I suppose that the military has been looking for more remotely piloted aircrafts since the MQ-1 Predator, and it appears they have been going to colleges for their next one. They have given the University of Michigan a $10 million dollar grant to come up with a “six-inch robotic spy plane modeled after a bat”. I don’t know if the picture to the left here is their prototype, but you have to admit that it certainly looks neat. Not only is the COM-BAT (it’s official name?) designed for reconnaissance, but the military wants it to “gathers data from sights, sounds and smells in urban combat zones and transmit information back to a soldier in real time”. (Read the full post about ‘COM-BAT Experimental Surveillance Flyer’…)
Let’s get ready to rumble! Sony once said it couldn’t be done, but after settling some legal troubles, we know it’s possible to have motion-sensing technology and rumble in the same controller. The official unit–the Dual Shock 3–is already out in Japan, and will come to the U.S. in mid-April. But Nyko’s already beaten Sony to market, offering a third-party solution to get your cake and eat it, too. Read on to find out if Nyko’s PS3 solution is as good as its Cord-Free for Wii Nunchuck. The box is pretty jam-packed, and it’s immediately clear that you’re getting a lot more technology than in the sixaxis controller, which comes with the PS3. (Read the full post about ‘Review: Nyko’s Zero Wireless Controller for PS3′…)
Posted Mar 20th 2008 3:45PM by Donald MelansonFiled under: RobotsWhile it doesn’t exactly come as much of a surprise, a team of researchers from ATR Laboratories in Kyoto, Japan have found that people are more accepting of robots if they engage in a little small talk during conversations, as opposed to leaving unnerving silences that make folks unclear of their intentions. The researchers also found that of the 38 people surveyed, most were willing to accept delays in responses of one or two seconds, but that they much preferred if the robot threw in a “well” or “er” to fill the gap if it was taking any longer for them to muster up an answer. Of course, as we all know, just because a robot shoots the breeze with you doesn’ (Read the full post about ‘Researchers find folks prefer robots that engage in small talk’…)
The vCard is supposedly a business card for the 21st Century. You load up your information in video and audio form and then pass them out like cheap promotional pens. The problem is, they’re not cheap promotional pens. There’s no way a self-contained multimedia player can hope to cost anything near a regular dead-tree business card, which is probably why there is no price list on the site. It has a “super high-resolution 2.7″ video screen, stereo speakers (which are “acoustic”!) and “super powered lithium batteries”. Does anyone else detect the whiff of vaporware? So we shall assume that this thing is completely impractical and instead focus on the amusing uses the maker suggests for it. (Read the full post about ‘VCard: Business Card Redux’…)
The NZXT Tempest Gaming Chassis is one mean looking PC case, featuring half a dozen fans that ensures every single processor inside will remain cool, thanks to superior airflow generated. In detail, the fans consist of two 120mm intake fans, a pair of 140mm exhaust fans, and one side and one rear 120mm fan to complete the happy family. You also get pre-drilled cable routing holes that make it a snap to store excess cabling right behind the motherboard, reducing the chances of restricted airflow. The 8 hard drive bays are also positioned right in front of the two intake fans, making sure all of them operate at optimal temperature even if you’re out in the Sahara. The NZXT Tempest will retail for $99. (Read the full post about ‘NZXT Tempest Gaming Chassis’…)
Posted Mar 20th 2008 11:35AM by Joshua TopolskyFiled under: Handhelds Sure, Philippe Starck may not care for the Kindle, but an open letter posted on Amazon’s front page suggests he’s in the minority. We already knew that the company was having a difficult time filling orders, but we had no idea the wait for buyers would warrant what amounts to a public apology from Jeff Bezos. Apparently, the online superstore is drawing heat for six-week delays on delivery for some customers, and is scrambling to get itself into an “order today, ship today” scheme. (Read the full post about ‘Jeff Bezos posts Kindle apology on Amazon’s front page’…)
It is quite an understandable fact that there is an obvious necessity to help the elderly. Due to their age they often get things wrong, so it’s almost impossible for them to do everything by themselves. Thus, all of us who do love them and want to keep them around for as long as possible try to use all the means in order to help them. With that in mind, the creators of the “Health Guard” concept for Nokia believe that the best way to keep them around is to track their every movement. The new gadget designed by Marcela Kawka and Izabela Cichecka represents a two-piece monitoring station that controls (via RFID - Radio Frequency Identification - a technology that uses tiny computer chips to track items such as consumer commodities at distance) what the elderly consume: expired foods, medicine, possible allergens and nutritional information. (Read the full post about ‘Nokia’s Health guard’…)
Apple has begun testing the water with music companies over new business models to offer consumers music via its ipod and iPhone. The two new models under consideration are an unlimited plan and a subscription plan.
The unlimited plan would be available for both the iPod and the iphone. Users would pay a premium when they first bought the device of their choice, and in return, they would get as much free music as they like from iTunes. That offer would last for the entire life of the device.
The subscription plan would only be offered to iPhone owners with a predicted cost of no more than US$8 a month.
(Read the full post about ‘Apple discussing unlimited music deal for iPod/iPhone’…)
Posted Mar 20th 2008 4:57AM by Thomas RickerFiled under: Desktops, Digital Cameras After this morning’s whispered layoffs, we’re digging deep to bring you a bit of good news about AMD. VESA just announced that AMD’s ATI Radeon HD 3000 series (and the 780G integrated graphics chipset) are the first graphics cards in the Industry granted DisplayPort certification. About time since Dell’s 30-inch 3008WFP monitor has been shipping since December. Way to go Paula AMD, way to go! [Via tgdaily]Tags: video, home cinema, games, design (Read the full post about ‘First! AMD’s Radeon HD 3000 graphics cards now DisplayPort certified’…)
Now I know that solar power is renewable (at least until our sun explodes and engulfs the earth), but isn’t a solar-powered alarm clock taking things a little too far? It might be more suitable for camping purposes, but by all intent if you plan to use this at home, you’d better keep your fingers crossed that there isn’t an important appointment to meet the next morning. Better to be safe than sorry despite the manufacturer’s claim that a single day’s exposure of sunlight is more than enough to power this alarm clock for a year without being juiced up again. The solar-powered alarm clock retails for £29.99 and looks too plasticky for my liking. (Read the full post about ‘Solar Powered Alarm Clock’…)
