Former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik faces off against a robotic arm in a game of blitz chess
November 21, 2010 No Comment
Robots and artificial intelligence are no stranger to chess, but it’s not every day you get to witness an actual, fiery game of blitz chess between a World Champion and a robotic arm. Vladimir Kramnik, who was World Chess Champion from 2006 to 2007, seems to take the game pretty casually, but the robo-arm’s quick, decisive moves feel just a little threatening to us. We get it, you’re a robot, you don’t have to go shouting it from the rooftops! Former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik faces off against a robotic arm in a game of blitz chess originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Nov 2010 20:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Parrot releases AR.Pursuit augmented reality chase game for AR.Drone (video)
November 20, 2010 No Comment
Get the hang of your AR.Drone yet? Good, because while flying dangerously close to your little brother or late-night TV show host can be a fun diversion, it looks like things are about to get real. Really real. We’ve just received word that on November 26, AR.Pursuit — the first of hopefully many Augmented Reality games for the drone — will be making its way to the app store. The rules are pretty straightforward: one player pursues the other, attempting to bring him down with virtual machine guns and missiles. Once caught, the players change roles and the pursuit begins anew! That is, until someone gets carried away and sends their air vehicle into a concrete wall or running wood chipper. Game times are variable, from one to nine minutes, and the app will cost you $2.99 in the app store. Now all you need is an AR.Drone, and a friend — with an AR.Drone. Video, PR after the break. Continue reading Parrot releases AR.Pursuit augmented reality chase game for AR.Drone (video) Parrot releases AR.Pursuit augmented reality chase game for AR.Drone (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Nov 2010 19:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Windows Phone 7 hitting Verizon stores ‘this holiday season,’ according to Microsoft tweet
November 20, 2010 No Comment
Looks like Microsoft took Big Red’s challenge and decided to respond in kind, as the official Windows Phone Twitter feed claims that Windows Phone 7 devices are finally headed to Verizon. They’ll allegedly arrive this holiday season, a good bit earlier than we were told , but we doubt you’re exactly dismayed to get your hands on CDMA WP7 phones ahead of schedule. You know how we hate to mince words, but “devices” does suggest more than one phone, and those of you warily eying your local retailer’s selection of Christmas lights could even argue that “this holiday season” has already begun. So when, exactly, will we get these handsets… and which ones ? [Thanks, Jay] Windows Phone 7 hitting Verizon stores ‘this holiday season,’ according to Microsoft tweet originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Nov 2010 19:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Mobile DTV ready to roll out, upgrading 20 major metros to portable TV by 2012
November 20, 2010 No Comment
Slowly but surely, the biggest US cities are catching up to the rest of the world — just imagine, by this time next year, we might even have broadcast television beamed to our tablets and cell phones. That’s because the Mobile Content Venture formed from twelve media giants in April has just promised to start upgrading TV stations to deliver Mobile DTV (aka ATSC-M/H) around the country, with the intent of reaching 20 major markets and a total of 40 percent of the US population by “late 2011.” Each of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Houston, Detroit, Tampa, Phoenix, Minneapolis, Orlando, Portland, Cincinnati, Greenville, West Palm Beach, Birmingham and Knoxville can expect to have a pair of ad-supported TV channels before long, assuming citizens are willing and able to pick up hardware with a old-school RF antenna sticking out — and that whole “streaming” thing doesn’t take off. PR after the break. Continue reading Mobile DTV ready to roll out, upgrading 20 major metros to portable TV by 2012 Mobile DTV ready to roll out, upgrading 20 major metros to portable TV by 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Nov 2010 18:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Velocity Micro’s 7-inch Cruz Reader Android tablet now shipping for $300
November 20, 2010 No Comment
Not kosher with ponying up $500+ for an Android tablet ? You’ve got options, kid. Velocity Micro’s Cruz Tablet has finally hit the shipping stage, and sure enough, it’s doing so in the month that was promised back in September. $299.99 lands you a 7-inch Android 2.0 tablet with an 800 x 480 capacitive touch panel, 512MB of RAM, 12GB of total storage, 802.11n WiFi, inbuilt speakers, a headphone jack, mini-USB port and a rechargeable Li-ion good for around ten hours of use — or so they say. Of course, you’ll be stuck accessing the Cruz Market rather than the bona fide Android Market, and you can forget about embedded 3G. But hey, it’s three Benjamins sans any sort of life-altering contract. And that’s got to count for something, right? [Thanks, Anonymous] Gallery: Velocity Micro’s 7-inch Cruz Reader Android tablet Continue reading Velocity Micro’s 7-inch Cruz Reader Android tablet now shipping for $300 Velocity Micro’s 7-inch Cruz Reader Android tablet now shipping for $300 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Nov 2010 17:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Apricorn’s Mac Array puts 512GB of RAIDed SSD into a single Mac Pro PCIe slot
November 20, 2010 No Comment
So, the whole wide world knows that the inside of your Mac Pro is fairly lust-worthy, but what’s the use if you never crack open the side and install anything new? Apricorn — a small, albeit respected name in storage — has just concocted what may be the best reason yet to do precisely that. The outfit’s new Mac Array is pretty straightforward: you’ll get a foursome of 128GB MLC Western Digital SiliconEdge Blue SSDs strung together in a RAID 0 configuration, all on a single full-length PCIe X4 slot. That’s 512GB of pure, unadulterated SSD power connected directly to the motherboard, and considering that it only takes up a single slot, there’s nothing but a shortage of funds keeping you from adding a couple more and grinning over a 1.5TB SSD solution. A single Mac Array promises read rates of 760MB/sec and write rates of 524MB/sec, and if you double up, you’ll see those surge to 1408MB/sec and 1027MB/sec, respectively. It’s available now to make your every dream come true — yeah, even that one about you dropping $1,499 on a new storage setup for your Apple desktop. Apricorn’s Mac Array puts 512GB of RAIDed SSD into a single Mac Pro PCIe slot originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Nov 2010 16:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …The Engadget Show returns tonight, 6:30PM ET with Sprint’s Fared Adib, Google TV’s Salahuddin Choundhary, tablets, giveaways, and more!
November 20, 2010 No Comment
Humans, keep your eyes tuned to this post — because at 6:30 PM ET , we’ll be starting The Engadget Show live, with Sprint’s product chief Fared Adib, Google TV project lead Salahuddin Choundhary, a tablet-centric roundtable, insane giveaways, and more ! We’ve got music from exileFaker and visuals from HN_i_C. You seriously don’t want to miss it. Just for fun (and ’cause we love you) we’ve got the stream going already so you can watch us set up for the show tonight. Check out the live stream and chat after the break! Update : We still have tickets left , so if you’re in New York City, come join us at the Times Center. Also, Palm has graciously given us 10 (that’s right, ten!) Pre 2 unlocked developer units to give away (you know, the ones that look like this ) so you’re going to want to be here! Continue reading The Engadget Show returns tonight, 6:30PM ET with Sprint’s Fared Adib, Google TV’s Salahuddin Choundhary, tablets, giveaways, and more! The Engadget Show returns tonight, 6:30PM ET with Sprint’s Fared Adib, Google TV’s Salahuddin Choundhary, tablets, giveaways, and more! originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Nov 2010 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Doom-themed live wallpaper for Android turns your phone into a playground of carnage
November 20, 2010 No Comment
Okay, so maybe this isn’t the best choice for businessfolk sporting their new Droid Pros , but if you remember Doom as fondly as we do, you’re probably going to want to check this out. A dev over on xda-developers has posted information on his new Doom-themed live wallpaper — it doesn’t actually draw from the game itself, but he’s taken the bad guys (the important part) and reused them on a flat, stationary playing field of his own design. Basically, your hero strolls around battling baddies as they spawn; when he finally succumbs to his countless festering wounds, he respawns in a different room ad nauseam. It’s available in beta form for free in the Market right now — question is, are you tough enough to load it? Doom-themed live wallpaper for Android turns your phone into a playground of carnage originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Nov 2010 14:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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When word first reached Microsoft that the open-source community would hack the Kinect , the company’s response was pretty heavy-handed: “Microsoft does not condone the modification of its products,” a rep told CNET , pledging to “work closely with law enforcement and product safety groups to keep Kinect tamper-resistant.” But now that Kinect mods blow our minds on a near-daily basis , Redmond has changed its tone. Microsoft’s Alex Kipman told NPR Science Daily listeners that as far as the company’s concerned, the Kinect hasn’t actually been hacked thus far, and that Microsoft actually left the camera’s USB connection unprotected “by design” to let the community take advantage . Though he and fellow Microsoftie Shannon Loftis wouldn’t commit to official PC software drivers for the device, he did say that the company would “partner sooner rather than later” with academic institutions to get the hardware doled out, and suggested that some universities started playing with Kinect even before its commercial launch. Read a transcript of the pertinent section of the podcast after the break, or listen for yourself at our source link starting at the 18:22 mark. [Thanks, Fred T.] Continue reading Microsoft: I’m a PC, and Kinect open-source drivers were my idea Microsoft: I’m a PC, and Kinect open-source drivers were my idea originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Nov 2010 12:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Chances are this is one research project that won’t find its way into a phone, but Nokia’s research lab in Tampere, Finland has come up with a rather unique new type of touchscreen display: one made of ice. Of course, there are a few other components involved — namely, a projector and an array of near-infrared cameras that are connected to a PC — but it is technically a multitouch display made of ice, and that’s got to count for something. For Nokia’s part, it says that while the project is a “playful experiment,” it does show that “interactive computing interfaces can now be built anywhere.” Head on past the break to check it out in action. Continue reading Nokia research lab builds touchscreen made of ice Nokia research lab builds touchscreen made of ice originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Nov 2010 11:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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