Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
Click to viewAndy Woerner and his crazy rocketeer friends have built a 21-foot long X-Wing model that can actually fly. Yes, this is a real X-Wing powered by four solid-fuel rocket engines complete with radio-controlled moving wings. It blasts off in California next week, and we talked with Andy about the project, and how they…
The article below appeared in the January 3, 1908 Des Moines Daily News (Des Moines, Iowa) under the title, “The Poor Past Centuries.” The piece describes a ceremony in Paris where phonographic records were buried beneath an opera house, to be opened in 2007. Sadly, I have not heard if this treasure has been unearthed…
Home Theater Magazine‘s Geoff Morrison is calling the Pioneer Elite Kuro 110-FD plasma TV the “greatest flat panel ever.” Here are the highlights: • Black level is “lower than any other flat panel we’ve ever measured.” • “Full-on/full-off contrast ratio…is nearly double that of the next best flat panel.” • Watching Pirates of the Caribbean,…
Thanks to Gibson’s Powertune system, now even tin-eared guitarists can push a button, strum the guitar a few times, and then it’s as if a ghost has taken over the machine, turning the tuning pegs until the guitar is accurately tuned. It tunes each string to within .02 cent, which is pretty damn close to…
We’re fairly certain this news is from an overseas press release and not just rumor fun, but apparently Asus has a new smartphone on the way. The Asus p527 (successor to the P526) may still be limited to EDGE, but this quadband GSM phone is exciting nonetheless. In full metallic build, the P527 features Windows…
V-Moda’s Vibe Duos have been out since July, but even though they had an iPhone-friendly 3.5mm jack and an inline microphone, buyers complained about the lack of a “clicker,” a button to take calls without touching the iPhone. Well, whine and ye shall receive: the new V-Moda Vibe Duo has it, and at no extra…
After seeing that Rube Goldberg masterpiece we showed you yesterday, we didn’t think it could possibly be topped, but wait a doggone second. Here’s another elaborate machine, and this one actually has a dubious purpose: to unroll toilet paper. While this presentation is not a one-shot proof that this outdoor machine can make it through…
The Booze Drip appears to take all of the fun out of drinking, deconstructing the past time to the cold, hard science of blood alcohol levels. And we know what you’re thinking: “Thanks?” But the Booze Drip does not actually circumvent your mouth with a direct vein feed for your alcohol, as one might assume…
You know the test you have to take on Digg or Facebook, the one that proves you’re a human? You see a hard-to-read word or string of gibberish, and you type in the correct characters. Carnegie Mellon researchers decided to replace randomly generated words with actual words from ancient manuscripts, words that machines are having…
We had all but given up on exciting new PMPs before seeing this new Toshiba Gigabeat prototype. And while Akihabara News has technically labeled it a DAP (audio only), we’re expecting that its gorgeous OLED 3.2″ WQVGA screen will find a use for our movies and TV shows as well. Sure, the display isn’t as…
In the days when intense UV radiation is of a constant threat to our eyes, looking has become a chore. That’s why the $48 rotary Zihotch Watch is so promising. You simply dial…err…pull “117” and the watch will read you the time, just like the old days when you had to call people to look…
Research funded by the US Air Force Research Laboratory has come up with a breakthrough battery: a betavoltaic power cell that lasts for 30 years without a recharge. Made from radioactive material (I am writing this from my underground bunker) the batteries end their life being completely inert and non-toxic, so they’re not as scary-bad…
Mitsubishi is developing a system that will automatically download real-time information about train and subway delays as well as estimated time of arrival whenever you wave your cellphone in front of it. Apparently, this system—which will be installed by the train car doors—is also capable of uploading a “delay certificate” to the phone. Then you…
Betty is a 22-watt, 1400-lumen bicycle lamp that you can buy from Gretna Bikes. And it’s expensive—at 84 per lumen, the grand total is $1,185. It is, however, the light of all lights for cyclists— just have a look at what it can do below. There’s a custom-designed lens system for optimal beam quality and…
Last week, Adam set about crushing unwanted gadgets with such glee that I think our Japanese brethren have found the perfect present for him at CEATEC. The CrushBox will pulverize everything from cards, cellphones, CD/DVD to videotape (are you listening Paris, Meg, Eva, Pamela?)—in short, anything gadget-y or tech-y that could compromise you. There’s a…
This is the new Hitachi New Style TV, a 32″ LCD television that is not only ultra-thin at 0.75-inch (1.9cm) thick, but looks absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, it’s just a prototype of the final model, which will come in 2009. Sony better hurry up scaling up their new XEL-1. [Gizmodo Japan] https://gizmodo.com/sonys-3mm-thick-xel-1-oled-tv-finally-revealed-japanes-305470
Behold the Resolia, Mitsubishi’s 140-inch display that’s been getting Ooh-ed and Aah-ed in Tokyo this week. Full measurements are 120 x 70 x 5.9 inches, but after all the excitement of Sony’s OLED goodness yesterday, it leaves us wanting—well — less. [Gizmodo Japan] https://gizmodo.com/sonys-3mm-thick-xel-1-oled-tv-finally-revealed-japanes-305470
Within the barrage of new and boring video players at CEATEC2007, Toshiba demoed today a Qosmio laptop equipped with their new SpursEngine. The SpursEngine is a processor loaded with four Cell Broadband Engine cores—called Synergistic Processing Elements—the same technology inside the PS3. The new processor, which also has MPEG-2 and H.264 encoding/decoding units, is designed…
Nokia has signed an exclusive deal with News Corp., Sony Pictures and CNN, allowing them to distribute content directly to Nokia handsets. That cuts the carriers straight out of the deal, and they are unlikely to be pleased by the arrangement. Apparently, Nokia has already begun embedding new N95s with the links required for direct…
Sony pulled the cover off their new PRS-505 Reader today, which features a new body, a few new tricks, and a few dressed up old ones. Instead of black, the Sony Reader now comes in silver or dark blue. In addition to the color change, Sony is touting the redesigned button layout, claiming a more…