesn't typically end up in the same sentence with "bargain," but we think the Vaio CW Series is just that. Even the most bare-bones CW notebooks come equipped with Intel's new Core i3 processor, dedicated Nvidia GeForce graphics with 256MB on-board memory, a 320GB hard drive, and 2GB of RAM. Wrap it all up in one of six metallic finishes that wouldn't look out of place at an Audi dealership and you're looking at one fast, attractive notebook for the cash.

HP Pavilion MS225
$600
While most manufacturers have resigned to borrowing anemic netbook hardware for all-in-one PCs in this price range, HP has managed to outfit the MS225 with a legit AMD Athlon II X2 250u. It's no speed demon by a long shot, but when you consider the MS225 sweetens the deal with its own 18-inch screen and peripherals, you can't get much more bang for the buck from an all-in-one.



Lenovo IdeaPad U1 Hybrid
$1,000
Does Apple's iPad announcement have you wondering whether to buy a tablet or a notebook? Now you can get both in one. Using a separate battery and processor in both the screen and base, the U1 literally splits apart to turn the laptop screen into a dedicated tablet running a custom Linux OS. (Traditional convertible tablets merely swivel around the screen, which keeps all the bulk of the base attached in tablet mode.) Although this CES 2010 announcement hasn't yet come to fruition, the very concept of it should keep potential PC buyers on their toes this year.


Dell Alienware M11x
$799
Get your game on wherever you go with Alienware's astoundingly tiny M11x. Although the 11.6-inch screen makes it tiny by gaming standards, Dell claims it will be able to pull off the same feats a 15-inch notebook will, including 720p gaming at over 30 fps, courtesy of the Intel Core 2 Duo and 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 335M inside.


Apple MacBook
$999
The most affordable MacBook in Apple's enviable stable got even better in late 2009, making it one of our favorite all-around laptops out there. Sturdy unibody construction gives it unrivaled build quality, while standard Intel Core 2 Duo processors and Nvidia's GeForce 9400M put some serious pep in its desktop performance. The $999 price tag still seems steep by some standards, but unless you're on a serious budget, the extra cash pays for a lot of polish.

Gateway One ZX Series
$720+
Whether you view touch as a cute novelty or an absolute necessity, Gateway's One ZX series delivers with one of the most fluid and engrossing touch-screen experiences we've encountered. The massive 23-inch 1080p screen and top-notch hardware in the high-end model ($1,400) make it equal parts cinema, gaming rig, media-editing machine and touch toy, while the cheaper 20-inch model tones it all down in favor of a reasonable $720 price tag.