Hasta La Gadget!

Roger Linn. Ever heard of him? He’s only the man behind the modern day drum machine and the original MPC-60, and he’s also the man behind the concept you’re inevitably peering at above. For now, Roger’s calling this beaut the LinnStrument, and there’s quite a back story to go along with it. The design began way back in 2006, with the goal being to create a full-on multitouch instrument with the ability to let one’s finger dictate volume, timbre, pitch and pressure. No doubt, many have tried to concoct something similar, but Roger’s discovery of TouchCo enabled him to create one sans the limitations of imitators. Unfortunately, Amazon quietly scooped up the startup in January of this year (to have this sort of technology available for the Kindle product line), and in turn, shut down TouchCo’s involvement with the outside world. Now, Roger’s being forced to reveal his unfinished work in hopes of attracting investors or unearthing another company that could mimic this sort of awesomeness en masse. Jump on past the break and mash play to get a better idea of what the world’s missing out on, and be sure to tell Jeff Bezos “thanks” the next time you bump into him.

[Thanks, Peter]

Continue reading LinnStrument multitouch music maker gets demoed on video, grasps for investors

LinnStrument multitouch music maker gets demoed on video, grasps for investors originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 May 2010 11:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nissan didn’t hesitate to gloat about its ability to book 8,000 Leaf pre-orders in just nine days during a pre-pre-order for those who specifically requested early access to the automobile, and now the outfit’s looking to make good on plans to have 25,000 orders in place by December. If all goes well, the all-electric car will be “widely available” in 2012, with a semi-wide release slated for next Spring. Naturally, the buzz is already fueling demand, and the automaker has today opened up a public reservation system online for those unwilling to take chances on availability come 2011. If you’re interested, you can actually reserve your Leaf right now with precisely zero clothing on — you heard right, there’s no need to even visit a local dealer. Simply hand over a $99 refundable deposit and wait, but you best get your story in line before being pinged by Nissan. The Wall Street Journal has it that pre-orderers will have to “convince Nissan they are up to the task of owning an electric vehicle based on their driving patterns, living arrangements and other factors,” and if you call Nunapitchuk, Alaska home, you can bet you’ll be shoved to the rear of the line. But hey, we always heard it was best to pull the trigger now and ask questions later.

[Thanks, Jim]

Nissan opens all-electric Leaf pre-orders to the US public: $99 to reserve originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 May 2010 09:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This article was written on April 15, 2008 by CyberNet.

Several weeks ago it was rumored that Street View would be incorporated into the new release of Google Earth. Google has confirmed that in fact there will be a Street View feature available with Google Earth 4.3 which is set to launch this evening at around 8 PM.

The image that Webware posted gives us a good idea of what Street View in Google Earth will be like. Notice the little cameras which you can click on to get a glimpse at what the ground-level view is in a particular location? There’s also the option to click “Show full screen” and view larger versions of the images.

Other features we can expect include:

• Improved navigation – (Webware says that this new navigation “makes the software more like a first-person video game.”)
• Day/Night Lighting – this feature is actually pretty cool because you can watch time-lapse views of sunsets and sunrises either locally or viewing the entire Earth. Also, use this feature to see where in the world the sun is shining, and where it’s dark
• Improved 3D buildings – Now there are more 3D buildings and they load and render faster
• New languages – in all, there are 12 new languages
• Imagery dates – see exactly when the image was captured (only available for some of the imagery)

Keep your eye out for the download links to become available later this evening. From the sounds of it, the Google Earth team has put quite a bit of work into this release.

Other news coming from Google is that Google Maps has received yet another feature that Google Earth Offers, the option to watch YouTube videos from within. Just search the directory for “YouTube Videos” and then add the layer. Once you’ve added the layer, little red dots will appear on your map which show you where videos have been geo-tagged. Clicking on a dot will allow you to watch the video.

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Related Posts:

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It’s tough out there playing second (or third… or tenth) fiddle. Just ask Fusion Garage. Similar to the path we saw Celio’s REDFLY take, Litl’s Webbook is slowly (but surely, we’re afraid) creeping towards complete and utter irrelevance, boasting a design that’s too niche to gain traction in the mainstream, a hardware lineup that’s too last year and a price that’s still far higher than some of the more reputable netbooks on the market today. After just six short months on the market, the company’s easel-styled laptop has fallen from $699 to $399, but during that same window of time, Intel has launched all new Atoms, tablet PCs have begun their assimilation on Planet Earth and HP has purchased Palm. Yeah, that last tidbit has precisely zero pertinence to the discussion at hand, but we bet even the engineers at Litl would’ve laughed you out of town had you told ’em that would happen back in November of ’09.

Litl Webbook plummets from $699 to $399, still can’t catch an eye originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 May 2010 02:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS has been attaching bamboo to its laptops for some time now, but it was only ever really for show — though the wood itself was certainly biodegradable, adding veneer isn’t exactly the greenest statement in the world. This year, however, the company’s Bamboo Collection will be completely slightly more recyclable. With Core i5-450M processors, they should be reasonably good performers as well, and NVIDIA Optimus switchable graphics technology gives them a factory-estimated (read: unlikely) 11 hours of battery life. The panda fodder cases will be found in Taiwan for around $40,000 NTD (approximately $1,300) next month, though US availability is yet to be announced. Check out the gigantic ASUS PDF for additional specs while you wait, and feel free to blow Ma Earth kisses all the while.

Update: Our friends at Engadget Chinese inform us the new U series laptops aren’t 100 percent recyclable after all; they still have a sizable plastic substrate underneath those thicker bamboo panels. It seems ASUS still hasn’t managed to shake its wooden façade. Get specs and first-hand pics from the event at our more coverage link.

ASUS Bamboo Collection laptops: now with Taiwanese pricing, more bamboo (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 May 2010 22:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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