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Continue reading ROCCAT Studios unveils first US peripherals ahead of CES

ROCCAT Studios unveils first US peripherals ahead of CES originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Dec 2011 07:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Are you a resident of Brazil and love streaming music? Have a seat, as Rdio’s packed its bags and is headed for a little séjour on the South American continent. Launching later this week, the service will be functionally similar to its US and Canadian counterparts, except it’ll lose gratis ad-free streaming and get a name change to “Oi Rdio.” That joint word-mark is the result of a partnership with Brazil’s largest telco, Oi, which should give the service headway with the former’s 70+ million subscribers. But it’s just an awareness ploy, as non-Oi subscribers can still partake in all the fun. Unlimited monthly access to the 12 million tunes on offer starts at $R8.99 (about $5) for web, or $R14.90 (about $8.50) for those seeking offline-capable admittance on their mobiles. It’s all part of an international expansion, as the service plans to visit Australia and Germany in early 2012. Spotify’s passport is plumper, but hey — you gotta start somewhere.

Rdio gets rechristened ‘Oi Rdio’ while vacationing in Brazil, has plans to visit Germany and Australia originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Nov 2011 23:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Do all dead washing machines go to meet that lonely Maytag repairman in the sky? Nope, some of’em get their guts repurposed for use in hipster transportation, otherwise known as bicycles. At least that’s what one fed up, frugal Munich denizen did to avoid that German’s city costly PT fees. It’s not what you’d call an elegant hack, as our DIYer’s had to haphazardly rig up his washer’s 300W motor to the bike’s frame and stuff two clunky 12Ah batteries into a sidebag off the back tire. Still, it appears to get the job done, spinning at a max of 3000rpms with an ejector button on / off switch affixed to the right hand brake. We’re not sure how well or reliably this modjob fares on busy roadways, so for the time being we’ll just stick to Vespas. Check out the video after the break for an unmoving portrait of this eFahrrad.

Continue reading DIY e-bike hack gets washing machine motorization, stuck on permanent spin cycle (video)

DIY e-bike hack gets washing machine motorization, stuck on permanent spin cycle (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 03:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Color us a yellow shade of mendacious, but if we designed something that works 99.999999999997 percent of the time, we’d probably round off and give ourselves a big ol’ 100 percent A+. We’d probably throw in a smiley faced sticker, too. Computer scientist Holger Hermanns, however, is a much more honest man, which is why he’s willing to admit that his new wireless bike brake system is susceptible to outright failure on about three out of every trillion occasions. Hermanns’ concept bike, pictured above, may look pretty standard at first glance, but take a closer look at the right handlebar. There, you’ll find a rubber grip with a pressure sensor nestled inside. Whenever a rider squeezes this grip, that blue plastic box sitting next to it will send out a signal to a receiver, attached to the bike’s fork. From there, the message will be sent on to an actuator that converts the signal into mechanical energy, and activates the brake. Best of all, this entire process happens will take just 250 milliseconds of your life. No wires, no brakes, no mind control. Hermanns and his colleagues at Saarland University are now working on improving their system’s traction and are still looking for engineers to turn their concept into a commercial reality, but you can wheel past the break for more information, in the full PR.

Continue reading Wireless bike brake system has the highest GPA ever

Wireless bike brake system has the highest GPA ever originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Oct 2011 06:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Man. Exciting stuff, here. Stuff like lawyers yelling at each other in varied continents because “your stuff looks too much like my theoretical stuff.” The long, winding and increasingly mind-numbing battle between Samsung and Apple has taken yet another turn in Australia, with the former slapping the latter with a bold countersuit. According to The Wall Street Journal, Sammy feels that the iPhone and iPad 2 both “violate a number of wireless technology patents held by Samsung.” Spokesman Nam Ki-yung stated the following: “To defend our intellectual property, Samsung filed a cross claim for Apple’s violation of Samsung’s wireless technology patents.” The suit is being filed just days / weeks before a ruling will decide on whether the Galaxy Tab 10.1 can be legally sold Down Under, and in related news, Samsung is also appealing a recent ruling back in Germany. If ever the world needed an out-of-court settlement…

Samsung countersues Apple in Australia, claims iPhone / iPad 2 violate its patents originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 18 Sep 2011 13:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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