TiVo Premiere Elite quad-tuner DVR detailed, doesn’t support OTA broadcasts
August 13, 2011 No Comment
Earlier this summer, we got wind of TiVo’s plans to release its Premiere Elite DVR — a retail version of the company’s quad-tuner Premiere Q , which is only available directly through service providers. We knew to expect four tuners on the Elite as well, letting you record content from up to four channels at once. A leaked FCC document sheds a bit more light on the Elite, revealing two terabytes of recording capacity (for a whopping 300 hours of HD), digital cable compatibility (read: no OTA), and support for Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA), for networking with other MoCA-enabled devices in your home. Still missing, however, are a price tag and release date, though Zatz Not Funny predicts pricing to land in the $600-800 range, with a release this fall. $499 seems to be more on target, though, considering the Premiere XL’s $299 price tag — but even at $500, you better really love television if you’re gunning to spend that much on a DVR. TiVo Premiere Elite quad-tuner DVR detailed, doesn’t support OTA broadcasts originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 15:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Will RIM’s PlayBook get WiMAX? The Now Network says no (update: RIM focusing on LTE)
August 13, 2011 No Comment
Whoa there, RIM — not so fast. Despite an earlier commitment from Sprint , the Wall Street Journal reports that the Now Network has cancelled its plans to bring WiMAX to the BlackBerry PlayBook , leaving Research in Motion to continue selling WiFi-only models of the half-baked tablet. Sprint representatives cited poor adoption rates among business customers as one reason for the move to cancel PlayBook sales, along with an already crowded tablet market, also adding that the decision will have “no impact” on the carrier’s relationship with RIM. We can’t say that a WiMAX-capable PlayBook would have topped our back to school wish list, but this latest move is somewhat shocking nonetheless. Update: RIM wrote in to share the following statement: RIM has decided to prioritize and focus its 4G development resources on LTE. We remain excited and committed to delivering innovative and powerful 4G tablets to the US market together with our carrier partners. Testing of BlackBerry 4G PlayBook models is already underway and we plan to enter labs for network certifications in the US and other international markets this fall. Will RIM’s PlayBook get WiMAX? The Now Network says no (update: RIM focusing on LTE) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 15:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Goodyear’s self-inflating tires could improve gas mileage, leave Schrader valves unsatisfied
August 13, 2011 No Comment
Reminiscent of Ghostbuster ‘s Marshmallow Man, new Goodyear tires might just Stay-Puft on their own. The company is developing Air Maintenance Technology (AMT) tires with built-in pumps to keep themselves at the perfect pressure. The reason? Even slightly under-inflated tires can drop your mileage by 3.3 percent, costing you cash at the pump. For highway-hustling commercial trucks that’s a whole lot of moola, leading the US Department of Energy’s Office of Vehicle Technology to grant Goodyear $1.5 million towards self-plumping commercial tire development. For those of us who don’t wear mesh hats, Goodyear is working on a consumer version in its Luxembourg lab. It’s unclear exactly how they will work, but earlier implementations have a pipe that’s compressed as the tire rolls, allowing air to enter the tire without bursting thanks to a pressure sensitive valve. With so much automated car technology now all we need is the kind that cleans out its own trunk and pumps its own gas. Check out the full PR after the break. Continue reading Goodyear’s self-inflating tires could improve gas mileage, leave Schrader valves unsatisfied Goodyear’s self-inflating tires could improve gas mileage, leave Schrader valves unsatisfied originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Aug 2011 05:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Wow, has it really been a year a year since we first witnessed the arrival of SMS.AndroidOS.FakePlayer.a? It seems like only yesterday when everyone was first scrambling to describe the text message manipulating bit of Android malware . We’ve come along way and seen plenty of malicious bits of software since August 2010. Remember the porn-bundled SMS.AndroidOS.FakePlayer.b trojan from October? Or how about the bible-packing Android.Smspacem? Relive all of the handset hijacking memories in the source link below. Continue reading Looking back at a year of Android Malware Looking back at a year of Android Malware originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 16:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Telecommunications Industry Association gives AT&T / T-Mobile merger a big thumbs up
August 13, 2011 No Comment
The Telecommunications Industry Association claims amongst its ranks some of the biggest names in the tech space, including the likes of Apple, Intel, Microsoft and Nokia — so when the organization talks, people tend to listen. This time out, the TIA is giving the nod to AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile, urging that the FCC seriously consider the positive impact it would “have on investment and innovation, expanding consumer access to mobile broadband and addressing the looming spectrum crisis in America.” Telecommunications Industry Association gives AT&T / T-Mobile merger a big thumbs up originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 17:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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So there Dr. Mick Greierson was, wandering around a French barn, minding his own business when all of a sudden he happened upon an antique: one of the earliest modern synthesizers . Greierson, a professor at Goldsmiths University in London did what any expert in the field of electronic music would do, and whisked it back to the motherland for restoration. The Oram “Oramics” Synthesiser (sic) was built by Daphne Oram in 1957, a year before she co-founded the BBC Radiophonic Workshop to research and develop electronic music. Political wrangling within the corporation forced her to leave in 1959, and she retreated to a farm in nearby Kent to tinker with her invention. After her departure, the Workshop shot to fame for creating the original electronic theme to Doctor Who . In order to create music on the Oram, a composer painted waveforms directly onto 35mm film strips which were fed into the machine. Inside, photo-electronic cells read the light pattern and interpreted it as sound. Check out the video to see the arrival of the machinery back into England where it’ll be on display all the way through December 2012. If you’re really interested you can tap Dr Grierson’s homebrewed Oramics iPhone app (linked below for your downloading pleasure) to create your own futuristic theme songs, ’57-style. Continue reading ‘Kraftwerk Who?’ Pioneering ’50s Synthesizer unearthed in French Barn ‘Kraftwerk Who?’ Pioneering ’50s Synthesizer unearthed in French Barn originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Aug 2011 03:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Lending further gravity to the proposed crackdown being bandied about in British parliament, an Essex teen has been arrested for sending a BBM that ran afoul of the Serious Crime Act of 2007. The 18-year old, now free on bail, allegedly used the service to encourage copycat attacks of the violent rioting that’s swept London, and is set to appear in court on September 1st. It’s the second known case to put RIM’s private messaging service — “popular among urban teenagers” as a cheap texting alternative — in the UK’s legal hotseat. For its part, the Canadian electronics maker has since reached out to police, promising to aid the investigation “in any way [it] can.” Although no decision has yet been made to extend law enforcement’s powers over social media services, such as Twitter and Facebook, arrests like these seem to indicate a murky free speech future. UK teen arrested for illegal BBM, social media crackdown gains steam originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Aug 2011 01:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Cyclone Display exemplifies ‘multi-colored expression,’ totally heading to a nightclub near you (video)
August 12, 2011 No Comment
Ever heard of Yoichi Ochiai? You have now. Hailing from Japan’s University of Tsukuba, this whizkid was on hand here at SIGGRAPH to showcase one of his latest creations — and it just so happened to be one of the trippiest yet. The Cyclone Display was a demonstration focused on visual stimulation; a projector shown above interacted with a plate of spinning disks. Underneath, a cadre of motors were controlled by a connected computer, and as the rotation and velocity changed, so did the perceived pixels and colors. The next step, according to Ochiai, would be to blow this up and shrink it down, mixing textures in with different lighting situations. With a little help, a drab nightclub could douse its walls in leopard print one night, or zebra fur another. Interactive clubbing never sounded so fun, eh? You know the drill — gallery’s below, video’s a click beneath. Gallery: The Cyclone Display at SIGGRAPH 2011 Continue reading Cyclone Display exemplifies ‘multi-colored expression,’ totally heading to a nightclub near you (video) Cyclone Display exemplifies ‘multi-colored expression,’ totally heading to a nightclub near you (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 22:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …EES packs circuits into temporary tattoos, makes medical diagnostics fashionable
August 12, 2011 No Comment
Flexible circuit pioneer John Rogers and his team are at it again. This time he’s developing a wearable, ultra-thin circuit that attaches to your skin just like a temporary tattoo. The Epidermal Electronic System (EES) consists of circuits which could contain electrodes capable of measuring brain, heart and muscle activity in the same way an EEG does now, transmitting this data wirelessly to your doctor. Because it’s flexible and bonds to the skin, it can be worn for extended periods, unlike traditional diagnostic pads used in hospitals today. In the lab, the devices were solar-powered with embedded photovoltaic cells — heavier duty circuits would require inductive charging to be practical. Rogers’ team also looked into the tech acting as a game controller (they wired it up to someone’s throat and played Sokoban with voice commands, still managing to yield a 90 percent accuracy rate), but it’s some way off from replacing your SIXAXIS . One of the problems encountered concerned RF communication — perhaps they should get on the horn to their friends in Oregon and build those fashionable diagnostic pants we’re eagerly waiting for. EES packs circuits into temporary tattoos, makes medical diagnostics fashionable originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 23:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We’re getting tired of all this teasing without any payoff , but when it comes Motorola’s forthcoming dual-core Droid , we can’t help ourselves. Just days ago we saw the Bionic’s guts when it passed through the FCC , and now we’ve got fresh pics of the phone in the wild. This most recent sneak peek comes courtesy of Howard Forums user ceb unit, who posted a couple photos of the device after a Moto rep let a friend get handsy with the newest Droid. It’s good to see a civilians get their paws on one, but enough already, we want shots of this thing in the hands of some happy customers! [Thanks, Tu Tran] Droid Bionic spotted in the wild, again, blurrycam still in full effect originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 22:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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