Sometimes the USPTO grants patents on technology that just doesn’t make sense. Often these patents are nothing more than an attempt by one company to try and make other firms using similar tech pay a licensing fee. TiVo has been granted a patent on software that it filed back in 1999 that could change DVRs as we know them.

The patent is for TiVo’s Season Pass software. The software sits on the DVR and allows the DVR to resolve recording conflicts based on priority. This is a feature that every DVR has today and it is used when you

It's been a ten year process, but TiVo just won a patent on managing DVR recording schedules and resolving schedule conflicts using a list of shows ordered by priority. US Patent #7,665,111 covers "recording, storing, and deleting of television and/or web page program material" by generating a prioritized list of shows that contains both shows chosen and ranked by users and shows the DVR think you'll like, matching that list against the program guide and available recording space, and resolving conflicts based on priority. Yeah, that's what essentially

Despite being listed on Best Buy's interweb pages for well over three and a half months, it seems only just now has iREX taken the chance to officially ship its DR 800SG e-reader out to the hungry e-tailer masses. Price is back to being listed at the proper $399.99 tag and given the recent proliferation of e-readers in the market, we can't blame you if you're not immediately reaching for your wallet. Press release after the break.

IREX TECHNOLOGIES NOW SHIPPING DR800SG eREADER

Westlake Village, Calif., Feb. 17, 2010 – IREX

There are plenty of ways to shoot the next groundbreaking 3D masterpiece, and for those with considerable bankrolls Panasonic's P2 is a good choice -- but, at $21,000, forgive us for looking for inexpensive alternatives. The Scientific Analysis and Visualization Initiative at Weber State University has crafted a very simple solution relying on a pair of Kodak Zx1 pocket HD cameras. They're simply bolted to a piece of L-shaped aluminum bar by machine screws spaced at 6.5cm to more or less equate to the distance between your eye holes. It's an elegantly

Your little one deserves a quality ATV right? Why not buy your little rugrats the Kettquad from Kettler? The German company recently unveiled this four wheeler that features pneumatic tires for off-road terrain and even a protected enclosed chain drive. Looks like a ton of fun.

Expect it to hit the US sometime this year, with your kid hitting a tree soon after. It will retail for between $800 and $1000. It’s for kids 5 to 12 years of age, so don’t let your toddler ride this thing.

That’s a lot of money for a kids

Princeton launches in Japan the Toyjector PPR-QT1 pico projector that looks more like a toy. Based on LCoS display technology, the Toyjector features 300×224 QVGA resolution, 100:1 contrast ratio and 5 lumens brightness and LED lamp for backlight.

The Toyjector PPR-QT1 comes with a 3.5mm-component AV cable and a tripod. It has built-in 1W mono speaker. White and Red models are available.

[princeton][gadgetreview]

Samsung has added another compact digital camera to its SL range of point and shoot cameras, with the launch of the Samsung SL630.

The Samsung SL630 is designed to be ultra portable, measuring just 0.8 inches thick, it features a 12.2 megapixel sensor with a 28mm wide angle lens that features five times optical zoom, there is also dual image stabilization to ensure you get some quality photographs and reduce camera shake.

The Samsung SL630  can record video at a

Keep all your data safe with Corsair’s latest USB flash drive, the Padlock 2. Featuring a rugged rubber housing, this unique plug-and-play drive comes with a USB 2.0/1.1 interface, 256-bit AES hardware encryption and boasts a built-in keypad for entering the PIN code (up to 10 numbers long). Not to worry, the drive is also compatible with Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and even game consoles. The Corsair Padlock 2 sells for $59 (8GB). [Corsair]

We have seen quite a few different geeky soaps here at Geeky Gadgets, including some fun Star Wars themed ones like the cool Darth Vader soaps, now we have an even cooler Star Wars themed soap, the Star Wars Logo Soap.

This fun Star Wars soap is hand made from a custom mold and according to the creator ‘the greatest soap ever’ it certainly looks very cool from the photos.

Each letter on each soap is hand detailed for greater clarity. Please note, there

Finally we get the chance to literally lay a track down. The Noteput interactive music table was concocted by a pair of German design students back in October of last year, but watching it in action is still a mesmerizing experience. Employing a simple camera beneath the surface, the table can tell what notes you're placing upon it and play them back -- individually when you position them or as a group once you hit the big play button. The coolest feature for us is the ability to loop playback and replace notes on the fly. It's like being a really old