While the chunky Suunto X10 might not go well with a tuxedo, James Bond would still love it. The watch hides a Global Positioning System unit, stopwatch, compass, barometer and altimeter into a package not much bigger than 007’s favorite Omega.
Because the X10 can track GPS satellites, you can record and download your last run or hike to Google Earth or other digital mapping programs. You can also plan routes and set waypoints for future trips on a PC using the included Track Exporter software.
The X10 offers 33 percent longer battery life than its predecessor, the X9i, and charges via an included USB cable. It also uses a newer GPS chip that finds and locks onto satellites faster than the X9i.
If you become lost, a press of the “Find Home” button will direct you back along the same route you came or even offer a more direct route. The watch also displays current speed and distance traveled.
It should be available in September, sadly without the garrote or sleeping gas attachments available from Q branch.
For people who routinely use two computers at once, a keyboard/video/mouse (KVM) switch has long been a useful add-on: with it, you can use the same keyboard, monitor and mouse and simply switch between PCs. Of course, the computers remain separate devices — they are not linked or networked as a result.
That’s why Iogear’s new USB Laptop KVM Switch (US$130) is so interesting. One double-ended cable connects two Windows PCs or laptops together (a Mac version should be available soon). Then, you can use one PC to control the other and even drag files and folders between the machines.
This isn’t as esoteric as it may sound. If you bring your company’s laptop home and connect it to your PC with this cable, you can share and sync files between the two machines. You can add an external hard drive or other peripheral “between” the two computers that both machines can use.
You can also use your laptop as a second screen: Your e-mail inbox could live on the laptop’s smaller screen while, say, a large Excel spreadsheet is on your larger monitor. And since you’ll also be using your full-size keyboard and mouse for both machines, you won’t just be more productive — you’ll probably be more comfortable.
Parents have been telling their children to turn the volume down since “wireless” meant “AM radio,” but noise-monitoring has gotten trickier as music has moved into headphones — where sound levels can get dangerously high. With parental concerns in mind, the LoudEnough earbuds from Ultimate Ears have volume-limiting safeguards built into the hardware.
Although safe volume levels are still important, the components in the LoudEnough earbuds also reduce sound-pressure levels up to 20 decibels, or one quarter of the volume of other earphones. They use a standard 3.5mm stereo plug, which allow the Ultimate Ears to fit just about any portable MP3 player or other audio device.
The earbuds, available in three colors, sell for about US$40 and can be found at www.loudenough.com. Each pair comes with two sets of silicone tips in three sizes (extra-small, small and medium) for keeping the buds in place inside the ears — which may even make them appeal to adults who complain that the iPod earphones are too big and tend to fall out.
Adventurous questing and fierce battles are much easier when a player has good weapons on both sides of the screen. Made with the needs of video-game fans in mind, the Avatar mouse from NZXT comes with seven programmable buttons that can be custom-configured for different types of games, including multiplayer online worlds, real-time strategy contests and first-person shooters.
To increase its responsiveness and accuracy in those do-or-die sharpshooting situations, the Avatar mouse also comes with an optical sensor under the hood that can reach a maximum resolution of 2,600 dots per inch, or dpi — compared with the 800dpi or 1,000dpi offered by many standard mice.
The Avatar gaming mouse connects through a USB port and costs about US$60; full specifications and a list of stores are at www.nzxt.com/products/avatar. The Avatar’s Teflon feet keep gameplay smooth; even southpaw warriors need not worry — the Avatar has an ambidextrous design.
Combining a graphics tablet with a built-in camera and a computer-based set of creativity tools, Stylin’ Studio, out this week from Girl Tech, part of the Radica division of Mattel, is the latest thing in face-editing technology. Intended for older girls, Stylin’ Studio (US$60, www.girltech.com) is this year’s replacement for Digi Makeover, a TV-connected toy that was harder to use.
First, you install the software on a Windows computer and plug in the USB cable. Next, you start the software, line up your face in the viewfinder and snap a photo, a process made easier by a small mirror. You can also import any face from a digital photo, if you want to give your parents earrings or put a tiara on your Facebook picture.
The real fun begins when you start smearing on the eyeliner, available in dozens of shades, or mixing and matching the hair, clothing, jewelry, backgrounds and photo frames, all of which can be dragged and dropped into place with the stylus. You can save your work as standard photo files for convenient e-mailing to your local modeling agency.
On April 26, The Lancet published a letter from two doctors at Taichung-based China Medical University Hospital (CMUH) warning that “Taiwan’s Health Care System is on the Brink of Collapse.” The authors said that “Years of policy inaction and mismanagement of resources have led to the National Health Insurance system operating under unsustainable conditions.” The pushback was immediate. Errors in the paper were quickly identified and publicized, to discredit the authors (the hospital apologized). CNA reported that CMUH said the letter described Taiwan in 2021 as having 62 nurses per 10,000 people, when the correct number was 78 nurses per 10,000
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