Here’s a little bit of hilarity for your Friday.  Go to Google and type:

“I am extremely”

Don’t press enter or click on any button. Just look at the suggestions provided by Google – especially the last one.

via http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/fail-owned-suggest-fail.jpg

Technorati Tags: Google, I am extremely, Google Search Suggestions

If you’re a fan of Apple’s Safari web browser, then you’ll be happy to hear that Apple has announced the availability of Safari 4 beta for both the PC and Mac platform. Safari 4 beta features the new Nitro JavaScript engine which Apple claims executes Javascript 4.2x faster than Safari 3, 30x faster than IE 7, and 3x faster than Firefox 3. In addition, the new browser loads HTML web pages 3x faster than both IE 7 and Firefox 3.

Features in Safari 4 beta include:

• Top Sites – frequently visited pages displayed as a wall of previews allowing users to jump to their favorite site with a single click;
• Full History Search -  users search through titles, web addresses and the complete text of recently viewed pages to easily return to sites they’ve seen before
• Cover Flow user interface for searching web history or bookmarks
• Tabs on Top – better tabbed browsing with easy drag-and-drop tab management tools and an intuitive button for opening new ones;
• Smart Address Field – automatically completes web addresses by displaying an easy-to-read list of suggestions from Top Sites, bookmarks and browsing history;
• Smart Search Field – users fine-tune searches with recommendations from Google Suggest or a list of recent searches;
• Full Page Zoom – Closer look at any website without degrading the quality of the site’s layout and text
• Built-in web developer tools to debug, tweak and optimize a website for peak performance and compatibility; and
• New Windows-native look in Safari for Windows using standard Windows font rendering and native title bar, borders and toolbars

You can download the beta now at http://www.apple.com/safari

[Check it out]

[Read this in Chinese Simplified and French]

Technorati Tags: Apple Safari 4 Beta

You know them for the popular $99 dollar Roku Player but I bet you didn’t realize Roku has a line of players called the BrightSign family designed for the digital signage business. The company expanded this product lineup today by announcing five new models – an inexpensive player that loops HD videos and playlists, two models that offer basic or advanced interactivity, and two models with simple or advanced networking for remote content delivery and reporting. Here’s the rundown on the five new BrightSign models:

BrightSign HD110:

• For simple looping video playback
• Update content by inserting an SD card
• HD video
• HDMI and VGA connectivity
• Playlist support and looping media
• Zones with support for video, images, and text tickers

BrightSign HD410:

Builds on the HD110 features

• Supports interactive playlists
• GPIO (general purpose inputs and outputs) and serial ports for interactivity and control:

• button inputs
• lighting controls
• synchronization
• support for AMX, Quadravox and other control systems

BrightSign HD810:

Builds on the HD410 with features of:

• Component video support
• Expansion A/V Module support for more audio outputs and GPIO controls
• Touch screen and USB device interactivity
• USB speaker support
• Real-time clock for content playback scheduling
• Live video in a window via our USB video input accessory
• USB dongle content updates

BrightSign HD210:

Supports all the features of the HD110 and adds:

• Remote content updates
• Networked RSS feeds for news, weather and more
• Real-time reporting for ad playback confirmations
• Networking groups to target content updates
• Supports either BrightSign Simple Networking or BrightSign Network Manager
• World class security, authentication
• Redundancy and failsafe modes

BrightSign HD1010:

The HD1010 delivers all the features of the BrightSign family in a single product. This model rolls all the capabilities of our products into a single unit.

• Comprehensive and customizable interactive controls
• Fully featured zones
• Synchronization and scheduling
• Wi-Fi networking
• Facilities for live video feeds

All five models support a variety of media formats including MPEG-4 part 10/H.264 and prices for the five models range from $285 to $650.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Roku, BrightSign Player, Digital Signage

Pantech announces the latest version of the super simple Breeze handset is reaching AT&T stores this week as well as online at www.wireless.att.com. Sporting a black exterior and a silver/black interior, the Breeze features:

• Simplified menu – prioritizes the features that customers want the most
• Large keys
• Built-in Camera
• 1-2-3 Quick Call Keys – three programmable quick-call buttons located below the screen
• Large font – Menu screens use highly visible large font. SMS message font is enlarged

The Breeze will be available for $29.99 after a new two year agreement and a mail-in rebate.

[Read this in Simplified Chinese and French]

Technorati Tags: Pantech, Pantech Breeze, AT&T Wireless

ViewSonic announced two new displays today – the CD4230 ultra-thin bezel commercial display and the VTMS2431 LCD HDTV with multimedia support. Both panels will join ViewSonic’s digital signage family and will be on display at the Digital Signage Expo. Here’s what you need to know about each model:

ViewSonic CD4230:

• Measures 13.77m thin
• 42 inch commercial display
• 500 nits of brightness
• 1500:1 contrast ratio
• RS-232 daisy chain capable
• DVI and VGA port
• VESA mount compatible with carrying handles

ViewSonic VTMS2431:

• ViewSonic’s first LCD HDTV with internal media player
• 24 inch display
• 1080p resolution
• Integrated ATSC/NTSC/QAM tuner
• USB port
• RS-232 port allows users to control it remotely

Now as far as availability is concerned, both panels will be coming out in the second quarter with the CD4230 priced at around $1999 and the VTMS2431 priced at $449.

Technorati Tags: ViewSonic, CD4230, VTMS2431

Sure they might be losing some money right now but at least the folks at SanDisk can still design some funky looking products. Case in point, their latest ImageMate memory card readers – the ImageMate All-In-One and the ImageMate Multi-Card readers. SanDisk takes what is otherwise a rather boring product category and decided to make it somewhat distinctive. The new ImageMate readers are tall, sleek, and stylish.. and oh yeah, they also support a wide variety of memory card formats.

In addition, the new ImageMate readers feature a simple transfer button which when pressed launches either an application like Photoshop or a website such as Flickr.

Here’s what you need to know about each reader, For the SanDisk ImageMate All-In-One:

• Supports SD, SDHC, miniSDHC, microSDHC, MMC, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro Duo, xD and CompactFlash, etc
• Each card slot features a blue LED light which indicates data transfer activity
• Multiple cards can be inserted simultaneously for card to card transfers
• Transfer speeds up to 34 megabytes per second (MB/s) when using a SanDisk Extreme IV 45MB/s CompactFlash card

And for the SanDisk ImageMate Multi-Card:

• Supports xD, Memory Stick, SD, SDHC, and MMC
• Transfer speeds up to 30MB/s read and 27 MB/s writewhen using a SanDisk Extreme III 30MB/s Edition SDHC card (YMMV for other vendors)

The All-In-One has a suggested retail price of $29.99 while the Multi-Card reader has suggested price of $19.99.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: SanDisk ImageMate All-In-One card reader, SanDisk ImageMate Multi-Card reader

Looking for more color variety with the Speck SeeThru hard shell cases for the MacBook and MacBook Pro notebooks? Well Speck’s got you covered there – announcing four new colors to the palette – hazard orange, purple, aqua, and green. Oh yeah, “Hazard Orange” is actually a limited edition case only available online at Apple.com or at SpeckProducts.com. These new colors join the existing lineup which consists of pink, red, and clear.

Available now, the SeeThru cases for both the 13 inch MacBooks and 15 inch MacBook Pros are available now for a price of $49.95.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Speck SeeThru, Speck Products, MacBook case, MacBook Pro case

Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America announces two new premium 1080p LCD TV monitors ideal for digital signage applications – the 46 inch LDTV146 and the 52 inch LDTV152. These panels feature an expected backlight life expectancy of almost seven years given a 12 hour per day usage, full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution, 500 nits of brightness, and a 10,000:1 contrast ratio. Other features include an ultra-thin glossy black bezel design, 120Hz processing, color frame, and HDMI/DVI-D support.

Here are the specs for each model. For the LDTV146:

• 46 inch display
• 500cd/m2 brightness
• 1920 x 1080 resolution
• 120Hz response time
• 2 S-Video, 1 Component Video, 4 HDMI
• Internal 10W x 2 speakers
• Measures 42 x 28 x 11.2 inches and weighs 61.7 lbs

For the LDTV152:

• 52 inch display
• 500 cd/m2 brightness
• 1920 x 1080 resolution
• 120Hz response time
• 2 S-Video, 1 Component, 4 HDMI inputs
• Internal 10W x 2 speakers
• Measures 47.7 x 31.2 x 14.1 inches and weighs 72.8 lbs

Both models are available now with the LDTV146 priced at $2995 and the LDTV152 priced at $3995.

Technorati Tags: Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, LDTV146, LDTV152, LCD Monitor

A quick follow-up to our posting earlier – Microsoft has released detailed official pictures of the new Resident Evil 5 Limited Edition Elite Console and my.. I think I prefer the red over the black Elite console now. According to Kotaku, the limited edition console will be priced at $399.

[Check it out via SlashGear]

Technorati Tags: Microsoft Xbox 360 Resident Evil 5 Limited Edition Elite Console

OK, so I’ve never heard of a company called Alpha Networks but this shouldn’t be too surprising since 1) they’re headquartered out of Taiwan and 2) they’re primarily an OEM vendor. Yet we’re mentioning the company today because they announced that they would showcase several new products at the upcoming CeBIT conference to be held in Hannover Germany. Of particular interest are two new media player devices from Alpha Networks – the High Definition Media Player ADM-555H and the Bit Torrent Media Player BT-BOX.

Information is somewhat scarce for the ADM-555H but here’s what we know thus far about the media player. It’s supposedly a high definition multimedia player that connects to your HDTV set via an HDMI connection. File format decoding support includes MPEG-1/2/4, DivX, Xvid, MKV, WMV9, VC-1, H.264, MP3, WMA, WAV, and OGG. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a product page yet for the ADM-555H.

What I found even more interesting was the BitTorrent Media Player (BT-BOX). This white, non-descript box (to the right) allows users to enjoy media downloaded from the Net using BitTorrent. Features include a friendly user interface, extensive file format support (including RM/RMVB, WMV, MPEG-4, DivX, Xvid, H.264, MKV, Avi, Asf, Vob, etc), 720p/1080i support, HDMI output, and Ethernet jack.

No word on who will actually release these products

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Alpha Networks, Media Players, Bittorrent media player, HD media player