Filed under: Robots

German researchers at the University of Madgeburg-Stendal have developed a concept for a robot shaped like a pill millipede that could potentially detect and fight forest fires. Were the “OLE” a real robot, it would be able to scuttle around the forest floor at speeds of around 6 to 12 MPH, using infrared and “biosensors” to detect fire sources. If it gets into trouble, it can curl up just like a real pill bug and be fully protected thanks to a ceramic-fibre compound shell that can withstand temperature of 1,300 Degrees Centigrade. According to the researchers, 30 of these OLEs could protect a forest area as large as 2,700 square miles, whilst simultaneously freaking out hundreds of forest animals.

[Via GearFuse; thanks, Steve]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Video

Windows Mobile and Palm devices won’t be having all the placeshifting fun for much longer. Though carrier Hutchison 3 has had its own version for some time through its X-Series line, a generic, widely available SlingPlayer Mobile for Symbian has eluded the populace for ages; thankfully, it looks like that’s all about to change with Sling announcing a private beta for its upcoming S60-based player. At this point, the beta’s focus is pretty limited — you’ve gotta be in the US and you need to be rocking a Nokia E65, N75, or N95. High speed data is obviously crucial here, and those three models happen to sport the prerequisite S60 plus WiFi — in the case of the E65 and N95 — or 3G, if you’ve gone the N75 route. Any Slingbox model will get the job done, and other than that, you basically just have to be able to keep your mouth shut, fill out some forms, and enjoy plenty of placeshifted teevee. The beta’s tentatively scheduled to last about four weeks, so here’s hoping we’ll see a public release soon thereafter.

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Filed under: Cellphones

We’ll be the first to admit that the first “real” photographs of Meizu’s M8 still appear mighty doctored, but hey, so long as the final product looks this good, we’ll be content. Nevertheless, the firm has made available three supposed snapshots for us to drool over, and while we’re far beyond the point of actually believing anything these guys say in regard to a release date, the latest news on that front has the finalized unit ready for testing by the year’s end. ‘Course, there’s still no set date for actually getting it into the needy hands of consumers everywhere, but the most recent price estimates peg the 4GB M8 at 2,380CNY ($314) and the 8GB version at 2,880CNY ($380). Per usual, feel free to peep the other two snaps after the jump.

[Via MyMiniOne]

Continue reading First “real” snapshots of Meizu’s M8 supposedly surface

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Filed under: Laptops

Could the next laptop to emerge from the OLPC organization be powered by Intel chips? That’s the suggestion of OLPC News, which sees the FAQ attached to Intel’s announcement of joining the board at OLPC as a sign that Intel’s chips could work their way into the XO-2. At the very least, the servers that support the $100 XO PCs will be Intel based: quoting from the FAQ, it says that “OLPC is planning to add Intel Xeon processor based servers to their product offerings.” Intel is also taking steps to develop a system board for the next gen XO, although all designs are subject to OLPC approval. Seems like OLPC’s gone full circle from “Intel should be ashamed of itself” to “thank you Intel!”

[Via OLPC News]

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Filed under: Laptops

Could the next laptop to emerge from the OLPC organization be powered by Intel chips? That’s the suggestion of OLPC News, which sees the FAQ attached to Intel’s announcement of joining the board at OLPC as a sign that Intel’s chips could work their way into the XO-2. At the very least, the servers that support the $100 XO PCs will be Intel based: quoting from the FAQ, it says that “OLPC is planning to add Intel Xeon processor based servers to their product offerings.” Intel is also taking steps to develop a system board for the next gen XO, although all designs are subject to OLPC approval. Seems like OLPC’s gone full circle from “Intel should be ashamed of itself” to “thank you Intel!”

[Via OLPC News]

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Filed under: Laptops

Notebook Italia has shots and specifications for a rumored 17-inch Dell Precision M6300 laptop, which could replace the ageing Dell Precision M90. We’ll start with the most interesting feature, which is a BTO option for up to 8GB of installed RAM available when you include a copy of Vista 64-bit. Beyond that, the M6300 is rumored to feature Intel Core 2 Duos from 1.8GHz up to 2.4GHz, with a 2.6GHz Intel Core Extreme X7800 topping out the line. It’ll also come with options for NVIDIA Quadro FX 1600M, 2600M, or FX 3600M graphics cards. There will apparently also be options for 1440×900, 1900×1200, and 1920×1200 glossy and matte displays, and a Blu-ray drive configuration. The word is that this model could ship by August 31st, so at least you haven’t got long to wait.

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Filed under: Household, Media PCs

Mirrors that double as surveillance displays or hallway televisions have been common for quite some time, and while Mirror Media’s PC-stuffed iteration certainly won’t be the first of its breed, it joins a rare bunch nonetheless. The MirrorTV + media PC combination unit comes in 20-, 26-, 30-, and 32-inch flavors and features an Intel processor, up to 512MB of SDRAM, up to 60GB of hard drive space, optional WiFi, and a smorgasbord of ports including USB 2.0, RS-232, FireWire, DVI / VGA, and component / S-Video / composite to boot. Pricing details don’t look to be readily available, but if you’ve got the coin, we’re sure these guys and gals can whip up the multifarious mirror of your dreams.

[Via ChipChick]

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