The Netherlands goes open-source in 2008

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

April 2008. That's the date when the notoriously progressive Dutch government goes open source. The plan was approved unanimously yesterday in a meeting of two parliamentary commissions. The policy dictates that government organizations at the national level must be ready to save documents in the Open Document Format (ODF) by April, and the state and local level by 2009. Use of proprietary software and file formats from the likes of Microsoft will have to be justified under the new policy. The government expects to save $8.8 million a year on city housing registers alone by making the switch. Tough week, eh Microsoft? You'll have to get your OpenDocument plug-ins for MS Office ISO approved on the quick if you want to avoid further trouble.

 

[via] Engadget

DIY hand-based 3D input

Filed under: Peripherals

If you've ever felt the burning desire to give your index finger a little more prominence in your day-to-day computing exercises, here's your chance. A DIY'er has combined an IR-based, homemade tracking system with a piece of software that he's coded which can translate the IR data into 3D navigation. So far, the system can track the movement of two hands using six individual points (we assume one per axis, per hand). Details are scarce on the project right now, but the prospect of manipulating onscreen images or spaces in three dimensions with a cheap and simple solution is definitely enticing. Check the video after the break to see a finger in action.

Continue reading DIY hand-based 3D input

 

[via] Engadget

Quanta shipping only 10,000 OLPC XO's per month? Try 100k

Filed under: Laptops

Something doesn't add up. Either the Economic Daily News has bad manufacturing numbers or OLPC's claims of $2 Million worth of "donations" each day (more than 10,000 XOs per day!) under the $399 G1G1 program are highly exaggerated. The Chinese-language report says that Quanta expects to ship 15,000 XOs in all of December and only around 8-10k units each month into the future. This according to the paper's "component maker" sources. Of course, OLPC could be multi-sourcing laptops from Foxconn, Compal, or some other Guangdong Province factory -- though that would be news to us. Regardless, with 15,000 XOs heading to Alabama, 260,000 heading to Peru, and countless others in the queue from G1G1, well, our children might be waiting a long, long time for delivery.

Update: According to reader Hao, DigiTimes incorrectly translated the production quantity. EDN is reporting 150,000 XOs shipping in December, then 80k to 100k each month thereafter. That certainly sounds more reasonable. Here's the EDN piece. Thanks Hao!

 

[via] Engadget

O'Neill's GPS NavJacket with integrated display and audio

Filed under: GPS, Wearables

Ever get lost in a euphoric off-piste blaze of snow and emotion only to emerge truly lost somewhere on the mountain? Good, the NavJacket is for you. The GPS equipped jacket from O'Neill is the result of a partnership with MyGuide. The Gore-Tex jacket features integrated audio in the hood and a display in the sleeve which shows your speed, updated weather forecasts, and time and distance to après-ski. A "friend finder" function helps track your new "friends" long after the slobbering begins. All the important tech bits about communication, controls, and that flexible display (not to mention the price!) are still missing. No worries, it's not due for another 9 months as part of O'Neill's Fall/Winter 2008/2009 collection. 'Til then you'll have to rely upon your keen sense of gravity to get you to the bottom of the hill.

[Via Pocket-lint]

 

[via] Engadget

Sony Ericsson patent app details LCD watch hands

Filed under: Cellphones, Wearables

Considering the hordes of utterly unsightly timepieces that find their way into our browsers, we've got to hand it to Sony Ericsson -- it's done a pretty fine job at keeping its name attached to watches that are, you know, wearable. That being said, we're not surprised to see such an intriguing patent app surface from the aforementioned firm, and honestly, we'd be even less shocked if this thing eventually went beyond the drawing board. As the picture above partially demonstrates, SE has envisioned a watch with LCD hands along with an LCD display resting behind 'em, theoretically enabling the hands to "vanish" while users peek a quick video or read a text message on the screen beneath. Call us crazy, but we're pretty sure even the likes of Bond and Tracy would approve of this.

[Via Cellpassion]

 

[via] Engadget

Sony's Stringer: PS3 games "infinitely more fun" than Wii

Filed under: Gaming

Joystiq just noted a peach of a sound-bite from Sony's quip hero, Sir Howard Stringer. In an interview with The Guardian he started by saying, "I'm happy the Wii seems to be running a bit short of hardware." He then chest-thumped a prediction that the PS3, "will come into its own because its [high-end games] are infinitely more fun, demanding and exciting." A theory to be known henceforth as Stringer's Bloated Hyperbole Postulate.

[Via Joystiq]

 

[via] Engadget

Study to equip cars with tracking hardware, send testers faux bills

Filed under: GPS, Transportation

We've been hearing about these highway use tax trials for years now, but apparently, a new $16.5 million Road User Charge Study will be looking for 2,700 mettlesome individuals that won't mind driving around with a tracking unit riding shotgun. The absurdly expensive initiative is purportedly seeking to figure out whether Americans "would accept the idea of paying by the mile, instead of by the gallon." North Carolina-based Innovation Management -- which will "oversee the study" in the Triangle region of NC -- proclaimed that folks who volunteer to take part in it would have their vehicle fitted with "GPS and computer hardware to track the miles they travel through each state and local government jurisdiction." Best of all, however, is the tidbit noting that these very guinea pigs will also receive "make-believe bills" each month displaying what taxes they would owe if they were indeed being taxed per mile. Anyone want to guess how much revenue they could rake in from accidental payments?

[Via The Wolf Web, image courtesy of WRAL]

 

[via] Engadget

Nokia's N-Gage hits the N81 next week in pre-release form

Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming

It's a good time to be an N81 or N81 8GB user, since Nokia's got some pre-release versions of full N-Gage titles just for you as of next week. Nokia's hoping for some feedback with this "N-Gage First Access" setup, since the full service isn't quite ready to go yet. Of course, the N81 has game demos on it out of the box, but this time it'll have "exclusive access to the pre-release version of the N-Gage application and one or more N-Gage games!" They're certainly taking their own sweet time getting the relaunch of N-Gage ready, but given the failure of its first two iterations, perhaps we should be grateful Nokia's waiting to get it right this time. But seriously, hurry up already.

[Via NokNok; thanks James B]

 

[via] Engadget

Toshiba intros five capacious new 1.8-inch hard drives

Filed under: Storage

We're all for bulking up the storage in our notebooks and portable gear, so naturally we're quite thrilled that Toshiba has developed a quintet of new 1.8-inch PATA hard drives that promise higher capacity and better performance for the gadgets we hold so dear. Three of the drives offer up 60GB on a single platter: the 4,200 RPM MK6028GAL for laptops and UMPCs, along with the 4,200 RPM MK6014GAL with 2MB buffer and 3,200 RPM MK6015GAA with 160KB buffer, both of which employ so-called "long data sector" technology to bring "format efficiency, improved error correction capability and enhanced storage capacity" to portable consumer electronics devices, according to ol' Tosh. Also destined for lightweight PCs are the dual-platter 120GB MK1214GAH and single-platter 80GB MK8025GAL, both 4,200 RPM drives with 2MB and 8MB buffers, respectively. Expect the new models to start appearing in consumer products sometime early next year. [Warning: PDF link]

[Via Slashgear]

 

[via] Engadget

NVIDIA 3-Way SLI review roundup

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

No use kidding around: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 3-Way SLI kicks benchmark ass. Reviewers across the board found the setup to be far and away the best money can buy when it comes to graphics, but the price is certainly steep. Not only are the cards super pricey -- you're limited to the 8800 GTX and 8800 Ultra -- but you'll need a 1000+ watt power supply, and pretty much a fresh system from the ground up unless you're already running the nForce 680i SLI motherboard. PC Perspective crunched the numbers, and you're looking at about $2828 in costs before you even get to the case, hard drive, DVD drive and all that other superfluous stuff. That said, the third card really makes a big difference, since performance scales surprisingly well with the addition. You probably don't need this kind of power if you're not trying to game at full-res on a 30-incher, but if you don't mind dropping $3k on a system purely designed to play Crysis at Very High, then you just might have some 3-way SLI in your future.

[via] Engadget

Filed under: Cellphones

As the pic says ladies and gents, Apple has decided that if you're clever enough to work in GarageBand -- and really, aren't we all? -- you deserve custom tones. To get this working all you need do is grab at the fresh GarageBand 4.1.1 update released yesterday, select a cycle region in your song -- a cycle region is just an area in the song's timeline you want to repeat -- then "share" and select "send ringtone to iTunes" option. Of course, your iPhone will need to be at version 1.1.2 to accomplish this little feat of magic, but we're sure most of you out there have sorted updates by now. Enjoy the music and feel free to drop us a note with how things go.

[Via TUAW]

[via] Engadget

Microsoft lets loose Hyper-V virtualization software beta

Filed under: Desktops

Microsoft isn't exactly known for releasing things early, but that's just what its done with the beta version of its new Hyper-V virtualization software, which is included as part of Windows Server 2008 RC1 Enterprise. As Microsoft itself points out, that was originally only expected to be released in the first quarter of 2008, but it says it decided to let things loose early in order to let customers evaluate the feature and provide feedback before the final release. The software itself takes aim squarely at VMWare's territory, allowing users to configure an array of virtual machines and run multiple operating systems simultaneously. If betas aren't your thing, however, you can look for the final version to roll out "within 180 days" of the release of Windows Server 2008.

[Via TG Daily]

 

[via] Engadget

iPhone integral part of Land Rover LRX concept

Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation

Well, would you take a peek at this? Not even a month after we pored over Volkswagen photos that certainly had a hint of Apple about them, images of the Land Rover LRX are surfacing and giving us the same kind of vibe. In a press release issued by the automaker, it notes that the concept vehicle will boast a couple of touchscreens, one of which is used to "control the LRX's iPhone facility." Additionally, you can catch an iPod docking station and a set of removable speakers on the tailgate, though we can't say that's the most convenient location we've ever heard of for such a device. Nevertheless, we should find out a whole lot more when it hits the Detroit Auto Show floor next month, and oh yeah, we hear Jobs has a wee gig of his own to handle around the same time.

[Thanks, ssco]

[via] Engadget

Nintendo establishes official raincheck program for Wii

Filed under: Gaming

This one's just hitting the wires folks, but apparently, Nintendo has established an official raincheck program to somewhat alleviate the Wii shortage frustrations that are sure to overwhelm those scouting one for the holidays. Details are scant at the moment, but we do know that Nintendo of America will be partnering with GameStop to allow patient buyers to fork out $249 up front in exchange for a guaranteed Wii "by the end of January." We aren't told whether or not the program is effective immediately, but we'd certainly assume it is.

Update: We're hearing the program actually won't go into effect until next Friday. We'll keep you posted on anything official.

[Via Switched]

 

[via] Engadget

Art installation made up of hundreds of case fans is full of air

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Taking the all-fan casemod to the next (il)logical extreme, Dutch art concerns Studio Roosegaarde has built a 10-meter long corridor out of hundreds of fans called Flow 5.0. The installation, which is currently on display at the TodaysArt festival in Rotterdam, is controlled by several microphones and other sensors, allowing the speed and direction of the fans to respond to passing visitors -- or, in the words of the artists, "By walking and interacting
an illusive landscape of transparencies and artificial winds is created." Hmm, and here we were sort of hoping to get one of these to dry off after a shower. Check a video of the install after the break.

[Via Technabob]

Continue reading Art installation made up of hundreds of case fans is full of air

 

[via] Engadget

Vista gets wrangled onto the Eee PC

Filed under: Laptops

It already seems pretty clear that there are few OSes that won't at least be attempted to be installed on the Eee PC, and it now looks like you can chalk up another of the big ones in successful column, as one fearless user has managed to squish Vista onto the diminutive laptop. To accomplish that feat, Paul O'Brien used the vLite tool to cut out as much bloat as possible before putting the custom disk image onto a USB stick, after which he then installed the OS on the Eee PC and, perhaps most notably, moved the Side by Side (or SxS) directory onto an 8GB SD card, freeing up some much needed space on the laptop itself. If for some reason you want to try that yourself, you can find complete instructions by hitting up the read link below, or you can live vicariously through the video after the break.

[Via Gadget Lab]

Continue reading Vista gets wrangled onto the Eee PC

 

[via] Engadget

Meizu mocks up the M8 MiniOne

Filed under: Cellphones

These pictures of what appears to be a Meizu M8 MiniOne have been popping up all over, but according to postings by CEO Jack Wong, this is just a final design mockup to judge the "feel" of the device, and isn't real -- in fact, it's not even made of the planned production materials. That's pretty random -- and probably way more effort than necessary, since we'd think you could judge the feel by, you know, purchasing and holding an iPhone.

 

[via] Engadget

Windows Mobile: more of what's going on in the next two versions

Filed under: Cellphones

Publicly disclosable details about the future of Windows Mobile are still sparse, but we can let the door open a bit wider on what was shown at this year's Mobius with regard to the next two versions of Windows Mobile. We all know that 6.1 is around the corner, but it's the next two versions beyond that which are really interesting. Post-6.1, WinMo will indeed have its app suite revamped, including a desktop-grade port of IE to Windows Mobile, which Microsoft is replacing pocket IE with and directly targeting mobile Safari. Likewise, the rest of the consumer-centric apps (photos, media, etc.) as well as the messaging suite will be upgraded to be a bit friendlier. This whole experience won't be too foreign to long-time users, but is the next step in the right direction.

But it's really the Windows Mobile that's two versions out that's the game-changer. Significantly redeveloped, this WinMo will focus on an upgraded user experience with massive changes made to ease of use, as well as new features like global search and data correlation, meaning the device would, for example, know who you're talking to and give you instant access to email from only that person, or maybe a map with that pinpoints their address. Fingers crossed they'll execute on this stuff -- Microsoft's a big company with lots of wonderful ideas that seem to fall out of the truck on the way to the store.

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

[via] Engadget

Clearview gets official with Infinity miPC

Filed under: Handhelds

Last we heard from Clearview Technology it was asking its customers (or potential customers) to come up with a name for its new UMPC-like device, the XL43. While the result of that process doesn't seem to have generated much fanfare, it looks like the company is now finally nearing a release for the newly-named Infinity miPC. From the looks of it, the device has also gotten a bit of a facelift since we last saw it, but the specs appear to be identical, including a 4.3-inch touch screen, a 600MHz AU1250 processor, a 30GB hard drive, WiFi, Bluetooth, an SD card slot, and a 1.3 megapixel camera, with Windows CE 5.0 serving as the OS. You'll also apparently be able to snag an optional DMB TV tuner, and a cradle with built-in GPS but, unfortunately, there's still no word on an exact release date, or a price, for that matter.

[Via GizmoLounge]

 

[via] Engadget

Rare Yoshi edition DS Phat tests your love of Nintendo

Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

Sure, you've bought every console since the original NES, monitor forum threads religiously for any Wii bashing, and may even have a Koopa tattoo somewhere on your body, but are you enough of a fanboy to pay $500 for first-generation Nintendo DS emblazoned with a wire-frame cartoon dinosaur? Well apparently eBayer "joedick" is one such individual, whose $480 Buy-It-Now-dollars earned him one of the only 200 "Hot Summer Yoshi" edition DS Phats ever made, which were part of a larger series of six versions available only to Club Nintendo members in 2005. Congratulations, good sir -- just remember not to play with it or anything, or you won't be able to sell it for ten times what you paid a few years down the road.

[Via DS Fanboy]

 

[via] Engadget

ITRI showcases a 10.4-inch flexible color LCD

Filed under: Displays

Hot on the heels of that flexible color e-ink display we saw a couple days back, here comes a flexible 10.4-inch LCD display that's less then 10mm thick. The display is being developed by Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), and features two plastic substrate elements instead of a traditional glass one. ITRI says the display can reproduce 57 percent of the NTSC color gamut, but there's no word on when we might ever see these in production.

[Via TG Daily]

 

[via] Engadget

Gateway CEO Ed Coleman on the outs, replaced by Acer Exec

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

All semi-good, but not-really-good-enough things must come to an end, and Acer has just announced that Gateway's CEO Ed Coleman is leaving at the end of January, and Acer's Pan America Organization president Rudi Schmidleithner will be filling the spot. Rudi will oversee both companies and be responsible for completing the integration process of the two companies, so perhaps we'll start to see these two act like more of a unit going forward.

 

[via] Engadget

DVB-SH mobile TV trials to crank up in Italy

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Video, Wireless

Though it once appeared as if DVB-SH was headed for high times in Europe, DVB-H eventually won out as the nationwide standard, but that certainly doesn't mean other standards can't compete within the region. Reportedly, Alcatel-Lucent has agreed to launch the first trial of the technology in Italy with RAI and 3 Italia, and while DVB-SH would likely be more costly to implement due to its position in the spectrum, European telecoms are grasping for options to satisfy the growing desire for mobile TV. If all goes as planned, the trials will take place in Turin over the next few months, but it wasn't clear when Jane / John Doe would be called in to participate. Also of note, a cellphone provider has yet to be selected, but it sounds like Samsung and Sagem both made it onto the short list.

[Via mocoNews]

 

[via] Engadget

Air Force developing UAVs that can recharge on power lines

Filed under: Transportation

We've seen some interesting solutions to keeping UAVs powered for extended missions, but none so diabolical as actually landing on the enemy's power lines and using their juice to power up. That's the plan behind the Power Line Urban Sentry (PLUS) project currently being run by the Air Force Research Laboratory and private firm Defense Research Associates, and it's already yielded UAVs that can land on power lines and charge in three hours. The project started with attempts to charge by simply flying near power lines, but when that method yielded only micro-watts of juice, focus shifted to actually landing on the lines. The team is planning all sorts of other capabilities for the tech, including navigation systems -- "Power lines are like highways in the sky," says one of the researchers -- and auxiliary surveillance systems that power up when jacked in. On top of all that awesomeness, the team is also working with an outfit called the Center for Morphing Control to disguise the UAVs when they sit on the lines -- so far, they say, they've made a small UAV "look like a Coke can." Test flights are scheduled for 2008, and there's still work to be done on the power line latching mechanism, but whatever -- we want one.

[Thanks, Stuart T.]

 

[via] Engadget

Fresno schools buy 1,000 Eee PCs, Asus launches 2G Surf model

Filed under: Laptops

The OLPC and Classmate PC may be getting most of the attention these days with their attempts to win over as many schools as possible, but it looks like Asus' Eee PC is starting to make some moves of its own, with the Fresno Unified School District recently snagging 1,000 of the laptops in an attempt to boost student scores. As The San Francisco Chronicle reports, the schools also went the extra step of getting the laptops pre-installed with Windows and other Microsoft software, which apparently brought the total cost to $464 a seat. Also according the Chronicle, it seems that Asus has officially launched its $299 2G Surf model a little ahead of the January date we first heard about, although it still seems to be nigh impossible to come by, at least at the moment.

[Thanks, Bill]

 

[via] Engadget

Wii to eventually get voice support, hints Fils-Aime

Filed under: Gaming

We've been hearing rumors about voice capabilities coming to the Wii almost from the very start, and it looks like plans are afoot at Ninty to bring the dream to reality: speaking to reporters during this morning's rainchecks-and-shortages conference call, Reggie Fils-Aime sad that he "wouldn't be surprised" to see voice chat come to the Wii. That's about as straight a confirmation as he gave, although he did say the holdup was mostly in making the right peripheral. Hmm, we're not totally sure we buy that, but we're willing to bet Nintendo is a little more focused on actually getting Wiis out the door first.

 

[via] Engadget

Polymer Vision announces rollable displays are in production

Filed under: Displays, Handhelds

We've been look at wacky prototypes of rollable displays for so long that it's hard to believe they could ever get real. Polymer Vision, a Philips spin out, has just announced that it has its production facilities up and running and its first rollable displays have made it off the assembly line. And they're not leaving it at that. Polymer Vision's first product, the 3G-enabled Readius, is supposed to be available before the end of the year. That doesn't give them much time to slap the rest of the parts together, but hopefully the Readius can be giving Kindle some competition before we get too terribly accustomed to its DRM-ed ways.

 

[via] Engadget

How would you change Microsoft's flash Zune?

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Hey, we gave you the opportunity to voice your opinion on Microsoft's original Zune back in August, so it's only fair that the new kids on the block get their turn in the ring, too. This go 'round, however, we're adding a little twist -- focus your attention on the flash-based iterations only. The diminutive Zune 4 and Zune 8 were probably more highly anticipated than their HDD-based siblings, and considering that the rumors were literally all over the map leading up to the release, we can't say anything really shocked us when launch day came and went. Granted, we were a bit bummed to find that these wouldn't feature TV outputs, but hey, at least we got the option of adding more than just two lines of text to the thing's rear, right?

By now, you've had more than ample time to give the flash-based Zune of your choice some serious play, and we're sure you've logged a couple of complaints in your mind, so here's your chance to get it all out in the open. If given the keys to the Zune 4 / 8 design lab, what changes would you implement? Add in a few more pixels? How about a few more gigabytes? Melt the whole thing down and shape it like a discus? Or is your heart still longing for the oh-so-elusive Zune phone? Whatever your wish may be, feel free to let the whole world know in comments below -- you never know who'll tune in.

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

[via] Engadget

AMD's financial woes don't stop Hector Ruiz from nabbing a raise

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

In most jobs, if you cost the company money and generally screw up, you can expect a solid dressing-down from the management and then a swift boot out the door. Unless you run a major corporation like AMD. If you're Hector Ruiz, CEO of the ailing chipmaker, you can freely and openly admit to fouling up the works and still get yourself a tidy raise, it seems. "We blew it and we're very humbled by it and we learned from it and we're not going to do it again," Ruiz said on Thursday, just before the board of directors raised his $1,046,358 salary to $1,124,000 -- a 7.4-percent gain. Oh, did we mention the nearly $13 million in stock options too? Hey, just because you tacked on $3.7 billion dollars in long term debt and your stock plummeted 56.2-percent doesn't mean you're doing a bad job... although we can't think of another way to describe it.

 

[via] Engadget

GumEase dental mouthpiece numbs without needles

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Next time you go to the dentist for some dreadfully painful procedure, you may have the option of eschewing that Novocaine-bearing needle for a flexible dental mouthpiece that turns out the lights on your maxillofacial nerves. Developed by Laguna Hills-based BioMedDevice Limited, and recently approved by the FDA, the so-called gumEase uses no conventional anesthetics, instead relying on cryoanesthesia: basically, the freezer-stored device chills your mouth into numbness. One application of gumEase, which lasts up to 20 minutes, is said to relieve 90% of a patient's pain within two to three minutes -- and to prove it, the manufacturer has produced a rather graphic video depicting a hypodermic-free tooth extraction, which you can watch at your own risk after the break. With products such as this one and the RelaxView HMD seemingly making dental visits more pleasant than ever before, we may actually have to review our policy of only making appointments during leap years.

Continue reading GumEase dental mouthpiece numbs without needles

 

[via] Engadget

Luxury, meet ridiculous: the Mobiado Luminoso battery cover flash drive

Filed under: Cellphones

If you're carrrying around a Mobiado Luminoso cell phone, it's a safe bet you might be interested in Bissol's brass-encased 4GB flash drives -- so why not jack the ritz factor by combining them in Mobiado's new battery cover for the Luminoso, which features a storage / display compartment for the included drive? That's right -- Mobiado asked itself what its customers wanted, and came up with a custom battery cover that only holds an opulent brass flash drive. Damn, we knew we weren't exactly the target market, but you'd think they'd at least try to go quadband first.

 

[via] Engadget

Intel announces industry's smallest SSD chips

Filed under: Storage

The picture says it all, Intel's going crazy small with its latest SSD chips, but it's certainly not leaving capacity behind. The new Intel Z-P140 PATA SSD chips come in 2GB and 4GB capacities, are extendable up to 16GB, and weigh less than a drop of water. We're already impatient for phone manufacturers and DAP makers to start cramming these into their devices, and the RAID opportunities are really sinful. Intel should be showing the chips off at CES in January, no word on when we'll see 'em hit the market.

 

[via] Engadget

Not all is lost: partfoundry developing GPS module for iPhone

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Handhelds

True, the tantalizing rumor of a TomTom GPS for the iPhone suffered a rather untimely demise, but not to worry -- as a navigation aid, we figure the iPhone's sizable touchscreen and dock connector just make too much sense for a GPS solution to not get willed into existence. Engineering firm partfoundry is taking a real (as in, confirmed) stab at developing a custom, purpose-built GPS module that slots into the iPhone's port, delivering 16 channels of satellite reception to the software of your choice. Notice the "of your choice" there -- it looks like partfoundry will be requiring jailbreaked phones and relying on the developer community to serve up apps capable of processing the module's output and making use of it. The current plan is to get these bad boys out of the door in February, though they're taking orders now for $89. Oh, and don't worry, there are plans for a "stylish plastic enclosure" to bring the 1337 hax0r appearance down a notch or three.

 

[via] Engadget

Crapgadget: USB Santa boots, SMB mushroom lamps, awful PMPs, and more

It's been a prolific week for crappy gadget manufacturers, which means it's been a frighteningly sad week for us, since we have to go over all this stuff whether we like it or not. That's right, it's another edition of our newest running series, Crapgadget, in which we round up the worst of the worst. Enjoy the crap out of this, okay? We nearly gouged our eyes out in the making.

[via] Engadget

Korean researchers show off "Securo" security robot

Filed under: Robots

It looks like the international fraternity of security robots could soon be about to welcome a new member, as a team of researchers from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology recently announced that its "Securo" bot has passed a test that had it navigating a one kilometer long course by all by itself. That was apparently done with the aid of its built-in GPS and a laser image scanner, which allowed it to motor along at a speed of 5.4 km/h while avoiding obstacles and staying withing an error range of 10 cm. That, the researchers say, could also make it suitable for delivering military supplies or performing surveillance, although there's no indication just yet as to when it might actually see service.

 

[via] Engadget

Western Hemisphere getting behind AWS for 3G

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

There isn't necessarily any single morsel of news here, but 3G Americas -- the group responsible for keeping GSM on the up and up this side of the pond -- just wants everyone to know that it likes AWS' chances for gaining ground in this part of the world for new HSPA (and eventually, LTE) deployments. Yanks may know AWS better as the weird flavor of bandwidth T-Mobile has gotten stuck with for deploying its desperately overdue 3G services; it utilizes spectrum in both the 1700 and 2100MHz spaces to push bits around, and while it hasn't yet been commercially deployed on a wide scale, the consortium points out that AWS spectrum auctions are in the pipe for Canada, Chile, and Mexico, among others. Naturally, that's very good news for anyone who finds themselves shopping for an AWS handset down the road, seeing how broader support across borders leads to broader manufacturer support -- a fact that 3G Americas is also quick to note. European and Asian buy-in is another matter altogether, but we'll take what we can get.

[Via Phone Scoop]

 

[via] Engadget

Upcoming FireWire spec revs things up to 3.2Gbps

Filed under: Peripherals

USB 3.0 really threw down this September with a theoretical max throughput of 4Gbps, but it looks like FireWire isn't going down without a fight. The latest and greatest FireWire version, dubbed "S3200" by those creatives up in marketing, uses the same ports and cables as FireWire 800, but boosts speeds to 3.2Gbps, which should make it pretty competitive with USB in the real world -- though actual real-life speeds will probably depend on who's adding up the bits. According to the 1394 Trade Association: "The S3200 standard will sustain the position of IEEE 1394 as the absolute performance leader," but we hear they're biased. They are claiming that where current FireWire 800 hard drives can move 90MB per second, S3200 should be able to do 400MB. Speed concerns aside, the power delivery, peer to peer architecture, and handy networking capabilities of 1394 mean that FireWire should hopefully be around for a long time to come.

[Via Slashdot]

 

[via] Engadget

Nissan's GPS-enabled cruise control foreshadows robot cars

Filed under: GPS, Transportation

Nissan has really upped the ante when it comes to driver-assisting luxury amenities. While everybody else is busy with souped-up cruise control based on radars (those old things), Nissan has tapped into onboard GPS to allow the car slow down for upcoming turns, and then resume a cruising speed once the turn is done. It's called Intelligent Cruise Control, and will most likely be seen as a happy upgrade to some drivers and a curse upon the road to others. We just want a fully-automated car, so do what it takes, Nissan.

 

[via] Engadget

Phantom Lapboard now on sale, suckers rejoice

Filed under: Peripherals

At this point we're pretty certain Phantom's shady, vaporous history is warning enough to anyone thinking about giving cash to the company, but the risk-takers out there might want to take note: Phantom's oft-delayed Lapboard is now available for purchase. Of course, there's no ship date listed and -- true to Phantom form -- the site's SSL certificate is a little shady, but come on, you know you want to pony up your credit card number and let us know what happens.

[Thanks, Ray Z.]

 

[via] Engadget

Sakura robot skates around, keeps your princess entertained

Filed under: Robots

Considering that gift-giving time is right around the bend, it's no shock to see companies start cranking out gizmos that will perfectly stuff those lonely stockings. On the docket today is the Sakura robot, which dons a pink outfit, totally hip hairdo and a quasi-futuristic skateboard. Apparently, she can belt out a few jokes, school you with several "fun facts and fashion tips" and play back five different songs. Additionally, her board can be remotely controlled, and if you two build up a certain level of trust, you can record "secrets" within that will only be repeated should you insert the requisite key. Sounds like a total blast, eh? Go on, you know your princess is worth the £49.99 ($103) -- and hey, at least this thing won't teach her how to totally ruin her credit.

[Via Coolest-Gadgets]

 

[via] Engadget

Microsoft clears up Zune 80 availability issues

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Those of you searching in vain for a Zune 80 may not have longer to wait -- Cesar over at Zune Insider has just posted a note about the situation, saying that all the Zunes are ready and shipping, but the Zune 80 won't be widespread for the next 7-10 days. Apparently Microsoft's sales forecasts called for it to produce more flash Zunes, but the strong reaction from the press and consumers has led to increased interest in the Zune 80 instead -- which seems like the sort of thing you commission sales forecasts for, but hey, live and learn. Anyway, Microsoft's sorted things out and scaled up Zune 80 production, so all of you aching to get 80GBs deep into the social should be good by next week.

[Via Got Zune?]

 

[via] Engadget

Study links WiFi with childhood autism

Filed under: Wireless

While there seems to be relatively few things that WiFi hasn't been linked to, it seems that a new study has managed to turn up yet another potential peril, in this case a link to childhood autism. According to the study published in the Australasian Journal of Clinical Environmental Medicine, the electromagnetic radiation from WiFi devices supposedly causes metals to be trapped in individuals' brain cells, which the researchers say slows clearance and accelerates the onset of autism symptoms. As Computer Weekly points out, however, a number of health agencies, including the World Health Organization, have repeatedly examined the issue and found no danger from WiFi devices (or cellphones, for that matter) operating at levels below international guidelines. Still, we have a sneaking suspicion that this is far from the last study of this sort we'll see, at least until each WiFi router shipped comes bundled with a tinfoil bodysuit.

[Via Switched]

 

[via] Engadget

Rock Band crashes at our pad

Filed under: Features, Gaming

Fender Strat: check. Logitech USB mic with Rock Band logo: check. Totally 80s Simmons-style drum-pad kit that Duran Duran might have used: check. Crappiest USB hub known to man: double check.

So yeah, we got our Rock Band kit today, and we're about to go test it out. In the mean time beware: the box is huge and it's filled to the brim. Actually, let's be a little more clear: we hope you have a rumpus room because the drum kit and a single Fender are friggin huge. We wouldn't exactly say the game has its own no-brown-M&Ms rider or anything, but if you're like us and already have a GH3 Les Paul and two GH2 Xplorers you're trying to hide behind the curtains, this one's not going to be very easy to get past you spouse (or their quickly waning patience level).

Gallery: Rock Band crashes at our pad

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

[via] Engadget