Monday, December 13, 2010

IT News HeadLines (Engadget) 12/12/2010

World's smallest battery uses a single nanowire, plant-eating virus could improve Li-ion cells tenfold
When it comes to building better batteries, building electrodes with greater surface area is key, and scientists are looking to exotic methods to attract the tiny particles they need. We've already seen graphene and carbon nanotubes soak up those electrons, but the University of Maryland has another idea -- they're using the Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) to generate usable patterns of nanorods on the surface of existing metal electrodes. By simply modifying the germ and letting it do its thing, then coating the surface with a conductive film, they're generating ten times the energy capacity of a standard lithium-ion battery while simultaneously rendering the nasty vegetarian bug inert.

Meanwhile, the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT) at Sandia Labs was more curious how these tiny charges actually work without confusing the forest for the trees, so to speak, so a team of scientists set about constructing the world's smallest battery. Using a single tin dioxide nanowire as anode, a chunk of lithium cobalt dioxide as cathode, and piping some liquid electrolyte in between, they took a microscopic video of the charging process. See it in all its grey, goopy glory right after the break.Continue reading World's smallest battery uses a single nanowire, plant-eating virus could improve Li-ion cells tenfold
Permalink TG Daily  |  sourcePhysOrg, EurekaAlert  | Email this | Comments
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NASA's Space Shuttle launch videos are spectacularly incredible, incredibly spectacular
Did you know that it takes nearly seven and a half million pounds of thrust to get a Space Shuttle off the ground and into the final frontier? NASA opts to generate that power by burning through 1,000 gallons of liquid propellants and 20,000 pounds of solid fuel every second, which as you might surmise, makes for some arresting visuals. Thankfully, there are plenty of practical reasons why NASA would want to film its launches (in slow motion!), and today we get to witness some of that awe-inspiring footage, replete with a silky voiceover explaining the focal lengths of cameras used and other photographic minutiae. It's the definition of an epic video, clocking in at over 45 minutes, but if you haven't got all that time, just do it like us and skip around -- your brain will be splattered on the wall behind you either way.Continue reading NASA's Space Shuttle launch videos are spectacularly incredible, incredibly spectacular
Permalink Slashdot  |  sourceinterbartolo (YouTube)  | Email this | Comments
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Pentax's faceplate-swapping RS1000 reviewed, a good choice if you're on a strict budget
Pentax's faceplate-swapping RS1000 reviewed, a good choice if you're on a strict budget
Sadly the Nanoblock-fronting NB1000 looks destined only for Japan, but Pentax is at least blessing those abroad with its RS1000 which, with its customizable and hot-swappable faceplates, offers you a modicum of two-dimensional customization. That cam has been reviewed over at Photography Blog, with the conclusion being that you won't be dazzled by the cam's features nor image quality, but for the $120 MSRP (closer to $99 street price) you could do a lot worse. That's especially true since you get 720p video and a 4x zoom out of the deal -- though an inability to zoom while filming means those two features remain somewhat mutually exclusive.
Permalink   |  sourcePhotography Blog  | Email this | Comments
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Northrop Grumman's 100 kilowatt laser fired for six hours straight
100 kilowatts of piercing light isn't something to sneeze at, even fired for just a few seconds, but Northrup Grumman's long-awaited weapons-grade laser recently ran for a full six hours. That milestone is the feather in the company's cap as it prepares to ship the hulking machine to the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, where it will presumably begin doing what it does best -- turning things into crispier, more exploded versions of themselves in no time flat. PR after the break.Continue reading Northrop Grumman's 100 kilowatt laser fired for six hours straight
Northrop Grumman's 100 kilowatt laser fired for six hours straight originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Dec 2010 03:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink New Scientist  |   | Email this | Comments
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Verizon: LTE modem handoff has two-minute delay, fix (and Mac compatibility) on the way
Though we found Verizon's new LTE network pleasantly speedy in early testing, there are a few rough edges to the tech -- Verizon's USB modem have difficulty handing off connected users from an EVDO network to an LTE one, and of course, they don't yet work on Mac. However, Verizon's since admitted to both these issues and pledged to remedy the twain. "Hand-offs can take up to a couple minutes, but that was expected and a fix is in the works," it told Computerworld earlier today. "Mac is not yet supported, and we've been working on drivers for Mac OS for weeks, and expect to update relatively soon," a representative added. Now let's see the company bring some sense to the wild, wild west we call the 4G market.
Permalink   |  sourceComputerworld  | Email this | Comments
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Google Instant for mobile studies abroad: now in 40 countries, 28 languages
We'll keep it short and to the point: Google Instant for Mobile -- that is, for iOS4 and Android 2.2 devices and up, officially -- has taken an accelerated language program or two. Or 28, rather, representing 40 countries. Which ones? We'll let you find that out for yourself (which is a nice way of saying we don't know). Pick up your phone of choice, head to google.com, and let us know if you get the new option.
Google Instant for mobile studies abroad: now in 40 countries, 28 languages originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Dec 2010 21:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Download Squad  |  sourceOfficial Google Mobile Blog  | Email this | Comments
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Switched On: Which connected TV box are you?
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

Switched On presents a short quiz to determine your content-delivery personality.

It's most important that my on-demand entertainment:
a) is easy and accessible
b) is not blocked
c) is available at the optimum bitrate
d) offers a new navigation paradigm
e) advances the species

The place I usually find entertainment is:
a) the cloud
b) my PC
c) the NAS connected to my TV
d) the long tail of the Web
e) MadagascarContinue reading Switched On: Which connected TV box are you?
Switched On: Which connected TV box are you? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Dec 2010 20:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Weta Workshop builds real-life TF2 sentry gun, minus the screaming and blood (video)
Weta Workshop is filled with engineers, and that means they solve problems. Practical problems. For instance, how Valve Software is going to keep its throng of Team Fortress 2 players in awe. The answer? Use a gun. Like this heavy-caliber, tripod-mounted, fastidiously crafted life-size reproduction of The Engineer's level 1 Sentry Gun, which features a bona fide motion sensor for tracking whosoever is fool enough to venture into Valve's geektastic lobby in Bellevue, Washington and touch the darn thing. We're ready to volunteer. Video after the break.Continue reading Weta Workshop builds real-life TF2 sentry gun, minus the screaming and blood (video)
Permalink Technabob  |  sourceTF2 Official Blog  | Email this | Comments
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HTC EVO Shift 4G (Knight / Speedy) gets leaked picture, January 9th release date?
We'll warn you that we have nothing but the word of an alleged Sprint employee that this is the real deal, but we don't know what else it could be -- if it walks like a duck and quacks like an EVO with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, we're inclined to believe it's the HTC EVO Shift 4G. Factor in the noticeable lack of front-facing camera, silver trackpad and those throwback flat keys, and we're even willing to forgive those hastily penciled watermarks on the keyboard and on top of the clearly 'shopped screen. Even if this shot is legit, we haven't seen the full device yet -- it sure looks like this Knight is wearing a suit of plastic armor around the edges.

In possibly related news, Android Central nabbed an alleged screenshot of a Sprint database showing an "HTC A7373" handset coming to Sprint on January 9th, and while one Russian e-tailer seems to think that codename refers to the GSM-friendly Desire Z, we have to imagine a Knight / Speedy / EVO Shift release is far more likely than a T-Mobile G2 redux on Sprint's CDMA frequencies.

Update: Just to be clear, there are a few things about this image that irk us, not least of which that pasted-on screen. We're inclined to think this might be a dummy unit that was touched up to look like a real phone.
HTC EVO Shift 4G (Knight / Speedy) gets leaked picture, January 9th release date? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Dec 2010 18:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Pocketnow, Phone Arena  |  sourceSprint Users, Android Central  | Email this | Comments
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Engadget Podcast 221 - 12.11.2010
Google. Google, Google, Google, Google, Google!!! So precocious for an awkward tween. Fire up the Engadget Podcast Bingo site or iOS app and jump start your weekend with a hot tech injection full of a company that does much more than just search, these days, if you know what we mean.

Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Paul Miller, Nilay Patel
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Paranoid Android

00:00:55 - Nexus S review
00:08:00 - Google's Nexus S official, coming December 16th to US, 20th to UK (update: $199 on contract, $529 unlocked)
00:17:07 - Google's big week: Nexus S, Honeycomb tablets, Chrome OS laptops, and eBooks to boot
00:22:00 - Google rolls out NFC-equipped Places business kits, muscles in on location-based territory in Portland
00:27:07 - LG invents imaginary 1GHz processor requirement to say Optimus One won't get Gingerbread
00:27:15 - LG pulls back, 'will evaluate' upgrading Optimus series to Gingerbread when specs and source code are public
00:27:45 - LG commits to upgrading Optimus Ones to Gingerbread, angry hordes abate
00:31:00 - Android 2.3 SDK revealed, Gingerbread improvements called out
00:31:30 - Android Honeycomb coming 'next year,' adds tablet support
00:32:30 - Google's Andy Rubin live from D: Dive Into Mobile
00:47:50 - Live from Google's Chrome event!
00:48:50 - Google Chrome OS gets detailed, first laptops from Acer and Samsung coming mid-2011
00:49:10 - Google unveils Cr-48, the first Chrome OS laptop
00:49:20 - Google Cr-48 Chrome laptop preview (update: in-depth impressions!)
00:49:30 - Google demos Chrome Web Store, rolling out later today to US (update: now live)
00:52:00 - Flash working poorly on your Google Cr-48? Adobe's working on it
00:55:55 - Google partners with Verizon for free 3G data allowance with every Chrome OS netbook
01:03:50 - Chrome Web Store, HTML5 and the iPad: symbiosis at its best
01:16:50 - Mike Lazaridis live at D: Dive Into Mobile (with the PlayBook!)
01:18:00 - RIM's Mike Lazaridis: QNX coming to BlackBerry phones when dual-core processors are ready
01:26:26 - The Engadget Show returns next Friday, December 17th with televisions, robots, giveaways, and more!

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Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadgetFiled under:
Engadget Podcast 221 - 12.11.2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Dec 2010 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Navy's prototype rail gun projectile hits mach 7 at 33 megajoules, our hearts skip a beat (video)
http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/11/navys-prototype-rail-gun-projectile-hits-mach-7-at-33-megajoule/
Rail guns play a major part in nearly every fanciful battle of the future, whether it be giant robots fighting for control of the Inner Sphere or the last remaining member of Noble Team holding off the Covenant invasion for as long as possible. They're the stuff of geeky dreams, and thanks to the US Navy they're closer to deployment than ever. Three years ago our sea-borne force managed an 8 megajoule blast, now its researchers have more than quadrupled that: 33 megajoules accelerating a projectile using magnets. That power means speeds of Mach 7 for the slug and a current range of 100 miles, though the hope is for at least double that by the time these things start finding themselves mounted on the decks of battleships in 2025. At that point they'll reduce the need for rooms full of powder charges and the associated dangers that come along with explosive shells, but will instead need to make way for what looks to be a warehouse full of capacitors. There's a video of the thing in action below, and you'll be sorry if you miss it.

[Thanks, Jacob L.]Continue reading Navy's prototype rail gun projectile hits mach 7 at 33 megajoules, our hearts skip a beat (video)
Permalink   |  sourceFox News  | Email this | Comments
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Kin Studio closing January 31st, Verizon offers free phones to affected customers
Though the final nail in the Microsoft Kin coffin has yet to be tapped into place, the software that made the pair of ill-fated handsets strangely compelling will soon get the axe. Come January 31st, Kin Studio will be no more, effectively neutering existing Kin phones by removing them from the cloud. They'll still be able to make calls, send SMS, email, browse the web and even stream music via Zune Pass, but their formerly live homescreens will become lifeless, stripped of social networking functionality -- and will actually remain stuck on their very last status update, much like a broken clock. Their online repository of pictures, videos and contacts will cease to exist, though you can back them up to a personal computer if you act now. Thankfully, Verizon seems to understands that not all Kin customers will be happy with a zombiephone, and has taken a drastic measure to help them out -- through March 31st, 2011, Kin owners can trade it in for a free 3G phone of their choice. How kind. Find full Verizon FAQs on the transition at our more coverage links.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]Continue reading Kin Studio closing January 31st, Verizon offers free phones to affected customers
Kin Studio closing January 31st, Verizon offers free phones to affected customers originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Dec 2010 13:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink   |  sourceWPCentral  | Email this | Comments
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LG Star preview
The LG Star. The dual-core beast from the east that was once a mere twinkle in our eye has managed to find its way to the Engadget mansions, having been lent to us by a very generous (and very anonymous) tipster. It's clearly a test device, as evidenced by its diagnostics menus and lack of a lockscreen, but there's no disguising the power that lies within it. We put the Star through a battery of common Android benchmarks and the results were, in a word, outstanding. Basically, Tegra 2 will give anything your current phone's running an inferiority complex. Join us after the break as we delve deeper into this upcoming powerhouse of a handset from LG. One thing's for sure: CES 2011 can't come soon enough.
Gallery: LG Star hands-on
Continue reading LG Star preview
LG Star preview originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Dec 2010 11:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Android Market update streamlines content, nukes tabs, dismantles 24-hour return policy to appease devs
Updates have been coming fast and furious to Google's Android Market for a couple weeks now, but this is the biggest shift yet -- that rusty tab-based interface is out, replaced with a rotating carousel of downloadable content, and a single scrolling pane of info for each and every app. What's more, it seems that Mountain View has heard the cries of game companies in particular, as it's got a couple of very special changes largely targeted at them -- the size cap on individual apps has been upped to 50MB, and Android Market's famous 24-hour return policy is no more. You'll still have 15 minutes to decide whether you want a piece of software or prefer a refund, perhaps long enough to give it a basic test, but there's no longer enough time to finish a game in one sitting before slyly giving it a pass. There's also a number of behind-the-scenes changes that should help make sure you only see apps your device can actually run, based on screen size, pixel density and OpenGL support. Google's pushing the update to every Android 1.6-and-above device over the next couple of weeks, so you can expect your app purchasing world to turn upside-down in time for Christmas cheer.

Update: There are also two new categories being added: widgets and live wallpapers.

Update 2: Of course, no self-respecting hacker waits for an OTA to get what they can sideload right now, and so XDA-developers is now distributing the new Android Market APK -- we'd suggest you give it a try too, but we're hearing that some folks are having difficulty downloading apps at all after the update. Still, the folks at Android Police seem to have it working, and have taken a host of screenshots of the interface. Go give them a peek at our more coverage link.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Permalink   |  sourceAndroid Developers Blog, XDA-developers  | Email this | Comments
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Shogun Bros. Chameleon X-1 mouse flaunts its hidden gamepad (update)
No, your eyes aren't deceiving you -- not one little bit. You're looking at a PC gamepad built into the bottom of a mouse, and not a drab one at that. It's called the Shogun Bros. Chameleon X-1, and if you just fell in love, we're afraid there's no suggested price, shipping date or a way to buy it yet. What we do know are the promised specs, which include a 5-stage adjustable 1600dpi optical sensor with 125Hz polling rate -- which admittedly sounds last gen -- that connects to your Windows PC over a USB dongle sporting 2.4GHz wireless. There's 14 buttons on the bottom, 7 on the top, and the company's support page suggests the device has force feedback as well. We're not terribly bullish on the "sophisticed Norway Nordic Chip System" the controller apparently has, but considering there are three very legitimate looking pictures of the device in our gallery below, we're not going to write it off quite yet.

Update: Shogun Bros. tells us the Chameleon should be available in Q1 2011, for the suggested retail price of $55.
Gallery: Shogun Bros. Chameleon X-1 mouse and gamepad combo
Shogun Bros. Chameleon X-1 mouse flaunts its hidden gamepad (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 21:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink   |  sourceShogun Bros.  | Email this | Comments
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