Looks like developed nations are finding a new kind of personal transport to be the possible next big thing, as large cities get more and more clogged up with traffic in their roads, compact urban transport inventions are the way to go. While the skateboard and rollerblades have long been a staple mode of “green” transport, technological innovations have resulted in electric powered versions already, with mini-scooters powered by electricity getting all the more popular. The latest of such transports is known as the Easyglider, and that could possibly eat into Segway’s market share should it take off. This external electric drive wheel allows you to tarry along at a steady 20 km/h as long as you’re with your pair of rollerblades, skateboard, or a connected wheel platform.

Though it is not official, those in the “know” say Apple is just hours away from announcing a new Wi-Fi enabled iPod designed to receive digital radio along with an option to buy content from the iTunes Store. It is not known whether the same functions will be included in the iPhone.

Other rumors about the new Wi-Fi iPod line suggest the inclusion of a wide-screen touch-screen interface like the iPhone, larger storage capacity, Flash based hard drive and a new version of the iPod Nano that can handle video.

On a personal note, I’m ready for a wide-screen iPod. Watching wide-screen formatted movies that I’ve ripped off of DVD on the small iPod screen has been giving me a headache.

Since the iPod’s release in 2001, the hand-held music player has gone from a fun toy to a cultural icon. But it may be time for a revamp. Last year Apple’s iPod sales dipped for the first time since 2002.

BeSocial: digg story | methodshop

With a total of 79 votes the winner of our recent caption competition is DocB with:

The latest in hands on technology

So congratulations DocB, a $20 TG voucher is on it’s way to you.

Our $600 gadget contest is still up and running, we’ve only had 3 entries so far so the odds are certainly in your favor.

We had 13 entries in our recent caption competition, I’ve narrowed it down to 4 but need help deciding the overall winner (who’ll be receiving a $20 Think Geek voucher). So please vote for which you think is the funniest (I’ll announce the winner in 48 hours).

(if you can’t see the vote control thingie click here)

We’ve also got a $600 gadget contest running at the moment, no entries as yet so if you fancy a go the chances are good…

The Latest in Shrunk Gadget Pics

I’ll give out a $20 Think Geek voucher to the funniest caption (via comment) for the above image, my entry “And then she said “Look no hands!”.

Image via Funniest Gadgets (though calling this a gadget is pushing it but hey!).

Contest closes in 48 hours from the date of this post (so 08 March 2007, 12.25 GMT).

Do you have a ton of DVDs? Want to watch them on your iPod? For years, the best DVD ripping program, Handbrake, was only available for Mac. But the unthinkable has happened. Handbrake has been ported for Windows. It’s still in the experimental beta stages, but you can download a PC version of Handbrake now.

If you are unfamiliar with Handbrake, it’s a GPL’d multiplatform, multithreaded DVD to MPEG-4 ripper/converter. Here’s a MethodShop.com tutorial on how to use Handbrake.

Features:

• Can encode directly from DVDs (even encrypted ones) or from VIDEO_TS folders
• Supports AC3, LPCM and MPEG audio tracks
• Outputs MP4, AVI or OGM files
• Outputs AAC, MP3 or Vorbis audio
• Supports 2-pass encoding
• Supports encoding of two audio tracks
• Includes a bitrate calculator
• Supports picture deinterlacing, cropping and scaling

Links:

• Handbrake for Mac
• Handbrake for Windows
• Handbrake tutorial

PC users looking for a super DVD-to-iPod easy solution should use DVD Copy by InterVideo.

digg story | methodshop

Did you get a lot of DVDs for Christmas? Want to watch them on your iPod? For years, the best DVD ripping program, Handbrake, was only available for Mac. But the unthinkable has happened. Handbrake has been ported for Windows. It’s still in the experimental beta stages, but you can download a PC version of Handbrake now.

If you are unfamiliar with Handbrake, it’s a GPL’d multiplatform, multithreaded DVD to MPEG-4 ripper/converter. Here’s a MethodShop.com tutorial on how to use Handbrake.

Features:

• Can encode directly from DVDs (even encrypted ones) or from VIDEO_TS folders
• Supports AC3, LPCM and MPEG audio tracks
• Outputs MP4, AVI or OGM files
• Outputs AAC, MP3 or Vorbis audio
• Supports 2-pass encoding
• Supports encoding of two audio tracks
• Includes a bitrate calculator
• Supports picture deinterlacing, cropping and scaling

Links:

• Handbrake for Mac
• Handbrake for Windows
• Handbrake tutorial

PC users looking for a super DVD-to-iPod easy solution should use DVD Copy by InterVideo.

digg story | methodshop