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Trap-door desk hits a sour note

Regardless of its function, this has got to be the ugliest workstation since the "TreadDesk." Even its name, the "flipIT DUO," is irritating--it looks like the shift keys got locked while they were writing the press release.

This contraption is designed to let two 19-inch monitors pop up from the desk surface like a reverse trap door, according to BornRich. But the saved desktop space is more than offset by its offensive aesthetics: It resembles an ill-conceived DIY project that gutted an old used upright piano and stuffed some computer hardware inside.

That would have been … Read more

Microsoft reverses itself again on Vista virtualization

Most people expect some flip-flopping in an election year, but not usually from their software vendor.

Nonetheless, Microsoft on Monday changed its mind again, saying it will allow users to run Vista Home Basic and Vista Home Premium as guest operating systems on a virtual machine. The news is especially welcome for Mac users who want to run the latest Windows version without having to pay an arm and a leg. Until now, Mac users and others wanting to run Vista virtually have had to fork over for the most expensive Business and Ultimate versions.

Microsoft had briefed reporters in … Read more

Vulcan slashes price of FlipStart

At its starting price of $1,999, the Vulcan FlipStart was egregiously overpriced when we reviewed it last spring. A $500 price cut last fall failed to impress, so yesterday Paul Allen and company lopped more than half off the price, lowering it to $699.

Tell me, are you more likely to consider a UMPC (FlipStart or otherwise) for $699 or do you feel that still too much to pay?

Coincidentally, I'll be posting a full review of the Wibrain B1 later today (covered previously on Crave here and here), which is the cheapest UMPC I've seen--priced at, … Read more

Shh! FlipSilent for Symbian phones hushes incoming calls

There are awkward times to answer an incoming call, and equally awkward ways to silence it. I can think of a few scenarios where fumbling to locate the ringer or off button is as disruptive and stressful as the constant ringing.

Taking advantage of accelerometer technology, the very same used to reorient phone and camera displays horizontally or vertically, is FlipSilent. With FlipSilent, quieting a call is simple as flipping the phone from its back to its face.

FlipSilent currently works with Symbian S60 phones outfitted with motion-sensing accelerometers. Users willing to make a donation with PayPal can try out … Read more

Conde Nast's Flip.com gets an extreme makeover

It may be too soon to say Flip.com has completely flopped, but Conde Nast has indeed flipped its strategy.

The teenage girl-centric site, which the company's CondeNet Web unit launched last February, has been morphed from a standalone social network to a set of distributed Web applications designed for existing social networks' developer platforms. It'll first go live on the Facebook Platform, according to Conde Nast.

In essence, the magazine-publishing giant realized that capitalizing on the popularity of existing social networks was probably a better strategy than trying to create its own.

The original Flip was centered … Read more

Do you like computer guts?

How can you look inside your iPhone without voiding your warranty? Want to peer into the innards of your iPod? And how exactly did they make computer memory in 1974?

Over at Crave sister site News.com they've been posting photos of electronics vivisection. I know, the operating room isn't our usual arena. But this time the patient's one of the popular electronic devices listed below. Occasionally they even put them back together in working order!

Follow along and learn industry secrets as intrepid surgeons wander inside the iPhone, an iPod Nano, a vintage computer, a flip phone, … Read more

FlipStart gets price cut

Note: This blog has been corrected to reflect the new price of the OQO Model 02.

I wonder if it's OK to feel bad for UMPCs. They're cute, cuddly (OK, maybe not) and perhaps even useful, but unfortunately, not very practical. The PC industry wants us to buy them, but very few of us are biting so far. Part of the problem is how expensive they are--more than twice the price of the cheapest notebook--which is why the price drop of the FlipStart is fairly good news.

Not great news, though. Chopping $500 off a UMPC that was … Read more

FlipStart UMPC gets a parasitic camera

Remember that nauseating scene in Total Recall when the secretive rebel leader reveals himself as a mutant growing out of his brother's stomach? That was the first thing we thought of upon seeing this hybrid camera stuck onto the lid of Vulcan's FlipStart ultramobile PC.

The FlipStart "Snap Camera" is a $150 shooter that snaps onto the lid of the UMPC and takes images "up to" 5 megapixels, as well as VGA-quality video, according to the company. It connects wirelessly to the computer, which uses its screen as a viewfinder for its parasitic friend, … Read more

Gallery: Cracking open a flip phone

Certain members of TechRepublic's staff boast that particular breed of inquisitiveness that makes them want to pry stuff open and check out its insides. We're talking about electronics, of course, not kittens. It's pretty innocuous, really, except that it totally voids your warranty. Legally, we here at Crave cannot condone the dismantling of electronics, nor of kittens, for that matter.

Anyway, TR has been nice enough to let sister site News.com republish part of their "Cracking Open" series, where they dive into all manner of contemporary and vintage electronics. This time it's an … Read more