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Archive for May 18th, 2008

Transistors the size of 10 atoms

Sunday, May 18th, 2008

10 Atoms! Think about it. Nano sized.

Scientists at the University of Manchester have made this amazing breakthrough using graphene, a material that is essentially a single layer of carbon atoms. Although transistor size has been decreasing on a regular basis ever since their invention, in recent times, that speed has slowed down due to the breakdown in electrical properties at the nanoscale level.

We may not see graphene-based chips for another 15 or 20 years, but it is one possibility to replace silicon as it reaches its limits.

Posted in Computers

Digital Escape Mask Puts You In A Virtual Fantasy World

Sunday, May 18th, 2008

Everyday we see things we’d rather not see. Reality is harsh sometimes, dude. We’re faced with the harsh facts of everyday life, well, everyday. Turning a blind eye isn’t exactly impossible, but some people have a harder time turning a blind eye than others.

If there was a way to see things how you would prefer to see them, would you take that opportunity? The Digital Escape is a mask which draws a shroud between you and the realities you face, projecting serene images in the place of the harsh truth.

The Digital Escape mask makes the user look like a robotic being, but it’s the story behind the lens that makes this wearable a unique object. With the Digital Escape smells, sounds, and even air quality would be imitated to create a full sensory experience. The user could be staring at a family member lying in a puddle of their own blood, and be non-the-wiser to the harsh reality. Instead, they’d see images of peace and well-being.

The mask would also mimic your facial expressions to create an avatar which could visually interact with other users of the device. While The Digital Escape might be an awesome addition to shroud the truths of life, it also gives us a grim look at a future where emotions are desensitized using technology.

Product Page via ElectoPlankton 

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Bean Vac makes your fancy coffee last longer

Sunday, May 18th, 2008

Some days I feel like I’m the only person in the world that doesn’t drink coffee. It seems to me that most coffee drinkers can be put into three categories. First, you have the people that drink it black; regular or decaf are really the only choices for them. To spice it up, add a little cream or sugar. Then you’ve got the Starbucks people. Those that don’t understand their strange lingo barely even know that they’re ordering coffee. Heck, I’m not even sure some of them even know what they’re ordering. Finally you have the people that must have the finest grounds from the most exotic places in the world. These people turn their noses up at anything but the finest. Don’t even think about offering them a cup of Folgers. This gadget is for those in the last category.

If you have fancy grounds, you can’t just leave them sitting in a can. Apparently they have oxygen stored up that needs to be released, otherwise they’ll turn bitter. This gadget will hold up to a pound of your favorite coffee beans and suck the air out of them. Apparently this will keep them tasting fresh longer. If you’re a coffee nut, you might look into this $40 gadget. Me? I’ll stick with my Mountain Dew.

Source: Dvice

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32 Foot Water Blaster

Sunday, May 18th, 2008

Summer will soon rear its head, and boy am I looking forward to a more sunny disposition. The 32 Foot Water Blaster will be perfect for any poolside activities if you happen to hold a party then.

This water bazooka uses air-powered pump action to safely fire 32′ streams of water, allowing you to drench your target from long-distance. The gun has two nozzles that rotate as the gun is pumped, firing a wide spray to soak multiple combatants simultaneously. The stock rests comfortably on your shoulder, preventing excessive kick, and the smooth pump-handle allows rapid fire. The barrel holds up to 1 3/4 quarts of water and is easily filled under a faucet or spigot. Made of ABS plastic.

Perfect for kids as well as adults who are still kids at heart, the 32 Foot Water Blaster offers you a splashing wet experience for $49.95.

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AT&T free iPhone Wi-Fi is still coming, just not now

Sunday, May 18th, 2008

The on again and off again free Wi-Fi offer that AT&T will begin rolling out for iphone customers will still be coming, at least sometime in the future. With some recent teasing, the roll out had been planned to go live on May 15, but was again delayed. At this point the reasons why it has gone on and off is just a mystery, maybe they messed up and maybe they were trying to test out the service on a stealth level and did not count on the blogosphere making it quite so public. Anyway, from a recently leaked AT&T internal memo, it seems they are not really worried because they have not yet officially announced anything.

“The iPhone Wi-Fi offer that was scheduled to launch today has been canceled. Nothing has been announced by the company to our customers and will not impact existing customers. Additional communication will be provided if the status the project changes.”

Via [Boy Genius Report]

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Gigabyte M700 UMPC to come with IPTV

Sunday, May 18th, 2008

The Gigabyte M700, was announced back in March, but at the time not much else was known. The only features we were aware of at the time was its 1.2 GHz VIA processor, 7-inch touchscreen display (1024×600 resolution), 1GB RAM (2GB maximum), 40/60GB hard drive, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, front and rear web cams, and dual ExpressCard slots with Wi-Max support.

Fast forward to today and we now know that Gigabyte is pushing the M700 as a mobile entertainment center. The 1.43-pound device will be sporting a digital TV tuner with IPTV support in its base station, allowing it to stream TV content over a network similar to a Slingbox. The premise is to simply connect your TV source to the base station and watch streaming live TV on the tablet. The docking station will have various audio/video inputs, a SD card slot, IR port, and an optional optical drive. Gigabyte has chosen Windows Vista Home Premium as the OS and has equipped the M700 with a three hour battery life. The device is expected to go on sale Q3 2008, for a yet to be determined price tag. In the mean time, check out the video preview below.

Via [UMPCPortal]

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HTC plans to sell 2 million Diamonds this year

Sunday, May 18th, 2008

Well, HTC has already sold two million Touch handsets and it seems they believe they can do just the same with the newly announced Touch Diamond. Except with the Diamond they expect to hit that two million mark within the year and with the handset being released first in June that gives them just about six months to achieve their goal. Sounds a little lofty, but DigiTimes is reporting that Taiwanese mobile carrier CHT has already ordered about 20,000 to 30,000 units, that number combined with the other large carriers across the world it almost seems doable.

Via [IntoMobile]

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Sprint posts Q1 loss of over $500 million

Sunday, May 18th, 2008

Sprint posted a 1st quarter loss of over $500 million, prompting the company to announce they may seek changes to its credit agreements.  The company expects to have enough cash to cover it’s operations and debt repayments through the end of 2009 but may ask its creditors for waivers or amendments.

“This is a nightmare game of whack-a-mole where new problems keep popping up faster than you can address,” said Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett. “The fact they’re now talking openly about their available liquidity makes it clear this is not a short-term turn around.”

Sprint reports a net debt of nearly $20 billion, much of it coming from its 2005 merger with Nextel, which many consider a failure. Standard & Poor dropped Sprint’s credit status to junk earlier this month. Rumored to be an acquisition target of Deutsche Telekom AG, the third ranked cellular provider promised to update shareholders in August. As a long time Sprint customer who has been very happy with the service, I can only hope for the best and wonder where Sprint would be today if they hadn’t made the mistake of merging with Nextel.

Read [Reuters]

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BlackBerry Thunder coming in September?

Sunday, May 18th, 2008

Just yesterday we learned that we could expect the blackberry Bold to be available with AT&T in July and Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile following in September, now it looks like RIM will not be satisfied with just one hot new handset hitting the market.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the upcoming and still un-pictured full touchscreen BlackBerry Thunder will be hitting the market in Q3 2008, which would mean that it would be September at the latest. Assuming this time frame is accurate it would seem as if RIM really wanted to make a big statement and lasting impression on the mobile community. Now if we could just get some more details and a real image of the Thunder, because while the Photoshop mock-up from BGR is nice, its just that, a mockup.

Read [Wall Street Journal] Via [Gizmodo]

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iKey’s Membrane keyboard is built for the nastiest of environments

Sunday, May 18th, 2008

by Darren Murph, posted May 16th 2008 at 11:17PM
iKey’s done this whole rugged keyboard thing a time or two before, so when it builds one meant to operate like a champ around environments laden with grease, you know it means business. The new line of Membrane keyboards — which arrives in a trio of flavors — boasts a stainless steel enclosure, or customers looking to integrate can snag the OEM edition and do as they please. The board possesses a “hard-coated, textured, polyester film that is more rugged than industrial silicone rubber keypads,” and it’s designed to withstand “directed hose water, disinfectants and environmental contaminants.” Seems as though you’ll have to phone up iKey to find out what this Apocalypse-approved device will run you, but it should get along quite well with that impenetrable Iron Drive of yours.

[Via Coolest-gadgets]

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