Hasta La Gadget!

Robots and other devices linked to social networking sites aren’t exactly anything new, but few have been in the form of tiny robot penguins, and even fewer have been tiny robot penguins with hats. That bit of mold-breaking comes courtesy of upstart Arimaz of Switzerland, which is now busy showing off its MyDeskFriend “Facebook companion” that’s set for release this September. As you can see in the video after the break, the bot is able to mosey about your desk without falling off and react to your voice like any good robot, but its real secret is that it can connect to Facebook and read your messages, or even be controlled (some may say tormented) by your real Facebook friends. Look for it to run $99 when it’s released.

[Via Technabob]

Continue reading MyDeskFriend robot penguin will link to Facebook, be a true friend

Filed under: Robots

MyDeskFriend robot penguin will link to Facebook, be a true friend originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While some consumer notebooks attempt to attract the eye, Lenovo’s business-oriented ThinkPads take a more austere, simple approach.

But in all notebooks, there’s some serious design decisions made under the radar, that consumers and other customers don’t necessarily see. In a blog post, David Hill, Lenovo’s vice president of corporate identity and design, explained the evolution of one decision: a revision of the keyboard layout in the new T400s.

Hill and Lenovo installed keyboard loggers (with permission) in a dozen or so keyboards within Lenovo, to gain a better understanding of what users hit what keys, and with what frequency. (Hill notes that one unscientific way to understand this is to simply look at your keyboard at an angle — the most frequently-used keys will be polished, whereas others, such as the ‘~’, or tilde key, appear rougher.)

Google on Monday released a suite of text-based apps, dubbed Google SMS, intended to provide people in Africa with easier access to information on a variety of topics like health and agriculture, weather, sports, and more.

Africa has the world’s highest mobile phone growth rate, and the average citizen is more likely to have access to a cell phone than an Internet-connected PC. As a result, Google is focused on delivering information one might find on an average Google.com search via mobile phones.

The suite includes Google Trader, a text-based “marketplace” app that helps buyers and sellers find each other. Google SMS Tips, meanwhile, will answer questions that users pose via text. Need to know how to preserve crops or want basic sexual health information? Send a text.

“You enter a free form text query, and Google’s algorithms restructure the query to identify keywords, search a database to identify relevant answers, and return the most relevant answer,” Google wrote in a blog post.

The project was made possible through a Google partnership with the Grameen Foundation, MTN Uganda, and several local organizations.

“We worked closely together as part of Grameen Foundation’s Application Laboratory to understand information needs and gaps, develop locally relevant and actionable content, rapidly test prototypes, and conduct multi-month pilots with the people who will eventually use the applications have truly been a global effort, and created with Ugandans, for Ugandans,” Google said.

Google has more information about the effort available in this YouTube video.

Forget DVD extras or merchandise – the real way to cash in on movie blockbusters is through video games. Movie-themed games are driving substantial purchase interest among gamers, according to Monday data from Nielsen.

Gamers were polled about games they were definitely or probably interested in buying, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine topped the list, followed by Goldfather II and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, all of which were released in the last few months.

In terms of games that have received the most online buzz for the past 60 days, Ghostbusters: The Video Game easily topped the list. Terminator Salvation and Wolverine rounded out the top three.

“Nearly a quarter of all movie-related video game buzz over the last 60 days is attributed to Ghostbusters, which was released on June 16,” Nielsen wrote in a blog post.

Games geared toward younger games like the Hannah Montana, Night at the Museum, and Ice Age games generated less buzz than their more adult-themed, blockbuster counterparts, Nielsen found.

And he’s back, folks. Six months after Steve Jobs took a medical leave from Apple due to health reasons, the company has announced that he’s back on the job, working a “few days a week” on the Apple campus and from home the remainder. Of course, we’d been hearing of Steve’s continual involvement in “key aspects” of Apple’s business for a while now, so this seems like more of a rubber stamp on the status quo than a major change, but now that it’s official we’re sure the questions from shareholders and other interested parties regarding Steve’s health will only grow louder and more insistent — especially given the news of his liver transplant earlier this year. We’ll see how Apple decides to handle the situation when the time comes — until then, we’re just thankful that he’s returned and is doing well.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Steve Jobs back to work at Apple originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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