Cool Gadgets and Gizmos

Skinput Makes the Human Body an Interface

admin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:03:24 +0000

What if you could turn your skin into a touch-interface? That’s the idea driving Skinput, a system that takes advantage of the vibrations generated when we tap our body. The prototype is accurate enough that different parts of the body can be turned into switches that control a variety of functions, as the video below demonstrates:
Using a tiny projector embedded in the armband that captures taps on the human arm, Skinput can even display a dynamic graphical interface to present information and options to users. I wonder though if Chris Harrison of Carnegie Mellon University—and his partners from Microsoft Research—can […]

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Mass Effect 2 Has Robbed Me of Sleep

admin — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 15:03:29 +0000

I suggest you jump straight into Mass Effect 2, even if you haven’t played or finished the first game. Like its predecessor, Mass Effect 2 plays like a movie, where you are its star attraction, the best hope of the galaxy, and a fearless leader all in one.

From the opening portion you will find yourself taking your time enjoying the scenery. Mass Effect 2’s world is a very-detailed and realistic one, even on a computer with relatively weak 9500 GT graphics (at 1152 x 864). The high-production values also extend to the music and sound effects, creating a compelling world […]

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Gesture Search Beta Hits Android

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:03:07 +0000

Here’s something to try out, Android users. Gesture Search has made an appearance on Google Labs, and is available as a download for devices running Android 2.0 or later.
Do you find it hard to find a contact or locate an application from a list of hundreds of items on an Android phone? Or do you find it stressful to search for an item by typing in its title while on the go?
Gesture Search from Google Labs lets you search your Android-powered device by drawing alphabet gestures on the touch screen. It allows you to quickly find a contact, a bookmark, […]

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10 Minutes With the HTC HD2: It’s Big!

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:03:39 +0000

But not big enough that you’ll have a hard time carrying it around. The HTC HD2 is easily the best example of the slate smartphone form factor, which is all screen and pretty much nothing else. It’s also the smartphone with the biggest display I’ve ever seen. Nothing I’ve ever used comes close to the HD2’s 4.3 inches of portable visual eye-candy. Few things amaze me nowadays, but seeing HTC pull his off—on a unit that’s barely a centimeter thick—did.
Unfortunately, I have at least one bias against this phone. As someone who never really adapted touch screen keyboards, typing on […]

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Dell Studio 17 for $399

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:03:03 +0000

From Dell.Com: Pay $400, and you get a 17″ laptop with the following specs:

Intel Pentium T4300 (2.1 GHz/800 MHz FSB/1 MB cache)
2 GB of DDR2 RAM
160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
8X CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
Dell Wireless 1397 802.11g Half Mini-Card
Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
Glossy widescreen 17.0 inch display (1440×900)
85 Whr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell)

If anything, the basic Studio 17 makes for a good home web and productivity machine. You won’t have to pack it up in boxes if you have to move, and the 17″ display will make it easy to read text. 64-bit Windows […]

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So is Steam Coming to the Mac?

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:03:30 +0000

The news is a few hours old now: Valve recently distributed mock ads that, if anything else, implies that Steam will be available for Mac OS X.
Valve’s Steam is a popular online store for games. Customers browse the catalog of popular PC games—which includes recent hits like Modern Warfare 2 to DOS classics like Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis—through a browser or the Steam desktop client. Games are playable once paid for with a credit card or PayPal, and after the desktop client has downloaded the content. No need to keep a game disc in your optical drive, […]

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Why Did Apple Sue HTC?

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:03:40 +0000

Yesterday, Apple sued HTC, alleging that the Taiwanese smartphone maker is violating 20 of Apple’s patents. Most of these patents are about the software, specifically the user interface. Highlights of these patents include diagrams detailing flick scrolling, and a swipe-to-answer feature.
No one doubts that the iPhone was the first gadget with these kind of gestures—or at least was the first device to popularize them (and for the US market at that). But Popular Science figures that Apple’s lawsuit is preparation for an eventual showdown with Google over its Android OS, another mobile platform that relies heavily on touch gesture controls:
Bottom […]

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Most Popular Desktop Software is Really Old

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:03:45 +0000

Remember when you started using Word? What about Excel and Powerpoint? Turns out some of the most popular desktop applications today—including flagships of Microsoft’s Office suite—are older than preteens.
Pingdom looked into the history of widely-used software like Photoshop, iTunes, and relative newbies like Chrome, and found that none of the 13 apps they looked at were less than two years old.

Word (27)
Powerpoint (26)
Excel (25)
Photoshop (22)
IE (15)
Opera (14)
MSN Messenger (11)
iTunes (9)
OpenOffice.Org (8)
Safari (7)
Skype (7)
Firefox (6)
Chrome (2)

Wih Word (27 years) and Powerpoint (26) following closely behind, Pingdom has aptly called these long-running applications “dinosaurs”. Even Chrome’s two years of existence is a […]

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Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid: 78 mpg,3.2 to 60

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:03:11 +0000

Here’s a concept car that appeals to both environmentalists and road warriors. The Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid debuts today at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. Just like any other hybrid, this Spyder relies on an electric-gasoline engine tandem to keep gas consumption down, while retaining power.

But not just any hybrid has a V8 with 500 horses, and one electric motor per axle, for a total of 718 horsepower under the (figurative) hood. The 918 Spyder hybrid can hit 60 in 3.2 seconds and max out at 198 miles per hour, so says the German maker. At the same time Porsche […]

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Nokia Concept Sketches: Muting Your Phone

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:03:58 +0000

As part of Nokia Showcase 2010 in Bangkok, Younghee Jung talked about the design process of Nokia, specifically with gestures. The phone maker maintains teams in London, China, and the US, who actually travel around to get input from people all over the world.
But interesting things also happen within the design offices. Users of phones like the N97 and the 5300 XpressMusic know that when a call comes in, they can just place their phone on a table face-down to immediately silence it. But that easily understood gesture was the result of brainstorming and collaboration. A sketch shared by Jung […]

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