Can’t get enough of the multitouch features on your new macbook air or Pro? Mac developer Will Henderson has come up with a nifty way to get even more mileage out of those pinches, swipes and rotations. His new MultiClutch app actually lets you assign custom keyboard shortcuts in a given app to the standard gestures now available on the Air and Pro.Says Henderson:Want swipes to change tabs in Safari? Done. The same in iChat? Done. Want zoom-in to open emails in Mail, zoom-out to close windows in every app, and a swipe down to bring up Quicksilver? (Read the full post about ‘Beef Up Your MultiTouch with ‘MultiClutch’’…)
Now here’s a neat looking DIY project, putting your Magellan GPS navigation system to different use, by integrating it into a robot. Robots traverse a pre-defined course dealing with various obstacles along the way. Waypoints may be marked with objects that the robot must touch or come within a specified distance. The robots will be guided primarily by GPS and vision systems. Robots will be fully autonomous, but do not necessarily have to be self contained, i.e. it is ok to have a laptop with a wireless or even wired link to the robot. Sounds like a totally innovative remote controlled robot to toy around with! (Read the full post about ‘GPS-Guided Robot’…)
Posted Mar 3rd 2008 2:36PM by Donald MelansonFiled under: cellphonesIt’s barely been a month since Acer dropped a big chunk of cash to buy up 75% of Packard Bell, but it looks like the company still had plenty of money left to throw around, as it’s now parted with a hefty $290 million to buy up 100% of Glofiish smartphone-maker E-Ten. According to Acer itself, the boards of both E-Ten and Acer approved the deal unanimously, and they expect the acquisition to close sometime during the third quarter of this year. Any other details, however, are expectedly light, including any word on how future devices would be branded, with Acer chairmen J.T. (Read the full post about ‘Acer snaps up Glofiish-maker E-Ten for $290 million’…)
The Pneumatic Antenna Launcher is a DIY project that can be used to project an aerial up and over a tree (or other high positions) - all you need to do is wrap the wire around the tennis ball and take aim. Guess this is where your reception will be as good (or as bad) as your aim. Tags: PDA, DAB, electronic toys, home cinema (Read the full post about ‘Pneumatic Antenna Launcher’…)
Aah, the old "wire is wire" debate, in which demanding audiophiles insist or deny that you need premium cables to get decent sound. The latest ammo comes from a couple of wisacres at Audioholics, who did a blind listening test of of a high-end system where the only difference was the speaker connection — $100 Monster cables, premium Belden wire and straightened coat hangers. By and large, the panel couldn’t tell the difference.Do Coat Hangers Sound As Good Monster Cables? [The Consumerist] Tags: consumer technology, tests, toys, video games (Read the full post about ‘Coat Hanger Beats Pricey Audio Cables’…)
hanging harry light pull Most closets still have lights with pull strings attached instead of switches. Well convert that old pull string into a hangman?s noose with the Hanging Harry Light Pull. At the end of the rope is poor dead Harry, forever hanging by his neck and assisting you with turning on the lights. Morbid? Yes. Funny? Absolutely! Technorati Tags: gadgets For Her Tags: audio, consumer technology, PDA, AAC (Read the full post about ‘hanging harry light pull’…)
Posted Mar 3rd 2008 6:23AM by Thomas RickerFiled under: cellphones, Features Regardless of the cause, we certainly like the trend of these enhanced touch-screen UIs dominating the high-end cellphone market. Now meet ASUS’ GUI slickness destined for their newest touchscreen devices including the ZX1. Starting with a Windows Mobile 6.1 core, ASUS slathers on a new customizable Multi-Home 3D interface meant to simplify access to your today screen, life and business applications. Think HTC’s TouchFlo only sexier. ASUS even threw in some “album cover flow” to the media app and the ability to more easily manipulate all your digital media with enhanced figure gestures. (Read the full post about ‘ASUS’ new touchscreen GUI prettifies Windows Mobile 6.1′…)
Posted Mar 3rd 2008 9:45AM by Paul MillerFiled under: GPS, HandheldsWe’ve seen ourselves some major ugly in the past when it comes to rugged devices, so while this new Getac PS535E won’t be swiping any work from Jonathan Ive in the near future, it won’t make him cry either, which is certainly a step in the right direction. The internals are decent as well, with GPS, 802.11b/g WiFi and Bluetooth, a 400MHz Samsung processor, 64MB of SDRAM and 2GB of flash storage. There’s a transflective 3.5-inch QVGA touchscreen fronting the device, and Windows Mobile 5.0 Premium is holding it all together. No word on price or availability. (Read the full post about ‘Getac’s rugged PS535E Windows Mobile handheld does GPS’…)
The trend in computing technology has moved away from raw power in the last couple of years to focus more on power consumption. Companies like Intel are working harder to find a balance that allows them to get you the most bang for your watt. The latest group of chips to be announced from the CPU leader is the Atom. With a name like Atom, you’d expect to see something rather small, and that’s exactly what you’re going to get. This is the smallest processor ever offered by Intel. The chip will become part of the new Centrino Atom platform which like the previous iterations of Centrino will bring us laptops that feature integrated-graphics, WiFi chips and low-power consumption CPUs which are thin and light with exceptional battery life. (Read the full post about ‘Intel shows off their new aptly-named Atom processor’…)
Sega’s Body Trainer is one gaming peripheral that aims for you to move that body of yours instead of just lounging in the living room, vegetating your summer away. This unique device comes with all the electronics stored within the headset itself. All you need to do is enter your vital statistics, select a level of exercise and the Body Trainer will automatically select the pace of the music to optimize your routine. No idea how the technology works to get you sweating, but not sure if it is going to actually help you achieve those lofty fitness goals. (Read the full post about ‘Sega Body Trainer’…)
