Cooking is as much a science as astrophysics, biology, or mathematics. Particularly when professional mathemusician and YouTuber Vi Hart gets involved. Watch in awe as she turns a regular tortilla into a complex origami creation—a hexaflexagon to be exact—and feel vastly inferior the next time you’re downing a boring wrapped burrito. More »
There is just something about retro designs and in this case, video games that tug at one’s heart strings. Most of us would have been exposed to video games at an early age via classics such as Galaga, Dig Dug and Pac-Man. Who could forget the “wakka-wakka” sound generated by this pseudo pie chart, gobbling up pills in a maze while trying to avoid ghosts from hunting it down? Here is a modern take on the retro Pac-Man, coming in the form of the £34.99 Pac-Man Plug ‘n’ Play.
The Pac-Man Plug ‘n’ Play, in essence, is a console that has been shaped to look like Pac-Man’s head; boasting authentic arcade controls. All you need to get going is an actual display, so it should not be too hard to find one unused display in the vicinity in this day and age. Some of the classic games included in the Pac-Man Plug ‘n’ Play console would be Galaga, New Rally-X and Dig Dug among the dozen original 8-bit titles. Just make sure that you have 4 AA batteries to keep it going, and we would recommend using rechargeables if you think that you are going to spend a lot of time with this puppy.
[ Pac-Man Plug ‘n’ Play copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
We see interesting consumer electronics all the time, but we rarely get to see weird gadgets that people use for work – stuff like the HC1, a wearable computer by Motorola that looks as silly now as it did in 1992. But at least this one’s real and it sounds like a very practical device.
The HC1′s main component is a micro SVGA 800×600 display. As you can see it’s quite small, but it’ll appear to be a 15″ screen to the wearer. It has other optional components, such as a 2.0mp webcam and a headset. The user can control the HC1 via voice, gestures or using a Bluetooth device. All of those neat hardware and features are powered by a 800Mhz dual-core CPU and has 512MB RAM.
They should have hired Jean Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren to demo the device. You can find out more about the HC1 from Motorola Solutions.
[via Ubergizmo]
Read the comments on any of our ASUS Transformer Pad reviews. It doesn’t matter if you pick the mid-range TF300 or the high-end Infinity. You’ll invariably find someone saying, “That’s nice, but can’t it run Windows 8?” It’s a perfectly sane request: sure, a tablet and optional keyboard dock make for a convenient setup, but how great would it be if you could use that keyboard to get work done in Microsoft Office? Ditto for the dock’s USB port: being able to plug in a thumb drive is a good start, but it’d be even sweeter if you could drag and drop files, as you would on a PC.
Well, ladies and gents, you can quit your fantasizing. ASUS is ready to start shipping the VivoTab RT (TF600), and we’re guessing it’s pretty darn close to whatever Franken-tablet you’ve been dreaming up. Which is to say, it takes everything we loved about ASUS’ Transformer Pads, and adds Windows RT. Like other tablets in ASUS’ lineup, it has a 10-inch Super IPS+ display with claimed 178-degree viewing angles and a 600-nit brightness rating. Other tried-and-true specs include a quad-core Tegra 3 chip; an 8-megapixel, autofocusing rear camera capable of recording 1080p video; SonicMaster audio; and long battery life — in this case, up to nine hours for the tablet and up to seven for the keyboard dock. At 8.3mm thick and 1.2 pounds, it’s also about as thin and light as any Transformer Pad. Lastly, the VivoTab has NFC — something you won’t find on any of ASUS’ older slates.
The VivoTab RT should be available beginning today, starting at $599 for the 32GB tablet with a keyboard dock included. A 64GB tablet-and-dock bundle will retail for $699. So is this as good a buy as ASUS’ earlier tablets. And how does it compare to other Windows RT devices being offered at a similar price? Let’s find out.
Gallery: ASUS VivoTab RT review
ASUS VivoTab RT review: everything you loved about the Transformer tablets, but with Windows originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Wire’s Lester Freamon was never too far away from his Panasonic Toughbook, and we’d bet he’d be able to handle plenty more wiretaps with one of these. This is the Toughbook C2, the company’s latest 12.5-inch convertible notebook for Windows 8 Pro that’s designed for healthcare professionals and daring explorer types. On the hardware side, there’s an Intel Core i5-3427U vPro CPU, 11 hours of battery life and a pair of USB 3.0 ports. You’ll be staring into a 500 nit, LCD IPS display (and a 720p webcam) that offers five-point multitouch and a digitizer so you can scrawl down your notes with a stylus. Connectivity options include 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth and a choice of either LTE or Gobi global 3G. As you might have guessed from the name, it’ll withstand a 30-inch drop and can take up to six ounces of freshly-brewed coffee being spilled over its magnesium alloy body. The Toughbook C2 starts shipping from December, with the base model setting you, and the Baltimore PD, back $2,949 with a three-year warranty.
Gallery: Panasonic Toughbook C2
Filed under: Laptops
Panasonic introduces new Toughbook C2 convertible tablet with Windows 8 Pro for $2,949 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Google’s Vic Gundotra has been doing some Samsung Nexus 10 teasing, using the unannounced but broadly-expected Android tablet to share some holiday snaps on Google+. Gundotra does not mention the tablet by name, but the Nexus 10 is listed as the identifier of the camera under the photo details on a number of shots. The resolution is given as roughly 3-megapixels, though since Google+ automatically resizes shots automatically uploaded, that’s not necessarily the full resolution of the Nexus 10′s camera itself.
In fact, according to previous leaks, we’re expecting something along the line of an 8-megapixel camera on the rear of the Nexus 10. It’s also certain to have a front-facing camera for video calls and vanity shots.
It’s not the first time early Google hardware has been previewed, unofficially, on the company’s social network. Images taken with the Google Glass wearable computer have also been spotted, ahead of Google employees officially releasing stills and video samples shot with the headset. Meanwhile, EXIF data has proved useful in flagging up unannounced devices on other online galleries, though since it’s relatively straightforward to fake, it’s generally taken with a pinch of salt.
Gundotra could well be pranking the tech world with faked image data, but given we’re expecting the Nexus 10 to be officially unveiled early next week, that seems less than likely. Meanwhile, what appears to be the Nexus 10′s quick start guide popped up online yesterday.
We’ll be with Google at the event to bring back all the details, believed to also include the new LG Nexus 4 smartphone.
[via Android Central]
Nexus 10 caught snapping Google exec’s holiday photos is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
If anyone is going to get their hands on new Nexus hardware first, it’s going to be Google top-brass. So when photos from Senior Vice President of Engineering, Vic Gundotra, show up on his Google + with “Nexus 10” in the details, we pay attention. The pictures show some idyllic scenes from the beach, but what we’re all interested in is the EXIF data. So, 2,046 by 1,536 you say? That’s 3-megapixel by our calculations, which may not be the true original resolution of the image of course. With a big Google event just around the corner, though, we imagine we won’t have to wait long to find out more.
Vic Gundotra posts Nexus 10 photos to Google + originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Oct 2012 08:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple’s Mac mini may be a masterpiece of origami, but that hasn’t stopped the teardown merchants from unleashing their screwdriver sets on the compact desktop. The tinkerers at iFixit have pinned down the new late-2012 model, announced earlier this week, and yanked out its silicon guts to see how flexible it might me. Despite the small size, however, the score is pretty good: 8 out of 10 for repairability.
The Mac mini gets credit for not using proprietary screws, unlike the pentalobes found on the Retina-class MacBook Pro, and there’s no glue holding down anything inside. iFixit also likes the fact that the RAM and hard-drive aren’t soldered in, which means they’re easily replaced by the user, and you can also add in a second drive (as Apple does by default for the server version of the mini).
Of course, there are always going to be some compromises with a small-form-factor chassis, and the Mac mini is no different. The fact that the CPU is soldered to the logic board and so can’t be replaced by the user is probably the biggest drawback, though iFixit also mentions the trickiness of actually unpacking and replacing all of the components involved.
The updated mini kicks off at $599 for the 2.5GHz dualcore Core i5 model with 4GB of RAM and 500GB of storage; it has Intel HD Graphics 4000 as standard. The server version, with a pair of 1TB drives and a quadcore Core i7 chip is $999.
Mac mini late-2012 teardown: Well packed but repair friendly is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
The slightest gust on a rainy day can make the umbrella you’re carrying completely useless. Besides flipping inside out, it doesn’t protect you from rain being blown in from the side. So Lin Min-Wei and Liu Li-Hsiang came up with the Rain Shield, a radical re-thinking of the umbrella that seemingly solves those problems. More »
Danish audio visual maestros Bang & Olufsen has come up with their very first foray into the Smart TV arena – with the introduction of the BeoVision 11. Arriving in US showrooms later this month, the BeoVision 11 is said to set new standards in the marketplace that boasts of promises to deliver rich sound, design perfection, full connectivity and best-in-class video experience. The BeoVision 11 is said to come with an all-in-one entertainment and information hub, resulting in a signature balance of form, function and technology.
The BeoVision 11 was conceived in order to deliver the entire family with a comprehensive array of up-to-date digital entertainment, where there would be no compromise of timeless aesthetics, intuitive controls and high-quality sound. Your ears will definitely need no convincing that the BeoVision 11 is a top notch piece of home entertainment, boasting half a dozen speakers within the BeoVision 11′s slim interior, where each of them is powered by a dedicated 32-watt ICEpower amplifier. These amplifiers have enclosures that are supported with rubber bushings in order to remove vibrations in the rest of the TV.
Apart from that, there is also a powerful new digital signal-processing algorithm that makes sure everything remains the working in tandem at clockwork, allowing it to switch seamlessly between dedicated sound modes whenever it detects music, sports, drama, or even movies. This ends up as an impressive, clear sound experience, which is something that one would not normally find from a flat-screen TV. The BeoVision 11 comes with a full digital surround sound decoder module, where it can deliver up to a dozen audio channels using Bang & Olufsen’s TrueImage processor.
An all-new video engine inside the BeoVision 11 will drive the 240Hz LED-based LCD display alongside its glare polarizer in either 2D or 3D. There is a two-sided LED backlight that boasts of 1.5 D local dimming in order to significantly improve contrast in 2D viewing. Digital noise and motion blur are also reduced by a radical margin, revealing a stunningly natural picture regardless of the circumstance.
If you are interested, you will be able to pick up the BeoVision 11 in 40″, 46″ and 55″ screen sizes, where it will retail from $5,995 onwards from this month at authorized Bang & Olufsen stores.
Press Release
[ Bang & Olufsen introduces BeoVision 11 Smart TV copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
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