Chevy had the whole "Heartbeat of America" thing cornered in the 80s, but now its Ford's turn to get in on the action. The car maker's European research team unveiled a prototype car seat capable of monitoring a driver's heart courtesy of six embedded electrodes, which can take measurements without coming in direct contact with skin.
The technology, the latest in a recent string of health-related in-vehicle concepts from the company, can detect whether the driver is having a heart attack and transmit that information to the vehicle's safety system. According to the researchers, the system is already highly accurate in its prototype state, making correct readings for 98 percent of drive time with 95 percent of the drivers tested.
Gigabyte's ECO600 wireless laser mouse just landed at the FCC, which means it and its tiny 2.4GHz adapter should be in the hands of consumers very soon. As far as mice go, the ECO600 is actually pretty interesting -- two buttons on top allow you to quickly cycle between resolutions of 800, 1200, and 1600 DPI for either more accuracy or better battery life which, the company claims, is up to a year on a single pair of (generously included) AAs.
Nokia has noted Microsoft's announcement of the new Windows Phone 7 (aka Mango) with word that the software being demonstrated today will be the one we'll see on the first Nokia with Windows Phone device. It also slightly contracts the roadmap for the first handset born from the Microkia partnership, though Nokia's statement makes sure not to make any promises about when said device will show up. Finally, the "Nokia with Windows Phone" phrasing somewhat peculiar, don't be surprised if you see it turn into a branding strategy for Nokia's smartphones going forward. Here's the relevant statement, straight out of Finland:
"Today Microsoft has announced the key new ingredients of the latest 'Mango' release of the Windows Phone operating system. This is the software that will be used on the first Nokia with Windows Phone device, and so should be of keen interest to Nokia-watchers everywhere."
The professional sneaker customizer has significantly stepped up his game after being commissioned by Sneaker Freaker Magazine, creating two pairs of speakers from some giant suede Pumas.
The finished Sneaker Speaker Doomsday Edition models have mic inputs and red, green, and blue lights with eight effects, like speed control and a dim function. They've got plenty of power and can only be fired up by someone with the key.
The name "Windows 8" may have been tossed around a lot as of late, but Steve Ballmer himself has only just now uttered the name for the first time in public at the company's developer forum in Japan. What's more, while he didn't divulge a ton of specifics, he did say that the "next generation of Windows systems" will be coming out next year, and that "there's a whole lot more coming," including "slates, tablets, PCs, a variety of different form factors." As ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley notes, the distinction between "slates" and "tablets" as two separate form factors is certainly an interesting one, as is the fact that he curiously didn't use the name Windows 8 in connection with those next generation Windows systems.
What does it all mean? Perhaps Microsoft's Windows chief, Steven Sinofsky, will have more to say during his appearance the D9 conference next week.
The Kogeto Dot snaps onto an iPhone 4 in your choice of pastel colors, and catches 360-degree video when placed face down. It's got an accompanying iOS app that will un-distort the video for sharing, or even broadcast it on the net in real time.
This implementation requires your iPhone be held perpendicular rather than upright, making previewing a capture virtually impossible until after you've stopped the recording, which seems unnatural. Combine that with a minimum Kickstarter pledge of $98 to secure one of your own, and suddenly the less-portable and lower-degree alternatives start sounding a little more attractive.
Steve Jobs' team are said to have purchased between 200 and 300 glass-cutting machines, specifically in order to use them to slice up curved glass display covers for the iPhone 5. This move has apparently been in an effort to accelerate production, with glass makers reportedly showing a reluctance to buy the machinery themselves due to its prohibitive cost. Lest you think this sense of urgency might accelerate the iPhone 5 from its earlier-rumored September launch, DigiTimes also reports that yields of curved glass are not yet good enough to start using said fancy machines.
At least those Cupertino designers have a couple of generations of curved iPod nano screens under their belt, giving them a good idea of how to handle the atypical glass frontage.
One of the world's most (in)famous names has picked a side in the browser battles -- last night saw the debut of a new Google Chrome commercial, starring Lady Gaga and her "little monsters." Spanning a minute and a half of Gaga and her fans singing and gyrating their way through her latest single, the ad is intended to illustrate the power of the web and its creative new modes of interaction.
To be fair, said interaction is mostly Lady Gaga saying "jump" and a crowd of YouTubers doing it without bothering to ask how high, but hey, the result is fun to watch.
You'd like to think that customer service is out to serve the customers (you), right? Not exactly! After an unusually broad spread of Mac Defender, a piece of OS X malware, Apple is telling customers they're on their own.The order, straight from an internal memo to Apple's customer support reps, states the following "Not our problem, sucker" rules:
AppleCare does not provide support for removal of the malware. You should not confirm or deny whether the customer's Mac is infected or not.
Should not confirm or deny? Intentionally leaving a customer in the dark as to whether their computer has a virus seems pretty low. But is this next part lower? Hmm:
Do not attempt to remove or uninstall any malware software.
Do not send any escalations or contact Tier 2 for support about removing the software, or provide impact data.
Do not refer customers to the Apple Retail Store. The ARS does not provide any additional support for malware.
So even if a customer is sure their computer's infected, Apple wants nothing to do with these malware lepers. Keep 'em off the support lines, keep 'em out of the stores. This doesn't seem like a great precedent to set for malicious code landing on Macs.
The ChromiumPC modular computer, first unveiled by Xi3 last year, is ready to ship this summer, with an architecture designed specifically for Chrome.
Xi3 has been working on their concept for awhile, and even got some praise back during CES for it. The computer is housed in an aluminum chassis that hold three boards or "modules" that determine the functionality of the machine. These modules are interchangeable, allowing the ChromiumPC to run other operating systems. However, Xi3 designed the system with the cloud especially in mind, and the out-of-the-box set-up will be made to get you online as fast as possible. It's their hope that, as people move to the cloud in greater numbers, they can follow them there with the help of Google and Chrome.
Pricing for the ChromiumPC hasn't been announced yet, but Xi3 has it slated for release in the second half of this year.
Looking for a handset that harkens back to simpler, pre-smartphone era, without losing the Googley luster of Android? This is the perfect phone for you, and all you've got to do is move to Japan and get a Softbank Mobile account. Sharp, one of the largest smartphone manufacturers in its native country, rolled out the retro-future Gingerbread-packing Aquos Phone Hybrid 007SH, an Android 2.3 flip phone with a 180-degree swiveling touchscreen above the hinge and a numeric dial pad below that all the cool kids in Shibuya crave.
It's also got some pretty solid specs, so far are clamshell phones go, including a 16MP camera and a 3D-capable display. The handset will hit Softbank in mid-June followed shortly by Sharp's rotary Honeycomb tablet.
Sprint customers holding out for the HTC Evo 3D can now inch slightly closer to that glasses-free display. The carrier has confirmed that you can reserve the WiMAX handset by visiting a Sprint-owned retail store and plunking down $50 for a gift card.
There's still no word on when you'll be able to get the device in-hand (and the 3D's exclusive carrier is mum on pricing), but, if you don't mind reserving a phone without any hint as to how much you'll eventually need to pay, then Sprint seems happy enough to swap your Grant for a spot on the list. It's also taking names for the Evo View 4G tablet and, like the 3D, that $50 deposit can be used to take a bite out of a 2D handset. You know, in case you decide that a third dimension is too hot to handle.
Facebook's already pretty inane. The only thing that could make it worse is, oh I dunno, having 10 year-olds running wild on it. Luckily, it's against the law for sub-13 year-olds to join data-collecting sites. Unless The Zuck changes that.
At a recent symposium on education reform, Zuckerberg argued that Facebook could, and should, play an important role, CNN reports. Doing... what exactly? Facebook doesn't know! ""Because of the restrictions we haven't even begun this learning process," Zuckerberg said. "If they're lifted then we'd start to learn what works." Pretty convincing stuff.
The restriction he's talking about is the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which bars kids under 13 from the site. Zuckerberg wants this changed.
Under the hood nothing has changed -- it's the same pair of 7-inch, 800 x 600 resistive touchscreens, 384MB of RAM, and Cortex A8 CPU of unspecified speed. Sadly, that also means we're looking at the same dated Android 2.2 OS and paltry five hour battery life. No word on cost or whether this will ever appear outside of Japan.
Peter from the Netherlands has managed to fit a pretty bombastic set of components -- 4.5GHz Core i7-980X, two ASUS GeForce GTX 580 graphics cards in SLI, over 12TB of storage with an SSD boot disk, and two PSUs providing 1,500W of power in total -- together with a water-cooling setup and the inevitable glowing lights inside one enclosure, which just so happens to also serve as his desk. The three-piece monitor setup is also a custom arrangement, with a 27-inch U2711 IPS panel being flanked by two 17-inchers.
Ever wonder why Apple fans stand in line for hours end just to buy a phone? According to the BBC's Alex RIley, it's because Apple is their religion. Neuroscience suggests he may be right.
For his documentary Secrets of the Superbrands, Riley talked to fans, industry executive, and even porn stars to find the reason behind such brand fanaticism. But it wasn't until he met the Bishop of Buckingham that he stumbled upon his answer. While talking to the Bishop, he realized the extreme dedication people have for Apple mimics the devotion religious people have for their faith. He found his proof in an MRI study of Apple fans. The same part of the brain that responds to religious images also responds to Apple products.
So the next time you are feeling a bit snarky, find a fanboy stroking his MacBook air, and call him a religious zealot. If he protests, point him to Riley's film.
Being number one is usually an honor, but not when it comes toKaspersky Lab's top ten PC vulnerabilities list. Unfortunately for the software giant, Adobe took top dishonors for Q1 this year, pulling in five total spots on the list, including the top three. According to the security firm, all of the vulnerabilities appearing on the list allowed cyber-criminals to control computers at the system level.
The number one spot was occupied by a vulnerability in Acrobat Reader that was reportedly detected on 40 percent of machines running the application, while Flash Player flaws took second and third. Other dishonorees included the Java Virtual Machine, coming in at fourth and fifth place, Apple QuickTime, Winamp, and Microsoft Office. That ain't bad, considering Microsoft ruled the vulnerabilities roost in 2010.
Sick and tired of the Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0's slow-as-molasses 80MB/sec read speeds? Good news, the flash drive has been souped up for a second generation, offering up 100MB/sec read and 70 MB/sec write speeds when plugged into a USB 3.0 port -- plugging into a 2.0 port should give you in the neighborhood of 30MB/s for both read and write. That speed ain't cheap, however -- the 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB drives will run you $77, $116, and $213, respectively.
While Japan's NHK has been working on the successor to HDTV, Super Hi-Vision, for years, there haven't been any direct-view HDTVs capable of showing its full 7,680 x 4,320 pixel resolution until this prototype unveiled today by Sharp. Its 103 pixels per inch, but that's still far more than the 36ppi of a 60-inch 1080p HDTV. If estimates are correct, we'll still be waiting until around 2020 for that 33MP video and 22.2 channel sound to actually be broadcast, although there's a possibility of some demonstrations happening during the 2012 Olympics. Just head over to the NHK's Science & Technology Research Laboratories in Tokyo between the 26th and 29th of this month to see it live.
Samsung is getting into the LED lightbulb game. And they may have the manufacturing clout to drive the price of the bulbs down because they're making all the parts in house.
As the ban on incandescent lighting begins to take effect in 2012, other technologies, like the more costly LED and CFLs will have to replace them. Starting next year 100-watt LED light bulbs will flood the market with a price tag as high as $50 per bulb. Lower wattage bulbs will replace incandescent bulbs in the next few years with the same sticker shock for everyone, but costs will drop more quickly as big companies with LED expertise start making and selling them.
