Fancy seeing your mug enlarged to halftone-processed heights? You’re in luck, because Finnish modder Metalfusion has a homebrew solution for those Wall Street Journal -style hedcut delusions. Using a specially designed image conversion program, the DIY hobbyist tranforms .jpg, .gif or .png files into DXF-formatted dot patterns of varying density. The resulting images are then fed directly into a CNC machine where a drill is left to make the wood-carved magic happen. Need some visual confirmation of this awesome feat, then head past the break for a video demo of this old-timey optical illusion. Continue reading CNC mod carves dot drawing portraits for your living room walls CNC mod carves dot drawing portraits for your living room walls originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Jul 2011 06:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Everyone’s jumping on the invisibility cloaking bandwagon these days, but no one’s quite managed to fully deliver on the promise. The same goes for two Duke University researchers who believe their mesh casing could grant the gift of concealment to underwater craft — submarines, anyone? According to the proposed model, a specially designed shell punctuated by complex patterns of permeability and millimeter-sized pumps would eliminate the drag and turbulent wake caused by an object as it moves through the water. Utilizing the penetrable gaps in the case, water would at first accelerate, and then decelerate to its original speed before exiting — rendering the fluid around the object virtually undisturbed. Now for the bad news: the design doesn’t quite work for large-scale, real-world implementations — hello again , submarines — since the tech can only cloak small structures, like “a vehicle one centimetre across… [moving] at speeds of less than one centimetre per second.” It’s a massive bummer, we know, but we’re getting there folks — you just won’t see it when it actually happens. Duke University’s underwater invisibility cloak stills troubled waters originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jul 2011 12:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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By now, it should be no secret that Google wants to get up in your online trip-planning business (if it wasn’t somehow there already). First, there was the announcement that El Goog would buy ITA, the company serving up pretty much all of your online ticketing options — a deal that still hasn’t closed . Then came flight schedule searches and now, the outfit’s rounding it all out by throwing hotels into the mix. The company just launched Hotel Finder, a service that lets you — wait for it — find a place to lay your weary head in these great fifty states. At first glance, it’s little more than a specific use case for Google Maps — just type in a city or US zip code to get a map with the usual spreads of pinpoints. Though Google won’t be the middleman booking your hotel reservation, you can use the tool to fine-tune your search, drawing circles on the map to scour multiple neighborhoods. As you’d expect, you can also whittle the search by price and rating, and read reviews that people originally posted on Google Maps. One thing we’re liking about the UI is that you don’t have to open a new tab to read the full spill on a hotel — you can just click the listing to see it expand right there, alongside pretty photo collages. Hit the source link to poke around, though if its bare-bones simplicity turns you off, don’t say Google didn’t warn you — the tool is so new that Google isn’t calling it a “beta” so much as an… experiment . Google launches Hotel Finder, finds a way to recycle Google Maps reviews originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jul 2011 13:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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It might look like something out of MJ’s Billie Jean , but this colorful LED array won’t be under moonwalking foot — that is, unless the party gets crunk. This colorful grid is actually a table top , brought to you by way of TI’s MSP430 microcontroller, and it knows how to get down. The table is made up of 128 frosted glass cubes, each apparently capable of emitting 16 million colors. Its creators also produced a special beat-detection software, that could very easily have your furniture outshining the bumpers and grinders at your next party. If you’re looking for a little extra something from your coffee table, you can find full build instructions at the source link below. Continue reading LED coffee table busts a multicolored move (video) LED coffee table busts a multicolored move (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Jul 2011 03:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Yes yes, y’all: it’s the Engadget Podcast. We’re brimming this week, as usual, with the low down on what’s going down with all the new stuff. We’ve got the killer combo of lots of streaming news and a dearth of optical drives. We’ve got shaky earnings calls translating into big deals on the floor at Best Buy. And boy, do we have a little bit of Android news? We do! It’s all here, as usual. Enjoy. Host: Tim Stevens, Brian Heater Guests: Dana Wollman, Richard Lawler Producer: Trent Wolbe Music: Beethoven’s 5th 02:24 – Mac mini review (mid 2011) 03:20 – Editorial: Apple’s officially over the optical drive, for better or worse 09:16 – MacBook Air review (mid 2011) 16:10 – Netflix adds Mad Men in the US today, CBS content in Canada and Latin America later 16:34 – Amazon Prime Instant Video is adding CBS TV shows, including all of Star Trek 17:50 – Amazon strikes movie streaming deal with Universal, adds ‘Fear and Loathing’ to free shipping 24:17 – The Engadget Show – 023: We tour a headphone factory, talk record labels, and look at They Might Be Giants’ favorite gadgets 25:36 – Nintendo posts earnings, drops 3DS from $249 to $169 August 12th, current owners get 20 free games 28:47 – Logitech CEO steps down after money losing Q1, Revue price slashed to $99 37:15 – Toshiba Thrive review 39:52 – HTC Status review 44:46 – Windows Phone 7.5 Mango in-depth preview (video) 46:20 – HTC CFO says it’s time to ‘figure it out’ with Apple 48:52 – Two more fake Apple Stores spotted by officials in China, two get the smackdown 50:40 – Listener questions Hear the podcast Subscribe to the podcast [ iTunes ] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC). [ RSS MP3 ] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [ RSS AAC ] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator. [ Zune ] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace Download the podcast LISTEN (MP3) LISTEN (AAC) Contact the podcast Send your questions to @tim_stevens . Leave us a voicemail: (423) 438-3005 (GADGET-3005) E-mail us: podcast at engadget dot com Twitter: @tim_stevens @bheater @danawollman @rjcc Filed under: Podcasts Engadget Podcast 250 – 07.29.2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jul 2011 13:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Are you a gamer and bass-lover on a tight budget looking for a new headset? Razer’s Electra headphones might just be your ticket for dubstepping through your next WoW raid . These stereo cans sport a 40mm driver in each earcup tuned to pump out lows, along with leatherette earpads to help keep ‘em comfortable while aiding in passive noise isolation. To sweeten the deal, you’ll also get two detachable cables, one of which has an inline mic; perfect for on-the-go phone calls while your heading to 7-11 for Slurpee-fuel, or a bit of TeamSpeaking when your Carcharias get lost. The Electras will be available come this October, but if you can’t get past the green highlights we don’t blame ya. Full PR past the break. Gallery: Razer Electra headphones Continue reading Razer’s Electra headphones pump out bass, keep your voice ‘inline’ for $60 Razer’s Electra headphones pump out bass, keep your voice ‘inline’ for $60 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Jul 2011 01:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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If you’re reading magazines on your iPad , there’s a fairly good chance that you’re using Zinio . Released today, version 2.0 of the Zinio app for iPad makes it easier to hand over those newsstand-like per-issue fees with in-app purchasing, while also adding a variety of free preview content, including access to current articles from thousands of top publications. The app’s new Explore section hosts this new free content, which updates daily and includes stories from magazines like Esquire , Rolling Stone , and Elle . The new app also features significant performance boosts, like we saw with last month’s Android update , in-magazine shopping, and advanced bookmarks. Another update in the coming months will bring social media capabilities, such as bookmark and article sharing. We’d still love to see lower per-issue and subscription rates, but we’re happy to welcome free article content in the meantime. Jump past the break for a video overview, along with a sneak peek at those social media features with Zinio CEO Rich Maggiotto. Continue reading Zinio 2.0 for iPad adds in-app purchasing, free article preview (video) Zinio 2.0 for iPad adds in-app purchasing, free article preview (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jul 2011 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Google wants to speed up your site, while resisting the urge to sell you stuff
July 29, 2011 No Comment
Google has plenty of things going for it, but patience has never really been high on the list — not surprising, really, for a company that employs scooters to get around the halls of its offices. The search giant has taken a similar approach to the web, offering up a number of services to help speed things up around the old tubes. Page Speed Service is the latest simply named initiative on that front, which has apparently offered up speed improvements of 25 to 60 percent in its early testing phases. How does this magical quickening work? Google grabs content from your servers, rewrites pages with performance best practices, and sends them out through its own servers. The service has raised a few eyebrows, but Google insists that Page Speed Service is all about improving performance, not collecting information for future advertising opportunities. Google wants to speed up your site, while resisting the urge to sell you stuff originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Jul 2011 00:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Google wants to speed up your site, while resisting the urge to sell you stuff
July 29, 2011 No Comment
Google has plenty of things going for it, but patience has never really been high on the list — not surprising, really, for a company that employs scooters to get around the halls of its offices. The search giant has taken a similar approach to the web, offering up a number of services to help speed things up around the old tubes. Page Speed Service is the latest simply named initiative on that front, which has apparently offered up speed improvements of 25 to 60 percent in its early testing phases. How does this magical quickening work? Google grabs content from your servers, rewrites pages with performance best practices, and sends them out through its own servers. The service has raised a few eyebrows, but Google insists that Page Speed Service is all about improving performance, not collecting information for future advertising opportunities. Google wants to speed up your site, while resisting the urge to sell you stuff originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Jul 2011 00:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Google wants to speed up your site, while resisting the urge to sell you stuff
July 29, 2011 No CommentGoogle has plenty of things going for it, but patience has never really been high on the list — not surprising, really, for a company that employs scooters to get around the halls of its offices. The search giant has taken a similar approach to the web, offering up a number of services to help speed things up around the old tubes. Page Speed Service is the latest simply named initiative on that front, which has apparently offered up speed improvements of 25 to 60 percent in its early testing phases. How does this magical quickening work? Google grabs content from your servers, rewrites pages with performance best practices, and sends them out through its own servers. The service has raised a few eyebrows, but Google insists that Page Speed Service is all about improving performance, not collecting information for future advertising opportunities. Google wants to speed up your site, while resisting the urge to sell you stuff originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Jul 2011 00:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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