Apr 06

da Vinci Robot pwns Operation, deems our childhoods forlorn (video)

Posted in: robot, robotics, Robots, Today's Chili, university, video

What happens when a robot with immaculate dexterity comes to grips with a notorious board game from our childhood? Just ask Johns Hopkins University students, who successfully removed the wish bone from an Operation board using the da Vinci Robot. If you’re familiar with the game, you’ll know how incredibly difficult it was to prevent that ear-piercing noise from occurring– even with our tiny fingers. Of course, we should have expected that a robot — especially one capable of folding a tiny paper airplane — would be able to accomplish this feat with such ease. Be sure to peep the pseudo-surgery in video form below the break.

Continue reading da Vinci Robot pwns Operation, deems our childhoods forlorn (video)

da Vinci Robot pwns Operation, deems our childhoods forlorn (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 09:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourcejohnshopkinsrobotics (YouTube)  | Email this | Comments

No Comments
Apr 06

Intel rolls out 10-core, 20-threaded Xeon E7s, shows everyone who’s boss

Posted in: enterprise, intel, launch, official, performance, processor, release, Today's Chili, video

Someone deep down in Intel’s development dungeons must be laughing a haughty laugh of disdain at us mere mortals getting excited about dual-cores in smartphones. The old Chipzilla has just turned out its 10-core Xeon E7 processor family, which can work on 20 simultaneous computational threads courtesy of the company’s Hyper-Threading knowhow. Needless to say, there aren’t that many casual workloads that will ever properly harness such extremely parallelized prowess, but then Intel isn’t really gunning for the Facebook crowd here anyhow. The new E7s are for those dealing with truly data-intensive tasks, meaning that Facebook itself would be a good candidate to buy up a few, provided it’s tempted by such things as 40 percent performance improvements over the Xeon 7500 tied to dynamic power adjustment for increased energy efficiency. Pricing for the Xeon E7s starts at $774 and climbs up to $4,616 per 32nm chip, with the usual proviso that Intel won’t sell them in batches of less than 1,000. More details follow in the press release and video after the break.

[Thanks, Khan]

Continue reading Intel rolls out 10-core, 20-threaded Xeon E7s, shows everyone who’s boss

Intel rolls out 10-core, 20-threaded Xeon E7s, shows everyone who’s boss originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 09:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Hot Hardware  |   | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Apr 06

Apple Patent Shows Thunderbolt Dock Connector

Posted in: Accessories and Peripherals, Apple, patents, thunderbolt, Today's Chili

<< Previous
|
Next >>


Dock Connector


<< Previous
|
Next >>

View all

Apple patents aren’t normally worth the pixels it takes to write about them — any half-smart company will patent any and every idea its employees have, just in case. But this USB 3.0 / Thunderbolt hybrid dock connector looks like it might be pretty serious.

The current dock connector is horrible. Unless you can see the tiny symbol printed in light gray on one side, you’ll end up jamming it in backwards half the time. It is also big. Back when those big white iPods were the latest thing, this wasn’t a problem. Now, though, the slot is nearly as wide as the iPod Nano itself.

The patent, filed way back in 2009, has just been published. It shows a smaller connector which can carry “one or more new high-speed communication standards, such as USB 3.0 and DisplayPort.” I doubt that it will actually use USB 3.0. Much more likely is a Thunderbolt plug, which uses the above-mentioned (mini) DisplayPort interface.

The cable would carry power, USB, serial data, audio, video and display data. It also looks pretty similar, internally at least, to the current connector. Then again, patent drawings are notoriously bad.

I’d expect the transition to begin once the entire Mac lineup has a Thunderbolt interface, and the Thunderbolt has started to arrive on PCs. I’d also expect some backwards compatibility, or at least two cables (or an adapter) in iDevice boxes so people with stone-age USB-only computers can still charge and sync their iPods.

Reduced size multi-pin male plug connector [Free Patents Online via Apple Insider]

See Also:


No Comments | Tags: ,
Apr 06

Dish Network wins Blockbuster auction for $228 million in cash

Posted in: Movies, satellite, Today's Chili

The question of what’s next for Blockbuster has been partially answered, now that Dish Network has announced its $320 million bid was enough to win a bankruptcy court auction for the rental giant’s remaining assets. After “certain adjustments” are made and the deal closes, it’s expected to cost just $228 million in cash but what exactly Dish plans to do with the 1,700 stores and innumerable copies of Little Fockers is unclear. Executive VP Tom Cullen stated in the press release (after the break) Dish looks forward to reestablishing “Blockbuster’s brand as a leader in video entertainment,” but in a world where Netflix, Redbox and iTunes exist that could be easier said than done.

Continue reading Dish Network wins Blockbuster auction for $228 million in cash

Dish Network wins Blockbuster auction for $228 million in cash originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 08:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceDish Network  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Apr 06

Cassette Mate Converts Useless Mix Tapes Into Useful MP3s

Posted in: Media Players, MP3, Retro, Today's Chili

Thanko’s Cassette Mate will rip your old tapes to MP3

Got some old cassette tapes lying around? I thought not. But keep reading anyway, as Thanko’s Cassette Mate is quite a curiosity, in a retro-useless kind of way.

Looking like a Walkman that has been left on a beach and polished to a pebble-shape by the merciless attrition of sea and sand, the Cassette Mate is barely bigger than the tapes you will slot into it. Once inside, you can play them back (two AA batteries required) or hook the machine up to a PC via USB and convert those old mix tapes to MP3, WAV or WMA files.

Some clunky-looking Windows software is included, and it will automatically split tracks for you if you like. And as it only costs ¥2,980 ($34), then it might just be worth it for converting your old tapes before it really is too late.

I was given a mix tape a month or two back. I have no idea what’s on it, and never will, as I don’t have a tape player any more. In fact, I suspect my friend gave it to me as a sick joke. Well, Jimmy, the joke’s on you, buddy. I tossed the tape out already, and I’m using the hinged case as an iPod stand. Sucka!

Cassette Mate product page [Thanko via über Gizmo]

See Also:


No Comments
Apr 06

Sanyo Eneloop Mobile Booster provides $79 of USB power-suck

Posted in: available, shipping, Today's Chili, us
What was a Japanese-only device has finally made it to the US shores. Sanyo’s Eneloop Mobile Booster (aka, KBC-L2) battery supplies 5V 500mA of juice to a pair of simultaneously connected USB devices or 1,000mA to a single, more power-hungry tablet. The 5,000mAH Lithium-ion pack is baked right into the device (rechargeable Eneloop AA owners should check out Sanyo’s Mobile Booster stick) and charges fully in about seven hours from an AC circuit or 14 hours from a relatively feeble USB jack. Available now for $79.99.

Continue reading Sanyo Eneloop Mobile Booster provides $79 of USB power-suck

Sanyo Eneloop Mobile Booster provides $79 of USB power-suck originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 08:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSanyo  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: ,
Apr 06

Seagate’s ‘Slim’ Hard Drive Is World’s Skinniest

Posted in: storage, Today's Chili

Seagate’s GoFlex Slim is thin enough to hold above your purse whilst posing for a photo

Seagate claims that its new GoFlex Slim external hard drive is the world’s slimmest. It certainly is skinny, and with its clean and handsome slab-like lines, it might be the perfect companion for the storage-impaired MacBook Air.

In fact, this looks like a pretty good portable drive, period. It may be as thin as a pencil (9mm) but it manages to pack in a desktop-speed 7,200rpm platter, 192-bit encryption and a USB 3.0 interface. At $100 for 320GB, it’s not the cheapest drive out there ($100 will easily buy your half a Terabyte these days) but, like Lorraine McFly in 1955, it’s so… it’s so… it’s so… thin.

The drive is available right now, and comes only in the 320GB size.

GoFlex Slim Performance Drive [Seagate]

See Also:


No Comments
Apr 06

Microsoft and Toyota to partner on smarter charging systems for EVs (update: yes)

Posted in: electric vehicle, ElectricVehicle, ev, Microsoft, Today's Chili, Toyota
Microsoft and Toyota to parner on smarter charging systems for EVs?

Today at 3:00pm EST Microsoft and Toyota are holding a little webcast and, while they’re staying mum on just what the topic of discussion will be, we’re hearing they’ve been having some heart-to-hearts about making dumb power grids a little smarter. The details naturally are yet to be unveiled, but we’re presuming it’ll be similar to what Microsoft and Ford have worked on for the Focus Electric, technology that enables the car to know when rates are cheapest and only charge up then, also providing detailed data on the car’s power consumption. The Tesla-powered RAV4 EV will be Toyota’s first pure electric vehicle, and while it surely won’t be as invigorating to drive as the similarly Tesla-powered Roadster, thanks to Microsoft maybe it’ll be a little smarter. It’ll certainly be cheaper.

Update: Sure enough. Toyota and Microsoft have announced a ¥1 billion (about $12 million) deal to extend Microsoft’s telematics wizardry (which powers Toyota’s Entune system, among many others) to help “link people, automobiles and homes for integrated control of energy consumption.” Interestingly it’s all going to be built on Azure, Microsoft’s cloud operating system that, apparently, works in cars as well. That and lots more PR speak after the break.

Continue reading Microsoft and Toyota to partner on smarter charging systems for EVs (update: yes)

Microsoft and Toyota to partner on smarter charging systems for EVs (update: yes) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 07:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourcePC World  | Email this | Comments

No Comments
Apr 06

Dish Network to buy Blockbuster for $228 million

Posted in: Today's Chili

The satellite TV provider says it has won the bankruptcy court auction for Blockbuster, which it aims to re-establish as a leader in video entertainment.

Originally posted at The Digital Home

No Comments
Apr 06

Free Firefox Memory with TooManyTabs Extension

Posted in: Features, Firefox Extensions, Freeware, Screenshots, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on December 03, 2008 by CyberNet.

toomany tabs.jpg

Last week Cody sent me in a tip for an experimental Firefox extension that I just had to try out. It’s called TooManyTabs, and it essentially adds another tab bar to your Firefox window where you can temporarily store some of your existing tabs. To do this all you have to do is hover over a tab, and you’ll see the tab’s icon turn into an up arrow (as seen in the screenshot above). Clicking on that arrow will move the tab to the new temporary bar.

Why would you want to do this? I’ve got a list of features below, but one of the nicest things is that it will free up some of your memory. It does this by unloading the page from the memory that is consumed by Firefox, which means any forms you’ve filled out will be lost once you’ve moved it to the temporary tab bar. To test this out I opened up 25 tabs which ended up consuming 184MB of memory. After moving them all to the more temporary tab bar that was created by the extension it brought the memory usage down to 133MB. Not too bad.

Here are some of the other things that you can use TooManyTabs for:

  • Multiple rows for storing up to 50 tabs
  • Restore up to 20 recently closed tabs
  • Marking tabs in different colors
  • Options to customize number of rows
  • Option to open tabs adjacent to your selected tab
  • Open all tabs of the same row in TooManyTabs
  • Pin your most frequently visited tabs onto TooManyTabs and access them easily anytime
  • Pinned tabs will stay on the TooManyTabs row unless you unpin them; clicking a pinned tab will open a new instance of the tab

One nice thing that I have noticed is that if Firefox does get restarted the tabs stored by the extension will automatically get restored. So you don’t have to worry about losing them if Firefox closes.

Get TooManyTabs for Firefox
Thanks Cody!

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

Related Posts:


No Comments | Tags: