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Monday, November 12, 2012

Duke University creates 'perfect' one-directional microwave cloak, might lead to stealthier vehicles

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/12/duke-university-creates-perfect-one-directional-microwave-cloak/

Most attempts at cloaking, no matter the slice of spectrum, usually leave clues as to what's there -- even microwave cloaks can spoil the surprise through reflections. At Duke University, researchers have licked some of those past problems with the first instance of a flawless microwave cloaking scheme. By crafting a special diamond-shaped cloak where the light properties stay consistent at the corners, the school's Nathan Landy and David Smith have successfully shielded a 3-inch wide cylinder from microwave detection without a hint that something was amiss. The gotcha, as hinted by the shape, is a two-dimensional nature that gives away the secret at less than ideal angles. Duke suggests that it still has the groundwork for something that could be vital for communications or radar -- we can imagine a stealth aircraft or ship in the far-flung future that could actively mask itself from radar signals. It's not quite the optical illusion we're looking for, but a refined version of the Duke project might be enough for a rare practical use of cloaking when fantasies are much more common.

Filed under: Science, Alt

Duke University creates 'perfect' one-directional microwave cloak, might lead to stealthier vehicles originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Nov 2012 19:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Titan supercomputer leads latest Top 500 list, newly-available Xeon Phi chips make strong debut

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/12/titan-supercomputer-leads-latest-top-500-list-as-newly-available/

The supercomputer formerly known as Jaguar recently got an upgrade that was significant enough to earn it a new moniker, and it turns out that was also enough for it to claim the top stop on the latest Top 500 list of the world's most powerful supercomputers. Now known as Titan, the Cray-developed supercomputer at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory edged out the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Sequoia supercomputer for the number one position, reaching 17.59 Petaflop/s with the aid of almost 300,000 AMD Opteron processors and 261,632 Nvidia K20x graphics chips. As EE Times notes, however, the other big story with this list is the strong showing for Intel's new Xeon Phi co-processors, which have just starting shipping to customers and have already found their way into seven of the supercomputers on the list, including one in the top ten (the Stampede at the Texas Advanced Computing Center at the University of Texas). You can see how your favorite supercomputer did at the link below.

Filed under: Misc, Intel, NVIDIA

Titan supercomputer leads latest Top 500 list, newly-available Xeon Phi chips make strong debut originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Nov 2012 19:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lamborghini's New $380,000 Aventador Is Topless And Hugely Powerful

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/lamborghini-reveals-aventador-roadster-2012-11

Lamborghini Aventador Roadster

In the summer of 2011, Lamborghini introduced the Aventador LP 700-4. Having delivered 1,300 so far, the Italian supercar maker is now offering the LP 700-4 as a roadster.

Without a roof in the way, drivers of the new Aventador can enjoy the noise of the 6.5-liter V12 engine that produces a huge 700 horsepower.

The Roadster LP 700-4 comes with a €300,000 ($381,420) price tag, before taxes.

It features Lamborghini's trademark scissor doors.

The roof is made of carbon fiber and weighs only 6kg (about 13 lbs).

It is removed by hand and stored in the front luggage compartment.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Livescribe Sky WiFi Smartpen review

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/12/livescribe-sky-wifi-smartpen-review/

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For a relatively niche company that has only been around for five years, Livescribe has grown quickly. Its smartpens -- which cleverly digitize handwritten notes and audio -- have already attracted a million users. However, just because these customers prefer to write their notes the old-fashioned way, that doesn't mean they aren't also obsessive about technological progress. In fact, many of them have been waiting on one new feature in particular: a totally wireless workflow, which would allow them to write a note with their smartpens and then -- without any docking or syncing -- see their scribbles appear in the cloud and on their mobile devices.

Well, as you've probably guessed by now, that is precisely the gap that the new Sky pen is looking to fill. The first half of its operation is identical to that of its predecessors, the Pulse and Echo: it contains a camera and microphone, which enable the capture of handwritten notes and time-linked audio f! iles. (Y ou can choose between 2GB, 4GB and 8GB of built-in storage.) But what happens next is totally different. You use "buttons" printed inside Livescribe's proprietary stationery, in conjunction with the pen's OLED display, to select a local WiFi network, enter the password and sync your files directly to Evernote. The popular online note-taking platform then handles everything else, automatically filing the text and audio in the cloud using a time stamp, making it available on whatever devices run Evernote's apps or web interface. What's more, it makes the note searchable through optical character recognition (OCR) of your handwriting.

If there's a downside to users getting what they've been asking for, it's that they are the ones expected to pay for it. The Sky's base model matches the Echo's $170 launch price, but that older pen came with twice as much internal storage, and can also now be had at a discounted price. Moreover, the 4GB and 8GB Sky pens rise to $200 and $250, respectively, which means this is only likely to be sensible if you really, really dislike writing or typing on a screen. Even assuming that you're totally stuck in your pen-and-ink ways, could a $170 pen ever be worth it? Read on to find out.

Gallery: Livescribe Sky Wifi Smartpen review

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Filed under: Peripherals

Livescribe Sky WiFi Smartpen review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Nov 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Camera unboxing (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/12/samsung-galaxy-camera-unboxing/

Samsung's much-anticipated EK-GC100 Galaxy Camera finally hit stores in the UK late last week and we've managed to get our hands on one of the very first samples to cross the assembly line. We're putting the Android-powered hybrid through its paces at this very moment, but since this is the company's first entry in a brand new category, we wanted to have you along as we opened the box. This may be a camera, but it's very much a Galaxy device, and that's immediately evident when you first see the packaging.

The cam ships just as any premium smartphone, with a very thin selection of accessories -- you get an AC adapter, USB cable, a wrist strap and a pair of pocket guides (there's no user manual to speak of). Much like Samsung's latest round of point-and-shoots, it uses microSD cards and charges via a micro-USB cable and AC adapter. Even the 1,650mAh battery looks like a smaller version of Samsung's smartphone offering, rather than something that ships alongside the company's traditional camera lineup. Rest assured, we'll have much more to share later this week, but for now, we invite you to join as we unbox the Galaxy Camera in our video just past the break.

Gallery: Samsung Galaxy Camera unboxing