Nokia patent app reveals dreams of pressure-sensitive multitouch interface

Nokia’s no stranger to the patent application process here in the United States, and while we’ve certainly seen some strange ones emanating from its R&D labs, this one looks like something that should be implemented on the double. Explained as a “user interface for controlling an electronic device,” the multitouch solution would essentially allow you to pinch, zoom and rotate objects as usual, but it would also employ an array of pressure sensors in order to give your motions a sense of severity. If executed properly, one could theoretically envision the use of a strong push to simulate a double tap (for example), or as a means to activate a secondary function that generally requires another button press or the use of a ‘Function’ key. Hit the read link for all the mumbo jumbo, but be sure to keep your expectations within check. Or not.

[Via UnwiredView]

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Nokia patent app reveals dreams of pressure-sensitive multitouch interface originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon spokesperson affirms that Kindle app for Mac is being ‘worked on’

Don’t pretend you didn’t see this one coming — just days after Amazon confirmed that a Kindle application was indeed coming soonish for the PC, a company spokesperson has now stated that a Mac version is also in the works. With the explosion of e-reader competition, it’s no shock to see Amazon branching out in an effort to spread the Kindle name (and business model) to more areas. To quote the aforesaid spokesperson: “Yes, we are working on a Kindle app for Mac.” Unfortunately, no further details were provided, but you can bet that Bezos wants this one out as soon as humanly possible.

[Via TUAW]

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Amazon spokesperson affirms that Kindle app for Mac is being ‘worked on’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 20:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cheetos bags find new life as MP3 speakers


(Credit:
TerraCycle)

A New Jersey-based environmental firm has developed audio player speakers made from recycled chips and candy bar packages.

TerraCycle is using its large waste-collection program to turn Doritos and Cheetos bags, as wells as Mars candy wrappers, into funky, foldable speakers.

The Frito-Lay Speakers have a 3.5 …

Entelligence: Seven on 7

Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he’ll explore where our industry is and where it’s going — on both micro and macro levels — with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.

This was a big week for Microsoft, as Steve Ballmer took the stage in New York and formally introduced Windows 7 to the world. It was almost a little anti-climactic: the OS has been finished and shipped to OEMs for months, while developers and pretty much any enthusiast who wanted a copy has one by now. Still, this is the week that Microsoft takes the message and OS to the mass market and the PC holiday sales system formally kicks off. I’ve held back from writing about the OS for the most part, but here’s seven things about Windows 7 — three features that I think are over-hyped and four things that make 7 something worth purchasing, either as an upgrade or as part of a new PC.

Continue reading Entelligence: Seven on 7

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Entelligence: Seven on 7 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CyberNotes: SideStep Helps You Plan the Perfect Vacation

This article was written on June 14, 2008 by CyberNet.

CyberNotes
Weekend Website

We’ve covered a few different travel sites in the past like Kayak and Farecast, but since Summer is just about here and some of you will be taking vacations, we decided to cover yet another travel site. It’s called SideStep and it’s not that it offers something entirely different from what you may find with other sites, it’s just a solution that you may find that you like better.

We could easily go on and on and explain the different areas of the site like how to search for flights, hotels, cars, vacation packages, and cruises, but we decided to dig around and find some useful bits of information and some interesting features that the site offers which often times people overlook.

What is SideStep?

You can’t really tell from the name of the site that they’re actually all about travel. SideStep calls themselves “The Traveler’s search engine” and their goal is to help you travel better. They partnered with Kayak to “combine strengths” and create a great search product for everybody. Because of this, you’ll notice many similarities in the looks and functions of the two sites.

sidestep logo.png

A more detailed explanation of SideStep comes from Wikipedia:

SideStep is a metasearch engine for travel: it searches and consolidates results from more than 200 travel websites. The site searches more than 150,000 hotels and 600 airlines in the United States and worldwide.

It originally started back in 2000 as a toolbar and then their website officially launched in 2005.

Travel Tips

One section of their site is just for Travel Tips. If you’re not an experienced traveler or you just want some advice, check it out. They divide their tips into 6 different sections including low fare tips, kids traveling alone, passport & visa, reservation help, tips for parents, and cruise tips.

Under the low far section, you’ll find some information on being flexible to get a lower fare as well as planning ahead to find the cheapest airfare.

If they don’t have the answers you need, they try to point you to where you could find them. One such section is for passports and visas. They link you to the US State Department which should help you answer most of your passport questions.

Travel Guides

If you know you want to take a vacation but you’re just not sure where you’d like to go, it might be a good idea to browse through their huge list of travel guides. You can browse for the destination by clicking on a World map, or you can also click on a city listed in their “Top Destinations” list.

sidestep travel guides.png

Once you click on a city, you’ll be able to view information on everything about the area like hotels, restaurants, attractions, nightlife, shopping, and more.

SideStep Toolbar

If you’re running Microsoft Windows and you’re using Internet Explorer, you can download a toolbar which will help you compare prices and search multiple sites at one time if you need a flight, hotel, or car rental.

Part of the set-up process involves entering your home airport so that your toolbar will be personalized. Once you open up Internet Explorer after installing the toolbar, you’ll see the SideStep icon at the top which you can click on to view hotels, read reviews, and more.

sidestep toolbar.png

Unfortunately this toolbar is available only for Internet Explorer users.

Buzz

Like Kayak.com, SideStep.com too has a Buzz section. Buzz is great because it displays the best fares found by recent searches. All you do is enter in the airport you’ll be leaving from and it will pull up some great priced fares.

Wrapping it up…

If you’ve got a vacation you need to plan, there are so many sites out there to help you do it. SideStep will help you sort through all of the deals out there on flights, hotels, cars, cruises, and more, and will help you save money in the process.

Copyright © 2009 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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Netflix hints at Watch Instantly integration on ‘already-popular device’

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 may call itself the only console to stream Netflix, but all that could be changing — and soon. As Netflix continues to pull in new subscribers (and cash flow) like it’s no big deal, the company is apparently looking to spread its wings even further by integrating its wildly popular Watch Instantly feature into “a device already owned by a large number of consumers.” Naturally, the most fitting candidates for that would be Sony’s PlayStation 3 or Nintendo’s Wii, though the company has yet to come forward with anything concrete. Just so know you, Netflix credits the Xbox 360’s streaming integration as the main reason some 2.4 million customers have signed up since late 2008, so it’s more than apparent that it loves the game console. Any bets for when this will go down, or are you just plugging your ears in order to avoid potential disappointment?

[Via Joystiq]

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Netflix hints at Watch Instantly integration on ‘already-popular device’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Polk Audio’s HitMaster: your own personal Rock Band stage monitor

Sheesh. Just days after Altec Lansing shocked the gaming world with a dedicated stage monitor for Guitar Hero, Rock Band or any other gaming title you’d care to pump through a mini-wedge, Polk Audio has stepped in to do the same. As we witness the beginning of a curious, um, beginning, the HitMaster has stepped things up for anyone else thinking of joining the fray by packing 60 watts of RMS power, a pair of 2.2- x 5.5-inch horns, twin 1-inch tweeters and a booming 6.5-inch subwoofer. The whole cabinet weighs some 13 pounds, and aside from line level inputs and outputs, you’ll also find a 1/8-inch jack for connecting iPods and the like. Oh, and did we mention that you can daisy chain these things? Because you can. Look for this one to rock your face off (or something to that effect) in early 2010 for $99.99.

[Via Hot Hardware]

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Polk Audio’s HitMaster: your own personal Rock Band stage monitor originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ZFS open source project abruptly shuts down, Snow Leopard weeps icy tears

The on-again / off-again love affair between Apple and ZFS seems to be all but over, with a brief but potent message on the Mac OS Forge project site stating the following: “The ZFS project has been discontinued. The mailing list and repository will also be removed shortly.” If you’ll recall, the implementation of the ZFS file system within Snow Leopard server was so close to happening that Apple actually published it as a feature of the forthcoming OS back in June of 2008. Now, however, all hope has presumably been lost. We’d bother explaining the rumors behind why all of this has suddenly crumbled, but honestly, will knowing the reasons really help the pain? No, no it won’t.

[Via TUAW]

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ZFS open source project abruptly shuts down, Snow Leopard weeps icy tears originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How To: Hackintosh a Dell Mini 10v Into the Ultimate Snow Leopard Netbook

Here’s the pitch: a 10-inch, almost-pocketable computer running Snow Leopard, the latest, greatest version of OS X. It costs just $300. Sound good? Here’s how to make your own.

Why You Should Do This

Last time we threw together a guide like this, things were different. Snow Leopard was but a glint in Steve Jobs’ eye, and in terms of hardware, the Mini 9 was the best thing going—it was pretty much the only netbook you could guarantee would work perfectly. Not to mention the hackintosh process was much, much more complicated. And riskier! And yet, despite all this, it was easy to recommend loading a Mini up with OS X, because to put it bluntly, the results were fantastic.

But the Mini 9 was a bit too small for regular use, and even if it’s still pretty easy to buy one, it’s not officially part of Dell’s product line anymore. Fast forward to now: the Mini 10v is a (quite similar) replacement for the 9, with a slightly larger screen, 160GB HDD standard, and 1GB or RAM. Most importantly, the keyboard is a bit larger, and the price is wonderfully low: $300 for a netbook that’s completely ready for hackintoshing. Or to put it another way, the 10v is a $300 Apple netbook.

And it isn’t just the hardware that’s changed, it’s the software. Snow Leopard is fast—faster than 10.5—and its new interface features, like Dock Expose, make using OS X on a netbook even easier. Finder is faster, Quicktime has a new interface. It’s a pretty big upgrade from Leopard, is what I’m trying to say.

And installation tools have grown up too. Netbook hackintoshing used to be an all-day process, with external optical drives, Terminal commands, and numerous terrifying driver tweaks. Today, there are simple software utilities to take care of all this for you. So let’s recap: Since 2008, the hardware has gotten cheaper and better, OS X more mature, and the installation process much simpler. Oh yeah, and Snow Leopard retail costs $30. (Though strict moralists should note that this is intended to be an upgrade.) There’s never been a better time to hackintosh—not by a long shot.

That said, one thing hasn’t changed. TERMINAL > SUDO REWRITE DISCLAIMER:

Even though we’re using a standard retail-purchased copy of OS X, the disclaimer: Apple does not like Hackintoshing. It violates the OS X EULA, and probably won’t make the Dell folks too happy either, should you need to return your hacked Mini 9 for service. So, as always, proceed at your own risk.

And of course, this tutorial messes with some pretty core components of your netbook, which means there’s a real, if small, risk of brickage. Proceed at your own risk, again. Anyway.

What You’ll Need

Dell Mini 10v. The stock version, at $300, works perfectly. [Note: I’m getting a lot of questions about this, so just to be clear: This has to be a 10v, not a regular Mini 10. Lots of netbooks can be hackintoshed, but the Mini 10 has an incompatible graphics card/chipset. Sorry!]

• BIOS version lower than A06 (A05, A04, A03 all work fine)

Downgrade instructions are available here, though they require a Windows PC for creating a bootable DOS flash drive. There are a lot of scary acronyms here, but don’t worry—it’s no more than a few minutes of work.

• Retail copy of OS X 10.6 (NOT an OEM copy that comes with a new Mac). An ISO will do fine here too, but discs are just $30, you cheapskate. Upgrades to 10.6.1 should be applied after the fact.

• An 8GB (or larger) USB flash drive, the faster the better. External HDDs will work too.

• A Mac with a working optical drive, for preparing your flash drive

Netbook BootMaker (a free Mac application)

Preparing Your Flash Drive


The 10v doesn’t have an optical drive, and it’s a pain in the ass to have to go find one, burn a new disc, and do things the old-fashioned way. Installing from a USB flash drive is much, much easier. So that’s the method we’ll be running with.

1. Insert your flash drive and OS X Retail install disk into your computer

2. Open Disk Utility (searching in Spotlight is the easiest way to find this)

3. Select your flash drive from the list on the left. Make sure to select the drive itself, not any partitions you may have written to it before.

4. In the right panel, select the “Partition” screen.

5. From the dropdown menu, select “1 Partition,” then click “Options” below the partition map.

6. Select “Master Boot Record.” This will ensure that your Mini 10v can boot from your flash drive. Select a name for your partition—doesn’t really matter what—and apply your changes. Keep in mind this will delete anything you have on your flash drive right now, so back it up if need be.

7. Once this is done, move from the “Partition” screen to the “Restore” screen in Disk Utility

8. For your Restore Source, select (by dragging) the OS X install disk from the left panel. Make sure this is the item called something to the effect of “Mac OS Install DVD,” not “Optiarc DVD” or some other hardware title. For the destination, drag your newly-prepared partition over. Click restore.

This will take at least an hour, so go have sandwich or something. Or even better, skip ahead make sure your Mini 10v is ready for the install, as outlined in the next section.

Ok, once that slog is done, it’s time to let Netbook BootMaker do its magic. And let me be clear: it is magic. What this utility will do is install a special bootloader on your flash drive, which allows your netbook to begin an OS X install. It also throws in a few driver tweaks, to make sure your 10v, y’know, work.

9. Running BootMaker is easy—just open the app, select your OS X partition on your newly-minted flash drive, and tell it to GO GO GO.

Aaaaand that’s it! You’re ready to start hackintoshing.

Installing OS X

First, you’re going to need to do some light prep on your 10v.

10. Jump into the BIOS, since we’re going to need to check on a few things. You can do this by restarting the 10v, and hitting F2 as the Dell logo first shows up.

11. Double-check to see if you have the right BIOS. As long as it’s lower than A06, you’re fine. If not, refer back to the “What You’ll Need” section.

12. With the arrow keys, cycle over to the “Advanced” screen, where you’ll see a list of options. USB BIOS Legacy support should be enabled, as should Bluetooth.

13. Now cycle over to the Boot screen. This is where you tell your 10v which drive to start from. During normal use, this will be the hard drive where your OS is installed. Since we’re installing an OS today, though, you’re going to want to select “USB Storage,” and move it to the top by pressing the F6 key.

14. Once you’re done, press F10 to save and exit. If you’re ready to dive straight into the install, make sure you have your prepped USB drive plugged in and ready to go.

15. Plug your computer in, if it’s not already. You don’t want your netbook to die halfway though—this will only lead to sadness.

Next time you boot with your flash drive plugged in, you should see this screen. Don’t be alarmed by the spinning pinwheel; just leave it for a few minutes. Your computer is thinking.

16. HAHA, BEHOLD! This screen here, it’s awfully Apple-y! But you’re not done yet. Let the install complete, following the regular prompts as you go. When it asks you where to install OS X, select and clear the entire HDD of your device. This will delete everything, so make sure you have your stuff backed up.

After about an hour, you’re done. Seriously—that’s it. Your first boot will take longer than normal, and your desktop may freeze for minutes at a time. Give it some time to figure everything out. Within about 10 minutes, your desktop should be ready to go.

Odds and Ends

By and large, your install should work out of the box. Sleep, shutdown/startup, sound, keyboard shortcuts, battery indicators, and anything else you can think of should be present and at attention, barring one glaring flaw: the trackpad. It’s kinda shitty, and makes dragging-and-dropping nearly impossible. Here’s what you need to do:

17. Go here, and download the attached trackpad driver.

18. Open Finder on your 10v, and press CMD+Shift+G (on this keyboard, that’s Alt+Shift+G.) In the box that comes up, typed “/Extra” and press enter.
This will bring you to a hidden folder. Copy the .kext file you’ve download into the Mini10vExt folder, making sure to back up the one you’re replacing.
19. Run the app in the “Extra” directory called UpdateExtra, which will alert OS X to the new drivers. Restart your computer.

Now you should be able to click and drag—the cursor should jump when your second finger makes contact. You should see, as you could before, a panel in the OS X preferences where you can adjust trackpad settings. Play with them as you like—two finger scrolling is great, and makes the 10v feel more like a genuine Apple netbook.

The only other issue you’re likely to run into is the occasional too-tall settings screen. Here‘s an obscenely clever virtual screen resolution workaround for that.

So There You Go


You’ve got yourself a fully-functioning, beautifully small Snow Leopard netbook, which’ll do 90% of what a 13-inch MacBook can, at 70% the size and about 25% of the cost. Mine’s close to perfect: With an extended battery, I’m pushing 7 hours of battery life with Wi-Fi, which makes my MacBook pro look like a LOSER. And tiny extra bit of size over the Mini 9 means the keyboard is just large enough to work on, meaning this thing isn’t just a toy—it’s a decent investment. This from a guy with banana fingers.

Performance is acceptable, meaning you can run regular apps like iTunes, Firefox—and even Photoshop in a bind. It’s not noticeably slow during normal use, though it’ll choke on higher-res Flash video (no YouTube HD, but SD works fine). As with any netbook, this pretty much can’t be your main machine. But it’s a brilliant extra portable machine, for toilet browsing, travel, class notes and the like.

Anyway, buckets of thanks to the MyDellMini forums, especially users MechDrew (site here) and Bmcclure937. Without their guides, I wouldn’t have been able to write this one. And of course, a hat tip to Adam Pash, who was already elbow-deep in Snow Leopard hackintoshing when we were all still too afraid. See his fantastic guide to building the build your own desktop hackintosh here. UPDATE: And I’d be remiss not to mention Meklort, the main developer of the NetbookInstaller suite, which does most of the heavy lifting here. —Thanks, Brian!

So that’s about it! Please add in your experiences in the comments-your feedback is a huge benefit to our Saturday guides. Good luck with your own Hackintoshing, and have a great weekend!

SmartSponge

clearcount.jpgRetained sponge incidents jeopardize hospital reputation and cause catastrophes for staff and patients. Today, one in every 1,000 to 1,500 intra-abdominal surgeries results in a sponge left behind in the patient. The SmartSponge System, the only RFID-based system currently on the market, has multiple components that interact with the RFID tags in its sponges.

An RFID tag smaller than a dime is securely embedded in each sponge to provide unique identification of the sponge, as well as other information about the sponge such as size, type, etc. As sponges come out of the field, they can go directly into the SmartBucket one at a time or in larger quantities. The SmartBucket quickly sorts and counts any combination of different sponge sizes and types that are discarded simultaneously.

Following the surgical procedure, the counts are reconciled. If there is a discrepancy in counts, the patient is then scanned with the SmartWand which quickly identifies any remaining sponges. A green light on the SmartWand handle confirms the wand is reading all the way through the patient to the surgical table. A red light illuminates if a sponge has been detected. Visual and audible notification is also provided on the display screen of the SmartBucket as well.

After all sponges are accounted for, the user retrieves a final report that can be printed automatically or sent to the hospital’s medical records system.