NVIDIA’s faulty GPU class action settlement challenged, but time’s running out
March 1, 2011 No Comment
Remember when NVIDIA was caught selling defective mobile graphics chips , and agreed to provide bargain-basement replacement laptops to make a class-action lawsuit go away? At least one gentleman wasn’t happy with how that went down, and is suing to see that affected customers get a fair shake. Ted Frank of the Center for Class Action Fairness says that NVIDIA has no business passing off cheap laptops, and we think he might have a case — after all, the judge ordered that NVIDIA provide “a replacement computer of like or similar kind and equal or similar value,” and it doesn’t take a lawyer to see that the $400 Compaq Presario CQ56-115DX that the company’s offering doesn’t come close to compensating owners of faulty machines. We joked that you might be better off selling your old laptop for parts on eBay, and that might not be far from the truth. The thing is, whether Ted Frank and company win or lose in court, defective laptop owners have only two weeks remaining to sign up for whatever NVIDIA ends up handing out, as March 14th is the final deadline to have settlement claims postmarked. Read the arguments at our more coverage link, and decide for yourself. NVIDIA’s faulty GPU class action settlement challenged, but time’s running out originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 23:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Detecting cancer could be on the verge of getting a whole lot cheaper — and better. Researchers at Harvard and MIT have come up with a device that, using a needle to get a tissue sample, has achieve 96 percent accuracy despite having a cost to produce of just $200. It’s called a mini NMR (for nuclear magnet resonance) and also gives results in under an hour, giving the good or bad news on a smartphone display. The cost, simplicity, and portability could make it much easier for cancer to be caught and diagnosed early, but naturally it still has a good bit of testing left before it’ll be ready for prime time. $200 ‘Mini’ NMR detects cancer faster and cheaper than full biopsies originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 21:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Emotiv EEG headset hacked into VR trapeze act, lets you fly like Superman (video)
March 1, 2011 No Comment
Last year, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute students built a virtual reality contraption that let them soar through the sky, held aloft by a trapeze harness and seeing through HMD -covered eyes. This year, they’re controlling it with the power of their minds. For his master’s thesis, project leader Yehuda Duenyas added an Emotiv headset — the same one controlling cars and the occasional game — to make the wearer seemingly able to levitate themselves into the air by carefully concentrating. Sure, by comparison it’s a fairly simple trick, but the effect is nothing short of movie magic. See it after the break. [Thanks, Eric] Continue reading Emotiv EEG headset hacked into VR trapeze act, lets you fly like Superman (video) Emotiv EEG headset hacked into VR trapeze act, lets you fly like Superman (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 22:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Microsoft Windows Embedded Compact 7 now available, may or may not make its way to tablets
March 1, 2011 No Comment
Back in June at Computex , Microsoft announced the successor to Windows CE — Windows Embedded Compact 7 – and it’s finally hitting the general availability mark today. The guys in Redmond posted a 180-day trial of the final WEC7 bits yesterday, and while it is unclear when it was released to manufacturers, ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley notes that the digital signature on the bits is February 19th. So, what does it all mean? Well, you’ll definitely want to check out our Windows Embedded Compact 7 explained post , but we should start seeing the new OS powering phones (don’t forget WP7 is built on the Win CE kernel), medical devices, retail systems, and maybe even some tablets soon. As for the latter category, you may rememeber that we saw that WEC7 prototype tablet above at Computex, however while some like ASUS promised early on that it would use the software for its EP121, it quickly ditched that idea and went with Android. Our guess is that will be the case for most out there, but the lightweight OS, which now can run on ARM V7 architecture, has built-in support for Silverlight for Windows Embedded and Flash 10.1, clearly has advantages over Windows 7 on tablets at the moment. Hit the source link for some more details, and we’ll make sure to keep an eye out for new devices running the new wordy OS. Microsoft Windows Embedded Compact 7 now available, may or may not make its way to tablets originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 20:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We’ve seen WiFi detectors used for various DIY projects before, but none quite like this rather ambitious project cooked up by Norwegian designers Timo Armall, J
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The companion app for TiVo Premiere DVRs worked out well when we reviewed it , but ZatzNotFunny points out it could get even better soon when it will feature “limited support” for Series 3 / HD boxes, along with TiVo DVRs offered by cable providers like RCN and Suddenlink . This “coming soon” info was included in an update yesterday that added a new DVR selection screen to the setup process, ability to run in the background plus assorted performance enhancements and bug fixes. Of course, we now know that TiVo’s “lifetime” offers won’t last forever ( ten years, give or take ) but for users who would prefer to stick with their existing hardware instead of upgrading to a Series 4, there are still a few new features coming down the pipe. Older TiVo Series 3 / HD boxes will work with the iPad remote app soon originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 18:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …NVIDIA Tegra Zone officially launched, takes Android to new dual-core heights
March 1, 2011 No Comment
It’s the first of March, which in NVIDIA land means no longer just talking about Tegra Zone , but actually activating it and letting users see what all the fuss is about. For those who’ve not yet heard of it, the Tegra Zone is an Android application that curates and highlights content that would most benefit from having the dual-core power of that Tegra 2 chip within your device. At launch, that means a hand-picked selection of games whose makers have gone the extra mile and thrown in additional geometric detail, heavier computation loads, and higher-resolution textures specifically for Tegra 2 smartphones and tablets. The snazzier, more interactive games will still be sourced from the Android Market, the Tegra Zone is no more than a portal unto the vast world of Android content, but it’s hoped that its presence will help convey the full value of owning a dual-core mobile device. Even if that value will go down considerably when NVIDIA introduces its quad-core SOC in August — but, one super chip at a time! Continue reading NVIDIA Tegra Zone officially launched, takes Android to new dual-core heights NVIDIA Tegra Zone officially launched, takes Android to new dual-core heights originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 09:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Prospero the robotic farmer robotically plants seeds, makes humans even more lazy (video)
March 1, 2011 No Comment
Let’s face it — humans are lazy , yet incredibly industrious. We’ve seen everything from a self-making bed , to a channel-changer to even a touchless keyboard . And now, we’re blessed with a robot that plants seeds for us. That’s right, the image you see above is of a five-legged machine that has the ability to complete all of the necessary steps to grow a plant. Thanks to a Parallax Propeller chip that’s mounted on a Schmart Board, Prospero is able to autonomously navigate in any direction and avoid obstructing objects. There’s a sensor that lies under its body that senses where seeds have been deployed. If the robot detects that the ground is in need of a seed, it’ll dig a hole, drop the seed, move the soil back over the hole and then spray paint the ground white to note that the process was successful. The belly of the bot is also equipped with fertilizers and herbicides, and Prospero can ‘talk’ (via infrared) to other robots in order to maintain crop-creating efficiency. You can check out a 48-second clip of the planting process after the break. Or, if you’re a harvest-enthusiast, hit the more coverage link for 5 minutes of glorious green thumb action. Continue reading Prospero the robotic farmer robotically plants seeds, makes humans even more lazy (video) Prospero the robotic farmer robotically plants seeds, makes humans even more lazy (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 18:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Random House switches e-book pricing models, clears way for entrance into iBookstore
March 1, 2011 No Comment
Well, it looks like the last major holdout from Apple’s iBookstore could soon be joining its rivals on iOS devices — Random House announced today that it’s abandoning its current pricing model for e-books in favor of the so-called “agency pricing” that Apple insists on. That model requires publishers to set the retail prices of their books with the bookseller getting a 30 percent cut of each sale — as opposed to the traditional wholesale model that lets retailers set the price of books and even sell them at a loss (as Amazon has done in the past). As the Wall Street Journal notes, the agency model has been criticized by some (including Random House previously) for effectively eliminating discounting and guaranteeing retailers a profit on each book they sell. Of course, Random House hasn’t yet officially announced that it will be joining the iBookstore ranks, but this news does certainly line up nicely with a little event tomorrow. Random House switches e-book pricing models, clears way for entrance into iBookstore originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 17:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Prospero the robotic farmer robotically plants seeds, makes humans even more lazy (video)
March 1, 2011 No Comment
Let’s face it — humans are lazy , yet incredibly industrious. We’ve seen everything from a self-making bed , to a channel-changer to even a touchless keyboard . And now, we’re blessed with a robot that plants seeds for us. That’s right, the image you see above is of a five-legged machine that has the ability to complete all of the necessary steps to grow a plant. Thanks to a Parallax Propeller chip that’s mounted on a Schmart Board, Prospero is able to autonomously navigate in any direction and avoid obstructing objects. There’s a sensor that lies under its body that senses where seeds have been deployed. If the robot detects that the ground is in need of a seed, it’ll dig a hole, drop the seed, move the soil back over the hole and then spray paint the ground white to note that the process was successful. The belly of the bot is also equipped with fertilizers and herbicides, and Prospero can ‘talk’ (via infrared) to other robots in order to maintain crop-creating efficiency. You can check out a 48-second clip of the planting process after the break. Or, if you’re a harvest-enthusiast, hit the more coverage link for 5 minutes of glorious green thumb action. Continue reading Prospero the robotic farmer robotically plants seeds, makes humans even more lazy (video) Prospero the robotic farmer robotically plants seeds, makes humans even more lazy (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 18:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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