Gadgets

How adorable is the Ebola virus? Pretty darn precious when it's in the form of a stuffed animal-like plush microbe. Yep, start thinking about germs differently, friends. Did you know that a flu microbe blown up a million times looks just like a cuddly green caterpillar?

These stuffed little germs, made by Delaware-based Giant Microbes, come in a variety of ailments: sore throat, syphillis, ulcer, flesh-eating virus, stomach ache, ear ache, mono and more. ThinkGeek, which sells the critters for $5.99 apiece, has an amusing photo gallery of plush microbe owners with their germ of choice. One shot … Read more

Staring at the very aggressive plasma television market, the crew over at Hitachi has decided to establish its plasma display panel division as a separate entity.

The Tokyo-based electronics manufacturer said this week that it will establish its Hitachi Plasma Patent Licensing as a wholly owned subsidiary on July 1. The division, worth an estimated $917,000, will manage Hitachi's plasma licensing portfolio. Plasma TV shipments are expected to grow to 18.2 million units in 2009, up from 2.1 million in 2004, according to analysts at market research firm iSuppli.

Hitachi is looking to differentiate itself from … Read more

After enduring life in headset bondage, it appears freedom for some iPod users could be imminent. Swiss company Logitech announced Wednesday that its wireless headphones with Bluetooth technology will be on store shelves next month.

"Finally," "I've been waiting for this for a while," and "this product sounds GREAT," were among the mostly positive initial online responses to the product launch from users anxiously awaiting liberation from the cords that tether them to their iPods.

Logitech's headphones, which will sell for about $150, have the iPod look and let users walk 30 … Read more

Couch potatoes of the future may just be watching their own potato-shaped television. That's because a Taiwanese electronics manufacturer by the name of Hannspree is designing flat-panel TVs with more personality.

The company is replacing those everyday flat black television cases with bright colors, unique shapes and even materials that are closely related to the viewer's style. For example, the company's soccer-themed model called "Dribbling" is made of black and white leather just like a real soccer ball. Hannspree has licensing deals with Disney, the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball.

Other television designs … Read more

Can you and I be friends...again?

That's what Teddy Ruxpin wants to know now that he's being reincarnated with digital cartridges to replace his dated analog cassettes.

Some may recall the 1980s animated storytelling toy and TV character with warm childhood memories. I, for one, was a bit creeped out by its moving eyes and mouth and Saccharine-sweet voice. There were also those who enjoyed rigging the toy so it would play AC/DC cassettes instead of telling Teddy Ruxpin adventures. (How long is it going to take some hacker to do that with the now-digital technology?)… Read more

The LED Binary Watch from Time Technology: Could there be a more perfect IT guy accessory?

When it comes to the math crowd, watches with simple hands are so 2004. This gadget displays the time using the numbers of the binary sequence (1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and so on). The values of the lighted LEDs are added to determine the time; add the top LEDs to get the hour and the bottom ones for minutes.

This might sound like a lot of work to find out the time, but one blogger who favorably reviewed the product said telling time … Read more

Griffin Technology's new RocketFM has launched, but it's still unclear whether the USB FM transmitter will take off.

The wireless RocketFM, which sells for about $40 on Griffin's Web site, allows you to broadcast Mac or PC audio applications--such as iTunes or GarageBand--through your home, car, hotel or any FM stereo system. It's the sequel to Griffin's iTrip FM transmitter, made specifically for the iPod.

The RocketFM just shipped to consumers late last month, so most of the online feedback is preliminary oohing and ahhing about the "cool" design, as one reader … Read more

Fujitsu Siemens Computers is recalling potentially flammable batteries from 250,000 laptops, the company announced on Wednesday.

The rechargable lithium ion batteries, found in the company's Amilo notebooks, can overheat and catch fire, according to the company's Web site.

On its site, Fujitsu Siemens recommends that customers stop using the batteries immediately and operate their notebook on AC power only. The company said it will replace the batteries for free.

To date, the company has received four reports of batteries overheating out of a possible 250,000 units, according to the Fujitsu Siemens site. The company did not … Read more

TiVo's plan to offer movie downloads, likely in concert with Netflix, apparently is on track.

According to a posting Wednesday on PVRBlog, photos of a TiVo demonstration of movie downloading and uploading video were published on the Web.

"The Tivo community recently gathered in Las Vegas for a huge meetup that included previews of TiVo beta products," the blog said. "Someone that was there took a bunch of shots of a demo."

A note accompanying the photos said: "Looks like Netflix downloads, or some other kind of movie downloads, is almost ready."

Stay … Read more