Just when you thought the Spice Girls ruined U.K. rap, along comes Mike Skinner, a pub-crawling everyman spilling judgments about daily life, girls, and money. The smart-assed rhymespitter's latest highlights his ego and attachment to celebrity.
Former Archer of Loaf Eric Bachmann has forged a quiet path since the demise of his much-loved indie band. But don't take that solemn calm--spread over three lush records and a few EPs--as a sign of anything but strong reserve. With Bachmann's latest under the Crooked Fingers moniker, his poetic laments find fruition.
Too busy getting stock-market-induced whiplash this week to stay up on Crave? No worries, we've got you covered. Here's a look back at some of the truly interesting, strange, and wonderfully silly stories we Craved.
• The big Storm finally made landfall, and CNET's Bonnie Cha braved the elements to file a detailed report (see video above).
• HDTV prices: how low can they go?
• Asus' Eee PC went premium and got touchy.
Antec's open-air case lets you breathe easy.
(Credit: Antec)• If you're into world domination, you may want one of these.
• Renting Blu-ray on Netflix? It'll cost you.
• Antec's open-air PC case let the sun shine in.
• Don't forget: we'll be on hand to cover every word of Apple's October 14 event--even if the invite gave us a pretty clear idea of what Jobs and Co. will be talking about.
See anything we missed? Got a gadget tip we should know about? Drop us a line at crave dot cnet dot com. And have a great weekend!
It's all the goods from Crave. Crave's Brian Tong and Bonnie Cha talk about the new BlackBerry Storm, a reversible jacket for all conditions, and a Little Big Planet to play in.
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Similar to what happened two weeks ago, new Samsung models dominated the Federal Communications Commission's approval database this week. Because the FCC has to certify every phone sold in the United States, not to mention test its SAR rating, the agency's online database offers a lot of sneak peeks to those who dig. And to save you the trouble, Crave has combed through the database for you. Here are a selection of filings from the past week on new and upcoming cell phones. Click through to read the full report.
Huawei T521
Samsung SCH-B269
Samsung SCH-M490
Samsung SCH-W229
Samsung SCH-W690
Samsung SGH-I900L
Netbooks: So little, so ubiquitous
So, I'm thinking about changing the name of this feature to "The week in Netbooks." Seriously. This week we had rumors and then confirmation of Asus' "premium" Netbook, the Eee PC S101. The company also confirmed that 2009 will bring a touch-screen Eee PC. Meanwhile, the MSI Wind made its way to retail store shelves even as rumors of its successor, the Wind U120, made their way to the Web. And software maker CyberLink hopped on the bandwagon, announcing a Linux version of its PowerDVD movie player so you can watch films on that tiny Netbook screen.
Of course, to change the name of the feature we'd have to define the term "Netbook"--oh, look, Best Buy has handily done it for us.
If you like the Netbook price tag but want something a little larger, check out the 15.6-inch Acer Aspire 5735 we reviewed this week, which costs a mere $399. (It's certainly preferable to the Compaq Presario CQ50-215nr, which we don't recommend.) We also reviewed the opposite of a Netbook, the 18-inch Toshiba Qosmio G55-Q802, as well as the stylish (though flawed) Mobile Edge Element laptop briefcase.
Elsewhere in the news, Best Buy announced a new product initiative with two new "Blue Label" laptops: the HP Pavilion dv3510nr and the Toshiba Satellite E105. The launch of Sprint's Xohm network in Baltimore brought with it WiMax-equipped laptops from Acer, Toshiba, Lenovo, and Asus. And our colleagues at Crave Asia have found one laptop accessory to eliminate fatigue.
And finally, some company in Cupertino is going to make a laptop-related announcement next Tuesday. Of course, we'll be there, so stay tuned!
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- laptops
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(Credit: Activision)It's been interesting to hear Sarah Palin, the Republican VP nominee, accusing Barack Obama of "palling around with terrorists"--a huge distraction, in my opinion, from the economic crisis and other pressing issues. If that's not the kind of distraction you enjoy, I have another that might prove more fun.
Activision announced Friday that its new first-person shooter Secret Service will be released later this year for three platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, and the PC. The title will let players assume the role of an elite agent tasked with protecting America's top leadership under high pressure.
The story takes place on Inauguration Day in Washington D.C. An extremist assault has been launched against the capitol and it's unclear who's friend or foe. There's no time for negotiation as players get thrust into the line of fire to protect the nation's leaders. The action takes place among famous landmarks and everywhere in between, including both Marine One and Air Force One.
Secret Service will cost $39.99 for the Xbox 360, $29.99 for PlayStation 2, and $19.99 for PC. Now with all the confusion and distraction going in the political arena, I think it's necessary to say that this game is not approved, endorsed, or authorized by the real U.S. Secret Service.
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One of the hardest accessory questions to answer is, "Should I spend more for a really fast card for my camera?" Only Rob Galbraith knows for sure, because he has the time to test them all. But he kindly packages the results in a neat database so you can see how well a particular card performs in your camera.
Rob's just added results for the Canon EOS 50D, Nikon D90, and Sony DSLR-A900. Unsurprisingly, in newer models, the SanDisk Extreme III Ducati cards seem to be the fastest CF cards across the board, and the Extreme III 30MB/sec edition takes the SD crown.
Click for larger view.
A majority of digital picture frames purchased are given as gifts. (Honestly, I'm not sure if this is a factual statistic or if it's just what I think is true.) There is something very cold and impersonal about digital picture frames, however. That's where GiveaDigitalFrame.com comes in.
For $129, you pick an occasion, write a personal message, and upload up to 30MB of JPEG images to the site and the company sends out a gift-wrapped 7-inch digital frame along with a 1GB SD card loaded with the images you uploaded. Shipping's included, too, so all in all it's not a bad deal, assuming the frame isn't complete crap. It looks nice at the very least.
Both the frame and the SD card carry the manufacturers' warranties (one year for the frame, lifetime for the card). The site just launched, so I haven't used the service and I'm not endorsing it, but I might just give it a shot this holiday season.
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The aptly named "Ouch" lenses give you that striking blood-filled-eye look.
(Credit: CoastalContacts.com)CoastalContacts.com has quite the extensive collection of special-effects contact lenses for All Hallow's Eve this year--more than 130 styles to make you look like a zombie, wild animal, or overall freaky person.
The site says all of its Halloween lenses are FDA-approved, which somehow has us imagining FDA scientists gathered around a conference table, debating the safety of, say, the Banshee, Darth, and Psycho models over the Risen-Dead, Sith, and LeStat lenses.
All styles are available in prescription power, as well as plano (no corrective power), so you don't have to compromise your eyesight to look like a woodland orc. They cost anywhere from $35 a lens to $215 a lens for the sclera models, large diameter lenses that cover all or most of the eye for that extra-creepy effect.
Coastal Contacts notes that while its custom-made lenses will make you spookier for Halloween, some people may opt to wear them year-round. The site says many people like the bright blue Angelic lenses for a more everyday look, though we warn you: they may have people wondering if your mother mated with a peacock.
Of course, we tend to agree that these lenses could have uses beyond Halloween. Pop in the Flames, for example, and your boss will have a really hard time not believing you have a high fever and need to go home early.
