Monday, November 24, 2008

South Koreans Discover 'True Blue' Material for Better OLED Screens [Feeling Blue]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/ZDzRge4lLf4/south-koreans-discover-true-blue-material-for-better-oled-screens

OLED screens are pretty awesome all around, but they have more than a few Achilles Heels to overcome before they're accepted into the mainstream. That said, one of the hurdles has allegedly fallen this weekend, thanks to new research out of South Korea. According to the AP, South Korean scientists have developed an efficient "true blue" material that, while sounding like a 1991 Madonna album, is actually a pretty important step forward for OLEDs.

You see, OLEDs, for all their potential greatness, have a heck of a time producing the blue light necessary to produce great images (red, green, blue light makes TVs happy!). Red and green light works fine, but blue remained elusive. That's where the South Koreans come in.

The discovery was the work of Pusan National University chemistry professor Jin Sung-Ho, who said the discovery was an important one for advancing the energy efficiency of OLEDs. For gadget lovers, it's yet another piece of the puzzle that, when completed, will mean powerful, beautiful OLED TVs are a mainstay in homes across the world. [AFP]


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Dealzmodo Review: The $300 Sonos Rig [Review]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/gXIKhmJF2as/dealzmodo-review-the-300-sonos-rig

I love Sonos, the super synced-up wireless music home system, but have always been a little freaked out by the price, about $750 to start, including the increasingly old-school-looking $400 scroll-wheel Controller. When I saw the Sonos iPhone Wi-Fi app—free if you've got an iPhone or iPod touch—I realized that the Controller was finally a thing of the past. Couple the app with a clearance-priced ZP80 ZonePlayer, and you can start your own Sonos rig for $300. After playing around with the latest hardware and software, I can safely say that's a hell of a deal.

I say "you can start" your rig because one of the Sonos' main selling points is its ability to wirelessly coordinate ZonePlayers all throughout the house for flawlessly synced music playback. The idea is that you spend $300 on the ZP80 (or $350 on a ZP90 if you miss out on the clearance inventory) and then later on, when times aren't so tough, you can add more ZonePlayers as you go. What's great about the one ZonePlayer is that you immediately get the AirPort Express-like ability to grab music from your Mac or PC, plus the iTunes Remote app's ability to control it from a little handheld, but that's just the beginning. The ZonePlay! er comes with the ability to serve up web radio, Rhapsody, Napster, Pandora, Last.fm and Best Buy Music, all without a computer.

In my house, it all plays out rather well:

When my laptop is awake and on the network, the ZonePlayer I have connected directly to my router (via Ethernet) and a stereo system can access all of my non-DRM tracks. I can sort through all those tracks via the Sonos Desktop Controller, which works on both Macs and PCs and whose setup was ridiculously easy. But I can walk away from the laptop (leaving it on) and instead pick up an iTouch lying on the coffee table, which lets me view the same exact tracks, and just as fast.

Say I close or power down my laptop, or my wife wants to get on the Sonos while I am away, laptop in tow. There are so many sources of music available via the Sonos Controller app, she may not actually even notice that my vast library is gone. (I could, obviously, load the Sonos control on her laptop so that it would serve her music, too, but based on what I'm telling you, that has so far proven irrelevant.)

My wife loves Fresh Air with Terry Gross. By searching for the show in the Radio section, she can not only find out when it's on next, but can listen to recent shows in full, at a much better sound quality than those damn Audible downloads, for zero money. She can also search for different radio stations and add them to favorites—we have both our favorite NYC and Seattle radio side by side. You can't yet bookmark actual radio shows, a la Fresh Air, in Favorites, but I'm hoping that's something that will be worked out soon.You probably now that Sonos offers free 30-! day no-c redit-card-required trials of Rhapsody, Napster and Sirius—the key, I think, is to try all three in a row, giving you basically 60 days of free on-demand music sampling, and a month of decent satellite radio, before you choose one, if any.

Controlling the system over Wi-Fi is easy, too. You kinda have to get used to the queue concept that goes back to desktop music jukeboxes of olde—once you add songs to the queue, they're there until you clear them, even after they've played. But you can add many songs and radio shows of differing sources to the same queue, making for a highly programmable audio experience: I can listen to the new-ish Coldplay, followed by Terry Gross's interview with Seth Meyers, followed by a classic mix playlist I devised in iTunes (automatically recognized by Sonos), all queued up in just a few minutes. The volume control is funny—on the iTouch, you have to tap to the left or right of the slider to make it go up or down, but once I figured that out, it was smooth sailing.After the super-syncability and the multiple sources of music, the third best thing about Sonos is the fact that it is constantly being upgraded. So even though there are some technical advantages to the newer hardware (wireless-N is the big one), the basic functionality is the same, meaning buying at clearance shouldn't be a problem.

What don't I like? I feel like this new setup has answered my biggest historical gripes with the system; though it would be nice for it to play iTunes DRM tracks, and it would be convenient for the first ZonePlayer to connect wirelessly and not via hard Ethernet (it does this so that it can create its own super-stable Wi-Fi network), the thing is getting better and cheaper at the same time—$300 for clearance ZP80s, potentially even less on eBay. If that isn't go! od news in these troubled times, I don't know what is. [Sonos]


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Make's LED History Movie Is Pretty Cool, Includes DIY Instructions [LEDs]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/chma4mVeQOw/makes-led-history-movie-is-pretty-cool-includes-diy-instructions

We all take LEDs pretty much for granted, but the guys over at MAKE have done a good job with this movie that shows the history behind the little glowing things. Turns out the Light Emitting Diode was one of those devices that was more or less discovered by accident, during an experiment at Marconi labs into a Cat's-Whisker Schottky barrier diode made from a chunk of silicon carbide: so MAKE, of course, shows you how to recreate that for yourself. Check it out: it's fascinating stuff. [Makezine]


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Simple Hack Enables Roughly One Gazillion Japanese Emoticons On Any iPhone [:)]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/MeIQx6srAZk/simple-hack-enables-roughly-one-gazillion-japanese-emoticons-on-any-iphone

Emoji: if you've never heard of it, that's because you're probably not living in Japan, 12 years old, and a highly social schoolgirl. An emoticon standard that is widely used in the country, it was included in the iPhone 2.2 firmware on the SoftBank network, but not for anyone else. Apparently fed up with his lack of ability to graphically express his numerous LOLs, a developer has figured out a simple tweak to enable these icons system-wide, no matter which carrier you're with. Naturally, to show anything other than unintelligible strings of Unicode the recipient's phone has to support Emoji emoticons, but apparently all 2.2 iPhones, hacked or not, can display the icons. The patching process, after the jump, isn't terribly complicated.

You need to edit the file /User/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Preferences.plist on the device -> whether you use a jailbreak to achieve this or merely some iTunes backup editor is up to you.

Add the following boolean key as 'true': KeyboardEmojiEverywhere

Then merely go to the Keyboards section of the Settings app, hit Japanese, and turn on Emoji. Will work for any text field/view in the OS, including on websites, AND including the titles of items on SpringBoard (e.g. if you save a bookmark to the home screen).

The easiest way to do with will probably be to run your iPhone as an SFTP server, which is as easy as installing a package or two on your jailbroken phone. After that it's just a matter of editing the config file and emoting to your friends, again and again, via creepy little icons. [Steve Troughton-Smith via MacBlogz, Image from MacRumors]


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AdminPatch Pain-Free Hypodermic Alternative Does It With Millions Of Needles Instead [Drug Delivery]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/4hzCoTR3UFI/adminpatch-pain+free-hypodermic-alternative-does-it-with-millions-of-needles-instead


Nanobioscience's AdminPatch sounds like a pretty amazing way to deliver drugs into the body: it's got a metal surface covered in millions of tiny microneedles that puncture the skin. You may instantly think "Ouch!" but since these are so small and pierce the skin shallow enough to avoid pain receptors, the system is apparently painless.

It's a way of delivering water-soluble drugs locally or systemically through the "micropores" it makes in the skin and it works continuously when it's stuck to you. The pores collapse quickly when the patch is removed, lessening the chances of infection.

Better yet, it's simple to use, and it's easy and cheap to manufacture, so it's got a pretty good likelihood of existing in real products soon. Good news for many a trypanophobe, I'd say—at least those who need the kinds of drugs that Adminpatch can deliver. [Medgadget]


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Amazon Misunderstands "Friday," Starts Black Friday Deals Now [Dealzmodo]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/9I0Wmy1VUvE/amazon-misunderstands-friday-starts-black-friday-deals-now


Ok, so it's only a selection of the sale products, but Amazon's Black Friday sale is actually underway now. There're some sales on Blu-ray players, headphones, lots of external hard drives, GPS units and such, and one eye-catcher so far is a Sony Vaio VGN-SR140 13.3-Inch laptop reduced by $600, which is 38% off. Check it out—you might find the bargain you're looking for four days early. [Amazon]


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T-Mobile Samsung Behold Lightning Review [Lightning]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/sMCyTBl3G98/t+mobile-samsung-behold-lightning-review

The Gadget: Samsung's Behold, T-Mobile's slice of touchscreen feature phone pie with a Korea-style five-megapixel camera and Sammy's "innovative" TouchWiz UI.

The Price: $150 after the standard rebate and two-year contract

The Verdict: The Behold fills the hole in T-Mobile's lineup for a not-quite-smart feature phone: It does a lot of the stuff a smartphone will do, like web browsing and email, just you know, not quite as capably as a real smartphone, or even as well as its cousin, the Instinct. The web browser is bleh for anything but mobile sites since T-Mobile does you the favor of translating them, which tends to butcher more complicated pages, and the email client won't do standard IMAP or POP. The IM client is slow, though not terrible, but either way, you can't really install your own apps to rectify the situation.

So what's good? The touchscreen is one more of the responsive ones that Samsung has put out, a hair better than the Instinct, and the keyboard layout is pretty good too, though I wish the space bar was bigger. The TouchWiz UI is attractive and easy to use, even if it's only skin deep—once you go past the widget-y "desktop," you're dumped into a more generic, though not exactly ugly, cellphone UI.

The 5MP camera, though not miraculous, is better than most of the ones in these kinds of phones by a long shot, with satisfactory noise levels and a decent suite of basic photo editing that'll let you adjust fundam! entals l ike contrast and color, crop or add crazy effects. I wish the flash were a little stronger and the autofocus were a little faster, though.

Overall, it's what you'd expect out of a feature phone—it'll do a lot of things, just none of them amazingly. If you're a T-Mobile customer, for the money, I'd go with a G1—it lacks polish in some places, and the hardware isn't nearly as tight as the Behold's, but you'll get more out of it.


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HP's Shanghai-packing xw9400 workstation available now

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/22/hps-shanghai-packing-xw9400-workstation-available-now/

We caught a glimpse of the HP xw9400 quite a while back when it was first announced, but it's now available on HP's site and we've got the full details on the mammoth's innards. There are quite a few customizable options, including AMD's Dual-Core Shanghai Opteron CPUs (from 2.0GHz to 2.5GHz), up to 32GB MHz DDR SDRAM, NIVIDIA nForce Professional 3600 or 3050 chipsets, and available NVIDIA Quadro FX cards with up to 1GB of memory. There are also five internal and two external drive bays and eight USB 2.0 ports. The behemoth starts at $2,399 and runs as high as $6,299. Hit the read link for the widest array of specifications you can possibly ever imagine.

[Via Information Week]

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HP's Shanghai-packing xw9400 workstation available now originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Nov 2008 06:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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G1 multi-touch a reality, integrated headphone jack still just a dream

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/22/g1-multi-touch-a-reality-integrated-headphone-jack-still-just-a/

G1 multi-touch a reality, integrated headphone jack still just a dream
When reviewing the G1 we found a lot to like, but a lot to dislike too. We knew that some of its shortcomings, like the missing headphone jack, were sadly permanent (free adapters notwithstanding), but hoped that it would just be a matter of time before some enterprising soul (with an enterprising compiler) would take care of another complaint: the lack of multi-touch. Lo and behold now is that time and Ryan Gardner is that coder, author of a little app that proves the inability of the G1 to accept a two-finger salute is not a hardware limitation. You can see for yourself in a video after the break, and once Ryan is done cleaning up his code he pledges to post that, too (don't forget those comments, man). Okay, so being able to cover your screen with red and yellow splotches isn't going to convert any spoiled iPhoners, but we're thinking the rest of you developers out there should be able to pick up this ball and run with it. So make with the running, already.

Continue reading G1 multi-touch a reality, integrated headphone jack still just a dream

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G1 multi-touch a reality, integrated headphone jack still just a dream originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Nov 2008 22:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung concept phone unfolds to hypnotize onlookers with flexible OLED

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/24/samsung-concept-phone-unfolds-to-hypnotize-onlookers-with-flexib/


Cellphones are caught in this awkward spot where they've got to be small -- like pocketable, doesn't-look-ridiculous-on-your-face small -- and yet somehow big enough to pack an expansive, pretty display that's capable of displaying a lot of stuff at once. That's a paradox that has forced manufacturers into some curious form factors over the years, but ultimately, if you want to somehow cram the desktop viewing experience into a device the size of a pack of cigarettes, you're probably going to need something that projects, rolls, or folds. That's where Samsung's new concept phone shown off at the FPD International show in Yokohama comes into play, opening like a book to reveal a flexible OLED big enough to handle those cute puppy videos that no plain-vanilla, 2.5-inch display can do justice. There's no word on when a so-equipped handset might see production -- but we think it's appropriate that it's being shown off in Japan in all places, if you catch our drift. Follow the break for a video of the display in action.

Continue reading Samsung concept phone unfolds to hypnotize onlookers with flexible OLED

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Samsung concept phone unfolds to hypnotize onlookers with flexible OLED originally appeared on Engadget on Mon,! 24 Nov 2008 02:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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South Korean scientists claim development of "true blue" for OLED displays

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/24/south-korean-scientists-claim-development-of-true-blue-for-ol/


It's no secret that OLED gurus have had the toughest time improving the life of blue luminance to match the lifespans of its red and green counterparts, but a team of South Korean scientists have purportedly stumbled upon (or developed, as it were) a breakthrough "true blue" material that can "accelerate the development of next-generation organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays." Up until now, scientists have been able to create highly efficient green and red OLED materials, but the inability to make a true blue OLED material was really holding things back. So, now that this little hurdle has been hopped, how's about we get some big screen OLED HDTVs out to the people?

[Via OLED-Info, image courtesy of Universal Display]

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South Korean scientists claim development of "true blue" for OLED displays originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 03:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Dell's Mini 9 hacked with touchscreen

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/24/video-dells-mini-9-hacked-with-touchscreen/


Add another trick to Dell's Mini 9. The mod-happy netbook has already been seen hanging out with GPS and OSX and now the inevitable: a touchscreen. Fitted with one of those ubiquitous eBay touch panels, user Deldotb of the myDellMini forums loaded up the appropriate Ubuntu drivers and kicked the rather unresponsive USB 1.1 panel to life. Unfortunately, he had to sacrifice a USB port for the privilege. See the Tux Paint "hello world works" video after the break.

[Via Jkkmobile]

Continue reading Video: Dell's Mini 9 hacked with touchscreen

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Video: Dell's Mini 9 hacked with touchscreen originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 04:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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