Gadgetstronics

FROM APPLETELL - Here’s the latest regional mobile carrier to add to the long list of those who are about to release the iPhone in their areas. Softbank of Japan has announced that it has sealed an agreement with Apple regarding the distribution of the iphone in Japan. Following the other announcements of… MORE »

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FROM GAMERTELL - FireNES, an Firefox add-on which allows users to play NES games in Firefox, is now available on the Mozilla Firefox add-ons page.
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Boeing announced today that they have successfully fired the most powerful solid-state laser beam ever created. This really is the laser weapon of our sci-fi fantasies. Pretty soon, we could have deadly lasers attached to everything from jet fighters to cats.

It’s called the thin-disk laser (because it turns multiple layers of thin disk lasers into one focused beam), and it has achieved “the highest known simultaneous power, beam quality and run time for any solid-state laser to date.” The laser acquired over 25 kilowatts of power for multiple multi-second bursts and Boeing believes that they can use the same technology to eventually create a laser with over 100 kilowatts of power with a little bit of tweaking. They want this technology to start moving out of the lab and into full weapon development as soon as possible, with the main functions being “area-defense, anti-missile and anti-mortar tactical high-energy laser systems. It is also ideal for non-lethal, ultra-precision strike missions urgently needed by warfighters in war zones.”

Boeing is also quick to point out that the beam will operate at the speed of light, while being incredibly effective at minimizing collateral damage. All that’s holding them back now is the science, really.

Read more at Boeing, via Gizmodo

EA has released a new video for Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 detailing all aspects of gameplay for the upcoming title. The video clocks in at 15 minutes long and features narration by the executive producer of the project.

This new trailer gives a much more detailed view of the game than the teaser trailer that was revealed a few days ago, showing off building and attacking while also showcasing new twists to the franchise.

Kenneth’s Opinion:

EA is catching a lot of grief from fans of the series every time it releases a trailer for this game. While most of this flak is simple EA bashing (and who can blame them, really, everyone hates a villain) some of the points seem valid. The game does appear to be a bit too simplistic and rock-paper-scissors oriented in gameplay, which could get really shallow really fast.

If you have ever worked with multiple monitors, you know how great they are for multitasking. The only downside is, to setup multiple displays you have to crack open the computer case and either add another graphic adapter or add a video card that supports multiple monitors. Not anymore, thanks to Kensington. Adding another monitor can be as easy as plugging it in without dealing with any complicated video cards.

The company has announced that they have begun shipping their Dual Monitor USB Graphic Adapters (UGAs) to retailers. These UGAs plug into an available USB port on a PC or Mac and will connect to any DVI or VGA monitor, widescreen or regular. They support 1440×900 pixels for widescreen displays and standard monitors up to 1280 x 1024 pixels, both in 32 bit-color. The adapter software allows users to either extend their desktop, mirror it, or make the UGA their primary display.

If you want to go multiple monitor crazy, you can even add up to six additional monitors with the Dual Monitor UGA provided you have the cash and the equipment. The Kensington Dual Monitor Adapter is on sale now for $119.99.

Read more at Kensington.

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 4th 2008 at 9:25AM
With just about every other US city shutting down any Muni-Fi project that managed to get off of the ground, we can’t help but have mixed feelings about this one. Oklahoma City is boasting of having the world’s largest municipal WiFi mesh network, but for whatever reason, it’s being reserved exclusively for “public safety and other City operations.” In other words, it’s not there to provide wireless internet access to the general public — yet, at least. The network itself covers 555 square miles with 95% service coverage in the city’s core, took two years to construct and was funded with $5 million from “public safety capital sales tax and City capital improvement funds.” Talk about a tease.

[Image courtesy of OKWebCenter]

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Filed under: Wireless, Networking

The newest version of Flip’s cheap, portable, super-simple video camera is here, and it looks pretty good

We reported earlier that it’s smaller than Flip’s last camera, the Ultra, weighing in at 3.3 ounces, and measuring 4 x 2 x 0.6-inches. It also contains 2GB of flash memory, good for recording an hour of video. But that’s not the only difference between the Mino and the Ultra. Let’s take a tour.

The color scheme is actually improved. The dark gray (it also comes in white) and silver chassis contrasts nicely with the bright red record button and illuminated touch sensitive keys.

One word about those touch sensitive keys though: there are six buttons handling pause/play, zoom, delete, and menu navigation. While they are easy to read and fairly intuitive, they also require a bit of a extra pressure to activate. Including haptic feedback would have been a nice, er, touch, but this would have also undoubtedly driven the price past the $180 point.

The Flip Ultra used AA batteries. Mino, however, ditches this power source in favor of a non-removable Lithium-Ion. Personally, I like that. Even though AA are easier to get, a device that simply recharges without having to futz with changing out the power supply is much easier in the long run. However, I’m never far from my computer. People who are less wedded to the internet might find the AA battery solution more copacetic. Think of it this way: the Flip Mino is for MySpace and Facebook kids, the Flip Ultra is for their moms.

And what about video? Well that’s the most important thing, right? Here, check out this clip I took earlier.

It literally took less than 15 minutes from hitting record, to downloading it to my MacBook, to getting them up on YouTube, to then posting them this review. The 640 x 480 video is pretty good as you can see. Sound quality isn’t bad either. My skills as a cinematographer though? Don’t judge! I’ll be keeping my day job, thank you very much.

So the verdict thus far? For the few hours I’ve actually had with the device, I’m rather impressed. Easier to use and smaller than the Ultra, the Mino is definitely a step forward — even with its rechargeable power supply. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it for anyone who wants to record tons of web video and unload it quickly.

We’ll have the in depth nuts and bolts review up in a few days. But for my initial rating? I’d give it an 8 out of 10 for now. The slimmer profile plus improved sharing capabilities are a great improvement from the Ultra, although the not-so-touch-sensitive buttons keep it from being close to perfect. —Daniel Dumas

$180, theflip.com

(Photos by Jon Snyder for Wired.com)

by Paul Miller, posted Jun 4th 2008 at 10:58AM
We’ve been hearing about ATI’s external graphics schemes for years, but apparently XGP is finally ready to go. The platform houses an external graphics card — ATI-branded, of course — which connects to your laptop via a proprietary 4.0Gbps PCIe 2.0 connector. The new tech is being initially launched with AMD’s new ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3800, which can work in a multi-GPU CrossFireX configuration with your laptop’s internal graphics card. The first out of the gate with the tech is Fujitsu’s AMILO Sa 3650, which packages a Mobility Radeon HD 3870 cardbut there’s still no word pricing or exactly when or where this all is shipping. XGP also supports some extra USB 2.0 ports, Blu-ray decoding, and outputs over HDMI with integrated audio and DVI, powering up to four displays.

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Filed under: Gaming, Laptops

Atlus Games has just announced an innovative approach to the party game that is sure to get a little bit of attention in the coming months until its release. According to the press release announcing the game, it is a self-described “friendship-destroying” game that uses elements from both RPGs and board games.

Dokapon Kingdom looks like a story-driven litany of mini-games, puzzle-solving and good ol’ fashioned RPG-style fighting. In the screenshots released, there is even an example of a paper-rock-scissors game. The premise is one as old as time. Mysterious monsters are appearing all over the kingdom of Dokapon and the king has no money to finance a mission to destroy them, so he has asked all of the heroes in the land to make things right for him. If you are able to defeat the monsters (and your friends, in the process), you can become the king. The friendship destroying part may be what I’m most looking forward to:

Turn the heat up on your rivalries! Take on up to three other soon-to-be-ex-friends in the race for Princess Penny and the crown. Battle, steal, deface – playing dirty is the name of the game – through a variety of locales and challenges. After your friendships are broken, the game is just as much fun to play alone.

Read More at Wii Fanboy

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 4th 2008 at 1:36PM
That 80GB Zune above looks mighty familiar, now doesn’t it? At least it does if you checked out our totally wild guess mockup that we created upon hearing of this gem. The limited edition Joy Division-themed Zune has finally been pictured (officially) and priced, with just 500 of ‘em to be offered up through the Zune Originals website. Of course, we have no idea how quickly these will (or won’t) go, but if you’re looking to grab one, we’d have that trigger finger ready to roll on June 17th.

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video