After its launch on February 2006, Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1 is poised to mark its place on the world of digital cameras. Although it is not "pocketable" compared to other cameras, TZ1 has its own charms to entice many customers. First, it is considerably less bulky than its 'SLR-like' siblings and their competitors, and although it offers little in the way of truly manual control, it is packed with features like its superb 5.0 million effective pixels, 10x (35-350mm equiv.) Leica DC Vario-Elmarit optical zoom, 2.5-inch(270,000) High Resolution LCD, MEGA OIS image stabilization, Venus III Engine processor,  Fast Linear autofocus system and 18 scene modes which ranges from Portrait, Soft Skin, Scenery, Sports;to Self-Portrait, Fireworks, Beach, Aerial Photo, Snow, High Sensitivity and Night Portrait.

It also available in two color options - silver or black - though this may not be the case for every country and/or every retailer. Its built-in flash has options like Auto with red-eye reduction, Slow synch with red-eye reduction, Forced on/off, and has a range of 0.3 - 3.7m (Auto ISO, wide) to a whopping 1.0 - 2.4m (Auto ISO, wide).

You can store data on its massive 13.4MB internal memory and it is SD / MMC compatible. It runs on a Li-on battery pack that is included in the package and has free optional AC adapter. It has dimensions pf 112 x 58.1 x 40.2 mm (4.41 x 2.29 x 1.58 in) and only weighs 234 g (7.3 oz).

Is your PSP battery pack draining your resources? Then you can thank Sebastian S. Kresge for this. Sebastian who? Kresge put up a five-and-ten-cent store back in 1899. A million years later that store became K-Mart, which currently sells original PSP battery packs for $4 each. But wait, there's more. If you're also in the market for a PSP Car Adapter, K-Mart has that, too, for $3. Like we said, thank Sebastian Kresge for that!

Imagine you're walking down a dark street, completely devoid of other people except that one weird-looking guy who's been following you around for quite sometime now. The faster you walk, the faster he walks. Now you can sense that he is about to pounce on you. Do you use your martial art skill (which you learned after attending a one-day free lesson)? Do you call 9-1-1 hoping they would find you still breathing? Or do you send that mugger to dreamland with your retro cell phone stun gun?

If you lived in Japan and have $867, you could purchase the Shock Stick, a retro-style working cell phone that doesn't have SMS, cam, or digital music player. But it does come with a stun gun feature. Flip the volume switch up and the top of the phone emits an electromagnetic wave powerful enough to deliver a lethal shock.

Here's what we don't understand. Why a retro-style cell? Wouldn't it be a dead give-away if you saw someone actually using the huge brick-sized descendant of today's mobiles? (That alone should discourage any one with criminal intent - why mug someone who can't afford a more updated phone?) We think if the stun gun battery pack have been completely discharged, and the the attacker is still up and about, the retro cell can be used to bash his head open. We can't say for sure. We got lost in the translation.

TPMC-4X Handheld Touchpanel Control is the smart and hi-tech version of the universal remote. The futuristic-looking device provides a powerful wireless control solution that's "easy to hold and intuitive to use." When Crestron, its manufacturer, said it's a smarter and hi-tech version of the universal remote, they really meant it. It provides true-feedback for every connected device such as audio, video, satellite radio, lighting, security, or climate control.

It has a 3.5" active-matrix color touchscreen display capable of producing 16-bit graphics with 3D effects, high-res images, dynamic graphics and text, translucency, and full-motion animation for viewing video content from sources. But it also doubles as a wireless security video monitor. The TPMC-4X has a built-in support for wireless streaming video from a variety of 3rd-party Web cameras and servers using motion-JPEG format.

Its integrated 802.11b Wi-Fi technology delivers secure, high-speed 2-way wireless communication with computers, and media servers on existing wireless LAN. You can use the TPMC-4X to search tracks and titles on your music server with the cover art graphics. Besides the touchpanel, it has a 5-way thumbpad controller, side-mounted toggle wheel, and 13 additional programmable push buttons. Every button can be set to for volume control, channel selection, on-screen menu navigation, and even pan/tilt camera control.

It is powered by a fast-charging, long-lasting Lithium Ion battery pack without the "memory" issues typical of other rechargeable batteries. The TPMC-4X adjustable standby mode preserves the battery for up to a week without recharging but if you need to juice up the batts, the included docking station provides charging convenience with an elegant appearance. As far as we know, the only thing that trumps the TPMC-4X is that universal remote Adam Sandler had in the movie Click.

Sony issued a warning to all PSP owners not to use third party battery to power up their PSP. The company urged the use of genuine Sony battery pack to protect against "the danger of ignition and explosion etc."  Sony said while they can guarantee the standards of their battery pack, other brands could cause "accident and breakdown and it is dangerous".

They also said to be on the look out for fake Sony battery packs since any damage caused the company cannot be held responsible for any damages cause by these knock-offs and third party battery packs. If you have experienced any kind of damage from using party battery packs other than Sony's, you may tell Sony about it. We don't think they will replace your PSP, but at least they can tell other PSP users "we told you so."

Ex-marine Brad Collum has written down eight ways to kill someone with an iPod Nano. They include some original ways, so check 'em out. Anyone willing to try these out?

1. Break it in half with your hands (very easy to do) and use the glass viewing screen's broken edge as a razor blade to slice the jugular when they are looking the other way.

2. Take off one sock (a dress or tube sock; pantyhose will work in a pinch), place the Nano in the sock, swing it around as fast as you can (being careful to not hit yourself), and whack the intended target right on the temple.

3. Take the reflective shiny part and catch the sun's ray and shine it in a vehicle driver's eyes, or if you are at a rock concert and the lead singer is prancing around on a center stage that protrudes into the audience like a phallus, you can use the same technique.

4. The cord on the earbud headphones can be used to strangle someone. A knee in the back can give extra leverage.

5. Dig a pit about 5 feet deep, then take about 15 3-foot-long stakes 2 inches in diameter and sharpen one end to a fine point, like a very sharp pencil. Jam the sticks at least a foot into the ground, with the sharp ends pointing up. Cover the hole with pine boughs, grass, and leaves. Treat the Nano like a slice of cheese pizza in a deep, hot oven and place it gently in the middle.

6. Carefully unstaple a tea bag and pour the contents on a plate. Break into the lithium-ion battery pack and saturate the tea with the battery's poison, then dry the tea in the sun (or with a hair dryer if you are in a hurry). Put tea back in tea bag and bend the staple back to its original position. Put the tea bag back where you got it.

7. Download to the Nano "We've Only Just Begun" by the Carpenters. Tell someone you will give him or her your Nano if they listen to that song a hundred times in a row.

8. Hide the Nano in a bowl of lutefisk, then take it to the annual Norsefest Lutefisk Eating Competition in Madison, Minnesota.

If you don't mind being a walking clock and having pairs of eyes constantly looking at you, then maybe you oughta give the digital clock t-shirt some space in your closet.

This unisex shirt has four AAA batteries neatly tucked in a hidden and completely washable compartment. The batteries could go for 12-36 hours depending on what mode you set your clock to (digital clock or stopwatch mode). If you don't feel like a walking clock, you could always turn it off since a switch is provided for that.

It sells for roughly $60 bucks a pop. I personally want one -- I'll set it one hour ahead then I'll ride the train or the bus during rush hours just to make my fellow commuters panic because they'll think they'll be late or something (that's priceless)! Digital Clock T-Shirts must be hand washed and care must be taken to avoid folding the front panel and the battery pack must be removed prior to washing.

A month ago, we featured one of Benjamin J. Heckendorn's creation -- the portable NES which was the product of his tireless efforts and his innate, God-given talents. He even named it the nPod and some of you said that you want one of your own. Well, maybe you'll be able to play NES wherever and whenever you feel like it.

Recently, he presented a new prototype of the nPod. According to him, this new prototype uses a different kind of NES on a chip motherboard and is actually even smaller than the earlier nPod. It has an easy-to-use sliding battery pack in a clean and simple styling. Now, it also sports a headphone jack! He also shares that customization would also be possible, "such as all the gray parts could be a different color, for instance." Neat creation!

When the prototype is finished, there will be a cushion strip at the bottom for your fingers. The whole unit is barely bigger than the cartridge. And since nothing is free in this world nowadays, this contraption is for sale and he is thinking of making some of these for mass consumption. Now, he is asking you if $250 is a good enough price tag for it and if more features were added in, such as TV out and system link, would a $300 price tag be alright? Tell us through your comments.

iPod owners know for a fact that battery performance is very important to ensure full music enjoyment while on the go. With the 5th generation and video iPods, external battery packs become more essential than ever. If you scour the net, you'd find commercial ones selling for as low as $12. You can opt for the more expensive packs with price range between $20 and $50. Belkin makes the most popular pack which uses 4AA batteries (rechargeable or disposable) and sticks to the back of the iPod via a suction cup.

If you've been looking around for rechargeable all-in-one packs, that just means you have money to spend on products like the Battery ii, which gives 40-70 hours of non-stop music, or 15 hours of video on the 5G. It retails for $99 but some online retailers sell it a lower price of $29. If you are loyal to Belkin, it'sTunePower is being sold for $80. It claims 8-10 hours of extra audio time. Without an AC adapter, it charges only via a powered FirewWire port or Apple's AC adapter. Of course, there are other brands like Technuity Energizer ER-i150 with over 7 hours of video playback time and the Nyko iBoost.

But of course, nothing beats cheap homemade USB chargers. Newer iPods can charge via USB ports which require a constant 5-volt power supply. A guy named Jeff McFadden was able to make an iPod Shuffle charger by wiring a voltage regulator that takes 7 volts in and gives 5 volts out to a 9-volt battery. Though this is not efficient, it works fine for a Shuffle or even a nano. There's also the clever MintyBoost charger that makes use of 2 AA batteries with voltage-boosting electronics which was said to offer 1 full recharge of up to 3 hours on 5Gs. It's placed inside an Altoid gum tin, hence the minty name.

If you think that's a really clever idea, you'd find stranger homemade batteries. Some people even made use of soap dishes, and band-aid tin cans, and they actually work. No kidding.

We all know that different iPod models fit different personalities, but with all the battery charger packs available in the market plus the homemade ones, you're sure to find one that fits your personality and your budget.