conversion
Science
Team Doubles Efficiency of Thermoelectric Material: Good News for Car Electrics
7:24PM Kit Eaton | Scientists at Ohio State University have taken a thermoelectric material that’s been used for decades to power deep-space probes, and worked out how to double its efficiency. That’s good news: thermoelectrics convert heat directly into electrical energy. By catching exhaust heat, the new material may allow car alternators to be replaced… and that’ll push up the efficiency of car engines. The team doped lead telluride with tiny amounts of thallium, which adjusts the crystal structure and increases its heat-electricity conversion efficiency from around 6% to over 10%. Even better, since engineers have years of experience of working with lead telluride, it should be easy to commercialise the product. Environmentalists will have to be pleased, and relax about the high toxicity of thallium, though. [Technology Review] More »
_
FALTIMA 010 Saves LPs to Just About Anything
10:31PM Mark Wilson | The Faltima 010 (we refuse to the the all caps brand name for this article) is not just another record player that can digitize your old LPs. It’s a record player that can digitize your old LPs to MP3s and put them on anything. Users can save music to CD, USB devices (the company claims straight to your DAP), and even SD cards. We’re not certain that one needs to rip LPs to all of these different formats, but the option is nice all the same. It’s a Japan only product at the moment that will be sold for an unspecified price. OK LP lovers, you sat through this whole article. Now feel free to brag about your rarest vintage albums in the comments. [product via akihabaranews] More »
_
Video To JesusPhone Conversion Software Showdown
1:11PM Seamus Byrne | Shiny new toys beget hordes of software utilities to make them easier to use, and the iPhone is no exception. Today’s battle: video conversion software. The first offering is the aptly-named DVD to iPhone software from underdog Innovative Solutions. Four mouse clicks will have you transferring Entourage reruns with blazing-fast “Cyberspeed” technology. What software Goliath emerges to challenge this brave David? That behemoth is none other than Roxio, hardened veteran of the utility software realm. Its latest offering is Roxio Crunch, a simple-to-use conversion program with output settings for Apple TV, iPod and iPhone. A few clicks will handle all the grunt work here, too, and the added functionality of batch conversion and automatic iTunes integration puts it a step above the competition. Can David conquer Goliath? Not this time. If you’re dying for a cheap(er) solution to your video problem, check out DVD to iPhone’s free trial, or shell out the $30 if you’re on a small business kick. Mac users be warned: DVD to iPhone is, ironically, PC only. If you’re on a Mac or just want something that looks, feels and acts like a more polished product, you’ll need to drop $40 for Roxio’s Crunch. [DVD to iPhone Product Page] [Roxio Crunch Product Page] More »
_
DVD to iPhone Software Converts Video to JesusPhone With One Big Button
11:39AM Seamus Byrne | If you’re a big fan of the easy button and want to apply its simplifying logic to your fancy new iPhone, check out Innovative Solutions’ new DVD to iPhone software. Using “Cyberspeed technology,” it will take any DVD, AVI, MPEG or other downloaded video content and convert it to optimized iPhone dimensions. So how speedy is this “Cyberspeed” thing? They claim a feature-length film takes 45 minute to convert, but see for yourself with the free trial. If you like it, the full version is a $30 download. Unfortunately for Apple users, it won’t run on Mac OS X? Product Page [DVDtoiPhone via Popgadget] More »
_
