The Future of Portable Power

You may remember me writing about the $100 laptop from the One Laptop Per Child Project (OLPC) a little over a year ago. That little computer will be one of the first things that will be powered by Potenco’s hand-held Pull-Cord Generator (PCG).

The PCG is very portable with its 2.5-by-3.5-inch height/diameter and 14-ounce weight. It highly resembles a yo-yo, and you pull the string on it repeatedly to receive the power you need to run all your toys for hours. Basically one pull will let you listen to one song on your iPod. A whole minute of constant pulling will give you three hours on your iPod shuffle, one hour on an LED flashlight or about 20 minutes on your cell phone. If anything, all the pulling will give you a good little calorie-burn workout for your arms.


Thinking about the PCG with a green hat, it will be great in places where people have limited or no access to electricity. Even for us city folk this would be useful, especially out in the boonies when you’re camping. You can power water purifiers, GPS devices, PDAs, rechargeable batteries and more. It’s definitely meant for rugged use since it is water-, dust- and drop-resistant too! Keep in mind at its peak, you’ll squeeze about 20 watts from it. Not bad!

Unfortunately, you cannot purchase one of these pull-cord generators yet, but check out Potenco’s website: www.potenco.com. Going back to the OLPC Project mentioned earlier, if you are still interested in participating and missed the first round, an XO laptop is now $200. This money will fund a laptop that will be sent to a child in a developing nation. If you wait for a little while, however, beginning Nov. 12 the Give 1 Get 1 program launches.

With this program, $399 will buy you two laptops. One will be sent to an overseas child, and second one to your child. This is probably the closest thing you can do to purchase one for yourself too. Log onto www.xogiving.org for more information.

Keepon The BeatBot

When I saw this little guy, I just had to write a little something about him - the BeatBot named Keepon. He’s so cute and sort of reminds me of the Nintendo character Pikachu, the famous yellow character with the pointed ears you see in the Pokemon anime and video games. But I guess realistically, he more looks like a yellow snowman.

Keepon is a small yellow robot with four motors, rubber skin, cameras for eyes and a microphone for a nose. He is designed to interact with children (or children at heart) by communicating attention and emotion. He’ll respond to any visual or aural stimuli, such as waving your hand in front of him, or just singing some music at him. When you interact with him, it’s almost as if you’re dancing with him since he has four degrees of freedom. He can rock side to side or bob up and down (up to 15 mm).


Keepon was developed by Hideki Kozima from the National Institute of Information Communications Technology (NICT) in Japan, and is currently being used for research on social development and communication.

Another robot in the works is Roillo. He has similar traits to Keepon, but will be a lower cost.

Unfortunately you cannot purchase Keepon or Roillo yet, but in the meantime, check out the website for more information and catch a video of Keepon in action: http://beatbots.org

Turning Your Laptop Into A GPS

On the local scene, people who drive around often to different, unfamiliar places for their jobs (i.e. Realtors), a map book (if you’re old school) or a Global Positioning System (GPS) is nearly vital to find your way around, even on our little island. The rest of us who live here usually only need these for off-island trips to the Mainland or abroad.

That in mind, Microsoft recently announced the latest Streets & Trips 2008 With Connected Services. This takes away the need to spend boatloads of money on a single GPS device that could cost you half a grand (or more) of your hard-earned moolah. This piece of software, along with the included SiRFstar III locator you plug into your USB port, turns your PC laptop into a portable GPS.

The highlighted new features with this release include traffic updates, gas information, automatic re-routing and perspective map view. Through MSN Direct, receive traffic updates with construction and incident information so you can avoid unexpected delays. Running on fumes? The gas information helps you locate the nearest gas station without having to be hooked up to an Internet connection.

The re-routing feature is a woman’s best friend. If you took a wrong turn and lost your way, this automatic re-routing will help you go back in the correct direction (similar to what a Garmin or TomTom GPS would do). It takes awhile for it to notice you’re off track, perhaps after you passed it 300-400 feet. I guess that’s one of the benefits you receive by paying more for a full-on GPS. Those will recalculate your route almost immediately.


One of my favorites is the perspective map view, since it gives you a similar look at what you would see through the windshield of your car. This is basically a 3D-view, and extremely helpful since you can see more details of your immediate surroundings, and you can see farther ahead with fewer details. On a regular 2D map, you would have to zoom out to see more of the details. You can adjust the zoom levels from one mile to 28 miles with the perspective view.

In addition to these, here are some of the previous features that are still included: spoken directions - you don’t have to continually look down at your screen; full-screen map view; driving guidance; updated mapping data; dynamic turn view - automatically zooms into the current position; night map style for enhanced views of maps and directions for easy reading in the dark, and too many more to list.

Although Microsoft has had map software out for about 10 years, this is first time I tried it, and enjoyed playing with it. It’s a nice little software package! Its only drawback for me is that it is not available for the Mac, but if you have a PC laptop you travel with often, this is perfect. For me, at home, I can’t really take full advantage of the capabilities, but I will definitely take this with me on our next road trip on the Mainland in a few months.

Microsoft Streets & Trips 2008 With Connected Services is compatible with Microsoft XP or Vista, and retails for $179.99. Slightly cheaper options (with not as many features) are Microsoft Streets & Trips with GPS Locator ($99.95), Streets & Trips ($39.95) and AutoRoute 2007 ($39.95) for your European travel.

For more information on all the options, check out www.microsoft.com/streets. To purchase, find it at your nearest Best Buy (www.bestbuy.com), CompUSA (www.compusa.com) or at www.amazon.com

Heavenly Sword

Ever since I saw it at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2006, I’ve had my eye on Sony’s PlayStation 3 (PS3) game Heavenly Sword. It’s been a long wait with much anticipation for many PS3 owners, but it’s finally here since the release last week.

The game’s style slightly reminds me of God of War-type gameplay. If you’ve played it you know exactly what I’m talking about - first person, action-adventure, while you use different button combos to perform fancy moves.You play through the game as Nariko, the daughter of the clan’s leader, Shen. This clan is a warrior group that guards the famed Heavenly Sword, and you are the prophesied child, but ashamed of by the group since you’re a girl. Despite that, while growing up, your father still chose to train you as a warrior.

Those fighting skills come in handy after King Bohan, a ruthless man trying to capture the Heavenly Sword, invades your clan. Once he kills your father at the beginning of the game, this is the start of your wrath on King Bohan and his henchmen.

The first thing to catch my eye with this game are the graphics. Everything looks so picturesque and you can see the characters’ faces clearly, especially Nariko. You can see all the intricate details of her face and attire, especially her long, flowing red hair.

The Heavenly Sword you bear as Nariko transforms into three distinctive weapons - speed, range and power attacks, also known as stances.


Each is unique and used according to what type of adversary you’re fighting. The speed stance is your default, which you can use to unleash speed assaults. The range stance lets you use chain attacks for weaker enemies to deflect arrows flying at you. Last but not least, the power stance allows you to deliver slow, yet extremely powerful blows to the stronger guys, and allows you to block them. You’ll know when they’re about to attack when you see an orange glow around them (or a blue glow for the weaker folks).

As you progress through the game and gain experience, you’ll unlock new combos and attacks. There are a total of nine Superstyle attacks, three for each stance.

Varying the use of the three attack types to the specific enemy-type is vital since they’re the quickest and most efficient way to defeat your enemy. Playing with the various combos keeps the game interesting as you’re fighting off thousands of enemies.

My favorites are the aerial combos. You can jump up, knock your adversaries off their feet and sort of fly through the air. This is one of the things you can do to take advantage of your PS3 controller’s SIXAXIS motion control feature.

Additionally, you can use the SIXAXIS when you’re throwing or launching an object, and shooting arrows. Once the object flies out of your hands, the screen follows it and you can move it left or right, up and down according to where your target is. Don’t expect it to be as a Nintendo Wii controller is - the movement is very subtle in comparison.

Through the game you’ll also see Kai, Nariko’s odd sister. She is not quite as strong or experienced enough to fight on the same level as you, but she can do her own tricks. With her, you can use the SIXAXIS to control the arrows shot from her bow.

Overall I think Heavenly Sword is awesome! From the storyline to the graphics, to Nariko’s moves, this game will keep you interested. The game did take about four years to make, so I wouldn’t expect anything less. My only complaint about it is that it was incredibly fast to finish - roughly six to eight hours total. Your finish time will depend on how fast you pick up on the gameplay. On the positive side, after you finish the game the first time you can unlock the Hell Mode, and go back and replay everything using this harder mode.

You can find Heavenly Sword for $59.99 at your nearest CompUSA (www.compusa.com), Best Buy (www.bestbuy.com) or GameStop (www.gamestop.com). Note that it’s rated T for Teen, one-player all the way, and only available for the PS3.

Upconverting DVDs With Oppo

Before going further, I need to explain what a DVD upconverter does. In a nutshell, these devices allow digital information stored on your DVD to be transmitted directly to your high-definition TV (HDTV) and not have to be converted to an analog signal first. It usually takes the lowest screen resolution on a DVD and upconverts it to the higher resolution offered by an HDTV.

So an idea popped into my mind from recent discussions around my office about how the resolution of a Blu-ray (or HD-DVD) player would compare to a good DVD upconverter player. Of course, the quality of an upconverter will not look exactly as a Blu-ray player would, but the questions posed are: Is it worth buying a Blu-ray player if the DVD upscaling looks really good on an upconverter? Those next generation Blu-ray/HD-DVD disks are so expensive, so isn’t it better to buy an upconverting DVD player rather than replace your entire DVD collection?

The answers to those broad questions are yes and yes, if that makes sense. If you’re already planning on buying a Blu-ray player or PlayStation 3 (comes with a built-in Blu-ray player), then you’re set. But if you don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on a PS3 or a Blu-ray player, then an upconverter is definitely the way to go.

With that in mind, my husband and I actually took our PS3 and some Blu-ray movies he had in DVD format over to the boss’ house to compare to the resolution on his Oppo DVD player. Side by side, we watched clips of a few movies and saw very subtle differences to the DVD play vs. the Blu-ray. The conclusion we came to is that since the difference is not that much, especially to most lay peoples’ eyes, it’s definitely worth an upscaler.

I know there are many DVD upscalers out there, but after that experience I wanted to review the latest Oppo player, the DV-981HD. As I popped it out of the box, one of the first things I noticed is that it comes with an HDMI cable. That alone impressed me! Those cables are not cheap, so most companies don’t even bother to include it with the products. (By the way, do not ever buy an HDMI cable from a retail store - always buy it online. You’ll pay much, much less.)

After getting everything situated and plugged in, I compared this Oppo to my PS3. Aesthetically speaking, it is fairly thin with a sleek black color, and a cool-looking blue glowy light. I fancy the blue glow, but I could see how it could annoy and distract others from their movie-watching experience. No problem if it disturbs you, you have the option to turn it on or off as desired.

The DV-981HD will upconvert your 720x480 interlaced video encoded DVDs to 480p/720p/1080i and 1080p. It plays all versions of DivX video (including DivX 6). XviD, .SRT, .SMI, .IDX and .SUB formats are supported as well. For you audio fanatics, Super Audio CD, DVD, SACD, mp3, HDCD are supported too. If you have any PAL disks (from outside North America), no worries - just enter the code 9210 after pulling up your setup menu, then 0 - that turns your 981-HD into a region-free player.

Your audio and video connectivity is more than sufficient with its HDMI output, since HDMI supports both. For other options, audio you have optical, coaxial, analog stereo and multi-channel outputs. Alternate video options include S-video and a composite video output.

Together, all these things make it an awesome, truly universal, just about do-it-all upconverter player. I would highly recommend purchasing this if you have no plans to purchase a Blu-ray or HD-DVD player in the near future.

You can find the Oppo DV-981HD at www.oppodigital.com for $229 (plus shipping). Unfortunately this particular Oppo model is not available locally, but you can order it from Amazon (www.amazon.com) with no shipping charge. Before you purchase this, make sure you have a TV that can support HDMI.

The Fastest Internet Service In Hawaii

It looks like Hawaiian Telcom has quite a bit going on lately. Last week I wrote about their TrueSwitch program. A few days later, they announced Hawaii’s fastest Internet service. Now the option for 11 megabits per second (Mbps) download speed is available to you. If that number means nothing to you, trust me, it’s fast!

The Hawaiian Telcom High-Speed Internet (HSI) is possible with its investment of more than $100 million into systems and network upgrades over the last two years. One of the results of this is the new Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) network. This is what makes the faster service possible.

“This acceleration in speed establishes a performance benchmark against which all other providers will be measured,” said Mike Ruley, Hawaiian Telcom’s chief executive officer. “Our investment in our Next Generation High-Speed Internet provides broadband access using the most advanced technology available and brings us another step closer to priming our network for the delivery of our digital video service,” he added.

For the moment, if you’re in Metro/East Honolulu, Ewa Beach, Mililani, Waipahu and Wahiawa, you’ll be able to access this new HSI. As for the outer islands, Hilo on the Big Island and Makawao on Maui have it too. For those of you not in these areas, be patient - Hawaiian Telcom is working on expanding this throughout the state for more coverage.

I can’t wait to try this new 11 Mbps speed (and thankfully I live in one of the covered areas). With the current service I have now I only receive a maximum of 6 Mbps. With HSI, it’ll be nearly double that! The speed upgrade will definitely make a huge difference for those of you that do tons of streaming video, large file downloads/uploads, and of course video games, but if you just do basic e-mailing and Internet surfing, you can survive with a more basic plan.

If you already have a phone line, the monthly charges are $29.99 for the low-end 3 Mbps, $39.99 for the 7 Mbps or $49.99 for the top 11Mbps. If you’re a Hawaiian Telcom myChoice bundle customer, you can upgrade from the 3 to 7 Mbps plan for an additional $4/month.

For folks that do not have land phone line, no worries, you can still take advantage of the service. The no-phone monthly prices are $34.99 for 3 Mbps, $44.99 for 7 Mbps and $54.99 for the much-coveted 11 Mbps. For more information call 643-0805 (residential), 643-0841 (business), or check out www.hawaiiantel.com.

Thunderbirds Coming To Hawaii

A little side note close to my heart for next weekend, the Air Force’s Thunderbirds team will have their demonstration off the shores of Waikiki on Saturday, September 15 at 2:30 p.m. Seating and narration will be at Ft. DeRussy.

All of next week is Air Force Week in Honolulu. The Air Force is celebrating its 60th birthday this year (September 18, 1947), and the events kicked off last Saturday, September 1. To see the rest of the events in Hawaii, check out www.pacaf.af.mil/library/airforceweekhonolulu.

iTunes To Stop Selling NBC Shows

I was a little disappointed to hear Apple’s latest announcement last week – the iTunes Store will stop selling NBC television shows for the next season!

That’s a bummer since NBC’s Heroes is one of my favorites. I have all the Heroes episodes from the first season on my iPod, and it would have been nice to have the next season too.

This decision is not Apple’s fault, and came after NBC decided not to renew its agreement with iTunes after Apple refused to pay more than double the wholesale price for each NBC episode. This would have resulted in us consumers paying $4.99 per episode as opposed to the current $1.99.

I respect that decision, since I definitely would not pay no $5 for one TV show! “We are disappointed to see NBC leave iTunes because we would not agree to their dramatic price increase,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “We hope they will change their minds and offer their TV shows to the tens of millions of iTunes customers,” he added.

I think NBC is shooting themselves in the foot a little since it supplied iTunes with three of its 10 best selling TV shows last season. That accounted for 30 percent of iTunes TV show sales. Despite this dispute with NBC, the other big guys – ABC, CBS, FOX, the CW and fifty other cable networks are signed up to still sell TV shows at the $1.99 rate. Anything can change, so we’ll see what happens.

Tech Expo For Consumers At Design Center

2007 Home Entertainment & Tech Expo

Mark this on your calendar for next weekend – a tech expo is coming to town on September 14 – 15, 12 – 6 p.m.

The Honolulu Design Center is presenting the Second Annual Home Entertainment and Tech Expo. This is the first major technology event that we’ll see here, and probably the closest thing we’ll see similar to the huge Consumer Electronics Expo held every year in Las Vegas.

Next week at the Honolulu Design Center, you’ll see the latest technologies in home entertainment, including SMART Homes, digital cameras, digital TV, mp3 players, computers, video games and more. On top of that, free seminars will be available for you to chat with the specialists. This event will definitely be geared to you, the consumer.

At the door, tickets will be $2, but if you pre-register, it’s free. Check out www.homeentertainmentandtechexpo.com to pre-register or call 237-3673 for any questions.

An Easy Way To Change Providers

I receive questions every now and then about switching Internet Service Providers (ISP), and which one is the best, cheapest, fastest - you name it. To that I say it all depends on what you’re looking for in an ISP. Some people require more speed than others. Heck, I even know of folks still using dial-up or no Internet in the home at all. Whatever your case may be now, I can tell you that if you’re looking to switch ISPs any time soon, Hawaiian Telcom just announced a solution offered with their service called TrueSwitch.

“We found a way to make our best value even better by removing the barriers to switching for customers who are unhappy with their current provider,” said Michael “Mac” McHale, Chief Marketing Officer. “Users no longer need to manually copy stored e-mails or address book content when they switch to Hawaiian Telcom High-Speed Internet. TrueSwitch takes care of all of that, quickly, easily and efficiently,” he added.

TrueSwitch is a creation from Esaya, a leading developer of online account-switching solution. You can use it to change from most e-mail service providers, including AOL, AT&T, Gmail, Hotmail, Juno, Netzero, Yahoo! Mail and more. There are four simple steps to follow to make it happen: copy, notify, forward and cancel.

It will copy your stored e-mails, address book entries, calendar events and favorites/bookmarks to your new account. You can then have it notify your contacts by sending an e-mail to everyone listed in your address book to tell them about your new e-mail address. It can keep checking your old e-mail for up to 30 days and will forward any messages received to your new account. It will even assist you with canceling your old account.


“More than 80 percent of users are switching from one ISP to another, and more than 90 percent consider e-mail interruption as one of the greatest barriers to making a switch,” said Thomas Isaac, CEO of Esaya Inc. “By offering TrueSwitch, our major partners have experienced a 28 percent reduction in new customer cancellation rates measured over a period of 90 days. We expect that Hawaiian Telcom will experience similar results,” he added.

Along with TrueSwitch, Hawaiian Telcom is currently offering a promotion that includes the following:

* $9.99/month for the first three months, $29.99/month thereafter

* Download speeds of up to 3.0 Mb/sec’

* Personal website with up to 100 MB of storage

* 10 e-mail accounts * Free Internet Security Suite by McAfee

* 24/7 local tech support *30-day money back guarantee

For a limited time, new subscribers will receive a complimentary subscription to Netflix (valued at $59.94) with activation of a new service. To qualify for this Netflix promotion, your high-speed Internet activation needs to be done in a Hawaiian Telcom retail store or online at www.hawaiiantel.com.

Check out www.trueswitch.com for more information about the TrueSwitch platform, or call Hawaiian Telcom at 643-3456 to inquire about additional high-speed Internet service plans.