Hasta La Gadget!

Each week Joshua Fruhlinger contributes This is the Modem World, a column dedicated to exploring the culture of consumer technology.

There was a time — early in my computing career — that your average printer could output better results than any screen could. In the days before WYSIWYG word processors, we would guess what the printed product might look like and then let an Okidata monstrosity scream out ugly 5 x 7 dot matrix results.

When it worked, it worked well, and we were thrilled that our 16KB machines could make something real. A continuous ream of paper was fed into the printer and we’d happily tear the perforated pages apart like birthday gifts from the digital deities.

Continue reading This is the Modem World: Why are printers stuck in the 20th century?

Filed under: Desktops, Peripherals, Software

This is the Modem World: Why are printers stuck in the 20th century? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Oct 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In a sort of reverse-Project Glass, one of DoCoMo’s latest prototypes flips its cameras back at the wearer. This hands-free videophone headset ties together seven separate cameras, each recording 720p video from wide-angle lenses. Aside from the single camera pointing behind the user (and beaming the background image), the rest of them point at the users’ face, recording different quadrants. These are then composited together, creating a three-dimensional avatar of the user that’s then broadcasted to the other caller. The model then nods, blinks, and moves — all based on the camera footage — all in real-time.

In its current guise, the bottom half of the face is still composed from high resolution stills captured beforehand, but the program is able to animate the mouth based on the words and tones that the built-in mic picks up. NTT DoCoMo had some lighter, slight less clunky, future prototypes on show, and suggested that the headset could have medical applications, embedding further sensors that could gauge blood pressure, pulse and temperature and possibly broadcast this data during a call to your future physician. Work is currently underway to utilize smaller, higher quality sensors. We take a closer look at CEATEC after the break.

Continue reading NTT DoCoMo hands-free videophone prototype replaces that off-center webcam stare with your digital doppelganger (video)

Filed under: Cameras, Peripherals, Wearables, Alt

NTT DoCoMo hands-free videophone prototype replaces that off-center webcam stare with your digital doppelganger (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Oct 2012 09:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While there are many third-party capacitive pens for the iPad on the market, none are as precise as pressure-sensitive models like the ones Samsung Galaxy Note aficionados have enjoyed for some time. Enter the Pogo Connect, which is described as the world’s first pressure-sensitive Bluetooth 4.0 iPad stylus. Brought to you by Ten One Design, the Pogo Connect was originally codenamed “Project Blue Tiger” back in March. The benefits of Bluetooth seem to be key here, as it offers full pressure sensitivity thanks to a “Crescendo Sensor” technology that works at multiple angles and without calibration. You also get palm rejection capabilities so the page doesn’t get smudged from your hand resting on the surface. The pen has a removable magnetic tip, leaving room for interchangeable tips in the future.

There’s also an LED status light, an integrated radio transmitter to let you know its location in case you lose it, and it runs on a single AAA battery. Be aware that the Connect is only compatible with around 16 apps for now — they include Brushes, SketchBook Pro, Paper by FiftyThree, and PDFPen — but Ten One hopes to add to the list over time. You can pre-order one now for $79.95, and if you’re one of the first 2,000 to do so, you’ll get a special edition pen with a laser-engraved tiger. Those intrigued can get a peek at the company’s promo video as well as the PR after the break.

Continue reading Ten One ships $80 Pogo Connect, a pressure-sensitive Bluetooth 4.0 stylus for iPad

Filed under: Peripherals, Tablets

Ten One ships $80 Pogo Connect, a pressure-sensitive Bluetooth 4.0 stylus for iPad originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Oct 2012 18:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sick of letting everyone else skin your Android for you? 3D printing service Cubify is helping you fight back with Bugdroids, a customizable version of Google’s lovable green mascot. You can change its colors, add accessories like hats, horns glasses, mustaches and bling (that’s “bling,” not Bing, mind), and then the service will 3D print one out and ship it to you — well, after you drop an admittedly pricey $30 to $40, figurine size depending.

Filed under: Peripherals, Google

Cubify lets you skin, 3D print your own personal Android originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Sep 2012 15:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ll have to give it to AT&T for going with something a wee bit different than what we’re accustomed to seeing in the world of handy MiFis — but with touchscreens apparently being a thing nowadays, it also shouldn’t surprise us that the company chose to go this route. Either way, the newly introduced MiFi Liberate will surely be of help to those who need to stay connected while on the go, offering features such as LTE connectivity (provided the network’s live in the area, of course), simultaneous pairing of up to 10 WiFi devices, 11-hour battery life, a microSD slot, DLNA capabilities and, as you can see above, a 2.8-inch touchscreen display. Unfortunately, the carrier didn’t say when we can expect the Liberate to be up for grabs (or for how much), with a company representative only telling us that it’ll be at some point “in the coming months.” While we wait for those details, however, feel free to check out the extra pic located just past the break.

Continue reading AT&T’s new MiFi Liberate is LTE-capable, ‘world’s first’ with touchscreen display

Filed under: Misc, Peripherals, Wireless

AT&T’s new MiFi Liberate is LTE-capable, ‘world’s first’ with touchscreen display originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 14:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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