Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Thursday, November 05, 2009

LaserMotive's Robot Is The First Ever To Win NASA's $900,000 Space Elevator Prize [Space]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/4QtOtHhwhx8/lasermotives-robot-is-the-first-ever-to-win-nasas-900000-space-elevator-prize

LaserMotive's photovoltaic-powered machine became the first in the 3-year history of NASA's space elevator contest to climb a 2,953-foot-long ribbon, securing a prize of $900,000. However, they fell short of the $2 million grand prize.

For that, they would have had to ascend the ribbon with an average speed of 11 mph. They didn't quite reach that goal but it appears that we are finally making real progress on a concept first proposed in 1895. What's more, the ground laser that was used to charge the photovoltaic cells used half the power than their previous model with far better results. This year's contest has not concluded, and there is the possibility that another team could equal or surpass LaserMotive's results, but at the very least there is reason to believe that the idea of an elevator that reaches to space might not be so far fetched after all. [AP via PopSci]

DROID ERIS hands-on and unboxing!

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/05/droid-eris-hands-on-and-unboxing/

Hey look, it's a Hero! We've got the brand new DROID ERIS for Verizon in hand, and it's not hard to see which particular family of phones it hails from. Still, Verizon has its own twist on the form factor, almost scoring a compromise between the "shiny" Sprint Hero and the more angular, matte GSM Hero. Confusingly, the capacitive touch buttons along the bottom of the ERIS' screen are a haphazard twist on the DROID's arrangement (though it's really Motorola that's the non-standard one here), but the phones don't look completely unrelated. In all the rounded, black matte body of the ERIS sort of "fades away" and you're just left with a nice, bright LCD -- it's not making a statement, which is sort of the statement. There's also an iPhone-style face proximity sensor for turning off the display during calls, and HTC has multitouch pinch-to-zoom on here, something Motorola hasn't seemed to manage. Sure it can't stack up to the DROID for aggressiveness or sheer specs, but it's got it's own sort of budget-friendly charm that's not overshadowed by the DROID's bombastic ways, and two out of three Engadget editors agree that the HTC keyboard beats the pants off the stock Android keyboard.

Gallery: DROID ERIS hands-on and unboxing!

Filed under: Cellphones

DROID ERIS hands-on and unboxing! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ViewSonic's VMP70 media player does 1080p for less than a hundie

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/05/viewsonics-vmp70-media-player-does-1080p-for-less-than-a-hundie/

The WD TV is still more or less the king of the tiny media player boxes, but now Viewsonic is getting into the game at a lower price point -- and minus the whole network compatibility bit. The VMP70 is a "direct connect" media device, so it will play content from your choice of USB-compatible storage, pumping it at up to 1080p to your display over HDMI or component cables, also sporting composite for lower-def fare. It packs an S/PDIF port to get clean audio, and supports a slew of formats including the usual suspects (DivX,Xvid,H.264) along with some slightly less usual ones (RM/RMVB, DTS, OGG). It's all available for an MSRP of $129.99, but order now and you'll get special holiday pricing of $98.99. Operators are standing by... somewhere... probably.

Gallery: Viewsonic's VMP70 Media Player

Filed under: Home Entertainment

ViewSonic's VMP70 media player does 1080p for less than a hundie originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon's DROID ERIS by HTC does Android and keeps it cheap

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/05/verizons-droid-eris-by-htc-does-android-and-keeps-it-cheap/

Verizon is making no secret about which Android device it wants to make waves this week -- that'd be the DROID from Motorola -- but there's another model that'll be available the same day with one-tenth the fanfare: HTC's DROID ERIS. Codenamed Desire ahead of launch, the phone is essentially Verizon's custom remix of the venerable Hero as found on Sprint and various GSM carriers around the world, featuring a 5 megapixel camera, 3.2-inch capacitive display, WiFi, 3.5mm headphone jack, and microSD expansion up to 16GB. Check it out in your local store hiding somewhere in the shadow of the DROID starting Friday for $99.99 on contract after a $100 mail-in rebate, which -- if you can forgo a physical keyboard, faster processor, and high-res display -- works out to a cool hundred less than Moto's entry.

Filed under: Cellphones

Verizon's DROID ERIS by HTC does Android and keeps it cheap originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Casio G'zOne Brigade brings whole new level of rugged insanity to the QWERTY clamshell

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/05/casio-gzone-brigade-brings-whole-new-level-of-rugged-insanity-t/

We've seen some crazy phones in our day, many of them from Casio, as it turns out, but the G'zOne Brigade really pushes the envelope. It's a ruggedized, weatherproof, Push to Talk QWERTY clamshell, with some of the odder physical protrusions we've seen on a handset this decade. Unfortunately, the QWERTY keyboard, which is populated with large and very clickable keys, is arranged in possibly one of the least sensible layouts conceivable. Software-wise the handset runs the full gamut of V CAST apps and also includes a document viewer for opening Microsoft Office files and PDFs. Price and availability info will be revealed "closer to launch."

Gallery: Casio G'zOne Brigade hands-on