Visualized: a decade of mapping the universe, and all we got was this bloated JPEG
May 28, 2011 No Comment
Thousands upon thousands of galaxies. Ten years to complete. A glance at the most complete map of the local universe anywhere in existence. Something tells us Richard Branson ‘s getting a print for his Virgin Galactic headquarters… Continue reading Visualized: a decade of mapping the universe, and all we got was this bloated JPEG Visualized: a decade of mapping the universe, and all we got was this bloated JPEG originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 May 2011 08:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …PlayStation announces official wireless cans for PS3, stereo frags coming September
May 28, 2011 No Comment
Perhaps Sony deemed the Ultimate Weapon too powerful (or too expensive) for PlayStation 3 owners, but these new wireless cans ought to keep your ears warm, at the very least. The new official PS3 Wireless Stereo Headset features 7.1 virtual surround sound, a retractable, mutable microphone, and standard embedded volume controls. These proprietary sound-muffs connect via USB dongle, and push headset related status updates (that’s your battery status) directly to your TV screen; if you’re into that sort of thing. Sony-approved hearing will set you back $100 starting this September. PlayStation announces official wireless cans for PS3, stereo frags coming September originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 May 2011 05:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Vodafone truck can recharge 2,000 devices at once, is coming to an Isle of Wight near you
May 28, 2011 No Comment
Nothing like a dead battery to kill your Foursquare buzz at a British summer concert, eh? Vodafone feels your pain and so, in an act of brilliant PR, is rolling out a 40-foot truck capable of charging up to 2,000 devices simultaneously. Peeking inside the 44-ton station, it’s hard (for us, anyway) not to think of a bowling alley with cubbies, except they aren’t filled with rental clown shoes, but outlets ready to revive iPhones, BlackBerrys, Nokia handsets, and a host of Android phones. The free service is made exclusive to Vodafone UK customers, and the carrier expects to charge roughly 72,000 handsets this summer alone. All told, our friends across the pond will get 11 chances this year to try it out, with the first public outing coming at the Isle of Wight festival next month. If you’ll be stuck elsewhere watching repeats of Lady Gaga’s concert special on HBO, have a peek at the Union Jack-blanketed press shots below. Gallery: Vodafone charging truck Vodafone truck can recharge 2,000 devices at once, is coming to an Isle of Wight near you originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 May 2011 18:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Microsoft manager teams up with teens to build a fusion reactor in his garage (video)
May 28, 2011 No Comment
Normally, if a grown man talks about building a fusion reactor and wants your 13-year-old to hang out in his garage, we’d expect you to smile, back away slowly, and perhaps alert the authorities. But, if that man is Microsoft program manager Carl Greninger there’s no need to run. The science fanatic recruited a team of teens, as young as 13, and worked with them to build a Farnsworth-Hirsch Fusor — a (comparatively) simple nuclear reactor that smashes together atoms and produces neutrons. Check out the nearly 20-min video after the break to watch a bunch of high school kids generate ball of ionized plasma. And to think, all that’s in your garage is that ’65 Mustang you swear you’re gonna restore one day. Continue reading Microsoft manager teams up with teens to build a fusion reactor in his garage (video) Microsoft manager teams up with teens to build a fusion reactor in his garage (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 May 2011 02:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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TV viewers are a famously fickle bunch, which tends to drive TV advertisers crazy. The prevalent theory remains that skipping past ads using a pesky DVR is the biggest enemy of marketers, but new research has once again contradicted that received wisdom. The IPG Media Lab in Los Angeles pulled together a representative group of 48 TV and online video viewers and asked them to sit through some programming while equipped with the usual “devices or distractions” that accompany their viewing habits. Central to the study was the measurement of time each person spent facing the screen and how engaged they were with the content. The first thing noted was that 94 percent of TV viewers and 73 percent of online video consumers used some other form of media to augment their visual entertainment. Smartphones were the most common, with 60 percent of test subjects resorting to their handset while gawking at the TV. That’s resulted in a mediocre 52 percent attention level during actual programs and 37 percent during ads. In other words, two thirds of the time, commercials are being ignored and smartphones are helping people with that heinous behavior. Ironically, fast-forwarding adverts using a DVR garnered attention levels that were 12 percent higher, mostly because people were trying to make sure they didn’t skip too far ahead. Damn, why does reality have to be all complex and stuff ? Smartphones, not DVRs, are the biggest threat to TV adverts originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 May 2011 08:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Telecommunications device for the deaf gets hitched to a rotary phone, hacked to run Zork
May 27, 2011 No Comment
In today’s episode of ” But will it run Zork ?” a chap named Ulysses got the vintage game to run on a TDD (telecommunications device for the deaf) — a project he built to show off at the Bay Area Maker Faire last weekend. In a move we truly respect, he hunted down a rotary phone lifted straight out of the era when Zork was conceived (that would be the late ’70s / early ’80s). Then, he modified a modem so that the acoustically coupled TDD could be interfaced — transmitting at a slow 45.5 baud to make it easy for even ponderous readers to keep up, one line at a time on the TDD’s narrow display. Once this was sorted, things weren’t exactly smooth sailing when Ulysses started fitting the compressed Zork story file into the system. At first, he tried using an Arduino Pro and an Arduino Mega, but found that neither had enough memory to accommodate the compressed Zork story file. Ultimately, he took a different tack and settled on an embeddable FitPC . We’d love nothing more than to see this thing in action, but in lieu of a video we highly suggest carving out a few minutes and perusing Ulysses’ photo blog at the source link. Telecommunications device for the deaf gets hitched to a rotary phone, hacked to run Zork originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 May 2011 10:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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HP wants to make sure you don’t get burned, literally. For the third May in a row, it’s issuing another expansion of its voluntary battery recall on laptops produced from July 2007 to May 2008 — frankly, we’re considering a holiday to mark the occasion. May 2009 saw a recall of 70,000 batteries followed by an expansion to cover 15,000 in China , totaling 85,000 affected laptops. It didn’t end there though, as further expansion was put in place during May 2010 to cover even more models, and this time around, a sizeable number of lappies have been added to the ever-growing list. About five percent of the models from the aforementioned time frame could have problematic batteries, and HP will be providing replacements for those at risk of getting a little too hot under the collar. If your machine was also part of the previous recalls, HP’s saying those should be verified as well, even if you’ve done so in the past already. The full grid of affected laptops can be perused after the break — Memorial Day weekend will be full of grilling, but we wouldn’t want that to include your skin, okay? Continue reading HP expands laptop battery recall, doesn’t want you to feel the burn HP expands laptop battery recall, doesn’t want you to feel the burn originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 May 2011 00:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget inquiry is coming to us from Greg, who needs 5.1 surround sound in the worst, most inexpensive way. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com . “I’m looking for a budget 5.1 surround sound system to set myself up with a rudimentary home theatre. I’ve got a Panasonic Viera TH-42PZ85U TV, and while the picture’s fine, the internal speakers are a bit lacking. I know that almost any sound system, no matter how cheap, will probably be an improvement, so I’m focusing more on saving money than getting mind-blowing audio. Value is the name of the game. Can you give me any good leads? Thanks!” Five years ago, $100 wouldn’t get you much in the surround sound world, but today? Today, it’s all you need. Toss your assistance in comments below! Ask Engadget: best sub-$100 5.1 surround sound system? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 May 2011 22:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Diffus Solar Handbag charges your cell during the day, may actually leave the closet
May 27, 2011 No Comment
Sure, solar-paneled bags are occasionally practical and always geeky , but the women in our lives wouldn’t dream of letting us walk around with one, let alone using one themselves. That soon may change. The Solar Handbag from Diffus , a Danish design studio, integrates 100 “solar sequins” in a pattern that ladies may actually find socially acceptable, perhaps even attractive. During the day, the bag is capable of generating 2 watts of power, enough to charge many portable gadgets. After the sun sets, however, any leftover energy is redirected to a set of optical fibers, which glow whenever you open the bag to search for mascara, ABC gum stuffed in crumbled receipts, or whatever else you’ve decided may never leave your side . There’s no word on whether the bag will actually come to market, but if it does go to production, it may just end up being affordable, given that many handbag budgets far exceed the amount we set aside for gadgets. Continue reading Diffus Solar Handbag charges your cell during the day, may actually leave the closet Diffus Solar Handbag charges your cell during the day, may actually leave the closet originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 May 2011 13:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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ASUS’ Eee Pad Transformer might still be difficult to track down, but at least all systems are go for the company’s other Honeycomb tablet, the Eee Pad Slider . The company confirmed today that the 10.1-inch tablet, originally slated for May, is “coming soon” — no word, of course, on whether it will ditch Tegra 2 for an Atom Z670 CPU, as rumored . Next up, ASUS, give us a price, capiche ? Last time we checked, the company was estimating it would cost between $500 and $800, so your guess is as good as ours as to how sweet a value this will be. Hopefully, we’ll get to see this elusive tab again at Computex next week, but in the meantime, hit the source links for some tightly cropped teaser shots of it running Honeycomb. ASUS Eee Pad Slider going on sale ‘soon,’ price is still anyone’s guess originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 May 2011 21:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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