Google Wave Offered As 'Wave in a Box'
Google Wave tried to be the next big thing and didn't quite make it, but that doesn't mean that all that effort is going down the drain when Google decided to shut it down. Google has promised to keep Wave alive at least until the end of the year, and now the search engine giant has confirmed that it will release most of the Wave code, dubbed "Wave in a Box". The code will allow developers to continue the job where Wave left off, and we're really looking forward to seeing what developers will be able to come up with. Who knows, maybe some developer will come up with a cool social networking application that will seriously challenge Facebook?
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Laser Powered Helicopter Paves The Way For Space Elevators
There's something about lasers that seems to appeal to everybody, and now LaserMotive has managed to use a few watts of laser power to keep a 22-gram model helicopter hovering for about an hour. While we can easily think of all sorts of mischief that can be done if we had a more powerful laser, LaserMotive's goal is to power space elevators to lift objects into orbit. Such a move would be useful as traditional UAVs require a lot of power from batteries or fuel, while solar-powered vehicles have limitations for staying in the air for long periods of time. With that in mind, ground-based laser propulsion could be a viable solution to enhance airtime. Check out a video of the laser in action after the jump.
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iOS Bests Linux to Become Third Popular Browsing Platform
Apple's iOS mobile platform, which includes the iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad, now is the third most popular browsing platform for users to consume content on and surf the Internet, trailing behind Mac OS X and Windows. The research conducted by Net Applications shows that iOS has captured 1.06 percent of the browsing web traffic in July and 1.13 percent in August, beating out Linux's 0.85 percent.
Compared to OS X, which has about 4.32 percent between versions 10.5 and 10.6, iOS still has a ways to go, but the platform is leading against Google's Android operating system, which had accounted for 0.2 percent of web traffic in August, a minor increase from 0.18 percent in July. In face, the iPad alone has passed all of Android devices in mobile usage market share according to Net Applications.
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New Jersey Planning to Add WiFi to Trains
Following New York's WiFi plans for Internet access to train commuters, New Jersey is now asking companies to submit bids to provide Internet hotspots on trains and rail stations so passengers can browse the web, access email, and stream audio and video. The proposal would cover 12 rail lines and 165 train stations in New Jersey's transit system and an award for the winning bid should be awarded by the end of the year. The system is expected to begin in 2011.
Since the plans are still in its early phases without a formalized or winning bidder yet, NJ Transit does not know what the cost of WiFi access would be to riders. The spokesperson doesn't expect the transit authority to bear any burden of the costs. According to transit executive director, "The provision of wireless Internet service would be a welcome amenity for our customers, enabling those who wish to remain connected and productive during their commute to do so continuously." A meeting with interested firms in the WiFi proposal will be held on September 9th.
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Samsung's 50-Inch 3D Plasma TV Breaks $1,000 Price Barrier
Samsung's 50-inch 3D plasma screen television set will be sold at Best Buy for under $1,000, making it the first time that a 3D plasma has dipped below $1K in the U.S. The TV, model PN50C490B3D, will go for $990 at the electronics retailer and will offer 720p HD resolution, 600 Hz refresh rate, 2,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 3 HDMI inputs, 2 component inputs, one USB port, one VGA input, and one optical audio input.
The model's asking price does not include 3D glasses, which can retail for up to $150 each. With the glasses and 3D movies, users can watch content in 3D, though the television is also capable of displaying and viewing 2D content. There also isn't any wireless built in.
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Nikon Head Hints at Miniaturized Professional Camera
Nikon chief Makoto Kimura told Reuters that the company is readying a miniaturized professional camera for launch by the end of the company's fiscal year ending in March. Speculation has it that Nikon would be launching Micro Four Thirds camera, but there hasn't been any leaked photos of prototype devices thus far leading many to believe that such a model won't be ready until early 2011 calendar year and not at this year's Photokina event.
"We want to propose another type of photography," Kimura said in an interview on Thursday. "I don't think there is any need to limit it to two categories. We want to create a new market."
Although Nikon's camera business in the U.S., Europe, and Asia are profitable and growing, the company is seeing threats in the mirrorless, Micro Four Thirds format from companies like Olympus and Panasonic. These cameras offer the benefits of a consumer digital camera in that they are compact and smaller, making them attractive as travel companions, but also merges in the positives of swappable lenses of the SLRs, or single lens reflex cameras.
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Toshiba Introduces Lumileo P100 Pico Projector
It looks like Toshiba is joining the pico projector race by offering a pocketable, portable projector that can images up to 65-inches in a darkened room. Toshiba's offering is called the Lumileo P100 and is a compact device, measuring in at 116 x 50 x 18mm and weighing 96g with the battery in place. The projector, which fits comfortably in the palm of your hands, can display contents in VGA resolution with 14 lumens of brightness and a contrast ratio of 200:1. The P100 has RCA and VGA connectors and 0.5W stereo speakers.
Pico Projectors like those from 3M and AAXA Technologies have not caught on in the U.S. in part because early devices had high price tags and mediocre performances requiring a completely dark room for the displayed images to be viewable. Newer devices are becoming more affordable and are offering better performances with higher contrast and brightness, but the costs are still too high to take the technology mainstream as an impulsive consumer purchase.
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Sophisticated New Malware Shows Fake Malware Detection Warning
Microsoft is warning that a new sophisticated malware has the ability to fool users to clicking on it because it can copy the UI and appearance of an official security alert presented by Firefox, Chrome, or Internet Explorer. The malware called Rogue:MSIL/Zeven will be able to detect which browser a user is using and then display a warning message prompting users to scan for viruses and threats. The ploy in the end is to get the computer user to hand over payment for a removal tool after the malware reports back that it has detected a threat or vulnerability on a user's system.
The way it works is that the malware will present a dialogue box that looks official enough to get the users to click on. After that, the malware will cleverly disguise itself as an official Windows tool, allowing users to download security and system updates, change preferences, and scan a user's computer. It will then display a false threat alert with files that the program says it cannot remove without the aid of a paid malware removal tool, asking the user to purchase the tool. In reality, those files that were supposedly detected never existed on a user's computer to begin with, and the ploy really is to get payment.
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Sony Bloggie Touch Now With Touchscreen Viewfinder
Sony is updating its Bloggie consumer cam with a full touchscreen viewfinder that moves some of the camera controls onto the touchscreen user interface. The Bloggie Touch from Sony now sports a slim, modern look and will feature minimal buttons to be available in several colors come this October. Pricing will be at $180 for 4 GB and $200 for 8 GB.
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Toshiba Announces New Camileo S30, P20 Pocket Camcorders
Toshiba has announced upgrades to its pocket camcorder lineup at IFA, introducing the new Camileo S30 and P20 models by adding full touchscreen controls to the already HD-capable S20 that it replaces.
Both camcorder models support 1080p full HD video capture with 10X digital zoom. There's an HDMI out port, SD card slot for up to 64 GB of storage, and touchscreen controls. The S30 model is about 0.7-inch thick and will retail for about U.S. $215 at launch in January 2011. That model will be able to take 8-megapixel resolution images with automatic exposure control and image stabilization. The U.S. $183 P20 will come with a pistol grip and be able to capture 5-megapixel images and will be available in October.
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Toshiba ApriPoco changes channels among other things
The Japanese are clearly very big when it comes to robots, and Toshiba’s ApriPoco will definitely appeal to those who have plenty of house chores to finish each day and need other forms of domestic companionship to provide a boost to the spirit. After all, this 8.4-inch tall bot is full well capable of functioning as a universal remote control, relying on infra-red technology to get the job done while ‘listening’ to verbal commands in order for you to wield full control over your domestic electrical appliances. Will it ever arrive Stateside? We don't think so, and it will probably cost a bomb in the process as well.
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Castiv offers Guitar Sidekick for budding musicians
If you still do not have music flowing through your veins more than blood, then the Guitar Sidekick from Castiv might help sooth those stage jitters, especially since this device will connect to the neck of your guitar. Boasting an adjustable mechanism that will accommodate just about any smartphone size (the Sony PSP would also fit pretty snugly), it will help you see your notes as well as other references when playing without having to have someone else hold it up for you. No idea on whether an iPad version is in the works, but you can bring home the Guitar Sidekick for $30.
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SD Association ups speed ante in SDHC and SDXC cards
The SD Association has ushered in the future of SDHC and SDXC memory card, where it recently unveiled a new memory card design that will enable superior data transfer speed compared to what is on the market today. This new design will rely on a dual-row pin layout that enables the bus speed to touch up to 300 Mbps in either format, and best of all is this - it is fully backwards compatible. The new interface will also come in full size and micro form factor cards, and will comprise part of the coming SD 4.0 specification that is tipped to roll out early next year. As for current UHS-I technology, that maxes out at around 104 Mbps, so a theoretical triple boost in performance has certainly whet our appetite.
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Stealth KYBX-400 keyboard is super tough
If you're a gamer who gets stressed easily whenever your team mates do not listen to your instructions and go ahead to get themselves killed, then the Stealth KYBX-400 keyboard would fit your personality well. After all, it was specially constructed to be tough, so banging the keyboard isn't going to faze it at the end of the day. Features include a built-in optical trackball, being environmentally sealed to NEMA 4, 4X and IP65 specifications. The rugged vandal resistant stainless steel enclosure will hold 71 full-travel keys with silent tactile feedback, a 38mm optical trackball and NVIS-compliant red adjustable backlighting for easier key reference if you love working in pitch black darkness. At $695 a pop, this is definitely one of the more expensive keyboards you’ll ever purchase in this lifetime.
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Philips Dimenco 3D TV to usher in glasses-free future
Watching a 3D movie will require you to wear a pair of active shutter glasses of sorts most of the time, but Philips thinks that is just too cumbersome, hence working together with Dimenco to reveal a 3D TV that has no need for those pesky glasses. Too bad the price of progress in this area is pretty slow, since it will only hit the consumer television market as early as 2013. So far initial impressions of the 3D TV that does not require glasses were average at best, and it has yet to offer the "in your face" feeling as with regular 3D TVs that need a pair of glasses to go along with it. On the other hand, the lenticular lens technology utilized within is certainly a whole lot better for non-stationary viewing. It probably won't be cheap when unleashed to the mass market, that's for sure!
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