Hasta La Gadget!

If you’re the sort of person who has a need to be connected to a computer at all times but you don’t want to have to sit in front of it constantly, you might be interested in the Sonic-connect 2. This device is a portable USB gadget that plugs into your computer and can alert you of incoming messages from a variety of sources. The Sonic-connect 2 is able to keep an eye on different types of messages.

For instance, when you’re away from the computer it can monitor incoming messages from Skype, Instant Messenger, Outlook, and other locations. The device has customizable alert options and bright white LED lights. It also features a loud ringer and vibration alert to get your attention when you aren’t at your desk. Software included with the device allows you to set up VIP contacts and preferred alert settings.

That means only the most important contacts will interrupt you outside of normal hours. The device also features red “waiting” lights that glow to indicate when you have a pending message if you missed the device’s initial alert. All of the messages that come in are viewable in the Sonic Alert Messaging Window allowing you to keep all communications in one place.

The Sonic-connect 2 is plug-and-play capability and is small and compact enough to take with you on the go. The device gets power and connectivity to the computer from a USB port. Multiple Windows operating systems are supported including XP, Vista, and 7. However, the device is not compatible with Mac computers. The Sonic-connect 2 is available now for $49.95.

[via Sonic Alert]

Sonic-connect 2 lets you step away from the desk and stay informed is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
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It’s a beautiful late winter day in Bellevue, Wash. Instead of enjoying the outdoors, I’m sitting in a rectangular white room with three programmers, surrounded by three walls covered in augmented reality markers. Not that I’m complaining: Valve Software’s Joe Ludwig, the programmer in the room who most resembles a member of Anthrax, is walking me through his company’s latest work in the world of virtual reality. It’s the first anyone outside of Valve will see of the company’s VR efforts thus far.

As it turns out, the software company is working with Oculus VR to port the tremendously popular free-to-play first-person shooter, Team Fortress 2, to the upcoming Rift development kit. The free update, dubbed “VR Mode,” is the latest benchmark in Valve’s ongoing hardware initiative. “We think that both augmented and virtual reality are going to be a huge deal over the next several years,” Ludwig tells us.

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, Software, HD

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Not all that long ago, we were staring at spreadsheets, table layouts and sketch-ups, squinting our eyes and attempting to wrap our brains around all of it. On Friday, we popped by Fort Mason in San Francisco, to test drive ZBoard’s latest and greatest electric skateboard, and things were already underway, the stage was being erected and banners with our familiar logo were draped everywhere. That moment, however, had nothing on the surreality of the following morning, when, bright and early, the companies began setting up tables.

Outside, a Tesla Model S was parked for test drives, and inside were a pair of electric Toyotas, one sporting a giant, decorative plug on its roof. There were big booths from Lenovo and Nokia, an Indie Corner jam-packed with and impressive displays like the the Ekso Bionics robot exoskeleton and Da Vinci’s truly awe-inspiring surgical robot. Next to that, was Insert Coin, a gathering of all the semi-finalists for our first-ever startup competition, who had flown from all over to show off a truly diverse and impressive selection of innovation.

On stage, an equally diverse array of panelists joined us, from reps for companies like Google, Microsoft, Toyota, and OUYA, to 3D printing companies, roboticists, futurists, sci-fi writers, space explorers, indie gamers and a multimedia DJ / philosopher. Frankly, we’re exhausted. And we can’t wait to do it again. See you in New York.

Filed under: Announcements, Cellphones, Cameras, Displays, Misc, Gaming, GPS, Handhelds, Home Entertainment, Household, Laptops, Peripherals, Robots, Tablets, Transportation, Wearables, Wireless, Storage, Networking, Science, Internet, Software, HD, Mobile, Alt

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Kinect for Windows is getting a big SDK update on March 18th to version 1.7 — Redmond’s calling it “our most significant update to the SDK since we released the first version” — which includes the long awaited 3D object scanning application Kinect Fusion. Microsoft took to Engadget’s Expand stage today to unveil the features of the SDK update, which included live demos of both Kinect Fusion and Interactions; Fusion creates live 3D models of both people and objects, while Interactions adds a whole variety of recognizable gestures to the Kinect for Windows SDK (“push-to-press buttons, grip-to-pan capabilities, and support for smart ways to accommodate multiple users and two-person interactions,” says Microsoft). Microsoft’ also adding code samples to its Kinect for Windows development site (CodePlex), making this the first such code from Microsoft available in an open-source channel. We’ll have demo videos of the new Kinect for Windows SDK features for you as soon as we can.

Follow all of Engadget’s Expand coverage live from San Francisco right here!

Filed under: Peripherals, Software, Microsoft

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Yep, the crazy looking guitar you see above from 3D Systems (being manhandled by our own Andy Bowen) was printed. Not created by machines or people, but pieced together by a 3D printer — at least the body, that is. The neck, strings, and various jacks / knobs are all fabricated via other methods, but the body is all printed. That includes the many America-centric icons seen throughout the body, from the Statute of Liberty to the Brooklyn Bridge — okay, okay, it’s rather New York-centric, but 3D Systems head Avi Reichental tells us that 3D Systems used iconic New York locations as a representation for the “Americana” the guitar is supposed to embody. He says — and we can’t help but agree, many of us being New Yorkers — that New York is an “emotional” symbol for the USA. Join us for a visual tour of the Americana, set to the backdrop of the San Francisco Bay, won’t you?

Filed under: Misc, Peripherals

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