Technomaly » Hardware

Download HD Movies Faster!

sarin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 17:26:11 +0000

Intel has revealed the development of an integrated, end-to-end, silicon-based optical system that it says may drive down the cost of high-speed, error-free interconnects to under a dollar per port and it leaves Chipzilla’s Light Peak interconnect in the dust. The prototype “concept vehicle” is essentially a two-chip system that can transmit and receive data at 50Gbps a speed, that’s fast enough to download 45 million tweets in under a second.

“Optical as a technology is coming, and its coming very fast,” the director of Intel’s Photonics Technology Lab, Mario Paniccia, told reporters Tuesday morning.

“Why are we talking about photonics at all?” Intel CTO and director of Intel Labs Justin Rattner asked rhetorically. Then he answered himself: “The fundamental issue is that electronic signaling relying on copper wire is reaching its physical limits. At speeds of 10Gbps and higher, it becomes very difficult to move electrons fast enough with high enough signal strength to reach any significant distance.”

According to The Register, a transmitter chip uses four hybrid silicon lasers running at 12.5Gbps each and operating at different wavelengths, modulates them into data-carrying pulses, then multiplexes those pulses into a single stream of light that it beams through an optical-fiber cable. At the other end of that cable, a receiver chip demuliplexes the photon stream, distributes it to four germanium-silicon photoreceptors, which convert the pulses to electrical digital signals and sends that data on its way.

Intel’s integrated silicon-based optical interconnect is also highly immune to errors. “We put the modules together, we had the link running and it ran for about 27 hours with zero errors,” said Paniccia. “It’s not a product, but the stability of this, the performance of this, is exceptional.” Paniccia said that Intel’s goal is to spread optical interconnects throughout the computing ecosystem — from HPC to handhelds.

Introducing: The Invisible Mouse

markracz — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 11:54:13 +0000

A group of researchers from MIT developed a sensor and laser based system that can replace a normal mouse. All you have to do is pretend you have a mouse (move your palm, click) and an infrared laser beam and a video camera (both embedded in your computer) will detect your movements and transform them into mouse specific commands. The project is named “Mouseless” and the prototype costs 20 dollar to build. This invention is a new installment in a series of breakthroughs aimed at developing new technology able to master old technology, as David Wingdor, user experience architect at Microsoft, says.

Considering that mouse technology is widely available and very cheap, the chance of the Mouseless project for worldwide acclaim could be, plainly, the awesomeness of the concept. It won’t be long until we would have packed coffee shops with dozens of people pounding the table like in an intensive Morse code course. Gadgeteers will probably love the idea, as themselves are part of the gadget and technology is so “organic”. Also, it’s a way to save some space (although you can find tiny mouses shaped like some endangered species). On the downside I would say that there’s a chance for some injuries from repeatedly bashing fingers on a table , especially for those caught up in frantic gaming (Star Craft 2 here we come).

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/07/computer-mouse-invisible/

Kindle Price Cut?

markracz — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 05:51:18 +0000

As most of you know by now (and some probably pushed the appropriate “buy” button), Amazon cut the price of the Kindle e-reader from 259 to 189 dollars last week. Some say it’s a response to the Barnes&Nobles move, which also dropped the price of the Nook e-reader, from 199 to 139 dollars. And, of course, it all comes down to Apple, as always; the new iPad has a built in e-reader and Apple could easily mesmerize the bulk of the e-reader market by offering this technology alongside all the features the iPad already packs.

So what, you might say, they’re still cashing in huge profits, as the manufacturing process of e-readers is cost effective (that means cheap). Not really. The people over at iSupply, a company that takes gadgets and breaks them into pieces (cool job) to know how much it costs to build them say that Amazon and Barnes&Noble are not making any money of their e-readers because their new trimmed down prices are equal to the production costs- corporations not making a profit, that’s weird. Well, it’s not, because the move aims to sell more e-books and the money supposedly lost by the price cut of the e-reader will be gained by a huge increase of book sales. It’s a move similar to a historical marketing stunt made by King Camp Gillette, who sold razors at a small price, but the razor blades were extremely expensive.

So don’t hope for a price cut also for the e-books. You’ll end up paying more for your e-reading experience overall, even if the actual device is apparently cheaper. And yes, it’s the same model like the one with the cheap console and increasingly expensive console content.

Via : http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/24/kindle-amazon-nook-technology-ereader.html?boxes=techchannellighttop
Also: Kindle @ Amazon.com

Robot Name:Muon. Function: Looking Great

markracz — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 01:55:02 +0000

Quick! What do you know about Germany? No, not that! And no, it’s not cool to talk about THAT short dude over and over again! Well, the thing you should know about Germany is that they are developing humanoid robots. Yes, humanoid robots, the awesome add on for our everyday lives ten or fifteen years from now.

At the Humboldt University in Berlin, an industrial design company named Frackenpohl Poulheim working for a lab named ALEAR Laboratory of Neuro Robotics develops MUON, a humanoid robot as tall as an 8 year old (but way cooler). It sure looks cool with that huge eye occupying the entire face (or is “face” an obsolete term?) and the slick, blue leds inside the robot’s knees and hands. There is no word about the actual benefits the robot would bring (beside being awesome), but we can anticipate that it could be used for therapy, commercials and Michael Bay pics (and, considering the hands, to be the coolest cup holder available).

Also, it’s not clear in which development stage the robot is (I wonder if there’s a search for beta testers). Don’t forget to check the german link bellow (hail to Google translate) and read all about the idea behind Muon and watch a cool making of video. I hate that there’s not a “preorder now” button anywhere on the site.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/19/muon-the-humanoid-robot-is-our-ideal-best-friend/

and http://www.frackenpohl-poulheim.de/projekte/myon-roboter/

Intel Netbooks Get Sleek and Stylish

J. Matthew Zoss — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:10:40 +0000

Today’s Netbooks aren’t exactly as flashy or fashionable as some of the other computers on the market, but that may be about to change. Intel today unveiled their plans for its next Netbook, based on its “Canoe Lake innovation platform.” The new model won’t necessarily be any more powerful than it current machines, but will be a heck of a lot sleeker. At only a half-inch, the new Canoe Lake computer will be half as thick as Intel’s current Netbooks and run much cooler. The new machines swap thermal cooling for traditional computer fans, which accounts for much of the thin new form factor.

There’s no word on when the Canoe Lake-based Netbooks will hit the market, but Intel also announced new dual-core Atom processors that will start showing up in their machines this holiday. The full text of Intel’s announcement is below.

Via Gizmodo

Computex: Ambitious Intel® Atom™ Processor Plans, Products Outlined
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS:
• Intel highlighted new product plans for Intel® Atom™ processor family: “Pine Trail” mobile
dual-core and “Oak Trail” processors optimized for tablets and sleek netbook form factors.
• Disclosed razor-thin “Canoe Lake” innovation platform – a futuristic dual-core netbook
measuring in at 14 millimeters – the world’s thinnest netbook.
• Demonstrated cross-device experiences based on Intel’s unique ‘port of choice’ software
strategy including Windows*, MeeGo* and Google operating systems.
• Outlined expansion: Future System on a Chip (SoC) Intel® Atom™ processors scale to
deliver PC-like computing platforms for cars, smartphones, handhelds, TVs, tablets, on a
choice of software.

COMPUTEX, Taipei, June 1, 2010 – At Computex today, Intel Corporation unveiled new
products and features based on its low-power Intel® Atom™ processor family, including plans
to further differentiate the popular netbook category and expand into several new market
segments beyond its growing PC, laptop and server businesses.

In the past 45 days, Intel and its Atom™ processor has entered a variety of markets
beyond the more than 50 million Intel-based netbooks sold in the past 2 years. Intel announced a
processor and MeeGo* software win with Chinese carmaker HawTai Automobile for a future in-
vehicle-infotainment platform; a greater than 50-times lower platform idle power reduction with
Intel’s next generation Atom™ processor platform for handheld devices including smartphones;
and a collaboration with Google*, Sony* and Logitech* to deliver a new Smart TVs experience
powered by Intel Atom™ CE products and running Android*-based Google TV*.

Intel recently unveiled the future System on Chip (SoC) Atom™-based “Tunnel Creek”
that, for the first time, will allow other companies to connect their own custom silicon to Intel’s
SoC product. The Intel® Atom™ processor also powers the Intel® Reader, and the company has
received more than 3,000 non-PC design inquiries – most new-to-Intel potential customers –
ranging from fish finders to golf carts.

During his keynote, David (Dadi) Perlmutter, executive vice president and co-general
manager, Intel Architecture Group, touched on these and other Intel efforts, which included
showing off the world’s thinnest netbook running on the upcoming mobile dual-core “Pine
Trail.” At just 14mm, the razor-thin “Canoe Lake” innovation platform runs cooler and is 50
percent thinner than any other netbook consumers can find on the market today. In addition,
Perlmutter showed a range of other Intel® Atom™-based devices spanning energy efficient
blade servers, retailing systems, presentation projectors and multiple tablets
.
“Intel believes the strength of the Atom™ franchise can help consumers realize the true
potential for a common experience to enable the compute continuum,” said Perlmutter. “With
platforms ranging from compact and portable netbooks, to Smart TV experiences and innovative
tablets designs, Intel Architecture is driving innovative products based on a unique ‘port of
choice’ software strategy.”

Keynote Highlights
Citing a million PCs sold a day1, Perlmutter also highlighted the momentum around the
all new 2010 Intel® Core™ processor family, including Intel® Wireless Display and an
overview of next-generation Intel® Core™ processors using the Intel microarchitecture
codenamed “Sandy Bridge,” targeted to be in production late 2010.

Renee James, senior vice president and general manager of the Software and Services
Group at Intel, joined Perlmutter onstage to discuss how software – and software choice – will
help drive Intel’s vision for Atom™ and a cross-device experience. This provides consumers
consistency and accessibility to their content on a choice of computers and PC-like devices.
James also announced that Asus will be the first OEM to ship a pre-installed, customized AppUp
client called “asus app store” on netbooks this fall, beginning with Windows and following with
MeeGo*-based systems.

Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci discussed with Perlmutter how future Intel® Atom™-based
netbooks and tablets from Acer, running the MeeGo* software platform, will foster an open
ecosystem of innovation.

“Acer will be ready with MeeGo-based mobile devices,” said Lanci. “MeeGo’s open
software platform will present our customers with another choice of a friendly, easy-to-use
operating system. We are pleased to collaborate with Intel in our continuous drive to provide
effortless technologies that empower people at work, home – anytime, anywhere.”

New Intel® Atom™ Processors on Tap
In production now and on shelves before the winter holiday season, mobile dual-core
Intel® Atom™ processors will deliver a noticeably snappier, more responsive consumer
experience in the same compact form factors, and with the same great battery life. Intel®
Atom™ processors N455 and N475 with DDR3 support for netbooks are available today and
D525 and D425 for entry-level desktop PCs are expected to be available on June 21. Available to
customers in early 2011, “Oak Trail” is our upcoming SoC Intel® Atom™ platform optimized
for sleek tablet and netbook designs, delivering up to a 50 percent reduction in average power
consumption with full HD-video playback and targeting software choice including MeeGo*,
Windows* 7 and Google operating systems.

Demolition Robot: 2 Tons Of Smashing, Crushing Fun

Nick Upton — Wed, 19 May 2010 16:26:49 +0000

I have just destroyed my Christmas list with my measly one-ton demolition bot. I’m all about this two-ton beauty from Husqvarna — it’s Swiss, not misspelled.

The new remote-controlled demolition robot from Husqvarna®, the DXR 310, is the very latest in compact demolition robot technology. High power, low weight and functional design make it an obvious choice for consumers who want a highly maneuverable, super-strong and sturdy machine with a long reach.
The remote control for the DXR 310 features a unique user-friendly and well-considered design, unlike anything on the market.

Our product knowledge, combined with experience, know-how and global presence mean you now have the choice of a demolition robot with highly accessible and ¬competent service and support.

I can just imagine showing up to a party riding on this bad boy, all the chicks would go crazy. It’s like a Lamborghini with a jackhammer on the front.

I’m not exactly sure what I would do with it beyond that, it can’t move that fast, so a quick bank robbery is going to be tricky and I’ve already destroyed all the cars in my yard — but I’m sure I could find something to demolish.

[Via MAKE]

3-D Cameras Coming To Phones, Digital Cameras Soon

Nick Upton — Wed, 12 May 2010 23:17:26 +0000

Finally, 3-D is coming to cell phones! I can’t wait to watch bouncy, grainy video of people getting drunk in all three dimensions!

Sharp is showing off their new camera module designed for future phones and point-and-shoot cameras. The technology, which begins shipping to developers in July, has a slew of technology behind it to get the timing right, the color right and everything else we need to make our friend’s band look like Avatar.

Sharp released a press release touting their new camera technology.

The current 3D camera module developed by Sharp incorporates functions to process the image data output by the left and right cameras, including Color Synchronizing Processing to adjust color and brightness, Timing Synchronizing Processing to synchronize the timing of the video signals, and Optical Axis Control Processing to correct positioning. In addition, Fast Readout Technology rapidly transfers video data from the image sensor, enabling 3D images to be captured in high-resolution HD mode.

Further, in developing this camera module, Sharp applied high-density mounting technology nurtured over long years of experience in camera module development to achieve a compact form. Embedding this camera module in mobile devices such as digital cameras, mobile phones, and smartphones will contribute to the development of a wide range of new, innovative communications tools.

Cutting through the jargon of the press release, it’s clear that this is a pretty interesting breakthrough. I’m not saying it will be worthwhile or cheap for the next several years, but giving real 3-D abilities to amateur filmmakers could level the playing field and foster some great stuff.

I doubt I’ll be buying the first version, but maybe I’ll get it on the Nexus Two.

[Via Engadget]

Multitouch Floor Lets You Dance With Your Apps

Nick Upton — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 16:00:00 +0000

A really cool project out of Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute puts multitouch under foot.

The project isn’t just a toe pointing game, but it tracks feet completely, allowing people to be read by the soles of their shoe and where and how they are stepping.

We based our design on frustrated total internal reflection because its ability to sense pressure allows the device to see users’ soles when applied to a floor. We demonstrate how this allows us to recognize foot postures and to identify users.

These two functions form the basis of our system. They allow the floor to ignore inactive users, identify and track users based on their shoes, enable high-precision interaction, invoke menus, as well as track heads and allow users to control several multiple degrees of freedom by balancing their feet.

The possibilities for this type of technology could be limitless, even a little floor mat could tune to your favorite radio station, fire up your show on the DVR or start your nightly routine in any way you wish.

And with different settings for the whole family, you can tweak it into infinity.

Sure it’s a concept and I’ll probably never have one, but for multitouch — it’s certainly an interesting step.

[Via Hasso Plattner Institute]

Google Tablet Operating In ‘Stealth Mode’

Nick Upton — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 22:31:01 +0000

Apple’s iPad wasn’t the first step in tablet computing, and it certainly won’t be the last. And now Apple has a big target on their back.

Apple’s major competitors said they already have tablets near completion, and with the iPad’s launch serving as a test bed for the entire market, they will certainly be taking note and tweaking their own versions.

The most interesting — to me — is Google’s efforts. I make no qualms about liking Google for the most part, but beyond that, Google’s Android system is the only competitor with even a similar marketplace. They already have developers making apps and with Google Books and Fastflip in Google Labs, they are poised to actually take on Apple head-to-head. (And it will probably have Flash support — oh zing!)

The New York Times looked into the Google slate; which the CEO told friends about at a party — I assume drunkenly.

Eric E. Schmidt, chief executive of Google, told friends at a recent party in Los Angeles about the new device, which would exclusively run the Android operating system.

People with direct knowledge of the project — who did not want to be named because they said they were unauthorized to speak publicly about the device — said the company had been experimenting in “stealth mode” with a few publishers to explore delivery of books, magazines and other content on a tablet.

Apart from Google, Microsoft’s Courier project looks pretty interesting with two screens and book-like folding. Paired with the new Microsoft Kin it could be a social butterfly’s dream tablet. Microsoft engineers have some kinks to work out though, notably keeping two touch screens running without killing battery life.

[Via New York Times]

Car Powers Up To Drive 800 mph

Nick Upton — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 16:31:16 +0000

A bunch of “weekend warriors” are working to design a car to not only beat, but quash the current land speed record, reaching 800 mph.

The current land speed record of 763 mph was set in the 90s, but the North American Eagle team wants to use some 1950s technology to break the record.

They built the car with a junked F-104 fuselage from the supersonic jet used in the 1950s US Air Force. The fuselage — which they bought for $25,000 — is extremely aerodynamic and can hit speeds of Mach 2.8.

Still, the most impressive components of the Eagle are the features that are truly state of the art: custom designed aluminum alloy wheels—the only kind in the world that can rotate at 900 mph—and high-powered magnetic brakes that work independently from one another, allowing Shadle to steer the car at 300 mph and stop at high speeds.

The Eagle is the first vehicle in the world to utilize these developing technologies.

“We’ve stopped at 400 mph using just the magnetic brakes, and they worked wonderfully. We’re very impressed with that technology,” said Shadle, who anticipates seeing the technology used in landing space shuttles or other aircraft that continually burn up brakes.

They haven’t set a date for the speed record attempt, they are still working numerous bugs to reach the 600 mph before making their attempt.

[Via Xconomy]

Commodore is Coming Back, Baby!

J. Matthew Zoss — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 15:25:41 +0000

Remember the Commodore 64, the big, chunky keyboard that hooked up to your TV and played awesomely blocky games? I sure do, and so does Barry Altman, President and CEO of Commodore USA. Altman plans to bring back keyboard computers branded with the Commodore name. That’s about all we know for now, and we should mention that the unit shown at left is not a new Commodore, but rather a competing keyboard computer shown for comparison’s sake. But just the very mention of new Commodore computers gets us all giddy with nerd excitement.

Story and image source: Engadget.

Microwave Will Now Fry Brains With TV

Nick Upton — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 14:27:30 +0000

I usually watch my microwave intently while cooking, if only for the small chance of gaining superpowers from my popcorn or leftover Chinese food.

Dubbed the CastOven, the oven plays a YouTube clip to fit into your cooking time.

I’d like to see if you could choose your videos, I would hate to watch a 2 minute clip of cat grooming tips while my burrito basks in radiation.

[Via MAKE]

Massive Flashlight Consists Of 500 LEDs

Nick Upton — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 16:47:11 +0000

One extreme flashlight enthusiast has pieced together a long line of piddly little LED flashlights and created an epic LED flashlight the likes of which you have never seen.

Check out the video, for shots of the mammoth flashlight in action, but the picture says it all.
It looks like an action figure holding a keychain flashlight.

[Via MAKE ]

Nintendo Announces 3D Gaming Handheld

J. Matthew Zoss — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:18:14 +0000

In a surprising move, Nintendo announced today that the company will be releasing a new handheld platform sometime before the end of March 2011. More information will be revealed in a few months at the annual Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3), but we know the primary selling point of the system already: 3D gaming.

Currently called the “Nintendo 3DS” the new platform is an entirely new hardware line, although it will be backwards compatible with software from both the Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi handhelds. Nintendo claims that 3D glasses will not be required to experience 3D on the device. Few other details have been revealed, other than that it will also feature two screens and both forward-facing and backwards-facing cameras like the DSi. Additional speculation about the device from tech site Engadget suggest that it may also have an iPod-like tilt sensor and higher resolution screens than previous DS systems.

After the success of Avatar and the advent of 3D televisions, it looks like 3D technology is here to stay. It’s unclear how Nintendo will offer up 3D without glasses, but their recent track record of innovation has earned them the benefit of the doubt for now. Let’s just hope this turns out better than the company’s previous attempt at 3D gaming, the Virtual Boy.

Source: BusinessWeek

The Most Brilliant Remote Ever

Nick Upton — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 16:37:24 +0000

I was just sitting around, drinking beer and watching TV as I do most mornings and I saw this genius, nay, luminary invention.

A bottle opener plus remote, remote plus bottle opener, no matter how you look at it

I wish I had ordered this last week, because by now I could be drinking beer and watching TV without all this damn clutter of remotes and bottle openers that really cramp my style.

[Via DVice | Originally at My Clicker]

Robot Lab Assistant Does Virtual Autopsy

Nick Upton — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 16:51:18 +0000

This fancy new device promises to bring the “Virtopsy” to the world and end that messy business of cutting open every dead body.

From Swiss University of Bern, the “Virtobot” uses MRI and computer tomography — a bisecting X-ray wave reader — to glean all the information an autopsy would. It also has the benefit of storing the information immediately, allowing for diagnosis long after the autopsy without the grim task of digging up bodies long after the original autopsy.

Virtobot is the name of the forensic high-tech helpmate used at the University of Bern’s Institute of Forensic Medicine to perform virtual autopsies.

Developed as part of the National Centre of Competence in Research, Co-Me the industrial robot provides forensic doctors with a high precision, three-dimensional image of cadavers.

Digitally preserving these allows the causes of death can be established even years later.

[Via SNF | Engadget]

Scary Super Soaker Reaches 40 Feet

Nick Upton — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 16:52:01 +0000

There is apparently a Super Soaker modification community, and from it came this beastly water gun that will no doubt get the police called to your water fight.

The designer opted for the scary black PVC pipe for the cannon; which can reach ranges of 40 feet.

The riot blast is amazing. Actually it is the best riot blast I’ve used yet, as its effective range get past 40 feet. It has also the most kickback.

In the end, this gun is great, but its weight can be annoying.

See details for the brutal water blaster at Super Soaker Central.

Designer Combines Bath Rug, Scale

Nick Upton — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:48:45 +0000

This cool concept rug does double duty in the bathroom, adding a scale to the furry rug.

The scale part and the rug part separate for easy cleaning.

It’s just a concept for now, but it could be great for the future of my bathroom.

Hopefully the scale part will be translated into American measurements, since I’m American and refuse to learn stuff.

[Via Design You Trust]

Finally: Fridge With Wi-Fi Access Released

Asterios Kokkinos — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:00:45 +0000

The Wi-Fi fridge has arrived. Our long national nightmare is over.

Too long have we been forced to use pitiful, criminally simple refrigerators with absolutely no Wi-Fi access whatsoever. Kids would cry themselves to sleep at night, whispering, “Mommy, why can’t my fridge communicate with the internet?” – a prayer that until now had gone unheeded.

Samsung, a company who will forever be known as “our national heroes,” has released the Zipel e-Diary, a fridge with a built in 10 inch touchscreen that’s constantly connected to the internet. The touchscreen can take notes, update and display your Google Calendar, report the news and weather, and even provide nutritional value about the food you’re making.

The display also functions as a digital photo frame, and has a memory card reader. It runs for the paltry price of $2,170 US dollars, a mere pittance for the heartbreak it’ll save you. The heartbreak, and loneliness, of not having a Wi-Fi fridge is now a thing of the past.

Source & Photo Source: Tech Ticker

3D Printer Can Print Entire Buildings

Nick Upton — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:13:59 +0000

It’s like something out of a strategy video game, pumping in resources and waiting for a huge machine to create a building from the ground up.

This isn’t your neighbors 3D Printer.

Enrico Dini, the designer, has big dreams for his printer.

Dini’s machine marks a vital step change from the shoebox-size 3D printing of today, to tomorrow’s ability to print complete structures on site. Although others have been working hard on the prototype, Dini’s machine is ahead of the pack, with the Architectural Association beating several others to get to the first marketable version.

The conceptual leap from modelling to manufacture may seem small, but making it has taken seven years of Dini’s personal endeavour in the face of bankruptcy and, when his ex-wife said she doubted his ability to complete the project, it cost him his marriage.

The brilliant idea creates rock solid material from sand and ink. It first lays down a layer of sand then a layer of ink.

Dini said he wants to use the printer to build houses on the moon or a cathedral. Below is his first printed building — a very small building.

[Via Blueprint Magazine]

Turn Your iPhone Into A Universal Remote With RedEye Mini

Asterios Kokkinos — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:00:25 +0000

For the longest time I’ve wanted something like this – meet the RedEye Mini, a micro-sized dongle that plugs into your iPhone or iPod Touch through the headphone jack. It blasts IR signals directly at whatever device you’re looking to run – be it your DVD player or television or what have you – allowing you to control it from your phone, which will help you feel like a big man.

The coolest part? You can design your own button and macro layouts, meaning that instead of going powering on your DVD player and going through a DVD menu you can simply hit one button called “Play DVD.” If you want a button dedicated for “Cartoon Network,” you simply build it. Simple as that!

The RedEye Mini runs for about 50 bucks, and is cool as hell. Go out and buy eight of them, and then give me one, because I’m poor.

Source & Photo Source: Macworld

Sleek Green Tub Runs By Bonfire

Nick Upton — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:59:58 +0000

It’s so simple but so genius, putting the most basic laws of thermodynamics into action to get things moving. The water in the tube heats up, rising upward and out of the top vent. At the same time, the cold water rushes into the heating pipe to maintain constant pressure.

The manufacturer claims that users can get the tub up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. It certainly looks nice and steamy in a winter picture.

Is it worth the $6,000? I’m not sure, but the science behind the heating coil is so simple, I wonder how hard it would be to set one of these up. I’ve got an old bathtub that would be perfect!

[Via FairesaDeco | Images Via Dutchtub]

Concept Wireless HD Projector Came From Space

Nick Upton — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:33:40 +0000

This really great looking projector is the brain child of designer David Reisenberg, and though I’m sure I could never afford it, it’s getting a whole page in my dream journal.

The OO, a concept-only device designed by David Riesenberg is one of the first high definition wireless projectors we’ve seen. The futuristic design projector utilizes either a Wi-Fi connection or internal SSD storage, and can operate independently from any wire for up to 3 hours based on an internal Li-Ion battery or using a single wire connected to a power source.

I’ll take mine in Darth Vader black with a ceiling mount please!

[Via The Coolist | Unlggd]

3D Televisions Finally On Sale

Asterios Kokkinos — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Well, after years and years of hype, we’ve finally got word of the first commercially available 3D television.

Last thursday, Amazon.com put up for sale Samsung 46-inch and 55-inch TVs have the capability to display 3-D programming. The sets, which are LED backlit and cost $3,300 at the high end, cost roughly 20% more than Samsung’s non-3D models.

The other cost? There’s no programming for them right now! The first 3D Blu-Ray’s will go on sale this summer, and though DirecTV has announced that it will have 3D channels, none of them are available right now. ESPN and Discovery have also announced 3D channels, neither of which are currently up.

So what’s the point of owning one of these bad boys right now? Bragging rights? I honestly have no idea - but hey, if you have a bunch of extra money right now that you’re looking to spend on technology that doesn’t even currently function, then head over to Amazon.com!

Porn Detection Device Created By Some Monster

Asterios Kokkinos — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:00:07 +0000

A company named Paraben has, for some god awful reason, created a device that searches your hard drive for illicit JPEGs. It’s a USB stick – just plug and play – and a report pops up, revealing the ugly truth to whomever happens to be conducting their search.

How’s the software work? Paraben says it scans images, then focuses on “flesh tones, shapes and curvatures, face detection, body part separation, and more” to separate out the guilty images.

In the test case used to sell the abomination, a 500-gigabyte hard drive with 70,000 images took about 90 minutes to scan, and yielded 400 false positive results – meaning, the system’s not perfect, but it’s pretty darn close.

The stick goes for about $100, but should be destroyed for the good of mankind. What’s next, some kind of stick that finds pornographic videos on our hard drives by analyzing sound patterns? Wait, don’t give them any ideas, me!

Source & Image Source: PCMag

TiVo Launches New Set-Top Box, Has Web TV Features

Asterios Kokkinos — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:00:41 +0000

Huzzah! TiVO’s launched a new flavor of its set top box, the “Premiere” edition. The box, which will run for $300, is notable in that it’ll include simpler functionality for Netflix, YouTube and other online video streaming services. It’ll also help go through local television listings easier as well.

The basic “Premiere” model will hold 45 hours of HD content, whereas the more expensive $500 model will hold 150 hours.

A Reuters article I read on the subject brought up a good point – what’s the incentive for buying a TiVo if your cable company’s offering a cheap generic DVR? Apparantly TiVo only has 1.5 million subscribers, a number I’d figure would be much higher for the impact the product’s made on our culture. Suddenly, time shifted viewing’s gone from “rich people’s luxury” to “affordable necessity,” as the price of including a generic DVR with your cable is often much cheaper than buying a TiVo + TiVO subscription.

Point is: this new toy may not do much to turn new people onto TiVo, but hey, diehards will get a sweet new toy! Six of one, one half dozen of another.

Source: Reuters

Photo Source: Google

Confirmed: iPad To Launch April 3rd

Asterios Kokkinos — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:07:12 +0000

Yesterday, we ran a story reporting on a rumored release date for the iPad. Apple just confirmed that rumor as false – the “magical and revolutionary” iPad is launching on April 3rd.

Well, the Wi-Fi version, anyway. The model that can tap into AT&T’s 3G network arrives in “late April.”

The model will be shipping with 12 apps built in, all designed specifically for the iPad, and obviously the iPad will be able to run any of the 150,000 apps in the iTunes App Store as it is simply a gigantic iPhone.

Here’s a short little bullet of information from Apple HQ:

iPad will be available in Wi-Fi models on April 3 in the United States for a suggested retail price of $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB, $699 for 64GB. The Wi-Fi + 3G models will be available in late April for a suggested retail price of $629 for 16GB, $729 for 32GB and $829 for 64GB. iPad will be sold in the United States through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers.

Source & Photo Source: NYTimes

Rumor: iPad Launch Date is March 26th

Asterios Kokkinos — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:04:19 +0000

iPhone Launch In Paris, 2007

We’ve all heard the rumors of production problems with the iPad, and we know the official release date is said to be sometime “in late March.” Now, the websites Examiner and MacRumors are both reporting that the iPad will launch on March 26th.

If correct, that’d mean Apple’s launching the same week they launched the iPhone way back in 2007. Remember those pre-iPhone days, before all your friends did was play with apps in front of you? Good times. Anyway, the second half of the rumor is that employees would get their hands on the device on March 10 for in-store demos, which would be the same day a massive commercial campaign for the iPad launches.

The thing about rumors is that…well, they’re rumors, and we won’t know if they’re true for a little bit now. Still, I hope they’re right, if only so I can finally play with one of these things and see what all the fuss is about.

Source & Photo Source: Christian Science Monitor

One In Four Televisions Now Internet Connected

Asterios Kokkinos — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:00:22 +0000

Some cool news for those who love Netflix on their flatscreens – market research firm iSuppli found that in a survey of 800 televisions purchased in January, around 27% were connected to the internet via digital video box, game console or the built in capabilities of the set itself. This finding show that – no surprise – people would rather view their digital content on a nice big screen than on a monitor or laptop display.

The breakdown is as follows – around 41% of those internet connected televisions were IETVs, or internet enabled TV’s. 20.3% were connected via video game console (like the XBOX 360 or PS3), 13.2% via internet connected Blu-ray players, and 12.3% via digital boxes or their PCs.

For those not in the know, internet enabled TV’s connect to your home internet setup via wireless or a hard line ethernet connection. The study showed that these internet enabled TV’s had seen the largest spike in sales, up a whopping 14.2% from the previous month.

Given this trend, iSuppli predicts that sales of IETVs will climb to 87.6 million units worldwide by 2013, up from 2009’s 14.7 million.

Source & Photo Source: InformationWeek

World’s Largest Commercially Available Flash Drive?

Asterios Kokkinos — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 14:00:59 +0000

One flash drive. Two hundred and fifty six gigabytes. Limitless pornography.

Gentlemen, meet the DT-310, a Kingston flash drive that holds 256 gigabytes of data in its tiny frame. It costs eleven hundred dollars, reads up to 25 megabytes per second and writes at 12 MB/s. It’s the most unneccessary thing I’ve ever seen, and as such, I want it very badly.

Hilariously, it’s the second generation of this model – the first, released in late 2009, had slower read/write speeds, which is understandable for a drive carrying around a whaleload of data.

Could Kingston’s monster of a flash drive be the world’s largest commercially available flash drive? My searches on Newegg and Amazon have failed to find a bigger one, so I’m willing to concede that the DT-310’s the biggest. Hey Technomaly readers – if you can find a bigger mass market, commercially produced and available flash drive, email me at asterios.kokkinos@gmail.com and I’ll send you something free in the mail! It won’t be expensive, but it will be free!

Hey, who wants some Windows 95 installation discs?

Source & Photo Source: New York Times

New PlayStation 3 Models On the Way?

J. Matthew Zoss — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:35:11 +0000

You don’t have to be a gamer to be interested in the PlayStation 3. Although Blu-ray players have plummeted in price over the last few years, the PS3 is still a great affordable Blu-ray player that has the ability to receive new features via software upgrades. The PS3 was redesigned last year when the Ps3 Slim was released, and it looks like the hardware is being refreshed again, according to a couple new FCC filings spotted by Engadget.

The gadget site spotted a couple of filing by “Sand Dollar Enterprise,” which is a pseudonym corporation that Sony to keep its FCC filings quiet. The new PS3 models are labeled CECH-2101A and CECH-2101B (current models are CECH-2001A and B). Unfortunately, there’s no indication as to what might be different in these new models. The best-case scenario is probably larger hard drives. The worst-case scenario is something like new manufacturers for existing components, in which case I’m sorry to have wasted your time.

Source: Engadget

New Dell Tablet Sounds Pretty Cool

Asterios Kokkinos — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:00:00 +0000

With all this talk of the iPad, it’s hard to remember that yes, other idiots are also trying to make a device designed only for fun during a massive recession. If I had a bunch of expendable cash, I think I actually might buy this new Dell tablet, the Mini 5. Here’s what it’s packing:

Flash compatibility, unlike the iPad
Make phone calls
Runs on Android, which is always a plus
Front facing webcam, rear facing 5 megapixel camera
16:9 aspect ratio, perfect for HD media
A “competitive” price, which I hope is code for, “Much cheaper than the iPad”

For the record, the iPad’s screen is nearly double the size of the Mini 5, has access to the hundred thousand apps in the iTunes App Store, and is a gigantic iPhone. Gigantic versions of things people already love seems like a winning strategy in the coming tablet-wars.

I once again raise the question: does anyone out there actually need a tablet computer? I suppose the real question, though, is, will anybody want one.

Motorola Introduces Augmented Reality Eyepiece

Asterios Kokkinos — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 19:00:08 +0000

Finally: a piece of augmented reality tech that’s as useful as it is cool looking. The Golden-i, a joint venture between Motorola and miniature display maker Kopin, serves as a computer to those whose hands are busy doing actual, useful things. Designed to fit under a construction helmet, the Golden-i’s tiny eyepiece provides the equivalent of a 15 inch display, and comes with a headphone, microphone, Bluetooth & Wi-Fi baked in.

It’s voice controlled, and according to the reviewer at Wired who tried it out, the voice commands were perfect (though sadly, he reports that saying “enhance” didn’t do anything). The voice control’s pretty smart – it’ll only recognize commands if there’s a gap before them, so saying “My Music” will open a folder whereas saying “Hey, if there’s one thing I love, it’s my music” will do nothing. Sharp!

Apparently the device needs to be “ruggedized,” which is a fun new word I hope to use all the time, before it’ll reach the construction site, but still – this thing looks very, very cool. Now all I need is a job important enough to warrant an eye-mounted computer!

Source & Photo Source: Wired

Wash Your Hands With Plasma! (You Go First)

Nick Upton — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:17:01 +0000

Scientists have been working for many years to design something to replace the dull act of washing hands.

I for one am delighted, I’ve been telling all my friends that someone really needs to zazz-up the whole bathroom experience with lasers. I do have some little concerns with sticking your hand into a box filled with face-melting lasers a la Terminator.

The designers said they wanted to provide an alternative for doctors so they wouldn’t have to spend so long washing their hands and getting dishpan hands.

The plasma is created at room temperature and pressure by running electrical current through air. The resulting gas (found in fluorescent lights, plasma TVs, Halo guns and neon signs) can zap anything from bacteria to viruses, even the troublesome MSRA.

Even scientists, however, don’t assuage my fear of ending my hand model career with one of these things.

Mark Kushner, the director of the Michigan Institute for Plasma Science, described his 16-year-old boy’s approach to science to the New York Times.

“Many thousands of volts drive the generation of plasma,” he said, “and normally one doesn’t want to touch thousands of volts.” But the design of the new hand sanitizers, he said, protects people from doing so.

Reassured by that design, about five years ago he put his naked thumb into a jet of microbe-destroying plasma at the lab of another plasma researcher.

“It was just one of those leaps of faith,” he said. (His thumb survived just fine.)

Sure, plasma streams are just like electric fences.

Check out one more mockup of the inside of the plasma hand wash, but note that nobody would put their hand inside for the picture.

[Via NY Times]

Broken Flash Drive? Meet The World’s Toughest Flash Drive

Asterios Kokkinos — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:00:08 +0000

Ever been royally screwed by a broken flash drive? Corsair has the solution, with their insanely overprotected flash drive, the “Corsair Survivor.”

Data retrieval will be a thing of the past with this bad boy – it’s encased in CNC-milled, aircraft grade aluminum, (I don’t know what that means), comes molded in a shock-dampening collar and EPDM seal, (I don’t know what that means either), and is water-resistant to a depth of 200 meters. (I have no idea why you’d go swimming with this).

Corsair claims that reviewers and bloggers have baked, boiled, dropped, run over and microwaved this thing without breaking it, so…holy lord, these are all conditions that would never be met in real life, yet I’m happy have been enacted!

A sixteen gigabyte model will run you fifty dollars on Amazon, which isn’t too bad – it comes with a USB extension cord, some dogtags, a 10 year warranty and bragging rights. Lots and lots of worthless bragging rights.

Source: Maximum PC

New Air Rules Ban Extra Laptop, Phone Batteries

Asterios Kokkinos — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 18:00:40 +0000

In a move set to outrage flying nerds everywhere, the FAA recently released new guidelines blocking the carrying-on of extra lithium-ion, alkaline and nickel metal-hydride batteries.

“It will be a nightmare for passengers,” said George Kerschner, who runs the DC based Portable Rechargeable Battery Association, and seems to have a very wide definition of the word “nightmare.” He cautioned that the regulation will cause people to have to ship their batteries ahead of them (instead of just…checking them), adding, “We’re talking about billions of dollars.”

Kerschner went on to yell, “YOU WILL LIVE TO REGRET THIS!” before blasting off in an escape pod to his island fortress made out of batteries.

The full text of the Department of Transportation’s proposal can be viewed online – there’s also a comment section where you can deposit your rage. Kerschner has left several threatening comments on that page, which include:

“GIVE ME BATTERIES OR GIVE ME DEATH!”
NO EXTRA BATTERIES ON FLIGHTS = HITLER
IF I CAN’T BRING EXTRA BATTERIES ON MY PLANE, THEN THAT IS JUST A SITUATION THAT I HATE
FAA = FRIGGING ASSHOLES…ASSHOLES

Kerschner then went on to weep uncontrollably into a pile of batteries.

Source: PC World

Hey Dead People, Screw You

Nick Upton — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:22:16 +0000

Settle down, I’m not actually upset at dead people — even if they are totally annoying.

A new patent, however, does want to screw people, literally. The inventor has designed a new coffin that screws directly into the ground, saving space and effort. The plastic coffin seems to be especially designed to be low cost; which would be ideal for disaster situations.

An easy to install burial container which takes up far less land area and greatly reduces installation labor over current burial practice by being installed at an angle rather than parallel to the surface of earth or other receiving material with the burial container mainly comprising a hull into which is placed a body or material to be buried and a means by which to provide closure for the said hull.

I would love to be buried in one of these cool things, I bet it would be much easier to rise from the dead when I become a zombie.

[Via Make Magazine]

Invented! The 20-Year Lithium Ion Battery

Asterios Kokkinos — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:00:49 +0000

File this one under “the planet thanks you” – the Japanese research & development company Eamex says they’ve found a way to allow lithium ion batteries to be recharged up to ten thousand times over the span of twenty years.

How? Some revolutionary new science involving “a stabilization process of the battery’s electrodes, which in-turn puts less stress on the battery’s tin.” I always thought if you could stabilize the electrodes you’d get less tin stress!

This process his “maintains the bonding of particles for a longer period of time,” which in turn, allows your rechargeable battery to last ten times longer than those currently on store shelves.

Eamax feels this is big news for heavy-duty batteries, such as those that are used to power electric vehicles. Plus, eventually the tech will help extend the lives of smaller appliances like smartphones or laptops.

Think about it: one pair of double A’s could be with you longer than most of your girlfriends! Or, for some of you, one pair of double A’s could power most of your girlfriends!

Product Review: iHM79 Portable Speakers

J. Matthew Zoss — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:03:08 +0000

Every now and then, I’ll get a random box on my doorstep with some tech product in it. One of the perks of being a blogger, I guess!* One of the recent arrivals contained a pair of iHome’s iHM79 portable speakers. These collapsible speakers are compatible with both mp3 players and computers, and as such are a decently versatile gadget. The two speakers are about three inches tall and pump out a surprisingly beefy sound for their size. When riding my exercise bike I hooked this set up to my iPod and found that I needed to turn the iPod’s volume up all the way to hear clearly over the noise of my exercise equipment, but that it’s an old bike and most modern equipment is quieter. But even with my old workout gear I was still satisfied with the volume and impressive bass of these speakers.

I also watched a few movies on my laptop with this set hooked up, and was very pleased with the results. Normally I have to turn my computer’s volume all the way up to watch a video, but with these attached I couldn’t have the volume at more than 50% or the sound was much too loud.

The speakers connect to your computer or iPod via an included wire harness that plugs in to both speakers and has an audio-in jack and a USB plug. Unfortunately, that means you’ve got a spare cord dangling no matter which device you’re using. It’s a small complaint at best, and there’s a neat cord management clip attached to help keep the wires tidy. The two speakers attach to one another with magnets in the base and fit neatly into an including carrying bag. Overall, I’m really happy with the quality of these speakers and they’ve become a key part of my daily workout routine. At a suggested retail price of $50, I’d heartily recommend the iHM79 speakers for anyone looking for a good-sounding set of dual-use mp3 player or laptop speakers.

*Despite perks like this, professional blogging isn’t recommend for everyone, unless you enjoy being extremely poor.

What Could It Possibly Mean? Amazon Buy Touchscreen Company

J. Matthew Zoss — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 17:52:19 +0000

I’m going to have to call in Scooby and the gang, because I can’t possibly figure out this mystery. Amazon has purchased touchscreen manufacturer Touchco, but has not clarified what it intends to do with the company. Touchco was reportedly working on low-cost touchscreens that work with transparent displays, and I can’t for the life of me figure out what Amazon would need with such a company…

But seriously, this news can only point to one thing: A new version of the Kindle with touchscreen support. Touchco’s technology reportedly supported multi-touch, so it really sounds like Amazon is heading at Apple head on. Will an Amazon App Store be far behind the launch of a new Kindle?

Source: CRN.com

Big Breasted Mouse Pads, Thanks Japan!

Nick Upton — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:27:25 +0000

If you’ve ever wanted to nestle your wrist between a pair of oversized foam breasts while you play video games, you’re in luck! Everyone else, look at this weird Japanese crap!

I’m not sure I’ll be getting one of these — mostly because I couldn’t find a link to buy them.

[Via Buzz Feed]

Silicone Implants Harvest Human Energy For Later Use

Asterios Kokkinos — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:00:01 +0000

Princeton University engineers have found a way to harvest the energy from human movement such as walking, talking or breathing. Creepy? Well, yes, but it’s also very cool – they’ve created a way to turn silicone sheets into “piezoelectric” materials that generate electricity when flexed. In other words, silicon implants – or giant sheets of silicon fashioned into cloth – will be able to store the energy produced by every single thing we do, like the stillsuits from Dune, or some even nerdier sci-fi reference.

We don’t produce much electricity with just our regular movements, but the new implants can capture 80% of it – that’s enough to power an MP3 player, cell phone, or even a pacemaker! The latter is the most revolutionary – currently, when a pacemaker’s batteries need replacement, the patient has to to undergo surgery. With these new implants, a pacemaker’s batteries can be constantly recharged through, say, silicon implants against the patient’s lungs collecting the energy produced by natural breathing.

Amazing!

For those who actually understand such things, these implants represent the “first successful combination of silicone and nanoribbons made of lead zirconate titanate (PZT)”. Lead zirconate has piezoelectric characteristics that allow it to generate electricity when squeezed – again, 80% of that mechanical energy is converted to electrical energy, which is incredibly efficient.

Source & Image Source: PopSci

My 3-D Food Printer Is Going To Run Out Of Chocolate

Nick Upton — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:58:25 +0000

The 3-D Printer is pretty sweet, but it can’t print me a cake.

So of course MIT researchers are working on building a printer that can create edible food any way the owner wants it — and in any form.

I don’t expect these sorts of food printers in my kitchen — ever. But it could mean some interesting things for the ultra gourmet food industry. They are always toying with things like liquid nitrogen and laser cooking and all the things normal cooks could never afford.

Who knows what kind of creations cooks turned engineers could create — perfect spheres of flavor or fragile garnish spindles.

Nobody has actually printed anything just yet, but the concept images are very cool, and the concept food is already making me drool.

[Images Via Dornob]

Israeli Roboticists Design Wall-Crawling Robots

Nex — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 02:39:35 +0000

If the idea of metallic exoskeletons crushing human skulls under foot in the battle scarred wastes of post-apocalyptic Los Angeles no longer instills fear in your all-too-fleshy human bits, the roboticists at Israel’s Ben Gurion University would like to invite you to their new nightmare: Robots that climb walls.

Now some of you may be watching this video, thinking, “Wow! That’s pretty ingenious! That electromagnetic robot would be really useful on metal surfaces, and that one with the glue and tread system would work anywhere!” You’d then mince away, giggling to yourself as your mind fills with practical, world-changing applications for these clever machines.

Of course, that would make you a filthy ‘bot sympathizer. When the metal ones start crawling in your windows and stabbing your portly security guards in the face, don’t come crying to me. Or Sam Waterston.

We tried to warn you:

Source: Make

Super Slim Que Reader Is Super Pricey

Nick Upton — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:11:35 +0000

There isn’t much more to say about the Que e-reader, the rep said plenty after I asked for a one-minute demo.

As she said, the Que is targeted toward business readers. So is the price, when the reader is released in April prices will be a whopping $649 for the 4GB model and $799 for the 8GB model — which will also feature 3G on top of the Wi-Fi that is featured on both.

OK, it’s big and it’s thin, but that is far too much money for a reader in my (e)book. For even $400 any reader can get a netbook with a color screen and a real keyboard. Maybe I just don’t get it.

PowerPOST Upturns The Old Fashioned Power Strip

Nick Upton — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:30:27 +0000

I hate power strips, they weren’t made for people who have computers. It seems every cord for my computer, speakers, monitor cell phone, laptop, router, modem and battery charger has a different size cord. It becomes a Tetris puzzle just to keep all the power on and plug in something else.

The PowerPOST took aim at my pile-o-fire-hazard by making all those plugs vertical and well spaced out.

The power strip won an award from Red Dot, which had some pretty lofty things to say about the table leg power strip.

PowerPOST functions as a fourth leg for desks as well as an electronic environment for the servicing of electrical appliances used on the desk. The concept represents “eco convergence” by merging two objects into one and therefore reducing people’s levels of consumption.

OK, eco convergence, whatever, if it cuts down on that pile of wires and keeps me from kicking out the power when I get too excited by Call of Duty, I’ll take it.

[Images via Red Dot]

Forget The Razr: This Cell Phone Is An Actual Razor

Asterios Kokkinos — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:33:09 +0000

Japan has once again provided the solution to a problem we didn’t know we had.

The Chinese-made, Japanese-sold “Shave Mobile Razor Phone” has a built in electric shaver, which is powered by USB. This story, which originated at CNet Japan, unfortunatley doesn’t tell you where or how to buy the darn thing. But, after translating their website with Google Translate, I am happy to report that the translated first line of the article is:

Beautiful body, and shaving at the bottom built-in!

Will I ever get tired of poorly translated Japanese? I don’t think so. Check out the translated page yourself by clicking here.

Source: CNet Japan

Photo Source: DVice

Make Your Own Annoying Noises With Thingamagoop

Nick Upton — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:00:14 +0000

I can hear my friends now: “Wow, you made that? Please turn it off.”

So maybe there are better ways to spend $100, but nothing quite comes close to the Thingamagoop 2 via Make.

Now anyone can create their own noise making, light sensing, booping-bleeping box. You can even plug it into your sound system so the who house, building or block can hear your creations and call the police.

It’s one of the many cooky things you can make with the Audrino system, but one of the easier avenues into DIY tech.

Beware, making your own tech can lead to piles of useless junk and straining relationships.

Via the Maker SHED.

Related posts:
My 3-D Food Printer Is Going To Run Out Of Chocolate

MakerBot’s 3-D Printer New Star Of DIY Tech

3D Printer Can Print Entire Buildings

Want To See What A $9,800 Amp Looks Like?

Nick Upton — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 16:11:33 +0000

The VAC Phi 200 Power Amplifier had a whole room to itself at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show. It looks pretty neat, but I think I’d rather spend my $9,800 on other things.

The VAC Amps amp specifications are as follows:

100+ watt/channel stereo amplifier into 2, 4, and 8 ohms

200+ watt mono mode via switch

Gain (level controls at maximum): 36 dB, SE input; 30 dB, balanced input

Frequency response 4 Hz to 75 kHz

Power bandwidth 13 Hz to 70 kHz

Single-ended input via RCA jack, non-inverting

Balanced input via XLR jack, non-inverting relative to pin 2 (“pin 2 hot”, EIA/RCA broadcast/recording standard); amp is fully balanced in this mode

Residual noise typically 700 microvolts at the speaker terminals

12 volt trigger

Illuminated logo

Dimensions: 17.8″ wide, 17.8″ front to back, 8.75″ high

Shipping weight 90 lbs.

Tubes: 4 x KT88, 4 x 6SN7

Detachable power cord, standard IEC power receptacle

May be factory configured for operation at 100, 120, 220, or 230/240 volt operation

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MakerBot’s 3-D Printer New Star Of DIY Tech

Nick Upton — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:14:51 +0000

MakerBot showed off their new Cupcake CNC at the Consumer Electronics Show and there was a constant crowd trying to get a glimpse at the 3-D plastic printer. Basically the printer draws each layer of a design, then draws the next on top of it.

According to a MakerBot press release it works just like a glue gun.

To get a sense of how it works, imagine an extremely accurate, programmable glue gun. The Cupcake CNC starts by drawing a picture of the first layer of your object in plastic. It then raises the extruder up 1/3rd of a millimeter and draws the next layer. When all the layers are complete, you’ve manufactured a 3D object from your own or an open source design.

The device serves — a DIY kit itself– as a good glimpse into the subculture of do-it-yourself technology. While it’s not financially connected to Make Magazine or the popular open-source Audrino chip and operating system, MakerBot’s founder Bre Pettis has plenty of connections. Pettis created videos for Make Magazine and the MakerBot printer runs on the Audrino system.

The first few printers that come up on a Google search are $14,900 and $35,000, and the cheapest one on EBay is 4,999.98, so at $950 the MakerBot printer is a bit easier on the pocket book.

The printer can be used to make a robot shell for one of the many robotics kits out there or make a little gondola for a blimp kit.

At even the low price of $950, the MakerBot 3-D printer is a bit rich for the occasional tinkerer, but since the DIY movement is incredibly well connected, it could make a great addition to a local hackerspace and would be quite affordable if a few members split the cost. Renting out the MakerBot to other local makers could make up for a lot of the costs as well, though I didn’t find anything on Craigslist, talking to local makers could put one on the right track.

All in all, the MakerBot printer is a really interesting step in DIY tech and gets techies closer to putting their imaginations instead of their money into their new gizmo.

Below is some more video of the MakerBot printer in action at the 2010 CES.

Related posts:
3D Printer Can Print Entire Buildings

My 3-D Food Printer Is Going To Run Out Of Chocolate

Make Your Own Annoying Noises With Thingamagoop

Intel’s i7 Interactive Wall Brings The Trippy To CES

Nick Upton — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 23:46:30 +0000

The entire Intel space at the Consumer Electronics Show was focused on the new i7 processor line, but the cream of the crop was the interactive wall.

The wall, as the rep says, pulls feeds from Google News, Flickr and and puts them into a really trippy rolling box wave interface. Like the Intel rep says, it would be ideal for say a conference or an airport at a school or at a mall — anyplace where people want a quick taste of the internet.

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eCoupled Countertop Gives Wireless Power

Nick Upton — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 18:20:35 +0000

A very interesting bit of technology, a wireless power countertop, was shown off at the Consumer Electronics Show.

The demonstrators heated water, toasted air and blended water all wirelessly. Having a few of these around the kitchen or the house would be really awesome, or on the bar.

Blended margaritas anyone?

Related posts:
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Nexus One vs. Droid. Fight!

J. Matthew Zoss — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 03:45:00 +0000

Just a few short days ago, Google announced the Nexus One, the first phone designed by the technology giant. But only a few months ago, Motorola released the Droid, their fancy smartphone that runs on Google’s Android software and was supposed to be the next hot thing in phones. Keeping up with cell phone technology can be daunting, especially if you’re not one of those folks who obsesses over every little bit of phone tech news (and believe me, those people are out there). To help you decide between the two latest high-profile guide, we offer up this features comparison that will walk you through the differences, but more importantly, what those differences mean.

PROCESSOR

The Droid runs on a 600MHz processor. The Nexus One runs on a 1GHz processor. Obviously, that means that the Nexus One is much faster. The big advantage of this is that it will be able to multi-task complex applications to a degree that no previous phone has been capable of.

KEYBOARD AND DISPLAY

One of the Droid’s main selling points is its slide-out keyboard. However, because of small keys, no one seems to like it much. The Nexus One has only a touch screen keyboard. Tthe Droid has a 3.7-inch screen that displays video at 854 x 480 pixels. In comparison, the Nexus One’s screen operates at 800 x 480 pixels. Most consumers probably won’t notice a difference.

OPERATING SYSTEM

The Droid runs the Google Android 2.0 operating system. The Nexus One runs Android 2.1. Despite the small numerical difference, 2.1 adds major features such as a 3D photo album and a voice command recognition. You’ll be able to operate Google Maps with your voice while you’re driving, for example.

SERVICE

I don’t want to get too deep into the particulars or plans and costs, because that stuff gets messy quickly. Here are the basics: the Droid is a Verison phone, The Nexus One is not exclusive to any carrier. Google has a deal with T-Mobile to provide service for the device (the $179 price point is with a two-year contract), but the Nexus One is available for use on any cell phone network, provided it uses the same cell phone protocol. One of the main concepts behind the Nexus One is that switching service providers shouldn’t force you to switch phones.

For more information on the Nexus One, the Droid and how they compare against each other and other leading smart phones, see the comparison chart here.

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Haptic Antics: Apple’s Rumored Retractable Keyboard

Asterios Kokkinos — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 14:44:38 +0000

If this rumor provided by AppleInsider is true, then Apple is creating an iPhone/Apple Tablet keyboard that retracts when necessary. This would fix the issue with the iPhone’s touchscreen keyboard being hard to use – if when entering a URL, a series of 26 bumps were to appear, it’d be a lot easier to enter the data. Then, when you’re ready to go back to clicking and dragging, the bumps would vanish.

Wow, I’ve never spent so much time outlining something that’s a complete rumor, but I’m excited at the very idea of this technology. It’d be like trapping your very own Odo in a cell phone!

I’ll be honest: I’ll take any excuse whatsoever to play video of Odo from Deep Space Nine.

Source: Apple Insider

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Japanese Paper Shredder Produces Toilet Paper

Asterios Kokkinos — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 14:00:29 +0000

YEAH! This is what I’m talkin’ about! This japanese paper shredder, dubbed the “White Goat”, turns 40 sheets of shredded paper into one roll of toilet paper in only a half hour. All you need to do is add water for the pulping. Here’s the video:

Here’s how it works – first, your paper’s shredded into tiny, identity-thieving proof bits. Those bits are mixed with water and turned into pulp, which is eventually dried, rolled, and returned to the user as ready-to-use toilet paper. It’s like the Jetsons only funnier!

I think I’m in love. This machine combines my two favorite things – shredding and environmentalism – and brings them together to create a product I respect. Japan, again, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts, no pun intended.

Well, maybe pun intended. Regardless, this is the perfect way to destroy that incriminating evidence! Instead of burning files relating to your crimes, which creates harmful carbon dioxide, why not help the planet while helping yourself and turn some of that damning evidence into life affirming toilet paper? You’ll be glad you did.

Source & Photo Source: PopSci

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TSA: Please Step Into My Nude Room

Nick Upton — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:11:52 +0000

The so called “underwear bomber” nearly took down a plane on Christmas, and now the Transportation Security Administration is pushing for better security technology, namely the Millimeter Wave Passenger Imaging Technology Pilot — which amounts to X-ray scanners commonly seen in cartoons.

While the machines won’t show our green glowing bones, the TSA thinks it is essential to spotting people trying to smuggle things through the airport. Privacy advocates all the way up to the senate have some concerns, but the TSA says anyone with concerns can skip the machine in favor of olde timey metal detectors and patdowns.

According to the TSA press release about the machines, most passengers prefer the device to old, slower methods.

Many passengers prefer advanced imaging technology. In fact, over 98 percent of passengers who encounter this technology during TSA pilots prefer it over other screening options.

Additionally, passengers with joint replacements or other medical devices that would regularly alarm a metal detector often prefer this technology because it is quicker and less-invasive than a pat down.

Despite the assurances and the grainy, PG-13 images that the TSA claims will be obscured in strategic areas, some lawmakers have some qualms.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said, “I believe there’s technology out there that can identify bomb-type materials without necessarily, overly invading our privacy,” he told the Salt Lake Tribune. Chaffetz said he supports a measure that would keep the TSA from using the devices as a primary means of screening.

I say anything that would make the security line go quicker and give me a reason to wear my hilarious lead bling for the screeners is a good thing.

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