Mar 11
At the University of California, San Francisco, another example of how machines are superior. But they still can’t come up with a good home remedy for hiccups.
Mar 11
Mindstorms NXT battle bot shoots bricks, breaks hearts (video)
Posted in: lego, robot, Today's Chili, video
There’s so much to love about Martijn Hellemans’ Mindstorms NXT battle tank: it sports independent suspension, cruise control, LED headlights, laser sighting, and a high velocity brick cannon. What’s more, it’s controlled by a PSP-Nx remote, but you know what we really love about this Mindstorms battle bot? It gets down to the smooth jazz — and here we thought we were smitten with NXT Wall-E. Check out a video of our new Lego love, complete with quiet storm accompaniment, after the break.
Continue reading Mindstorms NXT battle bot shoots bricks, breaks hearts (video)
Mindstorms NXT battle bot shoots bricks, breaks hearts (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Mar 2011 09:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Mar 11
Japan Declares State of Emergency Over Post-Quake Nuclear Woes
Posted in: Japan, Miscellaneous Tech, Today's Chili
More problems in the wake of today’s Japanese earthquake–that county’s government has issued a state of emergency declaration, after nuclear power station Fukushima No 1’s cooling system failed.
Yukio Edano, the county’s chief cabinet secretary, clarified the situation, stating that the country is taking a precaution–the plant doesn’t actually present an immediate threat. “We launched the measure so we can be fully prepared for the worst scenario. We are using all our might to deal with the situation.”
The country has successfully shut down four nuclear plants close to the center of the quake. According to prime minister Naoto Kan, no radiation leaks have been reported thus far.
Mar 11
Nintendo rolls a 3DS Demo Pod across US, gets gamers salivating for March 27th launch
Posted in: 3ds, demo, new-york, nintendo, nintendo 3ds, Nintendo3ds, Pre-Release, Today's Chili, us, usa
The perks of living in a big city, eh? Citizens of Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco are being treated to some three-dimensional March madness from the guys and gals at Nintendo. For the remainder of this month, Ninty’s 3DS handheld will be available to try and play in so-called Demo Pods (see above) at strategic locations in each marquee city. The Mii Maker app, nintendogs + cats, Madden NFL Football, Aslphalt 3D, and a selection of other games will be preloaded and waiting for you, letting you have a taste of what’s to come on March 27th. See Nintendo’s PR after the break for the full details.
Nintendo rolls a 3DS Demo Pod across US, gets gamers salivating for March 27th launch originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Mar 2011 09:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Mar 11
A massive 8.9 off-shore earthquake struck Japan earlier today, at around 2:46 PM local time. The impact of the quake is being felt as far away as Hawaii and California, where authorities have notified citizens to brace for Tsunamis.
The quake has also impact Japanese cell service, with the country’s three largest providers, NTT DoCoMo Inc., KDDI Corp., and Softbank Corp.all reporting major service disruptions in the wake of the quake, as people from inside and outside the country attempt to check on the status of loved ones.
Mar 11
Sony, Subaru, and Toyota close factories in wake of earthquake, other companies check in
Posted in: Japan, Panasonic, sony, Today's Chili, Toyota
Our thoughts this morning are with the folks in Japan and the other Pacific areas affected by the massive 8.9 earthquake that struck about 230 miles East of Tokyo. Reports of damage are flooding in from the country, and indeed many familiar manufacturers are checking in. Sony and Toyota have both stopped operations in their factories due to damage. Tragically, one Honda worker lost his life after a wall collapsed, while several Panasonic workers are said to have suffered minor injuries. It remains to be seen exactly what impacts this will have on consumers, but Sony’s closed factories were responsible for the production of Blu-ray discs and batteries, while the numerous automotive shutdowns could result in short-term shortages. This bad news sent stocks downward, with German share prices for Sony dropping 2.5 percent and Honda 4.5 percent. We’re still watching with concern to see what other impacts the resultant tsunamis could have, but for now we’ll keep hoping for the best.
Update: Some further news from Smarthouse, which indicates that Sharp’s new 10G LCD plant in Sakai City shut itself down automatically upon first signs of a quake. Hooray for technology.
Sony, Subaru, and Toyota close factories in wake of earthquake, other companies check in originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Mar 2011 09:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Mar 11
Beautiful Foley Artists’ Toolkit Makes You Want to Slap Something
Posted in: Miscellaneous, Today's Chili
Chiara Onida’s gorgeous sound-making kit for foley artists
The only time I ever think of foley artists is when I’m listening to a BBC Radio play and I hear somebody trudging up a gravel path. This always distracts me from the story as I imagine the invisible actor stepping up and down in a box of cat litter.
So thank goodness for Chiara Onida, a designer who has come up with a specialty toolkit for foley artists. Like a chef’s knife-roll, the tools roll into a canvas bundle. When opened up at the studio, it reveals a marvelous range of straps and paddles that would be more at home in a Dominatrix’s night-stand.
The various straps and flaps can be struck against anything and everything, including each other. They will produce wet flaps, dry slaps and sickening thunks. The one thing won’t produce is the Wilhelm scream, but I guess that has already been used quite enough. The tools even have wonderfully onomatopoeic names: whump, bwak, thoup, schaa, shwop, fash.
Onida’s beautiful design exists only as a one-off piece, and to be honest, I’m not sure quite how useful it would be. On the other hand, one of the pleasures of a trade you do with your hands is the tools you use to do it, especially if they’re this well designed. I still have my cocktail shakers and other kit from my time as a bartender, and I still love using them.
Foley Toolkit [Chiara Onida via Yanko]
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Mar 11
Klipsch speakers coming to Alienware’s 3D-enabled M17x gaming laptop
Posted in: deal, industry, laptop, notebook, partnership, speaker, speakers, Today's Chili
Altec Lansing does it, as does Harman Kardon. Oh, and lest we forget about Beats. We’re talking about companies that have gone the extra mile (and paid a certain price) to get their speakers into the shells of laptops, and now the fine folks at Alienware are grabbing a top-tier name of their own: Klipsch. Despite being snapped up by Audiovox a few months ago, the outfit’s powering ahead with an apparent plan for expansion. Today, Alienware’s launching its first-ever Klipsch-equipped laptop, the 3D-enabled M17x. Not only will buyers find Intel’s newest Sandy Bridge CPUs, a 1080p 3D panel, custom lighting controls and an HDMI input, but they’ll also be gifted with a set of Klipsch drivers and MaxxAudio 3 software from Waves. Hard to say if the partnership will soon bleed over to even more of Alienware’s machines, but all logical signs are pointing to “yes.” As for this guy? It’ll ship this month starting at $1,499.
Continue reading Klipsch speakers coming to Alienware’s 3D-enabled M17x gaming laptop
Klipsch speakers coming to Alienware’s 3D-enabled M17x gaming laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Mar 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Mar 11
Tembo Trunks: Collapsible, Power-Free Rubber Earbud Speakers
Posted in: Home Audio and Video, speakers, Today's Chili
Tembo Trunks are collapsible silicone speakers for the iPod
Tembo Trunks are a pair of non-powered, collapsible, almost indestructible iPhone speakers, invented by a pair of outdoorsy Australians, Mike and Scott Norrie. They came up with the idea after traveling through Africa and being frustrated at not being able to kick back with some tunes during night in the veldt.
The Tembo Trunks are collapsible silicone rubber cones, and they work as horn-speakers, stretching the sound from the little white earbuds and amplifying it to 80dB. This, according to the SFU, Canada, is the same sound levels as you’d hear from a car at 25 feet. In other words, enough volume to drift out across the African plains as you enjoy a beer and watch the sun go down.
Because they are made from rubber, they can be collapsed and stuffed into a bag, and are almost impossible to break (the demo video shows them being run over by a car). The rear hole has a couple of lugs to secure the ‘buds, and then you just let the speakers lie on the table, ground or a convenient nearby rock.
Mike and Scott are, like all smart inventors these days, hawking their design through Kickstarter. They need $10,000 to get production started, and the minimum pledge is $39, which will get you a pair of Trunks when they ship.
Tembo Trunks – Earbud Speakers [Kickstarter]
See Also:
- Horn Speaker Whispers Tunes in Your Ear
- Bone Amp Gives iPhone the Horn
- Honk! Anyone Home? 'Door Claxon' Combines Horn and Handle
Mar 11
BMW i8 prototype caught on video having fun in the snow
Posted in: concept, hybrid, prototype, Today's Chili, video
Grainy pictures are pretty neat, but spy videos of an unreleased car in motion are a little more titillating. That’s what we have this morning, video of the BMW i8 concept car motoring around in the snow — flanked by a series of rather more pedestrian Bavarian autos. The i8 is the auto formerly known as Vision EfficientDynamics, name shortened but concept kept the same: 62MPG from a vehicle that’s still fun to drive and reasonably quick — 0 to 62 in 4.8 seconds. The quality of the footage is perhaps a little low, but if anything that just adds to the excitement.
Continue reading BMW i8 prototype caught on video having fun in the snow
BMW i8 prototype caught on video having fun in the snow originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Mar 2011 08:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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