The spring-loaded technology behind the Steadicam has just found another use — the x-Ar exoskeleton arm, which attaches to your wrists to reduce or eliminate the feeling of weight. Just unveiled at the Applied Ergonomics Conference in Florida this week, the mechanism mounts to a chair or other stable object and loosely cuffs your arms, allowing for a fairly extraordinary range of motion while bearing “the weight of your arm and small objects.” (Sledgehammer-wielding workers will probably be better served by one of these .) While manufacturer Equipois suggests that the arm will likely see use in factories, assembly lines and the like where workers are subject to repetitive stress, we can also think of a few bloggers who wouldn’t mind taking a little strain off their wrists. PR after the break. Continue reading x-Ar exoskeleton arm keeps repetitive tasks from doing you harm (video) x-Ar exoskeleton arm keeps repetitive tasks from doing you harm (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 12:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …BMW launches DriveNow, the ‘premium’ car sharing service with a Dell Streak on every dash (video)
March 23, 2011 No Comment
If you liked the idea of the Car2go service we profiled a few weeks back, Smart fortwos available for rent by the minute with and some pretty fancy tracking apps to help you find them, but maybe you wanted to drive something a little bit bigger, BMW has you covered. Well, assuming “you” are German or at least living in Germany. The company has launched its own car sharing service it calls DriveNow. This one is billed as a “premium” — though curiously none of the company’s truly premium models will be offered. That said, the Minis and 1 Series autos that make up the initial fleet are hardly low-rent, and we’d be utterly shocked if the upcoming i3 didn’t get added to the mix down the road too. Usage details are still a little bit scarce, but we do know that each car will have a dash-mounted Dell Streak through which users will log in after unlocking the car doors with an RFID-equipped membership card or even a suitably endowed drivers license. Renting a car costs 29 cents per minute, up to €14.90 (about $21) per hour, and there will be 300 cars available at first starting in the Munich area. If you’re not in Munich it’s tough cookies for now, but BMW is hoping to have one million members worldwide by 2020. Maybe one of them will be you. Continue reading BMW launches DriveNow, the ‘premium’ car sharing service with a Dell Streak on every dash (video) BMW launches DriveNow, the ‘premium’ car sharing service with a Dell Streak on every dash (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 13:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …BMW launches DriveNow, the ‘premium’ car sharing service with a Dell Streak on every dash (video)
March 23, 2011 No CommentIf you liked the idea of the Car2go service we profiled a few weeks back, Smart fortwos available for rent by the minute with and some pretty fancy tracking apps to help you find them, but maybe you wanted to drive something a little bit bigger, BMW has you covered. Well, assuming “you” are German or at least living in Germany. The company has launched its own car sharing service it calls DriveNow. This one is billed as a “premium” — though curiously none of the company’s truly premium models will be offered. That said, the Minis and 1 Series autos that make up the initial fleet are hardly low-rent, and we’d be utterly shocked if the upcoming i3 didn’t get added to the mix down the road too. Usage details are still a little bit scarce, but we do know that each car will have a dash-mounted Dell Streak through which users will log in after unlocking the car doors with an RFID-equipped membership card or even a suitably endowed drivers license. Renting a car costs 29 cents per minute, up to €14.90 (about $21) per hour, and there will be 300 cars available at first starting in the Munich area. If you’re not in Munich it’s tough cookies for now, but BMW is hoping to have one million members worldwide by 2020. Maybe one of them will be you. Continue reading BMW launches DriveNow, the ‘premium’ car sharing service with a Dell Streak on every dash (video) BMW launches DriveNow, the ‘premium’ car sharing service with a Dell Streak on every dash (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 13:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Pica-Pic brings retro handheld games back to life, purpose to the internet
March 23, 2011 No Comment
Brace yourself. You’re about to be guided to the best website in the history of the universe, and if you dare doubt it, your universe may very well be ripped to shreds. Every so often, a new and improved reason for surviving emerges on the world wide web, and it’s safe to say that Pica-Pic fits the bill. For all intents and purposes, it’s a drop-dead gorgeous portal for accessing retro handheld games — the very vessels that carried you through your childhood. Simply toggle through the myriad options with your left / right arrow keys, and then mouse over each game to learn of the keyboard controls. Venture on down to the source link if you’re looking to occupy yourself for the next week month. Now, if only they’d build an app for porting this to the mobile side… Pica-Pic brings retro handheld games back to life, purpose to the internet originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 14:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Never mind the fact that Intel’s outing a mid-range laptop CPU long after the highest of high-end — the 2.53GHz Core i5-2520M is shaping up to be a lovely option for those who’d prefer a budget choice with plenty of horsepower for churning through HD video. The benchmarking gurus over at Hot Hardware recently grabbed hold of the new silicon, and they noticed an “unmatched performance-per-watt profile for mobile CPUs,” not to mention a robust graphics core, “ridiculously low idle power consumption,” a respectable price point and plenty of power for any software title not named Crysis 2 . ASUS’ 15.6-inch K53E was the test machine, and with a starting tag of just $899, it’s definitely a compelling package. Based on their testing, this particular CPU was around 15 to 25 percent faster across the board compared to its previous generation 2.5GHz Arrandale counterpart, and that’s with around the same power draw, too. Hit the source link for more charts than you’d care to see on an average workday, and be on the lookout for this chip to hit a whole slew of new rigs in the coming weeks. ASUS’ K53E laptop gets reviewed, 2.53GHz Core i5-2520M CPU gets praised originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 14:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Operabots take center stage at MIT Media Lab’s ‘Death and the Powers’ opera
March 23, 2011 No Comment
It already had its premiere in Monaco last year, but composer Tod Machover’s new opera, “Death and the Powers,” has now finally made it to the United States. Why are we reporting on a new opera (rather than Opera ) on Engadget? Well, it just so happens to feature the “Operabots” pictured above, which were developed by MIT’s Media Lab . The lab also helped develop some of the opera’s other high-tech components, but it seems like the Operabots are the real standout — they’re “semi-autonomous” and freely roam around the stage throughout the opera, acting as a Greek chorus. Not surprisingly, the opera itself also deals with some futuristic subject matter. The Powers of the title is Simon Powers, a “Bill Gates, Walt Disney-type” who decides to upload his consciousness into “The System” before he dies — hijinks then ensue. Those in Boston can apparently still get tickets for the final performance on March 25th — after that it moves onto Chicago for four performances between April 2nd and 10th. Head on past the break for a preview. Continue reading Operabots take center stage at MIT Media Lab’s ‘Death and the Powers’ opera Operabots take center stage at MIT Media Lab’s ‘Death and the Powers’ opera originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 15:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Operabots take center stage at MIT Media Lab’s ‘Death and the Powers’ opera
March 23, 2011 No Comment
It already had its premiere in Monaco last year, but composer Tod Machover’s new opera, “Death and the Powers,” has now finally made it to the United States. Why are we reporting on a new opera (rather than Opera ) on Engadget? Well, it just so happens to feature the “Operabots” pictured above, which were developed by MIT’s Media Lab . The lab also helped develop some of the opera’s other high-tech components, but it seems like the Operabots are the real standout — they’re “semi-autonomous” and freely roam around the stage throughout the opera, acting as a Greek chorus. Not surprisingly, the opera itself also deals with some futuristic subject matter. The Powers of the title is Simon Powers, a “Bill Gates, Walt Disney-type” who decides to upload his consciousness into “The System” before he dies — hijinks then ensue. Those in Boston can apparently still get tickets for the final performance on March 25th — after that it moves onto Chicago for four performances between April 2nd and 10th. Head on past the break for a preview. Continue reading Operabots take center stage at MIT Media Lab’s ‘Death and the Powers’ opera Operabots take center stage at MIT Media Lab’s ‘Death and the Powers’ opera originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 15:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Okay, we admit, we were taken in by the video on Snapkey’s site showing the keyboard in action before its inner workings were revealed at CTIA 2011 . The system is actually quite simple: there are four boxes to tap for letters — plus backspace and space — and each represents a type of letter. Top left includes letters with one point that touches down like “i,” bottom left includes closed letters such as “d,” top right includes letters with two points on the bottom, and bottom right curved and letters with a flat base. Sounds simple? it is, or kinda. Of course there’s a learning curve, in essence you have to rethink the way you type; as we immediately found we had to pay more attention to the letters in words, or at least the shape of them. The system we were shown was running on a jailbroken iPad , but we were told it could be moved to just about any platform. Is it as revolutionary as the buzz suggests? We’re not entirely sure but hope to find out soon with a trial in our labs. Follow on for a video of our grade school assistant Jonathan giving us a tour. Continue reading Snapkeys keyless keyboard hands-on Snapkeys keyless keyboard hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 16:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Okay, we admit, we were taken in by the video on Snapkey’s site showing the keyboard in action before its inner workings were revealed at CTIA 2011 . The system is actually quite simple: there are four boxes to tap for letters — plus backspace and space — and each represents a type of letter. Top left includes letters with one point that touches down like “i,” bottom left includes closed letters such as “d,” top right includes letters with two points on the bottom, and bottom right curved and letters with a flat base. Sounds simple? it is, or kinda. Of course there’s a learning curve, in essence you have to rethink the way you type; as we immediately found we had to pay more attention to the letters in words, or at least the shape of them. The system we were shown was running on a jailbroken iPad , but we were told it could be moved to just about any platform. Is it as revolutionary as the buzz suggests? We’re not entirely sure but hope to find out soon with a trial in our labs. Follow on for a video of our grade school assistant Jonathan giving us a tour. Continue reading Snapkeys keyless keyboard hands-on Snapkeys keyless keyboard hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 16:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Diane Sawyer Ignores Lack of Congressional Approval for Libya, Is Fascinated by Hillary’s ‘Decisive Role’
March 23, 2011 No Comment
ABC anchor Diane Sawyer on Tuesday interviewed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for World News and Nightline, but offered no questions about the Obama administration's failure to seek congressional approval for air strikes in Libya. Instead, the journalist seemed fascinated by the decision-making process, repeatedly asking about Clinton's “decisive” role in going ahead with the bombing. Sawyer quizzed, ” We have read, repeatedly, that you were decisive in this. Did you persuade President Obama? Was yours the voice that turned around the opponents? ” The intrigued World News anchor followed-up by asking if Secretary of Defense Robert Gates “opposed” her. A vague Clinton prompted Sawyer to press, “So, you're not going to characterize yourself in the hierarchy?” Two parts of the interview aired on World News. A replay aired on Nightline. In all of this, Sawyer never wondered about Obama bypassing Congress. This was a topic journalists were keenly interested when it related to George W. Bush and Iraq. Sawyer did find time to gossip, querying, “A quick and final personal question. You have indicated that should the President be re-elected, that you will not be secretary of state any longer. Will you stay until the election?” A transcript of the second World News, which aired at 6:39pm EDT on March 22, follows: DIANE SAWYER: And now, more of our interview with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Earlier, I spoke with her about that rescue. Your heart stopped for a minute? HILLARY CLINTON: Oh, it did. As you might guess. SAWYER: Her heart stopped before she realized they were all right. But we also had a chance to sit down and talk about how long the operation will go on in Libya, will it be as promised, just a matter of days, not weeks, as the President promised? So, I asked her, would it be on the anniversary of the one week, Saturday, before Monday? It will be one week on Saturday, will it happen by Saturday? CLINTON:
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