You know the test you have to take on Digg or Facebook, the one that proves you’re a human? You see a hard-to-read word or string of gibberish, and you type in the correct characters. Carnegie Mellon researchers decided to replace randomly generated words with actual words from ancient manuscripts, words that machines are having trouble deciphering. When you or millions of other users type in a word, you are beating a machine and helping to preserve an irreplaceable text. More »
We had all but given up on exciting new PMPs before seeing this new Toshiba Gigabeat prototype. And while Akihabara News has technically labelled it a DAP (audio only), we’re expecting that its gorgeous OLED 3.2″ WQVGA screen will find a use for our movies and TV shows as well. Sure, the display isn’t as large as Sony’s 11-inch OLED product hitting markets soon, but we’re fairly certain it’s the largest OLED that can (sort of) fit in your pocket.
The other point of note is that Toshiba has ditched their normal PlusPad (TM) in this prototype. You know, that ugly cross controller that the company swore by for years? Gone! If this mock-up is any indication, Toshiba’s trademark may soon hit the endangered species list, right along with those zebra pants that you’ve left in your closet for their future triumphant return that’s just not going to happen. [akihabaranews] More »
In the days when intense UV radiation is of a constant threat to our eyes, looking has become a chore. That’s why the $48 rotary Zihotch Watch is so promising. You simply dial…err…pull “117″ and the watch will read you the time, just like the old days when you had to call people to look at their sundials for you. We’re digging the retro interface but wish there were a few more secret codes we could enter for functions other than mundanely adjusting the time or alarm. Making phone calls, for instance, would be a start—though we’d gladly settle for a direct line to just one or two 900 numbers. [product via scifitech] More »
Research funded by the US Air Force Research Laboratory has come up with a breakthrough battery: a betavoltaic power cell that lasts for 30 years without a recharge. Made from radioactive material (I am writing this from my underground bunker) the batteries end their life being completely inert and non-toxic, so they’re not as scary-bad as they sound. Here’s how it works:
AU: Word is out and about that this is nonsense science, so read on for what is being shot down as wishful thinking. Hopefully the researchers shoot back with a great ‘screw you’ demonstration of the technology real soon, ushering in a new dawn of portable power sources. -SB
Mitsubishi is developing a system that will automatically download real-time information about train and subway delays as well as estimated time of arrival whenever you wave your cellphone in front of it. Apparently, this system—which will be installed by the train car doors—is also capable of uploading a “delay certificate” to the phone. Then you will be able show it at work when you arrive late, instead of just saying that your grandfather died again, as usual. If you live in Japan, that is. Elsewhere you’ll keep killing grandpa until he is 245 years old. [Gizmodo Japan] More »
Betty is a 22-watt, 1400-lumen bicycle lamp that you can buy from Gretna Bikes. And it’s expensive—at 84¢ per lumen, the grand total is $1,185. It is, however, the light of all lights for cyclists— just have a look at what it can do below. More »
Last week, Adam set about crushing unwanted gadgets with such glee that I think our Japanese brethren have found the perfect present for him at CEATEC. The CrushBox will pulverize everything from cards, cellphones, CD/DVD to videotape (are you listening Paris, Meg, Eva, Pamela?)—in short, anything gadget-y or tech-y that could compromise you. There’s a pic of the results below. More »
This is the new Hitachi New Style TV, a 32″ LCD television that is not only ultra-thin at 0.75-inch (1.9cm) thick, but looks absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, it’s just a prototype of the final model, which will come in 2009. Sony better hurry up scaling up their new XEL-1. [Gizmodo Japan]
newVideoPlayer("resolia_gawker.flv", 475, 376); Behold the Resolia, Mitsubishi’s 140-inch display that’s been getting Ooh-ed and Aah-ed in Tokyo this week. Full measurements are 120 x × 70 x 5.9 inches, but after all the excitement of Sony’s OLED goodness yesterday, it leaves us wanting—well — less. [Gizmodo Japan] More »
Within the barrage of new and boring video players at CEATEC2007, Toshiba demoed today a Qosmio laptop equipped with their new SpursEngine. The SpursEngine is a processor loaded with four Cell Broadband Engine cores—called Synergistic Processing Elements—the same technology inside the PS3. The new processor, which also has MPEG-2 and H.264 encoding/decoding units, is designed to handle images and video bypassing the CPU or the graphic card, doing all sorts of magic to it, like real-time face recognition of video streams, like they showed in their demo:
