How Flash Can Be Actually Useful on an Android Phone [Android]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5632782/how-flash-can-be-actually-useful-on-an-android-phone

Some have stated that the Flash video on Android phones is "startlingly bad." That might be true, depending on your setup. But there are smarter ways to set up Flash on an Android, and get some real use from it.

Image via RJL20.

First Things First: Make Flash "On Demand"

One of the biggest complaints about Flash on Android, as it is on desktops and laptops, is that it pops up everywhere, without warning, making the most annoying ads and page controls float over what you're trying to focus on.

To fix that, at least on phones with the stock Android or generous manufacturer modifications, open your phone's stock Browser, hit the Menu key, choose the More option, then pick Settings. Scroll down to find the "Enable plug-ins" entry, tap it, then pick "On demand" from the options that pop up. Now when there's a Flash video or control on a page, it shows up with a downward-facing green arrow, which you can click to activate Flash for just that page. It's a lot more hospitable than just hoping that sites have a good mobile version with minimal Flash.

Watch Shorter Videos, or Use Mobile-Friendly Sites

In many tests of Flash video, the videos being loaded are longer takes or extended trailers in HD—the kind of thing you'd normally sneak into a lunch break at work. Depending on your device, this either works out decent, or results in a kind of slide-show-like stuttering. That has to do with memory as much as processing power.

It's not quite the advice you'd like to hear, but stick to shorter videos, if you're going to play them through Flash, and try to hunt down the non-HD version whenever possible. If you're finding a video just impossible to play, head to m.youtube.com or m.vimeo.com, where most videos are available for non-Flash, HTML5 streaming direct to Android phones—usually at better resolutions and rates than through Flash or the YouTube app, too.

Use Flash Where It's Useful: Work Sites, Restaurant Menus, Logins

Honestly, Flash isn't something the Lifehacker editors use all the time while browsing on their Android phones—the editors that do have Android 2.2 running, anyways. It's just something that's available for sites that need Flash to work properly—for better or worse.

Lifehacker reader @soul4real uses Flash to get at the educational web sites she needs access to, and that makes sense. Many sites, like @sabiddle's bank, use Flash elements for login forms, in part to offer secure "virtual keyboards" and other elements that can't be trapped or traced as easily as HTML. Lifehacker's own content editing system uses Flash to upload and modify multiple photos, and I've used it from my Nexus One in a pinch (usually with an assist from the handy Dropbox app).

@keatonreckard noted that many restaurants, and some businesses, simply love Flash for displaying menus or even simple contact information. You can feel free to call up these businesses and browbeat their web managers, or refuse to frequent them on the principle that they must have hired a scammer for a web developer, but in the meantime, it's helpful to have click-on Flash access to the information you'd like to know.

Alternatives for When Flash Simply Won't Work

Had it up to here with too-slow Flash on your device, but still want access to nifty videos around the web? You've got options, in the form of free apps.

Skyfire offers a browser that detects Flash videos on any site you're looking at. Hit the Video button in the lower-left, and Skyfire sends the video to its servers, then pushes it back to your browser in a more mobile-friendly feed. Dolphin Browser HD can download YouTube and a few other Flash video sites' contents straight to your SD card for better performance and later viewing.

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What Flash-on-Android tips and alternatives did we miss? Tell us how you find peace with Flash on your phone in the comments.

Repurpose a Chemistry Stand for Dead Simple 3D Images [Camera Hacks]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5634210/repurpose-a-chemistry-stand-for-dead-simple-3d-images

Many stereoscopic photography hacks rely on having two cameras. This simple setup allows you to use a single camera, mounted on an old chemistry stand, to snap stereoscopic photos.

John Edgar Park, a photographer, tinkerer, and DIY enthusiast, shares his simple setup for capturing 3D images.

Fancy stereoscopic camera rigs have two lenses on a single camera body, or two bodies and set of mirrors and lenses to achieve that distance. Or, you can simply take a photo, slide your camera sideways and take another. This works for still subjects only.

I build this simple rig out of chemistry lab equipment. (Yes, it's the same bar stand and clamp set I used to build my Florence Siphon vacuum coffee brewer apparatus.) I pulled my focus and other settings, took a photo, slid it all about 2.5″ to the left and shot a second photo.

Check out his full guide for setup tips and additional information about combining your photos together to create a finished 3D image. While you're in the 3D mood, make sure to check out how to create 3D images that don't require colored glasses.

Shooting Stereographic [jpixl.net via Make]

FontPark Is a Searchable, Sortable Database of Over 70,000 Free Fonts [Fonts]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5634062/fontpark-is-a-searchable-sortable-database-of-over-70000-free-fonts

FontPark is a great big database of free fonts—for personal and/or commercial use—that'll work on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

With 70,000 free fonts it can be hard to narrow it down, so FontPark has a bunch of filtering and sorting options so you can browse only the top fonts, for example. You can also search the site if there's something you're looking for in particular. If your typographic gluttony doesn't cap off at 70,000, you can also find great free fonts at DaFont (our take), The League of Movable Type, and Urban Fonts.

Got any places to find great free fonts? Share 'em in the comments!

FontPark [via CyberNet News]

Watching DivX Movies With VLC Video Player for iPad [Ipad]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5634916/watching-divx-movies-with-vlc-video-player-for-ipad

If everything goes well, every iPad user would be able to play movies and shows in DivX, Xivd and many other media format not supported by Apple's native QuickTime player. All thanks to the free VLC Media Player

If Apple approves it, that is. Right now, VLC is going through the approval process. Since it doesn't break any rules, I'm sure (I hope) there will be no problem.

VLC will allow you to play your own high quality video without having to go through Apple's iTunes Store or converting to H.264. According to AppAdvice, it works great:

It performs very well, and all your DivX and Xvid files will play smoothly and normally, displaying all their original quality. It also supports a bunch of other formats, and it's extremely simple to use. As for the interface, it's nice and polished.

Crossing fingers. [AppAdvice]

Philips claims first AC-powered OLED module, points the way to cheaper, more reliable bulbs

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/10/philips-claims-first-ac-powered-oled-module-points-the-way-to-c/

Sure, you've fawned over razor-thin OLED TVs and vibrant AMOLED screens, but as Philips keeps reminding us, the organic diodes are good for more than displays -- they also make a fancy light bulb, too. This week, the company's took the wraps off the latest advance in that direction: an bright-white OLED module that takes alternating current. Philips says that up until now, OLED technology required low-power DC voltage, which necessitated costly switching mechanisms built into such products in turn, but now they've got panels that sip fresh-squeezed AC juice directly from the wall. Now, it's just a question of when they'll be bright and cheap enough to be remotely worth your while. PR after the break.

Continue reading Philips claims first AC-powered OLED module, points the way to cheaper, more reliable bulbs

Philips claims first AC-powered OLED module, points the way to cheaper, more reliable bulbs originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 10:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Logitech Z506 review

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/10/logitech-z506-review/

Audiophiles are quick to name the umpteen flavors of Dolby, but when you go back to basics, there are just three types of surround sound today -- each easily identified by their plug. Virtual surround uses just a single stereo jack, emulating multiple channels from two, while digital surround travels across optical or coaxial S/PDIF cables (or HDMI) and has to be decoded. Finally, there's analog surround sound -- the cheapest solution of all -- where you basically just plug a pair of dumb speakers into each of front, rear and center 3.5mm sockets on your existing PC sound card. Unsurprisingly, the $100 Logitech Z506 speakers use this last technique to deliver their true 5.1 sound, but that's no reason to count them out. The question is, do they deliver enough bang, boom and tweet for the buck? Read on to find out.

Gallery: Logitech Z506 surround sound speakers unboxing and hands-on

< a href="http://www.engadget.com/photos/logitech-z506-surround-sound-speakers-unboxing-and-hands-on/#3347985">

Continue reading Logitech Z506 review

Logitech Z506 review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 11:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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QNAP pops Intel's 1.8GHz Atom D525 into refreshed Turbo NAS family

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/10/qnap-pops-intels-1-8ghz-atom-d525-into-refreshed-turbo-nas-fami/

Can't have your NAS being held back by a wimpy processor, eh? QNAP, a long-standing name in the networked storage biz, just announced a revision in its Turbo NAS lineup, placing Intel's hot-off-the-fab-line Atom D525 into four Turbo NAS products. The 2-drive TS-259 Pro+, 4-drive TS-459 Pro+, 5-drive TS-559 Pro+ and 6-drive TS-659 Pro+ are all seeing the aforesaid 1.8GHz chip fall into place, enabling transfer speeds as high as 116MB/sec while maintaining low power consumption. Outside of that, it looks as if these guys are the same as they ever were, boasting compatibility with 2.5- and 3.5-inch hard drives, v3.3 of the QNAP NAS management software and support for more RAID variations than you can shake a decently sized stick at. Pricing is all hush-hush at the moment, but we're sure someone would talk dollars if you dial up the right dealer.

QNAP pops Intel's 1.8GHz Atom D525 into refreshed Turbo NAS family originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 09:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel to show off Sandy Bridge at IDF next week, AMD counters with Zacate demo nearby

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/10/intel-to-show-off-sandy-bridge-at-idf-next-week-amd-counters-wi/

Now this is what you call a juicy standoff. Intel has announced that Paul Otellini will grace the stage at IDF next week with a demo of his company's next-gen CPU/GPU chip, codenamed Sandy Bridge, and not to be outdone, AMD has immediately retorted with plans to put its own Zacate competitor up on display -- at the same time, in the same city, but at a slightly different location. Both Zacate and Sandy Bridge meld general-purpose and graphical processing duties into one slice of silicon, consolidating the traditionally discrete CPU and GPU into a power-efficient do-it-all chip. You'll find details of where AMD's impromptu demo will be taking place after the break, whereas the Intel Developer Forum will probably be discoverable by the masses of bespectacled engineers trudging in its general direction. Boy, San Fran's gonna be one happening place next week!

Continue reading Intel to show off Sandy Bridge at IDF next week, AMD counters with Zacate demo nearby

Intel to show off Sandy Bridge at IDF next week, AMD counters with Zacate demo nearby originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 08:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Budget Sub-$150 Solid State Drive Round-up [PC]

Source: http://kotaku.com/5634003/budget-sub+150-solid-state-drive-round+up

High prices are always a stumbling block to new tech adoption and with SSDs it hasn't been any different.

We've come a long way from first generation drives that suffered from severe slowdowns, but solid state drives are still far from replacing traditional storage and this is easily explained by comparing cost per gigabyte.

Recently there has been a surging demand for drives that sacrifice space for speed and more affordable price tags, and manufacturers have been racing to deliver just that. The cheapest offering in our last round-up over a year ago came from OCZ. Priced at $270, the OCZ Agility 120GB cost almost twice the $150 limit we have imposed on the SSDs featured in this article.

With that price cap we've been able to include more than half a dozen drives using controllers from the likes of JMicron, Intel, Toshiba, SandForce and Indilinx. But while there is quite a bit of diversity in the controllers used by these affordable SSDs, like we mentioned before there is also something most of them have in common, a more limited storage capacity.

Most of the drives featured in this round-up offer 32GB - 40GB capacities, while a few others top out at 64GB. As limiting as a 32GB drive might appear, they can still be extremely useful in enhancing a PC's performance when set to run as the boot drive. These smaller drives can also accommodate for select programs where they can greatly speed up the use of the application, for example, Adobe Photoshop.

Gamers are likely going to want at least a 64GB drive considering many titles weigh in at more than 8GB these days. Thankfully, we were able to find a few good options that provide this kind of storage capacity for less than $150.

Today's round-up is comprised of the following contenders: OCZ Agility 2 40GB ($135), OCZ Vertex 2 40GB ($124), OCZ Onyx 64GB ($130), OCZ Onyx 32GB ($85), ADATA S596 Turbo 32GB ($83), Intel X25-V 40GB ($100), and the Kingston SNV425-S2 64GB ($125). In addition to these affordable SSD offerings we have added to the mix the Seagate Momentus XT ($135), a highly-touted hybrid drive that attempts to deliver the best of both worlds by offering huge storage capacity at a reasonable price, with the added performance boost of NAND flash memory for caching data.

We'll be putting each drive through a set of tests including four synthetic benchmark programs plus our own file copying and load time tests.

Benchmarks: Real-World Applications

The Windows 7 boot time test begins from the moment the initial loading screen appears to the time the Windows desktop is fully loaded. As you can see all SSDs perform exceptionally well here and surprisingly there is very little difference between them.

The Intel X25-V 40GB stands out as the fastest drive taking an average of just 11.7 seconds to load a clean copy of Windows 7. The next fastest drive was the ADATA S596 Turbo 32GB which scored poorly in a couple of our write tests on the previous page.

The OCZ Vertex 2 and Agility 2 40GB drives delivered similar performance to that of the S596 Turbo 32GB while the Kingston SNV425-S2 64GB and OCZ Onyx 32/64GB drives were only slightly slower.

The Momentus XT does bridge the gap between HDD and SSD performance with a load time of 17.8 seconds. Although this is 27% slower than the worst performing SSD that we tested it is an incredible 36% faster than the Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB hard drive which took 28 seconds to load Windows 7.

For the application load test we load the following applications into the Windows 7 startup: Internet Explorer, Outlook 2007, Access 2007, Excel 2007, PowerPoint 2007, Publisher 2007, Word 2007 and Photoshop CS4. The test starts when the Windows 7 startup sound loads to the time the final application is loaded.

This is where SSD technology really shines and we see this with all drives taking just 5 to 7 seconds to complete the entire task. Interestingly, it was the ADATA S596 Turbo 32GB and Onyx 32/64GB the only drives to crack the 6 second barrier. However with close results on all three runs it is difficult to determine a definitive winner. Let's just say SSD technology wins here.

We were surprised to see that the Momentus XT 500GB was slower than the Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB hard drive in this test. Taking 32 seconds to load all eight applications at once is pretty slow going, particularly when a standard desktop hard drive did it in 26 seconds.

This test measures the time it takes to load Adobe Photoshop CS4 from the time we click on the icon to the time the program is completely loaded and ready to use. On an average budget SSD this takes roughly 2 seconds. The ADATA S596 Turbo 32GB was again the fastest SSD tested clocking an average time of just 1.9 seconds.

The Intel X25-V 40GB was the slowest taking 2.8 seconds on average. Still none of the seven drives test is going to allow you to make coffee while you wait.

Although the Seagate Momentus XT 500GB struggled with our previous application loading test it appears that this drive is very snappy when loading a single application as it delivered SSD-like performance.

This next batch of results was recorded when loading the last level from the single campaign in StarCraft II. The test began the second the load screen appeared and was stopped once the "click to play" message appeared.

Using a 3.5" desktop hard drive the game takes on average around 24 seconds to load this level. The Seagate Momentus XT 500GB was much slower loading the level in 39 seconds. By comparison the slowest SSD tested was the OCZ Onyx 32GB which took 23 seconds followed by the Intel X25-V 40Gb which took 22 seconds.

The fastest SSD test was the OCZ Vertex 2 40GB which completed the test in 18.7 seconds making it a fraction faster than the Agility 2 40GB and ADATA S596 Turbo 32GB drives.

Check out the rest of the article below.

Article Index

Introduction
ADATA S596 Turbo
Intel X25-V
Kingston SNV425-S2
OCZ Agility 2
OCZ Vertex 2
OCZ Onyx
Seagate Momentus XT
Test System Specs
Benchmarks: File Copy Test
Benchmarks: Real-World Applications
Benchmarks: CrystalDiskMark 3.0
Benchmarks: AS SSD Benchmark
Benchmarks: Atto Disk Benchmark
Benchmarks: HD Tune Pro
Final Thoughts

Republished with permission from TechSpot.

Steven Walton is the chief hardware editor at TechSpot; he also runs his own review site Legion Hardware. TechSpot is a computer technology publication serving PC enthusiasts, gamers and IT pros since 1998.

Use Google Voice Actions with Any Web Service that Supports SMS or Email [Android Tip]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5634408/use-google-voice-actions-for-any-web-service-that-supports-sms-or-email

The newest update to Google Voice Search on Android is pretty sweet, but reader Bob shows us that it can control a whole lot more than just Android's built-in apps—with SMS and email, you can do just about anything.

Voice Actions was the catalyst for me to finally got me to root my G1 and put on CyanogenMod 6. When it was first announced, I thought it was weird that the "note to self" command sent an email to yourself. I'd've preferred that it be a calendar entry. Well, it's not that much extra work to get it to do that. Just set up your Google Calendar account to be able to work with their text messaging shortcode, GVENT (48368). Once you've done that, add GVENT to your contacts as something creative like Calendar. Now all you need to do is activate Voice Actions and say something along the lines of "SMS Calendar: Oil change on Saturday at 9." I choose to have it send texts from my Google Voice account, since it'll send a reply in confirmation; make sure you set communications up with GVENT with the phone number you'll be texting it from.

This tip, while seemingly small, reveals that Google Voice Actions can actually do a lot more than what is on the surface. We've featured many of these before—most cloud services nowadays offer SMS or email-based ways of managing them—but the compatible services are almost too numerous to list. Here are some of our favorite examples, though (most require you to enable something on the service's end, so click the links to do so before trying this):

• Add events to your Google Calendar by adding GVENT to your contacts as an SMS number. (Note that there's no direct link to the mobile setup; you need to go to Google Calendar and click on Settings > Calendar Settings > Mobile Setup).
• Update Twitter by adding 40404 to your contacts as an SMS number.
• Update Facebook by adding your personalized Facebook upload email address to your contacts.
• Add new tasks to Remember the Milk by using its Twitter integration. After adding Twitter to your contacts as 40404, you can send an SMS to it starting with d rtm (example: d rtm Pick up Milk on Monday at 5pm). You may have to type the rtm part manually, but you can do the rest by voice.
• Create a new note in Evernote by using its Twitter integration. Text message Twitter with @myEN or d myEN at the beginning of the message (example: @myEN Grocery list: Milk Eggs Chicken).
• Schedule shows on your TiVo, add things to your Netflix Queue, and do tons of other stuff by adding kwiry to your contacts and beginning your SMS with the proper service name (e.g., tivo 30 rock to schedule a recording for 30 Rock.

Really, the possibilities are endless, as so many services contain email or SMS support in one way or another nowadays. These are just a few of our favorites, so if you have your own that we didn't mention, share it in the comments.

Pentax announces customizable cameras, faceplate-swapping RS1000 and Lego-loving NB1000

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/09/pentax-announces-customizable-cameras-faceplate-swapping-rs1000/

Sure, you can buy compact cameras in dozens of garish and offensive colors, but what if you're the sort who craves a different garish and offensive color every day of the week? You need the $150 Pentax RS1000, a 14.1 megapixel shooter with a 4x optical zoom, 720p video recording, and faceplate that's just four screws away from getting lost. Using the Personal Skin Designer app you can craft your own custom cover (the first one is free), meaning you could be just a few clicks away from having that brick of a camera look like a real brick. Far more exciting, however, is the identically spec'd NB1000 and its Nanoblock connectors, which are a lot like Lego but smaller and presumably cheaper to license. With that you can truly shape whatever you want, like the above safari scene, which makes this model particularly pocket unfriendly. Both cameras are set to release later this year, though the Lego-esque NB1000 is tragically destined only for kids of all ages in Japan.

Pentax announces customizable cameras, faceplate-swapping RS1000 and Lego-loving NB1000 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 11:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft, SRS team up on surround sound for Silverlight, will this finally bring 5.1 to Netflix?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/09/microsoft-srs-team-up-on-surround-sound-for-silverlight-will-t/

Of course, this press release from SRS Labs doesn't actually say Netflix will use its technology to enable surround sound audio on Watch Instantly streams, but when you claim your tools add "easy and seamless" surround sound decoding to Silverlight apps then we have an immediate suggestion as to how they could be put to use. Whether you give any credit to (or have even noticed) the SRS stamp on a bevy of media playing software and hardware, its ubiquity certainly means that interested parties (like, say, Netflix) could be sure the audio would be supported across the multitude of platforms they stream video to. Microsoft and SRS have issued the tools for anyone (even Netflix) to support 5.1 streams just by adding this code to their apps and are demonstrating it at IBC 2010 and on a demo website, all we have to do is sit back and wait for the technology to be implemented. If only we knew of somewhere an upgrade to surround sound on streaming video was in high demand...

Continue reading Microsoft, SRS team up on surround sound for Silverlight, will this finally bring 5.1 to Netflix?

Microsoft, SRS team up on surround sound for Silverlight, will this finally bring 5.1 to Netflix? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:08:00 EDT. Please see our t! erms for use of feeds.

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Acer Liquid Metal wraps Android 2.2 in aluminum

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/09/acer-liquid-metal-wraps-android-2-2-in-aluminum/

Well, this one's come a bit out of left field (or Russia, actually), but it looks like Acer may be set to release yet another Android device. Apparently dubbed the Liquid Metal, this one is said to pack Android 2.2 beneath Acer's own skin, along with a 3.6-inch 800 x 480 capacitive touchscreen, an 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7230-1 processor, Bluetooth 3.0, and a camera of unspecified megapixels with a flash -- all wrapped in what appears to be an aluminum casing. No word on pricing or availability just yet, but it looks like the phone exists in both black and silver versions at the moment -- head on past the break for another shot.

Continue reading Acer Liquid Metal wraps Android 2.2 in aluminum

Acer Liquid Metal wraps Android 2.2 in aluminum originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 15:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HDR video accomplished using dual 5D Mark IIs, is exactly what it sounds like

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/09/hdr-video-accomplished-using-dual-5d-mark-iis-is-exactly-what-i/

Are you ready for a wave of HDR to crash over the consumer electronics industry, leaving nothing but oversaturated photos and full-to-the-brim Flickr groups in its wake? We've got a sneaky suspicion that Apple's inclusion of HDR in the iPhone is one of those telling warning signs that you ignore at your own risk, and now we've got HDR video to cower from behind our fast-aging current gen devices. As you might expect, HDR video looks just like HDR stills (an underexposed and an overexposed image combined into one), except in motion. The effect has been accomplished by Soviet Montage Productions, who used two Canon EOS 5D Mark II DSLRs and a beam splitter, which allows each camera to look at the exact same subject, to accomplish the effect. They're short on details on the post-processing end, but we're sure there will be "an app for that" before too long. Sample is after the break.

[Thanks, Mike]

Continue reading HDR video accomplished using dual 5D Mark IIs, is exactly what it sounds like

HDR video accomplished using dual 5D Mark IIs, is exactly what it sounds like originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ViewSonic MB-P702, the color e-reader and HD video player you didn't yet realize you needed

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/10/viewsonic-mb-p702-the-color-e-reader-and-hd-video-player-you-di/

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, and the same usually goes for tablets. But in the Great Venn Diagram of slate form factors, the ViewSonic MB-P702 seems to hover around the intersection of tablets and e-readers. It's got a 7-inch 800 x 480 resolution touchscreen LCD display and functions as both an e-reader and a movie player -- but not, as far as we can tell, an internet-based experience. Looking to the former function, the MB-P702 reads PDF, TXT, EPUB and others with handwritten notation capabilities. For video, we're looking at MKV, AVI, WMV, MPG, MP4, and RMVB, with 1080p support and HDMI out. Unfortunately, all we've got is rough machine translation and some renders of the product. A sea of 7-inch slates on the horizon -- ViewSonic's own ViewPad 7 included. With any luck, it's an "optimized experience" (and a competitive price point, knowing the company's MO) that'd keep it in check.

ViewSonic MB-P702, the color e-reader and HD video player you didn't yet realize you needed originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 03:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kno receives new funding for its humongous dual-screened tablet, still hoping to ship this year

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/10/kno-receives-new-funding-for-its-humongous-dual-screened-tablet/

If you need a tablet with presence you need the Kno. Its dual capacitive 14-inch IPS displays, each clocking in at 1,440 x 990, make this thing closer to a Surface than a Courier and surely present some unique challenges when it comes to pricing. Kno, the company, plans to sell it by the end of the year for an MSRP of under $1,000, and a new $46 million injection in financing should go a long way toward making that happen. Kno's primary market is education, offering partnerships with various textbook publishers and functionality that's focused more on research and less on quelling the rage of disgruntled birds. But, will the college kids want to make room in their organic hemp messenger bags for this monster? And, will their parents pay a grand for the thing?

Continue reading Kno receives new funding for its humongous dual-screened tablet, still hoping to ship this year

Kno receives new funding for its humongous dual-screened tablet, still hoping to ship this year originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 05:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iLoveHandles turns nano iPods into oversized watches

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/10/ilovehandles-turns-nano-ipods-into-oversized-watches/

What happens when Apple introduces a square-shaped new iPod and adorns it with an analog watch face for a lock screen? A whole new cottage industry sprouts up, whereby entrepreneurial types dust off old and mostly worthless watch straps, cut out an iPod nano-shaped compartment in them, and charge you $19.99 for the privilege of turning your tiny PMP into a somewhat bulky wristwatch. The saddest part about this is that we've got a feeling they might be on to a winner here.

iLoveHandles turns nano iPods into oversized watches originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 05:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Researchers Successfully Translate Brainwaves Into Words [Science]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5632821/researchers-successfully-translate-brainwaves-into-words

In a recent study, researchers at the University of Utah successfully translated brainwaves into words, a huge breakthrough that could eventually give paralyzed patients a new way to communicate.

The trials, which involve placing a grid of electrodes directly on an epileptic subject's brain, are preliminary—only that one individual has been tested, and when the entire pool of words, ten in all, were used, they were only identified with 48% accuracy. But when limited simply to "yes" and "no," researchers were able read the brainwaves accurately 90% of the time.

Those results are extremely promising. Bradley Greger, a bioengineer at the University of Utah who worked on the studies, explains:

This is quite a simple technology … based on devices that have been used in humans for 50 years now...We're pretty hopeful that, with a better design, we'll be able to decode more words and, in two or three years get approval for a real feasibility trial in paralyzed patients.

With some paralyzed patients' means of communication limited to blinking their eyelids or wiggling their finger, this research has profound potential. [LATimes]

Working Tractor Beam Can Move Objects 5 Feet With Just Light [Awesome]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5632911/working-tractor-beam-can-move-objects-5-feet-with-just-light

Have you ever lazily wished you could just use a tractor beam to grab that out-of-reach object? Apparently, you can. Using only light, Australian researchers say they are able to move small particles almost five feet through the air.

It's more than 100 times the distance achieved by existing optical "tweezers," the researchers say.

Not quite a simple grabby tractor beam, the new system works by shining a hollow laser beam at an object and taking advantage of air-temperature differences to move it around.

Moving objects with powerful light is not new - researchers have long been using optical tweezers to pluck bacteria-sized particles and move them a few millimeters. The U.S. Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, won his Nobel Prize for work with optical tweezers. But Andrei Rhode and colleagues at the Australian National University say their new laser device can move glass objects hundreds of times bigger than bacteria, and shove them a meter and a half (5 feet) or more. Rhode says the 1.5-meter limit was only because of the size of the table where he placed his lasers - he thinks he can move objects up to 10 meters, or about 30 feet.

It works by shining a hollow laser beam around small glass particles, as Inside Science explains. The air around the particle heats up, but the hollow center of the beam stays cool. The heated air molecules keep the object balanced in the dark center. But a small amount of light sneaks into the hollow, warming the air on one side of the object and nudging it along the length of the laser beam. Researchers can change the speed and direction of the glass object by changing the lasers' brightness.

The system needs heated air or gas to work, so in its present incarnation it wouldn't work in space - sorry, Star Wars fans. But it could be used for a variety of purposes on Earth, like biological research or movement of hazardous materials.

[Inside Science News Service]

Popular Science is your wormhole to the future. Reporting on what's new and what's next in science and technology, we deliver the future now.

USB 3.0 Hard Drives So Fast and Small That Even a Monkey Wants Them [LaCie]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5633380/usb-30-hard-drives-so-fast-and-small-that-even-a-monkey-wants-them

I don't know what this cute little creature is up to, but the hard drives he's fondling are some of the world's smallest USB 3.0 drives: The LaCie Rikiki and the Minimus.

The LaCie Rikiki and Minimus are some of the world's smallest mobile and desktop USB 3.0 hard drives available. The Rikiki will come in a 500GB capacity and cost $100 while the Minimus will offer a 1TB capacity for $130.

LaCie Introduces the Worlds Smallest Mobile and Desktop USB 3.0 Hard Drives

September 8, 2010 - LaCie debuts today sleek USB 3.0 hard drives for your desktop or pocket – the LaCie Minimus and LaCie Rikiki USB 3.0. Proving size does matter, LaCie delivers the industry's fastest transfer speeds at 5Gb/s* in its ultra–small Rikiki form factor – perfect for users that refuse to sacrifice performance for mobility; and the LaCie Minimus – for users that enjoy their terabytes as much as desk space.

Complementing their remarkably small sizes, the Rikiki and Minimus hard drives are encased in sturdy brushed aluminum for an elegant aesthetic appeal. The aluminum offers resilience from blunders, improved heat dissipation, and is fully recyclable.

Designed to be simple from the inside out, the Rikiki and Minimus come with LaCie's Software Suite to ensure seamless setup and backup support for Mac or PC. Additionally, each product comes with 10GB of Wuala online storage so you can securely store and share files online.

"The Minimus and Rikiki USB 3.0 offer our customers easy and affordable options to access the super speeds of USB 3.0," said Philippe Rault, LaCie Consumer Product Manager. "Since these products offer backward compatibility with USB 2.0, they will work on any PC or Mac with no worry."

Availability

The LaCie Rikiki USB 3.0 is available in a 500GB capacity at $99.99. The LaCie Minimus is available in a 1TB capacity at $129.99. Both products are available through the LaCie Online Store, LaCie Corner, and LaCie Reseller+. For more product information, visit www.lacie.com.

* Based on theoretical rate given by the USB–IF. More info on www.usb.org

Dual-Screen Kno Tablet To Be Available by Year's End [Tablets]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5633557/dual+screen-kno-tablet-will-be-available-by-years-end

Does the lure of playing with "the most powerful tablet anyone has ever made" tempt you? How about those dual 14.1-inch touchscreens? (That's a combined might of 28.2-inches!) Kno has received $46m investment, with an end-of-year launch already penciled-in.

After being shown off at the D8 event in June, we were bowled over by the idea of having two capacitive IPS screens, measuring 14.1-inches each. That's a seriously large tablet, but could be the closest thing we see to Microsoft's Courier, which has now been binned.

Running on a Tegra 2 chip with 16GB of storage, we're not quite sure what warrants investor Marc Andreessen's claims that the Linux device will be the "most powerful tablet anyone has ever made" (considering other Tegra 2 tablets exist, such as Toshiba's Folio), but perhaps they're holding a few cards back for now.

It sounds expensive, doesn't it? The company's CEO Osman Rashid claims it'll cost under $1,000, though a tablet's got to be nearer $500 for most to even consider it. Especially students, who the tablet is said to be aimed at. Kno wants to offer college textbooks through an app store, which will allow them to draw on the pages and take notes like a lot of the ereaders nowadays. However, Kno plans to use webkit, so the textbooks can be transferable between the tablet and other devices—smells like a pricey way of pirating schoolbooks to me, however pretty the device may be. [TechCrunch]

Zotac introduces ID33 and ID34 Zbox mini PCs, complete with Atom D525 and Blu-ray

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/08/zotac-introduces-id33-and-id34-zbox-mini-pcs-complete-with-atom/

Now this is an HTPC worth gawking at. Zotac has just revised its long-standing Zbox line with a new duo, and we have to say -- we're digging the new look. Beyond the exterior improvements, the outfit has bolstered the internals by providing the HD-ID33 and HD-ID34 with Intel's new 1.8GHz Atom D525 CPU, 2GB of DDR2-800 memory, NVIDIA's next-gen Ion graphics platform, an HDMI output, 6-in-1 card reader, gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, a couple of USB 2.0 ports and an unexpected pair of USB 3.0 sockets. The only notable difference between the two is the inclusion of a 250GB hard drive in the ID34, while the 2.5-inch HDD slot is left open for DIYers in the ID33. Windows 7 is onboard, naturally, as is a slot-loading Blu-ray drive that the company is (rightfully) proud of. It's not talking prices just yet, but we're willing to overlook a modest premium to finally get BD support within a delightfully small package. Hit the gallery below for more eye candy.

Gallery: Zotac's Zbox ID33 and ID34 with Blu-ray

Continue reading Zotac introduces ID33 and ID34 Zbox mini PCs, complete with Atom D525 and Blu-ray

Zotac introduces ID33 and ID34 Zbox mini PCs, complete with Atom D525 and Blu-ray originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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