Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Monday, April 11, 2011

Bluetrek releases lightweight Carbon: world's first carbon fiber Bluetooth headset

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/11/bluetrek-releases-lightweight-carbon-worlds-first-carbon-fiber/

When this rather smashing little piece of gadgetry made its way through the FCC last week, we didn't have a whole lot of details to share about the "world's first carbon fiber Bluetooth headset." Well, Bluetrek's making the Carbon official today with a $70 price tag and a full set of specs. The thing weighs in at a mere .25 ounces, touts Bluetooth v3.0 support, and allows for four and a half hours of talk time or five days on standby. It also comes with a set of four earbuds in different sizes, so anyone can rock the lightweight headset no matter how big, or small, the ear hole. The Carbon is now on sale at the source link below. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading Bluetrek releases lightweight Carbon: world's first carbon fiber Bluetooth headset

Bluetrek releases lightweight Carbon: world's first carbon fiber Bluetooth headset originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 18:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Matrox strikes at NAB, first to market with Thunderbolt products

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/11/matrox-strikes-at-nab-first-to-market-with-thunderbolt-products/

Word out of NAB is that Matrox, known best for enabling day-traders to run an excessive number of monitors off a single graphics card, will be the first company to market with peripherals designed to use Thunderbolt. All the latest models of its MXO2 family of video I/O boxes will be shipping with Thunderbolt on board, while budding film makers using the current gen MXO2 devices will be able to push 10Gb worth of pixels per second by picking up an adapter. Matrox didn't announce a firm release date or price, though we expect it will fall in line with the current products, which range from $449 up to almost $2,400 for the MXO2 Rack with Matrox Max. They're not exactly must have accessories for the average user, but if you simply can't wait any longer to put those Thunderbolt ports to use, it's the only game in town.

Matrox strikes at NAB, first to market with Thunderbolt products originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 19:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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9 to 5 Mac | source

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MTbiggie is a DIY Surface for the masses

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/11/mtbiggie-is-a-diy-surface-for-the-masses/

Practical or not, there is no denying the nerd-gasm inducing wow factor of Microsoft's Surface. Of course, Surface is expensive -- like, unless you're a millionaire you're probably not buying one for personal use expensive. There are some DIY solutions out there, but designer and developer Seth Sandler has come up with the cheapest and easiest yet. Built from about $400 worth of material (some of which you probably have lying about your home / apartment / dungeon), the MTbiggie brings big-screen multitouch to the masses. Like the hacker's previous homebrew multitouch device, the MTmini, there's nothing particularly difficult to find here. All you need is a couple of chairs, a mirror, a projector, an infrared webcam (which you can easily hack together with some old film negatives and cardboard), a big sheet of paper and an equally large piece of clear acrylic. Just set it all up according to the instructions in the video below and in no time you be finger painting and playing Angry Birds on a screen that dwarfs your iPad -- and possibly your kitchen table, too.

Continue reading MTbiggie is a DIY Surface for the masses

MTbiggie is a DIY Surface for the masses originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 20:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple hires carbon fiber expert to posit composites

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/11/apple-hires-carbon-fiber-expert-kevin-kenney-to-posit-composites/

If you're going to compete in the consumer electronics business then you'd better have a solid grasp of industrial design and materials science. Otherwise, you're just another manufacturer trying to eke profit from drab slabs of commodity plastic. With the exception of the MacBook, Apple's entire Mac lineup is currently cut from aluminum. However, Apple's been caught experimenting with its newly acquired Liquidmetal materials recently, even as rumors swirl around new ultra-lightweight and durable carbon fiber components and enclosures. Speculation about the latter has been fueled by an Apple patent application for a process that would use carbon fiber materials woven into the reinforced device housings of mobile telephones, laptops, desktops, and tablets. Interestingly enough, the patent app was filed by Kevin M. Kenney (developer of the first all carbon fiber bicycle frame) on behalf of Apple back in 2009, a man who changed his job title to "Senior Composites Engineer at Apple Inc." on LinkedIn at some point after March 1st (according to Google cache). Of course, a carbon fiber laptop is far from unique -- just reference the Sony G11 from 2007 or 2008's Voodoo Envy 133 if you want to see how it's done. But if Apple makes a wholesale shift to carbon fiber in the months ahead then you can expect the horde of me-too OEMs to follow suit a year later. See the before and after LinkedIn profiles for Kenney after the break.

Continue reading Apple hires carbon fiber expert to posit composites

Apple hires carbon fiber expert to posit composites originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MacRumors, 9to5Mac | source

Kevin Kenney (LinkedIn), Kevin Kenney (LinkedIn cache) | Email this | Comments

Panasonic's AG-3DA1 camera will shoot 3D video, Robonaut vlogs on the International Space Station

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/11/panasonics-ag-3da1-camera-will-shoot-3d-video-robonaut-vlogs-o/

NASA's Robonaut 2 is something of a celebrity around these parts, owing to his dashing good looks and insatiable appetite for publicity, which can now be put to good use with a new toy the landlubbers are sending his way: a professional 3D camera. The human-aiding robot that presently calls the International Space Station home will soon be joined by Panasonic's AG-3DA1, a full 1080p 3D video recorder with twin lenses and dual 2 megapixel 3MOS sensors. Panasonic is also loading up the next Space Shuttle Atlantis flight to the ISS (scheduled for June 28th) with 25.5-inch 3D LCD monitors and rugged Toughbook laptops to help with documenting proceedings aboard the research vessel. The new shooter costs a whopping $21,000, and though it's not clear whether NASA paid for it or Panasonic just decided to be charitable, the space agency should have the cash to splash after deciding to shelve the James Cameron-approved project to slap a zoom-equipped 3D imager on its next Mars rover. We're just wondering if the human world is quite ready for 3D video blogs from its favorite robotic astronaut.

Continue reading Panasonic's AG-3DA1 camera will shoot 3D video, Robonaut vlogs on the International Space Station

Pana sonic's AG-3DA1 camera will shoot 3D video, Robonaut vlogs on the International Space Station originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 11:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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