Taking a page out of those flight recorders on military aircrafts, Honda has released its own little black box called the Drive Recorder. Used mainly as a surveillance recorder on your Honda vehicle, this handy gadget detects impacts and saves information 12 seconds before and 8 seconds after a collision.

The box includes forward-view imagery with a 135-degree field of vision camera hung on your windscreen. The Drive Recorder keeps all the pertinent information such as speed and deceleration rates on an SD card included in the unit. This information can then be uploaded to a PC and reviewed at a later date.

Honda mentions that this system will help drivers become more mindful on the road. However, since the main purpose of the Drive Recorder is as a surveillance recording system, it can also become invaluable when making proper insurance claims should you get into a car accident.

The Drive Recorder is available in Japan for 54,600 (around US 500) and is only applicable for Honda vehicles.

Via gadgets.qj.net

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Taking a page out of those flight recorders on military aircrafts, Honda has released its own little black box called the Drive Recorder. Used mainly as a surveillance recorder on your Honda car, this handy gadget detects impacts and saves information 12 seconds before and 8 seconds after a collision.

The box includes forward-view imagery with a 135-degree field of vision camera hung on your windscreen. The Drive Recorder keeps all the pertinent information such as speed and deceleration rates on an SD card included in the unit. This information can then be uploaded to a PC and reviewed at a later date.

Honda mentions that this system will help drivers become more mindful on the road. However, since the main purpose of the Drive Recorder is as a surveillance recording system, it can also become invaluable when making proper insurance claims should you get into a automobile accident.

The Drive Recorder is available in Japan for 54,600 (around US 500) and is only applicable for Honda vehicles.

Via gadgets.qj.net

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With Warner supporting Blu-ray, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before its distribution partners followed suit. We’ve recently learned that National Geographic has also joined the Blu-ray club, opting to drop HD-DVD support in favor of Blu-ray.

According to the report we found, a spokesperson confirmed that the company would no longer release titles in HD-DVD, though there are no plans to make a formal announcement or press release regarding the matter. This support for Blu-ray is evidenced by their upcoming release, Sharkwater, being Blu-ray exclusive.

This isn’t to say, however, that all National Geographic-related titles will become Blu-ray only. Films that are co-produced by National Geographic but distributed by other companies will be unaffected by the decision to go Blu-ray exclusive.

As a result of this news, BBC is now the last remaining Warner-distributed company to maintain format neutrality. At this rate, however, it seems likely that BBC will also make a decision on its choice of format soon.

Via gadgets.qj.net

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The organizers of this year’s Game Developers Conference (GDC) have given word that all the tutorial, lecture, and panel classrooms at the event will be equipped with “super fancy HD projectors.”

According to the announcement. these projectors are expected to provide more detailed and brighter images. These projectors combined with the Audio Track classroom’s Dolby 5.1 surround sound system should be a treat for those who plan on attending this year’s event.

The Game Developers Conference 2008 will take place on February 18-22 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Among the speakers which have confirmed their attendance include none other than renowned inventor and author Ray Kurzweil as well as Corporate Vice President of LIVE Joseph Schappert.

Via gadgets.qj.net

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If you’re a homebody and like to watch movies in the comfort of your own home instead of watching in the cinemas, Sony’s Bravia full HD VPL-VW40 home theatre projector might be what you’ve been looking for.

Inside the latest addition lies the Bravia Engine, which digitally enhances each frame in real time. To put it simply, noise from the images are reduced, colors are vibrantly reproduced, and every detail is exceptionally rendered.

Using the Sony SXRD technology, this projector is able to re-create the original cinematic viewing experience as closely as possible. The technology was specifically developed for cinema projection systems. The result of this is the ability of the projector to produce an ultra-smooth on-screen action display and absolute precision in every detail.

With the release of their latest projector, Nicola Plump, Product Manager for Projectors of Sony TV Operations Europe, had this to say:

The VPL-VW40 will have a strong appeal for the price-conscious Home Theatre enthusiast who does not wish to compromise on quality.

It offers features typically only available on far more expensive projectors, principally Full HD and SXRD. You get a high contrast ratio too, and projection on to screen sizes up to 300 inches. There s nothing else offering so much at this price, which is why we expect this projector to be a very popular product.

Via gadgets.qj.net

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Recently, Asustek has made a new name for itself with the release of the low cost Eee PC. Now, it has announced the new Eee product line - all scheduled for release this year.

According to reports, the Eee product line will include E-DT, E-TV, and E-Monitor. The E-DT is a desktop PC that will be sporting an Intel Celeron chip and will not come with a monitor. E-TV on the other hand will be competing in the 42-inch plus market, while the E-Monitor will go for the smaller size division (19 to 21-inch) and comes with a built in TV tuner.

Both the E-DT and the E-Monitor will be carrying a Celeron processor, later progressing to Intel Shelton ‘08, Diamondville processor, and 945GC chipset. E-DT and E-TV will of course support Linux and all three will be sporting competitive market prices, with the E-DT costing between US 200 to US 300, the E-Monitor at US 499, and the E-TV at least US 200 less than competing products.

The E-DT has an ETA of April or May, while the E-TV and E-Monitor are both slated for September this year.

Asustek president Jerry Shen also noted that according to their research, the integration of touch screen capabilities to Eee PCs is not very much in demand. Sadly, the touch screen plans for the next generation Eee PCs have been suspended.

Via gadgets.qj.net

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With all the rapidly changing technology of digital cameras, it’s difficult to cope up with the flow.

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Lost is a pretty popular TV series, sometimes only matched by how confusing it can get if you missed an episode. There’s just too much going on.

Here’s your chance to get reacquainted with the series if you found yourself a little… lost. Amazon is offering the entire third season on Blu-ray for only US 39.99.

The original price was US 96.99; that’s more than 50 of the price slashed off right there. That’s even better than Amazon’s previous offer of US 57.99 for the same product.

Via gadgets.qj.net

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Sony has announced that the VAIO AR60, SZ70, CR30, and TP2 models will now be running Intel Core 2 Duo Processors. In addition, the systems will also be getting various features including Blu-Ray drives, more RAM, and other upgrades.

According to Europe Marketing Director for VAIO Hidetoshi Takigawa, the specific qualities of the Intel Core 2 Duo Processors they’ve decided to use are a perfect match for the VAIO. He explained this further:

With High Definition already shaping the future in so many ways, VAIO is ever-more focused on HD performance. Better still, the clear advantage offered by the new Intel silicon is leveraged by Blu-ray Disc.

Put together, this means we can offer customers the most complete, most sophisticated High Definition solutions available. Whatever people want, from pure entertainment right through to editing personal HD content, VAIO is the logical choice.

Aside from the processor upgrade, the different VAIO models will also be getting some significant updates in its other components. Here’s a quick list of all the changes Sony plans to implement on the different VAIO units:

• More models with Blu-ray Disc Drives for 2008
• High-end AR60, FZ30 and SZ70-Series models with 4GB SDRAM for exceptional performance
• The AR61ZU Full HD Entertainment Notebook now with 512MB dedicated VRAM
• TP2 Home Entertainment Centre upgraded with Blu-ray Disc Combo Drive, CEC remote control, and new Black finish

Via gadgets.qj.net

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A rumor has been circulating on the net that Woolworths will be dropping HD-DVD. Well, it has been confirmed that the retailer will no longer be selling HD-DVD movies in by March this year.

Although they will continue to sell HD-DVD movies online, this might be a major blow to the HD-DVD camp considering Woolworths is said to be the biggest retailer of the new DVD formats in the UK.

The company pointed out that this decision was made after Blu-Ray discs outsold HD-DVD by a ratio of ten-to one over the last holiday season. A feat that some have attributed to the popularity of the Sony PlayStation 3.

Euro assistant general manager of Toshiba’s Consumer Products division Oliver Van Wynendaele believes this isn’t the case saying that this move by Woolworths was very disappointing and that the HD-DVD format is still as strong as ever:

While we’re disappointed by Woolworths’ decision, it is extremely early to spot which format will eventually win. We have been hugely successful in expanding the number of consumers owning HD-DVD players.

UK consumers can now pick-up an HD-DVD player for less than GBP 150, around half the cost of other HD formats. HD-DVD has always enjoyed greater software sales per player than any other HD format. In fact, HD-DVD owners have already bought around 3.5 movies each, compared to less than one movie sold per Blu-ray device.

Regardless, there’s no denying that Blu-Ray is indeed emerging as the market leader in the format wars. We’ll keep you guys posted on any developments regarding this issue.

Via gadgets.qj.net

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