Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
Panasonic may have “announced” the ToughBook CF-U1 back in March, but it’s only now getting around talking speeds, feeds and wallet drain. Even though it uses Intel’s “low cost” 1.33GHz Atom Z520 processor, the little ruggedized UMPC will arrive in August (or later, if the rumored Atom delay is true) at a starting price of…
Vacuums, done. Hand driers, done. Now James Dyson is turning his attentions elsewhere. He thinks that he can build a better engine for electric cars. And his plan seems reasonable enough… As of now, Dyson uses the patented Dyson Digital Motor in both the aforementioned vacuums and air blade. A lightweight motor that turns 10,000…
With Bill Gates saying good-bye to Microsoft this week, we’re realizing more by the day how much we’ll miss the guy. And when reading through the many interviews floating around this week, we came across this jewel from 2003. A leaked memo from Microsoft, it’s several pages of Gates just laying into his design and…
This tiny puppy, named Hope, was born without front legs. You know what that means: it was time to create a robopuppy. Orthotist David Turnbill created a custom support for Hope using a couple of model airplane wheels, and each one of the “legs” can move up and down independently, allowing Hope to pivot and…
This summer, NYC is installing a handful of giant, 120-foot-tall waterfalls in the East River and under the Brooklyn Bridge. The art installation will be turned on fully tomorrow, but here are the first shots of the Brooklyn Bridge waterfall in action, taken during a pre-dawn test yesterday morning by photographer Vincent Laforet. It looks…
Okay, so the BlackBerry Bold doesn’t even have an official release date yet, but Boy Genius’s RIM spies (who have a solid track record) say that it’s been pushed back into August, courtesy of “software issues with battery life and overheating,” so AT&T hasn’t certified it yet. But apparently it’s just fine for Canadians. Color…
According to Merriam Webster, fulguration means “the act or process of flashing like lightning” and that’s kind of the principle behind artist Julius von Bismarck‘s device. It’s a reactive flash image-projector…or, to put it another way, a real-world hack of other people’s photos. Sounds sinister, looks sinister…works great. Adapted from a flash gun and an…
The PS3 firmware update you’ve really, really been waiting for-2.40, which brings in XMB access and achievements-you’re gonna have to wait a little longer for. Like, ’til E3. CVG says that Sony’s holding the update back for its address at E3 in about three weeks. But, to tide you over, they’ve got the supposed full…
Let’s just put this out there: LG’s Dare is (or will be) the best touchscreen phone in Verizon’s lineup. It’s not quite as feature rich as the Instinct, but it corrects a lot of the Voyager’s flaws, from the touchscreen to the music player, as you can see in our video walkthrough and massive gallery.…
It appears that the rumors were right, kinda fake telecom provider Virgin Mobile will buy kinda fake telecom provider Helio. Once the acquisition is complete, Virgin Mobile will consume Helio and hopefully become stronger from the nourishment, but the trendy Helio logo will be gone forever. Since both companies run on Sprint’s network, it shouldn’t…
Details on Mistubishi’s LaserVue, the rear-projection 1080p televison that uses frickin’ laser beams to display exceptionally rich color, are pouring out. The TV set will come in 65″ and 73″ varities when it ships in Q3 this year. It’s 10″ deep, thin by historical standards, but still somewhat thick for today’s tastes, but the 120Hz…
If you’ve been eagerly awaiting the launch of the HP TouchSmart IQ504-an all-in-one 22″ touchscreen PC with a Core 2 Duo processor, integrated graphics and an impressive 4GB of RAM-it’s shipping now off of HP’s site and retailers like Circuit City. If only we didn’t suffer from greasy hand syndrome, that $1,249.99 pricetag would be…
According to Softbank’s founder, Masayoshi Son, the iPhone 3G will sell out completely within hours of its debut in Japan, despite its contract-binding $214 (8GB) and $316 (16GB) price. I wonder if it will be the same in the rest of the world. Apparently, the rumors are that the iPhone 3G will start selling first…
From the same T3 concept design stable that brought us the 2010 Wiimote yesterday comes this piece of pure gadget fantasy. Ramming a XBox 360 and a Zunephone into a slender, shiny little package is always going to be a great idea… and would undoubtedly sell like hotcakes. But considering there’s no real Zune phone,…
Available for both iPod classic and nano, Marubeni Infotech’s wooden docks are coming out in Japan next month. In two finishes: American Walnut; and Scandinavian Birch, (*thwack!*) they have a USB connection and two piddly little 1W channels. Costing $100 and $90 respectively, they’re kinda cool, if you’re allergic to plastic. Bonus shot after the…
According to a sources inside the Cupertino’s iPhone software development effort, it is “highly probable” that the iPhone 2.0 Golden Master will be done this Friday. The final version could arrive to developer hands two weeks before the introduction of the new iPhone 3G and well in time for the promised July 11 release to…
The Di Grisogono Meccanica mechano-digital watch is indeed amazing, but I’m almost as impressed with Duncan Shotton’s Digimech clock (maybe it’s because it looks like I could afford it). The UK designer has crafted another take on mechanical-digital timepieces, with sliding black-patterned bars that comprise the individual seven-segment displays. And actually, that description does nothing…
There are a few reasons why I find myself strangely attracted to Moo. It’s made by a Norwegian company called Northern Exposure. You can mount on both inside and outside walls. It reminds me of my brother, whose nickname is Moose. Light-up antlers, baby (although the designers could have put a bit more light at…
Sometimes you just want to shut the world out and tackle the next level of your fave game, don’t you? The Ovei isolation pod, launched this week in the UK, will let you do just that. For the sum of $100,000. And before you fall about laughing, that cash will get you a unique capsule,…
The city of Sakai in Japan is going to have a glittering new “green” addition in 2010, when Sharp and Kansai Electric Power build two massive solar-electric power plants there. In a bid to make Sharp’s factories more eco-friendly, the two plants will generate 10 megawatts and 28 megawatts of electricity and reduce CO2 emissions…