Easy listings: Everything about television is changing fast. One old standard for the living room TV set was that you kept a TV listings magazine close by with a listing of programs. These days, even that is changing. Nintendo is helping the process with its new software for the Wii game console the TV no Tomo. The interactive TV guide lets you peruse the upcoming delicacies on the TV menu and even bookmark them. The program can then send you an e-mail alert when your bookmarked program is starting. The software is free of charge and available for download at: www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/features/tv_no_tomo
Miked up iPod: Not even the iPod is perfect. The digital music wonder is short of an internal microphone, meaning that it cannot be used to record sound like a modern replacement for the venerable tape recorder. Logitec is offering one solution, an add-on external microphone, the LIC-iREC01. Compatible with all generations of iPod, the compact stereo microphone attaches to your iPod via its USB connection and once in place you can plug an audio source into it, or record sound directly to the iPod. The recordings can also be backed up to a PC. The stereo microphone has a sensitivity of -34dB and weighs just 16 grams. The gadget goes on sale this month with no pricetag announced yet. Details are available at: www.logitec.co.jp/press/2008/0305_02.html
Tough little PC: Intel's new Atom CPUs are branded with low expectations, low prices and power consumption and intended for smaller devices. Panasonic is adding a twist to the marketing by using the chips for a new ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) called the Toughbook, which was revealed last week. The names says it all as the small device, packing a 5.6-inch touchscreen, is intended to be water, dust and shock resistant. No word as yet on release date or pricetag with more information at: panasonic.co.jp/corp/news/official.data/data.dir/jn080305-1/jn080305-1.html?ref=news.