We’re always hearing about some fantastical, nigh-mythical creation that Carnegie Mellon University is in the midst of cobbling together from spare parts, crazy ideas, and pure, simple genius, so maybe we shouldn’t be frothing over the new robotic truck they’ve partnered up with Caterpillar to create, but this one promises to be the “world’s largest.” Adapting software CMU used in the DARPA Urban Challenge, the team hopes to end up with fully automated, 700-ton trucks capable of moving up to 42 miles per hour which will be used for mining. The trucks would theoretically reduce costs, increase productivity, and save lives. The Frankenstein-ed vehicles will boast GPS, laser range finders to identify large obstacles, video equipment, and a “robotic driver.” The scientists somewhat predictably foresee some (as of now) rather far-fetched consumer applications in cars and trucks over the “next five to ten years,” but we’re taking that with a few salt grains for now. The trucks aren’t ready quite yet but we hear their arrival is imminent, and and we can only imagine that somewhere in the world, Grave Digger is crying to himself.
Update: We’ve changed the title to reflect the accurate arrangement, which is a teaming up of CMU and Caterpillar, not DARPA. Thanks to the commenter who pointed that out.
Yesterday ASUS stunned and pleased our eyeballs with the announcement of the 12-inch N20A laptop, and today two more get added to the crew: the 14.1-inch N80V and the 15.4-inch N50V. Both have the option of T9400 / P8600 / P7350 Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, up to 4GB of RAM, and each pack NVIDIA’s GeForce 9300M GPU with 512MB of VRAM. The N80V has an up to 320GB hard drive capacity while the N50V goes up to 500GB. The N80V boasts a WXGA display and the NV50 offers WXGA / WXGA+ / WSXGA+ options. There’s also a stunning selection of ports, including eSATA and HDMI on both of these bad boys. For unequaled spec-reading pleasure, hit the read links.
Here’s another Black Friday ad, this time from Kmart. Sort of slim pickings, but there are some decent deals to be had here. Some of the highlights are an Element 32″ LCD HDTV for $399.99, a Samsung 42″ PN42A400 Plasma HDTV for $699.99 and a Nextar X3-03 Text-To-Speech GPS System for $79.99. Hit the jump for the full list to see if anything is gonna make sitting in front of a Kmart at 4 in the morning worthwhile.
Cell Phones Virgin Mobile TNT - $9.99
Digital Cameras Casio EX-Z9 8.1MP Digital Camera - $99.99 Disney Pix Micro Digital Camera - $9.99 GE 8.0 MegaPixel A835 Digital Camera - $79.99
Digital Media Cards Two PNY 2GB Micro SD Cards - $12.99 Two PNY 2GB SD Cards - $12.99
Electronics Aiptek Camcorder - $69.99 Emerson Portable Karaoke Machine - $29.99 GE Cordless Phone - $9.99 Giant Remote - $9.99 iConcepts iWindow Portable iPod Dock - $19.99 Koss Earbuds - $9.99 Memorex DVD Player - $14.99 Sakar Digital Keychain - $9.99 SmartParts 5.6″ Digital Picture Frame - $59.99 Sony Blu-Ray BDP-S350 Disc Player - $179.99 Uniden 5.8GHz Phone System w/2 Handsets - $19.99
GPS Navigation Systems Nextar X3-03 Text-To-Speech GPS System - $79.99
MP3 Players Element 1GB Stick MP3 Player w/Built-in Voice Recorder - $9.99
Portable USB Storage Two PNY 2GB Portable USB Flash Drives - $12.99
Television Element 32″ LCD HDTV - $399.99 Memorex 26″ LCD HDTV/DVD Combo - $399.99 Samsung 42″ PN42A400 720p Plasma HDTV - $699.99 Sylvania 20 in. Class Diagonal LCD DTV/DVD Combo - $249.99
Video Games 2 Pack Wii Games - $16.99 3 Pack PS2 Games - $9.99 Animal Crossing Wii - $49.99 Guitar Hero III Bundle PS3 - $54.99 Guitar Hero III Bundle Wii - $54.99 Guitar Hero III Bundle Xbox 360 - $54.99 Limited Edition Ratchest & Clank PSP Bundle - $199.99 Mario Kart Wii - $49.99 Mario Super Smash Bros Wii - $49.99 PSP System - $169.99 Super Mario Galaxy Wii - $49.99 Wii Music - $49.99 Wii Play - $49.99
We should be getting a much bigger dose of Windows 7 details on Tuesday when Microsoft’s Professional Developers Conference gets underway, but it seems that some tidbits just can’t be kept under wraps, and ZDNet’s Mary-Jo Foley now has word of a few more features that are apparently in the forthcoming Windows 7 pre-beta. Chief among those is a so-called Device Stage, which promises to let users more easily interact with a whole range of different devices — assuming those devices are “Device Stage-enabled’ devices, that is (yes, really). Other features supposedly in store include an Action Center that promises to help you troubleshoot problems, a new animation framework to allow for custom animations (which should tie in nicely with the rumored GPU acceleration), tighter integration of the Windows taskbar, an expanded use of Microsoft’s so-called “ribbon” interface and, of course, plenty of multi-touch and gesture support.
Oh Rolly… we know you’re an overpriced, 2GB dancing robot with convoluted controls and questionable sound quality. But dammit, your impractical, big-corporate ways have gnawed a soft-spot deep into the noxious cesspool we call a heart. Now this: Rolly model SEP-50BT with Bluetooth control from your cellphone or laptop. Shipping in Japan on November 21st for an expected ¥40,000 or about $427. Sold. Watch it all unfold in the video after the break.
You may recall a story a couple of months ago about a man who successfully robbed an armored car by hiring decoys on Craigslist, then fled the scene by floating down the Skykomish River in Washington on a inner tube. It’s a great heist story—straight out of the climactic scene in the Thomas Crown Affair. However, unlike Pierce Brosnan, this criminal won’t be jetting off to live out the rest of his days with some insurance investigating MILF. The culprit was nabbed by police this week outside of a Target store using good old fashioned DNA evidence. It was almost the perfect crime. [SeattlePi via Wired]
A plain wooden stick was entered into the National Toy Hall of Fame yesterday along with Baby Doll and the skateboard. These toys join 38 other classics like the bicycle, Mr. Potato Head, Crayola crayons, and the Atari 2600 video game system. So why the stick? Well, it has been a staple of imaginative play since time began and, as one curator noted, “it’s not just for humans anymore. You can find otters, chimps and dogs — especially dogs — playing with it.” Originally, the title of this post was “Stick Enters Toy Hall of Fame, Cardboard Box Snubbed.” However, I discovered that the cardboard box was inducted in 2005. It’s a good thing too—overlooking everyone’s favorite fort would have caused an outrage of epic proportions. [CNN via Boing Boing]
On Monday Nokia, NAVTEQ and UC Berkeley will launch the Mobile Millennium project which will use GPS data from thousands of cell phones to gather traffic information in the San Francisco Bay Area. By having users relay and access the information, it will enable them to find and avoid traffic congestion, similar to the Dash Express GPS system. I’d participate, but I wonder how much researchers would benefit from my daily commute from bed to kitchen table.
In order to get the needed information, the project uses a Java program that participants can download onto their phone.Traffic is then calculated using an algorithm researchers have developed. The software is eventually expected to work on most GPS-enabled phones on GSM networks. The project will not require many users, but does require them to be spread out for better results. Mobile Millennium plans to post the data it receives on the Web, but users who have the Java software will be most up-to-date. Luckily, for all the privacy-seekers, the information culled will be kept anonymous. Because the software uses a lot of data, only users with unlimited data plans are advised to sign up because you certainly don’t want to end up with a $218 trillion phone bill. [Mobile Millennium via IT World]
Gizmodo readers like you tend to think they know more about technology any other people—including (or especially) Giz editors. You’re the person your friends and family come to with computer problems, what those in the know call a geek. But there are varying levels of geekdom. In order for you to prove where you stand, I’ve compiled a handy list of 50 key geek skills. Many of them are straightforward, some are tough as hell. Only the most dedicated shut-in basement dwellers will score a perfect 50. How do you stack up? Hit the jump to find out, and be sure to keep a tally as you read—there’s a poll at the end to see how you measure up to your fellow Giz readers.
1. Install a hard drive in a laptop 2. Perform a clean OS install on a machine with two OSes 3. Swap out the battery on your iPod/iPhone 4. Jailbreak an iPhone 5. Wire your house for Ethernet and Coax cable 6. Use BitTorrent and RSS to automatically download new shows from trackers 7. Use an A/V receiver to its fullest capability (every port is taken) 8. Calibrate an HDTV without the manual 9. Use a DSLR in full manual mode 10. Hack the encryption and mooch your neighbor’s Wi-Fi 11. Solder cleanly enough to get around a circuit board 12. Use your 3G phone as a Wi-Fi access point 13. Shove the guts of a modern game console into a retro game console 14. Design a webpage in HTML by hand that features a picture of your cat 15. Use Photoshop to imperceptibly doctor a photo 16. Abstain from buying extended warranties 17. Know where to buy cheap cables and accessories 18. Fix your parents’ computer over the phone without looking at a computer 19. Enter the Konami code 20. Comment on Gizmodo from your phone 21. Type quickly using T9 texting 22. Program a universal remote 23. Contribute code to the Linux kernel 24. Hide porn from your significant other 25. Avoid DRM on everything 26. Know how to back up your data to networked storage—and actually do it 27. Watch TV shows on the internet for free 28. Edit together digital video ripped from YouTube 29. Play any SNES game on your computer through an emulator 30. Reset expired trial software by messing with the registry 31. Hackintosh your PC 32. Download pre-release movies from Usenet 33. Hack the Wii to play homebrew games 34. Get around web content filters on public computers 35. Get into a Windows computer if you forgot your password 36. Securely erase your data so it can’t be recovered 37. Share a printer between a Mac and a PC on a network 38. Build a fighting robot 39. Write your own Firefox plugins 40. Navigate and reorganize the files on your computer in DOS 41. Get something on the front page of Digg 42. Get through to executive customer service 43. Rip a CD to V0 quality MP3s 44. Rip a DVD to DivX 45. Build your own computer from parts 46. Swap out the hard drive in your DVR for a bigger one 47. Get an NES cartridge working again by blowing in it 48. Calibrate a 7.1 surround-sound system 49. Play downloaded games on a Nintendo DS 50. Talk about things that aren’t tech related
Give me Malcolm Reynolds over any other bucket-o-bolts captain ever. Joss Whedon is a national treasure and Nathan Fillion is his greatest muse. Yes, I’m such a fanboy I totally won’t mind buying Serenity for the third time, finally on Blu-ray, since it comes packed with a Firefly class ship’s worth of new features (like a bonus four hours of Whedon weeping on camera, says Mark), BD-Live content, and a bump to lossless 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Perhaps the best feature though, is that the cover finally doesn’t suck. Worth the $30 MSRP, though I’m sad it won’t arrive until Dec. 30, weeks after the Firefly boxset.
Here’s the whole feature list:
* Alliance Database * U Control: Mr. Universe Compendium * U Control: Digital Tour of Serenity * U Control: Picture in Picture * U Control: Visual Commentary with Writer/Director Joss Whedon & Cast * BD Live: My Scenes Sharing * Feature Commentery with Writer / Director Joss Whedon * Feature Commentary with Writer / Director Joss Whedon & Cast Members Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Summer Glau and Ron Glass * Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by Director Joss Whedon * Future History - The Story of Earth That Was * What’s In A Firefly * Re-Lighting The Firefly * A Filmmaker’s Journey * We’ll Have A Fruity Oaty Good Time! * Extended Scenes * Take A Walk On Serenity * The Green Clan * Session 416
Now if Universal will just bless with The Big Lebowski on Blu-ray, I can die happy. [The HD Room - Thanks Chris!]
Here’s another Black Friday ad, this time from Kmart. Sort of slim pickings, but there are some decent deals to be had here. Some of the highlights are an Element 32″ LCD HDTV for $399.99, a Samsung 42″ PN42A400 Plasma HDTV for $699.99 and a Nextar X3-03 Text-To-Speech GPS System for $79.99. Hit the jump for the full list to see if anything is gonna make sitting in front of a Kmart at 4 in the morning worthwhile.
You may recall a story a couple of months ago about a man who successfully robbed an armored car by 
A plain wooden stick was entered into the National Toy Hall of Fame yesterday along with Baby Doll and the skateboard. These toys join 38 other classics like the bicycle, Mr. Potato Head, Crayola crayons, and the Atari 2600 video game system. So why the stick? Well, it has been a staple of imaginative play since time began and, as one curator noted, “it’s not just for humans anymore. You can find otters, chimps and dogs — especially dogs — playing with it.” Originally, the title of this post was “Stick Enters Toy Hall of Fame, Cardboard Box Snubbed.” However, I discovered that the cardboard box was inducted in 2005. It’s a good thing too—overlooking everyone’s favorite fort would have caused an outrage of epic proportions. [
On Monday Nokia, NAVTEQ and UC Berkeley will launch the Mobile Millennium project which will use 
Give me Malcolm Reynolds over any other bucket-o-bolts captain ever. Joss Whedon is a national treasure and Nathan Fillion 
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