In the early days of the web, the technology space was flush with not only money, but a specific type of optimism: that this new medium would allow anybody to make whatever they wanted, and have the world see it (assuming it was any good). This was before Facebook, of course. If you wanted to put something out there, you sometimes had to make it yourself, with something called HTML. More »
Toyota’s just-arrived RAV4 EV will soon get a much smaller cousin — albeit a very elusive one. An electric version of the iQ city car will arrive in Japan (as the eQ) and the US (as the iQ EV) this December, but the automaker is significantly scaling back its 2010 promises of several thousand cars sold per year to just 100 fleet-oriented vehicles. The charging times, costs and range of EVs “do not meet society’s needs,” vice chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada says to explain the smaller ambitions. It’s easy to understand the cautious approach after seeing the car’s final details. While they’re not out of line with the specs of other EVs, the eQ’s 3-hour fast charge, 62-mile range and ¥3.6 million ($46,130) price wouldn’t have regular customers flocking to dealerships. Most of Toyota’s energy is instead being funneled into its tried-and-true hybrids, with 21 due on the market by 2015, as well as plans to deliver the company’s first hydrogen fuel cell car by the same year. Eco-conscious drivers may be disappointed that Toyota isn’t moving as aggressively into a pure electric realm as some of its rivals, but we’d rather see smartly planned baby steps than an overly risky plunge.
Filed under: Transportation
Toyota plans dialed-back launch of eQ and iQ EV city cars in December originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 13:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Steam has made available the demo for X-COM: Enemy Unknown, where this demo works on the PC platform at the moment, sporting a couple of tutorial missions. Not only that, we do know that the demo too, will arrive on both Xbox 360 and PS3 platforms ‘soon’, although we are rather wary of that word since it is extremely relative. 2K Games announced that this particular demo will offer a couple of levels from the single-player campaign, where players will be introduced to the nuances of combat controls as well as the X-COM base which primarily sees action for soldier training and to research alien technology.
For those of you who actually played MicroProse’s classic turn-based strategy series in the past, back when games still came on floppy disks, you might want to check out the demo of X-COM: Enemy Unknown in order to see how this contemporary update has managed to roll back the years, making you wish that games these days come with the kind of imaginative wonder back then. The full copy of X-COM: Enemy Unknown will arrive at retail stores on October 12th on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC platforms.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Valve’s Steam Big Picture Goes Live, Valve Big Picture mode beta launched,
If there is a modern day problem when it comes to storing our data, it would be permanency, or rather, the lack of it. After all storage medium changes from time to time, requiring one to migrate files on the existing media to a new generation format. The process is not guaranteed to work, but Hitachi of Japan claims that they have come across a new way to keep your data and ensure that it lasts “forever” – at least for a few hundred million years. Just what kind of method does Hitachi work with to achieve this seemingly improbable feat? It seems that they intend to store digital information on slivers of quartz glass which are said to be able to handle extreme temperatures and hostile conditions without degrading for an indefinite period of time.
Hitachi researcher Kazuyoshi Torii said, “The volume of data being created every day is exploding, but in terms of keeping it for later generations, we haven’t necessarily improved since the days we inscribed things on stones. The possibility of losing information may actually have increased.”
This new technology from Hitachi will store data in binary form through the creation of dots within a thin sheet of quartz glass, where an ordinary optical microscope will be able to read these dots. All you need is a computer that understands binary, and the data can be accessed, regardless of how far advancements are made in the world of computers, making this a somewhat future-proof method. Right now, the prototype storage device measures 2cm square and is 2mm thin, where it is made from quartz glass, and is waterproof.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Hitachi launches all-in-one data center service, Hitachi Develops High-Efficiency Motor with no Rare Earth Materials,
It sure sucks that Apple changed their dock connector on the iPhone 5, but don’t worry, because plenty of companies are updating their accessories to service your technological needs. Bowers & Wilkins just released their new AirPlay-enabled speakers, which will work will with all iPhones (and recent iPods and iPads too.)
Bowers & Wilkins makes some very nice devices, and the new A5 and A7 are no exceptions. Both will have Wi-Fi, Ethernet LAN ports, and no dock connectors, giving them a sleek finish. They also have a 3.5mm audio jack to connect with other players. The A5 has two 20W Nautilus tweeters and two 20W mid-range drivers.
The A7 comes with two 1-inch 25W Nautilus tube aluminum tweeters, two 3-inch 25W mid-range drivers and a 6-inch 50W subwoofer. The A7 is sure to be loud, while the slightly smaller A5 still has ample power for its size.The A7 has also got a USB port to stream music and download firmware updates.
Both speakers will be available in October. They will sell for $499.99(USD) for the A5 and $799.99 for the A7.
[via Ubergizmo]
Yesterday, The Jetsons celebrated its 50th birthday. It may seem like we’re living in the future these days, but, half a century after the show’s original 24 episode run, we still don’t have a lot of that juicy future-tech. Here are a couple of the most glaring absences.
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It’s not the first time Engadget editors have stepped foot at Nokia House — the company’s HQ in Espoo, Finland — but it’s always a treat, and our visit this week is no exception. Today we took a walk down memory lane, and spent some time with several Nokia handsets — from one of the very first mobile phones to the Lumia 920. We played with some of the more iconic models and designs, such as the 1011 (first GSM handset), 1610, 7700 / 7710 (S90), 7280 (lipstick phone), 770 / N800 tablets, N-Gage / QD, 3300, 8800, 8110 (from the Matrix movie), N93 / N93i, N91, N92, N76, N95 and finally the 7650 (the first handset running Symbian). In addition, we also got to handle some of the Lumia 820 and 920 accessories, including the Fatboy wireless charging pillow and JBL-branded Power Up speakers. Check out the gallery below then hit the break for our hands-on video. Oh, and don’t forget to tune in tomorrow for our live Q&A with Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop.
Gallery: Nokia House tour
Update: That music-centric handset which uses an IBM Microdrive is the N91 (not N90) and was announced in 2005 (not 1995), and that flip-phone is the N76 (not the N75) — sorry for the slip in the video.
Zach Honig contributed to this report.
Continue reading Engadget visits Nokia House, walks down memory lane (video)
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Engadget visits Nokia House, walks down memory lane (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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TiVo has been a pioneer in the technology which enables users to record TV shows. On that front, it has a number of important DVR patents to its name. Back in 2009, the company sued both AT&T and Verizon over alleged infringement of three of its DVR patents.
AT&T eventually agreed to pay TiVo a whopping $215 million as part of the settlement. And now Verizon has agreed to cough up $250.4 million to finally end its legal battle with TiVo. (more…)
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: TiVo Premiere Goes Official, Verizon Galaxy Nexus receives Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update,
We had a busy and exciting week last week with the release of the iPhone 5, and that continued right into the weekend and now today. While we hope everyone enjoyed their weekend (watching the NFL) it’s time to get back to those gadgets we all love and depend on. First up is the Samsung Galaxy S III getting updated to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the international model that is.
Samsung just started the update rollout of Jelly Bean for their new flagship Galaxy S III, and we can expect carriers here in the US to start issuing the update here shortly too — but that could still be a few weeks away or more. That isn’t all from Samsung either. They then issued a Jelly Bean update timeline for multiple (15) of their devices, but oddly enough the original Galaxy Tab 10 wasn’t included. A device only a year old.
Then next up this week is already looking up with talk about Apple Maps, and iPhone 5 sales. Yup, talk is brewing that Apple is aggressively seeking out and looking to hire past Google Maps staff. Then Apple announced they sold 5 million iPhone 5 smartphones over the weekend. While that is a big number, analysts predicted much higher sales, and are blaming Apple’s lack of stock for the missed prediction. Then we have two more pieces of Apple news. One being that more than 100 million devices have been upgraded to iOS 6. Speaking of iOS 6, Google Maps has been hacked to work again on the latest OS.
Then to round off the wrap-up with some other important bits and pieces of news Intel detailed 4G LTE and quad-core plans for later this year, Nintendo’s Wii U will be region-locked, and then we have something weird for you all. You can get a brain controlled kitty tail by a company called Shippo. Yea, that’s weird!
Then to end on a good note the amazing Space-shuttle Endeavour made its final flight this weekend, flying high over California as people across the state enjoyed the site from their rooftops. You’ll be able to see it at the California Science Center starting October 13th on display.
Have a great week folks!
SlashGear Morning Wrap-up: September 24, 2012 is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Gone are the days where we paste our pictures into big bulky photo albums. But what would happen if we didn’t just store our pictures, but our entire memories in the cloud? One day, they could be completely wiped out, which is just what filmmaker Francois Ferracci explores in the short Lost Memories . More »
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