Hasta La Gadget!

Ever feel like your WiFi devices’ battery-lives are better off when not surrounded by peers and passersby? According to Duke University grad student Justin Manweiler and assistant professor Romit Roy Choudhury, this phenomenon is due to gadgets constantly fighting to retrieve the same data. Their Systems Networking Research Group has created a program dubbed SleepWell to alleviate the congestion; it puts WiFi to rest until the path is clear for accessing the specific data it needs, and provides improved power management all the while. The tech was shown off at MobiSys 2011 this past week and reportedly works well “across a number of device types and situations.” Notably, Microsoft and Nokia (amongst others like Verizon) are backing up the project, which makes us cautiously optimistic that it could be headed for WP7 (or Windows 8, for that matter) in due time. There’s no info on whether SleepWell will ever be distributed commercially, but may we suggest an LTE version to help out big V’s poor ol’ T-Bolt?

SleepWell forces WiFi to wait its turn, keeps gadgets well-rested originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jul 2011 08:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Textually, Yahoo News  |  Duke Today  | Email this | Comments

There are a lot of different ways that brands are encouraging people to stay cool this summer. From Super Cool Biz to free ice cream, Japanese are looking for welcome breaks to beat the heat. Since there’s so much product innovation in the beverage sector, Japan is an amazing market to look at, especially in seasonal transitions.

I was on my way to Kobe last week to do an innovation workshop, and decided to try cooling down on the shinkansen with Japan Tobacco’s latest drink Menthol Shock. Since they seem to know their way around menthol, it seemed like a natural choice. “Freshness” is a strong trend in a lot of sectors, especially tobacco.

I’ll leave the snarky review to others, though I certainly wondered whether JT was simply looking for a way to get rid of excess menthol cigarette stock. It’s true that Japanese beverage makers are quite versatile in using surpluses from other products in creating new drinks, but usually they taste good! Air conditioning is not for drinking.

Sony’s ‘Welcome Back‘ campaign may have drawn to a close a bit early, but the PlayStation Network won’t make its full return to Japan until later this week. As of July 6th, Japanese gamers will once again be able to access the PlayStation Store and Qriocity, bringing an end to a nearly three-month suspension enacted after April’s widespread data breach. These services have already been reintroduced across other parts of the globe, but Sony encountered notably stiffer resistance in its homeland, where authorities demanded assurance of the PSN’s security before allowing it to relaunch within their borders. The PlayStation Store remained down throughout Sony’s negotiations with government officials, but company spokesman Satoshi Fukuoka says those discussions have advanced far enough for full services to resume. The PSN’s long-awaited return to Japan will also signal its full global restoration, meaning that Sony may finally be able to put the saga to rest — and try to forget about that $170 million it lost in the process.

PlayStation Store, Qriocity returning to Japan this week, completing global PSN restoration originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jul 2011 05:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  IDG News Service (ComputerWorld)  | Email this | Comments

It is estimated that around 90,000 people are still living in temporary shelters in Japan as a result of the disasters that occurred on March 11th. In response to this Japanese design company Atelier Opa have turned their skills towards what they can do to help out those affected, and produced a simple but fantastic temporary shelter design open for anyone to replicate.

The cardboard shelters look something similar to a child’s playhouse and are designed to offer a little privacy and comfort to those still living in the cramped conditions in the communal shelters at present. The cardboard can be assembled easily by anyone and even decorated by those with children, which could provide a nice creative outlet in a situation where many have been adversely affected by the tsunami and its aftermath.

With the majority of shelters located in school gymnasiums or public halls, the facilities really offer very little in terms of privacy or seclusion where evacuees can escape to try and relax in as best a way as is possible. Atelier Opa’s designs have been created not just to provide spaces for people to sleep in but partitions to create study areas and even clothes hanging areas. With many still unsure as to when they can move out of the communal areas right now and into relief housing, providing at least a semblance of having a personal space and designated spaces for specific functions is particularly important.

What is really impressive about the project is that the company also made all the plans for the designs available publicly under Creative Commons license so that any group of volunteers or charity organizations can replicate them. Recently a large number of volunteers from Kogakuin University in Tokyo went up to the affected areas, provided and erected the shelters in a number of different areas. The same designs could now as easily be implemented for homeless or other displaced people throughout the world.

Related posts:
Refugee Housing: Japan’s Earthquake Proof Dome House
J-Pop Ringtones for Relief
5 Power Saving Tips for Japan

Continue reading Toshiba Thrive WiFi tablet hitting Best Buy on July 10th?

Toshiba Thrive WiFi tablet hitting Best Buy on July 10th? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jul 2011 02:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments