| Kinect hackers give us iOS-friendly dodgeball and Human Tetris Posted: 20 Feb 2011 08:14 AM PST Remember that Microsoft Rally Ball demo from a few days ago that showed Windows Phone 7's integration with Xbox? Well, the gang at Supertouch has stolen a bit of Ballmer's thunder with a new Kinect hack that lets you hurl digital orbs at your Kinect-controlling friend using an iOS device instead of a WP7 handset. The graphics for the game and the iDevice controls aren't nearly as pretty as Microsoft's cross-platform gaming solution, but the end result is pretty much the same -- flingin' balls with a phone while your friend dodges them courtesy of Kinect. Meanwhile, Frog Design has added a Human Tetris game to the Kinect's repertoire where players perfect their Vogue-ing skills by striking a pose to match an approaching cut-out on screen. Finally, all the shape-shifting fun with none of the goofy silver jumpsuits. Vids are after the break. [Thanks to everyone who sent these in]
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| Google's Native Client almost 'ready for takeoff,' ready to make ActiveX look visionary Posted: 20 Feb 2011 06:36 AM PST We're almost there, almost to the release of the Native Client we first got wind of last May. It is, basically, a way to run native code within a browser -- low-end stuff capable of delivering performance good enough for 3D games and the like. Christian Stefansen, a Google Product Manager, said that the stuff is getting closer to delivery, that the team behind it has reached an "important milestone," that code will be "as portable and secure as JavaScript." It was of course security, or the lack thereof, that derailed Microsoft's plans for this sort of functionality in Internet Explorer via ActiveX, a stigma that technology has still yet to escape from. Will Native Client do better? Will Crysis ever be available in the Chrome Web Store? Could a Cr-48 run it anyway? Questions questions... |
| Best Buy adding new Apple laptop SKUs to its systems, foreshadows MacBook Pro refresh Posted: 20 Feb 2011 04:44 AM PST Best Buy's laptop discovery tool is doing a slightly overzealous job this morning by listing a set of "new SKU" laptops from Apple Computer before said company has had a chance to announce them. This seems to corroborate recent rumors of a MacBook Pro refresh coming next week, as do the $1,199, $1,499, $1,799, and $2,199 price points, all of which are presently occupied by current-gen 13- and 15-inch MBP variants. There is an additional $2,499 sticker for a laptop identified only as "New SKU I," which presumably points to an upgrade to Apple's 17-incher. Regrettably, there's nothing more than the pricing for us to go on, but feel free to fill your time until Best Buy populates its listings with speculation about the hot new processing, storage, and interconnect options Apple might have in store for us. [Thanks, Michael] |
| Apple announcing new high-speed interconnect, Light Peak here we come? Posted: 20 Feb 2011 04:12 AM PST  There's not a scrap of evidence to back this rumor, but everything seems to line up: CNET reports that Apple will announce "a new high-speed connection technology" soon -- and Intel's Light Peak seems to be a shoe-in for the job. We've long known that Apple's been secretly backing the 10Gbps interconnect, but with a likely MacBook Pro refresh right around the corner and Light Peak allegedly due for a 1H 2011 launch, it seems the time for action could be right around now. It also doesn't hurt that this latest rumor comes from CNET, actually, as we're pretty sure the publication has an inside source. The very same reporter wrote that Light Peak would be downgraded to copper, a full month before Intel would admit anything of the sort. |
| Elite Porsche tuner RUF gets in on the electric game with three eRUF models Posted: 20 Feb 2011 01:29 AM PST If you want a Porsche with a little bit more -- more power, more handling, more brakes, more outrageous styling -- you want a RUF. It's technically an independent auto manufacturer, but every model starts with a Porsche that gets systematically turned up to 11. The haus that Ferdinand built just announced a handful of electric cars and now RUF is getting in on the game too, creating three separate models. First is the all EV Single Motor Concept, a 911 with a 241hp motor that'll do 93 miles on a charge, has a top speed of 136mph, and can hit 60 in about seven seconds. Next up is the Twin Motor Concept, pairing two 335hp motors to a larger battery, enabling 124 miles of range, top speed of 137mph, and 0 - 60 in a much more respectable five seconds. Finally there's the Twin Motor Concept with Torque Vectoring. This again has two 335hp motors but this time each one drives a separate rear wheel, enabling dynamic torque vectoring. Range and acceleration are the same but handling should theoretically be much better when going through the twisties. And, really, that's what it's all about. Right now ten of these cars have been built for testing. They're not available for general purchase but we have it on good authority that they'll be very, very expensive when they do ship. |
| Motorola Xoom up for in-store pre-order at Best Buy, $800 for Thursday availability Posted: 19 Feb 2011 11:21 PM PST No more stunt prices, no more premature web appearances, this (we hope) is finally Best Buy's fully official listing for the Motorola Xoom. It brings no great surprises to those who've been tracking the tablet's progress to retail shelves, offering first dibs to buyers willing to make the effort and pre-order one in store today, with full availability coming on Thursday, February 24th. The $800 3G-equipped model is accompanied on Best Buy's site by a $40 portfolio case, a $50 basic charging dock, a $130 stereo speaker dock, and a $70 Bluetooth keyboard, but there's no sighting of the cheaper WiFi-only Xoom. There was some suspicion that the $600 SKU would launch a little later on and that is indeed what appears to be happening. One final note of caution: even if you're intending to use the Xoom as a pure WiFi-only device, remember that you'll be required to activate data with Verizon for at least a month first -- don't ask us why. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] |
| Amazon Appstore for Android will let you buy apps without a device Posted: 19 Feb 2011 10:02 PM PST  No Android device? No problem! Turns out Amazon's upcoming Appstore for Android -- which has been in the works for some time -- will allow you to purchase apps even before you receive the device you intend to install them on, presumably so that you're stocked up and ready to go by the time the phone (or tablet, or whatever miscellaneous gizmo) arrives on your doorstep. As AllThingsD points out, the concept appears to go partway toward mimicking Amazon's Kindle business model, which does a decent job of decoupling content (which is associated with your Amazon account) from the actual hardware you've got it installed on. We still don't know exactly when the Appstore is launching, but considering Amazon's retail chops, these guys might actually stand a chance at cutting into the Android Market's revenue by some noticeable margin. |
| Archos Arnova is ready to exterminate your clock radio, your Squeezebox too Posted: 19 Feb 2011 07:34 PM PST The consumer electronics company with the phlegmatic name has just dropped its latest device on us, and for once it isn't a tablet or some form of PMP. It's the Archos Arnova, a fancy clock radio, with a 3.5-inch touchscreen in the middle plus the ability to connect to 12,000 streaming radio stations and 1,500 "web TV" channels too. If that's not enough you can play media directly from an SD card or pull it over your local network via uPNP. Why, you can even view pictures on there, if you don't mind squinting. What you can't do is know how much money to save or when you'll need to save it by if you're looking to buy one, as Archos hasn't seen fit to tell us that just yet. [Thanks, Joshua] |
| US Air Force raises concerns over LightSquared's LTE network messing with GPS Posted: 19 Feb 2011 06:19 PM PST Following a navigation system's instructions without driving into a ravine is hard enough as it is -- can you even imagine how hard it'd be if you kept losing GPS reception every time you drove within range of an LTE tower? There have been a few anecdotal concerns raised over the last several weeks that LightSquared's proposed LTE network -- which would repurpose L-band spectrum formerly used for satellite -- is too close to the spectrum used by the Global Positioning System, leading to unintentional jamming when the towers overpower the much weaker GPS signals. Things have gotten a little more interesting, though, now that the US Air Force Space Command has officially piped in. General William Shelton has gone on record saying that "a leading GPS receiver manufacturer just ... has concluded that within 3 to 5 miles on the ground and within about 12 miles in the air GPS is jammed by those towers," calling the situation "unbelievable" and saying he's "hopeful the FCC does the right thing." Presumably, the USAF thinks that "the right thing" would involve pulling LightSquared's license, but for its part, the company says it believes Shelton is referring to a test conducted by Garmin (possibly explaining that recent outage in the Southeastern US?) using simulated interference filters -- not the actual filters that it has spent several million dollars developing and perfecting. Regardless of how effective the filters might be, the idea that the only thing standing between a functional GPS system and a constellation of space-borne paperweights is a private company's privately-developed, privately-operated filtering equipment... but then again, we love LTE. Decisions! [Thanks, Brian] |
| BlackBerry Dakota / Montana spotted in the wild, sporting threads of carbon Posted: 19 Feb 2011 05:11 PM PST So how's our little leaked friend the alleged BlackBerry Bold Touch doing as Canada's winter continues to rage? Looks like he's all wrapped up and toasty in a tasteful carbon fiber weave. N4BB nabbed the first real-life photos of the triple-input-device OS 6.1 smartphone, which confirm its 640 x 480 VGA screen, though the publication says it's also gained storage space (6.5GB flash) and lost memory (512MB of RAM) since the last time we heard its specs. There's apparently still a 5 megapixel camera to be had, as well as a magnetometer, accelerometer and proximity sensor, and -- as the rumor mill whispered in January -- integrated NFC. Still no word on processing power, but it sure sounds like it'll mop the floor with the Torch either way. [Thanks, Mike] |
| Samsung Galaxy S 4G will actually cost $200, unfortunately Posted: 19 Feb 2011 04:47 PM PST Here's a quick heads-up, if you had your heart set on Samsung's Galaxy S 4G: T-Mobile says it'll actually cost $199.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate. That means you're paying $250 out the door for an HSPA+ capable Vibrant, not counting taxes and related fees. T-Mobile says the original $150 price was a mistake on its part, and while you're welcome to bring as many false advertising lawsuits as you'd like, we doubt you'll get very far. |
| AT&T opens up video archives, shares the history inside Posted: 19 Feb 2011 04:06 PM PST Where can you find Orson Welles, Marconi's daughter, Alexander Graham Bell's grandaughter, and inventors of the transistor and television? You might try To Communicate is the Beginning, a 1976 educational publication tracing the history of electronic communication, which AT&T recently decided to exhume from its archives of Bell Labs material. The 30-minute video's just the first in a series, too, as AT&T's website is already playing host to films about the origins of the laser and integrated circuit too, with more on the way. Find them all at our source link -- you do want to know how your favorite technologies evolved, right? |
| Nokia CEO: cheap Windows Phones can come 'very quickly' Posted: 19 Feb 2011 03:12 PM PST  We'd raised our own concerns in interviews with both Stephen Elop and Microsoft's Aaron Woodman in the past week that Nokia could have difficulty pushing the Windows Phone platform low enough to fill the holes left by Symbian's departure in the bottom rungs of the market, but the Nokia CEO is making it very clear that he thinks that won't be a problem. In a talk with Finnish journalists on Friday, Elop said that it has become "convinced" that it can hit "a very low price point" and do it "very quickly," a strategy that will be key to converting significant swaths of Symbian market share into Windows Phone market share without losing it to other manufacturers or platforms. Of course, something tells us the leaked design concept (pictured right) doesn't represent the types of hardware Nokia has in mind for those low price points -- but no single device or market segment is going to take Espoo to the promised land here. |
| Rolls-Royce electrifies Phantom sedan, tests the waters of luxury (video) Posted: 19 Feb 2011 02:06 PM PST If you have the money to consider owning a Rolls, we doubt you're worried about gasoline, but that hasn't stopped the manufacturer from finally electrifying its Spirit of Ecstasy. Two years after teasing a fully-electric Phantom, Rolls-Royce has built the car for real, a one-off prototype it's dubbed the 102EX, or Phantom Experimental Electric. You won't be able to buy one, though, no matter your estate, as rather than produce the vehicle Rolls is taking it on a world tour to gauge the reaction of the luxury automobile community. First stop: the Geneva Motor Show on March 1st, where the company will reveal the vehicle's full technical specs. While you wait, you're welcome to peruse the entirely unhelpful video teaser and modestly useful press release after the break. Show full PR text Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Confirms Electric Test Vehicle Project
Goodwood UK
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars today confirmed the development of 102EX, a one-off, fully electric powered Phantom, to debut at the Geneva Motor Show on 1 March 2011. The car will tour during 2011, serving as a test bed to gather a bank of research data which will be crucial in informing future decisions on alternative drive-trains for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
"We have engineered the world's first battery electric vehicle for the ultra-luxury segment," said CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös, speaking from the company's headquarters in Goodwood. "With this vehicle, we begin an exploration into alternative drive-trains, seeking clarity on which alternative technologies may be suitable to drive Rolls-Royce motor cars of the future."
Rolls-Royce produces cars that represent the pinnacle in luxurious motoring for the world's most discerning customers. With 102EX, also known as the Phantom Experimental Electric (EE), it is the company's intention to carefully test the opinions and reactions to alternative drive-train options of a range of stakeholders including owners, enthusiasts, members of the public and the media.
102EX will serve as a working test bed for a global tour that takes in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North America. Through test drives, owners will be given the opportunity to experience an alternative drive-train technology and to feedback their experiences, thoughts and concerns directly to Rolls-Royce.
While there are no plans to develop a production version, as one of the company's EX models it will serve to begin a dialogue with existing owners and stakeholders, posing as well as answering questions of its audience.
These include the car's ability to deliver an acceptable range between re-charges and to operate in extreme weather conditions. But also to benchmark reliability and quality against customer expectations of the world's pinnacle automotive brand.
"I must be convinced that any alternative drive-train we choose for the future delivers an authentic Rolls-Royce experience," added Müller-Ötvös. "It must be a technology that is right for our customers, our brand and which sets us on a sound footing for a sustainable future."
In preparation for the Geneva debut, Rolls-Royce will launch the website www.electricluxury.com this week, a portal to fuel a wider global debate seeking views on the question of electric luxury from media, VIPs and stakeholders. The site will also deliver regular updates of the car's progress while on tour.
Full technical specifications for 102EX, as well as images and b-roll will be published at 00:01 GMT on 1 March 2011. |
| German researchers take mind-controlled car for a carefully-controlled spin Posted: 19 Feb 2011 12:57 PM PST Emotiv's mind-reading EPOC headset may not have changed the face of video games, but it looks like it's proven to be more than adequate for a team of German researchers, who've used it as the key component in their BrainDriver project. Yes, that's a mind-controlled car and, after a bit of training, is does appear to have performed reasonably well -- albeit with a slight delay that makes any real world test a worse idea than it already was. Interestingly, this latest effort actually follows some previous attempts at a completely autonomous car by the same group of researchers at the Freie Universität Berlin, and they say that the two could eventually be combined at some point in the distant future -- for instance, in a taxi that's able to drive itself but also responds to the thoughts of its passengers. Head on past the break for the video.
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| Intel to spend $5 billion on new 14nm fab in Arizona, create 4,000 new jobs this year Posted: 19 Feb 2011 11:44 AM PST When Paul Otellini isn't too busy talking about being jilted by Nokia, he spends his time hosting presidents and splashing billions of dollars on new manufacturing facilities. Intel's CEO is wrapping his tumultuous week on a high note, having welcomed Barack Obama to Chipzilla's Oregon facility and treated the president to the happy news that Intel will invest $5 billion back into the US economy by building its most advanced fab yet -- which will introduce an impossibly small 14nm production process -- in Arizona, to begin operation in 2013. Construction starts in the middle of this year and is expected to create "thousands" of jobs, both temporary and permanent. Aside from that, Otellini has disclosed Intel's intention to create 4,000 new jobs in the US, mostly in R&D and product development. Music to Obama's ears, we're sure. Show full PR text Intel to Invest More than $5 Billion to Build New Factory in Arizona
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
* Intel is building a new $5 billion-plus factory in Arizona.
* Fab 42 will be the most advanced, high-volume semiconductor manufacturing facility in the world.
* New fab will create thousands of construction and permanent manufacturing jobs at Intel's Arizona site.
CHANDLER, Ariz., Feb. 18, 2011 – Intel Corporation today announced plans to invest more than $5 billion to build a new chip manufacturing facility at its site in Chandler, Ariz. The announcement was made by Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini during a visit by President Barack Obama at an Intel facility in Hillsboro, Ore.
The new Arizona factory, designated Fab 42, will be the most advanced, high-volume semiconductor manufacturing facility in the world. Construction of the new fab is expected to begin in the middle of this year and is expected to be completed in 2013.
"The investment positions our manufacturing network for future growth," said Brian Krzanich, senior vice president and general manager, Manufacturing and Supply Chain. "This fab will begin operations on a process that will allow us to create transistors with a minimum feature size of 14 nanometers. For Intel, manufacturing serves as the underpinning for our business and allows us to provide customers and consumers with leading-edge products in high volume. The unmatched scope and scale of our investments in manufacturing help Intel maintain industry leadership and drives innovation."
While more than three-fourths of Intel's sales come from outside of the United States, Intel manufactures three-fourths of its microprocessors in the United States. The addition of this new fab will increase the company's American manufacturing capability significantly.
Building the new fab on the leading-edge 14-nanometer process enables Intel to manufacture more powerful and efficient computer chips. The nanometer specification refers to the minimum dimensions of transistor technology. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter or the size one ninety-thousandth the width of an average human hair.
"The products based on these leading-edge chips will give consumers unprecedented levels of performance and power efficiency across a range of computing devices from high-end servers to ultra-sleek portable devices," said Krzanich.
Fab 42 will be built as a 300mm factory, which refers to the size of the wafers that contain the computer chips. The project will create thousands of construction and permanent manufacturing jobs at Intel's Arizona site.
About Intel
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world's computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com.
Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries.
* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. |
| BlackBerry Monaco makes brief video appearance with Verizon branding Posted: 19 Feb 2011 10:51 AM PST Needless to say, the Storm 2's past its prime -- if it ever had a prime -- and if Verizon is going to continue with the touchscreen BlackBerry theme, it needs to re-up fast. That would be where the so-called Monaco comes into play, a phone that's been leaking under various names for over half a year now, and now we've got it captured on a brief, moderately blurry video with a Verizon logo clearly and prominently featured around back. It's looking pretty laggy here, but it's unclear how close the phone is to production -- both the hardware and software (said to be BlackBerry OS 6.1 with mobile hotspot capability, among other features) could be extremely early or near final. RIM's still got some repenting to do for the original Storm, so it'll be interesting to see if the Monaco (which could come to market as the Storm 3, or some other name altogether) fits the bill. Follow the break for the video. [Thanks, Zecharias] |
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