The Modern Materialist

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• What's Hidden In This iMac?

  Can you figure out what's hiding in this picture? Is it: A) A brand new iMac, unveiled today by Apple! B) A mirror that reflects only the true nature of your soul! C) A picture frame, for the digital age! Or maybe it's... Read More... Posted Jun 27 2008, 09:00 AM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: computers

• Price Perspective: Laptop Bags

  The laptop pictured above is way more slim and pretty than the $200 piece of crap I picked up at a computer show a few years ago. In fact, I think I'm experiencing a bit of tech-envy. What could possibly make me feel better? Read More... Posted Jun 26 2008, 03:30 PM by Steph Auteri with | with no comments Filed under: storage, computers, Accessories, laptop

• What's Wrong With This Picture?

  What can I say, I'm into puzzles today. But there's one thing that's very, very wrong with this innovative computer design concept. Can you guess what it is? Read More... Posted Jun 23 2008, 10:30 AM by Alex Zalben with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: computers, concepts

• A Riddle About Laptops

  Question: When is a laptop not a laptop? Read More... Posted Jun 23 2008, 09:00 AM by Alex Zalben with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: gadgets, computers, laptop bags

• Apple Keynote LiveBlog

  You know what time it is, Materialistas? It's Apple Time! Time for Steve Jobs' World-Wide Developer Conference Keynote, that is. Though I'm not in San Fran for the announcment, I will be updating this very post in a semi-live-blog, as the announcements of amazing, god-like devices roll out. So bookmark this page, and keep refreshin', because the updating should begin shortly (say, around 1pm EST). Oh, and for clarities sake, I'll be posting the most recent updates at the bottom, so scroll down for the latest info. Read More... Posted Jun 09 2008, 12:00 PM by Alex Zalben with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: Apple, computers, iPhone, iPod, Macs, live-blog

• Is It Plugged In?

  When given the choice between calling up the IT department or repeatedly restarting my computer until it magically begins working correctly again, I usually choose the latter. And here's why: Read More... Posted Jun 09 2008, 11:00 AM by Steph Auteri with | with no comments Filed under: computers, toys, Geek Out

• Cramped Quarters: Relocate to the Other Room

  I live in a one-bedroom condo with my husband, where we've converted the dining room into an office for the two of us. So basically, we sit back-to-back, working most hours of the day, trying our darndest not to annoy the heck out of each other. If someone feels like watching TV...a mere few feet away...all hell breaks loose. It's my dream that someday we will have a four-bedroom house, with enough room for us, the kids, and an office for each of us (with locks on the doors). For now, though, what to do when one person has work to do, and the other wants to throw a goddamn party!? Read More... Posted Jun 04 2008, 03:30 PM by Steph Auteri with | with no comments Filed under: gadgets, computers, tech, clutter

• Gain Elightenment

  The picture above is of: A) An Olde Timey Television. B) An Elaborate Mirror. C) A Relatively Thin Microscope. D) A Tricked Out Computer. The answer, after the jump...    Read More... Posted May 28 2008, 10:30 AM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: computers

• Hardbook Mixes Style With Power

  For those of you who are a little tech savvy, and don’t mind playing around with a hard drive, the Hardbook might be the thing for you. The hard drive enclosure fits most 3.5 inch SATA I or II drives, and connects to your PC or Mac using a USB cord. Oh, and it looks like a book. A couple more features, after the jump...  Read More... Posted May 12 2008, 04:30 PM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: gadgets, computers

• More! More Screens!

  9x Media provides customizable desktop displays for your computer (or, I guess web TV), and that’s pretty cool and all, until you start to consider that thy can be customized up to 64 screens, from 19” to 32” each. Any way you want ‘em. So you can have the above configuration, or you can make something like the ones below, which ar perfect for showing off your tree collection: Read More... Posted May 07 2008, 02:00 PM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: gadgets, computers, Television

• Geek Out: New iMacs

  Yesterday I was walking down the street, and there was an Apple G3 desktop sitting in the trash with the note, “Works! No hard drive,” on it. I almost took it home, which shows how much I love Apple stuff, cause I really don’t need a slow computer with no hard drive, plug, or software. Or, you know, a monitor. But I could definitely use one of these: Read More... Posted Apr 28 2008, 09:30 AM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: gadgets, Apple, computers, tech, Geek Out

• Microsoft Surface Hits The Streets April 17th

  Okay, a recap for those of you late to the party: - Microsoft’s answer to the iPhone is an app called Surface, which is essentially a big-ass touch screen table. - Recent reports stated that Surface would be ready to release commercially in 2011. Which, you know, is a while from now. Okay, all caught up? Find out where you can play with your own Big-Ass Table, after the jump. Read More... Posted Apr 02 2008, 02:00 PM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: gadgets, Microsoft, computers

• No Joke: Flexible USB Keyboard with Skype Phone

  I hate that we have to specify today when ridiculous items come down the pike, but this is definitely one of the cooler keyboards I’ve seen, especially for those of us who travel a lot. Specs and pricing, after the jump...    Read More... Posted Apr 01 2008, 02:00 PM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: gadgets, computers

• Free For You And Me: Photoshop Express

  Why waste money on a full version of Photoshop, like a sucker, when you can now grab it online for free? Adobe has released a very basic version of their industry standard image editing software for free, online, for anyone. There’s even 2GB of image storage available, which is more than enough for all of your LOLCat creation needs. [Free, Photoshop.com] Posted Mar 28 2008, 04:00 PM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: computers, Free, software

• Product Porn: Macs Rule, Vista Drools

  Posting a video of an embedded ad from the New York Times might just be the dorkiest thing I've ever put on this blog: [Via Mac Daily News]  Posted Mar 24 2008, 12:00 PM by Alex Zalben with | with no comments Filed under: computers, Product Porn, Macs

• Fun With It: USB Flash Drives

  [$14.99, Wowzzers]  NotCot's highlight of this USB exercise dog flash drive made me think of all the fun designers seem to have with the flash drive in general. I'm so curious about who comes up with this stuff! For your viewing/shopping pleasure, some additional cute-as-heck flash drives on the market: Read More... Posted Feb 29 2008, 03:23 PM by Steph Auteri with | with no comments Filed under: gadgets, computers, tech

• A Clean Workspace

  Notice anything special about this workspace? Yes? No? Look closely.  It's the completely lack of loose cords. BlueLounge, creators of the incredibly handy dandy Cableyoyo, have come out with a new product — the SpaceStation.   Read More... Posted Feb 28 2008, 09:30 AM by Steph Auteri with | with no comments Filed under: gadgets, computers, tech, clutter

• Two, Two, Two Drives in One

  Here’s a fun fact: some people aren’t large businesses. Did you know that? It’s true. In fact, I myself am not a large business. Yet, sometimes, I’d like to be able to use a RAID as large businesses do, without spending thousands of dollars to set one up. Enter Lacie, who have released a fantastically priced, not closet sized expansion on their d2 Extreme series, the Lacie 2big Triple (2 Disk Raid). Not only do you get a Terabyte (!) of storage, the rack is loaded with two 500 GB swappable drives, FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 interfaces, and runs at 7200 rpm... Read More... Posted Feb 13 2008, 01:30 PM by Alex Zalben with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: gadgets, electronics, computers