Saturday, February 09, 2008

XEL-1: Sony's First OLED TV Reviewed by Sound and Vision (The Bastards) [HDTVs]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/231863178/xel+1-sonys-first-oled-tv-reviewed-by-sound-and-vision-the-bastards

282008135850.jpegI can't say I'm not jealous that Al at Sound and Vision for getting first domestic review of the upcoming Sony 11-inch OLED TV. The set has one of the highest price/size ratios ever, but it also pulls off one of the highest performances of any modern TV, too. Here are the particulars, in case you have an extra $2500 to blow on a TV that'll look huge in your daughter's doll house.

• The TV has two HDMI ports
• It's not quite HD, with a res of half of 1080p (960x540, although it will of course accept HD resolutions, and that is enough for an 11-incher.)
• 3mm thick on the main screen unit, about the same as three credit cards!
• The base unit contains the ports and upward firing speakers aiming through an aluminum grill.
• There is a USB port for media modules; right now there is a web content streamer, but DVD and wireless HDMI modules are coming.
• The remote is slim and controls a cross media bar interface like that on the PS3.
• The set is terrible in direct lighting because of a highly reflective screen.
• Visual quality was on par with the best plasmas and LCDs, and surpassed many sets in contrast and shadow detail.

[Sound and Vision]


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WildCharge Releases iPhone, iPod, BlackBerry Pearl/8800 Wireless Charging Adapters [Gadgets]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/231956520/wildcharge-releases-iphone-ipod-blackberry-pearl8800-wireless-charging-adapters

Wildcharge, the device that lets you wirelessly charge your RAZR, has just released new adapters for the iPhone, iPod, BlackBerry Pearl, BlackBerry 8800 and 2nd Gen iPod Nano. It still works the same: put the adapter on the back of your phone, place your phone onto the charging pad and wait for the juice to flow. No pricing information on this quite yet, but the old RAZR chargers were $34 (or $89 for the pad and the charger together). [WildCharge]


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Nokia trial turns N95s into traffic sensing tools

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/232062742/

Filed under: , ,

Sure, we've seen cellphones intermingle with traffic data before, but Nokia's looking to up the ante in a big way by utilizing a large network of GPS-enabled handsets to actually predict traffic patterns and help you avoid congestion before you even leave for that afternoon appointment. In a recent trial involving 100 volunteer drivers (and an equal amount of N95s), the handset maker teamed up with UC Berkeley to test the effectiveness of using a device most people already own (read: cellphones) to beam out traffic data rather than installing permanent sensors in roadways. Eventually, Nokia hopes to expand the experiment to over 1,000 folks, and just in case you privacy junkies can already feel your heart racing, you can rest assured that all "personal identifying information" was stripped before being sent back for analysis.

Read - Nokia turns people into traffic sensors
Read - Video: Nokia test drives traffic monitoring system

 

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Friday, February 08, 2008

Eee PC Has A Kindle Mode? [Asus]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/231974126/eee-pc-has-a-kindle-mode

eeepckindlemode.jpgGot a desire for the sold out Amazon Kindle? If you do your probably out of luck on actually getting one anytime soon. The next best thing might actually be an Eee PC in "Kindle" mode. By using FBReader in fullscreen and portrait mode, an Eeeph forum member turned his Eee into a Kindle imitator. Since FBReader is a free e-book reader for Unix and Windows computers this little Kindle tweak shouldn't be too hard to get you a multi-function e-reader out the popular Eee PC. [Eeeph via EeeUser]


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Military-grade gel-based liquid bandages approved by the FDA

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/231805864/

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Spray-on liquid bandages aren't a new idea by any means, but a company called BioCure has just received FDA approval for a gel-based version designed to treat combat wounds. Developed in conjunction with Rutgers University and the Army, the GelSpray Liquid Bandage is applied with a dual syringe that combines two different polymers that combine into a gel, spreading to cover and protect the wound. The gel only sticks to intact skin, not the wound itself, and it's hard enough to resist abrasion. BioCure is already talking about medicated versions that will treat infection and stop severe bleeding, and the prospect of civilian applications are also on the table -- but no dates have been given, sadly.

[Via Medgadget]

 

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Box.net Adds File Collaboration [Box.net]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/231671990/boxnet-adds-file-collaboration

boxnet_scaled.jpgOnline storage web site Box.net keeps rolling out new features, but opening up stored files to online collaboration adds a whole bunch o' new potential uses at once. Any file you store at Box.net can now be shared with collaborators (who, it must be said, must also have Box.net accounts) and manipulated through any of the sites' web service partners. That means you and your friends could all crop and edit your weekend getaway pictures in Picnik, or edit a trip diary in Zoho, and so forth. Added to desktop mounting and free iCal publishing, Box.net is vying to become almost as handy when you're away from your computer as your trusted thumb drive—maybe even more so.


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Songerize is the "I'm Feeling Lucky" of Online Music [Streaming Media]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/231657251/songerize-is-the-im-feeling-lucky-of-online-music

songerize_cropped2.jpg
Songerize is a dead-simple interface for quickly playing streaming music, and it's destined to become a quick-fix addiction for music fans. Type in a song name, then the artist you think performs it, and hit "Play." If Songerize can find the song, it plays it in an embedded Flash device. If not, try another song. Described as the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button for the more full-featured streaming music search site SeeqPod, Songerize is the perfect tool for clarifying misheard lyrics, quickly playing a song for a friend, or just listening to music one track at a time. Songerize found 8 of 10 songs I threw at it this morning, and I mixed it about halfway between big radio hits and indie hip-hop and rock. Nifty. To get even more out of SeeqPod, download-wise, check out Songbeat.


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Coming Soon: Depositing Checks at Home by Scanner [Software]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/231608495/coming-soon-depositing-checks-at-home-by-scanner

checkscan.jpegSaul Hansel, one of my favorite NYTimes reporters, writes about Fiserv's technology that'll let normal people deposit paper checks to their bank accounts by merely scanning them at home.

USAA, the bank that serves the armed forces, has done this for awhile, but it hasn't picked up beyond there. Although the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act has made this possible, and half of all business checks are deposited this way already, the system still needs to be safeguarded against fraud before it can really reach mainstream adoption rates. Interesting, but I'd guess the majority of Gizmodo readers use paypal or World of Warcraft gold pieces instead of ye old checkbook. [NYT Bits]


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Seiler Piano Supports Hands, Keys and Cars [Music]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/231622153/seiler-piano-supports-hands-keys-and-cars

suspension1_big-1.jpgThis "suspension" piano by Seiler brings everyone's favorite style of bridge indoors and gives it a soundtrack beyond the typical roar of automobiles drowning out the subtle splashing of suicide jumpers. A meticulously crafted mahogany piano suspended on a cast iron frame, we'd be afraid to even touch a key lest we induce the sound of metal shredding expensive wood. But our guess is that the piano's quite literal delicate balance between fluid fragility and rigid stability is its entire appeal. [seiler via dvice]


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Email Based File Conversion - Supports PDF, DOC, DOCX, MP3, etc.

Source: http://www.labnol.org/internet/email/convert-file-formats-online-email-attachments-pdf-docx-mp3/2236/

Convert Images to PDF Here are five new additions to the list of Most Useful Email Addresses that help you instantly convert popular file formats like Office docs, PDF and music files via email attachments.

To use any of these email based file conversion services, just send your files (like DOCX, PDF, MP3, etc) as email attachments to the address of the conversion service and they’ll send back files in converted formats almost instantly.

1. mp3@koolwire.com - Convert WAV to MP3 format (file limit: 10 MB)

2. iPhone@pdfonline.com - Convert Microsoft Visio (VSD) and Word 2007 (DOCX) to PDF. You can send multiple file formats in the same email and the converted PDF documents will arrive in separate emails. Don’t get confused by the iphone word in the email address, it works just fine for the desktop and other wireless devices.

3. pdf@koolwire.com - Convert DOC, XLS or PPT files to PDF

4. doc@koolwire.com - Convert PDF to Word or RTF

5. wav@koolwire.com - Convert MP3 Songs to WAV files

The PDFOnline service support all Microsoft Office formats including the latest DOCX format but the file has to be less than 1 MB. You can use the Koolwire email conversion service to convert files as large as 10 MB.

These services are especially handy if your mobile phone doesn’t offer file viewer for particular formats  - like a BlackBerry cannot read Visio or Docx formats.

Related: Convert DOCX to DOC Format


Email Based File Conversion - Supports PDF, DOC, DOCX, MP3, etc. - Digital Inspiration

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Reference Chart: Internet Acquisitions made by Yahoo, Google, etc

Source: http://www.labnol.org/internet/favorites/reference-chart-internet-acquisitions-made-by-yahoo-google-etc/2249/

Acquisitions by Internet companies

Amy Webb is tracking all the acquisitions made by Internet giants like Yahoo!, Google, Microsoft and AOL. No wonder, the red block corresponding to Google occupies the maximum estate.

A high-res version of the "Who Owns What" chart is available for download as a PDF or a JPG image so print and pin it to your cubicle wall - handy if you cover the digital media landscape on your site. Thanks Lee and Steve.

You may also like the Internet World Maps.


Reference Chart: Internet Acquisitions made by Yahoo, Google, etc - Digital Inspiration

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Intel sued for Core 2 Duo patent infringement -- by the University of Wisconsin

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/231086680/

Filed under: ,

Although Intel's mighty proud of the Core 2 Duo, it looks like the chip wasn't all home-grown -- a lawsuit filed today by the University of Wisconsin claims that the processor infringes on patented technology developed by one of its professors. Back in 1998, CS department chair Gurindar Sohi presented some of his developments relating to instruction level parallelism to Intel and offered to license them, but got nowhere -- yet the same tech is in the Core 2 Duo, according to the lawsuit. For its part, Intel says it's been talking to the Badgers for over a year now, and that it hasn't evaluated the complaint -- which it might want to do in short order, since UW's asking for the court to halt shipments of the Core 2 Duo in addition to monetary damages and legal fees.

[Thanks, Matt G.]

 

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ZAP revives hundred-year-old Detroit Electric brand

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/231099860/

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It's taken a while, but it looks like we could soon be seeing a new batch of Detroit Electrics roaming the roads, as ZAP has just announced that its reviving the hundred-year-old brand for some of its own all-electric vehicles. According to the company, those will be developed in a joint venture with the China Youngman Automotive Group, and will include the Zap Alias (pictured above), which we've seen previously under slightly more mysterious circumstances. Other details are expectedly light at the moment, but ZAP will apparently have plenty more to say about its new retro ways at the NADA 2008 auto show, which gets underway in San Francisco next week.

 

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