Apr 15
There’s nothing like a good ol’ dose of “dee oh double-g” to bring a piece of media up to snuff with infamy. That’s exactly what the folks at Activision and … Continue reading
Apr 15
Laptops get thinner and lighter every year, but their power adapters are mostly still big and heavy. FINsix claims its Dart laptop charger is up to four times smaller and up to six times lighter compared to ordinary chargers.
Dart uses what FINsix calls Very High Frequency technology to provide up to 65W of power. You can read more about it on FINsix’ technical report (pdf), though the word “technical” isn’t there for nothing. Note that 65W won’t be enough for all laptops – for example, Retina MacBook Pros use an 85W power adapter – but that will do for hundreds of other models. You can check this compatibility list (pdf) to see if your laptop will work with Dart. Dart also has a 2.1A USB charging port, so it can also replace your mobile device power adapter.
Plug a tiny browser to Kickstarter to support Dart. Pledge at least $89 (USD) to get a Dart that works with hundreds of Windows laptops. The MacBook-compatible Dart is at a higher reward tier – $148. FINsix says that they have to buy Apple’s power adapters to get parts for the Macbook-compatible Dart, hence the significant added cost for that model.
[via Engadget]
Apr 13
Just because virtual reality displays let us interact with 3D interfaces doesn’t mean there isn’t room for the ol’ two-dimensional view inside of them. Oliver Kreylos, a developer who’s been working with 3D software for nearly 30 years, recently demonstrated a Virtual Network Computing (VNC) client that sends a 2D feed of a desktop computer to a 3D virtual reality environment.
Oliver’s VNC client allows him to open and interact with any number of 2D desktops on a virtual reality environment. Why would you want to do this? Well for one, you can reverse telecommute: imagine working in an island paradise environment while you’re actually in the office. Because you can (theoretically) open multiple desktops at once, the setup also supercharges multitasking and group meetings. You can watch a video walkthrough while playing a 3D game, look at a hundred fullscreen documents at once, have multiple large video chat screens like they do in science fiction flicks and more.
As you’ll see in Oliver’s demo video, developers can also make 2D applications that interact with the 3D environment. In his demo he measured a table that was in his virtual space and then used a Razer Hydra to send those measurements to Microsoft Excel on his 2D desktop.
We really don’t know how far the rabbit hole goes with this one. Note that the video below may cause dizziness because of the constant change in perspective. It almost made me throw up to be honest. I’m ill-equipped for the future.
Head to Oliver’s blog for more on his custom program. I wonder if you can emulate this feature on the same computer that’s running the VR environment. That would be more useful, although it would probably take a beefy computer to pull it off. Also, watching Oliver’s demo, I can almost – almost! – visualize a four-dimensional space, where you can fit infinite 3D environments. Now I’m really dizzy.
[via Fast Co. Design]
Apr 09
Logitech K830 Keyboard Has Backlight and a Trackpad for PC Use from the Couch
Posted in: Today's ChiliLogitech has unveiled a new keyboard that isn’t aimed at desktop users or gamers. This keyboard is called the Illuminated Living-Room Keyboard K830 and it is specifically designed to allow HTPC fans easy control over their computer when sitting on the couch.
The big feature of the keyboard is backlit keys that make it easy to control your machine in the dark. The backlight has a sensor that will change the intensity of the backlight depending on how much light is in the room. That should help the battery last longer in the rechargeable keyboard.
Logitech also built in a trackpad with dual buttons on the side to make controlling the cursor a snap. Wireless range for the keyboard is 33-feet and it ships with a small Unifying receiver for connectivity. The keyboard will ship this month for $99.99(USD).
It’s too bad there’s not a version that will work with set-top boxes and not just PCs.
Apr 09
Supposing you’re aware of the Heartbleed bug – which has been patched in many locations around the web already – you know that it’s a massive deal in the internet … Continue reading
Apr 09
Logitech has unveiled its latest keyboard and this one is aimed at the people sitting in the living room trying to control a HTPC from across the room. The keyboard … Continue reading
Apr 08
Windows XP is either dead or dangerous, depending on who you ask, but no matter which it’s about time to move away from the old platform before stalled security updates … Continue reading
Apr 06
Wearable technology is just about to take off, but we can already take a peek at what’s coming after smartwatches and the like. A team of engineers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern University have made health monitors in the form of stick-on electronic patches.
The development of the patch was led by professors John A. Rogers and Yonggang Huang. Prof. Rogers was already working on electronics that can be applied directly onto human skin like a temporary tattoo, i.e. no patch base needed. But he went ahead with the patch platform because it allows for the use of commercially available – and therefore cheap and abundant – components, as opposed to the tattoo-like electronics that needed custom capacitors, batteries and other parts.
One of the crucial aspect of the engineers’ patch is the origami-like arrangement of the wires connecting the components, which allows for the patch to be bent without damaging the chips.
The engineers believe that stick-on electronics will make it easier to gather patient data. They also think it will lead to more accurate fitness trackers, and even health monitoring devices that can detect clues about the wearer’s condition even before he or she feels sick. Stick a browser to your face and head to the University of Illinois’ News page for more on this amazing invention.
[via Fast Co. Design]
Apr 06
Hackers Bunnie Huang and Sean “xobs” Cross have launched a fundraiser for their open source laptop, the Novena. It looks very different from its prototype, but the idea behind it remains the same: a computer with transparent and easily modifiable hardware and software.
The Novena comes in four platforms. There’s a barebones board…
a compact desktop version with an easy access case, a 13.3″ 1080p TFT LCD screen, internal accessory connectors and an LVDS to eDP adapter board…
a laptop version which mainly adds a battery pack and a 240GB SSD to the desktop version…
and a high-end Heirloom version put together by custom gadget and furniture maker Kurt Mottweiler. It’s based on the laptop version but has a handcrafted wood and aluminum case, a Lenovo Trackpoint Bluetooth keyboard, a 480GB Intel 730 SSD.
As you can see the standard desktop and laptop versions don’t have a keyboard included and have a reverse clamshell design. This makes it easier to access the Novena’s internals and keeps them well-ventilated. The cases of the laptop and desktop also have what Bunnie and xobs call Peek Arrays, which are M2.5 mounting holes for installing additional circuit boards and other parts.
Finally, the panel with matching port holes is replaceable. If you reconfigured the Novena board and ended up with a different arrangement or lineup of ports, you can replace the vanilla panel with one that matches your rig.
Head to Crowd Supply to pledge or learn more about Novena. Pledge $500 (USD) and you get the board as a reward, pledge $1,195 for the desktop, pledge $1,995 for the laptop and finally pledge $5,000 for the Heirloom laptop.
[via MAKE]
Apr 05
As of December, 2013, Blizzard was publicly in search of a Lead Producer of what was described as the company’s “next awesome game.” It was Blizzard director Michael Booth that … Continue reading
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