From “An associate of Jerry Brown calls Meg Whitman a “whore ” over pension reform ” to “Brown or Aide is Heard Slurring Whitman.” Why all the pussyfooting over the headlines? Worried the guy you are voting for could get taken to task at …
Continue reading …Only a week after Meg Whitman’s own kind of Nannygate hit the California governor’s race, her Democratic opponent faced his own crisis as an associate of Jerry Brown was caught on audio tape calling Whitman a “whore .” (Audio after the jump ). … Whitman, however, did vow to make an exception for cops should she help enact pension reform as governor. Whitman has painted Brown as a pro-union candidate who has supported fat pensions at the expense of fiscal health. …
Continue reading …We know the following to be true: microelectromechanical systems ( MEMS ) technology can foster some very inventive gadgetry , and it’s a wonderful four-turn, 45-point Scrabble word (barring special tiles and presuming an abnormally-large board). That said, the MEMS display sector is still quite small and still a ways from reaching the market (hello, Mirasol ), which makes every appearance a bit more interesting than the last. Hitachi’s little showing caused quite the crowds at its CEATEC booth, with a pair of 2.5-inch QVGA prototypes built using Pixtronix’s PerfectLight MEMS display tech within a LCD infrastructure. The color came through on the first screen, and animations was fairly fluid (with the exception of one or two brief moments of lag). The other display on hand was monochrome with a backlight that flickered on and off as a generic desk lamp shone directly onto it. It was still legible enough without the backlight, but it definitely took some straining. Pixtronix is promising 24-bit color depth, 170-degree viewing angles, and a 75 percent power reduction over equivalent LCD displays. As for Hitachi, the company reportedly plans to release displays in the 10-inch and under market by early 2012 — so yes, in case you were wondering, these’ll be back for next CEATEC, too. Enjoy the pictures below, so you have something to look back on. Gallery: Hitachi MEMS display eyes-on Hitachi’s MEMS display: big aspirations in a little prototype originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 09:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Image credit: Chelsea Bay Wills It wouldn’t be the first time that researchers have claimed to solve the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) mystery . In fact, everything from CO2 confusing bees’ social structure to cell phone towers messing with bees’ navigation systems has been cited as a possible cause of CCD and mysterious honeybee declin… Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …Oslo, Oct 8, (AP): Friday, October 08, 2010 –> Imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for ”his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China” – a prize likely to enrage the Chinese government, which warned the Nobel committee not to honour him. The Norwegian Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said Liu Xiaobo (LEE-o SHAo-boh) was…
Continue reading …E Ink more or less has a lock on the e-reader market, as competitor after competitor sees delays or simply disappears altogether. Today we have an update from another would-be foe, and there’s some real potential here. It’s electrofluidic e-paper from Gamma Dynamics and the University of Cincinnati, which we first heard about last April . The tech is similar to that in E Ink but, instead of simple microcapsules having both black and white ink plus a clear oil, the Gamma Dynamics pixels have a colored fluid in a pixel that’s split by a reflective sheet. Using voltage applied to these pixels the ink can be forced up above or pulled down below the reflective separator, forming an image in a video-capable 20ms and delivering a near paper-matching 70 percent reflectivity. There’s a picture below showing how the tech works and, thanks to confirmation that it can be produced in an LCD manufacturing facility, it’s looking closer to production than ever. How close is that? Oh, about three years, meaning E Ink still has that market cornered — for now. Continue reading Gamma Dynamics high-contrast, high-speed electrofluidic e-paper gets closer to reality Gamma Dynamics high-contrast, high-speed electrofluidic e-paper gets closer to reality originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 07:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Images from the Guardian : Basset Hound It’s the answer for those who can’t have a real dog: too allergic, work too hard, place too small, afraid of them, etc. etc. Knit your own. This new trend pulls together knitting–a relaxing DIY hobby and dogs in one happy combination. Be it a Portuguese water dog (the Obama favourite) or a classic English bulldog–there’s a pattern for them all. It’s enough to make a novice give it a try–maybe. … Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …Already got a tween of your own begging and pleading for a decent gaming joystick from Santa? It’s a common issue, or so we hear. Thrustmaster’s HOTAS Warthog is probably one of the nicest around, and it looks as if it’ll be landing on American doormats in plenty of time to procure a sufficient amount of wrapping paper. The ultimate flight sim stick will start shipping out by the end of this month for a wallet-melting $499.99, but thankfully for you, we were able to put together a lengthy list of impressions during a hands-on session back at E3. And hey, if this one ends up out of reach, at least you’ve always got Solipskier . Continue reading Thrustmaster shipping HOTAS Warthog flight controller this month for $500 Thrustmaster shipping HOTAS Warthog flight controller this month for $500 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 05:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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