Full instructions with a parts and supplier list can be found at the source link below. That link also contains listings of workshops using the Shrimp microcontroller. Since it appears just like an Arduino Uno you can do any of the hundreds of projects for that board.
Seems like just the thing for a local makerspace.
The Shrimp | Shrimping.it via Hack-A-Day
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/03/macronix-plans-to-heat-up-flash-memory-to-keep-it-from-burning-o/
Despite the looming threat of being replaced by phase-change memory, contemporary memory modules aren't quite ready to be shown the door -- engineers at Macronix have found a way to revive spent NAND flash cells. Most flash modules fail after being written to and erased about 10,000 times, but Macronix found that the tired memory could be restored by baking it for extended periods of time. The team funneled the time consuming and cumbersome solution into a more practical package: a redesigned memory chip that packs onboard heaters. The new modules are designed to periodically heat focused groups of memory cells to 800 °C (1,472 °F) for a few milliseconds, effectively "healing" worn cells.
Researchers found that heated chips could tolerate more than 100 million write/erase cycles and erased faster at higher temperatures. The team said the power drain of the heaters shouldn't effect battery life, either -- chips don't have to be heated often, and when they do, it can be done while prospective devices are recharging. Macronix will be presenting the technology at the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting next week, but project deputy director Hans-Ting Lue wouldn't say when the company plans on taking the technology to market. Lue was willing to speculate on what might become of it, however. "T! his may evolve into a 'thermally assisted' mode of operation that gives both better performance -- such as the faster erasing -- and better endurance flash memory." Faster, more reliable, super-heated memory. Sounds fine by us.
[Image credit: Emily Cooper, IEEE]
Filed under: Misc
Via: PhysOrg
Source: IEEE
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/02/mitsubishi-rptv-rip/
It's time for someone over at IDC to pop the champagne, as its 2007 projection about the end of rear-projection TVs turned out to be only a year off, now that the last company still making them has announced it's getting out of the game. As first reported by CE Pro, Mitsubishi is finally ceding to competition from flat-panels which have grown to equally ridiculous size, and cut prices so sharply that it "can no longer sustain our business in its current form." The company's official statement is after the break, confirming that its DLP and LaserVue models are no more however "existing customer relations and parts and services departments will remain in place along with existing authorized service centers" which should be good news for current owners. There's an in-depth retrospective of the technology at the source link, looking back to Samsung's exit that left Mitsubishi alone in the segment three years ago, long after others like Sony and Hitachi fled for thinner-framed climates.
Mitsubishi also made a go of it in flat-panels, but ditched those efforts last year and will now focus on the professional market and home-theater projectors here in the US. In recent years the tech has improved with thinner models, integrated soundbars and even larger screens available. The slowing economy may have extended RPTV's lease on life wi! th a siz e bang for buck that's tough to beat, but ultimately customers opted for bright flashy flat-panel HDTVs that offer easier wall-mounting options while seeming to get bigger, lighter and cheaper every year. We're sure there are more than a few super-sized rear-projection TVs that will continue to bring the big game to basements and dens everywhere, feel free to celebrate an old friend in the comments below.
Continue reading Mitsubishi is ending rear-projection TVs, ceases production of DLP and laser models
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: CE Pro
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/03/acer-unveils-travelmate-b113-399-price/
Acer's TravelMate line of notebooks usually skews toward the business set, but its latest model is made for that other breed of on-the-go types: students. The new TravelMate B113 is an 11.6-incher weighing in at three pounds and measuring one inch thick. Processor options top out a Core i3 Ivy Bridge CPU with 4GB of RAM, and the hard drive offers a max capacity of 500GB. The 11.6-inch display sports a ho-hum resolution of 1,366 x 768 -- and isn't touch-enabled for Windows 8 -- but then again we're looking at a price of $399 and up. The B113 is available now at authorized resellers -- head past the break for the full presser.
Continue reading Acer unveils TravelMate B113 ultraportable with student-friendly $399 price
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/02/hardkernal-reveals-pair-of-quad-core-exynos-odroid-u-boards/
One area where Moore's law can be seen alive and well seems to be the developer and small project computer world. Whether it's the ubiquitous Raspberry Pi, Intel's NUC, or any number of similar products. There's one more name to add to this list, and that's the ODROID-U from Hardkernel. The boards are a little more expensive than Raspberry Pi's impressively cheap Model A and Model B, but you are getting some bang for that buck. The $69 ODROID-U comes with a 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos 4412 processor (as found in the Galaxy S III and Note II, 1GB of RAM, quad-core Mali 400 graphics, micro-HDMI, a brace of USB ports, a headphone jack and Ethernet. If you want a little more oomph, for an extra $20 you can have the RAM doubled, and a 1.7GHz core with the ODROID-U2 model. There's one stat you might notice missing which is flash memory. There's no onboard storage, so you'll have to bring your own memory for the built-in microSD slot. As the ODROID name suggests, the boards can run Android, as well as a variety of Linux flavours. Sound good? In a reverse of what you might expect, the ODROID-U2 will be available first, starting December 21st, with the cheaper board pencilled in to arrive on January 16th.
Filed under: Desktops
Via: Android Community
Source: Hardkernel
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/02/asus-me172v-jelly-bean-tablet/
ASUS has been a strong force in the tablet game even before it set a new price-to-quality standard with Google's Nexus 7. It looks like the firm could be tightening the budget screw even further, if some recent GLBenchmarks are to be believed. The details are sparse, but outline a product with model number ME172V (which follows from its pre-Nexus smaller tablet line), that runs Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean, sports a 1,024 x 552 (likely 1,024 x 600) resolution powered by a Mali 400 GPU and 1GHz chip. There's no indication on the number of cores, or, well, much else for that matter. Various rumors are keen to suggest there'd be support for microSD, which if true, would make it unlikely to be a Nexus. But a budget tablet by the same manufacturer, is likely enough for many people all the same.
Filed under: Tablets, ASUS, Google
Via: Pocket Now
Source: GLBen! chmark
Source: http://gizmodo.com/5964609/custom-3d+printed-beams-can-be-10000-times-stronger-than-steel
The process, developed byYong Mao of the University of Nottingham, UK and colleagues, isn't just the product of one innovation, but rather a whole bunch of them wrapped up into one bundle. First, you start out withF a hollow beam and you test it with the load it needs to bear. When it inevitably fails, you use some sophisticated software to analyze that sucker and 3D print an internal fractal structure to provide support, kind of like what's inside your bones. Then lather, rinse, and repeat. With each iteration of ever-smaller fractal innards, the beam can gain strength by the order of magnitude, with practically negligible weight gain. Third generation beams, about as far as we can hope to go with current tech, are 10,000 times stronger than steel.
There is one big limitation to how strong you can get with this stuff however, and it all depends on printer fidelity. Since these sorts of beams are specifically designed, there's not much extra support to carry your load, so if the mesh isn't perfect, you could be in trouble. As 3D printers get better however, imperfections won't be a problem on the larger scales, and more and more iterations will be possible, making for structures that are both incredibly strong and incredibly light. Now if only they could figure out how to 3D print some new bones for us. [Physics World]
Source: http://gizmodo.com/5964094/panasonic-st50-plasma-television-review-good-picture-great-value
Panasonic's latest mid-level 55-inch 3D plasma display.
Television aficionados who'd rather save $1,000 than be able to brag that their set is the absolute top-of-the-line.
The ST50 shares much of the same styling as the rest of Panasonic's plasma line. The 60-pound display sits atop a broad, silver base and its 55-inch diagonal screen is surrounded by an 1.5 inch clear acrylic-over-black bezel.
The ST50 is big and bulky—71 pounds with the stand attached—so get some help with the physical setup. Logging in to wireless, setting up streaming apps, and calibrating the set took no longer than usual. The ST50 doesn't have as many advanced picture adjustment options as other sets in its class, but it does host a surprisingly exhaustive array of integrated apps—weather reports, breaking news, streaming music and movies—if you're looking for a TV that doubles as a home media server.
The picture quality is fantastic, especially coming from a set that only set you back $1200. The blacks aren't quite as inky and colors don't pop quite as vibrantly as on the flagship VT50, but the image quality and black levels of the ST50 are still among the best in the price range—and totally superior to that of entry-level models.
The set gets hot—like, even for a plasma. During Kill Bill marathons, you'll need be sure that you have adequate ventilation.
For some reason, it only includes three HDMI ports—one fewer than most other sets we've tested—and lacks a PC port.
If you want this size and you're sold on plasma, then yeah. The ST50 is a solid television, and it's a good value for the money. The picture quality is noticeably better than similarly priced sets, both plasma and LED. It's not a stretch to say it approaches the level of the vaunted VT50—for $900 less.
• Screen Size: 55"
• Display Type: Plasma
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, 3 HDMI, 2 USB, DNLA
• Weight: 71 pounds with stand
• Price: $1,200
• Gizrank: 3.5 Stars
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/30/htc-one-vx-att-december-7th/
The HTC One VX was slated to arrive on November 16th alongside its bigger brother, the HTC One X+, but when the time came, only the latter showed up -- the mid-range HTC handset just seemed to have mysteriously disappeared. After a couple of weeks, it seems the phone will finally be in store shelves starting December 7th: "Yes, we expect to be fully stocked in all channels by 12/7," said an AT&T spokesperson to us. So if you want to snag the VX with its 4.5-inch qHD display, 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, 5-megapixel camera and 4G LTE speeds for just $50 under contract, feel free to mark the date on your calendar. Just make sure you use a pencil.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC
Source: Android Central
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/30/asus-qube-dongle-for-google-tv-pops-up-at-the-fcc/
Despite its crucial role in the Android ecosystem, ASUS hasn't taken the plunge on Google TV so far. An FCC approval for a new adapter, the Qube, suggests that reticence is coming to a quick halt -- and in an uncommon way. Rather than build a full media hub, ASUS appears to be crafting a possibly Roku-like dongle that would graft Google TV on to a host device through USB. The Qube's components aren't outlined in earnest, but it would pair up with an RF-based keyboard and touchpad for its main input.
Some details may have been given away through Google Play listings for O!Mobile Control Center and Remote apps linked to the Qube -- they hint that ASUS could use the same Marvell Armada processors that power modern Google TV boxes, as well as extend smartphone control beyond what Google's official remote app can offer (we tried it with an existing Google TV unit and it wouldn't connect.) At this moment, we're less curious about when and where the Qube releases than how it will sell; its dependence could see it destined for an equipment bundle instead of sitting on shelves by its lonesome. We're asking around for possible details and will let you know if we hear more.
Continue reading ASUS Qube with Google TV pops up at the FCC
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, ASUS, Google
Source: FCC, Google Play (1), (2)
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/01/lenovo-a586-touts-voice-unlock-through-baidu-astar/
Attempts to get away from unlocking our smartphones through codes and finger swipes have mostly centered on camera tricks like Android's Face Unlock. If you happen to pick up a Lenovo IdeaPhone A586 when it reaches China on December 12th, you'll have the option to use some dulcet tones instead. The Android smartphone builds in a new speaker verification system from Baidu and A*STAR's Institute for Infocomm Research that looks for a specific voice signature: speak a distinct passphrase and the phone unlocks without gestures or a longing stare. Few will be especially smitten with the 4.5-inch, 854 x 480 display, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 5-megapixel camera or 4GB of storage, but they'll be glad to get access to their A586 in a more hands-off (and hopefully spoof-resistant) way. We'd only be worried about choosing a passphrase that won't trigger odd looks from passers-by.
Continue reading Lenovo A586 touts voice unlock through Baidu, A*STAR verification tech
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Lenovo
Source: Singapore Government
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/30/raspberry-pi-model-a-enters-production/
Raspberry Pi's Model B computer will be no stranger to regular readers. We've seen it turn up in all sorts of projects, and generally stretched in various directions. If you were holding out for the cheaper, lower specced Model A however, your time is near. A recent post on the official Raspberry Pi site confirms that the first Model A samples are rolling off the production line. The main differences? Whereas Model B has two USB ports and 512 MB of RAM plus Ethernet, Model A sports only the one port, has half the RAM, and no Ethernet connection, making it more power economical as well as $10 cheaper. Price likely isn't the issue here, but if you were after the even more stripped back version, it's estimated they'll be ready to purchase online early next year.
Filed under: Desktops
Source: Raspberry Pi
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/30/2012-imacs-on-sale-now-first-look/
This is more of a PSA than anything else: just like Apple said they'd be, the new iMacs are on sale today, with the 21.5-inch model available right away and the 27-inch version shipping in December. The smaller guy starts at $1,299, though there's also a more tricked-out $1,499 version; the 27-incher starts at $1,799 and goes up to $1,999. Whichever the model, a few key design principles apply. For staters, both measure just 5mm thick at the edges, and neither has a built-in optical drive. Both promise a 15 to 20 percent performance boost fueled partly by Ivy Bridge, and partly by Apple's new FusionDrive, which combines an HDD with a 128GB solid-state drive, with everything stored on the SSD by default until you run out of space. Finally, both promise 75 percent less screen glare, thanks to a manufacturing process that eliminates the gap between the LCD and the glass. (Apple and other OEMs already use a similar technique on smartphones; we've just never seen it done on a screen quite this large.)
So what separates the two, then, aside from screen size? Specs, mostly. And also, resolution. The 21-inch version has a 1,920 x 1,080 pixel count, while the 27-incher steps up to 2,560 x 1,440. (In other words, the same resolution as last year's offerings.) While both pack quad-core Core i5 processors, the 21.5-inch model starts with a 2.7GHz clock speed, compared with 2.9GHz for the bigger guy. As you might have guessed, the graphics are slightly better on the larger version: NVIDIA's GTX 660M is standard there, versus GT 640M on the 21-incher. Both offer 1TB of storage, but the smaller machine uses a 5,400RPM drive while the bigger one has a 7,200RPM disk. The 27-incher can also be configured with a 3TB drive or 768GB SSD. As for RAM, both come with eight gigs standard, but the 21.5-inch model goes up to 16GB, while the 27-inch version goes up to 32GB and has user-accessible memory slots.
As it happens, we have two new iMacs here in house (one in each size, natch) and you can expect a full review very soon. For now, though, we've got some unboxing shots and first impressions just past the break.
Continue reading New iMacs on sale now starting at $1,299, we unbox both of them
Source: Apple
For many, the very definition of the custom desktop PC is the ability to upgrade the processor, choosing a $300 retrofit instead of a $1,500 whole-system replacement. We might have to kiss that symbolism goodbye if sources at Impress Watch, SemiAccurate and ZDNet are genuinely in the know. They claim that desktop processors built on Intel's future, 14-nanometer Broadwell architecture will be switching from contacts based on a land grid array (LGA) to a ball grid array (BGA) that could dictate soldering the chips in laptop-style, rather than putting them in an upgrade-friendly socket. The exact reasons for the supposed switch aren't available, but there's speculation that it would be mutually beneficial for Intel and PC manufacturers: Intel would have more control over motherboard chipsets, while builders could save money on assembly and conveniently drive more outright PC sales. Intel hasn't confirmed any of the strategy, so we'd still be very cautious before making any presumptions. If real, though, the switch would be glum news for chipset makers, motherboard makers and most of all hobbyists; even though socket changes have made CPU upgrades tricky in the past, having the option removed altogether could put a damper on the do-it-yourself community.
Source: Impress Watch, SemiAccurate, ZDNet
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/29/apple-begins-selling-unlocked-iphone-5-in-the-us-from-649/
It's that special time of the year... that is, when Apple decides to unfetter the iPhone for US shoppers. The Cupertino crew has quietly started selling the iPhone 5 in an unlocked, off-contract form that will work on GSM, HSPA+ and (if you're in the right countries) LTE networks. There's few surprises versus what we've seen in years past, or in other regions: the unlocked iPhone 5 ships in the same capacities and colors as the carrier-bound model, and starts from $649. That's still expensive for those still used to buying on an agreement, and it won't represent as much bang-for-the-buck as a $350 Nexus 4. If you're yearning for the LTE the Nexus 4 lacks and don't mind living in an iOS universe, however, Apple is ready and waiting.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple
Via: AppleInsider
Source: Apple
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