Hasta La Gadget!

When a tablet version of Chrome OS was teased back in February of last year, we found it a legitimately exciting proposition. Now that we have Android’s Honeycomb iteration designed specifically for slates, however, we’re having to wonder just why Google’s still chasing that keyboard-less dream with its web-centric OS. CNET has been doing some snooping in and around the latest iterations of Chrome OS, where it’s discovered numerous pieces of circumstantial evidence, such as a new onscreen keyboard, suggesting tablets are still very much on the menu. Chrome OS kicked off life on the development device known as Cr-48 and will resume availability this summer courtesy of Acer and Samsung, though we’d kind of assumed it would stick to notebooks now that Android’s making a sincere effort on devices bigger than an EVO. Mountain View has responded to CNET‘s queries with a pretty inconclusive statement, saying only that “We are engaging in early open-source work for the tablet form factor, but we have nothing new to announce at this time.” Check out last year’s concept video after the break.

Continue reading Google adding touchscreen-friendly tweaks to Chrome OS, still has tablets on its mind

Google adding touchscreen-friendly tweaks to Chrome OS, still has tablets on its mind originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 07:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Touchscreen gaming’s like cheese pizza — a generally tasty treat, but significantly improved by an addition or two. Good thing Donya’s got some new toppings for your touchy-feely display: a set of physical buttons and D-pads. Available in Japan for ¥999 (about twelve bucks) you get single, dual, and triple button stickers along with two D-pads to bring some much needed physicality to your handheld experience without sacrificing pocketability. We’re not sure what marvel of modern science makes these tactile additions cling to your screen, but we do know they make firing off a few Hadoukens quite a bit easier. That plus a few Hurricane Kicks after the break.

Continue reading Donya wish your touchscreen had buttons like these? (video)

Donya wish your touchscreen had buttons like these? (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 06:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We all drool over the hi-res video shot by cameras like the RED EPIC, but for indie-film types, processing the massive files produced takes a lot of time (and therefore money) and not everyone has an ARRI ALEXA to do native recording compression. Enter the Atomos Ninja and Samurai HD recorder / monitor / playback devices that take your 10-bit video and compress it in Apple’s 1080p ProRes QuickTime format to make your post-production life a little easier. The Ninja pulls video through HDMI and deposits it on your choice of 2.5-inch HDD or SDD storage, does playback via a 4.3-inch 480 x 270 touchscreen, and has continuous power thanks to dual hot-swappable batteries (available in 2600, 5200, and 7800 mAh varieties). Meanwhile, the Samurai matches the Ninja’s specs, but swaps out the HDMI connection for HD-SDI ports and adds SDI Loop-Through to connect an external monitor, a larger 5-inch 800 x 400 display, and 3D support (if you get two Samurais genlocked together). Both units have FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 and 3.0 connections for offloading your vids. Those with Spielbergian aspirations can pony up $995 for the Ninja right now, or pay $1,495 for the Samurai upon its release this summer.

Atomos Ninja and Samurai HD video recorder / monitors bring compression jutsu to pro filmmaking originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Mar 2011 11:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Few things do a better job at decimating desktop real estate than a bulky old flatbed scanner. Skinnier replacements are cheap these days, but what’s one to do with the old ones? An enterprising hacker who goes by the handle Sprite_tm, the same bloke who brought us a knock-operated door, has managed to create a multitouch panel out of his. He extracted the single-line CCD and mounted that below the display. He then attached five LEDs above it to shine light down. When his finger touches the screen it casts a shadow on the CCD and, with a little (probably a lot) of custom software he’s able to triangulate the position of the touch. The system even works with multiple fingers, though we’re guessing should they overlap vertically the system might get a little finicky. Check out a demo below and then click on through the source link for one heck of a detailed how-to.

Continue reading Flatbed scanner becomes multitouch panel in five-fingered DIY documentary (video)

Flatbed scanner becomes multitouch panel in five-fingered DIY documentary (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 21:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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At this week’s Microsoft promotional bonanza, otherwise known as TechFest 2011, a team of researchers debuted a rather shabby looking capacitive stylus that switches between functions based on your grip — an interesting addition to a rather stagnant market, sure, but there are still a few kinks to be worked out. The multi-purpose tool enlists capacitive multi-touch and orientation sensors to respond to how you hold the thing, allowing you to perform a number of different tasks with a simple repositioning. A demo video of the stylus at work shows a disembodied hand switching between a pen, an airbrush, a compass, and even a virtual flute with ease, but while the project stresses the “naturalness” of the experience, we’re pretty sure nobody sketches quite like that. Check out the video after the break to see what we mean.

Continue reading Microsoft researchers show off intuitive stylus, don’t know how to hold a pencil (video)

Microsoft researchers show off intuitive stylus, don’t know how to hold a pencil (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 09:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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