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No matter what it looks like, hold the jam

Sorry, Caroline, it's not a real toaster. At least, we don't think it would be a good idea to try to cram an English muffin into one of its slots, much less one that requires delicate handling for a skull-and-crossbones branding.

What it is, however, is a clever design and marketing ploy for a 27-in-1 memory card reader by Boynq. Technabob says the "Toastit" is a USB flash memory reader that will work with Windows and Mac machines. Despite its decidedly utilitarian function, the $30 Toastit does look nice as an accent for the desktop, if … Read more

Real-world buying for the 'World of Warcraft' crowd

The notion of "frequent gamer rewards" has been tossed around by trend specialists and pundits (like MAKE Magazine's Philip Torrone) for some time now as online gaming becomes more and more profitable and increasingly entrenched in mainstream culture. Now, it's a reality with the World of Warcraft Visa credit card.

You can apply for it now. With your first purchase on the card, according to the World of Warcraft site, you'll earn a free month of game time.

But you won't be able to buy yourself new weapons by using this card. The WoW … Read more

CableCard goes mainstream on July 1

On paper, CableCard sounded pretty great. Instead of a cable box, your local provider would give you a small smartcard--the exact same design as a PCMCIA card--that would fit into the back of your TV (or DVR). In theory, you were getting the benefit of "the good old days" of analog cable with a digital makeover--just plug the wire into the back of the TV, and you'd get access to all of your digital and HD channels. In reality, CableCard has been plagued with problems. The existing technology is one-way, so you don't have access to … Read more

Sony's tapeless XDCAM EX adopts a standard media format

This week, the National Association of Broadcasters converges in Las Vegas for its annual convention, a show we here at CNET usually ignore; after all, while the typical CNET reader may have a room dedicated to the worship of the moving image, we don't expect to see a TV studio in an adjacent shrine. And no, producing YouTube videos doesn't count. However, interesting prosumer news floats down every now and then, and Sony's announcement of its flash-memory-based XDCAM EX camcorder landed gently on my keyboard this morning, via Engadget.

In fact, I usually ignore Sony's XDCAM … Read more

AniBOOM's ShapeShifter: easy user-generated animation creation

Old-school Mac users might remember a little application called HyperCard. Originally a database application, it doubled as a casual animation tool--letting users create fairly basic cartoons, frame by frame. This morning I've been playing around with AniBOOM's ShapeShifter, a Web-based animation creation tool that brings back those old feelings of black-and-white computing, with a new social bookmarking twist.

ShapeShifter is pretty simple to use. There are four shapes to choose from, and you can place them wherever you want on the canvas. Each shape can be rotated, resized and grouped together to make new forms. When you're … Read more

Mini-SD? T-flash? Oink, oink...

Most computer peripherals are already available in tons of wacky incarnations: speakers, mice, keyboards, and of course USB storage drives. But memory card readers have, at least until this point, remained pretty boring. Cue Brando's USB Piggy Card Reader, which really does look just like a piggy bank. It can handle, according to ProductDose, SD, CF, XD, MS, Mini SD, and T-flash/Micro SD cards. And it connects to your computer via a USB 2.0 "tail." Sure, it might be taking the definition of "memory hog" (oink, oink) a little too literally, but it'… Read more

Memory card reader as jewelry

Once again, the R&D people at Japan's Elecom may be unwittingly indicating that they have too much time on their hands. Witness their latest creation: a luxury memory card reader. Granted, it looks beautiful in the company handouts--available in silver, black and white a la Apple style, according to Akihabara News--and might even be quite fetching on the end of a white gold chain around your neck, sort of like an updated retro medallion circa 1974. But if you ask us (and no one ever does, of course), the peripheral-as-jewelry craze won't exactly have Tiffany longevity.… Read more