Home » Archives by category » News » Tech (Page 919)
BenQ’s 14 megapixel S1420 camera touts mega O.I.S., 720p movie mode

Jonesing for a new point and shoot before the holiday break ? Don’t go lookin’ for BenQ’s newest unless you’re camped in Asia, as this orange delight won’t hit other nations until the first of 2011. Sporting a 14 megapixel sensor, a metallic casing and a seemingly robust implementation of optical image stabilization technology, the S1420 also touts a 26mm wide-angle lens, a 5x optical zoomer and ingrained HDR II technology that tosses a little pizazz on top of your otherwise ho hum photograph. There’s also a smattering of “creative shooting modes” that you may or may not ever touch, though the 720p movie mode and ISO range that reaches to 6,400 should both prove quite useful. There’s nary a word spoken on pricing, but something tells us it’ll be situated halfway between dirt cheap and perfectly affordable. Continue reading BenQ’s 14 megapixel S1420 camera touts mega O.I.S., 720p movie mode BenQ’s 14 megapixel S1420 camera touts mega O.I.S., 720p movie mode originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 10:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Continue reading …
Chinese hotpot restaurant gets robot waiters, may soon be serving droids as well (video)

Why, it’s another robot-themed hotpot restaurant! This time we’re looking at Jinan — once famous for demolishing a whole stash of illegal arcade machines — up in north China , where a ballsy robotics manufacturer started trialling a robot-themed eatery. While there are still human chefs working back in the kitchen, some near-hundred customers will be served by six robots (about

Continue reading …
Tascam Portastudio for iPad could make you a four-track superstar all over again

If you’ve never experienced the joy of conveying four precisely-played tracks onto a single, rattly plastic cassette tape, prepare to see what you’ve been missing. The iconic Tascam Portastudio is coming to iPad in a very virtual way, a $10 app that presents a simplified replication of the original’s decidedly more tactile controls. You can mix four inputs to stereo output, which is stored on a pretend cassette — and can then share via iTunes or Soundcloud, which is rather more useful than a picture of a tape. It’s available right now for the iPad only, with no plans for a release on any other platform. Yeah, boo. Tascam Portastudio for iPad could make you a four-track superstar all over again originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 09:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Continue reading …
Proverbial Wallets make your metaphysical money a little more tangible

Counting dollars and cents on the checkout counter really makes you feel the weight of every expenditure. Swiping a credit card or waving an NFC device over a sensor? Not so much. Enter the Proverbial Wallets from the Information Ecology group at the MIT Media Lab , three separate devices that use three haptic techniques to curtail your spending. First is the Bumblebee, which buzzes and vibrates whenever money comes into or goes out from your account. Next is Mother Bear, which becomes harder to open as you get closer to your spending goal. Finally is Peacock, which swells proudly as your bank balance does the same. Sadly none of these are actually available yet, but we have a feeling if they were they might put a bit of a hurting on our very real and very strict budgets. Proverbial Wallets make your metaphysical money a little more tangible originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 08:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Continue reading …
Kinect finally fulfills its Minority Report destiny (video)

Not to denigrate the numerous fine hacks that Kinect ‘s undergone since its launch, but it’s always nice to see the professionals come in and shake things up a little. A crew from MIT ‘s brain labs has put together a hand detection system on Microsoft’s ultra-versatile cam, which is sophisticated enough to recognize the position of both your palms and fingers. Just as a demonstration, they’ve tied that good stuff up to a little picture-scrolling UI, and you won’t be surprised to hear that it’s the closest thing to Minority Report ‘s interactive gesture-based interface that we’ve seen yet. And it’s all achieved with a freaking console peripheral . Video after the break. Continue reading Kinect finally fulfills its Minority Report destiny (video) Kinect finally fulfills its Minority Report destiny (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 08:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Continue reading …
Apple to rely on Intel’s Sandy Bridge graphics in future MacBooks, AMD GPUs in MacBook Pros?

Apple will use Intel’s Sandy Bridge CPUs in its future laptops, no surprises there, but what’s interesting about these forthcoming machines is that some of them might rely solely on Intel’s chip for both general and graphical processing tasks. That’s the word from the usual “sources familiar with Apple’s plans,” who expect “MacBook models with screen sizes of 13 inches and below” to eschew the inclusion of a discrete GPU and ride their luck on the improved graphical performance of Intel’s upcoming do-it-all chip. There are currently no sub-13.3-inch MacBooks, so the suggestion of one is surely intriguing, but the major point here seems to be that NVIDIA’s being left out of the Apple party, because MacBook Pros are also predicted to switch up to AMD-provided graphics hardware. All these changes should be taking place with Apple’s next refresh, which is naturally expected at some point in the new year. Although, as CNET points out, this could all be just a massive negotiating ploy to get NVIDIA to play nicer with its pricing, we’re inclined to believe Intel has finally gotten its integrated graphics up to a level where it pleases the discerning tastemakers at Apple. Apple to rely on Intel’s Sandy Bridge graphics in future MacBooks, AMD GPUs in MacBook Pros? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 08:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Continue reading …
Chicken Powered Steadicam proves poultry has a future in Hollywood (video)

If you’ve decided to use a full-fledged Steadicam in your next indie blockbuster you’d better make sure you have the budget — they can run upwards of $45,000. Sure, there are cheaper options out there, some more sophisticated than others , but none are quite as amazing as this. It’s the Chicken Powered Steadicam from Pennywhistle Productions and it is, quite simply, a chicken with a camera on its head, making use of the bird’s stabilizing vestibulo-ocular reflex. In the video, embedded for your enjoyment below, you can see that version 1.0 didn’t go so well. So, our intrepid barnyard cinematographer quickly advances to version 2.0 — “a much bigger rooster.” While the video quality is low the effect is actually quite well done, but it’s the ending that really makes it all come together. Just watch the video, we won’t ruin the surprise. Continue reading Chicken Powered Steadicam proves poultry has a future in Hollywood (video) Chicken Powered Steadicam proves poultry has a future in Hollywood (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 07:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Continue reading …
BlueSLR dongle and app turn your iPhone into a DSLR remote shutter release

You have a phone, you have a DSLR, yet although you love them both equally, the two pretty much never speak. This failure in capturing synergistic value is now at an end, however, thanks to the BlueSLR Bluetooth dongle and its accompanying iOS app. Compatible with iPhones (down to the 3G model), iPod touches (second generation and above), and iPads, this remote control system will let you manually trigger your Nikon ‘s shutter release from a distance of up to 300 feet. There’s also GPS tagging, if you’re into that sort of thing , and a toggle in the app for adjusting exposure length. The app itself’s free, though the dongle will set you back a mighty $149. At least it communicates via Bluetooth, which won’t require line of sight like Nikon’s own IR remotes. Compatibility is set to expand to include Canon DSLRs and Android and BlackBerry smartphones in the future, but if you’ve already got a D5000 and an iPhone 4 lying around looking wistfully at one another, you can pre-order your BlueSLR at the source link below. BlueSLR dongle and app turn your iPhone into a DSLR remote shutter release originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 06:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Continue reading …
Notion Ink Adam gets caught Photoshopping its bezel away

How big is the Notion Ink Adam ‘s screen? Well, it depends on what time you looked at the company’s site today. If you were one of the unlucky folks who saw the image titled “preordernow.jpg,” the screen’s a tiny bit smaller and the bezel a tad larger than it is for all the fortunate peeps pre-ordering from the “preordernow1.jpg” pic that’s currently gracing the site. Now’s your chance, guys — go grab yourself the truly magical and revolutionary tablet whose specs change with the wave of a Photoshop airbrush. [Thanks, Andrew] Continue reading Notion Ink Adam gets caught Photoshopping its bezel away Notion Ink Adam gets caught Photoshopping its bezel away originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 05:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Continue reading …
Samsung undecided about Gingerbread on Galaxy S, Google says hardware needs ‘similar’ to Froyo

If the Nexus S is basically a Galaxy S in Gingerbread disguise, you’d think Samsung would be bursting at the seams to offer a software upgrade for all the phones it’s already sold from that family. Okay, you really wouldn’t, but you’d hope that would be the case, right? Well, Pocket-lint prodded Samsung on just that point and managed to finagle the following response from a local UK contact presumably speaking on behalf of the mothership: “In case a new version of Android operating system is publicly announced and released, Samsung will review the possibility of implementation of such new version to the existing Samsung products with Android operating system (“Update”). Such a review will be based on various factors including, without limitation, the overall effect of such Update to Samsung products, the system requirements, the structural limitations, and the level of cooperation from the component suppliers and the software licensors”. Right, so the Gingerbread launch and that whole new handset that’s coming in a week’s time , not public enough? And what’s “the overall effect” of a Gingerbread update beyond a group of very happy users? Samsung seems to be matching its country-mate LG in taking an evaluative approach to Gingerbread, though Google’s own Android lead developer is pretty definitive about the software, saying that “Gingerbread hardware needs are similar to Froyo.” So if your handset can run version F, it should have no trouble handling version G… no trouble other than its own maker. Continue reading Samsung undecided about Gingerbread on Galaxy S, Google says hardware needs ‘similar’ to Froyo Samsung undecided about Gingerbread on Galaxy S, Google says hardware needs ‘similar’ to Froyo originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 04:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Continue reading …