The man who revolutionized the digital design industry, the computer industry, the music industry, and again the computer industry is dead.
Iphone 5S
The iPhone 5S: a phone that looks like the iPhone 5, but goes so much further under the hood. Is that going to be enough to impress the baying hordes.
Ipad Air
Apple's new iPad shows all you need to know about its changed approach to tablets - with a 43% thinner bezel and a 28% lighter device, the iPad Air is championing the 'easier to live with' ideal.
Microsoft Windows 8
Windows 8 is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablets, and home theater PCs..
ipod Touch 5th Genaration
The answer is that the iPod touch is not just an iPod anymore. While Apple still sells the old fashioned iPod Classic and has just rebooted with the iPod .
iPhone 5 Series
The iPhone 5 rumors continue, and this time they're backing up something we've suspected for a while--Apple's next phone may be all metal. It also looks to be simply a better phone all around.
Watch Dogs
it’s a great game that combines some smart ideas with an innovative setting, but it’s also one that arrives exhausted from its cross-generational birth..
The good:Strong design and Microsoft don't always go together, but they do in Windows 7. Users might take a while to get used to the new taskbar and Aero Peek, but they're a pleasure to use.
The bad:Performance is still hit-or-miss in Windows 7. At the ripe age of seven, Windows XP still performs better in some categories.
The bottom line:
Windows 7 is more than what Vista should have been, it's where Microsoft needed to go. How much damage Vista did and whether Windows 7 is enough for people to finally abandon Windows XP are questions that nobody has the answers to right now.
Review:
Deserved or not, Microsoft had dug itself a cool, deep, dark hole with Windows Vista. Users demanding that Redmond extend the life of Windows XP wasn't exactly something they could be proud of, either. Bombarded by complaints and negative press even after the first service pack was released, the bar had been set high for Vista's successor: Windows 7.
The original PlayStation Portable (PSP) was released in December 2004 and has since seen two hardware refreshes (the PSP Slim & Lite and the PSP 3000) with combined sales of more than 55 million units. The PSP Go is the latest and most radical hardware update for the PSP, shedding the UMD drive of old in preference of 16GB of internal storage, with games and other content provided via download from the PlayStation Network. Read on for our full review.
The hardware
Make no mistake - the PSP Go is a gorgeous device. It's smaller and lighter than previous PSPs, making it by far the most "pocket friendly" model yet. The 3.8-inch LCD, while half an inch smaller than previous PSPs, retains the 480 x 272 resolution of old, meaning a crisper looking screen thanks to the increased pixel density.
The only addition in terms of hardware is the inclusion of Bluetooth 3.0. This allows you to pair up with Bluetooth stereo headphones, tether to a laptop or cell phone for Internet access, and even pair with a PlayStation 3 controller (Sixaxis or DualShock 3) and play your PSP games with a "real" controller. Combined with a TV-out cable, this is as close as you're getting to a portable games console without consulting someone like legendary modder Ben Heckendorn.
The mechanism that slides the screen up to reveal the controls feels sturdy enough to go the distance, and even survive a drop or two while open. The controls themselves have been changed significantly from prior models, with the directional pad and face buttons sporting a much clickier feel, which I think is a big improvement.
Unfortunately, the face buttons are much smaller and closer together than before, which isn't too much of an issue until you try to hold your thumb over two buttons at once (think: driving games) which I found hard to get used to.
The analog "nub" is smaller than ever, but didn't require any getting used to - I actually find it far easier to operate than the awkward placement of the old PSPs.
One area that sadly hasn't seen any change in all three revisions of the PSP is the Wi-Fi. The brand-new PSP Go is stuck using the nine-year-old 802.11b standard, and it's incapable of dealing with WPA2 encryption, which is the only totally secure Wi-Fi protocol around. For a device released in the second half of 2009, that uses digital distribution instead of physical media, this strikes me as utterly crazy.
And then we get to the omissions. Gone is the mini-USB port, meaning not only will you need a proprietary cable to charge your PSP Go, but none of the existing PSP accessories like the camera or GPS will work without the purchase of a ridiculous-looking adapter. Also gone is the replaceable battery, meaning that with a maximum of six hours battery life, the PSP Go won't go the distance on a long-haul flight - until the third-party accessory-makers bring something to the table. The battery decision was no doubt to make the "Pandora's Battery" hack much harder (perhaps impossible?) to perform (hackers discovered that a modified battery can be used to install custom firmware onto the PSP, enabling easy piracy).
The software
There's still a dated web browser, a sub-par media player with just-average format support, and an inability to download in the background or resume downloads should they fail for whatever reason. The one addition I can find is the ability to pause a game, hit the XMB (that's "menu" in Sony-speak, for the uninformed) to listen to music or watch a movie (or whatever), and then resume your game without actually having to use the in-game save functionality - which is a reasonably useful addition, as some developers haven't quite grasped the concept that people playing their games on the move might not always be able to play for another ten minutes to reach the next save point.
The games
The maximum UMD can hold is 1.8GB, so you'll fit at least eight games on the internal storage of the PSP Go - but you're likely to fit a few more on there than that, with the content-heavy Gran Turismo weighing in at just over 1GB.
There's more than 300 games available on the PlayStation Network (versus the 600+ available on UMD), and while all first-party titles will be released simultaneously on UMD and the PlayStation Network (PSN), Sony is not requiring third-parties to release games onto the PSN - and there's already instances of publishers saying "no thanks" to PSN versions of their UMD releases.
Unfortunately, it's not just the number of games to choose from that will be impacted by choosing a PSP Go - it's the cost of them. Of course, you're not going to be able to pick up second-hand UMDs on the cheap, but you already knew that. What you might not know is that Sony has announced plans to keep PSN pricing at parity with the MSRP on UMDs. So while the retailers aggressively promote discount prices on new releases and older titles, you're stuck paying a premium on a product that costsfar less to provide than the boxed physical media with printed manual.
The price, and the lowdown
The PSP Go costs a staggering US$250 (versus US$170 for the PSP 3000). That's just $50 shy of the 120GB PlayStation 3 Slim. When you consider the fact that a PSP 3000 with a 16GB Memory Stick Pro Duo costs $20 less than the bare PSP Go, and can still play games downloaded from the PSN, I'm not entirely sure that the suits at Sony hasn't taken on board Dan Ariely's conclusion that, to paraphrase,offering people a bad option makes most of those people choose the good option.
Nevertheless, it's frustrating to see how close Sony is to having a game-changing device. Put in a decent wireless chipset, a capacitive touch-screen, an accelerometer, a camera with autofocus, and a second analog nub and you would have a killer device worth paying the premium for. Address the software issues with a WebKit-based browser, decent codec support and a quality media player, and you have something that could be a serious contender in the PMP market.
So, who's going to want a PSP Go? If you're a newcomer to the PSP platform, don't mind not being able to extend the battery life (yet), like the idea of a very portable device that plays the best quality games you're likely to find on a portable device for some time, and don't mind paying a premium for a smaller selection of those games, then the PSP Go is for you. Everyone else is more likely to find joy in one of the previous PSP models - I'll keep loving my PSP Slim (it's always the first thing I pack for a trip) until the PSP2 arrives.
This second version of Apple TV (also commonly known as Apple TV 2) dumped its forebear's 40GB of local storage, chopped its footprint by three-quarters and halved its UK price down to £99.
But its real advance only became apparent when iOS 5 was released in October 2011, which is why we're updating this review, first published when Apple TV 2 was released in 2010.
iOS 5 has opened up Apple TV to a whole new level of functionality, which means that if you're an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch owner its well worth reconsidering Apple's little black box if you don't already own one, because it just developed a reason to exist.
Perhaps we're being a bit harsh though – Apple TV has always been a darn good media streamer to use with your Mac/PC. You simply plug it into your HD TV via a HDMI cable and connect it to your Wi-Fi network using the on-screen menus and you're good to go.
But while Apple's 2010 refresh saw a welcome reduction in its price, it still wasn't clear what the point of Apple TV was.
The biggest confusion is that it still doesn't let you do what its name would suggest - i.e. watch TV channels over the Internet.
Instead its a device for streaming your media from iTunes on your Mac or PC for playback on your TV over Wi-Fi using a system called AirPlay, or for renting or buying movies directly from the iTunes Store, cutting your computer out of the equation altogether. That's all well and good, but it's only with the most recent update to iOS that Apple TV has really found its feet.
The first exciting feature that hooks up Apple TV and iOS 5 is mirroring, in which everything that appears on your iPad/iPhone/iPod touch's screen also appears on your TV as you use it.
This has many obvious applications - from a quick way to display photos from your iPhone to a teacher giving a presentation in a classroom, but gaming is the most exciting one.
Some iOS games, like Real Racing 2 HD or Modern Combat 3take simple mirroring to the next level, enabling you to use your iPhone as the controller for the game, which is displayed on your TV, effectively moving you into proper games console territory: There's you on the sofa, your iPhone in your hand as a controller and the game on your big screen TV with no wires getting in the way.
Anyone who has ever had any experience of doing anything complicated over Wi-Fi might be forgiven for thinking this is a venture doomed to be a laggy mess of bad connections and random error messages, but amazingly it's not - in true Apple style it just works.
Just watch this video of Modern Combat 3 playing on an iPhone 4Sconnected to an Apple TV 2 to see what a simple and elegant solution it is.
It's almost perfect, and games like Real Racing where you use the accelerometer to 'steer' your car work really well. The only problem is the lack of physical buttons on the iPhone mean you often have to look down at the iPhone's screen to make sure you've got your thumb in the right place to fire, which spoils the experience somewhat.
At Apple's last event, Steve Jobs called the iPod touch the company's "most popular iPod," and it's easy to understand why. In just a few short years, the iPhone-with-no-phone has kept in lockstep with Cupertino's halo device, benefitting from the same kind of constant hardware and software updating that has helped turned the iPhone into an iconic gadget.
If you own the last version of the iPod touch, the design of the latest version shouldn't come as a major surprise. Instead of aping the iPhone's new glass-sandwich looks, the touch hews close to its roots with a super thin profile made up of one part glass screen and one part all-metal back. The device still bears the smudge inviting chrome rear panel, and continues the trend of shrinking the thickness as far down as possible. We thought the iPhone 4 was crazy thin, but the new touch looks like a toothpick by comparison. In our large hands, we might even argue that it's a little too small -- but it should be just right for the legion of teens and tweens that will clamor for this come holiday time.
We're a little confused by Apple's reluctance to add a GPS chip to these devices. Since the App Store is litered with navigation software, and this could easily take the place of a TomTom or Garmin device, it seems like a short walk to paradise for the company. The touch checks a lot of boxes on the list, but true navigation is still blank, and we can't really understand why.Just like Apple wanted, much has been made about the touch's camera capability. It seems like the idea of a touch with cameras has been a long time coming (and based on what we've seen from case manufacturers since the last fall Apple event, we're actually about a year behind schedule).
Steven Paul Jobs was born on February 24, 1955, to Joanne Simpson and Abdulfattah "John" Jandali, two University of Wisconsin graduate students who gave their unnamed son up for adoption. His father, Abdulfattah Jandali, was a Syrian political science professor and his mother, Joanne Simpson, worked as a speech therapist. Shortly after Steve was placed for adoption, his biological parents married and had another child, Mona Simpson. It was not until Jobs was 27 that he was able to uncover information on his biological parents.
As an infant, Steven was adopted by Clara and Paul Jobs and named Steven Paul Jobs. Clara worked as an accountant and Paul was a Coast Guard veteran and machinist.
The family lived in Mountain View within California's Silicon Valley. As a boy, Jobs and his father would work on electronics in the family garage. Paul would show his son how to take apart and reconstruct electronics, a hobby which instilled confidence, tenacity, and mechanical prowess in young Jobs.
Works right out of the boxOne of the best features of the Iphone 4S, in our opinion, is that it works right out of the box.
It might be something that most phones that aren't an Iphone do anyway, but when we managed to get the Iphone 4S up and running straight away, we were pleased when it worked. If only Apple had done this when it released the Iphone 4, which had to be plugged in to Itunes before we could use it.
Camera
The Iphone's best feature has never been the camera and Apple has been widely criticised about playing catch up to its rivals in that department. It will be hard to slate Apple this time though, as the Iphone 4S 8MP camera is a vast improvement over the 5MP camera on the Iphone 4, with pictures looking clearer and colours more vibrant.
The camera has a custom lens with a larger f/2.4 aperture, an improved illumination sensor, auto white balance, advanced colour accuracy, face detection and reduced motion blur.
We did notice that when taking close-up photos the Iphone 4S camera managed to keep the subject in focus pretty well.
When comparing the clarity of close range photos to pictures snapped by the Samsung Galaxy S II, for example, the Iphone 4S actually came up trumps. Apple says the camera is "engineered with a higher, full-well capacity to collect even more light". Indeed, the picture detail is impressive and we'll definitely make use of it.
Video camera
The Iphone 4S video camera has had a significant update, from HD 720p to HD 1080p, which makes it compatible to watch on HD TVs. While the video camera on the Iphone 4 wasn't anything special, the Iphone 4S video camera is pretty decent. It steadied our shaky shots and looked a sight better when compared to video we had taken on our Iphone 4. You can also edit video directly on the phone, which could come in very handy.
Everybody has thought about using a spy pen. As a child, almost everybody loved watching a good spy movie. From James Bond to Inspector Gadget, people have always enjoyed watching secret agents and their toys. Catching a bad guy was even cooler when it was done with spy tools like hidden spy cameras and voice recorders. Now anyone can catch a criminal with a spy pen that has many of the same features.
It is absolutely amazing to see what kind of features can be packed into little spy pens. From video to voice recording, almost anything can be caught on tape. The great thing is that they look just like any normal pen, so nobody will ever suspect a thing. Some even write just like a normal pen to make them even more unnoticeable.
For the sleuth trying to get visual proof of an event, a spy pen camera is probably the most discreet way to go. A hidden camera can be difficult to actually hide and it requires getting into the environment ahead of time. A spy pen video camera can be worn right on the body of the spy or simply placed on a table and will barely be noticeable.
Spy Camera Specialists make a 4GB spy pen for only $129.00. This spy camera records audio as well as video and can record up to just over an hour.
Additional features include an audio only mode and a time stamp that can be turned on and off. At such a low price, anyone can afford to own a spy pen recorder for all of their undercover needs.
One of the great things about these spy pe
n cameras is that they are very user friendly. The memory is built in so there is no need to fuss with memory cards and they are easy to use with one-click recording. They can be used by anyone since they are compatible with both Mac and PC computers.
Originally announced for a winter 2009 release, Rockstar has finally given us a new release date, March 2012 folks.
Max Payne 3 is coming back to life, a trailer is expected to be out later this week and Max will be making its way to First Look expo in Holland next month.
The Max Payne 3 will be receiving a multiplayer option and will bring a “compelling experience” which will have maps alter with mode progression for all players.
Traditional modes will be included as well as clan support, various strategic load-out options and a “deep reward and leveling system.”
Max Payne 3 will be available on the PS3, 360 and PC.
The EVO View’s full tech specs are available on HTC’s website, but the main highlights are a 1.5 GHz processor (single-core…sorry, gang) and 4G WiMax. Oh, and it has this interesting stylus, too, but more on that in a bit. Other hardware specs are very much in-line with most other 7″ tablets: a 1024 x 600 resolution LCD screen, 32GB of internal flash storage, front- and rear-facing cameras (1.3MP and 5MP, respectively), stereo speakers and mics, and all the usual ports (microUSB) and buttons (power and volume).
There are some touches that make the EVO View (and it’s non-Sprint 4G cousin, the HTC Flyer) interesting. For one, the ends of the tablet (left and right when held in landscape orientation) have these little plastic lips on them that give an excellent sense of grip to your thumbs and fingers.
It’s almost like HTC took a cue from SLR designers in that regard, and is definitely an improvement (IMO) on the standard “slab” format of most tablets today.
Another nifty bit is that HTC has made the extra effort to have the capacitive buttons (Home, Menu, Back, and Stylus) rotate from portrait to Landscape. When in portrait mode, the buttons illuminate below the screen (as above).
One thing I like about HTC is that it’s more willing than most phone/tablet OEMS to experiment. Sometimes, it’s not so great (e.g., the HTC Surround, with a slide-out speaker (wha?)), but other times, it can be interesting, if not downright compelling. The stylus HTC developed for the EVO View (and Flyer), which they call the Scribe, made nearly everyone I showed it to perk up with interest. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that a stylus was an assumed accessory to every smartphone and PDA being sold.
HTC has also included its new Watch video rental service as well as HTC Likes (an app recommendation service), HTC Hub (a mini “store” for HTC apps, widgets, backgrounds, etc.), and HTC’s Reader e-book app. The EVO View does media sharing via DLNA and comes with Polaris Office for viewing and light editing of standard Office documents.
In the past hour, worldwide consumption of petroleum exceeded 100 million gallons. In the United States, there are 200,000 miles of pipeline, 170,000 gas stations and 243 million vehicles using petroleum fuels.
Guy Nègre, a former aeronautics and formula one engineer is hoping to change all that. He has invented a compressed air technology for cars. Nègre is the founder and CEO of Motor Development International (MDI SA) based in Luxembourg, with research and development facilities in Nice, France.
The AirPod is a small four-wheel mini-car that uses compressed air to move pistons in a 5.45 hp internal combustion engine. It has a range of 60 miles on a single tank of air and uses a small motor to compress outside air to keep the tank full. The compressor can operate on gasoline, diesel, biodiesel, ethanol or vegetable oil, but can also be plugged into an electrical outlet for recharging. With regular gasoline fueling the compressor, the Airpod averages an amazing 106 mpg with a range of 800 miles.
With the demand for inexpensive, user friendly, ultra high mileage vehicles that have zero emissions related to global warming - the Airpod is getting a lot of attention. Air France and KLM airlines are using AirPods to transport passengers between arrival and departure gates at airports in Paris and Amsterdam.
Automaker, Tata Motors has purchased the manufacturing rights for India. Zero Pollution Motors has purchased the rights for the U.S. market and beginning in 2011 expect to manufacture 8,000 vehicles a year in the United States.
Inventor and former Swiss Air Force fighter pilot, Yves Rossy, jumped from a plane over Calais, France and flew 200 mph crossing the English Channel in 13 minutes before landing in Dover, England.
Earlier this year he unfolded the wings on his back and flew 186 mph (300 kilometers) above the Swiss Alps.
Using four small jet engines attached to his carbon wings, he climbed at 200 ft per minute before executing a series of stunts for a crowd of reporters watching from a mountain top.
The spectacular demonstration was the first public revelation of his latest invention, which he spent five years developing.
"It is absolute freedom" says Rossy.
The inventor says his 120 lb Jetman suit will eventually be available to the public but it's still a few years away.
The flight over the English Channel was his second public demonstration. He is planning his next flight through the Grand Canyon.
Yves Rossy has completed his flight over the Grand Canyon. He jumped out of a helicopter at 2,440 metres (8,000 feet) and soared over the Canyon at 330 km (205 mph) for eight minutes before deploying his parachute.
"My first flight in the US is sure to be one of the most memorable experiences in my life, not only for the sheer beauty of the Grand Canyon but the honor to fly in sacred Native American lands," said Rossy.
This wild new motorcycle, invented by 19-year-old Ben J. Poss Gulak, is among the latest inventions to capture attention. Debuting at the National Motorcycle Show in Toronto, the "Uno" uses gyro technology for balance and acceleration.
It is a battery charged machine that accelerates by leaning forward and slowing down by leaning backwards. It weighs approximately 129 pounds (58 kg.) and has a top speed of 25 mph (40 klms).
Since featuring Ben's invention, he has continued to develop and progress with his innovative product. He won second place in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, and first prize in Popular Science's Invention Awards.
Ben also appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and on the popular invention television show "Dragon's Den" where he received 1.25 million dollars from investors.
Gulak continues to develop and commercialize his invention while studying engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The latest prototype, known as the Uno 3, can automatically transform itself from a uno-dicycle into a conventional looking motorcycle, which allows for greater acceleration, speed and stability. Ben shares this advice for inventors, "When you have an idea, it's easy to get discouraged. There are so many people who will tell you that you're wasting your time. The biggest thing is to not let people get you down. If you really believe in something - keep going after it because there is always a way and you can make your dreams come true."
When the new 13-inch MacBook Air arrived on our messy desks, we were blown away by its razor-thin good looks and equally impressed by its powerful interiors. We were just about getting over the excitement when the new 11-inch Air turned up and we boarded the emotional rollercoaster once more.
Our 2011 MacBook Air 11-inch was configured to include a top-end 1.8GHz Intel Core i7 processor, 4GB RAM and a 256GB solid state drive. At £1,399 you may have to decide whether you want food and shelter or a tiny, shiny new laptop, but you can sleep soundly on your friend's sofa knowing you've got a superbly crafted and excellently powerful machine.
The standard top of the range model (without our customised configuration) features a 1.6GHz processor and a 128GB SSD. It will cost you £300 less. The lower-end model comes with a 1.6GHz processor, 2GB of RAM and a 64GB SSD. That chap will cost you £849.
This piece
of kit looks extremely similar to a ViewMaster, but with a more up-to-date look
and feel. The Hasbro My3D goes on sale exclusively at Target on April 3rd, and
hits the shelves at other retailers in June. Hasbro's introduction into the 3D
phenomenon arrives in the shape of My3D, which connects to your iPhone or iPod
bringing your own entertainment choices to 3D life.
This viewer will retail at $35 and offers a good look at 3D technology, for
minimal cost.
The iPhone 5 rumors continue, and this time they're backing up something we've suspected for a while--Apple's next phone may be all metal. It also looks to be simply a better phone all around.
A few rumors from a while back suggested that Apple's next iPhone revamp would ditch the glass back and adopt a metal one instead--added to the stainless steel antenna-frame of the iPhone 4, this means the iPhone 5 would be an all-metal affair. Now there's an extra boost to this rumor courtesy of a previously reliable source inside Foxconn (Apple's Chinese manufacturer partner) who's seen a prototype edition, and notes that the factories are ramping up into mass production for the device.
An all-metal back makes sense for a bunch of reasons: The glass back of the iPhone 4 was beautiful, but it meant there were two fragile surfaces that could shatter if you dropped the phone, it added a lot of weight to the device's construction, and it was subject to a stress-fracture rumor involving sliding cases. Replacing the glass back with a metal one solves several of Apple's production problems.
The phone would be more resilient, it could reduce production costs, it reflects Apple's unibody design for its computers, and in one swoop it ditches the production problems associated with light leakage and bad paint that delayed the white iPhone 4. A metal back could also be shallower than the glass one would allow, which could let Apple back a bigger battery inside the case--a move that would boost the iPhone's powers, and add back some of that "quality feel" weight.
CrunchGear is reporting that the Italian site HDblog has received exclusive details on Samsung's least-publicized new tablet product: the Galaxy Tab Seven (aka, the Galaxy Tab 2). The Seven will be the successor to the wildly unpopular Galaxy Tab, which debuted last fall to almost universally poor reviews (though our own Aaron Gingrich thoroughly enjoyed it). The Galaxy Tab was the first major-manufacturer Android tablet, and it seems based on the new tablet's specifications, Samsung learned a lot from the Tab's less-than-successful run.
Unfortunately, it looks as though they failed to learn from the Tab's biggest failing - the OS. The Galaxy Tab ran Android 2.2 Froyo, a version of Android that is less than optimized for tablet computing. With the release of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in New York City, and the upcoming Tab 8.9 - both of which run Honeycomb - we thought Samsung had finally changed its ways and learned to live on the cutting edge. We spoke a bit too soon.
The Galaxy Tab Seven will be running Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread. Yep. So... Why? Well, the 7-inch form-factor, Ice Cream Sandwich, and an anticipated Fall release date are likely to blame.
While Honeycomb obviously works on a 7-inch display, the small size does make Honeycomb's rather busy interface a bit crowded. But I think we can all agree that's a pretty lame excuse.
The flying car has been cleared by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for use on roads and granted it special exemptions as a roadable aircraft.[Image]"Terrafugia’s Transition is the first combined flying-driving vehicle to receive such special consideration from the Department of Transportation since the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards came into being in the 1970s," the Woburn,
Massachusetts-based Terrafugia Inc. said in a statement.In the exemption text, NHTSA states "We further conclude that the granting of an exemption from these requirements would be in the public interest and consistent with the objectives of traffic safety."The U.S. Department of Transportation has granted a three-year hardship exemption that will allow the manufacturer to enter its planned 2012 production time frame. Previously, the company said deliveries of the Transition are scheduled.
But, the company, after the approval, said the flying car will start shipping in 2012 and will be priced at around $250,000. Terrafugia has about 100 orders for the Transition with a $10,000 reservation fee.Terrafugia Inc. said extensive analysis and simulated crash testing are also being employed with industry partners to ensure that the Transition meets all other applicable crash safety standards
.
"This is an aeroplane first and foremost. The idea is you can drive it to and from a regulation airport. Fully fueled, you can fly it for a range of 400 to 450 miles. We have 100 orders so far. There are still some minor changes that need to be made because it has to meet both road and aviation standards," said Richard Gersh, VP Business Development of Terrafugia on February.
Some of us prefer a conventional computer keyboard, whereas a select few of the modern age technology enthusiasts are now opting for touch screen devices. Well, for those who prefer touch screen, look away now, otherwise keep reading as this may be of interest to you.
CompuExpert have revealed their latest product, a keyboard which holds an iPhone and transforms it from a touch screen display into a more conventional QWERTY style set-up. Named Wow-Keys, the device was exclusively designed to favour the iPhone, which will also act as both a docking device for synchronisation and charging capabilities.
Omnio technologies have developed the WOW-Keys product which performs as a nice little multipurpose machine.
The iPhone is an extremely powerful device, especially for its size, and utilising the full power can sometimes be awkward and fiddly. This neat little gadget allows you to hook it up to a monitor and unleash the true multitasking capabilities of the smartphone. Inputting text becomes a lot easier, especially with the extra iPhone hotkeys. The sychronisation with iTunes is a nice touch but it's really all about improving the time it takes to input text and information into the iPhone itself.
This robot maid designed by Toyota and engineers from the University of Tokyo is a general-purpose household robot. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this robot is that it can analyze mistakes (like running into a table) and then learn to avoid the same errors in the future.
This robot is able to pick up clothes from a chair (or even from the floor), and then carry them over to the washer, open the door and put them in. It is able to run for about an hour on its battery charge, using wide-angle stereo cameras, stereo telescopic cameras, omnidirectional cameras and ultrasonic sensors to determine its position relative to other objects.
The robot is able to create a three-dimensional model of its environment and then operate within that environment.
It is able to detect when it fails, and then rework the operation to work around failure. Once a correct method is determined, the robot can then repeat the corrected sequence of steps.
Ever since Microsoft announced it’s foray into motion sensing with Project Natal, which has been rechristened Xbox Kinect, people have been wondering how the Kinect will stack up against the Nintendo Wii, which for all wants and purposes, was the pioneer in this field.
Right off the bat, the Xbox Kinect has one very important advantage over the Wii. It’s merely an add-on to the Xbox 360, which in itself is an excellent console with processing power that leaves the Wii in the dust. This will lead to motion sensing being used in games that will have graphics that are far superior to the Wii’s, thus adding a sense of realism that fits great with the motion sensing.
Also, the fact that the Kinect is just an add-on the Xbox 360 allows for a greater variety of games. Gamers who would like to experience the full spectrum of games, right from fun motion sensing games to more serious games such as Halo 3, the Xbox 360 becomes an automatic choice due to Kinect & Kinect gaming.
The Xbox Kinect bases its technology off 3 cameras that are capable of detecting up to a whopping 48 pivotal points in the human body. This puts their sensitivity in a whole different league than the Wii’s, which relies on two-axis motion detection combined with a gyroscope.
Finally, another important advantage is that the Kinect’s cameras are capable of video capture as well. So you can actually use them for video chatting. Also, the fact that they have face recognition built in will be a nice bonus for some users.
A very interesting aspect of the Xbox Kinect is that it recognizes objects as well. This means that you can integrate actual, real world objects into your gameplay experience. It’s not hard to imagine game developers selling games with a sword or a bowling ball to add to the experience gamers have.
PlayStation 4 Rumors and the next 8th Generation Consoles
There is a rumor running around that the Sony PlayStation 4 is set to be unveiled sometimes around 2012. However many people doubt such an early debut for a console that Sony had already decided to give a 10 year shelf-life, which we are currently in the fifth year.
Sony is hoping to outperform its predecessor console, the Playstation 2, which has sold over 150 million consoles to date. The PS3—they’re hoping—will sell more than 150 million consoles within the time frame. This goal may not be far off reach for Sony. Given today’s market trends for the number of PS3 units sold, there has been a rise in the consoles sales given that they have become more affordable over time. The figures show that Sony will be in no rush to unveil a successor to its currently popular console. When a trend begins to show lower numbers of unit sales then Sony will begin contemplating the unveiling of a new console. Furthermore, third party trends would also indicate news about a PS4, such as a decreasing number of titles being released for the PS3, but they aren’t decreasing.
Nevertheless, we should not expect a PS4 to be unveiled in the following years. It is more than likely that Sony and Microsoft will hold off in unveiling its 8th generation consoles until they see how the innovators of the industry, Nintendo, will fair in the market place. Nintendo will yet again have an early advantage over the next generation of consoles because of its early debut.
The success of the Wii U’s newest innovation will greatly influence what we may see in the next 8th generation consoles.Hopefully we get a glimpse of what kind of technologies Sony and Microsoft might add into its new consoles in the upcoming years, and whether or not we see development in downloadable game content. However, such a development might hurt game video game stores worldwide, like the death of Blockbusters in the movie industry.
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