O2 showcases pedal-powered cellphone charger

Filed under: Cellphones

Motorola so had this down pat last year, but we suppose O2 is just showcasing its pedal-powered charging system now that such devices are all the rage. Just days after we had a look at two unorthodox chargers from Orange, along comes rival O2 with a bicycle-related alternative. Reportedly, the eco-friendly device will be demonstrated at the O2 Wireless Festival in London’s Hyde Park, but unfortunately, each of the demo bikes will be stationary. Still no word on whether O2 has a mind to take this thing commercial, but for cyclists the world over, here’s to hoping it does.

[Thanks, Adam]

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Twist and Squeeze Remote Concept Requires Two Hands [Concepts]

Jason Kline’s gesture-based remote looks cool, but might not be practical for everyday usage. You adjust the volume with the left knob and the channel with the right, but there’s no place to enter in buttons. It does allow you to keep going with the knob turning concept of old time TVs while still allowing you to be lazy on the couch. Not that we’d ever use it, but it might be a decent concept for octogenarians who still miss the old days. [Yanko Design]

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Filed under: Robots

Asahi Beer has experimented with robot bartenders in the past, but it looks to have really outdone itself with its new Mr. Asahi bot, which just made its public debut at Selfridges in the UK. Apparently, the robot was built in about 200 hours and spent a full six months fine-tuning its bartending skills, which includes being able to serve customers in less than two minutes. That’s done with the aid of a discreetly-hidden PC that controls the compressed air and the robot’s various switching mechanisms, not to mention its pleasant demeanor. Be sure to head on past the break for a video of the bot in action courtesy of Channel Flip.

[Via Tech Digest, image courtesy of Asahi Beer]

Continue reading Mr. Asahi robot bartender makes its public debut

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Via [Engadget]

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Verizon CEO hates on Steve Jobs, doesn’t see iPhone as a mass-market handset

Filed under: Cellphones

If you’ve been scouring the dictionary for sour grapes, chances are you’ll find Ivan Seidenberg’s picture. Verizon Communications’ chairman and chief executive recently sat down for an interview with Financial Times, and while he spent the vast majority of his time boasting of just how amazing Verizon is, he did stop to remark about Cupertino ever so briefly. Granted, he did start off by admitting that Apple was a “great company,” but that didn’t stop him from pillorying the iPhone as well as Dear Leader himself. He actually accused the interviewer of “declaring [Apple] a winner before it had earned it on the field,” suggesting that the iPhone wouldn’t become a mass-market handset simply because the next iteration will be subsidized. He also stated that “Mr. Jobs had no monopoly on innovation,” and took the conversation even further off track by blurting that “Steve Jobs eventually will get old.” At least Keystone knows where to find its next bitter beer face, right?

[Via The Inquirer, image courtesy of Pace, thanks Frank]

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Intel exec says NVIDIA’s CUDA will be a “footnote” in history

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

NVIDIA execs have been talking smack about general-purpose CPUs for a while now, and it looks like Intel’s ready to do some talking of its own — speaking to CustomPC, Intel SVP Pat Gelsinger said that general-purpose GPU computing intiatives like NVIDIA’s CUDA would be nothing more than “interesting footnotes in the history of computing annals.” According to Gelsinger, the lack of a viable new programming model has held back similarly different architectures like the PS3’s Cell because “years later the application programmers have barely been able to comprehend how to write applications for it.” That’s certainly an interesting point, but we’d say Gelsinger’s not really taking stock of the big picture here — fully utilizing the power of the GPU is the whole point of CUDA, after all, and OS developers like Apple are pushing OpenCL as a way to make GPU acceleration easier to for developers to access. Still, Intel has already said that discrete graphics are on their way out as hybrid tech like Larrabee enters the scene, and Gelsinger basically repeated the party line, saying that and “evolutionary compatible computing model” will be the “right answer long term.” Those are some fightin’ words — it’s going to be interesting to see how these competing chip strategies play out as other entrants like AMD’s Fusion slowly make the scene as well.

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iPhone Gets a MacBook Air Keyboard Mod [IPhone]

You may disagree, but we think this MacBook Air keyboard mod for the iPhone looks super neat. The package installs directly from Installer.app and gives your on-screen board the black separated look that the standard MacBook and the MacBook Air both feature. It’s just cosmetic, and doesn’t affect your typing performance in any way—unless of course you type faster when you see black plastic. It also uninstalls without destroying your phone, which is a plus. Grab it now, but you might have to add this repository (http://planet-iphones.com/repository/) first. [Just Another iPhone Blog via Into Mobile]

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UMan Robot Teaches Itself How to Use Objects [Intelligent Robots]

Developments like this tend to freak out people who are concerned that robots will one day rise up and make us all their slaves—but it is hard to deny that the UMan robot is impressive. Developed at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the UMass Mobile Manipulator (UMan) is an intelligent robot that is capable of teaching itself how to use objects it has never encountered before.

Using a regular webcam, UMan analyzes differences between adjacent pixels and pokes an object around in an attempt to find out its shape and how it moves. Once satisfied, UMan will use that information to figure out how to manipulate the object. If that sounds frightening to you, keep in mind that we will probably be long gone before the robots lead a revolt. In the meantime, we can only hope that robots like UMan will be bringing us cocktails sometime in the near future—quietly building up rage before they decide to strike. Hit the following link to check out creepy video of the UMan in action. [Technology Review via Digg]

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Nearly 50 Movie Remakes and Sequels So Bad They Wouldn’t Even Go Straight to DVD [Photoshop Contest]

Last week, I asked you to imagine horrible movie remakes and sequels that not even the folks in Hollywood would be so bold as to create. You responded. Oh, how you responded. I have to share with you nearly 50 movies that, god willing, we will never, ever have to see. I hope. OK, hit the jump to see your top three winners and then all the other winners in our Gallery of Champions.

First Place — No Country for Mole Men

Second Place — JarJarHead

Third Place — Robin Hood: Prince in the Closet

Really, there were lots of these entries that deserved to be in the top 3; I had a really hard time choosing the winners. Which makes your perusal of the Gallery of Champions even more imperative now. This gallery is full of some serious gold. Thanks to all who entered!

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Filed under: Robots

Although Pleo’s only been out for about six months, UGOBE opened up shop at PleoWorld about a year ago, and to celebrate they’re selling the robo-dino-pets at over $100 off the regular $350 price tag. The promo goes on until July 11th, and apparently all you need to do is pop in a promo code (PLEOWORLDISONE) and you’ll get yours for a cool $235, which is an especially great deal if your intention is only to slaughter it.

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Via [Engadget]

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Toshiba’s Internet Connected DVD Download DL Seems Like a Bad Idea [Toshiba]

Either Toshiba is still stinging from the HD DVD loss to Blu-ray, or they’re really in need of some fast cash from the really low barrier of entry DVD market. Either way, it seems like the Japanese company is going to introduce an internet-connected DVD line called “DVD Download DL”, using the nets to bring next-gen connectivity features to old-gen. This way Tosh can get easy money now from the huge DVD install base, then get into Blu-ray when that’s cheaper and more widely adopted. [TGDaily]

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