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- Purported Motorola Dinara press shot slips out, carries a whiff of Atrix 3
- Computex 2012 wrap-up
- Peter Molyneux divulges DLC details for Curiosity, we apply for a loan
- Samsung Galaxy S III on SK Telecom mixes 2GB of RAM and quad-core, importers break out credit cards
- E3 2012: not quite ready to go mobile
- Indian court tells Google and Facebook execs to stop by, have a chat
- The Ultrabooks of Computex 2012
- Huawei Activa 4G gets your 4G LTE fix on MetroPCS for $149 contract-free
- Visualized: Stunning long-exposure 'star trail' photo taken from the ISS
- Prototype color e-paper skips on filter, cranks up vividness
- Intel's TV service aims at Nielsen, big cable, might not get here
- Denon SC2900 DJ Media player gets a euro price and summer launch date
- CERN admits faulty kit to blame for speedy neutrinos, says it's all relative
- Distro Issue 44 is here and it's time to get fit!
- Epic senior technical artist Alan Willard talks Unreal Engine 4 for next-gen consoles
- Firefox demotes Yandex, makes Google the default search engine in Russia
- UCSB engineers proteins that make silicon, leads hipsters to insist on organically-grown computers
- Sonnet shipping xMac mini server, Echo Express PCIe adapters to follow suit shortly (update)
- Tiered system reportedly on its way to Sprint's Total Equipment Protection plans
- SOEmote tracks our face, transplants our expressions onto an Everquest II persona (faces-on)
- 'Facebook tax' could make web companies pay for usage outside the US
- Approved Mac OS app boasts 'Retina graphics'
- Naval researchers soak up the sun below sea level with special solar cells
- Samsung sues Australian patent office to force judicial review of Apple patents
- Deezer starts streaming tunes in 35 Latin America countries, Mexico and Puerto Rico included
- Japanese company takes pod concept mobile, keeps ants from your Grey Poupon (video)
- 2013 Chevy Volt stretches out the electric miles, works harder for the money
- Sprint's Palm C40: the Pre 2 that never made it
- Large Hadron Collider affected by full moon, ocean commiserates
- Olympus scales back, shifts focus to turn around fortunes
- IDC: Nokia moved just 2.2 million Lumias this winter, but stay tuned
- ZoomTether shares your phone's connection, tethering plan optional
- DIY cyborg appendage is less exciting than it sounds (video)
- TI demos Windows RT on OMAP 4470, we go hands-on (video)
- Honda Fit EV rated at 118 MPGe, will get you 82 of those on one charge
- Apple closes in on $2.25 million settlement in Australia for disputed 4G iPad claim
- Lenovo IdeaPad Y580 goes on sale melding quad-core Ivy Bridge and GeForce GTX 660M
- Sony PlayStation Pulse Wireless Stereo Headset Elite Edition hands-on
- Canon touts EOS Rebel T4i with improved video focusing system, EF-S 18-135mm and EF 40mm silent lenses (hands-on)
- Sony keeps Xperia upgrade train rolling, brings ICS to Mini Pro
| Purported Motorola Dinara press shot slips out, carries a whiff of Atrix 3 Posted: 08 Jun 2012 11:29 AM PDT We're taking this with a big block of salt, but we may have just had our first real peek at the Motorola Dinara's American form. A claimed press shot has the possibly Snapdragon S4-powered Android 4.0 phone carrying a fairly plain shell, but also sporting a 720p display and an all-touch interface borrowed from Motorola's recent Chinese introductions. The tip to The Verge hasn't produced any shocks, including the mention of LTE and preloaded AT&T apps, although the badging does give us some room for skepticism: AT&T rarely if ever leaves its three-letter name out of phone branding, and that front camera position is slightly odd. As long as no wool has been pulled over eyes, however, the Dinara could be a candidate for another Atrix sequel that keeps Motorola on Big Blue. |
| Posted: 08 Jun 2012 11:00 AM PDT After getting our hands on more than three dozen Ultrabooks, tablets and plenty of other miscellany over an intense gadget-fueled week in Taipei, Computex is finally winding down, and we're packing our bags for the 24-hour journey back to New York. There's no question that Windows 8 stole the show, with hundreds of devices making an appearance both at flashy press events and on the exhibit floor -- Release Preview in tow. We happened upon quite a few surprises on that front, including a touchscreen-based ASUS Zenbook UX21A and Intel's prediction that the majority of next year's Ultrabooks will be touch-enabled, along with the unique (and perhaps even slightly bizarre) TAICHI, which will change the way we interact with at least two clamshell models. We've barely scratched the surface here, however -- you'll find direct links to all of our Computex coverage just after the break. HANDS-ONS
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| Peter Molyneux divulges DLC details for Curiosity, we apply for a loan Posted: 08 Jun 2012 10:47 AM PDT Peter Molyneux's first post-Lionhead game, Curiosity, holds a big mystery and now it promises DLC with a colossal price tag. The game -- the first of 22 experiments -- will reveal a secret to the gaming guinea pig who deals the final blow to a single black cube. Shortly after its release, chisels that pack a mightier punch to the monolith will arrive as DLC for those who long to crack the container open. Prices for the downloadable tools will start around $1 (59 pence) for an iron implement and reach up to roughly $78,000 (£50,000) for a one-of-a-kind diamond version that hits 100,000 times harder. Once the secret is revealed, 22 Cans will use social media to study how the winner proves the milestone and spreads the news. Curiosity is expected to drop in about six weeks for iOS and PC, but feel free to begin pondering the secret of life, the universe and everything that lies inside the digital fortune cookie. |
| Samsung Galaxy S III on SK Telecom mixes 2GB of RAM and quad-core, importers break out credit cards Posted: 08 Jun 2012 10:31 AM PDT There's a Galaxy S III with a quad-core chip, and there's a Galaxy S III with 2GB of RAM. Never the twain shall meet? They reportedly will at SK Telecom: a comparison sheet leaked to Phone Arena has the South Korean carrier's SHV-E210S variant combining the 1.4GHz Exynos 4 Quad with the 2GB of RAM that the dual-core versions receive as a consolation prize. It's even supposed to keep LTE, which could suggest that Samsung isn't wedded to Qualcomm for 4G in South Korea like it is for North America. The phone's 4G support loses steam outside of its native country, and it gains an ever so slight amount of bulk, but we're looking at what could be the best of both worlds for Samsung's flagship. We have a hunch that a few foreigners might be eager for an import, or a surprise vacation to Seoul, when the E210S arrives in July. |
| E3 2012: not quite ready to go mobile Posted: 08 Jun 2012 10:00 AM PDT Perhaps E3 2012 will be remembered as the year that even Nintendo acknowledged the existence of smartphone gaming -- if only begrudgingly so, dragged kicking and screaming into the early '10s. It's a brave new world here, a strange one in which everyone and their grandmother has become a gamer by default, carrying high powered portable computers in their pockets at all times. But even as all the major players took time out to give a nod to the ever enlarging juggernaut that is mobile gaming, its an element that still feels like a bit of a redheaded stepchild inside the Los Angeles Convention Center, where console gaming is still far and away the dominant force -- it's a presence relegated to brief mentions in larger press events and pushed to the sides of the convention floor. It comes as no surprise, of course, that Nintendo didn't dwell on the matter during its show opening keynote on Tuesday. The mere fact that company president Satoru Iwata made reference at all to mobile operating systems is something of a sea change for an executive who has thus far stubbornly refused to even "consider" developing for the Androids and iOSes of the world. And the news from Sunday doesn't do much to shake that stance. While mobile operating systems were name checked, it was only in reference to users' ability to access social information from the Wii U on their browser. Sony and Microsoft, naturally, are a bit more accommodating of the mobile trend -- after all, while Nintendo positions itself as utterly terrified of cannibalizing its own hardware with the availability of its beloved properties on handsets and tablets, both Microsoft and Sony already have dogs in the mobile fight. Microsoft's big push arrived in the form of SmartGlass, a promising media-centric application that promises to help your Xbox play nicely with iOS, Android and, naturally Windows 8 and Windows Phone.
Granted, Redmond didn't spend a whole lot of time discussing things like gaming on WP8, but the newly introduced technology offers an interesting opportunity to use mobile devices to enhance the gaming experience, providing supplemental entertainment and, if all goes according to plan, secondary controllers. For reference, the company briefly discussed an upcoming baseball game that will let players use their tablets to bat and pitch. SmartGlass represents a different approach to the concept of "asymmetric gameplay" Nintendo was so keen to discuss in reference to the Wii U GamePad's second screen. Sony, for its part, briefly touched on PlayStation Mobile, namedropping the newly rebranded version of PlayStation Suite toward the end of its keynote. The news came alongside the announcement that it would be opening PlatStation certification to third-party devices, beginning with HTC (news that was accompanied by the appearance of a few HTC One models on the screen). The whole announcement, which felt like it was tacked on at the end as part of a larger presentation that was much more focused on things like WonderBooks, was more about the new branding than the partnership, which has far more potential to affect Sony's mobile game than any name. It's fitting though, really. Whatever direction the larger industry might currently be trending, mobile still feels like an afterthought at this convention, as a quick walk around the halls of the Los Angeles Convention Center this week quite quickly revealed. Even Electronic Arts, a developer clearly aware of the power of smartphone publishing, opted not to devote too much attention to mobile in its massive floor space or press conference to mobile. Zynga, largely considered mobile's best chance to shine at the show, wound up without floor space to call its own, opting for a small meeting room at the end of a hall -- a meeting room where it wasn't entertaining members of the press.
"I think those companies are thinking about mobile, but whether or not they're ready to put that message out there are the floor of E3 is a different story," Gree SVP Eros Resmini answered judiciously, when asked why so many largely companies generally disinterested at the prospect of showing off mobile applications this week. Resmini's own company proved a bright exception to the overwhelming lack of mobile content -- both figuratively and literally, with a giant, white booth in the convention center's south hall, alongside software giants like EA and Ubisoft. With a space jam-packed with playable game demos on iPhones, Droid Razrs and a slew of tablets, the company clearly sees E3 as the place to be to get word out on its titles. "This is gaming's biggest stage," says Resmini, "and what better place to show your content?" Gree's show offerings were more than simply its own games, however -- the company also offers platform services for smaller developers, many of who were showing off games under the company's brightly light umbrella. That, perhaps brings up a key roadblock here -- there's a not insignificant overhead when it comes to exhibiting at a show like E3. In fact, it's a fairly sizable barrier for entry amongst mobile developers with tiny teams and shoestring budgets -- it's the same reason you don't see all that many independent developers outside of blocks like the IndieCade booth. One company that managed to secure space on the floor was WeMade. Positioned directly across from Gree, The company was showing off mobile MMORPGS, behind some well-dressed receptionists and "the world's largest playable iPhone."
Interestingly, in a show that was, by most accounts, largely a disappointment from a hardware perspective, mobile actually left its mark in the peripheral space. There's a bit of a land rush, with a slew of companies like SnakeByte and Nyko attempting to provide more console-like gaming experience for Android and iOS gamers. Nyko also happily played up a partnership with Intel, who, along with Qualcomm's Snapdragon were on-hand to discuss their roles in powering the backend experience for tablets and handsets. But even with big names like those involved, mobile still feels like a marginalized presence in a convention dominated by the Nintendos, Microsofts and Sonys of the world, who aren't particularly interested in cannibalizing their own console sales. As mobile becomes a larger and larger portion of the gaming world, however, that influence will be harder and harder to ignore at Electronic Entertainment Expos to come. |
| Indian court tells Google and Facebook execs to stop by, have a chat Posted: 08 Jun 2012 09:36 AM PDT India and the various powers that be on the Internet have had a bit of a contentious relationship for the past year or so. The primary issue has been censorship, in that the Indian government wants more of it and the giants of the tech world want no part. After originally filing suit against Microsoft, Google and Facebook in December of 2011, the Delhi High Court let Redmond loose from its litigative snare. Unfortunately for the Big G and our pal Zuck, they're still on the hook for failing to block offensive content, particularly that of a religious nature. The Magistrate hearing the case will be issuing summons today, asking the global executives of Facebook and Google to come in and answer for their alleged crimes. So far there's been no reaction from either company, but with both actively working to have the case dismissed we wouldn't be surprised if any response amounted to a very diplomatic middle finger. |
| The Ultrabooks of Computex 2012 Posted: 08 Jun 2012 09:00 AM PDT It was last year that Intel chose Computex, a computer tradeshow in Taiwan, to introduce its Ultrabook concept to the world. Twelve months later, 110-plus models are in the pipeline, which meant the Taipei Convention Center was overrun by skinny, lightweight laptops. Make that skinny, touch-enabled laptops. Between those new Ivy Bridge chips and Microsoft putting the finishing touches on Windows 8, this week's show was nothing if not a five-day-long wedding between two tech giants: almost every device on display here was a vehicle for showing off Microsoft's glossy new OS. At every turn, a celebration of touchscreen notebooks. With more than 30 hands-on posts this week, we can see where one Core i5 laptop might look like the next, or how you might have failed to keep up with Jonney Shih's rapid-fire product announcements. Now that we're wrapping up here in Taiwan, though, we're ready to take a step back and think about what it is we just saw. Whether you felt overwhelmed by our wall-to-wall coverage or just need to catch up, we suggest you meet us past the break for a quick recap of all the new Ultrabooks. Oh, and if you're in the market for a new laptop, you can check your trigger-happy finger at the door. With few exceptions, we're not expecting these to go on sale until the fall, when Windows 8 is expected to start shipping. Acer Aspire S7 Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 ASUS TAICHI ASUS Transformer Books Touchscreen ASUS Zenbook Prime Dell Inspiron 14z and 13z Gigabyte X11 LG X Note Z350 MSI Slider S20 Samsung Series 5 Ultra Touch and Convertible Sony VAIO T13 Toshiba Satellite U845W Toshiba concept devices running Windows 8 |
| Huawei Activa 4G gets your 4G LTE fix on MetroPCS for $149 contract-free Posted: 08 Jun 2012 08:38 AM PDT MetroPCS is known for offering 4G LTE smartphones on the cheap, but it's going for a record today. The Activa 4G isn't just Huawei's first LTE smartphone in the US, it's temporarily the least expensive LTE phone in the country at $149 contract-free for a "limited time." Digging around, it's certainly possible to find out how Huawei and MetroPCS reached that price: the 3.5-inch, 320 x 480 screen, 800MHz processor and five-megapixel rear shooter won't have Verizon Galaxy S III customers developing second thoughts. Still, there is a front VGA camera on the Android 2.3-toting phone, and MetroPCS preloads a copy of the movie Kung-Fu Panda 2 on the bundled 4GB microSD card. You won't have to wait at all if it sounds like a bargain, as the Activa 4G is already sitting in stores real and virtual as you read this. |
| Visualized: Stunning long-exposure 'star trail' photo taken from the ISS Posted: 08 Jun 2012 08:14 AM PDT Ever wondered what goes on up at the International Space Station? We like to think it's all floating around and eating freeze-dried steak. Astronaut Don Pettit decided to take a break from his no-doubt mundane routine and capture the spectacular image you see above. We say image, it's actually multiple 30-second exposure snaps layered on top of each other. Needless to say the result is both humbling, and hypnotic. Best of all? There's a collection of them, waiting to steal your afternoon with slack-jawed wonderment. Hit the source for the mind-melt. |
| Prototype color e-paper skips on filter, cranks up vividness Posted: 08 Jun 2012 07:51 AM PDT Fuji Xerox has showcased its latest e-paper model at SID in Boston. The 5-inch 600 x 800 display adjusts the electric field for each color, swinging them between the two layers of the screen. Instead of a typical color filter, an extra layer of white-colored particles between the visible and invisible layer, offering a blank surface when needed, while magenta and cyan particles are in charge of colors on the prototype. The company's already working on CMY arrangement to provide the full range of colors on the finished e-paper model and promise a color gamut wider than a newspaper. Hopefully, it will also involve a much thinner bezel. |
| Intel's TV service aims at Nielsen, big cable, might not get here Posted: 08 Jun 2012 07:24 AM PDT Reuters is reporting that Intel's mooted virtual television network has hit the buffers because it can't beat its cable rivals spending. The company is eyeing up the $100 million TV business with a set-top-box and over-the-top service that would offer smaller, cheaper bundles of channels rather than the hundreds that come with a basic cable subscription. It would leverage its facial recognition technology in the system both by offering precise ratings data to networks and by showing targeted adverts to whoever it can see is watching. The former will surely annoy Nielsen, a player with plenty of its own influence in the industry. Despite hiring a quartet of industry heavyweights to help negotiations, studios are refusing to offer discounts to a new and untried entrant, meaning we may not see the service arriving by that planned November launch date. |
| Denon SC2900 DJ Media player gets a euro price and summer launch date Posted: 08 Jun 2012 07:00 AM PDT Wherever there's a teaser video, full product info is sure to follow. Denon's decided to stop being so coy, and got its new SC2900 DJ media player fully out in the open. We pretty much got to see most of what's on offer, including that 7-inch non-motorized platter, and slew of format-playing options (mp3 / audio CD, USB drives, direct from laptop,) but we didn't know when, and how much. The answers to those questions? For Europeans, July, and €800 plus tax. That's about $997 by conversion, but the actual US price will come as and when availability here's confirmed. Denon DJ SC2900 Category: Digital Controller and Media Player In-Store Release Date: July 2012 (EU) Price: Suggested Retail circa €800 + Tax • 7-inch Touch Sensitive 'Eclipse' Platter with LED Cue & Position Marker • Natively supported by Traktor 2 software, Traktor LE 2 included • Media Server for "Engine" Software* • Player Link Network - File Share between Networked SC2900/3900 • Playback Direct from USB / PC / MAC / CD *Engine software included Designed with both Professional and Club DJs in mind, the Denon DJ SC2900 steps-up to the booth with a fresh take on true digital-media versatility. No longer is there a need to struggle dragging a mass of CDs to the club or through the studio doors – the SC2900 includes playback from USB drives and offers the ability to share one USB stick over (up to) four networked Denon DJ SC2900 or SC3900s. However, traditional CD DJs and producers can still make the most of the front mounted CD slot, and pure software DJs can utilise the Traktor 2 compatibility* to mix and produce. 'ENGINE inside' ensures compatibility with ENGINE software – a unique combination of software and hardware that empowers todays DJs with high speed access and control over their extensive digital music libraries. Leaving the ENGINE software to manage the set from a USB connected, or networked, PC or MAC and the hard work down to the player itself – reducing the need for a super- powerful computer to manage the DJs performance. The button layout reflects that of the popular SC3900 with a bank of Loops and Cues top left of the platter for throwing down samples and top right are the navigation controls ensuring the fastest access to the DJing essentials. Similarly reflecting the same newly redesigned 'Hard' Cue and Play buttons with the only significant layout change to be the 'SLIP' button which replaces the SC3900s 'DUMP' button: for reverse, loop, and scratch whilst continuing playback at the same rhythm and point that would have been reached prior to pushing 'slip' – an essential editing feature in the studio and the booth for dropping out inappropriate lyrics without disturbing the flow of music. Denon DJs heritage in Professional DJ Equipment married with new developments in software leaves the SC2900 as a true consideration in the Professional, Studio and Club DJ market. From the more traditional CD DJs, through portable USB media and connectivity to the latest in software or even network sharing makes the Denon DJ SC2900 the choice, whatever the style of DJ and whatever the occasion. |
| CERN admits faulty kit to blame for speedy neutrinos, says it's all relative Posted: 08 Jun 2012 06:46 AM PDT Those pesky neutrinos, they sure did cause a kerfuffle. The scientific community held its collective breath when research published by CERN suggested that the little guys had been caught traveling at an Einstein-defying 3.7 miles per second faster than light. Naturally there was a mixture of doubt and excited disbelief, but everything needed to be triple checked before any paradigms could meet any windows. And alas, it was all to unravel once flaws were identified. CERN has finally admitted faulty kit was to blame, with it's research director Sergio Bertolucci conceding "A coherent picture has emerged with both previous and new data pointing to a neutrino velocity consistent with the speed of light." The final chapter in this story took place at the International Conference on Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics in Kyoto today, with Bertolucci also commenting that, at the very least, the story captured the public imagination, pointing out that "An unexpected result was put up for scrutiny, thoroughly investigated and resolved in part thanks to collaboration between normally competing experiments. That's how science moves forward." [Image credit: Getty Images] |
| Distro Issue 44 is here and it's time to get fit! Posted: 08 Jun 2012 06:30 AM PDT Here in the states, it's just about time to start hitting the beach, and despite what you might have heard, not all of us here at Engadget are perpetually bikini-ready. In this week's issue of Distro, we'll follow our own Daniel Cooper on an eight-week quest to slim down before his summertime nuptials. In "Fitter, Happier" Daniel puts a series of fitness gadgets to the test to find out if machines really can make you a healthier, skinnier and, ultimately, happier human being. We'll also bring you the best of Computex 2012, a look at gaming's big three at E3 and give you our impressions of Microsoft's latest Windows 8 preview, Lenovo's ThinkPad X230 and Sony's NEX-F3. Rounding things out, we'll take a closer look at some of the biggest names in fit tech with "Eyes-On" and jog your memory with an early ancestor to the MP3 player in "Time Machines." So hit the appropria link below and get to downloading. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Epic senior technical artist Alan Willard talks Unreal Engine 4 for next-gen consoles Posted: 08 Jun 2012 06:00 AM PDT There's no PS4 or Xbox 720 behind the curtain, Alan Willard assures a dark room full of eager video game journalists. Nope, it's just a current high-end piece of PC hardware. In spite of the company's position as a creator of one of the industry's leading game engines, Epic doesn't get a peek at Sony and Microsoft's next generation consoles before the companies are ready for their grand unveiling. "We won't know final hardware specs until everyone else does," the company's senior technical artist tells me after the presentation, adding with a laugh, "If they do, I don't know anything about it." The company spent this year's E3 cycling media in and out of its small meeting room on the second floor of the convention center, dimming the lights and showing off just what Unreal Engine 4 has to offer -- or at least a pretty good idea of what it will offer when it's finally ready for prime time. It's clear from the excitement on the Epic employees' faces that all involved are relieved to finally show the demo off for gatherings of eager writers. No surprise there, of course. After all, the engine has been in development in some form or other for eight or nine years -- several lifetimes in the roman candle-like world of video game development. "[Epic founder Tim Sweeney] started looking into different programming languages and where the whitepapers were going," Willard tells me, describing Unreal Engine 4's infancy. "Stuff that wasn't necessarily being used for development yet, but trying to envision where hardware was starting to go and starting to make deep-level tech decisions." It's a mind boggling proposition -- beginning development on an underlying technology for games that will run on systems debuting a decade or so after the fact.
"Moore's Law is a great baseline," explains Willard. "You can just rely on things to double every couple of years or so. Some of it extrapolation, some of it is watching the wind blow and seeing that the costs of processors are dropping greatly. And we see whether NVIDA is going to have something ready in time for [console makers] to start developing new hardware. It's strategic decision, and all of development is guess work at some point. But a lot of it experience with the industry and knowing how strategic decisions are made -- not only internally, but how other companies make them, and trying to follow that."
And while Sony, Microsoft and the like keep tight lips with regards to what they've got cooking, Epic happily takes the opportunity to offer up suggestions. "We work with them as closely as they'll let us," says Willard. "We, like every other developer, want every console to be able to throw everything we'll be able to throw at it. And there's always tradeoffs -- financial and strategic and things like that. But we've given as much input as they've allowed us, as far as what we want to see. There's a dialog. Tim has been talking to people at Microsoft and Sony's hardware groups for quite a while. But ultimately we can't make their decisions for them. " Part of that input comes in the form of demos. While this year's E3 marks the first widespread demonstration for journalists, the company did offer up a demo to a small, lucky few (around 30 or so) at GDC back in March as well as earlier demos for hardware makers. "Our demo last year was a love letter to console manufacturers. 'If you give us enough headroom, here's what we can do.' " And certainly its an impressive proposition. For the sake of what we saw, here's hoping Sony, Microsoft and the rest can deliver on its promise. |
| Firefox demotes Yandex, makes Google the default search engine in Russia Posted: 08 Jun 2012 05:42 AM PDT It looks like you can chalk up one more win for Google in its bid to be the number one search engine in as many places as possible. When the next version of Firefox rolls out in Russia, Google will be the default search engine, ousting local site Yandex from its long-held spot (though it will still be the second listed in the search bar). In a bit of a preemptive move, though, Yandex has also put out a press release to remind folks that it will continue to offer its own customized version of Firefox, in which it will remain front and center. |
| UCSB engineers proteins that make silicon, leads hipsters to insist on organically-grown computers Posted: 08 Jun 2012 05:18 AM PDT Organic circuits have been in development for awhile, but it's still rare that the organics are producing the circuitry themselves. Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara plan to break that silence with genetically engineered proteins that can make silicon dioxide or titanium dioxide structures like those used in the computer chips and solar cells that we hold dear. The trick, the university's Daniel Morse found, is to attach silica-forming DNA to plastic beads that are in turn soaked in the silicon or titanium molecules they're looking for: after some not-so-natural selection for the best genes, the thriving proteins can produce not only substantial minerals, but whole fiber sheets. Much work is left to get the proteins producing the kind of silicon or titanium dioxides that could run a computer or power your house, but the dream is to have synthetic creations that organically produce what would normally need a mining expedition -- imagine something akin to the glass-like Venus' Flower Basket sponge (pictured above) sitting in an Intel factory. We're half-expecting organically-grown smartphones at Whole Foods, right next to the kale chips and fair trade coffee. [Image credit: Ryan Somma, Flickr] |
| Sonnet shipping xMac mini server, Echo Express PCIe adapters to follow suit shortly (update) Posted: 08 Jun 2012 04:43 AM PDT Sonnet's no stranger to the Thunderbolt peripheral game and it now has three new Thor-approved expansions to ship. The Echo Express adapter packs one X4 mode PCIe 2.0 slot of the x16 flavor, an extra opening for a connector plate or a double-width card and clocks in at a sizeable $599. At a heftier Update: The Echo Express Pro rings up at $799 instead of $899. Sonnet Tech let us know that the RackMac mini Xserver never shipped, but is being revamped as the the the xMac mini. |
| Tiered system reportedly on its way to Sprint's Total Equipment Protection plans Posted: 08 Jun 2012 04:22 AM PDT We'll likely never know what's driving this purported move, but we can safely imagine it has something to do with the cost of high-end devices like that Galaxy Nexus or HTC EVO 4G LTE. Either way, a recent report by the folks over at TechnoBuffalo suggests Sprint is about to switch its Total Equipment Protection plans to a tiered-based system. The adjustments, which are said to take place as soon as June 17th, will see the TEP and ERP (Equipment Replacement Program) prices change to $8 and $5, respectively, for slabs under $550, while any device -- including the aforementioned couple -- over that amount gets an $11 TEP and $9 ERP fee. As you can tell by the picture above, deductibles have also taken a hit, ranging anywhere from $50 for Now Network devices worth less than $325, all the way to $200 for those over $600. Of note, iPhone owners need not to worry, as Sprint's still holding you to Apple's careful insurance. |
| SOEmote tracks our face, transplants our expressions onto an Everquest II persona (faces-on) Posted: 08 Jun 2012 03:49 AM PDT Sony's PlayStation division may have been the main focus this week at E3, but Sony Online Entertainment has something unique of its own to show off for MMORG players. Specifically, folks who are into the PC title Everquest II will soon be able to access a facial recognition feature called SOEmote (S-O Emote). It's no secret that these types of games require massive amounts of communication between players, and SOEmote is an attempt to make in-game conversations more personal than ever. Utilizing any webcam, the software is able map and track your noggin at 64 points, allowing your onscreen character to replicate any facial movements you make. We got a chance to mess around with a beta version of the software, and the results are impressive to say the least -- pretty much all of our facial expressions were accurately recreated. Join us past the break for more details and a
To get started, SOEmote takes a moment to lock-on to a face via your webcam, at which point it can mimic how you emote. Actions like turning our eyes from left to right, squinting and opening our month were all smoothly replicated on our virtual character, and it seemed to do it all in a one-to-one fashion. Even while we talked in an overly animated manner, SOE rarely skipped a beat in translating us into the game. We'd be remiss not to mention, however, that our demo utilized SOE's servers in nearby San Diego, so your mileage my vary as all of the processing is done on Sony's side. Aside from that, the software currently has some trouble separating thick glasses from eyebrows, but according to EII's Director of Development, David Georgeson, this quirk should be smoothed out by the time it releases. Furthermore, we're told that it'll also be able to follow your face as you turn it from side to side -- in the build we viewed, you had to look straight-on and head turns couldn't be recreated. As it stands, SOEmote could seriously affect the way we interact in games by blurring the lines even further between real life interaction and our virtual personas. The best part of all? Players will be able to access SOEmote for free (just like the game itself) when it steps out of beta later this month. We can't wait to see how SOEmote progresses, but for now, check us out making weird faces with the software in the video above. |
| 'Facebook tax' could make web companies pay for usage outside the US Posted: 08 Jun 2012 03:32 AM PDT Leaked documents purportedly from the ITU reveal that the body is considering a levy on content-heavy services like Facebook and Netflix to pay for the bandwidth they use outside of the US. Tabled by lobbyists representing Europe's biggest cellphone networks, the proposal suggests that Google and others should shoulder some of the cost of bringing their services to customers in the rest of the world. In response, Cisco VP Robert Pepper has argued that any such charge could cause web services to block queries from developing nations, "effectively cutting them off from the internet." The motion will be discussed at a December meeting of the ITU council, where all 193 member countries will be allowed to vote. [Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons] |
| Approved Mac OS app boasts 'Retina graphics' Posted: 08 Jun 2012 03:06 AM PDT As if there wasn't enough speculation already, what with WWDC just around the corner, bets are already being placed on the possibility of "Retina Display" Macs. So, when an app turns up in Mac App store mentioning "Retina graphics" under the new features list, eyebrows are understandably going to rise. Of course, this isn't the first such tease we've seen, but it's not the least convincing either. So, we're still not ready to put our money down on a retina-reveal next week just yet, but those odds do seem to be getting ever shorter. |
| Naval researchers soak up the sun below sea level with special solar cells Posted: 08 Jun 2012 03:05 AM PDT Have you ever harbored delusions of living in an underwater city inhabited by the likes of Ariel or those aliens from The Abyss? Yeah, well keep dreaming, because this engineering feat won't necessarily lead to that (the fictional mer people part, that is). What it will pave the way for is a new means of harnessing the sun's rays below sea level to power submerged sensor systems and platforms. The research, carried out by a team of U.S. Naval scientists, forgoes traditional crystalline and amorphous silicon photovoltaic cells for those based on the more efficient gallium indium phosphide. The reason? Turns out those latter semiconductors are well-suited to absorbing photons in the blue / green spectrum -- precisely the wavelengths that diffused sunlight take on under water. Using this newer approach, the team's proven that about 7 watts of energy can be generated per square meter of these deployed cells at a depth of up to 9.1 meters (30 feet). Further refinements and testing are, naturally, on deck, but soon enough we may be looking at a whole new world of possibilities under the sea. |
| Samsung sues Australian patent office to force judicial review of Apple patents Posted: 08 Jun 2012 02:41 AM PDT Samsung has sued the Australian patent commissioner to seek judicial review of four patents granted to Apple in the country. It alleges that Cupertino's innovations patents, the legal equivalent of calling shotgun on new tech, weren't withdrawn by the commission when the full ones were awarded. If the Korean company is successful, the four patents will be declared invalid since they were improperly granted -- keeping them out of the barrage of litigation that surrounds the Galaxy Tab 10.1. A directions hearing is scheduled for June 25th, where Judge Annabelle Bennett will decide if Apple will lose out due to the error. |
| Deezer starts streaming tunes in 35 Latin America countries, Mexico and Puerto Rico included Posted: 08 Jun 2012 02:19 AM PDT Music streaming service Deezer unveiled its global expansion strategy late last year, and what better way to stay true to your word than by launching in 35 countries all at once. Deezer announced earlier today it's going live in a whole bunch of Latin American nations starting today, including markets such as Mexico, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Uruguay, Colombia, Bermuda and Jamaica. The service will offer a variety of different plans to choose from; one of which is a "Discovery Mode" that allows users to have access to over 18 million tracks but limits the jams to 30-second clips -- or, there's also a gratis 15-day trial if you're looking for the full-on experience. Additionally, the Premium and Premium+ plans are set to range anywhere from around $4 to $9, all depending on what country you're in. Speaking of, be sure to peruse the PR right past the break to check out the full list of nations involved in the rollout. Deezer Goes "Live" in 35 Latin American Countries Today Deezer, the world's premier music streaming service, with over 23 million users, launches its streaming service in LATIN AMERICA today The countries are: Anguilla Costa Rica Nicaragua Dominica Panama Dominican Republic Paraguay Ecuador Peru El Salvador Puerto Rico Grenada Saint Kitts and Nevis Guatemala Saint Lucia Guyana Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Bolivia Haiti Suriname Cayman Islands Honduras Trinidad and Tobago Chile Jamaica Uruguay Colombia Mexico Deezer is launching its streaming music service in Latin America (all countries except Brazil, Cuba and Venezuela) today. This launch will offer Deezer's service to hundreds of millions of LATAM music fans who currently have no access to legal multi device streaming music services. The success of the rollout of Deezer in LATAM will be based on a strong local partnership with local labels and key operators. Users across LATAM will now be able to discover, listen to, organise and share all the music they love, anywhere and anytime, unlimited and on any device. Full Facebook integration: Deezer is proud to announce that it will be the only fully Facebook integrated music streaming service in the countries of this LATAM launch, allowing Facebook users to: Create and log into Deezer in one click with Facebook connect Deezer is also integrated with Twitter and Last.fm, offering a real social music experience. Deezer, a 100% web-based solution: Deezer is the first music streaming service that does not rely on software downloads. This means you can access millions of tracks and all your favorite music truly immediately wherever you are. LATAM Pricing: Discovery Mode (Free): the Discovery Mode on PC/Mac and mobile devices will allow you to listen to radio channels and artist-based radio channels (unlimited listening) and to music on demand (access to 18 million tracks) in 30-sec clips. NB: The Service in Mexico will be priced in Mexican pesos: $69.5 Premium / $139 Premium+ Axel Dauchez, CEO, said: "We are very excited about the launch of our streaming service in Latin America. Thanks to our partnership with local labels and to our editorial team, we will offer a high quality product to music fans. And, as we did with Orange and Deutsche Telekom, Deezer will soon announce great local partnerships to be able to reach huge numbers of people". About Deezer: Created by Daniel Marhely in 2006, Deezer is a market leader in music streaming; worldwide 23 million people use the service in 51 countries; there are 1.5 million Deezer subscribers, more than 750,000 Facebook fans and almost 350,000 followers on Twitter. Deezer's users can enjoy music discoveries every day and unlimited streaming and downloads of a great catalog of 18 million tracks. Deezer's music services do not rely on software downloads and are available on PC/Mac, all smartphones and many connected devices. In September 2011, Deezer announced a partnership with Facebook, an important international step that allowed Deezer to integrate its services into the world's largest social network. On December 8th 2011, Deezer began its worldwide roll-out except in Japan and the US. |
| Japanese company takes pod concept mobile, keeps ants from your Grey Poupon (video) Posted: 08 Jun 2012 02:03 AM PDT The great outdoors not civilized enough? From the country with a dearth of space but no shortage of singular ideas comes the Zero Pod, letting you renounce the flimsy tent and enjoy nature in solid-framed style. Made up of "about 40 components," the structure can be placed on flat ground, steep hills, or even turned into a kit houseboat, judging by manufacturer DCW's video after the break. Claiming it can be assembled easily "by two women" in half a day, with knock-down taking a bit longer, the company added that the pods could also be put together as modules for use as hotel annexes. We'll have to see about the price, but if the pod lets us be in nature while keeping it off us, we're not going to quibble about a few yen.
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| 2013 Chevy Volt stretches out the electric miles, works harder for the money Posted: 08 Jun 2012 01:41 AM PDT Every car gets a mid-life refresh to keep the customers flocking in, but a hybrid poses its own unique challenges: it has to give yet another reason to skip buying an (often cheaper) gas-only ride. Chevrolet's solution for the 2013 Volt is to keep drivers on electric power for longer. A slightly larger battery capacity with more real-world room lets the new Volt run for up to 38 miles (up from 37) solely on its electric motor, 98MPGe (up from 94) if you have to draw on the fuel tank and 380 miles of range before you're looking for a plug or a gas station. If gas looks to be the only option for a long drive, an EV Hold Mode borrowed from the Volt's Opel Ampera cousin will keep the electricity in reserve until you're closer to a charging location. Hypermilers have some entertainment through a new center stack that merges GPS, satellite radio and USB media playback into a seven-inch touchscreen unit. They likewise get a lane departure warning system as well as uniform roof and trunk colors -- that signature, two-tone Volt look is going away. We're still waiting to see if prices have changed, but you can get the current scoop after the jump. 2013 Chevrolet Volt Boosts EV Range to 38 Miles Battery storage capacity increase and cell chemistry changes enable improved range 2012-06-07 DETROIT – The all-electric vehicle range of the 2013 Chevrolet Volt will be 38 miles on a single charge, providing owners with a three-mile EV range increase from the 2012 model. The miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) will increase from 94 miles to 98 miles and the total range, including extended range operation, will be 380 miles. Based on real-world experience by Volt owners since the vehicle launched in late 2010, engineers made minor changes to the material composition of the battery cell chemistry, resulting in improved performance and durability. Manganese spinel chemistry remains the foundation for the Volt's battery system, but the amount of each material has been slightly modified to provide better life performance. "The best way to explain what we've done at the cell level is to compare it to a cake batter recipe. Sometimes if you use more sugar and less vanilla you get a better tasting cake. We've done some work at the cell level to modify the 'ingredients' to make a better end result," said Bill Wallace, GM director of Global Battery Systems Engineering. "This attention to detail will allow our customers to experience more pure EV range, which is the true benefit of owning a Volt." In addition, the total storage capacity of the Volt battery has been increased from 16 kWh of energy to 16.5 kWh, and engineers have expanded the state-of-charge window to use 10.8 kWh of the total battery energy – up from 10.3 kWh used in the 2012 model. The battery system maintains a buffer to ensure battery life, but that buffer has been reduced. The improved EV range capability will result in slight increases to the Volt's charge times. A full recharge using a 120V could take 10.5 hours and 4.25 hours using a 240V charging unit. Cells with improved chemistry have accumulated 150,000 test miles to date. The tests have revealed less battery degradation, the ability to withstand temperatures as low as -30 degrees Celsius and less impact by energy throughput. For the first 38 miles, the Volt can drive gas and tailpipe-emissions free using a full charge of electricity stored in its 16.5-kWh lithium-ion battery. When the Volt's battery runs low, a gas-powered engine/generator seamlessly operates to extend the driving range another 344 miles on a full tank. Volt owners have travelled more than 65 million miles since the vehicle launched late 2010. Roughly two-thirds of those miles were powered by grid electricity. Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world's largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com. New for 2013 Increase in EPA-estimated EV range of three miles, to 38 miles The Chevrolet Volt has established an entirely new segment in the global automotive market. It is a five-door, four-passenger car designed to provide the fuel-saving and emissions-reducing benefits of an electric vehicle without the range limitations associated with all-electric vehicles. With numerous awards that include prestigious North American Car of the Year and European Car of the Year honors – as well as a loyal and passionate customer base – the innovative Volt is bringing new customers into Chevrolet dealerships. For 2013, Volt offers an e-AT-PZEV specification that earns the Volt a coveted "green sticker" for single-occupancy HOV lane access in California and New York. Volt also adds a Hold mode that allows owners to direct when the Volt uses its gas generator. This feature helps save money because owners who mix city and highway driving can save the battery charge for city travel, where the Volt's EV mode operates most efficiently. Other updates for 2013 include a body-color roof and decklid, available lane departure warning system and forward collision alert crash-avoidance technologies, as well as GPS-enabled navigation capabilities to Chevy's MyLink infotainment system. A new exterior color, Silver Topaz Metallic, and new interior color, Pebble Beige, also join the Volt lineup. The Volt is available throughout the U.S., with additional exports to Europe, China and Canada. The Volt is built at General Motors' Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, home to the largest photovoltaic solar array in southeast Michigan. The facility can use the 516 kilowatts of solar energy generated by the 264,000-square-foot array (24,526 sq. m) to charge up to 150 Volts or help power the plant. Volt propulsion system The heart of the Chevrolet Volt is its Voltec propulsion system, which combines pure electric drive and an efficient, range-extending engine, giving the Volt up to 382 total miles (615 km) of range. The Volt's long-life battery consists of a 5.5-foot (1.6 m), 435-pound (198.1 kg) T-shaped, 16 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. It supplies energy to an advanced, 111-kW (149-hp) electric drive unit to propel the vehicle. Using only the energy stored in the battery, the Volt delivers an EPA-estimated 38 miles (61 km) of fuel- and tailpipe emissions-free electric driving, depending on terrain, driving techniques and temperature. The Volt battery is covered by an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty. When the battery energy is depleted, the Volt seamlessly transitions to extended-range mode. Power is inverted from a technically advanced, 1.4L 84-hp (63-kW) gasoline-powered onboard engine to the electric drive unit to provide up to 344 (553 km) additional miles of range. Charging the Volt's battery is simple and intuitive, and can be done with a 120V conventional household electrical outlet, or a dedicated 240V charging station. The vehicle is completely rechargeable in about four hours using a 240V outlet and 10 to 16 hours in a 120V outlet (depending on charging level and outside temperature). Once the vehicle is plugged in, owners can schedule either immediate or delayed charges, even coordinating charging according to departure time or when electricity rates are lower. Owners also can manage and monitor the Volt remotely via computer on MyVolt.com; or via a smartphone through RemoteLink, an exclusive smartphone application powered by OnStar. Volt design and exterior features Working closely with aerodynamicists in GM's wind tunnel to shape the Volt, design and engineering teams developed the most aerodynamic vehicle in Chevrolet's history. By reducing the energy needed to overcome air resistance, Volt aerodynamicists contributed an estimated eight miles (5 km) of electric range, and 50 miles (80 km) of extended range. The Volt's rounded and flush front fascia, tapered corners and grille enable air to move easily around the car to reduce drag. In the rear, sharp edges and a carefully designed spoiler control air flow. A n aggressive rake on the windshield and back glass also help reduce turbulence and drag. Additional exterior features include: Body-color roof and liftgate Inside, the Volt offers the space, comfort, convenience and safety features customers expect in a premium five-door sedan – including storage compartments and 40/40 rear-folding seats. It also delivers them in a variety of interior color, lighting and trim options unlike any offered before on a Chevrolet sedan. Two seven-inch, high-resolution full-color screens are featured: One is a reconfigurable graphic cluster display and the other, in the center stack, features a touch-screen display, touch-control switches and integrated shifter. Standard interior features include: Chevrolet MyLink includes Bluetooth streaming audio for music and smartphones, voice recognition for phone, music and radio, compatible with Pandora and Stitcher with Gracenote (playlist and album art) capability Audio system with navigation includes color touch AM/FM stereo with CD player and MP3 playback capability, GPS navigation, USB port, seven-inch diagonal touch screen display, Radio Data System, Chevrolet MyLink The Volt's MacPherson strut-type front suspension, sophisticated compound crank rear axle and quick-reacting, rack-mounted electric power steering system with ZF steering gear have been tuned to deliver a smooth, refined ride with responsive handling and a solid, on-center feel. A low center of gravity combines with the wide track and long wheelbase for balanced performance. Front and rear hydraulic ride bushings help eliminate road harshness. An electro-hydraulic regenerative brake system captures energy up to 0.2g for transfer back to the battery. The friction braking system features large rotors with a special finishing process that protects against corrosion and promotes longer life. The Volt rides on lightweight aluminum wheels that weigh only 17.8 pounds (8.1 kg) each, compared to 24.2 pounds (11 kg) for typical 17-inch wheels. They're wrapped in Goodyear Fuel Max all-season, low-rolling resistance tires optimized for electric vehicle range, noise, feel and performance. Volt safety and crash-avoidance features The Volt helps protect occupants before, during and after a crash. C rash-avoidance features include standard anti-lock brakes with traction control, StabiliTrak electronic stability control and advanced, LED daytime running lamps that make the Volt more visible to other motorists and pedestrians. Occupant protection continues with a strong structure, and the Chevrolet Volt's body-frame-integral structure strategically blends advanced steels to help ensure crashworthiness and stiffness. Nearly 80 percent of the Volt's overall structure consists of high-strength, advanced high-strength or ultra high-strength steel. Because the Volt operates so quietly in all-electric mode, a driver-activated feature sounds a noise to alert pedestrians, particularly those with visual impairments, in an intersection. The alert was developed in conjunction with the American Federation of the Blind. Additional safety features include: Eight standard air bags, including dual-stage driver and passenger air bags; front driver and passenger knee air bags to help mitigate lower leg injuries; roof rail side-curtain air bags that extend over both seating rows for side-impact and rollover protection; and seat-mounted thorax and pelvic side air bags OnStar details Three years of OnStar Directions and Connections service is standard on Volt. OnStar is the global leading provider of connected safety, security and mobility solutions and advanced information technology. OnStar's RemoteLink Mobile App allows smartphone users to control vehicle functions, access vehicle information and send directions directly to the vehicle. A new, opt-in service called FamilyLink allows subscribers to stay connected to loved ones by checking the location of their vehicle online or by signing up for vehicle location alerts. Volt features new OnStar button icons. Drivers will notice an updated look for the Hands-Free Calling button, blue OnStar button and red Emergency button. More information about OnStar can be found at www.onstar.com. |
| Sprint's Palm C40: the Pre 2 that never made it Posted: 08 Jun 2012 01:17 AM PDT Take a look through the trousers of time at what might have been; a Palm Pre 2 on Sprint. WebOSNation managed to grab the very rare prototype from a Palm employee and it fortunately worked on the Now Network without the need for any screwdrivers or warranty busting. Despite its second-hand status, the phone cheerfully handled webOS 2.2.4, albeit without a licensed webOS Doctor. Aside from the swap to a CDMA radio, the rest of phone hardware chimes with the Verizon version that did arrive. A handful of |
| Large Hadron Collider affected by full moon, ocean commiserates Posted: 08 Jun 2012 12:57 AM PDT Large Hadron Collider not running properly? If you've read the docs and restarted it, check for a full moon. After noticing fewer particle collisions while on her shift, Pauline Gagnon reached out to a control room operator who casually explained that they adjust beam alignment during full moons. Yes, the tide-producing orbit of Earth's satellite tugs the LHC's inner workings ever so slightly askew. Though minute, the changes add up over the collider's 27km circumference and are picked up by monitoring equipment sensitive enough to measure elementary particles. However, Luna isn't the only thing that affects the accelerator -- the water level in Lake Geneva and passing high-speed rail trains also do the trick. Will your hand react differently to the LHC's beam under a Harvest Moon? Probably not. In any case, hit the source for the scientific details. |
| Olympus scales back, shifts focus to turn around fortunes Posted: 08 Jun 2012 12:36 AM PDT Beleaguered camera maker Olympus vows to shed around 2,700 jobs and heavily restructure its business following a major accounting scandal. That works out that around seven percent of its total global workforce will be cut, with Olympus also aiming to sell unused property and close its Philippines plant over the next two years. The Japanese manufacture will also refocus on profitable imaging, medical and life-science departments -- presumably fields that would-be suitor Panasonic's also interested in. Update: Or perhaps not. |
| IDC: Nokia moved just 2.2 million Lumias this winter, but stay tuned Posted: 08 Jun 2012 12:14 AM PDT Although we know that Nokia had a wince-inducing first quarter, the company was hush hush on how many of its Windows Phone-packing Lumias had shipped out. We still don't have official word, but IDC estimates that Nokia delivered 2.2 million of the devices to shops (not necessarily to customers) between January and March. If the total is accurate, Lumias would represent less than a fifth of the 11.9 million smartphones shipped by Espoo over the season and wouldn't have Apple or Samsung quaking in their boots just yet. The research team is careful to warn that the spring and summer will be the real litmus tests: a healthy Lumia 900 launch in the US could easily spike that number. Our one certainty is that Nokia will still have to sell a lot of 808 PureViews if it wants to keep its smartphone sales humming in the short term. |
| ZoomTether shares your phone's connection, tethering plan optional Posted: 07 Jun 2012 11:51 PM PDT If you don't want to cough up for a dedicated tethering plan, there are some illicit ways to share your phone's data connection with other devices. Of course, most of them require you to root your handset, which might not be something you're interested in doing. Another option is to buy a wireless router from Zoom (specifically the 4501 or 4506), install ZoomTether and plug your phone into the back. Rather than turn your smartphone into a hotspot itself, Zoom's standalone routers do the heavy WiFi lifting, which means you get the full 330 yards you've come expect from an 802.11n radio and, perhaps, a little longer battery life from your mobile. The ZoomTether-compatible routers even have batteries so that you can use them as truly portable hotspots. This little gem isn't available in Google Play just yet. You'll have to side load it by first updating your router's firmware, then transferring the app from the router to your phone. The fun and convoluted directions are available at the source. Just remember, if your carrier catches on and hits you with a hefty bill, don't blame us. |
| DIY cyborg appendage is less exciting than it sounds (video) Posted: 07 Jun 2012 11:32 PM PDT When we envision our transhumanist future, it's a little more profound than simply adding a sixth finger... but we suppose you've gotta start somewhere. Instructables user and employee Frenzy gave himself a rather primitive extra digit as part of a project for an Electronics and Robotics class at San Francisco State University. Sadly he doesn't provide step-by-step instructions for building your own cyborg appendage, but it doesn't seem too difficult. Frenzy borrowed heavily from other projects, using EMG sensors to trigger a servo controlled by an Arduino, which he strapped to the back of a glove. Like we said, doesn't seem particularly hard, once you figure out how to get the microcontroller to play nice with the sensors. Obviously this is just one small step step for DIY cyborgs. Next, we need to graph on a few extra arms to make one-man liveblogging a much simpler endeavor. To see Primitive Transhumanism #2: Sixth Finger in action, head on past the break. |
| TI demos Windows RT on OMAP 4470, we go hands-on (video) Posted: 07 Jun 2012 10:58 PM PDT It seems like every ARM chip manufacturer wants a piece of Windows 8 here at Computex 2012 -- and for good reason. Hot on the heels of Asus' Tegra 3-equipped Tablet 600 and Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4-based development tablet, Texas Instruments is showing Windows RT on its very own OMAP 4470-based system. The 1.5GHz dual-core SoC features a PowerVR SGX544 GPU and leads the competition with a dual-channel memory interface. We chatted with Bill Crean, Product Manager of the OMAP Processor Business Unit who showed us Microsoft's latest OS running on TI's development tablet. The demo looked snappy enough, providing some insight about what to expect from some of Toshiba's upcoming devices. No word yet on a quad-core version. Enjoy our hands-on gallery below and take a peek after the break for our demo video.
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| Honda Fit EV rated at 118 MPGe, will get you 82 of those on one charge Posted: 07 Jun 2012 10:54 PM PDT Honda's perky little Fit EV has just been marked and measured by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA has rated the dinky 'lectro-wagon at 118 MPGe, which Honda claims is the best ever score. Our friends over at Autoblog aren't so sure, noting that the Tesla Roadster eked out 119 MPGe in its testing. That said, the Fit does best the Roadster on its city rating (132 over 124 MPGe) so perhaps there's some gentle number massaging going on. With performance like that, however, we won't hold it against them. In fact we're off to buy one now. Oh wait. |
| Apple closes in on $2.25 million settlement in Australia for disputed 4G iPad claim Posted: 07 Jun 2012 10:29 PM PDT  The legal drama surrounding Apple's 4G labeling of some iPad models in Australia might be coming to an end. The Australian reports that Apple has agreed to pay $2.25 million to settle claims that the company's use of the term "Wi-Fi + 4G" was misleading because the tablet doesn't work with the country's 4G networks. Apple already offered to provide refunds to consumers who felt deceived by the labeling. The company also renamed the aforementioned model to "iPad WiFi + Cellular" in several territories. Apple hasn't quite made it across the finish line, however -- the settlement still requires court approval before it can be finalized and the Judge has adjourned the case until Wednesday to gather more information. |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Y580 goes on sale melding quad-core Ivy Bridge and GeForce GTX 660M Posted: 07 Jun 2012 10:10 PM PDT The Y580 led the avalanche of Lenovo IdeaPads unveiled at CES; its dependence on both Intel Ivy Bridge processors and Kepler-based NVIDIA graphics kept it out of the spotlight for some time, but it's now ready to ship out. The finished 15.6-inch laptop skews very clearly to gamers and other performance mavens. The range starts off with a quad 2.3GHz Core i7, a GeForce GTX 660M and 8GB of RAM. Any heavier outlays of cash upgrade the display resolution, optical drive and storage to as much as a 1080p screen, a Blu-ray combo drive and a 1TB hard drive with a companion 32GB SSD for good measure. None of them will win a contest for sheer portability, but a tight official price spread between $1,299 and $1,549 ($1,039 and $1,239 on sale) guarantees that it won't be hard to get exactly the PC you need to play Spec Ops. |
| Sony PlayStation Pulse Wireless Stereo Headset Elite Edition hands-on Posted: 07 Jun 2012 09:48 PM PDT Aside from the PlayStation Move Racing Wheel and Wonderbook, Sony has one more accessory to show off at E3 -- the Pulse Wireless Stereo Headset Elite Edition. Naturally, we hunted down this peripheral aimed at all-things audio to check it out for ourselves. The PWSHEE is the company's second full-on PS3 headset to date, expanding on what it offered with its Wireless Stereo Headset from last year. As we're told, the headset is also ushering in a new Pulse moniker for its PlayStation oriented ear-blasters, although there's no word on what we can expect down the line. For now, this unit packs a lot on paper for its $150 price, touting key features like 7.1 virtual surround sound, PS Vita and cellphone compatibility (thanks to a detachable cable with inline remote / mic), BassImpact technology for massive low-end pulse (get it?), audio profiles, higher-fidelity drivers than the WSH and hidden noise-cancelling microphones for chatting. Does it have the potential to live up to its hype and one-up its $80 predecessor? Join us past the break for our initial impressions. Visually speaking, the PWSHEE is less futuristic looking than the Wireless Stereo headset and it's not a bad thing either -- we wouldn't feel dorky wearing it in public. The back of the earcups are finished in a deep glossy black with chrome circles on the yokes, while the the rest of the headset has a textured matte finish like the PS3. Although the drivers are new, the the size, shape and even the cups, and even the fauxe-leather earpads felt exactly the same to our ears as what's on the WSH -- not surprising, as the PWSHEE uses that headset as its foundation. Those pads had our head sweating in the past, so it's shame that cloth versions are, again, not on offer. The headband and yokes are completely redesigned here, featuring two points of contact and more traditional adjustment rails, but the earcups still don't fold flat and padding is sparse under the headband. Despite these minor quirks, the headset fit our noggin very comfortably, and we don't feel as though it would be a burden to wear these during a gaming marathon. So that's the design. Let's dig into those features. One major complaint we had the WSH was its retractable boom mic -- namely that it felt flimsy and put an annoying light in our line of vision. This time around the noise-cancelling microphones are hidden in the earcups, and although we had no means to test their quality, not having any glare in eyes is a welcome improvement. As far as controls go, you'll find sliders for voice, game and "pulse" conveniently placed along the edges (perfect for for quick thumb access), along with a Mini-USB port for charging, a 3.5mm input for the detachable cable, a power switch and and a toggle for Virtual Surround Sound. The wireless connection is handled by an included USB dongle like the WSH, but this unit has its own 3.5mm input. Our Sony rep wasn't aware of what it's for, but we'd imagine it'll let you get wired into the console. About the only thing we couldn't view on the headset were its onscreen status popups, although it's likely similar to the what we experienced with the WSH. The Sony booth was very loud, but the cans isolated noise well enough that we were able to gauge the sound quality a little bit. While we've generally placed vibrating earcups in the "gimmick" category, we actually came away quite impressed by the sound demo Sony had looping. The vibrations felt like a subwoofer on our head, rather than the buzzing of a cellphone. You can dial-in your preferred level of wub (or disable it) thanks to the volume control, and it'll get intense enough to please the most demanding bass heads. The surround sound emulation was also pleasing, with a good sense of directionality from the front to rear channels. We'll be sure to give this headset a full run through our review gauntlet when it ships later this fall, but as it stands, $150 for this versatile, feature-packed headset is looking like a more-than-fair deal. |
| Posted: 07 Jun 2012 09:00 PM PDT There wasn't much reason to upgrade with last year's T3i, but that's certainly not the case with the Canon EOS Rebel T4i. This new entry-level DSLR packs a redesigned 18-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with brand-new focus capabilities, enabling the camera to use both phase- and contrast-detection autofocus when paired with one of two new STM lenses. The center portion of the sensor uses traditional phase-detection technology, while points nearer to the perimeter aid by recognizing contrast in a scene, enabling a more accurate autofocus technique for both stills and video shooting. On the video front, the new lenses -- an EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM for $550 or the EF 40mm f/2.8 STM "pancake" for $200 -- allow for much more silent zoom and focusing during video capture, so you don't need to worry about those sensitive stereo mics picking up mechanical noise. The camera still did a bit of focus hunting while recording video during our hands-on, but autofocus performance was quite impressive while capturing stills, even in low light. On the spec front, there's an articulating 3-inch Clear View smudge-resistant glass LCD, with a 1.04-megapixel resolution and new capacitive multitouch functionality, letting you pinch and zoom pictures and tap your way through menus just the same -- you'll still have the full array of physical controls if you'd prefer to go that route. There's the same bounty of video modes available with the T3i and T2i, including 1080 at 30p, 25p and 24p, 1080/60i and 50i, and VGA at 30 and 25 frames-per-second -- there's also a stereo mic on board, along with a dedicated microphone input jack on the side. In burst mode, the T4i can snap up to 5 consecutive frames per second. The camera also includes the same LP-E8 battery pack as previous Rebels, with a 1120mAh capacity. The Rebel T4i will be available in a body-only configuration for $850, $950 with the 18-55mm kit lens or $1200 with the new 18-135mm STM optic, all of which are set to ship later this month. If you feel that the new features don't justify the price, you'll rest easy knowing that Canon has no plans to pull the T3i from store shelves -- that T2i, however, is destined for retirement. The New EOS Rebel T4i DSLR Camera Puts the power and creativity of DSLR Stills and Video at your fingertips Silent and Continuous Autofocus in Video, The EOS Rebel T4i Lets People Re-Live Magic Moments Through Stunningly Crisp Video and Incredible Stereo Sound LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., June 8, 2012 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging, today announced a new flagship model in its most popular EOS Rebel line, the Canon EOS Rebel T4i Digital SLR Camera. The new EOS Rebel T4i features incredible image quality with an 18-megapixel CMOS (APS-C) sensor, DIGIC 5 Image Processor that helps capture all the action with high-speed continuous shooting of up to five frames per second (fps) and an extended ISO range of 100–12800 (expandable to 25600 in H mode) that gives photographers the opportunities to take the EOS Rebel T4i into more shooting situations than ever before. The camera includes a revolutionary new autofocus (AF) system to help achieve fast, sharp focus and smooth HD video. The new AF system includes a nine-point all cross-type sensor array, and new Hybrid CMOS AF which achieves fast focus when shooting stills or video in Live View mode. Much to the pleasure of aspiring student filmmakers and parents everywhere, the Rebel T4i features Canon's new Movie Servo AF providing a quiet, continuous AF during HD video recording when using one of Canon's newly introduced Stepping Motor (STM) lenses. The silent continuous autofocus when shooting HD video helps ensure the camera only captures the sounds of the scene being recorded. When combined with the camera's new Vari-angle Touch Screen 3.0-inch Clear View LCD monitor II and intuitive "fingertip" controls, touch-menu and advanced still and video capabilities, the EOS Rebel T4i stands as Canon's most "consumer-friendly" DSLR to date. "Our Rebel line of cameras bridges the gap between the casual photographer and someone looking to advance their photography and capture moments in new and creative ways. The EOS Rebel T4i boasts full HD video with AF and touch-screen navigation, inspiring even more photographers and videographers to explore the creative options made possible with DSLR cameras and lenses," said Yuichi Ishizuka, executive vice president and general manager, Imaging Technologies & Communications Group, Canon U.S.A. New AF Capabilities One of the most significant upgrades to the EOS Rebel T4i is a dramatically upgraded AF system including a nine-point all cross-type AF array, with a high-precision dual-cross f/2.8 point at center. The EOS Rebel T4i is the first Canon camera to feature the new Hybrid CMOS AF system which increases AF speed by reducing the camera's need to "hunt" for focus. The result is fast continuous AF when shooting photos and movies in Live View. Because the camera's cross-type AF points have two-dimensional contrast detection, the EOS Rebel T4i provides highly accurate focus regardless of your shot composition and ensures great focus no matter where the subject is located in the frame. The addition of the dual-cross point in the center allows for much faster and precise focusing for photographers using high-speed f/2.8 lenses. Using the touch panel, parents can select their child on the LCD screen and the camera will remain focused on that child while they stay in-frame, ensuring sharp focus in crowds and group shots. The new AF system enables Touch Focus for shooting photos and movies in Live View. To make capturing photos even easier, a Touch Shutter function can also be enabled, whereby selecting a subject on the LCD screen, the camera will instantly take a photo, once focus is locked. Continuous AF during HD Video Recording For the first time in a Canon EOS DSLR, the EOS Rebel T4i includes Canon's new Movie Servo AF for recording video. When used with Canon's new EF and EF-S STM lenses, the camera can provide smooth and quiet continuous AF while recording video. This technological breakthrough enables the new EOS Rebel T4i to achieve AF while still retaining a DSLR camera's signature background blur and image quality, producing stunning videos of parties, events, summer vacations or graduations. When shooting video with Canon's STM lenses, AF also remains silent, helping ensure you only capture the sound of the scene being recorded. The EOS Rebel T4i features a built-in stereo microphone, a first for the Rebel line, that includes an attenuator function to reduce audio distortion in extra loud situations. Canon's First Touch-Screen DSLR Another Canon first, the EOS Rebel T4i includes a best-in-class Vari-angle Touch Screen 3.0-inch Clear View LCD monitor II featuring 1.04 million dot resolution for unparalleled, clear viewing. The electro-static touch-panel screen is the most advanced that Canon has released to date with multi-touch capabilities allowing photographers to use familiar gestures such as "pinch-to-zoom" and "swiping" to scroll between pictures. Camera operation has been simplified through this feature allowing for Touch Focus or Touch Shutter controls via the vari-angle touch-screen. The vari-angle touch-screen flips out to the left and rotates 180 degrees forward and 90 degrees backward, making tough above-the-head and low-to-the-ground shots easy, and allowing improved views during photo or video capture. That means the overhead shot taken in a crowd or at a graduation march just got a little easier to shoot. Improved Imaging Performance Features • Handheld Night Scene Canon's new shooting modes (Handheld Night Scene, HDR Backlight Control and Multi-Shot Noise Reduction), take multiple pictures, and combine them – in camera – to help capture a wider dynamic range, minimize the image grain or noise, and produce more vivid colors so landscapes and city scenes are as breathtaking as when seen in person. Families have enjoyed coming home from a vacation or outing with a fun, short Video Snapshot highlight reel shot on their Canon camera to share the full story of their adventure. Now with the EOS Rebel T4i users will also have the option to delete, cut or re-order the clips before exporting the Snapshot album to post or share. Canon's Scene Intelligent Auto mode – the "green" mode on the dial – analyzes the scene being shot, taking into account faces, colors, brightness, movement and contrast, to select appropriate camera settings and help produce the best possible image. This mode has been enhanced to deliver the best possible exposure, particularly when shooting in low-light. New STM Lenses and Accessories To leverage the unique, new shooting functions of the EOS Rebel T4i, such as EOS Full HD Movie with continuous AF, Canon is introducing two new unique lenses, the new EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens and new EF 40mm f/2.8 STM lens. Both new STM lenses includes Canon's new Stepping Motor technology, which allows the lenses to smoothly and silently focus, and when used in combination with Canon's new EOS Rebel T4i Movie Servo AF feature, achieve continuous AF while recording video. The new stepping motor technology in both lenses quietly focuses allowing the EOS Rebel T4i's stereo microphone to only record the sounds of the scene being shot. The new EF 40mm f/2.8 STM lens offers an ultra-slim, lightweight design that helps photographers avoid overwhelming their subjects with a large lens and to remain discreet in sensitive shooting situations without compromising performance. The "pancake-style" lens boasts an aperture of f/2.8 making it an ideal lens for capturing portrait stills or stunning video. The lens is under an inch thick when attached, making it easy to carry and fit conveniently into a purse or pocket. The EOS Rebel T4i is also compatible with Canon's previously introduced GP-E2 GPS Receiver that can be mounted to the camera's accessory shoe. The GPS unit was created to serve outdoor photographers; it records shooting locations including latitude, longitude and altitude, as well as camera direction. A Logging function can tell how far a photographer has traveled as well. Availability The EOS Rebel T4i Digital SLR camera will be available at the end of June for an estimated retail price of $849.99 for the body alone; $949.99 bundled with an EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II lens kit and a Movie Kit bundle for $1199.00 with the new EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens. |
| Sony keeps Xperia upgrade train rolling, brings ICS to Mini Pro Posted: 07 Jun 2012 08:23 PM PDT Software update sagas typically center around carriers and OEMs failing to deliver to users in a timely manner -- or, even at all. Not so with Sony, which continues to set itself apart from the mobile pack by keeping to its public timetable and doling out the Android 4.0 upgrades to Xperia handsets globally. And despite community concerns that featherweight devices like the Mini Pro wouldn't make the cut, the company's surprising owners by making the Googlefied OS goods available to download for that diminutive handset now. You'll need to have the proprietary PC Companion software installed to access it, but after that, all should be smooth ICS sailing. |
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