Fashionably patterned earphones

Women wear earrings anyway, so it would make sense that their earphones should look a little more feminine since those are in their ears a lot too. These headphones vary in styles from the slightly punk, to even pretty dainty designs. None of which really come off as stereotypical girly. They don’t just slap a coat of pink on it and ship them off. Some of the patterns would even work for guys that are into the punk look quite a bit.

The unfortunate thing is that these are coming out through a Japan company. That means that it’s unlikely that those of us in the rest of the world will ever see them. Some of the novelty Japan products will get picked up by vendors who sell Japanese products to those in the US and UK. However, it seems like the somewhat useful ones don’t make it this way. The earbuds, in Japan, are selling for about $21 a pair. Which if it were in the US or UK would be a great price, but to have it shipped would end up costing a little too much for many people.

HP releases professional workstation with Six-core AMD Opteron processor

HP is no stranger when it comes to releasing new computers, but this time round things are a little bit different. After all, they have just announced the availability of their highly sought after Six-Core AMD Opteron 2400 Series processor-powered line of HP Workstations, targeting businesses and homes that need all the processing power they need and then some. These high-end workstation machines are able to be in their element when handling applications within fields such as engineering, 3-D digital content creation, oil and gas, and science, where the HP xw9400 Workstation won’t stutter or freeze up courtesy of the power of the new AMD Opteron processors that were specially developed to offer higher productivity, especially for multi-threaded applications, multi-tasking and mega-tasking environments.

Interestingly enough, the HP xw9400 Workstation is able to hold up to a pair of Six-Core AMD Opteron processors, giving you a grand total of a dozen cores. Each individual core is already not a pushover, boasting up to 34% more performance per watt over the previous-generation quad-core processors, so imagine what a dozen of these puppies are able to achieve for your work. While these won’t be able to track down any alien lifeforms using the SETI program, it is still able to handle a whole bunch of tests thrown at it, passing with flying colors to boot. The introduction of AMD HyperTransport 3.0 technology (HT3) increases interconnect rates from 2 gigatransfers per second (GT/s) up to a maximum 4.8 GT/s, while you can further augment its performance by throwing in, if budget permits, the ATI FirePro V7750 3-D workstation graphics accelerator.

All that firepower doesn’t mean the HP xw9400 Workstation is one meanie to the environment - no sir, in fact it has even been registered as an Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) Gold product, practically the highest rating available. This ensures that over 90% of the machine is recyclable by weight, where the tool-less chassis makes upgrades a quick and painless affair. Depending on the configuration of choice, prices start from $1,899 upwards.

Supertendo DIY project rocks

Most of us would have great memories of the SNES during its heydays, with Super Mario World being one of the flagship titles that had us ranting and raving about the gameplay and graphics, while other titles that showcased the SNES’ Mode 7 capability clearly demonstrated the console’s superiority over its bitter rival, the Sega Genesis. Well, modder Marshall has done a magical job with his self-dubbed Supertendo that looked almost professional, boasting a lovely white exterior that is well crafted, holding a SNES cartridge behind with a lovely LCD display and controls all in front. You won’t find this available for sale anywhere though since this is a one-off creation, although we’re sure folks would flock to buy one if it was ever produced.

Doppelganger Robots

Take a look at the photo to the left. These are not twin brothers, or some sort of photo trickery. As it so happens, one of these men is a robot.

Yeah, I don’t know which one is fake either. However, I think you should know that this technology is available. Just so you can be free of your Stepford Wives nightmares, this robot cannot walk and talk, or be some evil version of you who will go about doing bad while you take the blame.

No, what you are looking at is one of those animatronics like you would see at Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean ride, but a bit more realistic. The best you could hope for is a figure that would sit there and move its head and eyes in a realistic fashion. The might be enough to fool a boring college professor.

This technology has been developed by the Xian Chaoren, a model company by the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Arts. It specializes in simulated silica gel figures, otherwise known as super-realistic sculptures, which is good for museums, or any other related design and production industries.

My source doesn’t list how much it would cost to duplicate yourself, but you don’t really think that something like this could come cheap, do you? Neither do I. I suppose that if someone were willing to make a museum for me, I would probably want a robot version of me, rather than be immortalized in wax.

ARCHOS 9 PC Tablet

I’m not certain if the UMPC (Ultra-mobile Personal Computer) market has been overshadowed by the netbook industry, but ARCHOS is making a bold move into the miniPC market with the ARCHOS 9 PCtablet.

The ARCHOS 9, presumably named for its 9 inch screen, and it is quite a piece of work. It is also very thin at just 0.63 inches, and weighs in at 22.29 ounces.

It has internal power of the Z515 Intel processor, plus Microsoft Windows 7 Operating system. It also features Bluetooth 2.1 and 802.11b/g connectivity for all email and web-surfing needs.

The user is able to navigate with the full touchscreen, as well as optical trackball with buttons. Typing is performed with a built-in virtual keyboard, and the ARCHOS 9 includes Microsoft Office, as well as Web TV and Radio, video conferencing, plus antivirus protection, parental control, and more.

I mentioned earlier about how the UMPC market has been nearly overshadowed by the netbook market, but I think we all envisioned PCs of the future as being handheld with a full touchscreen. It would appear that ARCHOS is on the cusp of the portable PC market. The ARCHOS 9 PC tablet will be available in the Fall, but there is no word on the price.

The Octopus USB Hub

I honestly can’t believe that this gadget wasn’t released sooner. After all, it’s a pretty logical combination, taking the tentacles of an octopus and turning them into little USB ports. This would be the way to jam 15 different ports into one device and keep it looking fun. As opposed to the other massive USB ports that just look plain boring.

This hub doesn’t have a lot of hubs, only a total of 4. It’s probably enough for the average person though. It still would look really cool packed full of different hubs though, but 4 works just as well. The Octopus Hub comes in three different colors, you can purchase it in white, purple and black. If you were hoping to pick up the purple octopus, you’ll have to hold off for a little bit. As of now, that particular color is temporarily out of stock. You can pick yours up for $10 on Gadget4all.