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Tech NewsBlackBerry Bold Unboxed with Barely Controlled Enthusiasm
CrackBerry has a video unboxing of the BlackBerry Bold from Rogers, showing it side-by-side with other BlackBerry phones as well as the King iPhone. No real surprises here, as the Bold hasn’t changed since our hands-on, but it’s always nice to see a shiny new gadget emerge from its cardboard home. [Crackberry]
By Dan Nosowitz -
Tech NewsTouch Screen RC Star Trek Enterprise Boldly Goes Where No RC Vehicle Has Gone Before
Interstellar space flight may have been poo-poo’d on by astrophysicists this week, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little pseudo space-faring fun with this first-of-its-kind RC Star Trek Enterprise. Due to arrive in May 2009, the $80 foam flyer is controlled via a vintage Star Trek touchscreen communicator (Captain James T. Kirk womanizing … Continued
By Jack Loftus -
Tech NewsSassy DIY Talking Robot Tells You How to Assemble Sassy DIY Talking Robot
This sassy little thing is the brainchild of L. Scott Hudson, who recently participated in MAKE’s Dorkbot Austin robot building event. This gal is kind of like the Twitter box bot we wrote about this week (also a MAKE find), but it’s got the added bonus of moxie. It also gives you step-by-step self-assembly instructions … Continued
By Jack Loftus -
Tech News
Earth’s Most Distant Web Cam Pics Went Live This Week
Usually the venerable web cam is used for modest, local tasks, like taking deep-in-thought Facebook profile pics, making me-too webcasts, or undercover girl’s locker room documentaries. But did you know there’s also a web cam circling the Red Planet right now? Called the Visual Monitoring Camera (VMC), the cam is attached to the European Space … Continued
By Jack Loftus -
Tech News
The Latest Gear Behind 3D Movie Making
DLP recently teamed up with former LucasFilms effects studios Kerner Optical and Tippett Studios to work on a stereoscopic 3D Trailer for their cinema projectors. Pushing this style of filmmaking (kinda like the 3D attractions at theme parks) forward was something they were all excited about, and they took me around Kerner Optical’s facility and … Continued
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Tech News
Apple Issues Software Update for MacBook Air, Fixes Video Playback and Processor Idling Issues
TUAW reports that Apple released a software update for its MacBook Air last night, which is said to fix issues with video playback and processor idling. But more importantly, Apple warned against running apps that modify processor performance (TUAW lists CoolBook), as the update does not support them. The software update and accompanying documentation can … Continued
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Tech News
Sony To Drop Blu-ray Player Price $100, Others to Follow
HD Guru is reporting that Sony will drop the price of their BDP-S350 Blu-ray player $100 and sell it for $300 beginning in September. As a result, manufacturer Funai plans to drop the price of its players (under the Philips/Magnavox, Insignia and Sylvania brands) down $50 to $250 in order to stay competitive in the … Continued
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Tech News
Drawings of Early Microscopes Show Artistry in the Pursuit of Science
Ah, where would science be if not for the contributions of the humble microscope? Did you know that the development of the world’s first microscope began in 11th century Iraq, when scientist and polymath Ibn al-Haytham recorded all sorts of data about lenses, binocular vision, mirrors and observable properties of light his The Book of … Continued
By Elaine Chow -
Tech News
Aiaiai Swirl Earbuds Are The Anti-iPod Headphones
Multiple colors? Check. Good sound quality? Supposedly. These Aiaiai Swirl headphones aren’t the ubiquitous iPod earbuds worn by every other person on earth (myself included). Aiaiai, the 200-member collective from Copenhagen, designed these in conjunction with Kilo design, offering straightforward headphones, as well as a headset for cellphones. Aiaiai wanted to focus on sound quality … Continued
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Tech News
MIT Developing a Battery Half the Size of a Human Cell
MIT Researchers are working on virus-based microbatteries that are about half the size of a human cell. Using a combination of virus cultivation (which assembles itself) an soft lithography, Paula Hammond and team were able manufacture the battery, which consists of a cathode, anode and electrolyte. They hope the breakthrough will allow for applications like … Continued
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Tech News
iBasket Laundry Concept is Clothes Hamper, Washer For The Lazy
Like most New Yorkers, my building has no laundry facilities of its own and, in order to get clean clothes, I have to summon the willpower to drag my brimming bag three blocks. Oh, if only I had this automated washing machine basket instead. Designed by Guopeng Liang and one of the finalists in Electrolux’s … Continued
By Elaine Chow -
Tech News
Build Your Own Waterproof iPod Video Boombox
Popular Mechanics has a great DIY feature, showing you how to build a waterproof video boombox for your iPod. Making use of an iPod touch, some old speakers, an 8″ personal video player screen, video cables, gorilla tape and a hard camera case, Anthony Verducci has created a waterproof video case for the iPod that … Continued
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Tech News
NEC Wireless USB Prototype Just As Fast As USB 2.0
Wireless USB has finally begun to match regular USB 2.0 speeds, making our inevitable launch into a life untethered by the confines of copper and rubber cabling all the more forthcoming. At the Fall 2008 Intel Developer Forum, NEC unveiled a WUSB prototype that transfers at speeds of 200Mbits per second. The company didn’t mention … Continued
By Elaine Chow -
Tech News
LED Flashlight Lightsaber Whooshes to Life, Shines Bright Blue Light
Though we’re still galaxies away from having real lightsabers, the wonderful people in charge of Star Wars merchandising has given us the next best thing-LED flash light lightsabers. The Star Wars Lightsaber LED torch is a full size replica lightsaber handle which makes that whooshing noise when you turn it on and throws an ultra … Continued
By Elaine Chow -
Tech News
B&D Messenger Helps the Blind Read SMS
The B&D messenger, designed by Okada Noriaki, bills itself as a way for both blind and deaf people to communicate via text message. Though there are several Braille phone products already in the market, Noriaki device is much smaller in size and pretty inexpensive. On one side of the gadget is twelve points that rise … Continued
By Elaine Chow -
Tech News
iTunes Support Store: iPhone App Crashes Fixed
Good news, iPhone users! Looks like Apple has finally fixed that 2.0 app crashing problem. One Gizmodo reader received an email last night from the iTunes Support Store with instructions for redownloading applications you’ve already bought (for free, of course) and was given a $15 gift certificate for his troubles! Maybe Adam will convert to … Continued
By Elaine Chow -
Tech News
Asus F6 Comes With Webcam, 13-inch Screen, Eau de Asus
Looks like Asus is sniffing out the next big thing now that it’s found heaps of success with its EeePC concept, and has decided that what the world really needs is a notebook that can function both as a mid-range computer and an Air Wick. The Asus F6 boasts a 13.3 inch screen, an integrated … Continued
By Elaine Chow -
Tech News
Australian Student Invents Cheap Solar Using Nail Polish and a Pizza Oven
An Australian PhD student has found a cheap way to make solar cells with nail polish, a pizza oven and an ink jet printer. 23-year-old Nicole Kuepper’s invention, named iJET, doesn’t require the pricey clean rooms and high-temperature ovens of traditional solar panel manufacturing plants, thus dramatically lowering the cost of solar and paving the … Continued
By Elaine Chow -
Tech NewsKevin Rose iPod Rumors: Price Cut, New iTunes 8.0 Features and Tall, Rounded Nano
Kevin Rose’s Apple crystal ball has been wrong more often than not (he was sorta right about $199 iPhone), but this time he’s seen pictures people! (“It looks pretty cool.”) He says that not only will the new iPod nano be tall and skinny and giant-screened like we’ve heard, he says it’ll be rounded (like … Continued