May 11

Hands On: Breville Makes the Mother of All Tea Kettles

Posted in: hands-on, Miscellaneous Tech, Tech Toys, Today's Chili

Breville One-Touch Tea KettleWhat if I told you the Breville One-Touch Tea Maker (BTM800XL) is the tea kettle from the future, but you can buy it now? It’s the ticket to holding a successful tea party, and the answer sophisticated tea drinkers have been looking for. 

The kettle is partially aluminum and mostly see-through glass, so you can watch your tea brew to perfection. It’s not for tea bag lovers, though, since the aluminum basket is meant for loose tea leaves. There are different settings for different kinds of tea, and you’ll be floored by the basket button, which cycles the tea leaves in and out of the water 
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May 05

Columbia Sportwear Omni-Heat Boots Heat Your Feet

Posted in: Miscellaneous Tech, Today's Chili

Bugathermo-Techlite.jpgWho knew that Columbia Sportwear would be the one to make your Bennie and the Jets dreams come true? Soon you can have electric boots, just like Bennie herself, thanks to the company’s recently-announced line of Omni-Heat clothing. While the entire line looks warm and toasty, two of the men’s boots and two of the women’s boots will include a compact battery capable of heating your feet for hours. Tired of frostbitten toes? Then you’ll love them.

The included battery will charge in four hours via an included USB cable, and you’ll control the heating with a simple light-up button on the side of each boot. Press the button and the soles will begin to warm up. It may not sound that attractive in May, but you’ll think differently by the time they’re launched on September 1.

Now all you need is a mohair suit.

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May 04

BlackBerry First Predicted in 1909

Posted in: BlackBerry, electric, Miscellaneous Tech, science, Smartphones, Today's Chili, Wireless

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It turns out Nikola Tesla, the famed electric engineer, first predicted the existence of the BlackBerry over 100 years ago.
As the UK-based Telegraph reports, Tesla, who died in 1943, made a prediction about a portable messaging service in Popular Mechanics magazine in 1909. He wrote in the magazine that one day it would be possible to transmit wireless messages all over the world, and that wireless was the only way the use of electricity could truly thrive.
Tesla “imagined such a hand-held device would be simple to use and that, one day, everyone in the world would communicate to friends using it,” and that this “would usher in a new era of technology.”
The prediction was part of a magazine presentation titled “108 Years of Futurism,” made by Seth Porges, the magazine’s current technology editor, to industry executives in New York, the report said. (Popular Mechanics launched 108 years ago in 1902.)
Tesla’s name lives on in Tesla Motors, the electric car company. Meanwhile, we’re still waiting for flying cars and personal helicopters. Can someone get on that already?
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Apr 30

I Got Shaved by Carmen Electra (and the Norelco Bodygroom)

Posted in: Miscellaneous Tech, Today's Chili

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Yes, you read that headline correctly. And yes, today was a great day to be me (I’m the guy with the huge smile, third from the left and right next to Carmen in the photo).

To celebrate National Arbor Day, Philips Norelco announced it will donate a dollar to the Arbor Day Foundation for every Philips Norelco Bodygroom product sold. One dollar translates to one tree being planted, and the company has committed to planting up to 75,000 trees.
To help get the word out, the company launched a new campaign called Deforest Yourself, Reforest the World. And it recruited Camera Electra to “deforest” a few lucky guys on stage at Madison Square Park. Norelco was kind enough to treat me to a shave with Carmen.
My favorite part of the experience? Telling Carmen, “Today is a bigger day for me than my Bar Mitzvah.” Or maybe it was when she asked to shave my arm, and I got to flash my guns for her.

I also got a chance to talk tech with Carmen. She said she’s a Mac
user and owns a BlackBerry, but that rarely uses it, because she still uses and loves her Motorola RAZR! 

For more information on Philips Norelco’s Bodygroom and Arbor Day Foundation, visit the “Deforest Yourself. Reforest the World” campaign Web site. And for more on today’s event–specifically, the part involving me–check out our video after the break!
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Apr 29

Ancient Gearlog: Weapons Found in Melting Arctic

Posted in: Miscellaneous Tech, science, Today's Chili

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Melting ice patches in the Canadian Arctic’s remote Mackenzie Mountains have revealed a “treasure trove of ancient weapons” that dates back thousands of years.
The weapons are already helping archaeologists figure out hunting strategies employed by humans, Discovery News reports. Among the finds were a 2,400-year-old spear throwing tool, a 1,000-year-old squirrel snare, and some 850-year-old bows and arrows.
Until recently, the snow remained frozen all year. At the time, hunters took aim at caribous and other animals, which huddled on the ice patches seeking relief from heat and bugs during the summer.
Be sure to see other Ancient Gearlog posts on Clovis tools and the first telephone.
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Apr 21

CD Burners Leave Fingerprints

Posted in: Microsoft, Miscellaneous Tech, Today's Chili

So how do you catch a software pirate? Although the investigation is now more than two years old, Microsoft has provided some clues.

In 2007, Microsoft and the FBI, working with Chinese law enforcement, raided a software piracy organization suspected of copying software worth about $2 billion on the open market. “We estimate that one out of every three pieces of software in the world today is not genuine, ” said David Finn, Microsoft’s associate general counsel for worldwide anti-piracy and anti-counterfeiting, says in the video linked above.

But how do they catch them?  One technique, apparently, is to look for a “fingerprint” on the burned CD-ROMs. According to the video, CD (and, we assume DVD) burners leave a fingerprint, or unique identifying marks, that can be used to determine the source of a burned (and, in this case, pirated) disc.

Holograms, bar codes, and product ID numbers also provide additional protection.

EDIT: Apparently our publishing software is having some problems with the video’s iFrame. The video can be found on Microsoft’s site, here.

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Apr 09

JVC Intros ProHD Camcorder at NAB

Posted in: camcorder, Miscellaneous Tech, Today's Chili

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The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show is next week in Las Vegas, and JVC will use the occasion to introduce the new flagship of its ProHD camcorder line. The GY-HM790 features three 1/3-inch CCDs, which allow a lighter, more compact shape for greater maneuverability. It produces 1920 by 1080 pixel images and can record 1080i, 720p, and even SD (480i) video for workflows that haven’t made the jump to HD.

Adopting the tapeless workflow that JVC introduced with the GY-HM700, the GY-HM790 features a dual card slot that records to SDHC media cards. With its HD/SD-SDI port, the GY-HM790 delivers an uncompressed full HD signal for live monitoring, and a FireWire port lets users back up footage economically with an HDD recorder.

The GY-HM790 will be available this summer for $11,995 (list). A low-light version will be available in the fall.

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Apr 08

HP on Track to Build Computerized Real Brains

Posted in: HP, memory, Miscellaneous Tech, science, Space Tech, Today's Chili

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Scientists at Hewlett-Packard will soon announce advances in atomic-sized memristors, or memory resistors, that could set the stage for replacing transistors in today’s computers, the New York Times reports.
Memristors aren’t a new idea; a fellow by the name of Dr. Leon O. Chua first proposed them in 1971 at the University of California, Berkeley, but it’s only now that they’re becoming possible.
Memristors are smaller than semiconducting transistors; current 3-nanometer prototypes are an order of magnitude less than the smallest transistors available today. They store information even without an electrical current, and can be used for data processing as well as storage, according to the report. They could even form the core of analog computing systems that act as biological brains.
“Our brains are made of memristors,” he said, referring to the function of biological synapses, in the article. “We have the right stuff now to build real brains.” Scared yet? (Via Engadget) (Image credit: IEEE Spectrum/Wikimedia Commons)
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Apr 02

XStreamHD Box Launches April 30 – Should You Care?

Posted in: Miscellaneous Tech, Today's Chili

XStreamHD.JPGI was excited when I originally wrote about the XStreamHD movie box, with an integrated satellite receiver that could cache HD movies on a local server. But unfortunately, that was in 2007.

Now, more than two years later, XStreamHD is preparing to launch its hardware on April 30, according to a press release that came out in January. (I also received an additional reminder to preorder the service on Friday, which implies that they’re holding to the schedule.)

Unfortunately, a movie-only service in 2010 looks considerably dated.

XStreamHD is launching two hardware bundles: a FAST Start package is priced at $399, while the Pro Start package will be offered for $499.  They’re essentially identical, with a 1-terabyte media server, an HD media receiver, HDMI and Ethernet cables. The Pro Start, however, offers what the company calls audiophile-quality audio output. TWICE reported last year that the service will carry a $10 monthly fee, plus the fees for the rental
or purchase of movies, videos and music.

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Apr 02

Inventor of MITS Altair 8800 Dies

Posted in: diy, Microsoft, Miscellaneous Tech, prototype, Today's Chili

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Right on the cusp of the potential launch of a new era in computing, Dr. Henry Edward Roberts, the inventor of the microcomputer largely credited with kick-starting the PC revolution, has died at the age of 68, BBC News reports.
Dr. Roberts was the original designer of the MITS Altair 8800 kit, the blue box of blinking LEDs and rocker switches that provided a blueprint for designing computers for the home.
Bill Gates and Paul Allen started Micro-Soft in 1975 by contacting Dr. Roberts and proposing to write a version of BASIC for the machine, which came either as a kit for hobbyists or (at extra cost) fully assembled.
“Ed was willing to take a chance on us – two young guys interested in computers long before they were commonplace – and we have always been grateful to him,” the Microsoft founders said in a statement.
Popular Electronics featured a non-working Altair on the cover in January 1975 — “non-working” because the only operational prototype was lost in shipping on the way to the magazine to be photographed.
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