Alienware’s iconic cases might have the X-Files fanboy segment of the gaming desktop market still swooning, but Asus is refreshing it with a little more evil styling for its first gaming PC that looks more like a Decepticon’s head. It almost looks like it’ll open up and tell you in a booming robot voice how hard you suck when you get your face rocked in UT3.
About a week ago it was confirmed that Pioneer was killing off its 42-inch plasmas to focus on sets bigger than 50 inches. Now Japan’s Nikkei and Reuters are reporting that they’re going to cease making plasma panels entirely, and will buy them from Matsushita (Panasonic). This follows a similar consolidation trend in the LCD market. But none of them went from putting out the best TVs in the world to effectively buying their heart and soul from their fiercest rival, either, which makes this a bit more shocking. [Reuters]
When most people sit on the train next to somebody blaring their iPod so loudly that the rest of the carriage can hear, they have three options. They can run the risk of getting stabbed by asking them to turn it down; they can get up and move to another location in the train; or they can just try and ignore it. Australian design student Leonard Kanas brings a fourth option to the table, in the shape of the Aura Bone Conduction Headset.
His concept is for a headset that works off bone conduction technology. That means that rather than blasting out sound from a couple of speakers, the headset resonates the user’s skull, which is picked up by the cochlea and interpreted as sound. It also keeps your ears free, so not only will you be able to hear external sounds (like traffic, for example), but you also won’t be doing any damage to your hearing by having your earphones up too loud.
The Aura would use Bluetooth technology to transmit sound into your skull, and includes four speakers so you can really crank up that vibration. It’s also powered by infrared solar power, so charging it should be cheap if it ever comes makes it to market.
If you are looking for a serious solution for your home media streaming needs, D-Link’s new DIR-855 Wireless N Router is offering simultaneous full-on dual 802.11n transmissions over both 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels. So, for those with heavy bandwith needs—this router will allow two people to go to town using their own independent high-speed channel.
According to NokNok, a meeting with Will Shen, N-Gage’s Head of Production in North America, revealed that Nokia is looking to use GPS and phone camera functionality as a utility in games. In fact, Shen noted that any functionality a phone may posses could be used to make a game more interactive. For example, users could be asked to take photographs that would be analysed by the game for relevance using “clever techniques,” then “feed” those images to an in-game character.
Scientists at the Britannia Royal Navy College are working hard to make the idea of an invisible ship a reality using metamaterials that refract light in such a way that it “bends” around an object, making it appear as if it were invisible. This would only account for viewing with the naked eye however—naturally radar cloaking would be an important part of the equation. However, it appears that this technology may be able to accomplish a lot more.
What do you do when you have a few transistors, some capacitors, a lot of mirrors, a bunch of HandiTak and one laser? If you are McGyver, probably a intercontinental ballistic missile interceptor. If you are Kipkay, you’ll do a laser-based home alarm system similar to the one used in Entrapment, the movie. And if this wasn’t a good enough excuse to post the picture above, you can jump to see the video on how it is all done.
Pioneer have announced that they can kick it with the big boys when it comes to satnav, thanks to their new AVIC-F500BT. It’s an in-dash unit – complete with all the power options and amplifier that comes with in-dash satnavs – that can be popped out and used as a portable unit whenever you wish.
So, ultimately, it’s the holy grail of satnavs. When it’s in your car’s dash, you can use it not only as a satnav, but as a control system for your iPod, MP3 player, Bluetooth handsfree kit and, with the right connections, even as a screen for an installed reverse camera.
When you pop it out, you get to take the latest version of Where is mapping on the 5.8-inch screen anywhere you wish, including other vehicles. The text-to-speech navigation is also available in portable mode.
The entire setup can be installed in practically any car, and will be launching in Australia at the end of Autumn. There’s no word on pricing just yet, but don’t expect it to be sub $1,000.
Ever since Mozilla began work on a mobile version of its Firefox browser, convincing mobile operators to allow it has been an uphill battle. Naturally, an open internet would be a great benefit to users, but the operators would lose precious revenue from content providers. They would also have to contend with the expensive problem of beefing up their 3G networks. Unfortunately, open internet access is going to be a battleground for mobile operators whether they like it or not. Let’s hope they can figure it out soon—Mozilla plans on dropping their mobile browser by the end of 2008.[Computer World and PC World via IntoMobile]
My parents have reached the awkward age of “pretty old”, which means they’re so picky about cleanliness that they carry their own chopsticks out to eat. Rather than call them weirdos, which I already have, I can buy them these FlipSticks folding chopsticks. This way they can fit two sets in the space of a single pair, plus have something to fiddle with while complaining about the wait staff. Then again, it’s US$22 for a pair, which has to violate some kind of obscenity law in a Southern state. [Amazon via Uncrate]
