Gadgets and New Technologies

Researchers at one Japanese university are looking to make controlling your devices even easier, so you don’t even have to touch them. If their research is successful, in the near future, controlling devices around your home could be as easy as a wink of your eye.

The researchers, led by Kazuhiro Taniguchi, at Osaka University, have developed a remote system based on winking, which intends to do just that. The system, which is called the Kome Kami Switch, or Temple Switch, consists of a single-chip computer and a couple of infrared sensors to measure the movement of the eyelid.

(Read the full post about ‘Wink to your favorite song on your iPod’…)

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Posted Mar 3rd 2008 1:20PM by Thomas RickerFiled under: Handhelds Yeah, we know. We’ve seen this EB MID engineering sample kicking around for nearly a year now. However, this is the first time we’ve seen it running a rock-solid, VoIP application on that tiny Silverthorne, eh hrm, Atom processor. So solid, in fact, that Intel purposely crashes the OS while the VoIP call keeps on kicking. That piece of magic comes via VirtualLogix who keep the network stack and audio running in a virtualized Linux instance while the main OS reboots. Pretty compelling glimpse of a future without voice contracts. Don’t believe us? Check the video after the break. (Read the full post about ‘Intel demos rock-solid VoIP call on MID’…)

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Posted Mar 3rd 2008 3:05PM by Darren MurphFiled under: cellphonesJust days after the ITC upheld a December ruling that stated that Nokia did not violate Qualcomm patents, the UK High Court has handed down its decision on a lawsuit initially filed in May of 2006. (Read the full post about ‘UK High Court finds invalidity in Qualcomm’s patent dispute with Nokia’…)

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Sure, Charlie. Film photography is going to have a renaissance any day now. Meanwhile, in Realityville, Fujifilm has bowed to the onslaught of digital imaging by shutting down to photo processing plants that handled film jobs for several major retail chains. A total of 230 workers in Maryland and Indiana will get the sack, as Fuji shuttles its dwindling film business to other locations.Fuji shuts two photoprocessing plants [Adorama] (Read the full post about ‘Fuji Shuts Film Processing Plants’…)

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Posted Mar 3rd 2008 9:24AM by Thomas RickerFiled under: Desktops, Features, Gaming We’re still waiting for the official press release, but that’s ASUS first gaming desktop attempting to intimidate you from the CeBIT floor. The ARES CG6150 is said to offer “breathtaking performance in a menacing armor-cladded case.” We’ll see. One thing’s for sure, they’ve taken more than a few design hints from Alienware. Republic of gamers, unite!Gallery: Eyes-on ASUS’ first gaming desktop: ARES CG6150 (Read the full post about ‘Eyes-on ASUS’ first gaming desktop: ARES CG6150′…)

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I knew it. Vista simply wasn’t ready for prime time. Some internal documents that emerged from a class-action lawsuit over Vista Capable illustrated that hardware vendor, Dell, pushed back on Microsoft to fix issues with Vista before launching. Microsoft knew fully well of Dell’s feedback as early as Aug 2005.

Microsoft has evolved considerably since their days of dubious business practices and shoddy software. Windows XP is actually a pretty stable OS and I’m not afraid that Windows 2003 Server is about to crash every day, so this news surprises me a bit. On the other hand, I suppose old habits die hard. *sigh*

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Here is some more USB goodness for you. This time, it’s not a toy or some novelty that sits on your desk sucking small amounts of power out of your computer, but something with a great deal of utility. The Powerstick is a essentially a portable battery that charges up by plugging into any USB slot. It can then in turn re-charge practically any mobile device, as long as there is an adapter available for it. So far, they (Powerstick) have adapters for things like cell phones (popular brands include: Sony Ericsson, LG, Nokia, Apple, blackberry, Samsung and Motorola), iPods and other devices that charge using mini-USB adapters (ex: Bluetooth headsets). Gimme! (Read the full post about ‘Powerstick: Emergency Power in a USB Stick for your Mobile Devices’…)

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20Q Handheld (version 2) Quite simply, 20Q is a wonder of modern science. Using the latest AI technology it is a handheld version of the classic ‘yes/no’ game, asking a series of questions and then guessing the object you’re thinking of. See price (Read the full post about ‘20Q Handheld (version 2)’…)

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While Bluetooth headsets may be very functional, they tend to leave the user looking kind of like a ‘tool’ however this new military styled headset takes that look to a whole new level. Thanks to Roadrunner we now have their latest Bluetooth headset that takes on more of a military than a regular guy appearance. The Roadrunner Bluetooth Communicator uses a larnyx microphone which is said to allow your voice to be “directly transmitted from the larynx, with noise suppression of up to 10 dB.” It also offers up to 9 hours of talk time with a full charge in as little as 2 hours. Aside from looking like a ‘tool’, and in all fairness the headset would have some good times for use, such as when riding a motorcycle. (Read the full post about ‘Roadrunner Bluetooth headset; Is this for civilians or military?’…)

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Designer Nuno Teixeira has come up with the iView concept that features a wrap-around display complete with a secondary LCD built right into the back - making it suitable for students as well as those involved in the graphic design field. Why not go for broke in the concept by throwing in a couple more webcams? I’m willing to wager my family jewels that this concept won’t be materialized anytime soon, as the final retail price would be way too exorbitant for anyone. (Read the full post about ‘iView Concept’…)

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