Sep 30

Griffin’s Multidock system charges and syncs up to 30 iPads at once

Posted in: Apple, ios, ipad, ipad 2, Ipad2, iPhone, ipod touch, IpodTouch, sync, tablet, tablets, Today's Chili

Don’t you hate it when all of your iPads collectively run out of juice? Well, praise Griffin for announcing its first business centric iOS “accessory” in the shape of the Multidock. It has its own power connection for simultaneous charging of ten iPads, but it can be chain-linked to two other docks for syncing of up to 30 tablets with a single Mac. With each server-esque tower measuring up at 18.6 inches (47.2 cm) tall and priced even higher at $700, this one’s for IT pros and Scrabble aficionados only.

Gallery: Griffin Multidock press shots

Griffin’s Multidock system charges and syncs up to 30 iPads at once originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 09:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 30

AlphaDog Is the New Generation of the Creepiest Robot Ever

Posted in: Robots, Today's Chili, top, video

This is AlphaDog, the next generation of BigDog, the creepiest and most awesome quadruped robot of all time. The damn thing is now smarter and can stand up on its own when it’s down. Like a real horse. More »

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Sep 30

Samsung Galaxy W gets the FCC once over (again), appears ready for AT&T

Posted in: att, mobilepostmini, samsung, Today's Chili

In a Samsung Galaxy soon coming your way, are a stable of alphabetically ranked handsets. Among these newly hatched Korean mobile offspring is the ‘W’ line — meant to imply wireless wonder. Well, wonder about its US bow no more because that handset — previously announced for the British Isles — is getting a double take at the FCC. The time ’round, the Commission’s filings reveal GSM / WCDMA 850MHz / 1900MHz bands, making this variant prime for Canada’s networks and our own AT&T — at speeds of 14.4Mbps down. We know from previous reports that this 3.7-incher sports a Super LCD display, in addition to a single-core 1.4GHz processor, 5 megapixel camera, 4GB of storage, WiFi and Bluetooth. Now, all we need to complete the picture is an official announcement and an offering in virgin white. Check out the source below if spectrum testing rings your bell.

Samsung Galaxy W gets the FCC once over (again), appears ready for AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 09:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 30

Keepin’ it real fake: Chinese Nokia N9 makes but minor sacrifices

Posted in: kirf, mobilepostcross, nokia, Today's Chili

Chinese rip-off merchants have been crafting N9s since before the handset even existed and by now they’re pretty good at it. This latest bogie comes in at just $64 — way cheaper than a genuine budget smartphone — but it still manages to pack in dual SIM slots, a mock iPhone UI and a resistive touchscreen that gives you the ergonomic pleasure of pressing everything three times. Sure, we have a few misgivings about the lack of functioning apps and the blurry 1.3MP rear camera, but then even the N-Man himself has the occasional phony moment.

Update: We switched the pic to show you the iOS version, rather than the mock Sense variant depicted earlier. Yes, it seems you do get a choice.

Keepin’ it real fake: Chinese Nokia N9 makes but minor sacrifices originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 09:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink MIC Gadget  |  sourceTaobao (Chinese)  | Email this | Comments

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Sep 30

SwiftKey X for Android hits v2.1, fingers party everywhere

Posted in: Android, android market, AndroidMarket, app, froyo, gingerbread, Google, honeycomb, keyboard, market, mobilepostcross, smartphone, tablet, Today's Chili, update

Rejoice, virtual keyboard aficionados! SwiftKey X 2.1 for Android tablets and smartphones just became available today, and brings a bunch of new features and bug fixes to your favorite touchscreen device. Since our hands-on with v2.0, TouchType has updated its on-screen keyboard using the feedback it gathered from its 25,000+ VIP members. The new version of SwiftKey X adds blog personalization, insights about your typing (shareable with friends), heat-map visualization (see screenshot above), localization / language enhancements, and an auto caps toggle. We’ve been using the final build of SwiftKey X 2.1 on our Nexus S for the past couple of days and noticed some improvements in terms of typing speed and accuracy. Pricing remains $4.99 for SwiftKey Tablet X and $3.99 for SwiftKey X. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading SwiftKey X for Android hits v2.1, fingers party everywhere

SwiftKey X for Android hits v2.1, fingers party everywhere originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 30

Pour one out for the Tevatron particle accelerator, because it’s shutting down today

Posted in: government, money, research, Today's Chili
The eyes of the physics community are collectively fixed upon Illinois today, where, later this afternoon, researchers at Fermilab will shut down the Tevatron particle accelerator… for good. That’s right — the world’s second-largest collider is being laid to rest, after a remarkable 25-year run that was recently halted due to budgetary constraints. Earlier this year, Fermilab’s scientists and a group of prominent physicists pleaded with the government to keep the Tevatron running until 2014, but the Energy Department ultimately determined that the lab’s $100 million price tag was too steep, effectively driving a nail through the accelerator’s subterranean, four-mile-long coffin. First activated in 1985, the Tevatron scored a series of subatomic breakthroughs over the course of its lifespan, including, most notably, the discovery of the so-called top quark in 1995. Its groundbreaking technology, meanwhile, helped pave the way for CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, which will now pursue the one jewel missing from the Tevatron’s resume — the Higgs boson. Many experts contend that the collider could’ve gone on to achieve much more, but its ride will nonetheless come to an inglorious end at 2PM today, when Fermilab director Pier Oddone oversees the Tevatron’s last rites. “That will be it,” physicist Gregorio Bernardi told the Washington Post. “Then we’ll have a big party.”

Pour one out for the Tevatron particle accelerator, because it’s shutting down today originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 08:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Daily Tech  |  sourceSymmetry Magazine, The Washington Post  | Email this | Comments

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Sep 30

AndyPad Pro review

Posted in: 7-inch, Android, android tablet, AndroidTablet, gingerbread, Google, review, Today's Chili, video

Picture the scene: you’re checking your emails on a shiny new device (worth two months pay) and from nowhere, a greasy-fingered infant is screaming at you to play. Reluctantly, you pass it over, watching your own hands cup the air beneath any potential drop zone, wondering how best to explain the jam-smeared calamity to your insurance company. Then you wonder if there isn’t a useful, hard-wearing and cheap device you could let them play on without fear of bankruptcy. That’s what prompted Norwich-based bedding magnate Andrew Kerry to conceive the AndyPad, an inexpensive, 7-inch Android tablet he could fling at kids. It wasn’t long before jealous adults were demanding their own version, so a tooled-up edition of the device called the AndyPad Pro was born.

The tablet is currently UK-only and it retails for a lot less than the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 (£280; $345 on Amazon) and Acer Iconia Tab A100 (£273 for the 8GB version; $328 on Amazon), and HTC Flyer (£330; $499 on Amazon). What’s more, Verticool, an outfit founded by a man more famous for his Mattressman chain than any interest in technology, believes it can match the competition in a fair fight. Do the electronics giants have something to fear from the bargain-basement tablet or does it promise much and deliver little? Read on to find out.

Gallery: AndyPad Pro review

Continue reading AndyPad Pro review

AndyPad Pro review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 08:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 30

Tango releases video calling on PCs, we go hands-on (video)

Posted in: desktop, Today's Chili, video

It’s been exactly a year since Tango’s free video calling service hit iOS and Android smartphones, and the startup is marking its anniversary with another big release: Tango for PCs. We had a chance to catch up with CTO Eric Setton and the crew, and gave Tango’s latest a test-run — let’s just say it’s been a very good year for these guys. Earlier this month, Microsoft teased Tango as the harbinger of video calling for Mango, and, since its debut, the outfit’s drawn in over 23 million users. So how did Tango fare in its move from the handset to the desktop? We’d say it’s a smooth transition — perhaps too smooth. Check out our first impressions after the break.

Continue reading Tango releases video calling on PCs, we go hands-on (video)

Tango releases video calling on PCs, we go hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 30

Ikea Hack: Time-Lapse Panning Tripod from Kitchen Timer

Posted in: Today's Chili

Simple, easy and with superb results: the perfect hack

This photographic Ikea Hack is notable both for its simplicity and for the stunning results it produces. And it only gets better when you find out that it can be done for less than $5.

The hack uses Ikea kitchen timers to make timelapse panning stands. All you need to do is drill a hole in the top of the timer, add a bushing and screw a tripod-mount-sized machine screw into the top. Congratulations: You’re done.

This refined mod was carried out by hacker Getawaymoments , and is detailed on his blog with — of course — some great photos. To use it, just screw the camera onto the top, set the timer and hit the time-lapse function of the camera. If you’re good, you’ll get results like this:

Told you it was good. There are actually two versions of Getawaymoments’s hack. One uses the $2 plastic Stam timer, and the other (pictured) uses the still-cheap Ordning timer, a sturdier metal unit for $6. Either should be fine, but if you own a camera and find yourself at Ikea in the near future, the Stam is so cheap you can’t afford not to try it.

How to Make a Cheap and Easy Ikea Time Lapse Panning Unit [Getawaymoments via PetaPixel]

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Sep 30

Micro Four Thirds Canon Lens Adapter Allows Aperture Control

Posted in: lenses, micro four thirds, Today's Chili

It’s not pretty, but it’ll get the job done

One thing I love about Micro Four Thirds cameras is that you can mount all kinds of lenses on them using simple, cheap adapters. In fact, I’m just about to sell my Nikon D700 because I almost never use it, but I’m keeping my lenses to use on a Panasonic GF1.

But until now, Canon users had to without aperture control when using lenses on other bodies. Canon EF mount lenses need power to activate their aperture leaves, and passive adapters simply leave the lenses stuck wide open. RedRock Micro solves this with the LiveLens Active Mount, a powered converter that lets you use your lens as it was supposed to be.

Aperture is controlled by a panel on the adapter itself, not by the camera. You do lose autofocus functions, but as the adapter is primarily meant for people shooting video, you’ll be focusing manually anyway.

The LiveLens is pretty expensive, at $488. This compares to sub-$50 passive adapters. Given that Canon owners looking to shoot pro-level video will likely opt for a Canon body, the market for this seems small. If you’re starting from scratch, it would be much smarter to choose a cheaper Nikon adapter and pick from the larger range of second-hand Nikon glass which still have manual aperture rings.

Still, it’s kinda neat, and perhaps signals the day where old SLR lenses can sit on Micro Four Thirds bodies with all electronic functions intact.

LiveLens MFT Active Lens Mount [RedRock Micro via Derrick Story]

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