onthebuyside.com

Install this for the basement rec room. You’ll be the first in Greenwich but not the last!

Photos: Hybrid solar lighting | CNET News.com

Sunlight Direct’s system takes outdoor light and distributes it via plastic fiber-optic cables inside buildings.

Deal of the day: Samsung SyncMaster LCD monitor for $310 | News.blog | CNET News.com
Here’s a great deal on this highly rated 20-inch LCD monitor, which offers “impressive DVD and gaming performance,” according to CNET Reviews. But act fast–the offer is only good through today (Thursday).
SyncMaster

What: SyncMaster 204B 20″ LCD Monitor
How much: $309.99, after a $60 mail-in rebate
Shipping: free
Where: MacMall.com (via CNET’s Deal Exchange)
When: Through Thursday, Aug. 31

Box Pics, Specs of Sprint’s Treo 700wx Leaked, August 31 Release Date - Gizmodo

The world is holding its breath waiting for more details on Sprint’s version of the Palm Treo 700w, and, lo and behold, we’ve got some more info on the little wundergadget. Due to arrive on August 31, the most exciting tidbit of information that we have today is that the Treo will have double the amount of memory compared to its Verizon Wireless counterpart. Accordingly, the smartphone will see an “x” added to its name, thus making it the Sprint Treo 700wx by Palm. Presumably, the “x” stands for “expanded,” and hopefully not “extreme.”

There’s even more goodies today with several pictures of the box (!) making their way to the Internets.

Some luxury cars just aren’t as robust as their proletarian counterparts. When you are manufacturing for the masses it is imperative to eliminate mistakes that will have the customer in your showroom for non-purchase purposes. Luxury cars get a more personal touch - and humans being humans that can mean more mistakes.

Forbes says you may want to avoid these cars. We say, if you like ‘em, buy ‘em. In fact, buy two - you just might want a spare for redundant backup purposes.

Least Reliable Luxury Cars 2006 - Forbes.com

When you spend $76,000 for a car, you expect it to be bulletproof.

What you don’t expect is for Consumer Reports to call it “unreliable,” and for J.D. Power and Associates to give it below average ratings across a range of manufacturing quality measures.

But had you bought a 2006 Range Rover, both would be the case.

LAPTOP Magazine • Averatec 2260-EK1

The Averatec 2260-EK1 is an affordably priced notebook with sleek lines and a nice 12.1-inch widescreen display. Its dual-layer DVD burner is a nice perk for the price, but the poor battery life makes this system less than ideal for anything but the shortest of road trips.

Weighing in at 4.2-pounds, the 1.4-inch–thick 2260 is quite easy to tote around. The exterior casing has an attractive black matte finish with silver trim. The inside is all silver, including the full-sized keyboard, which was responsive and roomy. The scrolling touchpad maintains the same aspect ratio as the display and supports four-way scrolling. The mouse buttons were intermittently sluggish, requiring several clicks to get the job done.

Inspiron E1405 review by PC Magazine

Bottom Line: The 8 hours of battery life and luggable chassis are the big draws on the Dell Inspiron E1405.

Pros: Over 8 hours of battery life. Literally cool to operate. Very luggable. Great resolution on a 14-inch screen

Cons: Performance gain is minimal over the Intel Core Duos.

Nokia E62 preview by PC Magazine

The Bottom Line: A potential BlackBerry and Treo killer; look for this powerful handheld on a GSM carrier soon.

Pros: Very sharp screen. Comfortable keyboard. Wide range of e-mail and Web-browsing options.

Cons: Slab design isn’t comfortable to hold up to your head. Memory card slot is under the battery. Music and video syncing could be easier.

Still a few too many drawbacks for our taste, but they are getting really, really close. At some point, something like this is what we want.
LAPTOP Magazine • Sony VAIO VGN-UX180P

A true feat of design and engineering, the Sony VAIO UX Series Micro PC puts the power of a full-sized notebook into the palm of your hands. Designed for highly mobile professionals—or gadget hounds that love to show off—this Windows XP system crams a remarkable amount of technology into a 1.2-pound frame, including a surprisingly peppy Intel Core Solo processor, two cameras, and a fingerprint sensor. And unlike Samsung’s more affordable but underwhelming Q1 UltraMobile PC, this device sports a keyboard and wireless WAN capability. The question is whether users are truly ready to compute on a PSP-sized screen.

If your driver can’t park the damn car you may want to get a new driver rather than a new car. But if for some reason you are attached to the dude (incriminating photos, perhaps?) you can pick up one of these babies.

Lexus Self Parking Car Video and Review - Gizmodo

Lexus invited Gizmodo along for a ride in the new LS 460 L super rich guy sedan. The thing is packed to the gills with tech. In fact, I’d call it the most geeked-out car evar, next to the Tesla.

But even the Tesla car can’t park itself. Explanation of how the Advanced Parking Guidance System works, information on how this thing rips CDs, and other e-goodies, after the jump.

We recently disparaged island ownership, saying:

Who doesn’t want the joy of complete solitude, completely shut off from the outside world yet requiring frequent trips to it for supplies? The life of generating one’s own electricity? Of one damn coconut after another, and don’t even get me started on the spam? For those lucky enough to afford such luxuries, there is now another channel through which to acquire them.

Now we learn of another island up for auction that makes those drawbacks sound like amenities.

How you can buy a Pacific island | News.blog | CNET News.com

Howl @ The Moon has passed along a great real estate tip, a government auction for an atoll 700 miles southwest of Hawaii. But before you jump at this deal, offered by the GSA’s Office of Property Disposal, check the fine print: It apparently was the site of thermonuclear explosives testing by the U.S. military at the height of the Cold War.

If you do decide to buy the islands anyway, at least you’ll know why the pineapple in your mai tai is glowing in the dark.