Hasta La Gadget!

Welcome to Time Machines, where we offer up a selection of mechanical oddities, milestone gadgets and unique inventions to test out your tech-history skills.

Today the world can easily be captured in 1s and 0s for our viewing pleasure. The hardware behind this capability all started as a DIY lab project in 1974 to test out some new gear, and the result was a Frankenstein-like device that would eventually lead to world-changing advances in photographic technology. Head on past the break for the full story.

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Amazon only just released a new Kindle Paperwhite e-reader two months ago, but we’re already hearing rumors that a newer model is on the way. According to a new report from TechCrunch, the new version, to be released in early Q2 of next year, will boast a sharper 300-pixel-per-inch screen, allowing it to better compete with models like the Kobo Aura, which has a 265-ppi screen. (Not that Kobo’s represents much of a threat to Amazon’s book-selling empire.) Also it’s worth noting that E Ink makes the displays for basically all these e-readers, so it seems unlikely that Amazon would hold an exclusive on a 300-ppi panel — at least not for long.

Additionally, TechCrunch claims the new Paperwhite will have a lighter design that mimics the new Kindle Fire HDX tablets, with chamfered edges, a rear power button and a glass screen that sits flush with the bezels. The device is also rumored to have haptic feedback along the edges, which will give vibrating feedback when you do things like move to the next page. There’s no big software update planned, apparently, although Amazon is said to be working on a new custom font that’s more conducive to marathon reading sessions. We suppose if this report is true, all will be revealed over the coming months — hopefully those of you who just bought a new Paperwhite won’t be too cheesed off by the timing.

Filed under: Amazon

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Source: TechCrunch

This article was written on January 27, 2008 by CyberNet.

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USB drives serve a lot of purposes, but few people know that you can turn an average USB drive into a security feature with very little work. Using a free piece of software called USB PC Lock Pro you can have your computer automatically lock itself the moment you step away, and all you have to do is remove the USB drive.

USB PC Lock Pro comes with almost 10 plug-ins for doing things like muting the audio on your computer or putting your Windows/MSN Messenger status to away. It can also pause anything playing in Windows Media Center, and upon your return the media will begin playing again.

You can pick and choose which of the features you want to enable, and from what I gather this should work with any USB drive. It can also be setup to recognize multiple USB drives.

USB PC Lock Pro is completely free and for Windows only. It needs to be installed on the computer that you want to use it on, and not on the USB drive itself.

Copyright © 2013 CyberNetNews.com

The Raspberry Pi computing platform definitely has some interesting applications. This project is no exception, because it will allow users of all ages and experience to assemble a DIY computer. A Raspberry Pi is used as the brains of the operation.

The MAP Project Office collaborated with Kano to create this DIY computer kit. It’s a complete computer system that its makers claim is as easy to assemble as LEGO.

The system comes with a two-part bumper case for the computer board, as well as a custom wireless keyboard, with a built-in touchpad and color-coded buttons, making it kid-friendly. It connects to any monitor with an HDMI port, and comes with an 8GB SD card pre-loaded with the Kano OS and tools to help learn how to program. The open source computer can run pretty much any Debian Linux package, and will come with easy-to-use software for creating and playing simple games.

The KANO KIT DIY Computer is being crowdfunded via Kickstarter. You’ll have to pledge at least $119(USD) to get yours. With nearly a month of funding left, the project has amassed more than $560,000 against a goal of just $100,000. Needless to say, it will go into production.

[via Kickstarter]

From the front it looks a bit like a catfish. From the top it looks like a water strider. From the side it looks like a great white shark. This odd-looking flying car is under development at a technology company near the Google X research facility–although so far it looks like Google is not involved […]