High-tech vehicles pose trouble for some mechanics
These days, owner David Baur spends a lot of time worrying in his full-service garage near downtown Los Angeles.
As cars become vastly more complicated than models made just a few years ago, Baur is often turning down jobs and referring customers to auto dealer shops. Like many other independent mechanics, he does not have the thousands of dollars to purchase the online manuals and specialized tools needed to fix the computer-controlled machines. [Read more...]
The Wonder Of Apple's Tablet
Apple’s New Tablet To Be Baptized iSlate?
If correct, that means we can add a rumor to a rumor: that the unconfirmed, unannounced but most definitely coming (maybe) Apple tablet device will be named iSlate. That would be in line with earlier connections of the ’slate’ term to the illusive tablet computer, based on New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller calling it something to that effect
in a speech. [Read more...]
New Nvidia Chip Features 3 Billion Transistors
How Blu-ray stole Christmas (and why that should worry you)
Were you naughty or nice this year? I'll wait a minute while you go look under your tree. Is this the year that Santa brought you a Blu-ray player? No? Maybe you weren't nice enough. A lot of other people will get Blu-ray players (and hopefully piles of discs) this holiday season. That's more evidence that slowly but surely, Blu-ray is taking off. The format had a rocky start before it finally established itself, mainly by killing off its competition, HD DVD. But what's next? The future of Blu-ray is about to change. [Read more...]
Despite price hikes and setbacks, the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project marches on, and now it's getting even more ambitious. Get a load of this: Here's the third OLPC, the spectacular XO-3 tablet that's the new goal of the altruistic project. With a target of 2012, this super-thin plastic panel boasts wireless charging and an 8.5" x 11" touchscreen. The kicker? Its designer says it will cost $75.
2012? We're thinking more like 2015 for this tech. While this gorgeous tablet might be nothing but fantasy, we like the way designer Yves Behar aims high. And who knows, maybe there will be a gigantic technological leaps in the next two years, enabling a waterproof tablet that's thinner than the iPhone, contains an "8GHz processor" (really?), and is so cheap that every child in the developing world can possess one.
LED dress lights up for pollution
When fashion and tech mix, I am torn between thinking, "Wow, way to go," and "Jeez, is that really necessary?" This Climate dress from Danish design company Diffus has hundreds of LEDs that light up when air pollution is detected. So, apart from attracting moths and geeky guys when the sun goes down, how does it work?
Hidden somewhere about this dress is an Arduino Lilypad microprocessor and a carbon dioxide monitor. Conductive embroidery transmits info from the monitor to the lights, which flash at various speeds depending on the concentration of the greenhouse gases. Much as I like the embroidery, I'm not sold on the shape of it — big bustle-y-thingy, baby — but I guess you've got to appreciate the thinking behind this
Networked 'cloud' lets soldiers share info, call in air strikes
Just the other day we showed you some of the military apps soldiers could take advantage of on their iPhones. Well, now there's an even more complex way to connect infantry units with one another through the Man-packable Network Integration Kit (or M-NIK), a portable "cloud" that integrates ideas from the Land Warrior program.
M-NIK lets troops pull in video surveillance from aerial drones, share video, text and voice communications with one another via satellite and radio, and even call in precision air strikes. The last on the list is perhaps the biggest benefit to soldiers in the field, as it would allow them to link directly with their battlefield support — such as artillery or air support — without having to relay commands through a second party.
The system was recently tested in the field, and allowed two separate infantry units to network with one another, as well as with a distant command post. It's the kind of connectivity that military vehicles enjoy but has been elusive for foot soldiers as a man can't lug around the same weight as a tank. And the M-NIK is rather heavy, weighing in at 20 pounds.
It's a system that shows early promise, however, and should be lighter and tighter with the rapid leaps and bounds military technology tends to enjoy.
BT commits to high-speed broadband rollout by Olympics
In a statement talking up BT’s broadband prospects, it said that the company was in the process of putting £1.5 billion worth of fibre optic cable in the ground, stretching out to 10 million homes, and that the work would be complete before 2012. [Read more...]
Redesigned Hitachi Simpledrive 2TB is fast, vast
You'd think the old Western Digital drive with its RAID-0 configuration would be faster than this single-drive Hitachi Simpletech, but no. When we transferred a gigabyte's worth of files to the old My Book, it took 45 seconds, compared with a mere 39 seconds for those same files transferred to the Simpledrive. That's a 13.33% increase in speed, thanks to the Simpledrive's quick 3.5-inch 7200rpm Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 disk enclosed within. [Read more...]
LG unveils 'world's thinnest' LCD panel
This 42-inch LCD panel from LG measuring just 0.1 inch thick. It didn't sacrifice picture quality for slimness either: The set has 1080p resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. At 8.8 pounds, it's easy to lug home, too — if it ever finds its way into a store. We should know more when we see it in Vegas at CES early next year.
The biggest tech story of 2009: Everything you bought this year is obsolete already
Some things are not outsourceable
As manufacturing becomes more globalized, outsourcing your engineering work, your tooling, and even the manufacturing itself is progressively a simpler and simpler challenge to overcome. The modern aftermarket performance parts “manufacturer” is required to do nothing more than submit a list of demands to their cheap overseas producer, and have the engineering, design, manufacturing, packaging, and shipping taken care of for them.
The days of hands-on facilities with employees who have true passion for their product have largely been replaced by the great connecting force that is the internet. Language barriers are overcome, manufacturing standards are universalized, and a product manufactured to ISO 9001 standards is as good as any other. [Read more...]
Apple 3D Head-Tracking
Get ready to feast your eyes. First we have a spherical photo that's a mind-boggling 18 gigapixels large, letting you gaze at Prague in record-breaking resolution. [Read more...]
3D glasses for HDTV to cost at least $75 a pair
We just got confirmation on that. LG told a bunch of Korean reporters it'll have its 3D HDTVs out in the second half of 2010. The company predicts robust sales, estimating it'll sell 400,000 3D HDTVs in 2010 (out of an expected 25 million total HDTVs worldwide) and 3.4 million in 2011. Sony says half the HDTVs it will sell in 2013 will be 3D. [Read more...]
Apple working on auto-adjusting 3D display
Apple has submitted a patent for a 3D display that automatically adjusts its view relative to the position of the viewer’s head. Is this just mad scientist experimentation by Apple’s R&D team or a potential product? [Read more...]
Spoon-Chopsticks hybrid : Stupid or Smart?
Designed by Aissa Logerot, the Spoopstick (yes, I named it myself) consists of a small bowl-like receptacle with two holes in the end. You can use the bowl alone for your soya-wasabi combo, or as a spoon for your Miso soup when you insert the chopsticks into the holes. And there's even a little toothpick add-on which permits the (discreet) post-prandial picking of fangs.
The 3 greatest 3D moments in Avatar
Military contractors designing war apps for the iPhone
Here's an app you won't be able to download via Apple's App Store — well, that is, unless you're in the military. Raytheon, a military contractor, is working on an app for the iPhone called One Force Tracker, which gives soldiers using it a constantly updating map, detailed with both friendly and enemy positions.
That's not the only war app out there, either. Another military contractor, Knight's Armament Company, has one called Bulletflight that's designed to help snipers hit their targets.
According to Raytheon, the iPhone is ideal as "building software for the gadget was cheaper and simpler than some of the expensive options specifically designed for military use." That all makes sense, sure, but it's something of a danger, too, what with all the time wasters available on the iPhone. Read all about One Force Tacker on Raytheon's website.
Four-propellered drone vehicle can spy for you from afar
Here's something you don't want to see flying right at you: it's Australia's new hovering drone, kept aloft by four ducted fans.
This futuristic contraption, called the Cyber Quad, was designed by Cyber Technology Pty Ltd. It's set to be used to carry out surveys of offshore drilling platforms, but it could really be used to survey anything from afar, while scaring the hell out of anyone nearby. I want one.
Tron: Evolution evolves from the last Turok game?
The above video gives you glimpses of what I presume is gameplay from the upcoming videogame tie-in to Tron: Legacy, the movie due out exactly a year from this Thursday.
The top 10 games of 2009
I make no claim that these are the best games of 2009. I wouldn't begin to know how to go about deducing which games are the best. It would take a team of scientists, and the few scientists I know are very busy with other things. So instead, I can only offer you a list of my favorite games of the year. In other words, tops as far as I'm concerned. [Read more...]
M.I.T. reinvents the wheel for a hybrid bike
The Copenhagen wheels stores the kinetic energy created when the bike brakes or coasts downhill, just like a hybrid automobile. The motor kicks in when sensors detect that the riders needs some help up a hill or into a headwind. The hub interacts via Bluetooth with a iPhone mounted on the handlebars to shift gears, plus there's a GPS to track your ride. You can even see where other riders are or where traffic is building using the iPhone app.
Super-slim PC mounts behind TV, points the way for all HTPCs
In our quest to convince you that set-top boxes are useless, this is the kind of PC we have in mind. Mount this Piixl EdgeCenter 3770 Media PC behind your flat panel display, and you won't even know there's a PC involved. [Read more...]
The ultimate PC case mod: 6 powerful PCs in one glorious case
Up above is exactly what you'd see if you walked into the lobby of designer Fredrik Perman's office in North Carolina: six powerful computers, all consolidated into one wall-mounted case. Perman, along with his buddy Michael Stabile, took advantage of a move to a new office to spruce up the company's render farm used to churn through conceptual designs. [Read more...]
Apple Tablet here by Spring?
Top of the list of gifts we'll have to wait until next year to buy is the Apple Tablet, and today there's another round of rumors swirling around the much-anticipated apparition. Now we have a couple of know-it-all analysts saying we'll be seeing a 10.1-inch tablet in March or April, 2010, and it'll cost $1000. [Read more...]
Thermaltake’s BMW Level 10 case now available
Remember Thermaltake’s Level 10 case? Of course you do. It’s a frakkin beautiful case. One of the most unique cases you can buy in fact. And here’s some good news. You can now get a system exclusively from iBUYPOWER starting at $2499.
Sure that’s a lot of dough, but this thing looks like a futuristic city all by itself. More importantly it looks different than everything your friends have. It’s nice to be unique. Expensive, but nice.
Tell me you aren’t tempted to play with Star Wars figures using this thing as a playset.
LG unveils a borderless LCD HDTV...in Russia
LG's new SL8000 Borderless is an LCD HDTV with a screen that runs right up to the edges, with no borders to distract you to the action happening on screen. It's got a full 1920x1080 HD resolution, 150,000:1 dynamic contrast ration and a 2ms response time.
It's going on sale now for about $2,113 for the 42-inch model. In Russia. If you want one here in the States, well, too bad. One assumes this will arrive here at some point, but who knows.
These Harman Kardon GLA-55 computer speakers are designed to make a statement. No black plastic to blend into the background for these guys! Of course, you'll pay for such uniqueness.
Yes, for a mere $1,000 you too can have these speakers decorating your desk. I'm not quite sure how the hell they're getting away with charging four figures for a pair of speakers that don't come with a subwoofer, basically guaranteeing that they don't sound all that great, but hey, some jackass will pay that much. Harman Kardon wins, I guess.
World record: 0.01mm nano-snowman
You're looking at the tiniest snowman ever built. Well, it looks like a snowman, but this minuscule model — about a fifth the width of a human hair — is not made out of snow. It's constructed of two tiny tin beads that are usually used to calibrate an electron microscope, and welded together with platinum.
It's built by David Cox, a nanotech expert at the Quantum Detection Group of Britain's National Physical Laboratory. He's accustomed to working with such astonishingly small objects, and used his nano-particle manipulation tools to demonstrate the astonishing accuracy of his work.
He bathed the snowman in blue light to give us this entertaining, snow-blown image. The remarkable flourish of his smiling snowman is its little happy face, carved into the top orb using a focused ion beam. That's no small feat.
Posts
