Devices Site

by Joshua Topolsky, posted Apr 19th 2008 at 6:29AM
Like your Rolls-Royce, Louis Vuitton bags, and priceless, endangered animal collection, the Urwerk UR-202 turbine regulated watch is another expensive item you don’t really need. Still… you want it, right? Who wouldn’t want this beast, what with its self-winding kinetic motor, telescopic minute hands, orbiting and revolving hour satellites, and fancy, mechanical turbines that we understand almost nothing about. But hey, when your timepiece is more complicated than a jet plane — and likely more expensive — you’ve probably made it. Check out the totally awesome video after the break to see this thing in… uh, action.

[Via OhGizmo!]

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Filed under: Wearables

by Paul Miller, posted Apr 19th 2008 at 11:40AM
We’re serious this time, people. No more kidding around with those international ship dates, we’ve got ourselves a real live release date from Asus: May 12th. The hotly-anticipated Eee PC 900 with that relatively bountiful 8.9-inch screen is going to sell for a starting price of $549, with Linux and XP versions available at launch.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: Laptops

by Nilay Patel, posted Apr 19th 2008 at 12:17AM
Samsung’s been getting pretty creative with cell cameras lately — the Instinct lets you pan around web pages by tracking movement with the camera, for example — but the company’s latest patent application, for a gesture-based phone interface, might be a little less practical. The idea is to use the phone’s camera to track your hand movements, which, from the drawings, should have you looking insane on the subway in no time. Of course, we’ve all been guilty of waving at and even talking to our devices when they’re acting up, so maybe a little feedback wouldn’t be a bad thing — there’s one gesture we’d definitely like to see programmed in there.

[Via Textually.org]

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Filed under: cellphones

With the flood of oil money, Dubai is a hotspot for construction with extravagant buildings being built on what was once a barren desert wasteland. The skyline has changed so much over the last 10 years compared to many other cities around the world, with ever higher skyscrapers being planned and built to wow even the most seasoned traveler. There is a new project coming up that not only ranks right up there where luxury is concerned, it will also boast architectural genius with the ability to generate up to 10 times the power it will use. Want to know more? Head on after the jump to find out.

Each floor of Dynamic Architecture’s wind-powered rotating skyscraper consists of a single apartment with the unique ability to rotate independently, allowing residents to change the current view at the touch of a button. Imagine moving along to the sun’s direction as you attempt to hang dry your clothes - although with that kind of money to purchase an apartment like this you’d be better off using a dryer instead. Wind turbines peppered on each floor is capable of generating a surplus of electricity that will then be used to power the surrounding neighborhood. This new building relies on pre-fabricated segments before being put together, making the entire construction process totally radical from what is being applied at the moment. Not only does this make it more secure, it also lowers the overall cost as well as construction times by quite a significant amount. I wonder whether existing buildings around the world will be able to be retro-fitted with such power-generating capability.

The rotating tower will begin construction soon, with the final product boasting 80 floors at 420 meters in height. Imagine each city center featuring a few buildings such as these - we won’t be suffering from an energy crisis then, at least for a while. There are currently talks being held to construct similar buildings in the cities of Milan, London, New York, Hamburg and Sao Paolo.

Source: Gizmag

Remember back to late Dec 07 when we announced the launch of text-to-web service, kwiry, which gives you a great way to add items (kwirys) to your Remember or To Do lists.

Well, kwiry is currently running a promotion at least until Jun 28, 2008 where you stand a chance of winning one of your kwirys assuming it’s a movie, book or music album. They’re giving away 1 per week each up to a value of US$25.

All you need to do is to kwiry like you normally do and just include the keyword ‘music’, ‘book’ or ‘movie’ along with the full title of the item. So if you wanted to kwiry “Spiderman 3″ b/c you wanted to remember to buy it, then tack on the keyword ‘movie’ to make it “spiderman 3 movie” or “movie spiderman 3″, and you’re golden.

BTW, if you haven’t tried kwiry, give it a whirl. It’ll take you 5 minutes to get set up and run a few tests. Honest.

Posted in Networking & Internet

The Transportation Security Administration on Friday have announced that it will begin a run of pilot tests of millimeter wave scanning technology at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). These millimeter wave scanners enable TSA personnel to see concealed weapons and other items that may be hidden beneath clothes, a thought that will come across as uncomfortable to some folk. The first pilot test began in October at Phoenix Sky-Harbor International Airport last year, and TSA Administrator Kip Hawley has given reassurances that the agency’s main goal is to protect passenger privacy without storing any potentially revealing body scans. It’s their word that ordinary folk like you and I have to trust, so I guess it is time to hit the treadmill unless TSA employees want to throw up their lunch after seeing my six pack rolled into one.

Barry Steinhardt, director of the ACLU’s technology and liberty program, has issued a warning that the “strikingly graphic images of passengers’ bodies” were an assault on personal dignity and expressed doubt about TSA’s ability to safeguard the images - a very real fear that most people have. After all, banks themselves as well as credit card companies haven’t exactly done a stellar job when it comes to protecting their clients’ information to date with occasional news of leaks. TSA’s counter argument claims that 90% of passengers subject to secondary screening prefer to opt for a millimeter wave scan over a pat down. The agency further went on that these scans will be viewed by officers remotely, so that they won’t be able to recognize the passengers and yet have the ability to trigger an alarm as and when required.

Time to shape up, eh? I still think that leaks will happen as we’re all human, but if its for the greater good of mankind against the looming threat of global terrorism, I think going stark naked before a flight through such a machine isn’t such a big deal, right? Correct me if I am wrong.

Source: Information Week

Games developer and publisher Bethesda Softworks have unveiled plans for a Collector’s Edition of the forthcoming Fallout 3.

Fans of the series may want to rush out and pre-order this special edition, which is being released in limited numbers to “participating retailers”. The collector’s edition contains the following:

• A copy of Fallout 3
• 5-inch Vault-Tec Vault Boy Bobblehead
• The Art of Fallout 3 hardcover book with unseen concept art and artist’s commentary
• The Making of Fallout 3 DVD looking at the team working on Fallout 3 and the company as a whole
• The above items will be brought together in a Vault-Tec lunch box

Vlatko Andonov, president of Bethesda Softworks commented:

We’re very excited about this collector’s edition and believe it truly offers gamers an amazing mix of unique items from the Fallout universe, combined with a great behind-the-scenes look at what goes into developing such an immense title.

Fallout 3 will be released on Xbox 360, playstation 3 and PC in the Fall of this year. The Collector’s Edition will be available for all 3 formats with an expected retail price US$20 above the standard edition.

Read more at The Official Fallout Site and Blend Games

It doesn’t look like the participants in the McAfee S.P.A.M. Experiment have received grand jury summonses in their inboxes yet, but it’s something they can look out for. According to the FBI’s press release about the email,

“At first glance, the e-mail appears authentic. It contains a court case number, federal code, name and address of a California federal court, court room number, issuing officers’ names, and the court’s seal. The spammer directs recipients to click the link provided in the e-mail in order to download and print associated information for their records. If the recipient clicks the link, a malicious code is downloaded onto their computer.
The e-mail also contains language threatening recipients with contempt of court charges if they fail to appear. Recipients are told the subpoena will remain in effect until the court grants a release. As with most spam, the content contains multiple spelling errors.”

Sure enough, if you look at the sample email on Snopes.com, there are typos such as “thas,” “offcers,” “wich,” and “oresent.” The FBI press release also says those who receive this fake subpoena should report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).  The spammer wants people to think the feds are after them, well the feds should go after the spammer instead!

Read [Snopes.com]

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For now, at least. Seriously speaking, how the heck are you going to cram in computer parts which are capable of running Windows XP or Vista in such a slim device as this? Surely motherboards have not shrunk to such a small size. The rest of the specifications as furnished by 13 Tech Design are possible though, including a touch screen display, a 10 megapixel camera with full HD camcorder capability, and integrated WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. It must run on nuclear power I presume, considering the rather power-hungry specifications. You’ll need to wait until 2020 for this to be released I guess.

Source: Gadget Insight

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