Do you have a podcast inside you, yearning to be set free? Always wanted an Internet radio station, but don't know where to start? Have a spare $3,000 laying around?

Then have I got a deal for you. The WorldVibrations Internet radio station ($2,850 direct) is a turnkey system you can use to produce podcasts and other programming as well as create a 24-hour-a-day audio stream. All you add is a microphone, perhaps a small mixer, and a connection to a media server or service, like Live365, if you want to stream. Podcasts you produce and distribute.

This isn't what we use to produce Gearlog Radio and our other programs, but this is should be a fine system for people with no broadcasting experience who'd like to get started. This isn't a new product, but I mentioned it to a friend who wants to start an audio stream (and has more $$$ than he knows what to do with), so I thought Gearlog readers might be interested.

And, yes, if you know what you're doing you can build a similar system for considerably less.

Las Vegas, Nevada -- This 7-inch LCD screen from Bravo View Technology (model US07A) is only 8mm thick! Plus, it has a little mirror, so you can catch yourself making funny faces while watching movies in the car.  It was demonstrated for me at the SEMA car show (full coverage and slideshow on TechnoRide).

The big problem I see is that you'll have either have to deal with wires hanging from the visor, or spend some dough to hide them. The screen quality wasn't bad considering how tiny this screen is.

It's available in a few weeks and will sell for $199.

Las Vegas, Nevada -- TomTom displayed its new Rider GPS navigation system for motorcyles at SEMA (slideshow of photos here on Technoride). It's water resistant, and can clamp on to your bike without bouncing off.

It sports the new SiRFStarIII technology so it'll work even when you're in a valley between huge skyscrapers in Manhattan. The Rider can also monitor traffic, with Clear Channel traffic reports, and suggest alternate routes, the trick is that you need to carry a BlueTooth-enabled cellphone with you that the Rider uses to acquire the traffic information (via GPRS).

It's available now and retails for $1199, but you'll have to pay for Clear Channel traffic reports on top of that.

Las Vegas, Nevada -- In a nutshell, the Ford Mobile Office is an in-truck mobile computer in a Ford F-250 truck. The target market is contractors who need to be on location at construction sites, but also check email and be "in touch" electronically.

The PC is made by Stargate Mobile, and sports a Transmeta Crusoe 1GHz Processor which makes me think it could it be slow. Stargate and Microsoft told us that the next edition will have an AMD processor. It also has 4GB of flash memory, PCMCIA slot (that you can use for CDMA of EVDO card), and it's hooked into the power supply of the vehicle.

The Stargate rep wanted to show us just how tough the PC really is. So we made him drop it three to four times, pretending our camera didn't work (see our Ford Mobile Office slideshow on TechnoRide for a photo of this). This is the final drop. And hey, it still worked. Outside of the dock, the PC will run for at least three hours, according to Stargate.

So, now if you have a PC, you also need a printer, right?  Microsoft and Stargate propose to put a USB hub in the center console so that you can hook up a printer (also in the slideshow). Close the console cover, and you could never tell a printer was underneath.

 

The Mobile Office will be offered as an upgrade to the 2006 F-250 truck for $3000.

Las Vegas, Nevada -- Dice Electronics showed off a new HD radio prototype at the SEMA car show (full coverage and slideshow on TechnoRide) will retail for around $400 when it first becomes available in February.

The best part about HD radio is that it's over FM, and it's free. Over 600 stations in the US broadcast in HD, according to the representative at Dice.  However, it'll be interested to see how HD fares against satellite radio.  After all, with HD radio, you still need to be within distance of the radio signal; satellite will always have the edge there.

Dice will have a more fleshed out prototype, and possibly a full product, to show at CES in January.

Las Vegas, Nevada -- The iWay 350 took an award for the best new mobile electronic device at SEMA this year (full coverage and slideshow on TechnoRide). It's wireless, and that's very cool, plus it has the same old turn-by-turn navigation with 2-D or 3-D (often called bird's eye view) maps.

With 15-17 hours of power, according to Lowrance, you won't need to use the cigarette lighter power source all that frequently. Plus, the 350 plays MP3s (4GB of storage) through your stereo via an FM modulator, and can load images from an SD card.

The Lowrance folks told us that they're working on WMA compatibility, too, and may have something to say at CES. The iWay 350 will be available in a few weeks and will retail for $499.

ExtremeTech has launched its Geek Gift Guide for 2005. Check out some of the latest recommendations from the geeks themselves.

Creative Zen Nano Plus - This small MP3 player gives you a small stylish case, an LCD, an FM radio, voice recorder, EQ controls, and supports WMA, MP3, and WAV media files.

Logitech G5 Laser Optical Mouse - There was no way we would let the G5 slip away from us in this Gift Guide, mostly because it's the best mouse we've tested...ever.

Star Wars Battlefront II - Star Wars Battlefront II is a great gift for anyone who enjoys intergalactic combat on his or her own terms.

Build the Ultimate Gaming PC - For new or experienced DIYers, this ExtremeTech book guides you through the process of building the ultimate gaming PC based on your needs.

Stay tuned and visit ExtremeTech's Gift Guide for more gifts. They will be adding a new product each day until Christmas.

Our own Robyn Peterson has been in Las Vegas, attending the Specialty Equipment Market Association convention. This is the CES of the automobile add-on market, as you will see in his story and slide shows (lots of long captions explain the pics). Robyn was up all night producing this and asked me to post it for him. If you're into cars, be sure to click on over.

See photos of Ford's Mobile Office (with Microsoft XP), and loads of other gadgets and gizmos in our SEMA car show report, from Las Vegas, where the motorheads stood shoulder to shoulder with the geeks.

Readers won't find anything too surprising in PC Magazine's just-posted review of the Apple iMac G5 with the built-in iSight camera. What is surprising is that Apple introduced the video-enabled iPod and a video-enhanced iMac at the same time, but the two don't really build upon each other.

The G5 includes improves video support, but doesn't include a TV tuner nor makes it easy to download video onto an iPod. The built-in camera is great, except for those times when you really wish the cam and screen were pointed in slightly different directions. It would ruin the iMac's lines to put the cam on a built-in turret of some sort, but that's what I wish they'd done. Locking the two together can make it hard to get both an optimum screen and camera angle unless you sit just so.

The new Front Row "10-foot" user interface is slick. But, as I've also said about Media Center PCs, unless the form factor makes people want to connect their computers to a large screen in the family room, there isn't a lot of need for such a UI. As for the Mac remote control, it's great for now, but I wonder what happens when/if Apple adds a video tuner and finds itself needing more buttons.

Those are minor quibbles, however, for a machine which at $1,699 (direct) includes more features and is $100 less expensive than the model it replaces. If I am really going to do another Mac book (which seems increasingly possible), this is the machine I want to write it on.