Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/13/japanese-doctor-turns-hot-toddy-into-superconductor-catalyst/
Japanese doctor turns hot toddy into superconductor catalyst originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 08:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Superconductors behave like most metals; they conduct electricity. They do so, however, with a twist. All metal has some resistance to the flow of electricity. But when the temperature drops, superconductors get less and less resistant (and therefore more conductive). When they reach very low temperatures, their resistance drops to zero.
Yoshihiko Takano and other researchers at the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan were in the process of creating a certain kind of superconductor by putting a compound in hot water and soaking it for hours. They also soaked the compound in a mixture of water and ethanol. It appears the process was going well, because the scientists decided to have a little party. The party included sake, whisky, various wines, shochu, and beer. At a certain point, the researchers decided to try soaking the compound in the many, many liquors they had on hand and seeing how they compared to the more conventional soaking liquids.
When they tested the resulting materials for superconductivity, they found that the ones soaked in commercial booze came out ahead. About 15 percent of the material became a superconductor for the water mixed with ethanol, and less for the pure water. By comparison, Shochu jacked up conductivity by 23 percent and red wine managed to supercharge over 62 percent of the material. The scientists were pleased, if bemused with their results.
So, a little sip of something turns out to make potential superconductors much better at their jobs. And, perhaps, scientists better at their jobs as well.
Via Cornell.
A new feature built into Google Translate for Android, Conversation Mode is a little rough around the edges, but it's basically your own personal Babel Fish. It does what Wordlens does but in real-time speech, translating English and Spanish.
It's as easy as pressing a key when the language is being spoken—let's say you're trying to order some food in Spanish. It translates what you say into the phone on the fly, and then reads the Spanish version out loud, so the waiter can understand. They can then respond in Spanish, and the phone will convert it to English, speaking it out loud.
You can imagine how crucial this would be to travellers—and while it can only compute English and Spanish for now, I'm betting Google's working on all manner of other languages. Check out a preview video of the app above, from a few months ago, or a user video below.
Android users with 2.1 or higher can download the new Google Translate now, which has a few other improvements built-in as well. [Google Blog]
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/12/asus-eee-pad-transformer-and-slider-another-look/
ASUS Eee Pad Transformer and Slider: another look originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/12/ios-4-3-beta-arrives-for-devs-brings-airplay-video-support-to-a/
iOS 4.3 beta arrives for devs, brings AirPlay video support to apps, personal hotspot and customizable iPad side switch (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 18:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/12/active-i-sunglasses-slyly-capture-video-plays-it-back-on-integr/
Continue reading Active-i sunglasses slyly capture video, plays it back on integrated display
Active-i sunglasses slyly capture video, plays it back on integrated display originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 21:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this ;| CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/12/kinect-hacked-to-work-with-flash-wiimotes-we-cant-imagine-wha/
Kinect hacked to work with Flash, Wiimotes, we can't imagine what's next (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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PC World | demize2010 (YouTube), CNET | Email this | Comments
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/13/ocz-quits-dram-business-to-focus-on-super-speedy-ssds/
Continue reading OCZ quits DRAM business to focus on super-speedy SSDs
OCZ quits DRAM business to focus on super-speedy SSDs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 01:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/12/new-goo-gl-url-shortener-api-lets-third-party-developers-in-on-t/
New Goo.gl URL shortener API lets third party developers in on the outrageous fun that is Google URL shortening originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 23:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/13/sony-outs-clm-v55-video-monitor-for-interchangeable-lens-cameras/
Continue reading Sony outs CLM-V55 video monitor for interchangeable lens cameras
Sony outs CLM-V55 video monitor for interchangeable lens cameras originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 01:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email t his | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/13/bridgestone-shows-off-qr-lpd-display-the-future-looks-dim/
Continue reading Bridgestone shows off QR-LPD display, the future looks dim
Bridgestone shows off QR-LPD display, the future looks dim originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 04:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/13/fujifilms-x100-hybrid-viewfinder-demoed-on-video-gets-us-all-s/
Imagine a retro-styled, Micro Four Thirds-sized compact camera with an optical viewfinder. Now, imagine that same camera having a switch that throws all sorts of useful data into your line of sight. That camera is Fujifilm's Finepix X100, and that viewfinder is real. Back at Photokina, the mockup we ran into didn't have a functioning viewfinder, but with just two months until the $1,000 beaut is released into the wilds of America, it's not too shocking that our brethren over at Engadget Spanish managed to come across a (mostly) functional one at CES last week. Eager to show the world exactly what a hybrid viewfinder looks like when being flipped on and off, they shoved a camera up against the OVF and toggled the new mechanism -- it's downright luscious, and it's waiting for you in the video just past the break.Continue reading Fujifilm's X100 hybrid viewfinder demoed on video, gets us all sorts of excited
Fujifilm's X100 hybrid viewfinder demoed on video, gets us all sorts of excited originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 03:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms! for use of feeds.
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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/12/dokobots-game-for-ios-brings-together-the-inevitable-robots-and/
Dokobots game for iOS brings together the inevitable: robots and geolocation originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Source: http://techcrunch.com/2011/01/11/formspring-closes-11-5-million-round-launches-respond-button/
Today, the company is announcing a $11.5 million funding round led by Redpoint Ventures (Geoff Yang) with participation from Baseline Ventures (Steve Anderson). This confirms a report from November when GigaOm reported that the site had raised $10 million (obviously they added a bit more to the round since then). In addition to today’s funding, Formspring is also announcing a new feature: the ‘Respond Button’.
The feature lets publishers integrate some Q&A functionality into their own sites. Hit one of these ‘Respond’ buttons, which generally appear next to Twitter and Facebook ‘Like’ widgets on publisher sites, and a window will pop up prompting you to answer a question related to the article (the question could be vague like “What do you think”, or it can be more specific). Once the user submits the form, their answer appears on their Formspring profile along with a link to the publisher site. This doesn’t seem to have the same viral potential as, say, a tweet, though you can tweet out your response automatically.
One thing I don’t really like: there’s apparently no way to see all of the responses that other users have submitted using the Respond button (i.e. you can’t see everyone’s reaction to a given article). I’m also not sure why users wouldn’t rather leave their comment on the article and also syndicate that to their Formspring profile, as opposed to putting it on their Formspring profile alone.
Formspring’s traffic has dipped since last spring, but it seems to have stabilized at around 22 million uniques per month, which still puts it as the 157th biggest site in the US according to Quantcast. The site is also about to hit a big milestone: users have submitted 2 billion responses (and the site sees 10 million per day).
Source: http://techcrunch.com/2011/01/12/covertix-raises-1-million-helps-companies-secure-sensitive-data/
Covertix, an Israeli startup that provides enterprise-grade solutions for protecting and monitoring sensitive corporate data, has raised $1 million in early-stage funding. The round was led by Kima Ventures, the investment firm founded by well-known European entrepreneurs Jeremie Berrebi and Xavier Niel. Covertix says the capital will be used to try and gain market share across the European market, expand sales and marketing activities and product development.
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