Continue reading Nexaria BC2 router supports iPhone tethering for some reason (video)
Nexaria BC2 router supports iPhone tethering for some reason (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Nov 2010 16:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
Delta's JFK terminal now home to 200 iPads, a few more enticing eateries originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Nov 2010 19:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink
IntoMobile |&nbs! p; 
USA Today | Email this | Comments
Continue reading O-Bow repurposes a mouse sensor for artificial bow tracking
O-Bow repurposes a mouse sensor for artificial bow tracking originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Nov 2010 22:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |O-Bow | Email this | Comments
Continue reading Microvision's PicoP-based SHOWWX+ projector: twice as bright, zero percent larger
Microvision's PicoP-based SHOWWX+ projector: twice as bright, zero percent larger originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Nov 2010 04:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Microvision | Email this | Comments
The camera works by incorporating complex computer algorithms with blasts from a femtosecond laser that issues ultra-short bursts of light lasting just one quadrillionth of a second. Those intense light bursts charge forward and illuminate a scene – even a scene around the corner from the source – sending photons bouncing around the area. Some of those photons make it back to the camera, which uses aforementioned complex computer mathematics to rebuild the scene around the corner, pixel by pixel.
Professor Ramesh Raskar, head of the Camera Culture group at MIT's Media Lab, equates the technology to X-ray vision, but instead of going through an obstacle the camera uses light to go around it. That could have some seriously handy applications in the arenas of defense, search and rescue, or machine vision. Rescuers could use the technology to map collapsed buildings to search for survivors or determine the safety situation inside, and robot cars could quickly map the area directly around a corner before it begins a turn to ensure it charts the proper path.
There's a bit more information via the Media Lab, but for more serious details check out this paper on transient imaging by one of the grad students involved with the project.
We already knew Stuxnet was unprecedented, but it's what is unknown about it that makes it so unsettling. The code can enter systems undetected, steal information or alter processes, and basically live there causing a mess of things while the system appears to security software to be working properly. But authorities don't know where the Stuxnet worm came from, or what it was specifically designed to attack, McGurk told Senators.
That last part is debatable. While there is still a degree of uncertainty about Stuxnet's aims, cybersecurity firm Symantec released a report Friday saying that all evidence points to Iran as the target of the worm. "Stuxnet is a threat targeting a specific industrial control system likely in Iran, such as a gas pipeline or power plant," the report reads. "The ultimate goal of Stuxnet is to sabotage that facility by reprogramming programmable logic controllers (PLCs) to operate as the attackers intend them to, most likely out of their specified boundaries."
Symantec researchers were able to deduce this from the fact that Stuxnet requires specific industrial control systems from very specific vendors (one in Finalnd, the other in Tehran) to work, and more than 60 percent of infections have been reported in Iran (there have been approximately 44,000 unique infections reported; just 1,600 are in the United States). That has led to speculation that Stuxnet was designed to sabotage Tehran's controversial uranium enrichment program.
Still, global security experts appear co closer to pinpointing a source of the attack, which is a serious threat to systems that control infrastructure like power grids and pipelines around the globe. That's more than a little unsettling in a wired world. According to one cybersecuiry expert quoted by CNN, "we're not only susceptible, but we're not very well prepared."
His research could lead to self-powered underwater vehicles that lead sea creatures away from manmade hazards
Consider his idea for biologically inspired robots that might influence animal behavior in nature. "If we borrow design from nature to build our robots, why not use the robots to assist nature?" says Porfiri, who is an assistant professor at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University. "Can we close the circle?" Maybe a robot fish could guide real fish away from power turbines or oil spills. Drawing on research that suggests that fish school by following the wake of other fish, Porfiri designed his robot to generate fishlike turbulence. An electric current from a battery makes a polymer in the tail expand and contract like muscles, producing an eerily natural-looking and silent movement. This spring, he put a biomimetic robot together with actual lab fish, which followed it about 25 percent of the time.
"As a kid I was always asking 'why this? why that?' until the family would get fed up," he says. That curiosity led him to a doctorate in theoretical and applied mechanics in his native Italy and, because he wanted to work over here, an American one in engineering mechanics. Then he fell into a postdoc working on algorithms to control autonomous submarines, and underwater applications became his life's work. The waters that cover about 70 percent of the Earth's surface are basically unexplored. But underwater vehicle systems lag behind their surface counterparts in power (solar can't be used in the deep) and communications systems (Wi-Fi doesn't exactly crank through 300 feet of liquid).
Porfiri's lab could close that gap. He's creating simple algorithms that could help underwater robots form into schools, he's been investigating polymers that harvest kinetic energy from water, and he's designing a new robot—a mammal-safe one, without external blades. If any of those things trip him up, he says, it will be time for a sixth viewing of Fargo.
See the rest of PopSci's Brilliant 10 for 2010.
There are several other companies making watch straps for Apple’s latest iPod Nano but the NanoWatch is by far my favorite. The designers have been working feverishly since the Nano (6G) made its debut and although technically late in the game, I believed it paid off. The back of the strap is debossed to perfectly level the Nano’s built-in clip. It’s the only company I know of that makes their straps out of eco-friendly silicon – that’s no nickel or phthalater. It’s also the only company who makes silicon to perfectly match the Nano’s color range. Only €18.00.
Designer: Thomas Frederiksen (Buy it here)
----------
Yanko Design
Timeless Designs - Explore wonderful concepts from around the world!
Yanko Design Store - We are about more than just concepts. See what's hot at the YD Store!
Standalone GPS units can cost hundreds. And that's not counting the installation and (frequently hefty) activation and monthly fees associated with whatever service you do choose. For most of us, it's overkill. The good news is that if you happen to have a GPS-equipped phone lying around, you can rig your own vehicle tracking system for virtually nothing. Here's how it's done:
GET A PHONE
• If you already have an old handset (make sure it has GPS), skip directly to software installation bit.
• If you don't, head over to Boost Mobile and buy one. Don't worry, they're cheap. We recommend the Motorola i290—at $30, it's the cheapest burner you can get. (Other cheap iDEN phones are also available at Best Buy and Target.)
SET IT UP
• Regardless of which phone you select, make sure you turn on its Internet access (this is not a smartphone, and you have to manually activate that in the settings). Otherwise your phone won't be able to transmit data.
• Tweak the settings. Presumably, you're only going to use this for vehicle tracking, so you'll want to set the ringer volume to 0 and mute the keypad. No point in alerting thieves to the fact they're being tracked, right?
• Launch that bad boy. On the i290, it'll be located under "Java Apps" and called "GPS Tracker." (Look for the satellite icon). Now enter the device id you got from your InstaMapper account and click "save". The phone will ask for your permission to access the GPS chip. (Select "yes.") When the status message changes from "Locating..." to "Tracking..." you're up and running. You should see the location of your phone on InstaMapper's website.
STASH IT
• You'll first want to pick up a Motorola car charger, like the Syn1630. Next, connect it to car's wiring with a 12V Accessory Outlet. The trick here is finding a 12V circuit in your car that's NOT always on—if you connect it to something that doesn't shut off when you power down your ride, you could drain the battery when the car is parked for a long time. We recommend the light in the glovebox—consult the wiring scheme for your car or ask your mechanic.
• Voila, the adapter will power on your phone automatically whenever you (or a thief) starts the car.
• Finally, you'll want to hide your little tracking device. Since you wired the thing into your glovebox, you might want to stash the phone in there. Now visit the InstaMapper site and track to your hearts delight.
See? It's not that hard. And now that you've saved as much as a grand by not springing for that Lo-Jack, go ahead and use the extra cash for something truly worthwhile, like, say, some nice 20-inch spinners.
Filed under: Software
Splashtop Remote Desktop brings Windows PC access to your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 06:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |&! nbsp; Splashtop Remote | Email this | Comments
Continue reading Rugged POV.HD video system captures 1080p through anything, for a price
Rugged POV.HD video system captures 1080p through anything, for a price originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 09:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
PermalinkPR Newswire | VIO-POV | Email this | Comments
Motorola Droid 2 Global hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 09:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
Panasonic Lumix GF2 reviewed: smaller, simpler, and arguably better than the GF1 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Photography Blog | Email this | Comments
Verizon's Droid lineup available at Amazon for a penny per handset with no activation fee originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 14:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Amazon Wireless | Email this | Comments
Posts
