Friday, August 22, 2008
Science
Intel Explains In What Year We’ll Be Cyborgs But Terminators Will Kill Us Anyway
11:45PM Mark Wilson | 2050. That’s the year that you’ll plug your brain into a toaster. Intel doesn’t know how, precisely, but according to Intel CTO Justin Rattner’s recent keynote at the Intel Developer Forum, they’re working on it. From Intel’s summary of the event: More »
Computers
Acer Drops Price of Aspire One to Impulse Buy Territory
11:30PM Mark Wilson | Acer’s Aspire One was already one of the most affordable 8.9″ mini-notebooks on the market, but now they’ve gone and dropped the price further while adding a 6-cell battery version to the mix. The Windows XP version (120GB hard drive and 1GB RAM has been reduced US$50 from US$400 to US$350. Their Linux system (8GB SSD and 512MB RAM) dropped US$50 as well from US$380 to US$330. Oh, and those of you wanting the 6-cell system can pick it up for the old price of the 3-cell, US$400. So is Acer worried about the competition from a potentially US$300 Dell system? We don’t know, but we sure do like seeing prices going down for once. And for the time being, the Aspire One is probably the best deal in the mini-notebook market. [Laptop] More »
Networks
Google Courting Verizon to Become Exclusive Search App on All Phones
11:15PM John Mahoney | The WSJ is reporting on a deal that’s close to completion between Google and Verizon Wireless, our second-largest mobile carrier, to become the exclusive search tech across all of their phones–potentially bringing a Google search bar to the homescreen of every VZW piece. Aside from the obvious web and local searching, the Google engine would replace Verizon’s proprietary content search for ringtones, apps, and the like. Both parties would split ad revenues, which Google is extra excited about for the location-based ad serving capabilities. If the deal reaches completion, look for a decidedly more elegant search on Verizon’s phones, from top to bottom. [WSJ] More »
Gadgets
Sexual Gadgets Can Now Be Seized at US Borders Too
11:00PM Jesus Diaz | First it was liquid bottles. Then laptops. And now they are seizing our penis extensors, penis pumpers, and other sexual gadgets. The FDA is saying that they represent a real risk and federal border agents have now a guideline to confiscate them at US territory entry points. The list would be hilarious if it weren’t so surreal and stupid: More »
Design
Holeder Earphones Concept Avoids Bacteria By Hanging in Your Ear
10:50PM Kit Eaton | These unlikely-looking earphones have been dreamed up by designer Yoonsang Kim to combat the bacteria build-up that normal in-ear ‘phones apparently have. They also hang together behind your neck when not in use, as a neat solution to that “oops my earphones are dangling” issue. There’s just one flaw I can spot: just peering at my ears, these things would not fit… they’d either painfully distort my shell-likes, or just pop out. I bet I’ve got you prodding your ears, or trying to peek in a mirror now, haven’t I? Still, it’s an interesting bit of lateral thinking, and the sort of thing some earphone maker might try at some point. [Yanko Design] More »
Computers
A Comprehensive List of Ultraportables, Netbooks, Mini-Notebooks, Or Whatever You Call Them
10:38PM Mark Wilson | When the Asus Eee came out, the market was simple. There was only one tiny, cheap laptop so you knew which one was for you. That was less than a year ago, but things move quickly in the tech world. Now it’s tough to keep up with the major brands offering mini-notebooks, let alone every no-name knockoff (where you may still find the better deals and innovation ). Luckily, Liliputing has created a comprehensive list of these machines so it’s easy to compare stats and prices. And there were a few that even we hadn’t heard about. More »
Vehicles
Flowerpower F-15 Breaks Mach 2, USAF to Start Painting Planes with Rainbows
9:54PM Jesus Diaz | The USAF keeps pushing forward the race towards cleaner skies–and leaner warmachine and potential global mayhem costs–moving from pure oil-derived fuel to a mixture between oil and synthetic fuel. The new benchmark is not a B1 bomber, which they already put through its paces using a similar mix, but a fighter jet: They broke the Mach 2 barrier using the new fuel mix in an F-15, which according to the Air Force is a crucial step: More »
Phones
LG’s KC910 is the New Viewty, With 8-Megapixel Camera
9:34PM Kit Eaton | Nearly two months ago we teased you with a mocking mock-up of LG’s upcoming KC910 mobile phone, but now over at Phone Arena there’s a real image, and official specs. The KC910 is a successor to the Viewty and it’s no image-slouch: there’s an 8-megapixel cam in that shiny body with a xenon flash, Schneider-Kreuznach lens, and shooting up to ISO 1600. It also does VGA video at 30fps and can do high-speed 120fps filming, though this is at QVGA resolution. There’s even GPS for geotagging your imagery and navigation. More »
Toys
SoulArc Skateboard Has One Big Spring for Surf-Alike Goodness
8:50PM Kit Eaton | There’s something about the simplicity of a skateboard that keeps designers coming back to revisit it… but the SoulArc board certainly seems a worthy reinvention. It’s designed to make skateboarding feel more like surfing, with a huge leaf-spring mounted between its long deck and the wheels: And it’s less unwieldy-looking than this previous effort. As you dig your heel in, the spring relaxes into corners, giving you more of a surfing-through-waves feeling. There’s a video of the board in action after the gallery.
Gadgets
