Hack a Dead PC Power Supply Into a Rechargeable Lantern

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5962823/hack-a-dead-pc-power-supply-into-a-rechargeable-lantern

If you have access to a dead computer power supply you can use the case, power switch, wiring, and power port along with a 5v lead acid battery and a landscaping lamp bulb to create a rechargeable lantern.

Computer power supplies can burn out after several years and unless you're an advanced electronics hobbyist they're not worth trying to rebuild. Instructables user 300mpg notes that You can reuse many of the components as long as you're careful to follow proper capacitor safety procedures. To make the lantern you'll open up the power supply and remove all internals except for the power switch, power plug, and wiring. Cut out the fan grating and fit a 12v landscape lamp, but don't permanently attach it until you test the wiring. Wire the switches, lamps, and battery together and test the function of the lamp. Once that's done cut two openings in the top of the power supply case for a handle made from the the wiring bundle that connects the power supply unit to a motherboard—zip tie the ends together from inside the power supply unit and you'll have a comfortable handle for your lantern. Now you'll just need to cleanup the case and glue the battery and lamp to the casing; adding foam spacers between the case and the battery would be a good idea and used mouse pads work well for this..

From the original design you would connect a 12v sealed lead acid battery charger to the positive and negative connections on the power supply plug. As commenters on the Instructable pointed out, mounting a battery charger inside the case might be a superior design as then you already have the plug and can reuse a standard 3-prong computer power cord.

This seems like a fun project that makes dead components useful again and is worth doing as long as you follow all electrical safety procedures.

Hack-A-Lantern: Recycled Computer Power Supply Flashlight | Instructables

Read More...

Summary only...

Samsung's SCH-W2013 is a quad-core, dual-screen flip phone, designed for Jackie Chan

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/23/samsung-sch-w2013/

It's been almost a year since the ridiculously expensive SCH-W999 launched on China Telecom, so it's about time for Samsung to come up with yet another dual-screen flip phone to lure folks with too much money. Launched in conjunction with a big charity concert (again) earlier today is the SCH-W2013, a 1.4GHz quad-core (likely an Exynos 4412) device with Android 4.0 and dual-3.7-inch 800 x 480 Super AMOLED touchscreens. On top of that there's 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, microSD expansion of up to 64GB, 1,850mAh of battery juice, an eight-megapixel main imager plus a whopping 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera. As with many flagship devices on China Telecom, the W2013 comes with dual-SIM support: one for CDMA2000 800/1900 and the other for GSM 900/1800/1900. The damage? Well, there's nothing official yet, but it's believed to be somewhere between ¥18,000 ($2,900) and ¥20,000 ($3,210). After all, it ain't cheap to hire Jackie Chan (and he was also given a W2013 at the concert).

Gallery: Samsung's SCH-W2013 is a quad-core, dual-screen flip phone, designed for Jackie Chan

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

Comments

Source: Samsung

Read More...

Summary only...

Sharp unveils bright, 90-inch LCD for uncannily life-sized signage

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/23/sharp-unveils-extra-bright-90-inch-lcd-for-life-sized-signage/

It would be a shame if Sharp kept that giant 90-inch AQUOS TV confined to living rooms, wouldn't it? The company is inclined enough to agree that it's building an industrial version, the PN-R903, for digital signs. Its 1080p resolution and local-dimming LEDs are as familiar as a well-worn pair of shoes, but that 6-foot, 8-inch width lets Sharp claim a record for public spaces: the R903 is supposedly the first LCD sign with its technology that can display average humans at real size when tilted to a portrait view, making it an ideal fit for fashion or most anything where one-for-one scale matters. The 700cd/m2 brightness helps by keeping the picture visible in harsher lighting. If you're not quite ready for the uncanny valley, you'll be glad to know that the R903 won't ship until January 28th, when it goes on sale with open pricing. Those who'd still prefer something less imposing can buy a 60-inch PN-R603 at the same time or wait for the 70-inch PN-R703 to grace storefronts on February 25th.

Filed under: Displays, HD

Comments

Via: Impress Watch (translated)

Source: Sharp (1), (2), (3)

Read More...

Summary only...

Galaxy Note II with dual-SIM slots goes official in China

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/22/galaxy-note-ii-with-dual-sim-official-in-china/

Picking between LTE and HSPA iterations of Galaxy Note II was difficult enough already but now Samsung China has gone official on its previously-spotted twin-SIM variant. It's the same exotic mix of micro and full-size SIM slots, alongside that potent 1.6GHz quad-core processor and 5.5-inch Super AMOLED HD screen. The phone has a respectable collection of radios (GSM 850/900/1, 800/1,900, WCDMA 850/900/1,900/2100 MHz) too -- just ensure you have all your SIM sizes in order when the device goes on sale December 3rd.

[Thanks Terence]

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

Comments

Source: Samsung China (translated)

Read More...

Summary only...

Nexus 4 shown working on Canadian LTE through simple carrier menu code (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/23/nexus-4-lte-working-canada/

Want LTE on your new Nexus 4? Well, you might have to move country. Unless it's some elaborate post-Thanksgiving hoax from our Canadian neighbors, several Telus customers have demonstrated that the LTE chip hiding inside the Nexus 4 does work, and have connected to some data speeds resembling a 4G connection. This was enabled through the test menu, accessed by dialing "*#*#4636#*".

Tapping on the preferred network type option, you can select either LTE on its own, or a mix of LTE, GSM and CDMA. According to the videos, the Google phone then taps into your carrier's LTE network if Band 4 is available, and you're good to go. We've so far been unable to replicate it in the UK, which doesn't use the same LTE Band 4 (AWS 2100 / 1700MHz) of Canadian carriers Bell, Rogers and Telus. We have also tested this with AT&T's LTE, but had no luck there either -- we tried it in a Band 17 area, not a Band 4 area (which is less common). This is, however, great news for T-Mobile customers as this is precisely the type of LTE they'll be getting very soon. But for now, there's two working videos already doing the rounds from Canada and we've included them both below.

[Thanks Kaung]

Continue reading Nexus 4 shown working on Canadian LTE through simple carrier menu code (video)< /p>

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google, LG

Comments

Via: Tekgadg, XDA Developers (1), (2)

Read More...

Summary only...

iPad mini (Verizon LTE): what's changed?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/21/ipad-mini-4g-whats-changed/

Well, what's this, then? Another little tablet from Apple? We surprised ourselves by being quite fond of the first iPad mini, which crossed our desks just a few weeks ago. It strikes the perfect blend of size, performance and capability, but without a proper wireless connection its usability on the road is definitely hampered. Thin and light devices like these were meant to come with you when you leave the house, and you shouldn't leave high-speed data behind.

So, we're very glad to now be testing the $459 LTE version of that very tablet, this one Verizon-flavored. It's every bit as thin and very nearly as light as its WiFi-only predecessor but can send and receive your precious (and also your more disposable) data with way more oomph than before. Is such freedom of connectivity worth the $130 price premium? And, just how bad is the hit to battery life? Let's find out, together.

Continue reading iPad mini (Verizon LTE): what's changed?

Filed under: Tablets, Apple

Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

Google brings indoor maps to desktop web browsers

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/21/google-brings-indoor-maps-to-desktop-web-browsers/

It may not be quite as practical as the mobile version if you find yourself lost in the mall this holiday season, but those looking to plan their shopping route ahead of time can now finally take advantage of Google's indoor maps in their desktop web browser. That new addition, just rolled out today, does come with a bit of a catch, though: the desktop version of indoor maps is only offering the main floor of buildings for the time being, with no word yet on when the ability to view additional levels will be added (something that can currently be done in the Android app). Of course, the availability of indoor maps is still quite a bit more limited than some of Google's other map offerings, but it does now include over 10,000 floor plans in a number of different countries.

Filed under: Internet, Google

Comments

Via: @GoogleMaps (Twitter)

Source: Google

Read More...

Summary only...

Archos' £275 13.3-inch FamilyPad designed to encourage family time

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/21/archos-familypad/

Three months after we spied the Archos FamilyPad on the FCC, it's finally making its debut just in time for the holiday shopping season. As its name suggests, the 13.3-inch tablet is designed for a whole family to gather around -- though we doubt it would be very comfortable if your family has more than four people. With 10x multitouch support, Archos claims families can use it to watch movies, keep organized, share pictures and play digital board games; the company even pre-installed a few of the latter to get your family started. The FamilyPad doesn't have the best of specs, with a 1,280x800 HD display, 8GB flash memory, a microSD card slot, a 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 CPU, HDMI output and a front and rear camera that are 2-megapixels each. It does run Ice Cream Sandwich and would offer "a variety of email accounts for each family member." Those in the UK can purchase it for £274.99 ($438) when it's available in December, while US residents might have to wait a little longer. Maybe you can give your kids some ChildPads to play on their own instead; they might appreciate it more than enforced togetherness.

Continue reading Archos' £275 13.3-inch FamilyPad designed to encourage family time

Filed under: Tablets

Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

Scientists use nanotechnology to harvest electricity from temperature fluctuations

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/21/thermal-nanotechnology-harvest-electricity/

So far your footsteps, breath and nervous energy have all been tapped to charge up batteries, and now researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology scientists have pulled it off using thermal changes. They did it with so-called pyroelectric nanogenerators, which use polarization changes to harvest heat energy from temperature fluctuations. Normally output current is too low for commercial electronics, but by making one with lead zirconate titanate (PZT), the team was able to create a device that could charge a Li-ion coin battery to power a green LED for a few seconds. The researchers predict that by doubling the surface area, they could drive wireless sensors or LCDs using only environmental temperature changes from an engine or water pipe, for instance. The result could be green power, but without all that pesky moving around.

Filed under: Peripherals, Science, Alt

Comments

Via: Phys Org

Source: Nano Letters

Read More...

Summary only...

Samsung's $249 Chromebook lights up benchmarks with the latest Ubuntu build

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/20/arm-samsung-chromebook-ubuntu-benchmarks/

A Googler managed to load up Samsung's latest Chromebook with Ubuntu and spelled out the process for like-minded DIYers in October, and now some benchmarks of Mountain View's $249 machine running Raring Ringtail -- which is still in development -- have surfaced. With a 1.7GHz dual-core Exynos 5 Dual processor under the hood, the ARM-based machine can hang with -- and in some cases beat -- the likes of a 1.8GHz quad-core Intel Atom D525 chip and a 1.4GHz quad-core Calxeda Highbank node in benchmarks using the Phoronix Test Suite. The rig also holds its own when pitted against a PandaBoard equipped with an OMAP4460 1.2GHz dual-core processor. Hit the source link to dig into pages of the test results for yourself.

Filed under: Laptops, Software, Samsung, Google

Comments

Source: Phoronix

Read More...

Summary only...

AOC's 23-inch IPS monitor almost skips the bezel, ships soon for $199

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/21/aoc-borderless-i2367fh-ips-monitor/

Close on the heels of its "virtually borderless" (when it's turned off) 27-inch IPS monitor, display maker AOC has come up with a smaller sibling to add to the family. The 23-incher, tagged the i2367fh, totes similar styling and specs -- IPS technology, a claimed 2mm bezel, 1920 x 1080 resolution with 50,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 5ms response time and two HDMI ports. The off timer function its predecessor sported also remains. However the new model, which is part of a different series, can't boast of the same height-adjustable stand and 4-watt speakers, integrating a 2-watt pair instead. The monitor carries a $199 sticker, but you can snag it for 10 bucks lower on backorder from B&H Photo and Amazon -- stock is expected later this month.

Continue reading AOC's 23-inch IPS monitor almost skips the bezel, ships soon for $199

Filed under: Displays

Comments

Source: Amazon, B&H Photo

Read More...

Summary only...

Samsung to outline 8-core big.LITTLE ARM processor in February

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/20/samsung-to-outline-8-core-big-little-arm-processor-in-february/

Samsung's processor design team has been on a roll with fast chips this year with the Exynos 4 Quad and Exynos 5 Dual. Based on its agenda for the International Solid-State Circuits Conference, that momentum isn't about to stop. A company presentation at the event on February 19th will delve into a new heterogeneous, 8-core processor that relies on ARM's concept of big.LITTLE computing: one half is a quad-core, 1.8GHz ARM Cortex-A15 that will do all the heavy lifting, while the other is a quad 1.2GHz Cortex-A7 that takes over in quieter moments. We don't know much more about the chip beyond the expected 28-nanometer manufacturing process, but it's easy to see a mobile chip that's fast without having to consume much energy in its downtime. Most of the mystery surrounds where Samsung will launch the processor first, rather than what it can do: the big.LITTLE chip would be most valuable in a smartphone, but a potentially large size could relegate it to tablets early on.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Samsung

Comments

Via: EETimes, GSMArena

Source: ISSCC (PDF)

Read More...

Summary only...

Oppo's Ulike 2 boasts 5MP front camera, clearly made for self-portrait addicts like you

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/20/oppo-ulike-2-u705t/

Hold up! Oppo's not quite done with teasing just yet for the day. The company's Sina Weibo account has quietly announced the Ulike 2, a white 4.5-inch phone designed with ladies in mind: not only does it have a common eight-megapixel main camera on the back, but there's also a staggering five-megapixel front-facing imager with beautification features (like face slimming, skin whitening, skin smoothing and more) to keep the self-portrait addicts busy. Other specs include a gapless 960 x 540 LCD (with 2.2mm-thick bezel), 1GB RAM, 16GB built-in storage, micro-SIM slot, a 2,020mAh battery, and TD-SCDMA radio for China Mobile's network. There's no telling how much this Android 4.0 phone will hurt your wallet, nor is there any official information on the underlying processor, but we shall find out when it hits the Chinese market on December 19th, if not at the Find 5's launch event on the 12th.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Comments

Source: Oppo

Read More...

Summary only...

Kindle Fire HD 8.9 Teardown: A Samsung Tablet By Another Name?

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5962075/kindle-fire-hd-89-teardown-a-samsung-tablet-by-another-name

With its little brother having already spilled its guts, it was always going to be interesting to see how the new 9-inch Fire compared. Turns out it owes an awful lot to Samsung.

Powerbook Medic has torn the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 apart for the world to peer inside. It seems Samsung has done well out of the tablet, as it's supplying—at the very least—the display, RAM, and flash memory. The processor is courtesy of Texas Instruments, though.

One weird finding is that the battery is actually a split unit: it uses two separate cells, joined by a battery controller board, to provides its rather weedy 6000MAH 22.2wh power source. That's not particularly common, nor is it obvious why it's been done—space, perhaps.

Elsewhere, the teardown contains lots of nerdish findings, but there's one take-home message worth listening to: the device seems fairly easy to repair, especially the screen. [Powerbook Medic]

Read More...

Summary only...

Simulated Brain Ramps Up To Include 100 Trillion Synapses

Source: http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-11/world%E2%80%99s-fastest-supercomputer-simulates-100-trillion-synapses-many-human-brain

IBM is developing a cognitive computing program under a DARPA program and just hit a major high.

The Sequoia supercomputer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, recently crowned world champion of supercomputers, just simulated 10 billion neurons and 100 trillion connections among them--the most powerful brain simulation ever. IBM and LLNL built an unprecedented 2.084 billion neurosynaptic cores, which are an IBM-designed computer architecture that is designed to work like a brain.

IBM was careful to say it didn't build a realistic simulated complete brain-- "Rather, we have simulated a novel modular, scalable, non-von-Neumann, ultra-low power, cognitive computing architecture," IBM researchers say in an abstract (PDF) of their new paper. It meets DARPA's metric of 100 trillion synapses, which is based on the number of synapses in the human brain. This is part of DARPA's cognitive computing program, called Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronics (SyNAPSE).

To do it, IBM used its cognitive computing chips, which the company unveiled last year. They are designed to recreate the phenomena between spiking neurons and synapses. More than 2 billion of these cores were divided into 77 brain-inspired regions, with gray matter and white matter connectivity, according to IBM. The gray matter networking comes from modeling, and the white matter networking comes from a detailed map of c! onnectio ns in the macaque brain. The combined total 530 billion neurons and 100 trillion synapses ran 1,542 times slower than real time--actually quite fast, in computing terms.

The ultimate goal is a computer that works like a brain, and can analyze information in real time from multiple sources. Under SyNAPSE, it would also be able to rewire itself dynamically in response to its environment, just like real brains do. It would also have to be very small and low-power, which in some ways will be even more challenging than developing the connections. IBM presented its latest results at the Supercomputing 2012 conference.

[IBM via KurzweilAI]

Read More...

Summary only...

Researchers harness static electricity from your twitchiness to charge batteries

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/20/researchers-harness-static-electricity-from-movement/

If you're the fidgety type, new research from Georga Tech may one day turn your nervous energy into a fully charged cellphone. The scientists, who previously borrowed piezoelectric power from walking, created static electricity generated from movement between plastic and metal, similar to the way a balloon can be electrified by rubbing it on your hair. The charging area was greatly increased by patterning the surfaces on a nanoscale level, allowing this "tribolectric effect" to be multiplied and converting up to 15 percent of the mechanical energy into electricity (so far). About 50 common materials could be paired to create the material, and a 2 x 2-inch patch could conceivably be worn as an armband and used to charge up a cellphone battery. So far the tech works fine in the lab, but it remains to be seen if real world vibrations can generate enough energy to make it practical. While you're waiting, though, feel free to stock up on coffee.

Filed under: Cellphones, Science, Mobile

Comments

Via: MIT Technology Review

Source: Nano Letters

Read More...

Summary only...

Samsung launches LTE edition of Galaxy Note 10.1 in Korea

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/19/galaxy-note-10.1-lte/

A 10.1-inch tablet you can make calls on isn't the fever-dream of an ironic hipster, but a real device you've been able to pick up since the summer. Now, Samsung is launching the promised LTE variant of of its Galaxy Note 10.1 in Korea. Aside from the new modem, the internals are unchanged, which means we should be able to snag a HM5100 and live out our Napoleon Solo fantasies in peace.

Filed under: Tablets, Samsung

Samsung launches LTE edition of Galaxy Note 10.1 in Korea originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Nov 2012 11:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Samsung (Translated), (2)  | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

Amazon Kindle Fire HD review (8.9-inch, 4G LTE)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/19/amazon-kindle-fire-hd-8.9-review/

What a difference a generation makes. While the original Kindle Fire impressed, there was only one thing that really made it worth considering: it was cheap. Really cheap. But, when we got our hands on the 7-inch, 720p Kindle Fire HD a few months back we had an honest-to-gosh nice device -- that happened to be cheap. And what do we have here? Why, it's a slightly larger version of that very same tablet, but at a significantly higher cost.

It's the Kindle Fire 8.9, a tick under two inches larger at the diagonal but with a starting price of $299 for 16GB, $100 more than the cheapest 7-inch Fire HD. It goes way up from there, though, with the 32GB LTE version we tested starting at a rather more dear $499. That's far beyond the threshold of cheap, but does it still make for good value? Join us as we find out.

Gallery: Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9 review

Continue reading Amazon Kindle Fire HD review (8.9-inch, 4G LTE)

Filed under: Tablets, Amazon

Amazon Kindle Fire HD review (8.9-inch, 4G LTE) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Nov 2012 16:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...

Motorola's RAZR i MT788 announced with 2GHz Intel chip, heading to China Mobile next month

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/19/motorola-razr-i-mt788-intel/

Motorola created quite some buzz with its first "Intel inside" Android phone, the RAZR i, back in September, so it's only natural to see the company tapping into the Chinese market with a localized variant. Dubbed the RAZR i MT788, this China Mobile device bears much similarity to its Western sibling on paper: 2GHz Intel Atom Z2480, 4.3-inch 960 x 540 AMOLED display (with Gorilla Glass), eight-megapixel camera, microSD expansion (up to 32GB) and Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

The difference? Well, the chassis is the most obvious one: instead of using the same design as the original RAZR i, the new MT788 looks identical to the MSM8625-powered dual-SIM XT788 on China Telecom. On top of that, the battery is rated at just 1,735mAh instead of the RAZR i's 2,000mAh, and there's just 4GB of built-in memory instead 16GB; but the front-facing camera's bumped up from 0.3 megapixels to 1.3. There's no price just yet, but interested buyers can pick one up in China starting in mid-December. Will the world's largest carrier help Intel take a significant bite out of the mobile phone market? Only time will tell.

Gallery: Motorola's RAZR i MT788 announced with 2GHz Intel chip, heading to China Mobile next month

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Motorola's RAZR i MT788 announced with 2GHz Intel chip, heading to China Mobile next month originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Nov 2012 06:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Engadget Chinese  | Email this | Comments

Read More...

Summary only...