Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Gefen USB to DVI Adapter Can Handle Up to 6 Monitors [Adapter]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/254560255/gefen-usb-to-dvi-adapter-can-handle-up-to-6-monitors

This is not the first time a USB to DVI adapter had come down the pipeline, but the new Gefen adapter can drive an impressive 6 additional displays at 1600X1200 resolution. It is not great for larger monitors by any means, but at only $129 it could be a relatively inexpensive solution. Gefen also notes that it "uses little computer resources" which means that there is at least a chance that this thing won't be a huge processor suck. Additional images after the break.

[Gefen]

Pix-L UMPC Concept For Bedtime Browsers [UMPCs]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/254582198/pix+l-umpc-concept-for-bedtime-browsers

The Pix-L UMPC concept from Jean Hong is designed primarily for those who feel compelled to hit the internet first thing in the morning and just before they go to sleep. It even features an alarm clock dock and a design that allows you to flip the device over for easy browsing while lying on your stomach. I don't know if the execs at Microsoft will be clamoring for this design anytime soon, but the idea of integrating the mobile PC into our daily lives in this way is intriguing. Additional pic after the break.

[Jean Hong via Tuve via DVICE]

RFID credit cards easily hacked with $8 reader

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/254557709/

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

The RFID hacks keep coming fast and furious -- hot the heels of that Mifare / Oyster Card exploit, the crew at BoingBoing TV has posted up a little demo of how easy cracking the RFID encryption on an American Express card can be. All it takes is an $8 dollar reader easily available on eBay, some software, and the courage to walk around with a laptop waving plastic boxes at people's butt pockets, but developer Pablos Holman says he's hoping to develop a newer version that will allow him to be a little more discreet. The root of the problem is apparently the fact that the system uses local decryption rather than sending card info to a secure data center, but either way we've been worried about this for a long time -- we're sticking to loose change and the barter system from now on. Video after the break.

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Stanford researchers cram 12,616 tiny lenses into a 3D camera

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/254569149/

Filed under: Digital Cameras

With the megapixel race already past the point of noticeable benefit to consumers, it looks like the next camera arms race will be the number of lenses your rig sports -- a team at Stanford is working on a 3D camera that uses 12,616 micro-lenses to generate high quality 3 megapixel images with self-contained "depth maps" that measure the distance to every object in the frame. The system works by focusing each lens above four different overlapping sensor arrays, which work in concert to determine depth -- just like your eyes. Unlike similar systems, the Stanford rig is able to use that data to create a depth map without lasers, prisms, or even complex calibration, which will allow the team to shrink the tech down to compact and cellphone camera size. Once it's ubiquitous, the teams says depth map information can be used to do anything from enhancing facial recognition systems to improving robot vision, but there's still a long way to go -- the team has just started trying to work out how to manufacture the system.

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Adobe: Flash for iPhone might be a little harder than we thought

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/254651684/

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

It seems that Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen isn't a developer for the firm -- or at the very least, he doesn't have a full appreciation for the height of the fence surrounding the iPhone SDK's walled garden. The company and on-again, off-again Apple chum solidly backpedaled on the chief's comments regarding Flash for the iPhone that were made just a day earlier, saying that "...to bring the full capabilities of Flash to the iPhone Web-browsing experience we do need to work with Apple beyond and above what is available through the SDK and the current license around it." For what it's worth, Adobe does say that it's still very much interested in doing up a Flash client, it just needs a little extra help from Apple on the side to make it happen -- so if we see this package pop up in the App Store later this year, we'll know that at least one company's been given a free pass to break the rules.

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