Laptop Mirror on the Wall, Who is the Fastest Typer of Them All?

Are you looking for something different in a mirror? Something that you can hang on your wall that captures all of your nerdiness and still allows you to see yourself? Just convert your old laptop into a mirror and slap it on your wall.
laptop mirror
That’s what Brian J. Noggle did. Now he can pretend that he’s video chatting with himself all day long, even though all the other guy does is mock him by mimicking everything he does.

Brian says, “I am the only person in the entire planet who owns a mirror that says PROPERTY OF ENVISION on the back.” Yep. I’m gonna assume that’s true. All he had to do was gut an old laptop computer and add a mirror to make this nerdiest of wall mirrors. You could always go with a model that has a webcam built in and go the digital route too.

[via Neatorama]


Focal Locus Desk & Chair Set Won’t Allow You to Sit or Stand, But I Still Want One

I’ve seen all kinds of office chairs and desks, but I’m pretty sure the Locus series by Focal is the first one that I’ve encountered that encourages people to be in a position halfway between standing up and sitting down. It seems silly at first, but I can actually see myself being comfortable on it. Too bad I can also see myself not being able to afford it.

focal locus desk chair

The Locus desk is made of aluminum, hardwood laminate and polymer. The surface can be inclined up to 18º and the legs can be raised and lowered. But the quirk of the Locus lies in the seat, which as you can see is a bit like a bar stool, except it has a long base that tilts up. The seat itself is not fixed to the base and can be moved up to 10º side to side. The idea is that your butt to be barely on the cushion and your legs stretched out with your feet leaning on the tip of the base.

Aside from the lack of back support, the biggest downside to the Locus line is the price tag. Focal is selling the seat for $500 (USD) and the desk for $950. These are already discounted introductory prices; the regular price will be $650 for the seat and $1150 for the desk. If you’re ready to stand down and sit up, head to Focal’s website to pre-order.

[via Instash]


SanDisk Cruzer Pop Flash Drives are Thin, Flashy, and Crazy Colorful

Over the years, USB drives have become smaller, sleeker, and more compact than they’ve ever been – even while packing tons of gigabytes into a teeny, tiny device. SanDisk has always been known for good quality flash drives, and I especially like how they managed to make the Cruzer Fit so compact (it’s the size of a thumbnail and can hold up to 16GB) And then there’s the Cruzer Pop, which takes flash drives from just being functional to being ultra flashy and creatively decorated.

sandisk cruzer pop 1There’s the black and gray checkered one that’s a bit more low-key, red with the symmetrical design that’s simple yet loud, and the white one with printed-on paint that looks like it’s running down the drive. Not only that, but they’re extremely thin, too, at 0.15 inches thick.

The Pop got its name not form its look alone, but also how you’re supposed to use it: just pop the drive open to reveal the USB connector, and plug it into the USB hub. The drives are available in 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB and will be available in retail outlets soon.

[via Chip Chick]


Shuttle Computer outs new XS35GTA V3 and XS35V3 mini PCs

Shuttle has announced the debut of a new graphics card in its slim computing solutions. The company has crammed an AMD GPU inside its new XS35GTA V3 SFF machine, and the XS35V3 gets integrated Intel graphics. Both computers retain their silent fanless designs. One of the two new models has an integrated GPU, and the other has discrete graphics.

The Shuttle XS35GTA V3 is the machine using a discrete ATI Radeon HD 7410M GPU with 512 MB of DDR3 VRAM. The machine runs an Intel dual core Atom D2700 processor and an Intel in M10 Express Chipset. The machine has dual RAM slots supporting up to 4 GB and can support an optional DVD or Blu-ray slim line drive. It also has space for a single SATA HDD or SSD. Shuttle recommends the bare-bones machine to sell for €233.

The other machine is the XS35V3, and it uses a dual-core Intel atom the 2700 processor. Graphics are via an integrated Intel GMA 3650 GPU, and the PC supports an optional DVD or Blu-ray drive. Users can put up to 4 GB of RAM inside the drive and a single SATA storage drive. The XS35V3 will sell for €172.


Shuttle Computer outs new XS35GTA V3 and XS35V3 mini PCs is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Samsung Series 9 LED monitor available now

Samsung has begun shipping its 27-inch Series 9 LED monitor to the US. The monitor is aimed at design professionals, featuring exclusive Natural Color Expert technology that provides a richer viewing experience for working with graphics, photos, and video. Each monitor is calibrated for an hour at the factory, while a separate sensor can be purchased for in-home adjustments using its built-in calibration engine for precise color.

The display features a Quad HD resolution of 2,560 x 1,440, a static contrast ratio of 1000:1, and a backlit Plane Line Switching panel for a wide viewing angle without image degradation. Tablets and smartphones can connect directly with the monitor for displaying content through a Mobile High Definition Link connection. The monitor also has embedded speakers, Dual Link DVI, HDMI, and two USB 2.0 ports.

The Series 9 monitor has prelaunched with NewEgg starting back on June 1 through June 28. It will then be available on Tiger Direct, MicroCenter, CDW, Buy.com, and others from June 29 onwards. The monitor is priced at $1,199.99.

[via MarketWatch]


Samsung Series 9 LED monitor available now is written by Rue Liu & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Google has a neural network that can recognize objects

It only took 16,000 computer processors to do it, but over the span of just a few years a group of Google scientists were able to simulate how the human brain identifies things they find on the Internet. More specifically, the neural network was able to train itself to recognize cats. The way it was able to recognize them actually reflected biological theories where objects are identified by trained individual neurons in the brain.

After being exposed to a few million digital images of cats from videos on YouTube, the neural network tapped into its memory of what it extracted and learned from the images before putting together its own image of a cat. Like humans, it was able to understand the general features of the cat through repeated exposure to the images.

While an actual human’s ability to identify cats on the Internet is not exactly impressive by any means, Google’s simulation experiment suggests that machine advancements are getting that much closer to human-like functions, and are leading to machines being able to better visibly see and perceive things, understand human speech and translate languages.

[via New York Times]


Google has a neural network that can recognize objects is written by Elise Moreau & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


SlashGear Morning Wrap-Up: June 25, 2012

This morning we’re getting prepped for a week that’s going to be full to the brim with no less than the latest and the greatest in Google development news, as Google I/O 2012 starts on Wednesday! Look for a spattering of news bits surrounding the events starting with no less than a leak of the tablet we’ll likely see popping up for all – Nexus style. Meanwhile Microsoft will be going big with Microsoft Connected Car plans for the near future with Kinect, Windows Phone 8, and the cloud.

AT&T’s Samsung Galaxy S II has its Ice Cream Sandwich update sent out this week. BlackBerry 10 has been leaked with the BlackBerry L-Series and QUERTY N-Series. The folks at T-Mobile and Verizon are shaking hands this week over a big-time spectrum swap.

You’ll want to check out the column: Surface Detail: Microsoft’s Tablets Are Too Big To Fail.

It appears that the Microsoft Surface project was born of timid manufacturers – go big or go home! The iPhone is looking more and more like an NFC-toting beast for its next release. Sony is trying again for the Google TV with their NSZ-GS7 this July!

And don’t forget to see our Alienware M17x R4 with Ivy Bridge Review to see what the most massive gaming laptop in the land is all about.


SlashGear Morning Wrap-Up: June 25, 2012 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.