Omni Corporation GAC1-SS Taste/Odor Carbon Water Filter

Mio DigiWalker P550

On paper, the Mio DigiWalker P550 looks to be an attractive gadget for the mobile professional, combining the capabilities of a PDA and GPS into one device. However, its poor battery life and subpar navigation skills tell a different story.

via CNET Reviews - Top Rated PDAs

Nokia N800 Internet Tablet

Though it won't appeal to the masses quite yet, the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet is a nice, portable device for on-the-go Web browsing, and it has some worthy upgrades.

via CNET Reviews - Top Rated PDAs

Sony Ericsson W300i (AT&T)

Though it has a few design and performance glitches, the Sony Ericsson W300i is a quality, basic MP3 cell phone.

via CNET Reviews - Most Popular Cell Phones and Accessories

Thanks to CAFE, Detroit three (finally) embrace diesels

Filed under: Car Buying, Etc., Green

Diesel vehicles have nearly a 50-percent market share in Europe, thanks to tax incentives and diesel-friendly legislation across the EU. Diesels are so passé there that you can buy a BMW 730d and no one will think it odd that your luxury car burns oil. Pull up in a diesel 7-Series in America and people would leer at you like you've alighted from an amphibious vehicle reeking of saltwater and dead trout.

But now, thanks to the oft-reported combo of newly-raised CAFE standards, not-so-newly-raised gas prices, and the 50-state diesel engine, GM, Ford, and Chrysler are about to dip more than a hesitant toe into the diesel game. Chrysler offers a diesel in the Grand Cherokee, but soon all three automakers will offer diesels in their best-selling lineups of light trucks -- the Dodge Ram 1500 is expected to offer a 50-state diesel after 2009. Light trucks are being used to lead the charge since those buyers stand to gain the most with the least amount of (perceived) sacrifice.

Diesels currently have 3.2-percent of the American market. Some estimates put them at 15-percent by 2015. That's a huge leap, and diesel still has plenty of hurdles. Diesels will come with a cost premium over gasoline-engined cars. That should be easy enough to conquer -- incentives and some quick cost and longevity calculations should convince people of the benefit. The real hurdle is the nagging issue of perception. The plan will probably be to attack that with a price that makes the proposition unbeatable. Said Chrysler's director of environmental affairs, "If it's priced right, we can sell diesel here. Diesel can give you an immediate poke in fuel economy -- 20 to 40 percent. Not many technologies can deliver that today."

[Source: Detroit News]

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via Autoblog

Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

$22.99

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is a rollicking voyage in the same spirit of the two earlier Pirates films, yet far darker in spots (and nearly three hours to boot). The action, largely revolving around a pirate alliance against the ruthless East India Trading Company, doesn't disappoint, though the violence is probably too harsh for young children. Through it all, the plucky cast (Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush) are buffeted by battle, maelstroms, betrayal, treachery, a ferocious Caribbean weather goddess, and that gnarly voyage back from the world's end--but with their wit intact. As always, Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow tosses off great lines ; he chastises "a woman scorned, like which hell hath no fury than!" He insults an opponent with a string of epithets, ending in "yeasty codpiece."!

In the previous The Curse of the Black Pearl, Sparrow was killed--sent to Davy Jones' Locker. In the opening scenes, the viewer sees that death has not been kind to Sparrow--but that's not to say he hasn't found endless ways to amuse himself, cavorting with dozens of hallucinated versions of himself on the deck of the Black Pearl. But Sparrow is needed in this world, so a daring rescue brings him back. Keith Richards' much ballyhooed appearance as Jack's dad is little more than a cameo, though he does play a wistful guitar. But the action, as always, is more than satisfying, held together by Depp, who, outsmarting the far-better-armed British yet again, causes a bewigged commander to muse: "Do you think he plans it all out, or just makes it up as he goes along?" As far as fans are concerned, it matters not. --A.T. Hurley

On the DVD
Here's something you can't say about just any DVD extras: There appears to be more of Keith Richards in the outtakes, interviews, and other special features on the At World's End disc than in the actual film. For those scenes alone, this special edition is well worth the price. Richards looks as woozy and gamey as all the rumors suggested, and answers questions he's not asked, with Johnny Depp sitting next to him, almost acting as a translator. Richards offers pithy comments like, "Everything I do is original, you better believe," and smiles when other cast members call him "Two-Take Richards" for supposedly nailing his scenes.

The packed second disc also includes a terrific mini-doc on how the filmmakers created the famous maelstrom, in an enormous hanger in Palmdale, California, with the ships floating 30 feet off the ground. "Just moving the Black Pearl was an enormous undertaking," says producer Jerry Bruckheimer with serious understatement. Other cool extras include "Tale of the Many Jacks," deleted scenes with great commentary, "The World of Chow Yun-Fat," a bio of composer Hans Zimmer, features on the set designers, a look at the impressive Brethren Court, and some hilarious bloopers. "You can't curse in a Disney film," deadpans Depp when a costar blurts out something blue. "See? I told him." The extras are truly as much of a rollicking adventure as the film. --A.T. Hurley

Beyond Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

Our Pirates of the Caribbean Store	Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl	Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Soundtrack	Why We Love… Bill Nighy	Johnny Depp Essential DVDs

Stills from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (click for larger image)

Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End (Widescreen Edition)

$14.99

In the previous Dead Man's Chest, Sparrow was killed--sent to Davy Jones' Locker. In the opening scenes, the viewer sees that death has not been kind to Sparrow--but that's not to say he hasn't found endless ways to amuse himself, cavorting with dozens of hallucinated versions of himself on the deck of the Black Pearl. But Sparrow is needed in this world, so a daring rescue brings him back. Keith Richards' much ballyhooed appearance as Jack's dad is little more than a cameo, though he does play a wistful guitar. But the action, as always, is more than satisfying, held together by Depp, who, outsmarting the far-better-armed British yet again, causes a bewigged commander to muse: "Do you think he plans it all out, or just makes it up as he goes along?" As far as fans are concerned, it matters not. --A.T. Hurley

Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End [Blu-ray]

$19.99

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas(tm) Official Strategy Guide (Signature)

by Rick Barba

$11.55

Average customer rating: 3.0 ISBN: 0744004292

Grand Theft Auto IV Signature Series Guide (Brady Games)

by BradyGames

$13.59

Average customer rating: ISBN: 0744009332

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (PS2) Official Strategy Guide (Official Strategy Guides (Bradygames))

by BradyGames

$11.55

Average customer rating: 3.0 ISBN: 0744009162

Closer

$9.99

Thanks to a fortuitous intersection of talent and fate, 22-year-old Josh Groban hasn't finished his senior year in performing arts school but has already released his sophomore effort on a major major label. Fans of the young vocal phenom's debut will find much to enthrall them here, even if it nudges the singer closer to the center of producer/mentor David Foster's MOR pop sensibilities. Eschewing much of its predecessor's more overt classic-lite pretensions and pop-rock covers for a slate of dramatic, Eurocentric ballads that serve as a showcase for the singer's inviting baritone, Groban shrewdly positions himself as the American alternative to the Bocelli-Watson crossover axis. "Caruso" may find the singer falling short of its operatic inspiration, but "Oceano" and "My Confession" quickly showcase his true dramatic range (which seems to all but yearn for a bona fide Broadway musical challenge), while a vocal take of Bacalov's graceful "Il Postino" theme uses classical virtuoso Joshua Bell's violin flourishes to good effect. To his credit, Groban displays some promising efforts at songwriting collaboration on the bittersweet "Per Te" and "Remember When It Rains," while the ambient/ethnic soundscape of Deep Forest's "Never Let Go" offers a teasing alternative to the record's otherwise melodramatic production formula. Groban has found commercial triumph via Foster's mentoring, but there remains a nagging sense here that he hasn't truly pushed himself as an artist--yet. --Jerry McCulley

The Confessions Tour - Live from London (CD+DVD)

$23.99

The world can't get enough of Madonna, and with CD/DVD sets like The Confessions Tour dropping regularly, it's little wonder why. As a thrower of fantasy dance parties, she is peerless. As a physical role model for the 40-ish women who grew up on her music, she rules. And as an arbiter of what's going to sound shockingly original in any given decade--well, duh. The Confessions Tour rounds up songs from way back--"Ray of Light" and "La Isla Bonita" make the DVD, and "Lucky Star" and "Like a Virgin" are on the CD as well as the DVD--but this concert, filmed in 2006 at London's Wembley Arena, aims its sturdiest spotlight on Confessions on a Dance Floor, Madge's 2005 disco disc. You could argue, then, that unless you're in it for the sheer DVD spectacle (and what a spectacle it is), there's no sense in owning this package. Only you wouldn't be right. Because as any on-the-ball Madonna fan knows, what she's doing musically is telling a story--you may already know the characters, but that doesn't mean she hasn't completely reworked the plot. To that end, "I Love New York" gets its rock on, "Let It Will Be" has a musical temper tantrum, and "Hung Up" goes for the drama queen award. You've heard these songs before, but you've never heard them quite like this, to borrow a bad informercial phrase. As twisted and hopped-up as they've become, they're all worth getting to know again. --Tammy La Gorce

Confessions on a Dance Floor

$10.97

Apparently there's nothing in Kabbalah that disallows sweaty, head-spinningly good dance music, because here comes a flame-haired Madonna hawking a dozen songs' worth: Confessions on a Dance Floor darts seamlessly from Madge's early days, when she emerged as the genre's enduring darling, through the political, kiddie, and acoustic pap that drove a wedge between her and early adopters of the fingerless glove look. Songs like the pop-leaning "Jump" and first single "Hung Up"--an adrenaline drip on high that, like many of these tracks, will inspire mild shame among those who've thrilled to the much thinner disco-dusted outpourings of younger divas recently--represent both a return to form and an unmistakable march into the future. "Get Together" is a sonic freak-out in the best sense; "Push" traffics in gut-level futuristic trance; and "Forbidden Love" loops in '80s blips and bleeps for a follow-me-into-the-past effect that's both neo and retro. For all the image-affirming innovations here, though, these confessions find Madonna framed in her share of reflective moments too. "Was it all worth it/How did I earn it?" she asks on "How High," a song featuring vocoder. "Nobody's perfect/I guess I deserve it," comes the answer. A later lyrical inquiry is left for the listener to judge: "Does this get any better?" Madonna wants to know. But that opens the door to a dizzying proposition. Few of us would have guessed, after all, that it got this good. --Tammy La Gorce

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