Ford car seat prototype keeps its sensors on your heart, so you can keep your eyes on the road
May 24, 2011 No Comment
Chevy had the whole “Heartbeat of America” thing cornered in the 80s, but now its Ford’s turn to get in on the action. The car maker’s European research team unveiled a prototype car seat capable of monitoring a driver’s heart courtesy of six embedded electrodes, which can take measurements without coming in direct contact with skin. The technology, the latest in a recent string of health-related in-vehicle concepts from the company, can detect whether the driver is having a heart attack and transmit that information to the vehicle’s safety system. According to the researchers, the system is already highly accurate in its prototype state, making correct readings for 98 percent of drive time with 95 percent of the drivers tested. For more information on the system, check the video and press release after the break. Continue reading Ford car seat prototype keeps its sensors on your heart, so you can keep your eyes on the road Ford car seat prototype keeps its sensors on your heart, so you can keep your eyes on the road originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 May 2011 23:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
Have your YouTube dance videos been lacking something? Can’t quite put your finger on it? How ’bout another, more Android-y you to add some diversity to your One, Two Step ? The folks who brought you the Androidify app have apparently enlisted a friend, his Android avatar, and a Kinect to bring you the above video. Not too shabby, but we’d be even more intrigued if he was rocking a black leotard and busting out Mexican Breakfast , Beyonce-style . Check out the not-so-Fosse video after the break. [Thanks, John] Visualized: Androidify avatar dance party (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 May 2011 21:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Google opening seawater-cooled data center, finally glad it applied for that Wave trademark
May 24, 2011 No Comment
Google raised a few eyebrows when it purchased a Finnish paper mill back in 2009 — what, the world, wondered, would the king of cloud services want with reams of tree guts? Space for a data center, of course — and a seawater-cooled one at that. Google’s Joe Kava told GigaOm that, when it launches in the fall, the center’s temperature will be regulated by a quarter-mile of seawater tunnels inherited from the building’s past tenants. One of the hardest parts of getting the system up and running has apparently been figuring out a way to clean corrosion from salt water without taking the system offline. Google’s also working to limit the center’s impact on the surrounding ecosystem, making sure that the water itself is cooled down before being pumped back out. Between this and those wind-powered data centers , it looks like Captain Planet’s always got a cushy IT gig at Google to fall back on, should he ever fall on hard times. Google opening seawater-cooled data center, finally glad it applied for that Wave trademark originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 May 2011 19:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Kindle 3G gets ad-supported $164 version, basically sells your eyeballs for a $25 discount
May 24, 2011 No Comment
It’s been one heck of a week for e-readers, with a new $139 touchscreen Nook in town and a $129 finger-friendly Kobo as well. What’s Amazon going to do about the newfound competition? Simply lower the price of its best-selling Kindle 3G to $164. Well, perhaps “lower” isn’t quite the right word, because you’ll simply be paying by different means: the new Kindle 3G with Special Offers will be the company’s second e-reader to feature built-in advertising . If you’re shy on cash, though, we suppose viewing a few ads is a small price to pay for cheaper Whispernet. PR after the break. Continue reading Kindle 3G gets ad-supported $164 version, basically sells your eyeballs for a $25 discount Kindle 3G gets ad-supported $164 version, basically sells your eyeballs for a $25 discount originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 May 2011 20:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
When it’s not pushing Super Hi-Vision , the hopeful 7,680 x 4,320 successor to HD, NHK also dabbles in small, flexible OLED panels. The Japanese public broadcaster recently showed off a 5-inch prototype display that, while bearing a heavy green tint and very noticeable rows of dead pixels, was still a significant improvement over a similar screen it demoed in 2009. Sure, it’s not quite as flexible or vibrant as Sony’s rollable OLED from last year, but it does seem to suffer from fewer bad pixels — an important step towards maturation. Don’t miss the video after the break which offers some pretty nifty glimpses at a number of bendable OLEDs. It’s clear the tech is still a little wet behind the ears, but we’re definitely getting closer to a future populated with TVs that roll up for storage and e-readers that fold like a paperback . Continue reading NHK’s flexible OLED is both literally and figuratively green (video) NHK’s flexible OLED is both literally and figuratively green (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 May 2011 19:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …T-Mobile’s Bobsled voice service returns to Facebook, relationship status now less complicated
May 24, 2011 No Comment
We’re still waiting for some more news about its promised mobile apps , but T-Mobile’s new Bobsled sub-brand has now cleared one big hurdle that was thrust in front of it. The company’s initial offering, a VoIP service for Facebook, has returned to the social network a full month after it was “voluntarily and temporarily” pulled during its first week of operation. In case you missed it, the Facebook component is simply a basic VoIP service that lets you make free voice calls to any of your Facebook friends, and it now boasts a redesigned interface that promises to “more clearly differentiate it from a Facebook owned service.” T-Mobile’s Bobsled voice service returns to Facebook, relationship status now less complicated originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 May 2011 16:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
It may look like a space heater (in the best way possible, of course), but what you’re looking at is actually Digital Storm’s very first pre-built gaming system, the ODE. Available in your choice of “Good,” “Better,” “Best,” or “Ultimate” configurations, the rig packs a Core i7-2600K processor that can be overclocked to 5.0GHz, along with NVIDIA GTX 570 graphics (SLI in all but the lowest config), a standard 8GB of RAM, plus a regular 1TB hard drive that can be paired with an SSD up to 120GB — not to mention that nice red glow, which shouldn’t actually give off much heat thanks to some liquid cooling. Check out the gallery below for a closer look, and hit up the source link to place your order if you like what you see — this one starts at $1,499. Gallery: Digital Storm ODE Continue reading Digital Storm’s ODE gaming PC brings the heat Digital Storm’s ODE gaming PC brings the heat originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 May 2011 18:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
The Dell XPS 15z may not be the gamechanger we’d hoped for, but it’s one heck of a Windows PC, and today the aluminum and magnesium alloy machine is on sale in the United States starting at $999. You’ll find a total of five different configs available online, with the base model providing a 2.3GHz Core i5-2410M processor, 6GB of DDR3 RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GT525M graphics with 1GB of dedicated video memory, a 500GB 7200RPM hard drive and a slot-loading DVD burner, plus loads of connectivity inside and out — including dual-band 802.11a/g/n and a pair of USB 3.0 ports. (Whew.) $1,500 ups the ante to a 2.7GHz Core i7 rig with 8GB of RAM, 2GB of VRAM and 750GB of rotating storage, not to mention a nice bright 1080p display. Strangely, there’s no solid state option on tap, but you can nab that 300-nit, 1920 x 1080 LCD screen for an additional Benjamin no matter which config you choose. Find all your options at our source link, and while you’re at it, why not read our full review ? Continue reading Dell’s XPS 15z goes on sale in the US, shiny aluminum is yours from $999 Dell’s XPS 15z goes on sale in the US, shiny aluminum is yours from $999 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 May 2011 17:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
Back in January, Gearbox Software released a Duke Nukem Forever trailer , and our inner 13 year-old — only a lascivious gleam in his father’s eye when the game was first announced! — thrilled to its potty humor, gratuitous violence, and mosaic-obscured lady parts. We were skeptical about the promised May release date, since DNF has long been gaming’s answer to Chinese Democracy , and sure enough that got bumped to June 10 (international) and 14 (North America). But now the game has gone gold, meaning real-life physical copies, rather than just one of gaming’s longest running vaporware jokes. No confirmation that the game will ship via unicorn, but for more details devour the press release after the break. Continue reading Duke Nukem Forever goes gold, will meet promised June deadline (really!) Duke Nukem Forever goes gold, will meet promised June deadline (really!) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 May 2011 15:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Gigabyte’s ECO600 mouse passes through the FCC, boasts 12-month battery life
May 24, 2011 No Comment
Gigabyte’s ECO600 wireless laser mouse — which was introduced last month — just landed at the FCC, which means it and its tiny 2.4GHz adapter should be in the hands of consumers very soon. As far as mice go, the ECO600 is actually pretty interesting — two buttons on top allow you to quickly cycle between resolutions of 800, 1200, and 1600 DPI for either more accuracy or better battery life which, the company claims, is up to a year on a single pair of (generously included) AAs. That’s not quite as long as Logitech’s M515 , which requires you swap the cells biennially, but it’s still nothing to scoff at. If you’re curious about what the guts of this long-lasting pointing device look like, check out the gallery below. Gallery: Gigabyte ECO600 wireless laser mouse at the FCC Gigabyte’s ECO600 mouse passes through the FCC, boasts 12-month battery life originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 May 2011 15:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …