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Thursday, January 21, 2010

The Cornucopia: MIT's 3D food printer patiently awaits 'the future'

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/21/the-cornucopia-mits-3d-food-printer-patiently-awaits-the-futu/

The traditional fast food business model just never had a chance, now did it? Marcelo Coelho and Amit Zoran, a pair of whiz kids doing their thang over at MIT, have developed what very well may be the next major revolution in food preparation. It may also be the only machine that keeps you alive when the Robot Apocalypse goes down, but we'll try to stuff that to the rear of our minds for now. Essentially, the Cornucopia concept is a 3D printer that precisely mixes foods and flavors from a number of canisters in order to produce something that's edible (and supposedly close to what you ordered). Able to deliver "elaborate combinations of food," the machine also has a rapid heating and cooling chamber that purportedly allows for "the creation of flavors and textures that would be completely unimaginable through other cooking techniques." Color us skeptical, but we're guessing these government-issued MREs probably taste just as good -- guess we'll find out for sure if the project ever gets its date with reality.

The Cornucopia: MIT's 3D food printer patiently awaits 'the future' originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 11:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Inhabitat | source

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Noiko H-988 PMP is light with details, detailed with lights

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/21/noiko-h-988-pmp-is-light-with-details-detailed-with-lights/

So you're a little known consumer electronics manufacturer with a PMP that stands little chance of attracting much attention based on features or form factor alone. What do you do? If you're Noiko, you add a clear strip filled with LEDs to the bottom. Details on the company's new H-988 device are otherwise a bit light, but it does apparently pack a 4.3-inch screen, support for video output up to 1080i, and a few somewhat unique features -- like the ability to set a video as a background image. Unfortunately, there's no word on a price or other little things like storage, and it doesn't seem likely that this one will see a release 'round here anytime soon -- but hey, LEDs!

Noiko H-988 PMP is light with details, detailed with lights originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 06:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PMP Today | source

iMP3.net | Email this | Comments

Siemens gurus hit 500Mbps with white LED lights, dare you to blink

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/21/siemens-gurus-hit-500mbps-with-white-led-lights-dare-you-to-bli/

You know what's better than wireless power? Nothing, frankly. You know what comes darn close? Wicked fast transmissions through thin air. Researchers from Siemens have just shattered their own record for wireless data transfer using white LED light, hitting a whopping 500Mbps while working in collaboration with the Heinrich Hertz Institute in Berlin. The old record sat at "just" 200Mbps, but the new speeds are helping to take Visible Light Communication from a hopeful technology to a serious contender in the space. These same researchers were also able to show that a system using up to five LEDs is capable of beaming out data over long distances at up to 100Mbps. We're told that the IEEE has been toiling tirelessly since 2007 to standardize activities in this field, and while a late 2010 completion date is currently being penciled in, we're not holding our breath. Anyone remember how long it took 802.11n to escape "draft?"

Continue reading Siemens gurus hit 500Mbps with white LED lights, dare you to blink

Siemens gurus hit 500Mbps with white LED lights, dare you to blink originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Siemens | Email this | Comments

Study shows that better gamers have bigger brains, are better learners

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/21/study-shows-that-better-gamers-have-bigger-brains-are-better-le/

While we can't say for sure that videogames, as your grandmother insists, do indeed rot your brain, thanks to research conducted at a variety of Universities around the States we know that better gamers tend to have more gray matter than others -- at least in certain areas. Kirk Erickson, Ann Graybiel, Arthur Kramer, and Walter Boot worked together to form a study in which 39 participants' brains were scanned before those subjects were asked to play a game called Space Fortress (which looks a little like an Atari-era Geometry Wars). Players with larger nucleus accumbens did better learning the game early on, while those with larger caudate nucleus and putamen did better at playing with distractions. There was no sign that playing games actually increased the size of those areas of the brains, meaning some people are just born with a Power Glove on -- and that it's only a matter of time before MRIs replace aptitude tests.

Study shows that better gamers have bigger brains, are better learners originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 07:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Physorg | Email this | Comments

Viewsonic joins the Android Tablet fraternity with the VTablet 101

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/21/viewsonic-joins-the-android-tablet-fraternity-with-the-vtablet-1/

In a move that can only be described as caving in to peer pressure, Viewsonic has become the latest to prop up an Android-powered and keyboard-free device that probably won't revolutionize the way you idly surf the web from your couch. Called the VTablet 101 it rocks a 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor and NVIDIA Tegra graphics powering an 8.9-inch, 1024 x 800 touchscreen display. There's 4GB of storage, WiFi, and Bluetooth, all in a reasonably attractive 3,000 Yuan ($440) price. Availability? Whenever hazing is over -- assuming it survives.

Viewsonic joins the Android Tablet fraternity with the VTablet 101 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 08:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cloned in China | source

mobile.163.com | Email this | Comments