Hot stuffs, Technical Reviews and More…
Archive for November, 2009
Intel researching your brain for newer technologies
Nov 21st
Using a remote control to change channels is just such a pain. I mean, what with you needing to push buttons with your fingers and all. If only there was a better way!
Intel is working on it. More specifically, they’re working on brain implants that would let you change channels and surf the web using your brain, no remote controls or keyboards needed. Sounds scary yet also convenient! We’re still pretty far off from this being a reality, but it’s kind of exciting that it’s being worked on, no?
Computerworld via io9
PogoPlug shares media files worldwide
Nov 21st
Gather round, those of you with networked computers, and gaze upon one of the best ways to attach storage to that network and share files at home or anywhere on the Internet. Behold PogoPlug, a $129 network attached storage (NAS) pacecode that was already well worth its relatively low price, but now it has four USB ports, making it even more useful. If you can get over its hot pink color, you’ll be amazed at what it can do.
Plug up to four external hard drives into this baby, and it automatically synchronizes photos, video, music and other content with any computer connected to it. It’s easy to access it from anywhere on the Internet, and you can even play back videos from it on your iPhone. This little unit already won beaucoups critical acclaim in its simpler iteration, so look for this improved model to begin gathering even more accolades by the end of the year.
PogoPlug, via CrunchGear
Directly transfer Blu-ray movies to PSP without PC – Sony’s Digital Copy
Nov 21st
Even as Disney plans to put its movies on any pacecode anywhere, Sony is bringing us its own new-and-improved method of multiformat content delivery. The first-ever Digital Copy of a feature film — specifically for use on the PSP — is accessible directly off of the Blu-ray disc, via a connected PlayStation 3, with no computer required.The first two movies to get the feature are Godzilla (yeah, the God-awful one with Matthew Broderick) and a new release, The Ugly Truth.
Large Hadron Collider Back Online successfully – CERN
Nov 21st
After being stalled by a catastrophic leak, a speck of bread and alleged time travelers, CERN has brought the Large Hadron Collider successfully back online with the full orbit of a proton beam. The 17-mile ring of the facility should continue to see particle beams pulsing through it in both directions over the weekend as it prepares for collisions, though the real Big Bang-style tests probably won’t happen until January, as that’s when the LHC will be at full strength.
Well, if you have your Doomsday Clock ticking down to the end of November, you’ll have to set it back a few weeks for when the LHC is ready to collide some hadrons.
Via PopSci
iMATION introduced first wireless USB hard drive
Nov 21st
A boon to every cluttered desktop, Imation has started selling a 1.5 TB hard drive, the Wireless HD ProWX that connects to your PC/Mac via wireless USB, as long as you locate the drive within 30 feet of your PC with the included wireless USB dongle jacked in.
Imation claims a transfer rate of 15 Mbps, which means you can transfer the contents of a full CD in 50 seconds. As soon as you come home and your dongled laptop comes within the 30-foot range, the hard drive automatically reconnects.
You’ll pay for this uncluttering convenience – the ProWX is $450, more than three times the price of an old-fashioned wired external 1.5 TB hard drive.
Humble webcam to impressive 3D scanner
Nov 21st
If you’re like me, when you think of 3D scanning you probably think of a setup much like they had on the set of the Matrix, with a billion cameras surrounding one object. Well, luckily it’s not that complex and, perhaps even luckier, Qi Pan, a PhD student at Cambridge University Engineering Department, is making it as simple as can be.
His setup uses a webcam hooked up to your average PC, and his own hand to rotate an object. Take a look in the video above.
Via Boing Boing
MOTO aims competitors with affordable touchscreen handset
Nov 20th
It seems like Motorola is seriously getting their act together with launches of mobiles left right and center. Another new handset after the announcement of the DROID and its GSM counterpart the MILESTONE is the Crush. Rather an odd name for a phone but then again there are handsets that have names like Magic and Hero. The Crush, an EV-DO Rev.0 device, comes with a 2.8†touchscreen (240 x 400 pixels), 2 megapixel camera, virtual on-screen QWERTY keypad, Stereo Bluetooth for connectivity and even a 3.5mm handsfree port. The images of the handset do seem a little strange though as it appears controls are located at the top of the screen which, in my opinion seems a bit weird and upside-down. Won’t it be a bit of a stretch accessing information from the top when you’re holding it from the bottom?
The Crush also incorporates a few other functions like a Tap to silence feature which is quite self-explanatory, a pedometer, microSD card support for up to 16 Gigs of additional memory and a 950 mAh battery that Motorola claims will give users up to 4.5 hours of talk time. While there’s no official word on its pricing or availability, the Motorola website did say this – ‘With the Motorola Crush, enjoy a high-end design, excellent call quality and multimedia features, all at an affordable price’ and this – ‘Carry a phone with the latest technology without breaking the bank.’ Any estimates?
[Unwired View]
Google Chrome – The official look
Nov 20th
Take a look at some of the recent images revealed of the new upcoming Google Chrome OS. I’d love to see this on a tablet styled touchscreen netbook.
Kindle go bye bye…
7 seconds to start up… nice
Open websites you like, Change channels as you like bye bye remote
Nov 20th
First we hear about IBM working on a system that will reduce the size of micro chip and provide cognitive thinking to ‘computer’ brains which could be just the start of the A.I. revolution. Today it’s Intel’s turn to showcase some more ideas for the future with microchips that put our human brains in charge of computers and other technology. The company estimates that by the year 2020, 10 years from now, consumers will be able to connect directly with their computers and other systems to access information and get work done simply be using their gray matter or brain waves to be more precise. The keyboard and mouse could become obsolete. They also estimate that with these implanted chips we’d even be able to change channels on our TVs and even control our mobile handsets with just mental commands.
Intel’s idea maybe slightly reversed to that of IBM’s but I’m not sure which scares me most. Don’t get me wrong both ideas cater well to my norm of being lazy and I’m all for technological advancement. With IBM’s notion a robot butler is just what I could use, then again, that’s how the whole Matrix fiasco started (Animatrix). With Intel’s I could do all my work without lifting a finger and interface with my computer which seems a bit safer. What do you think? Paranoid much?
[
Computer World]
New HP Envy 13 notebook with Windows 7
Nov 20th
For all those techies out there feeling like it’s about time a little luck came your way, head on over to Luxurylaunches.com and check out the new HP Envy 13 laptop contest. With features like a 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor SL9400, A 3GB DDR3 system memory and a 250GB SATA drive amongst many many more, you can’t afford to miss out on the opportunity. To win this notebook, that’s incidentally worth $1,700 and comes preloaded with Windows 7, our American readers have to but leave a simple post on the site telling us about – “The first thing that makes you envious about a lappieâ€. So all you have to do is jot down just ONE thing that tops the list of features that you look for in a perfect notebook. It’s a pretty simple deal really. The contest is open only to US residents and readers will need to submit their answer by leaving a comment on this blog post itself. There’s not much time as the contest ends on 27th November, 2009. The results will be announced on 29th November, 2009 so be sure to enter a valid email address so that we can send you an email to notify your victory.
Click here to go to get there. Good luck guys!
Deaf too can enjoy musics – SOUNZZZ
Nov 18th
While the deaf cannot hear music through their ears, the fact that music is just vibrations in the air allows them to \”feel\” it rather than hear it. The SOUNZZZ is a pacecode designed to allow the hearing impaired to enjoy music just as well as the rest of us.
The sound is translated into stronger vibrations that are felt by holding the egg-shaped pacecode. It also plays a light show along with the sound. It seems pretty cool, even for those of us with normal hearing, as it has a headphone jack for people who want to use it while hearing the music it\’s playing. Unfortunately, it\’s merely a concept at the moment.
This might be the world’s first E-Bike from Grace
Nov 18th
Build an aluminum electric bike with euro-fighter and Formula One parts, power its 1300-watt motor with lithium-ion batteries, and you have Grace in motion. The company is calling Grace “the world’s first and finest E-Motorbike,” and while we beg to differ with that slogan — we’ve ridden a few profoundly exciting electric bikes ourselves — we have to admire the stylish build and cool power of this conveyance that looks like it came from the next century. And this is beyond just a bicycle — it\’s almost fast enough to be called a motorcycle.
Because this is all very high-tech and handmade in the company\’s Hanover, Germany shop, you’ll have to plunk down €5877 ($8742) for the privilege of gracing yourself with this electro-bike when it ships in January. But then, the company claims that Grace is somehow \”really cheap compared to a car.” Maybe they have a point. If your commute is moderate, that might be true, with Grace\’s 18 to 31-mile range (depending on your weight), 40mph top speed, and one-hour battery recharge time. If it just went a bit faster and lasted a little longer, we’d call it amazing.
Solar system – Thinking about solar for your home
Nov 18th
Four-leaf clovers might bring you luck, but Armageddon Energy’s three-leafed SolarClover solar panels promise something more concrete — cheap, green energy.
Using standard silicon solar cells embedded in a Teflon medium, each three-panel unit generates about 400 watts. By comparison, a typical American household needs about 4000 watts to keep running, but even a few SolarClovers will go a long way to defraying your monthly power bill.
Setting up a single SolarClover — including triangular frame, micro-inverter and three lightweight silicon hexagonal solar panels — takes minutes, says Armageddon management.
And because they use polymers in their structure versus the usual glass, each unit weighs less than 13 pounds, or less than half that of a typical glass-and-silicon rooftop solar panel. And it’s lighter on your wallet too, with Armageddon’s power costing $6/watt versus an industry standard of $7/watt, once they get up to commercial scale production.
Via Armageddon Energy
Accelerates HD streaming now from Adobe Flash player
Nov 18th
Even if you have a really fast Internet connection, lots of PCs choke when it comes to streaming HD content. Adobe takes a big step toward fixing that, with the release of the first beta of Flash Player 10.1. If you have a graphics card in your PC, chances are lots of Flash video clips from the web that did nothing but stutter and drop frames before will suddenly play smoothly.
This is great. Now tiny and underpowered netbooks, notebooks, and PCs will be able to crunch those mighty H.264 HD video files (sorry, Macs and Linux, no acceleration for you just yet, but it’s on the way). Not only will you get butter-smooth playback, but you’ll conserve battery life at the same time. Yeah, some graphics cards aren’t compatible with this player (but most are), and no, the iPhone is not supported yet.
This is the beginning of a new era of improved streaming video. Keep in mind, this is just beta software — Adobe’s saying the finished version will be available next year — so only the adventurous will want to give this a try. But for the rest of us, we can rest assured knowing that those brand-new 1080p YouTube videos will smoothly stream soon, even on the most humble of machines.
Adobe Labs, via AnandTech and Businesswire
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