Gadget, Tech and Science News Collection

Intel Hits 50 Gbps Throughput With Photonics [Lightspeed]

2010-07-28T14:02:00.000+03:00

When we last left the intrepid research scientists at Intel, they had managed to hit 40Gbps throughput using something called the Avalanche Photodetector. It’s been two years since that report (yeah, this has been in development for a while), and the gang at Intel have not been idle, let me tell you. They’ve managed to improve the field of photonics to achieve throughput of 50 Gbps! While not as much of an advance as one might like to see in two years, this is still a respectable achievement.

Here’s an explanatory video showing what exactly is going on.

People are talking about this like it’s some breakthrough that just happened, but it’s been in the works for years now, and is far from hitting the streets. Even Light Peak, Intel’s new high-speed standard aimed at consumers, isn’t ready for use yet.

We’ll let you know when this one is fully baked. Probably about two years from now.

[TechCrunch]

Surf around the internet, or it will revolve on you [Art]

2010-07-15T13:02:00.000+03:00

The following site does just what it says (I tested it on Chrome). It revolves the internet around while you surf. At a constant slow pace it will continue even when you're fighting your pointer's way to a link that's turning away from you.

Oh, and there's great soothing music in the background.

the revolving internet, constant dullaart 2010

It's a wonder how everything is working inside each and every page you reach.

Help! Teens Are Using Digital Drugs to Get High [Digital Drugs]

2010-07-15T09:06:00.000+03:00

Kids around the country are getting high on the internet, thanks to MP3s that induce a state of ecstasy. And it could be a gateway drug leading teens to real world narcotics.

At least that's what Kansas News 9 is reporting about a phenomenon called I-dosing, which involves finding an online dealer who can hook you up with 'digital drugs' that get you high through your headphones.

And officials are taking it seriously.

'Kids are going to flock to these sites just to see what it is about and it can lead them to other places,' Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs spokesman Mark Woodward told News 9.

I-dosing involves donning headphones and listening to 'music' - largely a droning noise - which the sites peddling the sounds promise will get you high. Teens are listening to such tracks as 'Gates of Hades,' which is available on YouTube gratis (yes, the first one is always free). Those who want to get addicted to the 'drugs' can purchase tracks that will purportedly bring about the same effects of marijuana, cocaine, opium and peyote. While street drugs rarely come with instruction manuals, potential digital drug users are advised to buy a 40-page guide so that they learn how to properly get high on MP3s.

Kansas' Mustang Public School district isn't taking the threat lightly, and sent out a letter to parents warning them of the new craze. The educators have gone so far as to ban iPods at school, in hopes of preventing honor students from becoming cyber-drug fiends, News 9 reports.

Here's a video of one wholesome kid getting high - startlingly so - on an MP3:

We at Threat Level are stunned and have hundreds of questions.

Will future presidential candidates defend their I-dosing past by saying, 'But I had it on mute'? Are we supposed to declare a war on cyber-drugs or a cyber-war on cyber drugs? How will police know if a teen is with headphones on is I-dosing or just listening to Justin Bieber? Is the iPod the bong of the future? What would happen if some ne'er do well took over the console of the Super Bowl and dosed the entire country? What if kids smoked dried banana peels and listened to these trippy tunes at the same time - could they O.D.? What happens if someone sells a tainted MP3?

Perhaps most importantly, what will happen if the kids move onto harder stuff like Steve Reich, Philip Glass or even Janet Cardiff's The Killing Machine?

Here's a sample of the heavy stuff that some light experimentation with drug drone music could lead to. (Note: The following video is only for informational purposes and should only be viewed by responsible adults.)

Image by doortoriver

Wired.com has been expanding the hive mind with technology, science and geek culture news since 1995.

Boeing's Egg-Shaped Hydrogen Spy Plane Flies for Four Days [Planes]

2010-07-13T18:39:00.002+03:00

This is Boeing's "Phantom Eye," a hydrogen-powered, unmanned spy plane that flies 65,000 feet above the ground and can fly for four days straight. Boeing hails it as the "first of its kind" — its looks alone set it apart for that honor.

[DVICE]

Tiny $9,000 Car Gets an Astounding 74mpg [Cars]

2010-07-13T00:00:00.000+03:00

Leave it to a Formula One race car engineer to create a car that's so cleverly designed it delivers 74 miles per gallon in a package that costs a mere $9,000. Barely big enough for one person, the T.25 is manufactured with a highly efficient process called iStream, lowering costs and simplifying repairs.

[DVICE]

An 80 Mile Long, 4.5 Billion Year Old Asteroid Gets Its Close Up [Asteroid]

2010-07-11T12:19:00.000+03:00

This is an up close picture of Lutetia, an asteroid that hangs out somewhere between Mars and Jupiter. It's the largest asteroid ever visited by a satellite.

The European Space Agency's Rosetta mission came within 2,000 miles of the asteroid and was able to capture images of Lutetia by using an OSIRIS (Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System) camera. The closest images got down to less than 200 feet in resolution. It's amazing how peaceful the asteroid looks, lumpy craters and all. Then you remember things like this can destroy planets.

Rosetta actually has bigger plans than the Lutetia, with its end destination being the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. We can't wait to see those pictures.
[Gizmodo via Wired]

Fantastic European Space Agency photo shows light from the time of the Big Bang [Astronomy]

2010-07-05T20:08:00.000+03:00

Oh, the joy this photo brings me. It was taken by the European Space Agency’s Planck telescope over the period of a year, and it shows, among other treasures, some of the oldest light in the universe. We’re talking light from right around the time of the Big Bang, light that’s 13.7 billion years old. I dare you to look at this and not be completely amazed.

A little big of explanation may be necessary.

The center disc-like structure? That’s the Milk Way—that’s us! If you look closely, you can see me collecting flowers in Red Dead Redemption.

Off toward the right are the stars that make up the Orion constellation. To the left, Perseus.

Now, here’s where it gets good. You see the comparatively sparse areas on the top and bottom? That would cosmic background microwave radiation, present since the time of the Big Bang.

Tremendous in every sense of the word.

Back to flower collecting…

[CrunchGear]

HTC HD3 Leak: Windows Phone 7 Mega-Phone With 4.5" AMOLED and 1.5GHz Snapdragon [Leaks]

2010-07-02T23:06:00.000+03:00

If Microsoft's swift Kin killing had you down on their mobile prospects, the leaked specs for the HTC HD3 might make you reconsider. Among them: a gigantic 4.5" AMOLED screen with 1280×800 resolution and 1.5 GHz Snapdragon processor.

The specs for this hulking slab of Windows Phone 7 come from the Chinese site PCOnline and they'd make even the Evo and Droid X blush:

4.5″ AMOLED screen with 1280×800 resolution

1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor

1080p HD video playback

720p HD video recording

8 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash

Multi-touch screen

Super-thin – just 10mm thick

WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G connectivity

4G connectivity for for blisteringly fast downloads that are over ten times as fast as today's HSDPA phones

1GB onboard RAM

1GB onboard ROM

32GB external memory

3.5″ headphone jack

HDMI output for connecting to your HDTV or monitor

1800mAh battery for super-long battery life

Bigger screen than the HD2, but a smaller overall physical size: 115mm x 65mm x 10mm

Like I said, if you had let your excitement for Windows Phone 7 simmer in the wake of the Kin's failure, the iPhone 4 launch, or the continued march of Android, well, this should bring it back to a boil (as long as you're of the opinion that bigger is indeed better).

[Gizmodo via MobilitySite]

BMW's gorgeous 'Megacity' electric vehicle gets real [Cars]

2010-07-02T22:24:00.001+03:00

You know all those awesome concept cars we're always showing you? BMW's 'Megacity' electric vehicle feels a lot like one of those, but the company actually has plans to bring this sleek, weird-wheeled-wonder out as early as 2013.

[DVICE]

Microsoft Announces InstaLoad, Batteries That Work Any Way You Insert Them [Instaload]

2010-07-01T23:22:00.000+03:00

Microsoft just introduced InstaLoad, a new battery technology that allows batteries to be placed in any direction without regard to positive or negative polarity. Meaning you can put a battery in however you want and it'll just work. It's genius.

InstaLoad uses a new, patented contact design that doesn't drain battery power or require expensive circuitry. Plus, it's compatible with off-the-shelf batteries used in flashlights, toys, battery chargers, and really anything that uses CR123, AA, AAA, C or D size batteries. We'll never have to look at + or - signs again.

[Gizmodo]

Rumor: 2GHz HTC “Sabor” to Arrive with Gingerbread Late 2010 [Gingerbread]

2010-07-01T14:50:00.000+03:00

I love juicy rumors like these. According to Oxford-Zeiss Content & Research Guide (OZCARGuide), HTC is working on a 2GHz 'Sabor' device for Sprint, expected later this year or early next year. Not only that, but the handset maker is developing their own screen technology said to rival Samsung's AMOLED displays.

'The upcoming HTC smartphone destined for Sprint packs a 2GHz processor, over 1000 resolution display, Android OS 2.5 (gingerbread), 2 cameras with one being a 10-megapixel, 1080p video recording and built-in kickstand.'

The 'over 1000' display would match up to yesterday's rumor of 1280×760, said to a minimal requirement for Gingerbread. The 2.5 listed here conflicts with the 3.0 we've heard matched up to the codename, but we can always worry about that later. For now, let's just drool over 10 megapixel cameras and 1080p recording.

If you didn't check your calendar yet today, I'll break the good news to you. We just started the second half of the year. Things could definitely heat up quickly.

Source: DroidDog

NOTE: Rumor: 2GHz HTC “Sabor” to Arrive with Gingerbread Late 2010 originally appeared on AndroidGuys.

Google News: Emblaze extinguishes First Else cellphone

2010-07-01T00:25:00.001+03:00

Sad to hear. Maybe make an android launcher app out of it.

Rani Amit Bar-On ranibaron@gmail.com

Emblaze extinguishes First Else cellphone

Globes - ‎6 hours ago‎

Emblaze Ltd. (LSE: BLZ) is virtually eliminating its mobile business, Else Ltd. (formerly Emblaze Mobile), several months after announcing the launch of its first product, the First Else.

Emblaze quits Else mobile device effort FierceWireless

Emblaze First Else Officially Shelved Palm Infocenter

Unwired View - Softpedia - TMC Net - IntoMobile (blog)

all 14 news articles »

Browse all of today's headlines on Google News

Toshiba AC100 Netbook Runs Android and Has Massive Seven Days of Standby Battery Life [NetBooks]

2010-06-21T11:02:00.000+03:00

Finishing off the hat-trick of laptops, Toshiba's AC100 is their first machine to run on Android, and is shaping up to be a very tidy netbook with up to eight hours of battery, or up to SEVEN DAYS standby life.

Yep, seven days. It runs on an NVIDIA Tegra 250 chip, with an insy-winsy 512MB of DDR2 RAM, and 8GB NAND flash memory. The SD/MMC card reader will expand the storage so you can easily cart around more media if needed, and the 1.3MP webcam with microphone will get you using video-chatting apps once downloaded from the Market.

It's running Android 2.1 Eclair, and hardware-wise, has a 10.1-inch TruBrite screen with LED-backlighting, and 1,024 x 600 resolution. That could definitely be improved upon. It weighs 870g, and only has one USB port and one miniUSB, but there's also a HDMI port for connecting to TVs etc too. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and optional 3G round it off.

[Gizmodo]

The LIFE Project to Create a Mini Star on Earth with 192 Lasers [Science]

2010-06-20T00:22:00.000+03:00

Well, this is crazy. The LIFE project at the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has plans to create a mini sun in the lab, one that could create more energy than it takes to create.

Yes, we're talking about fusion here. By focusing 192 huge laser beams at one 2mm ball of frozen hydrogen gas, they hope to create nearly limitless free energy. Oh, and it gets better:

In addition, the LIFE engine design can be 'charged' with fission fuel. The resulting fission reactions will produce additional energy that can be harvested for electricity production. Moreover, by using depleted uranium or spent nuclear fuel from existing nuclear power plants in the blanket, a LIFE engine will be capable of burning the by-products of the current nuclear fuel cycle. Because the fusion neutrons are produced independently of the fission process, the fission fuel could be used without reprocessing. In this way, LIFE may be able to consume nuclear waste as fuel, mitigate against further nuclear proliferation, and provide long-term sustainability of carbon-free energy. A LIFE engine, via pure fusion or through the combination of fusion and fission, will generate the steady heat required to drive turbines for generating from 1,000 to 2,500 MW of safe, environmentally attractive electric power 24 hours a day for decades.

So wait, not only will it create free, limitless energy, but it will also do so while getting rid of harmful nuclear waste? OK, I guess I'm on board.

[Gizmodo via The LIFE Project via Kottke]

The internationally geolocated geek's slavery [GeoLocation]

2010-06-19T00:20:00.002+03:00

Hi, I'm Rani and I am a geek. I'm also international because I live in Israel, which is located outside US. As a geek I love gadgets and new tech but you've probably figured that out already, if you've seen my blog.

Last month I got my latest toy, a Google Nexus One, which hasn't left my hands since (my wife is close to taking my two year old boy and leaving home). I download and test apps on a daily basis and try to read the reviews as much as time allows. I find the geolocation apps to be very game-ish with their continuing appeal on me to win more points and activate more mayorships as well as complete challenges.

Lately I've started to feel a little frustrated. There is no single venue in Israel in the indexes of SCVNGR, in my city there are about 40 places in Gowalla (a few of which I created), and last but not least, FourSquare, which is better but still I already registered at least a dozen venues. So I'm like making my town visible to the people coming to visit here. I feel like a lone rider boldly going where no one has gone before.

I said a lone rider for a reason. Not only the Israeli places are missing in the geolocation apps but also available friends are scarce. I have more then 500 contacts in my gmail account and more then 250 friends, mostly close friends, and non are SCVNGR usrers, 1 is a Gowalla user which until recently was my only FourSquare friend. I now have 7 friends in FourSquare, 2 of which didn't log in for centuries, 3 promotion companies, 1 from Thailand which I don't even know and asked me to befriend him. I did, what do I care... The last one is the one from Gowalla which is my only true friend. As I said, this is pretty frustrating being the pioneer. I actually feel a little like those pioneer to came and tamed the land here in Israel in the beginning of the previous century. Brave, strong headed, motivated and patriots.

If you are a non-US located geolocation user like me, let me know how is it you experience the check-ins lifestyle? What other locations are miserably abandoned like Haifa?

BTW, you can reach me as ranibaron in FourSquare, Gowalla and SCVNGR.

Horizon's Cheap Personal Fuel Cell Now On Sale—Charge Gadgets Cleanly and Cheaply [Fuel Cells]

2010-06-16T12:34:00.000+03:00

First seen at CES years ago, Horizon's MiniPak has (finally) gone on sale for $100. It's the first personal, portable fuel cell—if you don't count the Japan-only Toshiba one—and is like a mini power plant for charging gadgets.

It eats refillable cartridges (coming bundled with two), with each cartridge giving the equivalent of 1,000 AA batteries. At $100, you can see it's going to end up saving you quite a bit of money. Not to mention help save the environment, with fuel cells being a clean and cheap way to generate energy. More on that can be explained here.

A bunch of connectors are included, so your smartphone/gaming console/other portable device should be supported, with up to 2W of power surging through a USB port. It's dead-small too, fitting in the palm of your hand, only slightly larger than the object you're charging up.

[Gizmodo via MiniPak via GizMag]

Samsung Galaxy Beam Brings First Android-Based Pico Projector Phone to Singapore [Pico Projector]

2010-06-16T10:14:00.000+03:00

Samsung has announced that their Galaxy Beam (formerly 'Halo') handset is headed for Singapore next month. What makes this phone so special is it that it is the first Android handset to feature a built-in DLP pico projector. Running Android 2.1, the Beam also boasts a 3.7-inch Super AMOLED display, an 8 megapixel autofocus camera with flash, and a front-facing VGA camera. Rounding out the phone are support for 7.2Mbps HSPA data, Bluetooth 3.0, 802.11n WiFi, A-GPS, and FM Radio. There's no mention of price yet but we don't expect this to have mass-market appeal. Start saving now.

[AndroidGuys via Engadget]

NOTE: Samsung Galaxy Beam Brings First Android-Based Pico Projector Phone to Singapore originally appeared on AndroidGuys.

Audi Car Concept Sees 62 Speakers Added For 360 Surround Sound [Cars]

2010-06-15T22:27:00.000+03:00

Considering my car is bombed out in a shed somewhere, I'd be happy with any car—but given half the chance I'd love to see this Audi Q7, complete with all 62 speakers, in my garage.

It's the Audi Sound Concept, which sees the car manufacturer's engineers cramming in 52 mid-range speakers, five woofers and five tweeters into one of their small Q7 cars, with speakers hidden in the dashboard, ceiling and doors. Sound like overkill? It probably is—but Audi's used "wave field synthesis," an audio rendering technique which doesn't have many compatible audio tracks that are playable with the audio system, so this is very much a prototype showing The Future, if nothing else.

If the car ever does turn up on a showroom floor, good luck driving it away on holiday—there's no boot to stow your luggage, with most of it being used to hold the amplifier and cables.

What a shame only 32 tracks can be played on the system so far. If I was driving that baby, I'd crank up some Queen extra-loud.

[Gizmodo via Gizmag]

Nintendo 3DS Revealed at E3: No Price or Release Date Yet [Ninteno]

2010-06-15T22:23:00.000+03:00

Big N today took wraps off of their much-anticipated Nintendo 3DS handheld video game system at the E3 2010 show.

The new handheld looks sort of like a DSi, but features a widescreen 3.5″ 3D display at the top which requires no glasses to see the its 3D effect. In addition to the classic touchscreen interface, control is provided through an analog “slide” control, which is located above the D-Pad, and the 3DS also includes a motion sensor and gyroscopic controls. There’s also a special “3D depth” slider, which lets you adjust the 3D effect to your personal taste (and eyeballs).

The system will also be backwards-compatible with games from the DSi. They also revealed that the 3DS would feature a significantly improved graphics chipset, capable of cranking out graphics that look almost as good or better than a Wii from what we can tell. Check out the example screen from the launch title Kid Icarus Uprising for an example of what to expect:

Nintendo also surprised us today, showing off a dual-lens camera on the back of the 3DS, allowing you to shoot your own 3D images, although it’s not clear if it supports video, or just still images.

Nintendo also revealed the 3DS will support playback of Hollywood blockbusters in 3D on the handheld’s glasses-free display. In addition, the 3DS will be able to communicate wirelessly, even when asleep, allowing game downloads, and even persistent universes which continue to update when you’re not playing.

Word from launch developers is that the 3D effect on the 3DS is nothing short of spectacular, with objects literally flying off the screen without need for any glasses.

Nintendo’s initial first-party titles for the 3DS include Kid Icarus Uprising, Mario Kart, nintendogs + cats, PilotWings Resort, Animal Crossing, StarFox 64, Steel Diver and Paper Mario.

There’s no word yet on pricing or a release date for the 3DS, but as soon as we know, we’ll be sure to let you know.

[technabob, Photo Credit: Engadget]

Mac Mini Gets an Aluminum Unibody Update [Mac Mini]

2010-06-15T14:52:00.000+03:00

Apple today launched an updated Mac Mini, which now has an aluminum unibody housing and far more powerful hardware than the previous iteration.
The specs now start with a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, 2 GB of RAM, 320 GB hard drive, and an NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics chip, all of which will set you back $699.
Those in need of a slightly more powerful machine can get the $999 version, which sports a 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo, 4 GB of RAM, dual 500 GB 7200-rpm hard drives, GeForce 320M graphics, and Mac OS X Server Snow Leopard.
Both versions come with an SD card reader, 802.11n WiFi, 4 USB ports, a Mini DisplayPort jack, and a HDMI-out jack. The elegant new enclosure was created by Apple’s unibody construction process, and it’s only 7.7-inches square and 1.4-inches thin.

[Mashable]

Xbox 360 Project Natal is Named Kinect [Microsoft]

2010-06-14T09:06:00.001+03:00

I’m betting Microsoft is a little disappointed with USA Today, who let slip today that the name for what was previously known as Project Natal, will be released under the name “Kinect.”

In their Game Hunters column, they also revealed some of the likely titles that we’ll see for the controller-free game control system. According to the article, the games in development include:

Kinectimals lets you train and play with 20 different virtual cats, including a lion, cheetah and tiger.
Joyride, a racing game, lets players use their hands to hold an imaginary steering wheel — pull your hands toward you and push back out for an acceleration boost — and their bodies to execute jumps and tricks.
Kinect Sports has six activities including boxing, bowling, beach volleyball, track and field, soccer and table tennis. To serve a volleyball, you mimic the real motion; in soccer, you can kick the ball or do a header.
Kinect Adventures includes a river-raft time trial and obstacle course, playable by up to four players. On the raft, playing as a duo, you and a partner must lean one way or another to steer. Jumping helps the raft reach special areas for extra points.
Dance Central, in development by MTV Games, brings a So You Think You Can Dance experience home.
Star Wars characters and iconic Disney favorites will be featured in separate new games being developed at Microsoft in conjunction with LucasArts and Disney.

There’s still no word on the pricing or release date for Kinect, but Microsoft plans on a big gala reveal during their Cirque Du Soleil spectacular, scheduled for Tuesday, 6/15 at 3:30pm ET on MTV.

[technabob via Joystiq]

Fastest Electric Motorcycle in the World is Racing Today [Electric Vehicle]

2010-06-10T23:46:00.000+03:00

Electric motorcycles are getting better all the time, but this MotoCzysz E1pc represents a giant leap into the future. Even though it looks like multiple rows of batteries with two wheels on either side, it's the most advanced motorcycle in the world.

You're looking at lots of batteries there, 10 times the capacity of the Toyota Prius, giving this crotch rocket enough power to blast it to 140 mph, way beyond the next-fastest electric motorcycle.

Today, the E1pc Digital Superbike undertakes its supreme test, the Isle of Man TT 2010 motorcycle race, 'designed to break motorcycles and its riders.' Here's a video preview of one of its test runs:

[DVICE]

Just How Deep is the Deepwater Horizon Gusher? [Oceans]

2010-06-10T23:39:00.000+03:00

The ocean is a deep, deep place. And the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe, it turns out, its pretty damn deep as well. Just check out this great infographic from Our Amazing Planet.

[Gizmodo via Our Amazing Planet via The Daily What]

iPhone 4 - Droid Incredible - Evo 4G - Nexus One Comparative Chart [Chart]

2010-06-08T19:41:00.000+03:00

Here's a chart showing how the Apple iPhone 4 stands against Android latest and greatest models: The HTC Droid Incredible, the HTC Evo 4G, and the Google Nexus One.

[Gizmodo via TIPB]

Future Car's Body is a Carbon Fiber Battery [Future Cars]

2010-06-03T00:15:00.000+03:00

What if you could use carbon fiber as a battery? That's the idea scientists at the Imperial College of London are working on, aiming to build a car out of carbon fiber material that would not only function as a battery, but will be a strong and light substitute for the sheet metal on cars today.

Not only will it save weight and volume in a car, it would eliminate the need for wiring, letting engineers route electricity through the car's carbon fiber structure. The technology could be taken way beyond cars, also built into airplanes, cellphones, or anything that uses batteries. Just imagine a cellphone as thin as a credit card. Brilliant.

[DVICE]