Archive for November 4th, 2009
Monster Monster Laptop Stand Will &#*@ing Chomp Your Face (Or Just Sit There) [Laptops]
 Who would have thought that six acrylic limbs could transform a MacBook into something so evil…so powerful? Luckily the designer hasn’t designed the legs as articulating and retractable, or we’d really be screwed. $40. [MonsterMonster via Unplggd via Core77]
 
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Microsoft Courier’s Swipes, Snips and Scribbles: The Leaked Interface [Exclusive]
 We’ve seen slides and videos of Microsoft’s Courier booklet in action, but nothing has quite explained how all of these things actually work. This document explains Courier’s interface, gestures and features more in-depth than ever before.
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Ok, But Which Device Is Better at Smashing Through Walls? [Image Cache]
 The DSi shatters and fragments, which is more effective at maiming and disabling a target. On the other hand, the N97 remains whole, for greater penetration through tough surfaces. Both, however, are fun to look at.
Far from an honest ballistics test, the shoot(ing), staged by French gaming magazine Amusement, was just an opportunity to snap a few stunning photos. Which is fine! And which they did!
So, where’s the video? Update: Yeah, you guys are right—the black one is an N97, not a PSP. Still though! [Amusement via Dieubussy via GameSetWatch via Kotaku]
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Secret Copyright Treaty Details Leak: ISPs Worldwide to Become Copyright Cops? [Copyright]
 New negotiations for an international Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) kick off today, and this round focuses on a secretive Internet piracy plan drafted by the U.S government. No text has been released, but leaks have surfaced. It’s not looking good.
The leaks suggest that countries who sign up to the U.S promoted plan would have to force ISPs to proactively police copyright on user-generated content, cut off those accused (or face liability), and put “graduated response” clauses in customer contracts. An example of a graduated response is France’s “three strikes and you’re out” law. There, you get two warnings if caught sharing music or movies, then you’re banned for up to two years.
This provision would mean that every country that signs up to ACTA must allow content owners such as record companies and Hollywood studios to sue ISPs for failing to stop their subscribers from illegally sharing copyright-protected material such as music and movies.
By the way, two major sources of counterfeiting—Russia and China—aren’t in the talks. If you want to get your head further around the issue, these sites do a great job of breaking it all down: [Electronic Frontier Foundation and PC World via BoingBoing]
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Cheap, Printed Solar-Powered LEDs Could Change 1.5 Billion Lives [Solar Power]
 Photovoltaic cells printed on sheets aren’t news, nor are LEDs and ultrathin lithium batteries. What’s news is a combination of the three which can help give light to 1.5 billion people who live in impoverished areas without access to electricity.
Frederik Krebs came up with this combination of solar panels and LED lights which, while definitely a work-in-progress, could bring cheap light to some of the world’s poorest regions. I call the lamps a work-in-progress because despite being durable enough to last several years, they run at a mere 1% efficiency. But with the expected final cost of $7 a piece, they’re full of life-changing potential, despite that low efficiency.
Some prototypes of the lamps are currently being tested in Zambia. As seen in the picture, the solar panels are left laying flat during the day and then rolled up (and secured with snap-button) into a cone-shaped lamp. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the results of the prototype tests and a final product, because no one should go without artificially lit nights. [IEEE Spectrum via Pop Sci]
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VIA Nano 3000 CPU series finally launches to rival Intel’s Atom
We suppose dreams really do come true. Nearly a full year after we heard that VIA was toiling on a new processor line to really give Intel’s aging Atom a run for its money, the company has come clean and confessed that those whispers were indeed true. The Isaiah-based Nano 3000 Series is a range of six new CPUs clocked between 1GHz and 2GHz, all of which boast an 800MHz FSB, 64-bit support, SSE4 instructions, Windows 7 / Linux compatibility and power ratings that check in some 20 percent more efficient than existing VIA Nano processors. There’s also the promise of 1080p multimedia playback, and VIA swears that we’ll see these popping up in all-in-one desktops as well as thin-and-light laptops in the very near future. How soon, you ask? Samples are shipping now to OEMs, with mass production slated for Q1 2010.
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops
VIA Nano 3000 CPU series finally launches to rival Intel’s Atom originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by: admin in Gaming
31 Views Inside the Workings of Our Gadgets [Photoshop Contest]
 For this week’s Photoshop Contest, I asked you to show us how your gadgets really work. We all know there’s something fishy that makes everything run, and it turns out that thing involves Chuck Norris and animals making shadow puppets.
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OLPC shakeup: dual-screen XO-2 out, ARM-based XO 1.75 in
 OLPC’s plans for a dual-screen XO-2 laptop / tablet always seemed a little… ambitious, and it looks like even Nicholas Negroponte himself has now realized that it may be more than the organization is able to pull off at the moment. That word comes from a recent interview with Xconomy, where Negroponte confirms that OLPC has indeed scrapped plans for the dual-screen XO-2, and says it will instead focus on a “model 1.75″ that has a design similar to the current OPLC XO but gets a boost from a faster ARM processor. Negroponte isn’t completely giving up on the idea of a revamped OLPC, however, and says that model 3.0 will have a “totally different industrial design, more like a sheet of paper.” That model apparently also includes “aspirational aspects” like an unbreakable, waterproof enclosure that’s just a quarter inch thick, a full color, reflective and transmissive display with no bezel, 1W of power consumption, and (here’s the real kicker) a $75 price tag by 2012.
[Via Liliputing] Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs
OLPC shakeup: dual-screen XO-2 out, ARM-based XO 1.75 in originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by: admin in Gaming
If you’ve been feeling blue because you haven’t got enough green to keep the old bank account in the black, we’ve got just the tonic for you, dear friend. There’s nothing that gets us all perked up and cheerful quite like an adorable humanoid robot negotiating an obstacle course in the performance of a rescue mission. In fact, if you layer on your own “save the princess” narrative atop the on-screen events, the pep in your step should be back in no time. The smile-inducing video can be found after the break.
Continue reading Robovie rescue bot hunts high and low for lost princesses (video)
Filed under: Robots
Robovie rescue bot hunts high and low for lost princesses (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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 Via [Engadget]
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