What are February 14th, 15th, and 16th? We’ve known it was going to happen for a while , but now we know when to set our DVRs. A rack of servers — soaked with natural-language processing, armed with a battalion of esoteric pop culture knowledge, and “represented by a round avatar” — will face off against Jeopardy! millionaires Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter (both profiled in video after the break) for three days starting on Valentine’s Day 2011. We’re also hearing that Watson will sign autographs after it’s done decimating its opponents. It will then donate all its winnings to charity and spend the rest of its natural life dodging paparazzi on an undisclosed beach in the South Pacific. [Photo from Ben Sisto's flickr ] Continue reading IBM’s Watson supercomputer will play Jeopardy! on these dates IBM’s Watson supercomputer will play Jeopardy! on these dates originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 14:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Novatel’s MiFi 4082 is the WiMAX-capable hotspot the Overdrive has been dreading
December 14, 2010 No Comment
Sprint’s Overdrive from Sierra Wireless has been handling the WiMAX mobile hotspot duties on Sprint for most of this year, but it’s been walking that road alone. Novatel, which took the mobile hotspot concept mainstream with its venerable MiFi line — has been absent from the 4G race so far… but it looks like that’s about to change. We just witnessed a so-called MiFi 4082 earn an FCC filing a few minutes ago, offering both CDMA / EV-DO and WiMAX in a single package, presumably prepping for a launch on Sprint to either replace or supplement the Overdrive. Considering the Overdrive’s size, stability, and boot time, another entrant would be more than welcome — and if Novatel can stuff all these radios into a package no larger or heavier than the original MiFi, we’ll submit that they probably have a winner on their hands. Stay tuned for an announcement on this one — CES, perhaps? Novatel’s MiFi 4082 is the WiMAX-capable hotspot the Overdrive has been dreading originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 14:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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In 1996, Deep Blue defeated chess grand-master Garry Kasparov for the first time, Dolly the cloned sheep was born, and digital cameras were still out of the reach of most consumers. This was also the year that Leica released its first digital scanning back, the S1. This bad boy was designed for the company’s 35mm R-series lenses (with lens mounts for a number of other manufacturer’s optics) and captured 1.4-inch square images. And what did you get for your $21,500? A camera that operated at ISO 50 and produced 48-bit (151Mb) image files with “little if any of the artifacting, blooming, and fringing that continue to plague us to this very day,” according to B&H. And as one would expect from Leica, it has a design that inspires significant gadget lust. Hit the source link for plenty more photos. Visualized: Leica’s first digital camera originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 14:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide ! The team here is well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties of the seasonal shopping experience, and we want to help you sort through the trash and come up with the treasures this year. Below is today’s bevy of hand curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they’re added throughout the holiday season. A brand new HDTV is a gift that can get plenty of use throughout the year, but it’s also one of the more expensive items on Santa’s list. If you’re shopping for the home theater enthusiast who has everything, there’s always room in the cabinet for another streamer or demo disc. From 3DTV to network connected to throwback disc-based media, there’s a lot of new options on deck for the 2010 holiday season – let’s see if we can narrow the list a bit and make sure your gift scores a ten out of ten even if your budget is more like a two. Continue reading Engadget’s Holiday Gift Guide: HDTVs and home theater Engadget’s Holiday Gift Guide: HDTVs and home theater originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 13:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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It may not quite be enough to bring non-BlackBerry users into the fold, but RIM has finally scored one long awaited coup to keep its current users happy — it’s just announced that the Amazon MP3 application is now available for download from the BlackBerry App World. While still technically in beta, the app will let you purchase and download music both over WiFi and over the air, and it includes plenty of BlackBerry-specific functionality, including sharing via BBM in addition to the usual social networking features, and full integration with BlackBerry’s Universal Search and Media Library. Hit up the link below for a closer look, or simply download it yourself to try it out first hand — it is free, after all. Amazon MP3 app hits BlackBerry phones originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 12:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Microsoft lands its largest ever Surface order… from a karaoke bar (video)
December 14, 2010 No Comment
There’s not much to see right now, but it appears that Red MR is well on its way to becoming one of the most advanced (and probably the most amusing) karaoke bars in the world. Ahead of its Hong Kong debut this Saturday, said company has already installed six Surfaces in its two bars, and is aiming to fit more to fill up all 80 rooms — and that number could go up to 300 in the near future — once Microsoft has ramped up production. With Red MR’s customized software (still under wraps), customers will be able to pick songs, order food, watch TV, and play games on the Surface while listening to a drunk rendition of My Heart Will Go On . Oh, and there’ll also be a few Kinects dotted around the bars, but it’s not exactly clear whether they’ll be in the rooms as well. Anyhow, we’ll be flying out to Hong Kong to check it out later this week, so stay tuned. For now, you can watch a demo of the Surface’s Liar’s Dice game after the break. Continue reading Microsoft lands its largest ever Surface order… from a karaoke bar (video) Microsoft lands its largest ever Surface order… from a karaoke bar (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 12:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Russian Yo hybrid said to offer 67mpg, cost under $15k, gets a billionaire’s backing
December 14, 2010 No Comment
Russian entrepreneur Mikhail D. Prokhorov may have big plans for moving the Nets downtown and turning them into the Brooklyn New Yorkers, but another of his big plans will stay a little closer to home. Well, his home anyway. It’s the
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Tired of finding every set of decent ‘buds only available in the stereotypical white? Hello, beautiful! Jays has just outed its latest set of earbuds , the a-JAYS Four, and it seems that simplicity is the theme here. These guys rely on flat, tangle-free cabling and include an inline three-button remote that’s made for use with Apple’s iPod, iPhone and iPad. You’ll also get five different eartip selections, a handy L-shaped 3.5mm plug, MEMS microphone and a pair of 8.6mm speaker drivers that handle frequencies between 20Hz and 21,000Hz. Regrettably, we’ve no price or release date to share, but hopefully that’ll be cleared up in short order. Gallery: a-JAYS Four earbuds Jays flexes its design muscle with svelte a-JAYS Four earbuds originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 11:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We’d been following this story for a few days and holding off on calling it a delay since even the quickest orders weren’t expected to arrive in owners’ hands until today, but would-be Venue Pro owners now seem to be getting emails directly from Dell that their orders have been officially delayed until early January. The reason for the delay is anybody’s guess, but it’s an open secret that Dell’s been having quality control issues on the Venue Pro through its ODM, Qisda — and we’ve already seen issues with WiFi (allegedly a software issue alone), mislabeled batteries , and SIM card registration in the field. We’ll be keeping our fingers crossed that some miracle gets the early orders delivered sooner than 2011, because seriously, we can think of a few nerds that would love one of these bad boys in their stockings this year. Launch bugs are a serious bummer, aren’t they? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Dell Venue Pro apparently delayed again, targeting January now originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 11:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Ridgid Jobsite iPod Radio takes a beating, survives long enough to go on sale (video)
December 14, 2010 No Comment
So, you’ve celebrated the landing of yet another construction deal by giving the whole crew their own Motorola Defy (except for Derick, who’s saddled with a lowly i365 ), but there’s still one problem: on-the-job entertainment. Enter Ridgid’s Jobsite Radio, hailed as the first iPod-toting boombox designed to withstand just about anything. As you can tell, the device itself is encased in a ShockMount layer of protective armor, and we have to stress the “armor” aspect. Users simply flip down the lid in the front, slide their iPod in and then change tracks via on-board external controls or remote control from up to 25 feet away. Oh, and if Joe or Buck just so happens to bring their Zune HD into work, the 3.5mm auxiliary input will ensure that no one is publicly shamed. The unit is powered by a standard 120V or Ridgid 18V battery, and if you’re curious as to just how hardcore this thing is, there’s an enlightening video embedded just after the break. She’s all yours after dropping $149 at the Home Depot. [Thanks, Thomas ] Continue reading Ridgid Jobsite iPod Radio takes a beating, survives long enough to go on sale (video) Ridgid Jobsite iPod Radio takes a beating, survives long enough to go on sale (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 11:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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