Apr 11

Sony patents PSP-controlled spy car

Posted in: augmented reality, AugmentedReality, patent, psp, sony, Today's Chili

Check it out, all you budding G. Gordon Liddys — if the usual assortment of spy gadgets isn’t doing the job, Sony’s got something in the works that should be right up your alley. According to a little site called Siliconera, Sony’s European arm has filed a patent for a remote-controlled car uses the PSP as an interface. This bad boy is equipped with a camera that feeds video back to the hand held and allows the user to upload the footage to a website. If that weren’t all, the patent makes mention of an augmented reality racing game incorporating virtual markers and paths that the players physically create — that is, the junk in your apartment is incorporated into on-screen game play. Innocent fun, right? Well, perhaps — at least until Iran gets involved. They’re still pretty bent by the whole squirrel thing.

[Via Joystiq]

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Sony patents PSP-controlled spy car originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Apr 2009 12:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 11

MSI’s Wind U123 netbook gets unboxed

Posted in: msi, netbook, pics, pictures, Today's Chili, unboxing

We already caught MSI’s upgraded Wind U120 (which goes by U123, if you must know) sitting pretty at CeBIT last month, but the crazy cats over at PortableMonkey have gone and got a model fresh in the box. Needless to say, this retail edition (which is hitting Japanese shelves any moment now) didn’t stay packaged up for long, but we are happy to say that we’ve been cordially invited to feast our eyes upon the unboxing process. Right out of the gate, we have to share the disappointment in the lack of a rear panel for easily accessing the internal RAM and HDD, but at least the Atom N280 is a (minor) step above what we’ve grown accustomed to. Check the read link for all the pictorial delight.

[Thanks, Peter]

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MSI’s Wind U123 netbook gets unboxed originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Apr 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 11

USA Today Online Offers a Variety of Puzzles

Posted in: Games, Today's Chili, Web Sites

This article was written on March 30, 2008 by CyberNet.

If you’re bored and looking for something to do that will keep your brain active, look no further than USAToday.com! We’re not talking about keeping your brain active by reading the paper, we’re talking about having fun while completing puzzles. Most newspapers include a crossword puzzle and a Sudoku puzzle, however USA Today has a few others that they publish daily. All of them are available online for free at http://puzzles.usatoday.com and they’ll keep you thinking and give you something to do while you’re trying to pass some time.

One of our favorites is a puzzle called Up & Down Words. There are two skill levels, normal or expert. Normal mode will give you a hint if you need help by clicking the hint button. If you’re playing in Expert mode, you are on your own and have no option for getting a hint. What’s great about this game is that if you get stuck with the first clue, you can go to the last clue and work your way backwards. Below is a screenshot of the puzzle that was published in Thursday’s paper. If you finish one puzzle, you can click “previous date” and complete another one.

usa today games

Other games that USA Today offers include:

  • Sudoku
  • Word Round Up
  • Quick Cross
  • Mini Sudoku
  • Sudoku Mobile
  • Crossword

All of these can be found at http://puzzles.usatoday.com

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Apr 11

Cyberdyne said to be mass producing $4,200 HAL robotic suit

Posted in: Japan, on sale, OnSale, robot, Today's Chili

Years after the HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb) suit first debuted, it seems that Cyberdyne’s pride and joy is about to get really real. According to a report over at HPlus Magazine, the company is linking up with Daiwa House in order to “begin mass production” of the cybernetic bodysuit. You already know what it does — inflates the ego, boosts your strength and scores you loads of nerd dates — but here’s the crucial part: $4,200. Of course, there’s no hard date on when the first of the 400 annual units produced will be made available, but we’d probably get up with someone about a pre-order if you’re serious about going bionic.

[Thanks, Phil]

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Cyberdyne said to be mass producing $4,200 HAL robotic suit originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Apr 2009 10:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 11

Gigabyte T1028 netbook / tablet gets the hands-on treatment

Posted in: netbook, tablet pc, TabletPc, Today's Chili

We’ve already seen Gigabyte’s T1028 netbook / tablet up close, and even gotten a glimpse of the user manual, but the folks at UMPC Portal have now finally come though with a proper hands-on of the device, which looks to confirm that it does indeed deliver the goods, if not quite justify its $600+ price tag. What’s more, as welcome as that swiveling touchscreen is, it looks like it’s the little touches that really push this one over the edge, including an all too often omitted ExpressCard slot, built-in 3G, 802.11n WiFi, some actually accessible upgrade options, and an apparently faster than usual 2.5-inch hard drive. Hit up the link below for the complete rundown (including some benchmarks) and, of course, plenty of pics.

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Gigabyte T1028 netbook / tablet gets the hands-on treatment originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Apr 2009 08:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 11

This week in Crave: Cool laptops, steamy handsets, and giant DSis

Posted in: Today's Chili

Too busy to stay up to the minute on Crave this week? Please submit your excuse to the Crave tribunal. In the meantime, here are just a few of the many stories we had our eyes on.

Acer laptops got cooler–literally.

An unlikely star of steamy YouTube video: new …

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Apr 11

Bandai’s Project A.i.R. is a $525 blue grid that blows up

Posted in: LED, Today's Chili
Bandai's Project A.i.R. is a $525 blue grid that blows up

Okay Bandai, we get it. After over 50 years of making cheap toys and video games you want to show the world you can make overpriced stuff too. As if your $2,200 Ginza diorama wasn’t enough of a statement, now you’re producing a $525 box that lights up and blinks like a miniaturized monochrome disco floor. It’s called Project A.i.R., or Art In the Room, and it’s basically a 5 x 5 grid with blue LEDs covered by some sort of translucent fabric. Inside each square in the grid is a fan that makes the cloth billow, slightly increasing the brightness of that section of the grid. It’s an interesting effect for sure, but as you can see in the video below its functionality is somewhat… limited. But is it art?

[Via CrunchGear]

Continue reading Bandai’s Project A.i.R. is a $525 blue grid that blows up

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Bandai’s Project A.i.R. is a $525 blue grid that blows up originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Apr 2009 06:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 11

75-megawatt solar plant to power “first solar city” in Florida

Posted in: green, power, solar, solar power, Today's Chili

Given that Florida has accurately been coined The Sunshine State, it’s not at all shocking to hear that America’s first “solar city” will be built in the state’s southwest corner. Or, at least that’s the plan. According to a new report, West Palm Beach-based Kitson & Partners is currently developing a new city near Charlotte County, which will get juiced by a massive 75-megawatt solar plant. Said plant will cost around $300 million to build and will be installed by Florida Power & Light; if all goes well, homes will begin construction on a sizable plot of land dubbed Babcock Ranch by 2011. If things don’t go so well, we’re told that the actual power plant will still be erected and fed into the larger grid. In other words, Florida’s gettin’ some solar power, with or without this newfangled concrete jungle.

[Via Fark]

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75-megawatt solar plant to power “first solar city” in Florida originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Apr 2009 04:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 11

BrewTroller simplifies homebrewing, makes it doable while inebriated

Posted in: arduino, diy, Today's Chili

It’s been a mystery for ages, but at long last, it seems a simple DIYer has found a solution. We all know that the best beers are the ones brewed at home, but after a given amount of “test sips,” things can easily get a little out of control. In order to simplify the homebrewing process, the brilliant BrewTroller was concocted during a short stint with sobriety. In essence, the system utilizes a Sanguino microcontroller platform which was inspired by the tried-and-true Arduino in order to give brewers complete control over temperature and the like. When connected to a simple menu-driven display, it removes the need to bang out a paragraph of code while tipsy in order to tweak the flavor ever so slightly. Hit up the read link to have a look at the progress, but make sure you strap on those Beer Goggles first.

[Via HackedGadgets]

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BrewTroller simplifies homebrewing, makes it doable while inebriated originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Apr 2009 02:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 11

Ubuntu on Mobile Devices

Posted in: Freeware, mobile, Software, Today's Chili, ubuntu

This article was written on May 08, 2007 by CyberNet.

UbuntuAs Ubuntu continues to gain popularity there is no doubt that they will be looking for more ways to increase their market share. Just last week it was announced that Dell will be offering PC’s with Ubuntu pre-installed, which is sure to make the operating system very well known. The Ubuntu team wasn’t about to stop there though…

Now they are partnering with Intel to develop a mobile and embedded version of Ubuntu to be used on mobile devices. The new mobile operating system will look to minimize the amount of power consumption while offering an interface that is optimized for small screens.

Having Intel on their side is a huge benefit because they are working on a new chip that will be less power hungry than typical processors. The chip’s size is just one-seventh of a processor and only uses 10% of the power.

Matt Zimmerman, Ubuntu’s CTO, made the announcement over an email list saying:

At the heart of the Ubuntu project lies a belief that open source software
and technology can play a key role in enabling individuals to achieve their
potential. A central goal has been the creation of a world-class, free and
open source operating system that we have worked to make accessible across
notebooks, desktops, thin clients and servers.

Three years on, it is clear that new types of device –  small, handheld,
graphical tablets which are Internet-enabled are going to change the way we
communicate and collaborate. These devices place new demands on open source
software and require innovative graphical interfaces, improved power
management and better responsiveness.

…

Finally, we are delighted to be working with Intel on this version of
Ubuntu. Intel are making significant contributions of technology, people and
expertise to the project. We hope that others who are interested in
producing an easy-to-use and open source environment for this class of
device will join us in making this a success.

The mobile version of Ubuntu is expected to be released this year in the middle of October, which is also when Ubuntu 7.10 should be available. It will be interesting to see if any mobile device manufacturers jump on the Ubuntu bandwagon, and also what developments will come about to compete with the iPhone.

Source: BBC

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