The I-C-CAN is Boobnewb’s first look at a piece of technology that will help us to become even more lazier in the future. Scientists have created a self-chilling can that will allow users to chill their beers or soft drinks to under 34.8 degrees in under 3 minutes. Once the can becomes cold, it will stay this way for over an hour.The company that created the cans, Tempra Technology, says that the cans are perfectly safe and have no toxins, gases, or any pressurized materials that can be harmful to humans. The contents inside the drink become consumed by a gel-like substance after being opened that drains off to the bottom of the can. There is also an insulated heat absorbing product at the bottom of the can.

Once activated, the product drops to near freezing temperatures. Tempra Technology has already signed deals with large firms like Heineken, Coke, Pepsi, and Budweiser. The good news is that these companies will begin sending the new cans to store shelves by the end of the year. The bad news is that these new insulated cans will cost about double of what it costs for a normal can of soda or beer.

The company says that at first there will be an increase in price, but once the product catches on and there’s an increase in demand for the insulated cans that we should see the price come back down. It’s Boobnewb’s verdict that this product will become more common in the future but in the meantime we recommend that you simply stick to ordinary ice cubes and do the freezing yourself.

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The PSP has finally hit North America a few months after its Japanese launch. Was the wait worth it? I would certainly say yes if you’re willing to shell out the money to buy one. The PSP certainly does everything that you would want from a media player/portable gaming machine. Perhaps not the best in all 3 components but it certainly does a good job at everything it intends to do. ‘The Sony PSP features a large 4.3-inch 16:9 widescreen LCD TFT screen with a 480×272 resolution, button layout similar to the PlayStation with a digital control pad, an analog stick, circle, square, triangle, x, and 2 shoulder buttons, USB 2.0 connectivity (via mini-USB), a Memory Stick Duo media slot, and 802.11b WiFi support.It uses Sony’s proprietary Universal Media Disc, which stores up to 1.8GB in a format reminiscent of MiniDiscs.’ If you’re one of the lucky 1 000 000 people who first buys this thingy, you also get a free UMD copy of Spiderman-2. Since I’m no Gizmodo or Engadget, I’ll quickly run through some pros and cons of this machine.

PROS: Beautiful LCD ScreenExcellent GamesThe ability to watch movies/listen to music/watch photosSnazzy Hip DesignUSB 2.0 SupportWi-Fi EnabledUMD Disk offers 1.8 GB of space

SO-SO: Relatively LightweightDecent Battery PowerMarketing campaign revolving teens

Cons: Some Dead Pixel IssuesSmudges or scratches easilyButton Configurations in weird placesThe PriceEject button a little shaky (more…)

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Lately I’ve been reading online tech. news and watching tech. news shows and one common theme prevails: technology is quickly changing right now. While most people would shrug their heads and say “Duh Chris,you idiot,everybody knows that”; the fact remains that while technology may be changing, the people using it aren’t adapting quickly enough to these changes.

The most obvious answer to this fact can be seen everyday when I still see people using 56 k modems or old VHS VCRs at their homes or are still using some old computer with windows 98 or earlier on it. I try not to get upset as I realize that not everybody is wealthy, including myself but it becomes painfully obvious that some people are unwilling to adapt to new technology and are hurting the rest of the technology community.

Recently we have seen new trends in technology from the ipod to the PVR but these new items don’t seem to be catching on as quickly as I would have hoped. You can blame the companies or retailers for selling the items at an elevated price but sooner or later these items will come down in price and hopefully consumers jump at these new items and helps to speed up the entertainment technology value of humans for the future. So, let’s look at a couple of new items around the corner as well as old ones and how we can help to make things better for all humans.

(In no particular order)

1. The 56 k Modem

This little device was great back in the early 90s when the internet was beginning to expand but the time has come to get rid of this piece of garbage for good. While most computer companies are still adding the 56 k modem into their computers for potential consumer use, the time has come to get rid of this little device for it has no value left in today’s ever increasing broadband world. The price of broadband has come down significantly to the point where broadband is even considered out of date itself and is trying to be replaced by newer fiber or copper options in the future.

Even basic DSL is relatively cheap instead of getting the regular high speed option and will only cost about 20$ a month to at least upgrade your browsing speed. What’s even worse is when you’re playing an online video game or filesharing and have to have a bunch of idiots try and do that stuff because they think “they can” while they’re suing the internet. Instead, they’re simply pissing off people like me who would like to eliminate people like them from the marketplace.

2. The VCR

While the DVD player has caught on a little faster than people initially thought, there are still some people out there who are pessimistic about the DVD player and wish to continually purchase old VHS tapes. While this may seem like a logical choice, the fact is that companies such as Sony are already waiting patiently to try and roll out the successor to the DVD with newer technologies such as Blu-Ray or HD-DVD which will be able to store data at a much higher capability than the DVD itself. The reason for the wait is due to numerous companies bickering over which technology is greater, Blu-ray or HD-DVD.

But eventually, one of these technologies will be the new DVD standard and people will be forced to not only give up VHS but potentially DVD as well. The fact remains that it will be up to the consumer to be willing to buy the new 50 gb Blu-ray or stick with the old DVD. My advice is to start pumping out the newer technologies but of course there will be people out there who are unwilling to change their DVD library and rebuy all of their favorite movies or shows on a newer technology so soon after the DVD technology came out. This new marketing approach will be up to the companies and the consumer to decide and hopefully it becomes as successful as the switch to DVD was.

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The ipod Shuffle is the latest Ipod creation from Apple. But unlike its predecessors, Apple decided to actually scale back for a bit and create a cheaper,more affordable Ipod. The new Ipod Shuffle features both 512 mb or 1 GB of flash memory support and comes without a display screen. The point of the new ipod is to give consumers a cheaper alternative to their
previous hard drive-like ipods and give them something that they can take with them that’s not only cheaper,but also weighs less and isn’t such a hassle to bring with you wherever you go.

So, for example, I could bring this thing to the gym and listen to music while I exercised without worrying about my heavy ipod crashing to the floor or involve it in other physical activities without worrying about the potential deficit my budget would face if I broke the damn thing. Apple’s new slogan is ‘Life is Random’ which can only help to sell its shuffle mode with its new player. The Ipod shuffle has no display screen as Apple felt that the consumer would rather have more random shuffling and be ‘surprised’ by what came up next as opposed to actually picking what song they wanted to pick next.

Personally, I prefer seeing what I want to play next but in order to save some bucks but you might like the idea of there being no display screen added to the Ipod Shuffle. The sound is also much improved over the previous versions of the Ipod and supports both VBR, AAC, and MP3 up to 320 kilobits per second. Another high point for the Shuffle is its price tag. It’s about 99$ or 145$ U.S for the 1 GB version which is a big improvement compared to its previous 300$-500$ pricetag.

Another thing Apple has going for it is its style. Just like previous versions of the Ipod, the Shuffle comes in a sleek grayish white design that all the kids find so cool these days. While I don’t feel the Ipod Shuffle is the strongest media player on the market right now in its category, it’s certainly not a bad mp3 player by any means and its media hype will certainly help this product sell very well.

Pictures courtesy of www.ipodlounge.com

For more info on the Ipod Shuffle, go to www.apple.com

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