Dutchman celebrates Pong's 40th birthday with a global, augmented reality edition
Don't think the festivities surrounding
Pong's 40th are limited to official channels. Sander Veerhof of the Netherlands is marking the occasion in his own way with an
augmented reality version built as a
Layar plugin. Instead of batting the ball across a TV screen, players play across whole continents: anyone who's been online recently is fair game as a fresh target, and the camera's field of view gives a sense of where opponents reside in real life. Games won't be nearly as fast-paced as you might remember from that
classic system from the arcade or living room. However, they'll still be reminders that people worldwide have a soft spot for the Nolan Bushnell title that arguably started the video game industry -- and global Pong sure beats a game of
global thermonuclear war.
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Source: SNDRV,
Layar
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Ask Engadget: WiFi or wired networking?
We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, then here's the outlet to do so. This week's
Ask Engadget inquiry is from Jordan, who wants some geeky help with an ambitious home project. If you're looking to ask one of your own, drop us a line at
ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.
"I've just bought a run-down old house (all I could afford) and I want to make it into a geek paradise. Part of that means I want a world-class home network, but what should I pick? The electrics will all need to be re-done, so I could easily wire in Gigabit ethernet along the way, or should I settle for a couple of high-powered WiFi routers at either end of the house? Any help you can offer would be great, thanks!"
Well, we've given it some thought and we're wondering if you're not better off doing both. After all, with a beefy ethernet switch, you can wire up your
heavy-duty gear, but you'll need at least one WiFi adapter for your smartphone or tablet. The only question is if you really need wired networking in 2012 at all, but that's a question we'll leave open to our commenters.
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Mobile Miscellany: week of November 26th, 2012
If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This past week, another carrier revealed a shift to shared data plans, Sprint introduced new LTE markets with help from a regional partner and a Verizon MVNO debuted a new smartphone plan -- if only it could say the same for its phones. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "
best of the rest" for this week of November 26th, 2012.
Continue reading Mobile Miscellany: week of November 26th, 2012
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The Daily Roundup for 12.01.2012
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Continue reading The Daily Roundup for 12.01.2012
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Alt-week 12.01.12: Bigfoot DNA, bombs on the moon and shapeshifting robots
Alt-week takes a look at the best science and alternative tech stories from the last seven days.
Science. We like to think of it as a force for good. But, in the wrong hands, this isn't always the case. Something we're reminded of all too well this week. As a counter to that negative vibe, we are also reminded that for every Yin, there is a Yang, and this comes in the form of some developments in med-science that could mean new technology options for the blind. Then there's the Bigfoot DNA and shape-shifting robots, of course. This is alt-week.
Continue reading Alt-week 12.01.12: Bigfoot DNA, bombs on the moon and shapeshifting robots
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Syrian internet access mostly restored, for now
History has a way of
repeating itself, and the turmoil in Syria is proving no exception -- though potentially for the better. Following a
communications blackout that began Thursday, reports have surfaced from Renesys, the
AP, the
BBC and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that internet and phone access has resumed across major swaths of the country as of Saturday. President al-Assad's office and rebels accuse each other of severing the links, although the US State Department doesn't see there being much debate: it believes the near-simultaneous cut was an attempt by Assad to disrupt opposition that has been using the internet as one of its coordinating tools. It's difficult to know if links will remain intact when battles inside the country are as fierce as ever. While there's some comfort to be had in knowing that technologies like
satellite internet access are available if the lines go dark once again, we just hope that peace comes to the country instead.
[Image credit: Aziz1005,
Wikimedia Commons]
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Source: Renesys,
BBC,
Associated Press
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BookBook for iPhone 5 now shipping, rear camera hole and all (hands-on)
It took a little longer than some of those
other cases, but
Twelve South's BookBook for iPhone 5 is now shipping en masse. Some of those who pre-ordered began receiving their units as early as last week, but if you missed that wave, there's no need to gesture for the panic button. The outfit's newest wallet / iPhone case is actually more than just a resized version of the prior one; indeed, it finally figured out how to add a rear camera hole without worry of flash echo, and there's a new snap-in mechanism that holds your phone in place. The clever exterior remains largely the same, and there's still room for your most important IDs and credit cards as you flip it open. We were pretty big fans of the
prior build, but the addition of the camera hole makes this one a no-brainer for fans of the style. The gallery below is completely free to peruse -- those who hit the source link, however, will be asked to fork over $59.99 to get one of their own.
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Source: Twelve South
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iFixit pries open new 21.5-inch iMac, finds twin mics and a glued on display
We got an
early teardown of the
latest 21,5-inch iMac thanks Japanese site
Kodawarisan, but now it's had the full
iFixit treatment. The overall verdict? Well iFixit weren't overly enthused with some of the new design's internal fixings, making a special reference to the use of glue to bind the LCD and glass to the rest of the frame, instead of magnets as found in previous models. Likewise, those two major components are now fused together meaning if you want to replace one, you'll be replacing the other, too. This adhesive also contributes to the trickiness of general repair. Beyond the glue-based concerns, there's the usual intense poring over of internal like the dual mics found at the rear, or the 2.5-inch HGST / Western Digital hard drive. Overall, though, the tone is a definite thumbs down when it comes to repairability, with the device getting just 3 out of 10 on it's now famous meter. Prise open the source link for the full internal tour.
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Source: iFixit
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Sony's $25,000 XBR 4K LED Ultra HDTV and tablet remote control hands-on
Recently Sony invited us to check out its forthcoming
84-inch XBR 4K LED TV and we couldn't resist an opportunity to get an idea of how well the company's $25,000 flagship stacked up against
the competition. Perhaps trying to simulate an in-home viewing experience, Sony packed its gargantuan TV into a family room setting and allowed us to give it a spin. While we didn't get to channel surf freely, the provided stock media did a great job of highlighting the display's capabilities. Images were crisp but fluid, while colors remained strong and organic. One of our biggest concerns was that things would look too good and possibly appear unnatural.
But the XBR-84X900 managed to produce an excellent picture with stellar viewing angles. As for the content itself, we were treated to a collection of pre-loaded clips running off of Sony's
recently announced 4K media server controlled by the system's included Xperia Tablet S. It should be noted that
The Amazing Spider-Man was listed as a 56.4GB file -- compared to its Blu-ray counterpart, which comes in at an almost modest 36GB. Check after the break for more of our impressions, and a look at the tablet (loaded with a remote control app) that's included.
Continue reading Sony's $25,000 XBR 4K LED Ultra HDTV and tablet remote control hands-on
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Mitsubishi's i-MiEV Evolution electric racer eyes-on
Many automakers are testing the waters by
introducing all-electric vehicles to consumers at this year's LA Auto Show, but Mitsubishi's i-MiEV Evolution aims to stomp with the big dogs in the world of competitive racing. Taking second place at this year's Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, this juiced up carbon-fiber speedster pushes around 322HP from its three 80KW electric motors and packs a 35KWh lithium-ion battery. While it seems the Evo should be chasing after the
Mach 5 and it looks like it came from Pops Racer's garage, many of its components come from its
predecessor, with the exception of its all-wheel drive configuration.
Speed past the break to get a closer look at this battery-powered brute in all of its manga inspired glory.
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Google adds medication to the Knowledge Graph, might ease our minds through search
It's no secret that many of us turn to Google searches for medical advice, much to the chagrin of doctors who have to contend with periodic bad attempts at self-diagnosis. Google might not have a cure for hypochondriacs, but it can stop all of us from taking risks at the pharmacy: it's adding medicine to the
Knowledge Graph. Search for medication and the side results panel will bring up data from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the
FDA and the National Library of Medicine. Apart from a very top-level summary of a drug's role, the Knowledge Graph will show alternative names, related drugs and (most importantly) risks. The search firm is quick to warn that it's not giving us a license to prescribe our own treatment -- we'll want to talk to someone who swore the Hippocratic Oath, if there's more than a headache. The depth of Google's new search tool could still do more to assuage worried patients than a pill bottle label.
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Source: Inside Search
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iRiver's AK100 lossless-friendly music player heading to the States December 4th
Sure, it may not have
Neil Young's seal of approval, but
iRiver's getting ready to bring its new high-def media player to the US next week. The AK100 will be hitting online retailers and "high end audio stores" under the Astell & Kern name on December 4th, carrying a $700 price tag. The player is a capable of handling Mastering Quality Sound (MQS) lossless audio playback, as well as MP3, Ogg, FLAC, WAV, WMA and APE audio files. There's 32GB of memory built-in, expandable via two microSD slots. According to iRiver, the built-in battery should give your around 16 hours of playback on a charge. More info can be found in the press release after the break.
Continue reading iRiver's AK100 lossless-friendly music player heading to the States December 4th
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Nintendo Power's final issue pays homage to its humble beginnings
This is the end,
Big N fans.
Nintendo Power's final issue is upon us and in a surprise tip of the hat, the magazine's staff has decided to pay tribute to the famed cover that started it all. Framed in a similar manner to the inaugural issue from 1988, this last dance with all things officially Nintendo apes the
Super Mario Bros. 2 clay-styled setup for a cover story on
New Super Mario Bros. U. Look for it to hit newsstands one last time on December 11th, bringing the beloved decades-old publication full circle.
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Nintendo
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Via: Joystiq
Source: Tiny Cartridge
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Sony patent application details hybrid DualShock / PlayStation Move controller
If you think Sony's
DualShock and
Move controllers are two halves of a well-rounded gaming experience, you might be pleased to know that the firm has dreamt up a hybrid. A
patent application filed last year by Kaz and Co. for a "Hybrid Separable Motion Controller" has just surfaced, and it describes a controller that can function as two independent parts or locked together as one. The application also suggests that the location of the controller's halves could be independently tracked when separated and that video games played with the Franken-hardware could switch to configuration-appropriate control schemes. A similar concept has
popped up before, but that's no guarantee the contraption will ever see the light of day. In any case, you can hit the bordering source link to dig into the filing and fantasize what such a piece of kit could mean for gaming.
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Via: Joystiq
Source: USPTO
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Lenovo A586 touts voice unlock through Baidu, A*STAR verification tech
Attempts to get away from unlocking our smartphones through codes and finger swipes have mostly centered on camera tricks like Android's
Face Unlock. If you happen to pick up a Lenovo
IdeaPhone A586 when it reaches China on December 12th, you'll have the option to use some dulcet tones instead. The Android smartphone builds in a new speaker verification system from
Baidu and
A*STAR's Institute for Infocomm Research that looks for a specific voice signature: speak a distinct passphrase and the phone unlocks without gestures or a longing stare. Few will be especially smitten with the 4.5-inch, 854 x 480 display, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 5-megapixel camera or 4GB of storage, but they'll be glad to get access to their A586 in a more hands-off (and hopefully spoof-resistant) way. We'd only be worried about choosing a passphrase that won't trigger odd looks from passers-by.
Continue reading Lenovo A586 touts voice unlock through Baidu, A*STAR verification tech
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Lenovo
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Via: CNET
Source: Singapore Government
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