The movie Transfomers which is due out on July 4th, is getting the big merchandising treatment blitz, and that includes video games. All the gaming systems will be getting a version, so that gamers can relive the onscreen action at home. But I want to talk about the Nintendo DS version, which is more exciting to me as the DS is my favorite gaming platform. I want these games bad, as I am a Transformers fan. They’ve gotten the big hype treatment on IGN and Gamespot.

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I was just reading Apple’s Leopard Sneak Peek, and noticed this rather amusing paragraph in the Multicore enhancements list.

Apple engineers have updated several applications in Leopard  including Mail, Address Book, and Font Utility  to be fully multicore ready. Each of these apps breaks up processor-intensive actions into a series of more manageable steps that execute one by one on single-CPU computers and in parallel on newer, multicore systems.

Because the Font Utility performance was a major concern of most OS X Tiger users.

English playwright William Congreve wrote in 1697, “Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast / To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.” There may have been a Freudian slip when Congreve meant beast.

Fast forward to the 21st century. We can certainly be savage grumps when it comes to waking up to an alarm clock with an obnoxious buzzer or worse, annoying morning chatterboxes with Wooly Bully by Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs as the musical selection to reside in your head all day.

Get you someone really to pull the wool with you What?I say it’s time to bookend your sleep cycle on your own terms with the music you want to fall asleep with or wake up to. Digital Lifestyle Outfitters (DLO) has the exactly the item to soothe one’s savageness with the iBoom Travel.

It’s a 2-in-1 portable iPod speaker system and travel alarm clock.

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The fine folks at MetaGeek have recently put out version 2.1.2 of the Chanalyzer software for the Wi-Spy USB 2.4 GHz spectrum analyzer. The new version, while maintaining the original functions of the older software, introduces a new topographic view, ability to show all three views on screen at the same time (the old version software only allowed one view) and has a super polished look to it. If you’re a Wi-Spy user like me, I highly recommend upgrading to the new version, which can be downloaded here.

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Since getting my Zune a few months ago, it has been in the very precarious position of having no screen protector, and only the supplied fabric slipcase to protect it from keys, pens and other devices. But when I use it to watch video, it has to go caseless. I was very happy to receive the Zune metal case and screen protector from PDAir, so that I could quit my worrying.

I received Black aluminium case and ultra-clear screen protector to try out on my Zune. I asked for the black to go with my black Zune and I am glad I did. They go together very well.

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I’ve been playing this game for about a week, and Clinton and I plan plan to do a dually on it, but in the meantime you just have to check out Doug Goldring’s review of Astraware’s Solitaire on JAMM.

Yeah, we’ve all been burned by lame Solitaire games in the past, but this isn’t one of them!

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Remember the little nursery rhyme:

Five little monkeys jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,
No more monkeys jumping on the bed!

or

Mama called the doctor and the doctor said,
That’s what you get for jumping on the bed!

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I think by now I’ve established that I am a big fan of earphones; unlike the one-size-fits-most round earbuds which come with almost all digital music players, quality earphones will usually include a variety of tips so that the wearer can ensure the best fit. This is necessary because unlike earbuds which can precariously perch in the bowl of the wearer’s inner ear, earphones are inserted into the rim of the ear canal. So bearing this in mind, it makes sense that if the earphones’ tips are too large, the wearer’s ear canals will soon grow tender and sore, and if the earphones’ tips are too small, then the earphones won’t correctly block outside noise nor will they allow the audio content to sound as good as it should.

There are several companies that manufacture professional quality earphones, and today we will take a look at the latest by Future Sonics: the Atrio Series m5 Professional Earphones. I was loaned the solid black with a blue strip m5 version, which are touted as providing “TrueTimbre source reproduction with natural, deep bass response;” a “universal fit with multiple options;” they are “compatible with wired and wireless systems or personal media players;” and are called an “outstanding upgrade for any system.” During my one month of usage, I got the chance to decide if the m5s would deliver all they promised. Before I dive into how they performed, let’s do a quick unboxing…

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I have this very item in my queue, and since the announcement just entered my inbox, I thought a posting would be appropriate.

The Zephyr briefcase has just been released by Tom Bihn, and I can tell you that based on my preliminary use, it will be another winner for the Seattle-based company.

Read the full press release after the break; my review should be up in a few weeks.

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If you are headed to the lake this weekend to do some tubing, you probably shouldn’t lug along your leather wallet loaded with all those credit cards and cash. Instead you need bare bones, and that’s where the JimiX wallet shines. Freshly reviewed and videoed by Jared on Cheapedia, the JimiX is “for people that need a little more Jimi,” referring to the original Jimi wallet of course.

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I was surfing the Internet last night, trolling for news stories, as I am known to do, when I stumbled upon the latest product from Fun-Stick Products, The Original Poker Chip Customizer, or OPCC as they call it. OPCC is a complete do-it-yourself kit for creating your own custom poker chips.

The Original Poker Chip Customizer lets a user completely design and personalize their poker chips. It appears to work much like a CD labeler, using the included software, simply choose design your label, then print it on the supplied high quality chip labels. Slide a poker chip into the labeling tool, and voila, instant and custom poker chips. It’s that simple!

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I just received a notice about a new service for deaf and hard-of-hearing tech users that I thought was pretty cool. Take a look…

CAMFROG ALLOWS DEAF AND HARD-OF-HEARING TO USE SIGN LANGUAGE LIVE OVER THE INTERNET

Austin, TX�June 13, 2007 Thousands of deaf and hard-of-hearing users have discovered Camfrog (www.camfrog.com), a free computer program that allows real-time two-way video communication over the Internet.

Until now, the choice of free  online video communication for the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities has been limited to one-way video communication or pre-recorded videos. Now, by downloading free Camfrog software, users can sign to each other through the live video link between their computers, just like communicating in person.

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Q. On my MAC I want to run a XP Pro VM. Which is better VMWare Fusion or Nova Development’s Parallels? Both seem to offer the same features. All my Apple geek friends recommend Parallels but VMWare Inc. Is very well established in the VM Market. And until August I can get VMWare Fusion for only $39.99 compared to Parallels $79.00.

Just looking for a opinion. Thanks for your time.
Kyle

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Having a look at the various configurations of the new MacBook Pro’s, one thing has me a bit confused. The MacBook Pro line is aimed at video and photo editors, and other people that demand the highest performance out of their laptop, yet they are only offering a 4200RPM 200GB and 250GB instead of a 5400RPM. I have had a 4200RPM drive and for performance it is certainly not fun. The minimum I would go for these days is a 5400RPM, especially in a machine that I want to capture and render video on.

There are several 250GB 2.5″ 5400RPM drives available, and they aren’t overly expensive. The option to upgrade to 250GB is only available on the 17″ MBP (why not on the 15″ as well?) and costs a rather hefty US$150 from the 160GB 5400RPM drive, so I don’t understand why they are only using 4200RPM drives in performance notebooks.

Apple, give us faster drives!!

Just watched this funny video on YouTube of a cartoon Steve Jobs and Bill Gates fighting it out, only to be interrupted by an old friend.