Gadgetstronics

There are some times that I curse living in the UK. And the start of the new fall TV line up is one of those times. Not only do you lucky U.S. viewers get too see my favourite series months before I do, but if you watch them online you can see them even sooner. For the third year running, NBC is making shows available via their site before you can catch them on TV. And you don’t have to watch only on NBC’s website, either: you’ll be able to see shows on iTunes, Hulu.com, Amazon Unboxed and on the Microsoft Zune, too.

Isn’t it about time CBS, Fox, ABC and the CW got with the program(s), too?

Via USA Today.

Maybe this will help shorten those long lines at the checkout counter. UCLA engineers say they have designed a bar code reader using a new imaging technique that is nearly a thousand times faster than the devices currently in use.

The new technique can produce one-dimensional bar codes with a frame rate on the order of 25 million frames per second, say the researchers.

Bar codes are big in retail for management of inventory but also used in other areas such as mail distribution. They are traditionally read by optically scanning the code’s alternating light and dark bars and then using a computer program to convert the resulting image into digital form.

Conventional bar code readers use either a laser beam for scanning or have a digital camera take a picture which is then recognized by the computer. Both methods limit the image-acquisition speed to less than 1,000 frames per second, say UCLA researchers.

Instead their scanner reads bar codes at a frame rate of 25 MHz, which is about 1,000 times faster than current technology. Typical camera-based bar code readers also require many optical-to-electrical converters  to capture the image as an array of pixel.

The UCLA developed scanner maps its image as a single pixel and is free of mechanically moving parts. It works by mapping the one-dimensional bar code image onto the spectrum of an ultrashort laser pulse. This is further mapped into an amplitude-modulated waveform, which is then captured with a single optical-to-electrical converter.

But till your favorite store gets this bar code reader— which may be a while— it is back to standing in those lines.

UCLA News Release

Photo: (Tom Loth/Flickr)

The new Lenovo’s IdeaPad S10-42312CU is available now. Weighing at 2.65 pound, this 10.2-inch laptop sports an Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz processor, a 512MB of RAM, a 80GB of hard drive, and Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics. Other features found included Wi-Fi connectivity, two USB 2.0 ports, ExpressCard slot, and 4-in-1 memory card reader. The IdeaPad S10-42312CU is running under Windows XP Home OS and the display itself boasts a resolution of 1,024 × 600 pixel. If interested, you can pick up this netbook for $439.
[Source]

Photo: flattop341 / Flickr

Our ‘life without a cellphone experiment’ kicked up a lot of interest from readers (not least the estimable beer sipping, budgie loving John Brownlee of BoingBoing gadgets, who openly sneers at my almost-retro Sony Ericsson P900).

While my own experiment failed miserably (Brownlee: “Charlie Sorrel abandoned his quest to go a week without a cellphone within mere hours”) it’s worth looking at a few of the schemes you proposed, beginning with this quite excellent hack from regular Gadget Lab correspondent Andrea Biasi:

I’ve read some time ago about an Android application which used geographical data of the GPS to use different settings for different location. I didn’t inquire too much because I thought it was something like the supposed Vista feature which could recognize the “environment” and set itself differently depending on it.

But then came your post. And my idea. What about tweaking the aforementioned application to set a filtering list for your cellphone based on actual location. When I’m at work I don’t want mum to call me. Or when I’m at the pub I don’t want my boss to. And so on. I don’t have any idea if this feature is contained in the application I’m talking about. But the fact is that I don’t have any skill to implement such a thing and I don’t know how to suggest someone to do it. That is why I’m writing you to help me with my little cause: to create a virtual secretary who knows to whom I want to talk base on the location I’m in. Please spread the word. Life could be better.

This is great, and Andrea’s “virtual secretary” name fits it perfectly. Surely the point of technology is to make things easier for the user, and Android, with its open operating system, would surely be able to handle such a thing.

Others questioned my resolve. Regarding my need to use a phone as a doorbell, here’s reader “Frill”:

People in the 1870’s managed living on whatever floor you live on, without cell phones.

And this comment from Anonymous123:

Trust me, sir. If you didn’t have a cell phone, you could rearrange your life so it wasn’t necessary, just as humans have done for thousands of years before cell phones existed.

Both fair points, although this line of argument leads quickly to living in a cave and killing your own dinner. The point here is that it is possible to love technology and at the same time to despair at its social effects.

Much better were the accounts from readers who have successfully kicked the mobile habit. Bob, in the UK, has a home internet account from BT which gives him access to country-wide hotspots. He also uses the Fon service to get online, with the result that he can get his ipod Touch connected almost anywhere. This sounds like the perfect solution.

GreatWhiteNorth almost got killed thanks to his Blackberry, and gave it up soon after:

There was an incident where the [blackberry] went off and distracted me just as some junk fell off a truck in front of me. I hit the junk destroying two tires and rims and discovering just how lucky I am. Hence, BB always traveled in the trunk from that point onward.

What surprised me was how many of you already get by just fine without a ubiquitous connection. The general vibe in the comments on both posts was that of frustration at the intrusive nature of a mobile. Sure, you can ignore the calls, but the constant beeping is the sonic equivalent of the flashing blue lights on every home gadget: It is not just a form of pollution but, for many, a cause of anxiety.

To finish, a story of such astonishing backward thinking that we can only admire the dusty old minds that came up with it. From “sys admin”:

At our tennis club, cell phones are banned. If you want to reach someone, you have to call the bar and have a staff member find you, as though you were in 1975. There is a charm to this, a simple business call becomes an elaborate ceremony of urgency and courtesy.

I can almost image Lt. Columbo walking up to the bar, a few fingers in the air: “I told my office that I would be here, I hope you don’t mind.”

See Also:

Is It Possible to Live Without a Cellphone? [Gadget Lab]

A Week Without a Cellphone: The Results [Gadget Lab]

“Every breath you take… Every move you make… Every bond you break… Every step you take..  I’ll be watching you.” Is it the end of privacy as we know it?  People knowing where we are, and when we are there, seeing whatever it is we are doing.  Or, just a cool and fun new way to geotag?  Geotagging is nothing new and most of us are familiar with the term by now.  Take a photo, and “tag” your location to tell all your friends or family where you were at when you shot it.  But now, tagged single shots are going to seem like dinosaurs.

Those “in the know” in the geotagging world may be familiar with the company, Geotate, since they are pioneers in the geotagging industry.  Geotate just announced, that along with DXG Technology Corporation (who, by the way, are only one of the world’s leading designers and manufacturers of both digital cameras and camcorders), it is developing the world’s first “geo-enabled production-ready video camera.” The camera is going to be using Geotate’s Yuma tagging software and though the camera is a basic video camera based on the DXG DVH586 platform, the Yuma software itself should make it pretty dang amazing.

The person filming really won’t have to “do” much of anything other than stand there, hold the camera, and feel all smart and special.  The Geotate Capture and Process software pretty much does the rest.  It automatically geotags the film, completes the addition of latitude and longitude metadata when the content is loaded onto a computer with an Internet connection.  The images are tagged in milliseconds with minimal power usage.

Mr Yu, DXG’s president, said:

“Consumers are looking for a camera with great picture quality that’s easy and fun to use.  Tagging is a fast growing trend amongst users.  With the reference camera unveiled today, camera manufacturers can, for the first time, put simple, affordable geotagging technology in the hands of consumers.  By integrating geotagging into our robust DVH586 platform, we’re enabling people to share experiences with their friends and family, faster and easier.”

At this point, no word on pricing, although it since it is a DXG, it might be safe to say the camera will still fall in the lower end of the pricing line-up.  As for date of availability, stay tuned for more updates as they come in, we’ll be sure to let you know.

via [letsgodigital]

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[CEATEC 2008] This prototype from Toshiba caught our attention as it has a “normal” size for a fuel-cell-powered device. We have been told that it has enough juice for 7 hours of talk time, and can be easily refilled with liquid methanol (look at the photo gallery for more details). Obviously, it’s not a commercial application yet, but this feels like we’re getting there. Just a couple of years ago, the prototypes were huge, so this is encouraging. The cost is expected to be significantly higher when it debuts… at an unknown date. We’ll keep an eye on it.

Ponoko, the online 3D printing service, has added a new way to make your sketches real. Photomake lets you upload a photograph of your doodles, whereupon it will be vectorized, sent to the Ponoko factory and be cut from the material of your choice by lasers. A while later it will turn up at your door, a solid, real world interpretation of your original drawing:

Ponoko already provides a set of tools to “print” your more exacting designs in materials from acrylic to plywood, as well as an online marketplace to buy and sell designs. With Photomake, though, things get easier. Unless you can draw like Da Vinci, you won’t want to use Photomake to design complex snap-together 3D designs, but for rendering the kids’ scrawlings into permanent form, it’s a cinch, and pretty cheap, too.

Product page [Ponoko via Make]

[CEATEC 2008] Toshiba was demonstrating its Cell TV, a television that has a Cell processor in it, the same architecture than the one used for Sony’s playstation 3 (but with less processing cores). The Processor can be used for many things, like running software (user-interface etc…), but what was demonstrated here was video-filtering quality. To be honest, the demo was not very convincing. I’m sure that there was a difference but most people were looking at it wondering what they should look for – not good for a demo. The second point of having a Cell processor (as opposed to a non-programmable chip) is that Toshiba will be able to easily improve the image-quality via a new algorithm, without requiring a hardware update. Now, if Toshiba can build the (Cell) processor for a low-price, it might pay-off in the future, because having a fully programmable chip allow a faster time-to-market, overall reactivity towards the competition and most importantly, it avoids building a new custom chip to accomodate new filtering techniques.

by Joshua Topolsky, posted Sep 29th 2008 at 5:50PM
You love free things, right? Well, we love giving away things — so that’s kind of a match made in virtual heaven — and let’s be honest, in these dire economic times, you probably need all the free stuff you can get. Right now, we’re in the extremely delightful position of being able to hand over a Magellan Roadmate 1400 GPS unit and a copy of the new Xbox 360 game Baja: Edge of Control, and all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. That’s right — so little effort for so much reward! Interested? Read the rules below!

The rules:

• Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, though we’d love to hear how you plan to put this GPS unit and game into play (we’re hoping not at the same time, of course).
• You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you’ll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
• If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you’ll be fine.
  
• Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
• Winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive one (1) Magellan Roadmate 1400 GPS unit and one (1) copy of the Xbox 360 game Baja: Edge of Control. Approximate value is $310.
• Entries can be submitted until Monday, October 6th, 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
• Full rules can be found here.

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Filed under: Gaming, GPS

Toshiba has plans to enhance its SSD line with a new 256GB model that targets both netbooks as well as UMPCs. Hmm, with Microsoft restricting netbooks running Windows XP to a 160GB hard drive cap, does this limitation apply to SSDs as well? Something worth pondering over. Anyhows, I digress. The new Toshiba 256GB SSD will feature a maximum read and write speed of 120MB/s and 70MB/s respectively, thanks to a SATA interface. No idea if this is able to survive a 3-story fall though.