Multitasking comes to iPhone OS 4.0 -- but not to the iPhone 3G

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/08/multitasking-comes-to-iphone-os-4-0/

You heard that right, people -- iPhone OS 4 just brought multitasking to the platform! Apple says they've figured out how to implement third party multitasking without hurting performance or battery life, and they're demoing it now -- you just double click the home button and see a list of your apps, and you can just tap to switch between apps. The system actually runs the services apps need in the background -- the apps don't need to do them individually, so it's not a "true" multitasking system, but it seems plenty effective. There are seven services: background audio, which allows you to use the standard pop-over iPod controls, Voice over IP, which can receive calls in the background, location services for GPS and social networking (there's an indicator if any service is tracking you), updated push notifications with local notifications, task completion so you can finish things like uploads in the background, and fast app switching, which lets apps sleep and resume instantly. Notably missing? Anything for managing a conversation, like IM or Twitter, which is a big omission. Win some, lose some, we suppose.

Update: Here's a big "lose some" -- only the iPhone 3GS and 3rd generation (late 2009) iPod touch will support multitasking. The iPhone 3G and below won't -- Steve says the hardware doesn't support it. Sad face.

Gallery: Multitasking comes to iPhone OS 4.0!

Developing...
Make sure to check out the ongoing iPhone OS 4.0 liveblog!

Multitasking comes to iPhone OS 4.0 -- but not to the iPhone 3G originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Jobs: 'we tried to buy a company called AdMob'

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/08/steve-jobs-we-tried-to-buy-a-company-called-admob/

We'd previously heard rumors that Quattro Wireless was Apple's consolation prize after a deal with bigger mobile advertising rival AdMob fell through, and Steve Jobs confirmed it on no uncertain terms at the Q&A session following today's iPhone OS 4.0 event: "we tried to buy a company called AdMob... but Google snatched it away." Indeed they did, though that deal hasn't yet been approved by the Federal Trade Commission while Apple's already up, up and away with its iAd solution, so it seems like everything shook out for the best -- if you're an iPhone developer, anyway.

Steve Jobs: 'we tried to buy a company called AdMob' originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mitsubishi's Unisen LCD HDTVs, now with more speakers, LED, WiFi, apps, cowbell

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/08/mitsubishis-unisen-lcd-hdtvs-now-with-more-speakers-led-wifi/

Just in case you prefer a slimmer profile to your television viewing experience without all that 3D nonsense, Mitsubishi has also refreshed its Unisen LCD HDTVs. All the new models have StreamTV a.k.a. VUDU Apps built in, plus playback from USB devices, and edge LED backlighting. While the LT-55154 drops a few speakers (if you brought your own), the step-up 164 line is sized from 40- to 55-inches including 16 speakers built in, integrated WiFi, Bluetooth streaming and more while the top of the line 265 models add two more speakers to the mix and upgrade to 240 Hz motion, an iPhone remote control app plus a few other configuration tweaks for the high end. Check after the break for prices (between $1,699 & $3,199) and more specs, though exact shipping information is still TBA.

Gallery: Mistubishi 2010 Unisen LCDs

Continue reading Mitsubishi's Unisen LCD HDTVs, now with more speakers, LED, WiFi, apps, cowbell

Mitsubishi's Unisen LCD HDTVs, now with more speakers, LED, WiFi, apps, cowbell originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MIT's Tiny Mechanical Muscles Could Power Tomorrow's Robotic Gizmos

Source: http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-04/mits-tiny-mechanical-muscles-could-power-tomorrows-robotic-gizmos

The shape-memory alloy actuators might power minimally invasive surgical devices or tiny laptop cameras

Shape-memory alloys that change shape when heated could become tiny mechanical muscles for electronic devices. New mechanical devices based on the alloys produce three to six times more torque than electric motors, and weigh just one-20th as much.

Such devices, known as actuators, can be cut from a flat sheet of metal just a fraction of a millimeter thick. They emerged from a roject that aims to build printable robots, where the robots would consist of both the metal actuators and plastic components that could be built layer-by-layer through a process similar to inkjet printing.

The secret behind the lightweight actuators comes from rectangular notches carved into the metal alloy, which increases electrical resistance. That means only material around the notches heats up when an electrical current passes through.

Past actuators have made use of springs created from shape-memory alloys, including an iron shape-memory alloy that might lead to better surgical interventions and quake-proof buildings. But the MIT actuators can get rid of heat more quickly and consume less energy, because only a small part of the spring heats up when electrically charged,

The shape-memory actuators might eventually exert a force up to 160 times their own weight.

For now, the current actuators can already make use of their energy-sipping efficiency to run on batteries, and have helped create a wirelessly-controlled rolling robot that resembles a runaway tank tread. We're also excited to see more examples of creations such as the robo-bat.

More images are available at MIT's slideshow here.

[MIT]

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Solving the Mystery of the Green LED For Pure, Efficient White Light

Source: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-04/nrel-scientists-make-green-led-light-breakthrough-could-revolutionize-lighting

By deploying LED lighting across the board, the United States could save $120 billion – and untold tons of greenhouse gas emissions – over the next two decades. But it's another kind of green that's keeping the era of the LED from coming to fruition. While scientists have long been able to produce red and blue LED lights, the essential third ingredient for creating good, brilliant white light—green–has proven elusive. But researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have finally cracked the code on LED green.

By reverse engineering the solar cells they've worked on for so long, researchers at NREL were able to generate a difficult combination of green and red that could revolutionize the way we light our homes and other buildings. LEDs, after all, are the reverse of solar cells; one turns light into electricity, the other electricity into light.

Though the solar cells NREL scientists were working on hadn't gone so far as to capture green light–solar cells don't require green light to harvest energy–they had dabbled in the green spectral region. Years of tweaking the different lattice layers within solar cells informed their thinking: if they could closely manage the spectrum absorbed by solar cells by carefully tweaking the size and nature of the lattices within the cells, couldn't they do the same for LEDs?

So they did, achieving a deep green on their very first try by putting indium into gallium nitride. The team is now working to create a fourth color that will enhance white light even further. NREL envisions a deeper red blended with a lemony green that will be combined with a blue and a very deep green made from their indium-gallium nitride technology.

The resulting light would be highly manageable, giving the user the ability to electronically manipulate the hue. Meaning by the time the DOE phases out compact fluorescent bulbs in ten years, we should have a cheap, efficient and more flexible light source ready to take their places.

[PhysOrg]

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