Jan 05

Twittering Arduino-powered laser tripwire captures trespassers — digitally (video)

Posted in: arduino, diy, security, Today's Chili, twitter
Twittering Arduino-powered laser tripwire captures trespassers -- digitally (video)
Spare a thought for the modern thief. They have to face off against phones that can broadcast their location, laptops that lock themselves down, a LoJack service for iPods, and now a laser tripwire that can twitter pictures of unwanted visitors. It’s a decidedly DIY Arduino-based project, but unlike many similarly powered offerings that we hit, this one is described as being very easy — as far as Arduino-based projects go, anyway. Check out the instructions at the read link, or just enjoy the little demo video after the break if you’re feeling lazy.

Continue reading Twittering Arduino-powered laser tripwire captures trespassers — digitally (video)

Twittering Arduino-powered laser tripwire captures trespassers — digitally (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 03:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 05

Best Buy’s $40 ‘pre-optimization’ determined to be worthless, iPhone earbuds determined to be white

Posted in: BestBuy, Today's Chili
Best Buy's $40 'pre-optimization' determined to be worthless, iPhone earbuds determined to be white
Have you tried to buy a laptop or desktop at Best Buy lately? If so, you’ve probably been hit for a $39.99 “pre-optimization” fee, an extra charge that you just couldn’t avoid. The cost goes toward covering the meager living expenses of some poor Geek Squad employee — and to keep their retro gaming habit in check. In exchange those workers laboriously go through your machine and “optimize” it, removing some trialware and, apparently, enabling status bars. Supposedly the machines are faster and easier to use after this service, but Consumerist and Consumer Reports tag-teamed to make sure. The results? Not good. In most cases there was no performance increase, though in one instance the machine was 32 percent slower! Laptops were also found to be left in suspend mode, sometimes with software installs and Windows Updates half-completed. The worst part is that stores often won’t sell you a machine that hasn’t had this “service” performed. That’s what we call shady behavior — the sort we’d expect to see at the competition.

Continue reading Best Buy’s $40 ‘pre-optimization’ determined to be worthless, iPhone earbuds determined to be white

Best Buy’s $40 ‘pre-optimization’ determined to be worthless, iPhone earbuds determined to be white originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 02:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 05

ESPN 3D launches in June with World Cup soccer — our football to follow later

Posted in: 3d tv, breaking news, BreakingNews, Sports, Today's Chili

Need any more proof this is the year of 3D? USA Today is reporting ESPN 3D will start broadcasting this summer with a World Cup soccer match, with additional content coming from the Summer X Games (we won’t have to wait for the flick to hit theaters this time) NBA games, and college basketball & football. DirecTV still hasn’t confirmed its rumored plans for 3D, but CableLabs CEO Paul Liao is quoted calling the level of engagement 3D sports presents viewers as “unprecedented.” More details on exactly how 3D in the home will happen are sure to come throughout the week — we’ve already been blown away by 3D sports, it looks like everyone else will have their chance in just a few months.

ESPN 3D launches in June with World Cup soccer — our football to follow later originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 01:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 05

Boot Buddy

Posted in: Fashion, Today's Chili

stirrups.bmpNBC Los Angeles: Now that winter is in full swing, boots have transitioned from accessory to staple. With that switch comes some additional movements; primarily involving the shifting and bunching of boot-tucked jeans.

Eliminate baggy knees and aggravation with a pair of Stirrupz. Easy to use and comfortable to wear, they grab onto the bottom of your jeans and loop onto your foot for a perfectly-taut, perfectly-tucked pair of jeans.

Boot Buddy [NBC Los Angeles]

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Jan 05

Skype HD: 720p videocalling from PCs or directly through LG & Panasonic HDTVs

Posted in: 720p, breaking news, BreakingNews, LCD, LG, Panasonic, skype, Today's Chili

Skype has already made an impact on the home phone, mobiles and PC desktops (couldn’t do our podcast without it) and now it’s taking on the living room. LG and Panasonic are already lined up to deliver new HD webcams for their internet connected plasma and LCD HDTVs that will enable living room-to-living room calling in 720p. With support for the service’s standard features like free Skype-to-Skype calling, voicemail, receiving inbound calls and more, using the TV to make calls should be just as easy (but likely more embarrassing, try some HD makeup — just a tip) as we’re used to. PC users haven’t been left behind with 720p HD streaming built into the latest client and new webcams on the way from faceVsion and In Store Solutions. Like the ones planned for the TVs, they handle video processing onboard so even older computers or underpowered netbooks can support HD streaming without bursting into flames. Let the good people at Skype explain it all to you in a video embedded after the break, we’ll wait to get our hands and made-for-SD faces some time with the new setup this week at CES

Update: We’ve found a few pics of LG’s version of the Skype HDTV experience to go along with the Panasonic rendering above, check the gallery.

Gallery: LG’s Netcast Skype LCD HDTV

Continue reading Skype HD: 720p videocalling from PCs or directly through LG & Panasonic HDTVs

Skype HD: 720p videocalling from PCs or directly through LG & Panasonic HDTVs originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 01:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 05

WirelessHD 2.0 spec speeds up to 28 Gbps to make room for 4K, 3D, portable devices

Posted in: Today's Chili

Two years after finishing up version 1.0 WirelessHD (WiHD) is still trying to come out on top of the no-cables-necessary high definition streaming dogfight, and it’s going to get a boost in that effort now that the 2.0 standard is available. Backwards compatible with existing WiHD hardware, the bandwidth has been upped to 10 – 28 Gbps (up from initial specs of 4 Gbps with a theoretical 25 Gbps limit) – enough to handle 4K resolutions, Deep Color, a newly specified 3D over WirelessHD set of standards, HDCP 2.0 DRM and even 1 Gbps file transfers between devices. Out of this world specs are just a matter of course for new hardware, but our focus is still on the group’s ability to get the price down this time around if it ever plans on going mainstream. With an investment from Best Buy just announced and a spot in VIZIO’s LCD lineup already confirmed, existing cable manufacturers may want to start developing Monster Air (10x higher transmission speed due to special platinum ionized molecules, of course) to sell sooner rather than later.

WirelessHD 2.0 spec speeds up to 28 Gbps to make room for 4K, 3D, portable devices originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 01:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 05

CES 2010: Wilson Debuts Sleek Signal Booster

Posted in: Today's Chili

wilson-sleek.jpg

Wireless signal boosters may not be sexy, but apparently they can be sleek. Today Wilson Electronics debuted their “Sleek” signal booster, which could solve your AT&T/iPhone reception problems – at least if you’re in your car.
The Sleek is designed to work in cars, with the phone snapping into the booster and the amplifier plugging into the cigarette lighter. A wire leads to an external antenna which greatly pumps up ambient wireless signals. You could install it in your home as well, said Joe Banos, Wilson’s COO, but you wouldn’t be able to walk around with your phone.
The Sleek’s boosting effect should be dramatic. If you have -110 dBm of wireless signal (usually zero bars) it will boost it back up to -90 dBm – a solid bar, enough to make a call. The device will cost only $129, and it will be available at Best Buy and Amazon. It works on 3G frequencies used by AT&T, Sprint and Verizon, and on T-Mobile’s 2G EDGE network.
Wilson’s booster competes with a wide range of other options, most notably Wi-Ex’s zBoost zPocket YX110. But Wilson’s “sophisticated oscillation protection … allows us to run more power, and power is range,” allowing for better reception, Banos says.
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Jan 04

ioSafe’s Solo SSD ditches platters, isn’t worried about buildings collapsing on it

Posted in: rugged, solid state drive, SolidStateDrive, SSD, storage, Today's Chili

Remember when ioSafe unveiled its original Solo right around this time last year? Man, that thing’s looking mighty sluggish now. This year, the company is introducing the Solo SSD, which is hailed as the planet’s first solid state external drive built to protect data from a building collapsing on it. Yeah, a building collapsing on it. It’ll be available with capacities as large as 256GB and will get connected via eSATA or USB, and if you care to know, the ruggedness is due to the firm’s own proprietary ArmorPlate steel outer casing. As for specifics, said tech helps the drive survive 5,000 pound crush forces, 20 foot drops onto rubble and blazing infernos to boot. It’ll be available next month in the US for $499 (64GB), $749 (128GB) or $1,250 (256GB), with the full details / press release hosted up after the break. As soon as we catch some benchmarks on this thing, we’ll be sure to pass ’em along.

Continue reading ioSafe’s Solo SSD ditches platters, isn’t worried about buildings collapsing on it

ioSafe’s Solo SSD ditches platters, isn’t worried about buildings collapsing on it originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 04

Lenovo announces Skylight smartbook, smaller than a Netbook

Posted in: Today's Chili

With a thin frame and a nonstandard OS, Lenovo’s entry into the world of smartbooks meshes smartphone with Netbook. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://ces.cnet.com/8301-31045_1-10424810-269.html” class=”origPostedBlog”2010 CES/a/p

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Jan 04

Lenovo adds swivel and touch to its next-gen Atom Netbook

Posted in: Today's Chili

Adding multitouch, Dolby sound and a swiveling screen to its S10-3 next-generation Atom Netbook, Lenovo has changed a lot since the S10-2. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://ces.cnet.com/8301-31045_1-10424820-269.html” class=”origPostedBlog”2010 CES/a/p

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