Digital Tech News - Digital Technology & Consumer Electronics

George Budabin Tribute

As people around the world join with family to celebrate this Holiday, I would like to share a story of unconditional love between father and son. GearLive.com blogger and founder Andru Edwards' father George Budabin passed away this week, and in an emotional tribute, Andru wrote about their close relationship, and about his own son Alijah.

Andru Edwards is my nephew, and I can't tell you how much I, and the rest of my family are proud of his accomplishments in his business, and the man that he's become. Our condolences go out to him and the entire Budabin family, I will always remember the great conversations and fine wine I shared with George Budabin in Paris and New York.

As you unite with family this Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, be sure to give your loved ones an extra-big hug, and say a few special words to express your love for them.

Read:  "The Loss of a Hero: Goodbye Dad"  -  by Andru Edwards

Happy Holidays to you all, see ya next week.

- Tony E

Christmas Shopping? Last Minute Tech Gift Deals are Online!

Happy Holidays!

Christmas is just a few days away, but it's not too late to find deals on Digital Technology gifts and consumer electronics at the Digital Tech and Gadget Shopping Site, powered by Chitika.

Search for the hottest tech gear and find great deals on consumer electronics from popular online stores. You'll also find product recommendations and price comparisons to help you select the best deal.

Compare prices on digital tech gadgets and gear or research the latest products from the following categories:

• Camcorders

• Cellular Phones 

• Digital Cameras 

• DVD Players 

• Flat Panel Televisions

• GPS Devices   

• Kids Toys 

• Mac Laptops 

• MP3 and Digital Media Players 

• PC Laptops 

• PDAs 

• Video Games 

Nikon D40 Reviewed

DPReview has a great detailed, in-depth review of the new Nikon D40 entry level digital SLR camera. The Nikon D40 was announced about three weeks ago as the smallest, lightest, and most affordable Nikon digital SLR camera. Digital Photography Review's Phil Askey writes:

"In everyday use the D40 is just what it set out to be, a very capable, compact, lightweight and easy to use camera which makes a perfect first step for anyone wanting to get into digital SLR photography. It provides enough control and a large enough range of manual settings to enable you to experiment and learn but also helps you to take great pictures in the process. It's one of those cameras you can just pick up and start shooting without fuss, that you can hand to a friend who's never used an SLR and know they'll be able to do the same. All of this and a pretty decent kit lens for $600, I'd say it's a bit of a bargain." read the full Nikon D40 review

HTC Athena Pocket PC Revealed

Not quite a UMPC, the HTC Athena (X7500) pocket PC has a detachable QWERTY keyboard and runs Windows Mobile Pocket PC Pro edition. It has a leather cover that can be left on or off as you use the device. There's a stand for the 3.5-inch QVGA touch-screen with stylus, but again, it is detachable. Some say that the HTC Athena is aimed at users in Europe, but you can't hold a good thing back too long. Unofficial HTC Athena specs include GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS radio, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, 624MHz processor, 8 GB drive, three-megapixel camera, GPS radio, 2200 mAh battery, VGA-out connector, 5-inch 640x480 VGA display, stereo speakers, and miniSD card slot.

Keep an eye on HTC's product page for upcoming details.

SlingPlayer Mobile Smartphone Compatibility

If you're wondering if you can be down with Sling Media's SlingPlayer Mobile for Windows Smartphones, here's the latest. If you've seen SlingPlayer Mobile streaming TV on a Motorola Q smartphone in action, you know why it's got people excited. Now SlingPlayer Mobile is available on the T-Mobile Dash and Cingular Samsung Blackjack smartphones, adding to the list that already includes the i-mate SP5m, Motorola Q, and T-Mobile SDA/ HTC Tornado Tempo smartphones. Sling Media will be adding to the list in the future, with possible support for other mobile platforms such as Palm, RIM Blackberry, Symbian, J2ME, and BREW.

SlingPlayer Mobile for Windows Smartphone v1.0.5 Download

Samsung SCH-V960 Optical Joystick Phone

With the endless stream of mobile phones released this year, it's always nice to see a device with new innovative features. The Samsung SCH-V960 Optical Joystick Phone is said to be the world's first mobile phone featuring an optical joystick for interacting with the menu and user interface, similar to a cursor of a mouse on a PC. This is unique for a mobile phone because the optical sensors read and react to finger movement for 360 degrees, making traditional 4-way menu navigation look pretty silly. The SCH-V960's Optical Joystick can also be used to scroll through music play lists on the phone. The Samsung V960 also has a Smart Lighting feature that automatically controls the brightness of the LCD screen and keypad.

Digg Adds New Video and Podcasting Features

Digg ends an incredible year by adding new features, and a new site design. The widescreen design expands so you can take advantage of the full-screen on larger monitors, and they've moved navigation to the top of the page. There's also a new Top 10 Digg stories and videos section that's updated in real time.

Digg has some cool new multimedia features as well, including Top 10 hottest videos, and the ability to watch video previews on the site. Just click any video with a play icon to preview and Digg a video. On top of that, you can also Digg your favorite podcast series and individual podcasts, bookmark them in your profile and share your Diggs with friends.

MySpace Mobile on Cingular Wireless

As we know, MySpace.com is the world's most popular website, and now they are hoping for similar success with the MySpace Mobile deal with Cingular Wireless. The partnership offers enhanced MySpace functionality to Cingular customers via their mobile phones, and gives Cingular's customers access to MySpace Mobile's tools to edit MySpace profiles, view and add friends, post photos and blogs, as well as sending and receiving My Space messages on-the-go from your cell phone. A MySpace Mobile deal with Helio KickFlip and Helio Hero cellphones also allow users to read and write MySpace mail, blogs, view profiles, view and post photos, and more.

Linksys iPhone Voip Phones

The long awaited Apple iPhone is here, but Linksys, a division of Cisco Systems has introduced their new iPhone family of Voice over IP (VoIP) phones and solutions as well.

Linksys iPhone handheld devices harnesses the power of the Internet to enhance voice communications, integrate compelling information services, and deliver access to multimedia. In short, Linksys iPhones voice solutions and products give consumers the ability to do more with their phone than talk.

TIME Person of the Year is...YOU

That's right, the 2006 TIME Person of the Year is You. TIME Magazine's choice reflects the changing attitude of mainstream media (MSM) who are now embracing the new Web 2.0 era. You are the person of the year because you now control the Information Age. User-generated content, social networking and sharing have brought a new digital democracy to the World Wide Web.

A year ago, you read here that 2006 would be the year of online video, but in fact sharing of all types of media has taken off. Emerging Web 2.0 start-ups, covered so well this year by TechCrunch, GigaOm, ProBlogger, and Micro Persuasion, have introduced the new wave of social networking tools for blogging, vlogging, podcasting and RSS. Some of the stand-out Web 2.0 companies are Myspace, YouTube, Flickr, Wikipedia, technorati, and DIGG. There's also the fast growing virtual world of Second Life, that will no doubt have a big year in 2007.

"We chose to put a mirror on the cover because it literally reflects the idea that you, not we, are transforming the information age. The 2006 Person of the Year issue—the largest one Time has ever printed—marks the first time we've put reflective Mylar on the cover."  Read TIME Person of the Year | Time.com