Hasta La Gadget!

A rundown of what we know so far: how PSN got hacked, what Sony is doing about it, whether credit cards were stolen, and how the company is trying to regain the trust of its customers.

Originally posted at Circuit Breaker

It might look like a poor man’s game of Pong now, but a new laser steering system coming out of North Carolina State University could make blowing things up Star Wars-style cheaper and more efficient. The setup enlists a series of “polarization gratings” through which a laser beam passes. Each of these gratings, made of liquid crystal applied to a plate of glass, are configured to redirect the light in a particular direction, thus simply steering the laser beam without significantly decreasing its power — with each grating comes a new “steerable” angle. The system’s creators point out its not only hyper accurate, but also less expensive than existing arrangements due to the use of liquid crystal. Apparently the US Air Force is already using the stuff, but don’t expect them to go all Death Star anytime soon.

Continue reading Laser steering system uses liquid crystal to destroy the enemy on the cheap (video)

Laser steering system uses liquid crystal to destroy the enemy on the cheap (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 May 2011 06:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mobile payment systems may be gaining only gradual steam in the US, but over on the other side of the pond, Vodafone UK has launched a broad new campaign to integrate smartphone technology where Londoners may need it most — in the back of taxis. As of today, many cab passengers will be able to charge their smartphones in transit, thanks to a wide range of chargers that the mobile carrier has installed in more than 500 of London’s iconic black vehicles. Vodafone is also rolling out a new payment scheme today, whereby cash-strapped travelers can text their cab’s license number to a specific code, allowing any owed fares to be charged directly to their phone bills. The system certainly doesn’t sound as elegant as some of the NFC-based operations we’ve heard about, but it still beats having to navigate your cab driver to the nearest ATM, with the meter tick-tocking away.

Vodafone lets Londoners pay for taxis via text message, charge their phones in transit originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 May 2011 06:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Details are spotty but Apple special forces have apparently swept into its data center, temporarily disrupting the company’s ability to sell anything online. We’re expecting official word of the operation from company CEO Steve Jobs, at about 08.30 Eastern Time. With any luck, a new iMac will emerge unscathed by the Nehalem menace, sporting a brand new Sandy Bridge microarchitecture — or as we like to call it: freedom.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Apple store goes down, iMac refresh on high alert originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 May 2011 05:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Good news: Android 2.3.4 is en route to your Nexus One. Bad news: it lacks the Google Talk video and voice chat options that Nexus S users will get to enjoy in their slice of the same Gingerbread iteration. You might think this predictable, given that the Nexus One lacks a front-facing camera, but then it might have been nice to at least have voice calls integrated into Gtalk. Anyhow, if bug fixes are your thing, you can go grab your build number GRJ22 at the download link below or enjoy the anticipation of getting it over the air like everyone else.

[Thanks, Tom]

Nexus One gets Android 2.3.4 over the air, but no Gtalk video calling fun originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 May 2011 04:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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