Researchers at Stanford claim they’ve figured out how to erase the traumatic memories of mice while they sleep bringing them one step closer to their goal of ending PTSD for humans. Apparently a prescription memory-eraser could even be on the way. Are we closer to an Eternal Sunshine moment than we think? More »
Welcome back! This week in real-life adventures with gadgetry, Sharif recommends an $80 gaming mouse and Dan pleads with you all not to buy a certain keyboard case for the iPad. As for Philip, he just purchased his first Apple product after years of buying Windows laptops and Zune players, which means he’s got a little explaining to do.
IRL: Nuu SoftKey, MacBook Air and Thermaltake’s eSports Cyclone Edition gaming mouse originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Oct 2012 14:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days.
Are you reading this? Seriously, are you? Sure, we know you think you are, but what if you’re just a sub-feature of a complex computer program. A sprite, nothing more than the creation of software. The problem with this question is, how would you ever know? You wouldn’t, right? Well, not so fast there. Turns out, maybe there is a way to unravel the matrix (if there is one). It’ll come as no surprise, that this is one of the topics in this week’s collection of alternative stories. Think that’s all we got? Not even close. We’ll explore the truth behind cloning dinosaurs, as well a rare performance by singing mice — all before dinner. Or is it really dinner? This is alt-week.
Continue reading Alt-week 10.13.12: is the Universe a simulation, cloning dinosaurs and singing mice
Alt-week 10.13.12: is the Universe a simulation, cloning dinosaurs and singing mice originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Oct 2012 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It’ll be another two weeks before Windows 8 PCs go on sale, but if you like, you can pick out your gesture-enabled peripherals now. Logitech just announced two wireless mice and an external trackpad, all optimized to support gestures in Windows 8. Starting with the mice, the Touch Mouse T620 has the same design as the M600 announced earlier this year, except it supports Win 8 gestures out of the box. (The M600 will get a software update allowing it to work the same way.) Similar to its predecessor, the T620’s entire top surface is touch-enabled, which means you can do things like swipe the right side for the Charm Bar, or swipe from the left to rotate through open programs. You can also double tap with one finger to return to the Start Screen, and double tap with two fingers to show the desktop.
Moving on, the Zone Touch Mouse T400 has a touch strip that you can use to move up and down through pages, as well as scroll through the live tiles on the Start Screen. In a brilliant twist, though, the touch strip itself is comprised of two buttons, which you can use to toggle open apps or bring up the Start Screen, depending on which end you press. Finally, the Wireless Rechargeable Touchpad T650 is a Magic Trackpad-style touchpad with a spacious glass surface, which seemed impeccably responsive during our brief hands-on with it. Unlike the two mice, which run on AAs, the T650 has a rechargeable battery, which you can re-juice over USB.
All of these accessories use proprietary 2.4GHz wireless technology instead of Bluetooth, which means you’ll need a free USB port to accommodate the accompanying transceiver. The dongle can pair with up to six Logitech peripherals at once, but that’s a bummer if you also happen to own gear made by a Microsoft or HP. As you might have guessed, these are compatible with Windows PCs only, though you could use them with Win 7 if you so chose. Look for all three this month, with the Touchpad T650 priced $80, the Touch Mouse at $70 and the T400 at $50.
Filed under: Peripherals
Logitech outs two wireless mice and an external trackpad, all optimized for Windows 8 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Oct 2012 04:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
A team of Japanese scientists has managed to turn mouse stem cells into viable eggs—that can be inseminated and go on to produce normal, healthy mouse pups. The finding has massive implications for the development of infertility treatments in the future. More »
When you think about it, pushing a mouse across a table or poking a flat screen with your finger is a pretty limited way to interact with a computer. After all, our hands are capable of far more intricate motions, which a company called 3Gear Systems hopes to translate into complex gestures that could revolutionize how we use our devices. More »
Looking to save some coin on your tech purchases? Of course you are! In this round-up, we’ll run down a list of the freshest frugal buys, hand-picked with the help of the folks at Slickdeals. You’ll want to act fast, though, as many of these offerings won’t stick around long.
Sometimes your gadget needs are a bit more diverse. For those who are in need of devices that do more than enhance your current computer, this round of links may be just what you’re looking for. From living room speakers to a 50-inch plasma HDTV, there’s a duo that could make football season more enjoyable. If you’re home entertainment setup is already covered, perhaps a new 24-inch display or a digital SLR kit could get some use in your arsenal. Enough with the chatter, though, head on past the break to take a look — but keep a careful eye on those discount codes and rebates.
Filed under: Cameras, Displays, Home Entertainment, Peripherals
Slickdeals’ best in tech for September 24th: Dell UltraSharp display, 50-inch LG HDTV and a Canon Rebel T3 bundle originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 12:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
In addition to unveiling all those laptops, HP just announced a boatload of peripherals. Of the bunch, the most compelling might be the NFC-enabled Touch to Pair Mouse, which, as the name suggests, can be paired with another device simply through tapping. (Good thing lots of computers currently have NFC, right?) If, by chance, you don’t have NFC on your laptop — and you probably don’t — the mouse will function just fine as a regular old Bluetooth device. Look for it in November for $39. Elsewhere on the wireless mouse front, HP announced the X6000 (pictured), which has four-way tilt scrolling and can be used on most surfaces, including glass. That arrives this month for $59. Finally, if your tastes are a bit simpler, there’s also the Wireless Mouse X4500 and X5500, which will be available this month for $29 and $39, respectively.
Beyond mice, HP also trotted out the $29 Wireless Classic Desktop keyboard, along with the $49 Wireless Elite v2. For audio lovers, there’s the HP Portable Bluetooth Speaker, which will go on sale next month for a cool $79. Eighty bucks (or thereabouts) will also get you a 90W universal power adapter that claims to be compatible with most notebooks. It also has a built-in USB port, allowing you to charge a mobile device at the same time. Rounding out the list is the Webcam HD 4310, an $89 shooter capable of 1080p video, autofocus, autoexposure and three-way video calling. All that in more digestible form in the PR after the break.
Continue reading HP unveils first NFC-enabled mouse, various other PC accessories
Filed under: Peripherals
HP unveils first NFC-enabled mouse, various other PC accessories originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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These days, just about every Apple product is defined by a non-removable battery. It’s with no small hint of irony, then, that Apple just received a US patent for a universal removable battery system. As proposed, the technique would let Apple cut batteries from lithium-polymer or similar materials into commonly sized packs that could then be swapped between devices, providing all the benefits of removable, rechargeable batteries with a longer lifespan than an old set of AAs. Batteries could have serviceable cores for when they finally give up the ghost, and computers could even alternate between charging the batteries (when plugged in) or using them to extend the runtime of MacBooks. We’d recommend against basing any purchasing strategy around Apple’s filing, though. The Cupertino team originally applied for the patent in 2010, and in turn broke out the technology from a patent it had filed in 2007 — there’s no guarantees Apple is still interested in replacing those disposables, let alone any sealed-in batteries. That won’t stop us from yearning for the day when a Magic Mouse lasts for more than a week of heavy use.
Filed under: Peripherals
Apple gets patent for universal batteries, edges closer to long-lasting wireless peripherals originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 22:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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If you’re looking for something new in a mouse, something simultaneously awesome and over-designed, something different, your dream mouse may have arrived. The Level 10 M Mouse, a joint project by BMW Designworks and Thermaltake, is finally hitting shelves. More »
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