Hasta La Gadget!

So what if Rambus doesn’t really produce anything tangible these days? We’re hearing the “innovation” business is going really well for the company that recently celebrated its 1,000th patent, and now there’s a nice big windfall in its near future as well. The US International Trade Commission has handed down a ruling agreeing with a previous judgment that NVIDIA infringed on three Rambus patents in the design of its memory controllers, with the ultimate outcome being a ban on importing such infringing goods into the country. Of course, that’s the one thing we’re sure won’t be happening, but NVIDIA will now have to sign up for a license to Rambus’ precious IP portfolio, which might be a tad bit costly given that GeForce, Quadro, nForce, Tesla and Tegra chips are named as being in violation — aside from Ion, that’s pretty much NVIDIA’s whole hardware business.

[Thanks, Marc]

Update: NVIDIA, unsurprisingly, has said it will appeal the ruling. [Thanks, Xero2]

Rambus victorious in patent fight with NVIDIA, can expect neat wad of cash for its troubles originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 03:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Bloomberg  |  International Trade Commission  | Email this | Comments

Continue reading Toyota and Tesla plan to bring electric RAV4 to market in 2012

Toyota and Tesla plan to bring electric RAV4 to market in 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Autoblog Green  | Email this | Comments

Nikola Tesla would have turned 154 years old today, and his technological inventions and discoveries are still very relative to our daily life. He left behind a legacy of ideas in notes and diagrams that engineers still pore over, looking for inspiration.

Born in Croatia at midnight between July 9 and July 10, 1856, Tesla went to study at the Realschule in Karlstadt and the University of Prague later on in 1873. His interest in physics and mathematics gave way to a passion for electricity. It did not take long for him to be hired by Continental Edison Company in Paris, and then be offered a position in the United States to work alongside Thomas Edison himself in 1884.

Charles Batchelor wrote Tesla’s letter of introduction to Edison, stating, “I know two great men. One is you and the other is this young man.” But soon, these two great men would be at war with one another. Edison’s powerhouses ran on direct current, which Tesla demonstrated were ineffective. Tesla felt the solution lay in using alternating current to distribute energy across much greater distances than direct current could. Tesla developed forty patents on the polyphase alternation current system of generators, transformers and motors.

Though Edison felt Tesla’s ideas were impractical, he would soon feel threatened by them. George Westinghouse bought the patents, and both he and Tesla advocated the AC system.

While Edison electrocuted animals in street demonstrations to promote the notion that AC electricity is dangerous, Tesla’s demonstrated the superiority of AC current in 1893 at the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

The winning battle, however, took place in 1895 at Niagara Falls, where Tesla demonstrated the first hydroelectric powerplant. The world finally saw the benefits of AC electricity, and it became a twentieth-century standard.

Much of our modern technology is based on Tesla’s contributions. He developed and perfected the fluorescent light, laser beam, remote control, wireless communication, and robotics, just to name a few. We owe him the radio, as well. The Tesla coil, invented in 1891, is still used in radios, televisions, and other electronics.

Nikola Tesla died in New York City (where the memorial, above, is located) in January, 1943. He was a genius who stood by his
ideas, and changed the world because of it.

Photo: Tony Hoffman

Information: Tesla Memorial Society of New York

Tokyo Institute of Technology announces SSD-packing, 2.39 petaflop supercomputer originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Tech-On!  | Email this | Comments

The past week was also surging with developments from the field of renewable energy – first we were excited to see the unveiling of the Oyster 2, an offshore wave-harvesting energy plant that improves upon its predecessor with a simpler design, fewer moving parts, and a 250% increase in energy generation. Google, HP, and Microsoft are also getting into the green energy game with plans to tap an unexpected energy source to run their data centers – cow dung! Google also led the charge towards cleaner energy this week by funding a new type of jet engine-inspired geothermal drill that uses superheated streams of water to bore through previously impenetrable surfaces.

Speaking of jets, MIT has just unveiled several ultra-efficient airplane designs that are capable of cutting fuel use by a whopping 70%. The auto industry also received a jolt of energy as Toyota announced a partnership with Tesla that will boost California’s flagging economy and likely lead to more affordable iconic electric vehicles.

The field of wearable technology saw several innovative advancements this week as well – safe cyclists rejoice, because a group of Indian students have designed a $22 Solar and Wind Powered Bike Helmet. Meanwhile, a group of Colorado State University seniors have designed a medical incubator backpack unit that they believe can reduce baby deaths in medical emergencies.

Finally, we shined light on several brilliant advancements from the field of solar technology, starting with China’s plans to build the “biggest solar energy production base” in the world. We also looked at the HYDRA, a solar-powered hydrogen fuel cell system that can reportedly generate 20,000 gallons of pure water a day, and green energy got literal with the unveiling of the first leaf-shaped crystalline silicon solar panels.

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: surfing renewable energy, hexagonal LEDs, and ultra-efficient aerodynamics originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 May 2010 20:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments