U.S. Launches Wireless Public Safety Network

The U.S. government and the country's top mobile phone service providers on Tuesday launched a public safety program that will allow people to receive emergency alerts via text message.

New York will serve as the launch market for the Personal Localized Alerting Network (PLAN) service, which will be operational in that market by 2012, according to Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, who spoke at a press conference. The remainder of the country will receive the service at the midpoint of 2012, he said.

Out-of-band-technology should allow the text messages to go through even if mobile phone networks are experiencing heavy traffic. People in the area of the emergency will receive text messages of 90 characters or less about the situation.

People will receive messages based on location, regardless of where their phone is registered. For example, a person with a New York area code would not receive an alert about a crisis in Manhattan when traveling in Chicago.However, people with a Miami area code would receive a text message if they were in New York during an emergency there.

U.S. carriers must provide the service by 2012, but major carriers AT&T Wireless, T-Mobile USA, Sprint and Verizon Wireless have already adopted it prior to New York roll out.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski joined Fugate at the press conference. Executives from the mobile service providers also appeared at the event. AT&T Wireless President and CEO Randall Stephenson, Sprint's president of network operations Steve Elfman, T-Mobile USA's President and CEO Philipp Humm; and Verizon Wireless President and CEO Lowell McAdam joined the government officials.

PLAN will serve as an adjunct to the television emergency alert system, which is managed by the FCC and FEMA.

Joab Jackson covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service.

Google enters mobile phone market

People will be able to access Google maps and Google Earth on their mobile phones from as early as next year, the world's largest search engine has announced.

Google has joined forces with some of the biggest handset makers to allow all of its applications to be installed on mobile phones.

News that the multi-billion dollar company is entering the lucrative mobile phone market comes only days before the UK launch of Apple's eagerly-awaited iPhone.

There had been widespread rumours that Google was developing its own handset, known as the Google phone or Gphone, to rival Apple's combined phone, iPod and internet browser.

Xerox ColorQube 9300 Series Introduced

Xerox unveiled the second generation of their high speed solid ink multifunction printers - the ColorQube 9300 Series - featuring Xerox's flexible Hybrid Color Pricing Plans this morning.

The ColorQube 9300 Series is a follow up on the ColorQube 9200 series, the series that first introduced the unique color pricing plans that allow customers to pay only for the amount of color on a given page, saving them up to 50% compared to laser printers. The company bases the Hybrid Color Pricing Plans on three standard levels of color:

• Useful documents - For when businesses want to use only a small amount of basic color, think a company logo or a single color highlighting important text
• Everyday color - Pages with moderate color coverage, so adding images to the initial small amount of color
• Expressive color - A high color coverage, think full page color with photos, etc.

The ColorQube 9300 Series features Xerox's unique solid ink technology using solid ink sticks offering 90% less waste than the traditional ink because the solid ink sticks have less packaging and no cartridge body.

The non-toxic solid ink sticks - made from resin - resemble large crayons (for more information, check out our solid ink article or Xerox Phaser 8560 review). The sticks are also designed for easy loading. And thanks to the solid ink technology, there are no fuser kits or drums to replace, just one simple cleaning unit that is only replaced every two to three years depending on the work flow.

The ColorQube 9300 series offers three models: the ColorQube 9301, ColorQube 9302 and the ColorQube 9303.

All three models feature print, scan, copy and fax capabilities along with a 160GB hard drive, 1GB of system memory, 1.5 GHz processor, 100-sheet automatic duplexing document feeder, a standard paper capacity over three trays of 3,200 sheets with a 100-sheet bypass feeder, front side USB port, built-in networking and automatic duplexing.

The ColorQube 9301 features print speeds up to 50 ppm in black and 38 ppm in color with a print resolution up to 600 x 600 dpi and a monthly duty cycle up to 150,000 pages.

The ColorQube 9302 features print speeds up to 55 ppm in black and 45 ppm in color with a print resolution up to 600 x 600 dpi and a monthly duty cycle up to 225,000 pages.

The ColorQube 9302 features print speeds up to 60 ppm in black and 55 ppm in color with a print resolution up to 600 x 600 dpi and a monthly duty cycle up to 300,000 pages.

Xerox offers several standard solutions with the ColorQube 9300 series including Color by Words, Mobile Print, user permissions, embedded videos on the user interface for troubleshooting, new security options and advanced scanning.

The ColorQube 9300 Series is available for order now through Xerox direct sales and authorized resellers starting at $22,299 for the base model.

Aluminum Laptop Cases Molding the Way of the Future

MEZZI, world renowned aluminum case manufacturer, is noticing a dramatic increase in the number of reviews for its lines of aluminum laptop cases. From the virtual mouths of bloggers and video reviewers, the online world is buzzing with positivity for the dependability and portability of the MEZZI aluminum laptop case.

“In this modern day and age so many people are carrying laptops, either for business or pleasure or both,” explains MEZZI President, David Mezzi, “and the online community has seemed to latch onto the quality and reliability they find in our aluminum cases. Bloggers, reviewers and freelance writers who rely on their laptops for their business need something to protect their equipment. In fact, their laptop is their number one tool, so those who have experienced the quality of our cases are feeling inspired to spread the word to others.”

Unlike the soft, minimal protection of a stylish leather laptop bag or, perhaps worse, the zero-protection of throwing a laptop into a backpack, the lightweight, molded durability of MEZZI’s aluminum laptop carrying cases have impressed a growing number of online reviewers.

“I am loving my new MEZZI laptop case,” says one reviewer at TheDirtytShirt.com. “Not only is it the most sturdy case I have ever used but it also seems very roomy even with my laptop in it. I took it to a meeting I had recently and the first thing, even before I shook the man’s hand, he commented on my case and asked where to get one. I love when that happens because not only do I get to tell my readers about the wonderful products I have tried out but I can also tell complete strangers about them and point them in the right direction to get one for themselves.”

Roomy, spacious and secure – these are only a few of the descriptors the online community has used to explain the value they found in MEZZI’s aluminum laptop briefcases. Standard in every aluminum laptop case is customizable padding, so different sizes of laptops can be given a snug fit. And in order to accommodate a wide range of personal tastes and styles, MEZZI’s laptop cases range in color and covering, from simple jet black to gold or a high-grade wood finish.

MEZZI aluminum cases, however, have been no strangers to attention. Several of its aluminum cases have appeared in high-profile movies, television shows and music videos. Very recently, a MEZZI aluminum case was used in Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Also MEZZI was featured in Jay-Z’s “Show Me What You Got” music video and on the television game show, “Deal or No Deal.” At the box office, MEZZI cases have appeared in the hands of Jason Statham in 13 and Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible III.

MEZZI’s full line of aluminum laptop cases can be found at http://www.MEZZI.com/Laptop-Cases/. MEZZI can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

About MEZZI
MEZZI has been manufacturing and retailing fashionable, affordable aluminum cases for more than 15 years. In that time, MEZZI has grown its business from only a handful of briefcases to a full line of cases suitable for a variety of uses, including metal gun cases, art portfolio cases, travel cases and business card cases. The company’s cases are frequently sought by celebrities and producers for movies, television shows, music videos and high-end gifts.

Nielsen Study: Tablets Replacing Laptops and eReaders

New survey results from Nielsen show that users are ditching their laptops, abandoning their ereaders, and leaving their MP3 players behind. For a large, and growing segment of the population, the tablet is the new primary computing and entertainment device.

According to the Nielsen data, about one third of the tablet owners who were surveyed indicated that they use their desktop PC less--or not at all--since getting a tablet. The same is true for laptops, netbooks, ereaders, and even portable music players. Across the board, the tablet is making more than a little dent in the way people use technology.

This Nielsen chart illustrates the many reasons users cite for choosing the tablet over other devices.It makes sense. Is it a better computer than your laptop? Probably not. Is it a superior platform for reading electronic books? Not necessarily. Is it the most convenient method of carrying and listening to your music collection? No. But, it has an advantage in that it is capable of doing all of those things--and doing them quite well in most cases--in one portable device.

If you go on a trip and you can only take one device, which would you choose? If you take the laptop, good luck reading a book by the pool, or rocking some tunes on your headphones while you take a walk. If you take the ereader, you will have the pool thing covered, and can probably listen to some music in most cases, but checking Facebook, writing an email, or editing an Excel file could be problematic. If you have a portable music player, you're probably stuck listening to music unless you have something like the iPod Touch. In that case, you essentially have a mini tablet, but the diminutive display is not ideal for reading books or getting any productive work done.

Why is the tablet chosen over its mobile gadget rivals? According to Nielsen, the number one reason given is that is "easy to carry / take with you". Other reasons cited include: light weight, convenience, fast speed, fast startup and shutdown, and size. I am surprised that exceptional battery life wasn't listed as one of the top reasons.

The tablet is the natural winner in the "if you could only take one device, which would it be?" challenge. There are some gadgets like the Nook Color, that can come close. But, although it is technically an ereader, its Android-based OS, and Barnes & Noble app store make it closer to an iPad than a Kindle.

Of course, in order for the tablet to truly be a ‘post-PC' device and replace desktop or laptop PCs, Apple needs to cut the cord and not require a PC for activating, syncing, and updating the iPad. There are rumors that Apple is hard at work developing over-the-air updated for iOS 5 that might do just that.

As tablets become more powerful from a hardware perspective, and the tablet OS and culture evolve, the trend away from traditional PCs will probably continue.

Report: Google to sell Chrome laptops

Google is getting ready to begin selling a laptop running its Chrome operating system in a $20-per-month "student package" that combines hardware and online services, according to a Forbes report that cited an unnamed senior Google executive.

Google representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The package is likely a precursor of similar products for businesses and developers in the offing, as the executive reportedly hinted at.

"Small and medium-size businesses are banging on our doors to get something like this," the executive told Forbes.

The offering could prove valuable for Google as a product testing mechanism and lay the foundation for a future market as the students using the Chrome laptops graduate to the workforce.

Chrome OS, Google's browser-based operating system, is in a tough position. It was supposed to debut last year for Netbooks, but Google only delivered a prototype for developers, and the software remains a work in progress.

The announcement would likely be made tomorrow during Google's keynote address at day two of its I/O developer conference in San Francisco.

HP to offer branded mobile broadband service to HP Elitebook business laptop users Read more: HP to offer branded mobile broadband service to HP Elit

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) plans to package its own branded prepaid mobile broadband service with new HP Elitebook business laptops.

HP will resell service from Sprint (NYSE: S) Nextel's CDMA EV-DO service, and will offer what it calls DataPass service plans that will start at $5 for 75 MB of data over five hours, $10 for 150 MB of data over three days, $20 for 450 MB of data over 15 days, or $30 for 1 GB of data over 30 days. Purchasers of HP's Elitebook laptops can select an HP DataPass or use an existing mobile broadband service plan from Sprint or another operator.

An HP spokesman told PC World that the company does not have greater aspirations to be a wireless service provider but is only offering this service as a convenience to its customers.

iLuv's i1255 desktop iPod / DVD player combo now shipping

Hey there partner, we just know that troubled look on your face is due to the inability to find yourself a DVD player / iPod dock combo that looks ever-so-slightly like an Atari console, right? If so, you'll be completely relieved to find that iLuv's CES-announced i1255 is now on sale and shipping to whomever pays the stated asking price with a non-stolen, non-maxed out credit card. If you couldn't tell, this unit acts as a vanilla DVD player and enables iPod owners to play back audio / video clips on their television or sound system without messing with additional cables. Shoot, there's even an iPod-tailored on-screen display to sort through your playlists and such. Lasso yours now for just $149.99.


Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/26/iluvs-i1255-desktop-ipod-dvd-player-combo-now-shipping/

Westinghouse upgrades $50,000 Quad HD LCD

Las Vegas (NV) – Westinghouse has increased the size of its Quad HD LCD and slightly increased its price tag. The screen size has grown from 52” to 56” and most of us still can’t afford it.

We were deeply impressed when we saw a demonstration of Westinghouse’s 52” Quad HD LCD about 18 months ago. At the time, Westinghouse was very secretive about shipments and pricing, but we managed to learn that the display was available in very limited numbers and was offered especially to companies that have a need for high-resolution graphics displays in exchange for $50,000. Over the recent months we heard that these displays eventually dropped to about $40,000.

The new 56” D56QX1 LCD Quad Monitor is back up to 56: and officially available for purchase beginning this month. Compared to your average 1080p HDTV, the LCD has four times the resolution: 3840 x 2160 pixels produce a stunning 8.3 megapixels, which is overkill for most consumer electronics but a useful feature for 3D, medical, geological, military recon applications. The display also delivers a 1200:1 contrast ratio, 500 nits brightness and a 6.5 ms response time. Westinghouse said that D56QX1 is compatible with a wide variety of dual-link DVI video cards including ATI and Nvidia.

Quad HD LCDs are still very rare, but we have seen several announcements in recent months, including TVs a 56” version from Sapphire and Samsung’s 82” monster.


Source: http://www.tgdaily.com/html_tmp/content-view-38000-135.html

World’s Fastest Flashgun Can Capture An Image Of A Light Wave

Ok, this is officially the coolest image I’ve ever seen. What you see on the right is a pulse of light that is 2.5 billionths of a millionth of a second long. The image was captured by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Garching, Germany and the flash of laser light that made it possible lasted just 80 attoseconds. (An attosecond is one billionth of one billionth of a second.) The previous record for the shortest light pulse was 130 attoseconds set in 2007, and almost halving that number a year later is an impressive feat

But don’t expect your Nikon or Canon DSLR to pull off a cool shot like this. The team responsible for it used a laser firing extremely short pulses into a cloud of neon gas which ionized the neon atoms. This then releases electrons which the researchers were able to measure in order to produce this side-profile shot of the laser pulse.

The light pulses are produced by firing longer, but still very short laser pulses into a cloud of neon gas. The laser gives a kick of energy to the neon atoms, which then release this energy in the form of brief pulses of extreme ultraviolet light.

The trigger pulses contained only one or two oscillations of a light wave so that they packed a compact energy punch when they reached the neon cloud. To do this, the researchers had to corral the trigger-pulse photons into a tightly packed bunch using a device called a chirped mirror. These multilayered mirrors make the photons at the front of a pulse travel further than the slower photons at the rear do. That gives the back markers time to catch up, in this case producing a tight pack of photons that hit the neon atoms at roughly the same time.

To find out how short the light flashes from the neon atoms were, Goulielmakis and colleagues directed them onto a second neon gas cloud. As each flash is intense enough to completely ionise a neon atom and release an electron, the researchers could use those electrons like a flashgun, to illuminate some of the original 2.5 femtosecond trigger pulses of laser light.

Since the microscopic world is still a big mystery to us, this method might eventually allow researches to visualize the movements of electrons around atoms, or even ’see’ nuclear particles like protons.

Source: http://www.ohgizmo.com/2008/06/23/worlds-fastest-flashgun-can-capture-an-image-of-a-light-wave/

TI showcases 3D projector and DLP Pico chipset at InfoComm

InfoComm is in full swing down in Vegas, and Texas Instruments isn't wasting any time showcasing its latest gear. First up is a prototype 1080p beamer hailed as the industry's first with a lamp-free design. Said unit also utilizes a PhlatLight LED light source and a BrilliantColor chipset, and if TI is to be believed, certain vendors will be shipping wares based on this stuff later this year. Moving on, we're being (re)treated to the planet's "first" 3D front projector (also known as the F10 AS3D), designed in cooperation with projectiondesign. Hidden beneath the big boys is the DLP Pico chipset for mobile applications, which will unsurprisingly pop up in pico projectors from companies like Optoma in late 2008 (Europe and Asia) / 2009 (the rest of us). Peek the full release after the break.

Texas Instruments DLP® Products Demonstrates Innovation Leadership with New Prototypes Including Lamp-Free Projector
DLP unveils the world's first 3-D Front Projector and shows the first DLP Pico chipset product

Las Vegas – June 18, 2008: Texas Instruments (TI) (NYSE: TXN) today at InfoComm DLP® Products introduced the industry's first home theater lamp-free projector that utilizes a PhlatLight™ LED light source and a BrilliantColor™ chipset. This technology demo delivers a superior 1080p picture for which DLP technology is known, while eliminating maintenance costs such as lamp replacements and filter changes required by some competing projector products. Multiple DLP customers have plans to develop DLP lamp-free LED-based projectors, including Optoma, with units expected to ship in late 2008. Similar to the deployment of DLP Product's now popular BrilliantColor technology, the solid-state, lamp-free innovation will first be incorporated into home theater units and proliferate through corporate and education product lines thereafter.

DLP also introduced the first 3-D front projector with Norwegian manufacturer, projectiondesign, and the brand new pico-projector stand-alone product with Optoma. The 3-D portable high-resolution active stereoscopic single-chip projector is designed for the demanding visualization, simulation and entertainment environments in applications that have not been able to achieve this level of performance in the past, while the pico product uses a pioneering DLP Pico™ chipset for mobile applications.

Benefits of Lamp-free

Due to the inherent switching speed of the DLP chip and advancements in LEDs from Luminus, a leader in LED manufacturing, consumers will benefit from the increased picture quality, reliability and value found in this new projector category. The reflective nature of the mirrors on the DLP chip allow more light to reach the screen resulting in a 50% increase in color gamut range producing more than 200 trillion colors and a contrast ratio in excess of 500,000:1. The proprietary combination of LED illumination, coupled with DLP technology elevates picture quality to a new level while eliminating the traditional projection lamp.

In addition to the expanded color and contrast performance, the illumination system has an incredibly long life and offers up to 30% lower power usage and, most significantly, hundreds of dollars in savings from lamp purchases.

Due to the sealed DLP optics, DLP projectors are inherently prepared to withstand dusty environments and unlike projectors based on other technologies; do not require a filter to protect the optics. Most DLP projectors are filter-free. This important value attribute will remain true with new lamp-free DLP projectors, eliminating potential costly filter cleaning and replacements required by other technologies.

DLP is leveraging strengths from its other leading product lines for the new lamp-free projectors. Since 2006, lamp-free DLP HDTVs with LED-based illumination systems have been available from Samsung. To date, nearly 150,000 of these units have shipped.

DLP Products is featuring other market leading innovations at InfoComm booth #C909, Central Hall, including

o World's first DLP 3-D Front Projector Product

The F10 AS3D is designed for the demanding scientific visualisation, simulation and entertainment environments. A full 120 Hz refresh rate enables flicker-free 3-D image. The F10 AS3D features a resolution of 1,400 x 1,050 pixels, and it is fully compatible with 1080p inputs. It is also compatible with both IR transmitted and DLP® Link 3-D shutter glasses. The F10 AS3D can be found on the projectiondesign booth, N5541 at InfoComm.

o World's first DLP Pico-Projector Product

Optoma has announced plans to build a miniature stand-alone projector using the DLP Pico™ chipset. Product is expected to be available in limited distribution in Europe and Asia in late 2008 with a worldwide launch planned for 2009. There will be a demo at the DLP booth of this hand-held projector displaying composite video from a mobile business device.

"DLP Products has a proven legacy of "firsts" in the market and the projectors being demonstrated this year are examples of that commitment to innovation and commitment to our customers," said Lars Yoder, vice president and business manager, TI's DLP Front Projection Business Unit. "DLP Products is proud to enable our customers, who are the leading projector manufacturers globally, to be the best."

For more information on DLP and DLP products please visit www.dlp.com or booth #C909, Central Hall at InfoComm.

# # #

About Texas Instruments DLP Products
DLP display technology from Texas Instruments offers clarity down to the most minute detail, delivering pictures rich with color, contrast and brightness to large-screen HDTVs and projectors for business, home, professional venue and digital cinema (DLP Cinema®). 50 of the world's top projection and display manufacturers design, manufacture and market products based on DLP technology. DLP is the only HDTV technology built from a foundation in the digital cinema where it set the industry standard demonstrated by the deployment of DLP Cinema technology in 6,000 theatres worldwide. At the heart of every DLP chip is an array of up to 2.2 million microscopic mirrors which switch incredibly fast to create a high resolution, highly reliable, full color image. DLP technology's chip architecture and inherent speed advantage provides razor-sharp images and excellent reproduction of fast motion video. Since early 1996, more than 16.5 million DLP subsystems have been shipped. For more information, please visit www.dlp.com.

About Texas Instruments:
Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) helps customers solve problems and develop new electronics that make the world smarter, healthier, safer, greener and more fun. A global semiconductor company, TI innovates through manufacturing, design and sales operations in more than 25 countries.

For more information: www.ti.com.

DLP and DLP Cinema are registered trademarks of Texas Instruments.


Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/18/ti-showcases-3d-projector-and-dlp-pico-chipset-at-infocomm/

Toyota Night View features pedestrian detection

The Japanese-market-only Toyota Crown Hybrid first debuted as a concept at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, and was revealed as a production model in April of this year. Now the luxury hybrid sedan is getting a cutting-edge pedestrian detection system for its Night View night vision computer.

The previous model displayed the night vision information in a heads-up display format directly on the windshield. The new Night View system employs an LCD screen instrument panel that can display gauges in both fuel-saving Eco mode and power-enhancing Sport mode and can also show the road ahead in infrared. The computer system searches the image for pedestrian shapes and then highlights them with yellow boxes, making it easier to be aware of and drive safely past the nocturnally ambulatory.

Vehicle speed and weather conditions affect the system’s ability due to the processing power required to recognize the pedestrians at the roadside. Driving in excess of 60km/h (37.2mph) makes it too difficult to process the image and suss out the pedestrian outlines in time, and the feature is deactivated. The same happens when it is raining and the operation of the windshield wipers interferes with the image processing system.

At present only pedestrians are included in the detection system, but Toyota hopes to include animals, cyclists and other mobile roadside hazards in future.

Source: http://www.motorauthority.com/news/safety/toyota-night-view-features-pedestrian-detection/

Surf chair workstation - Surfing for comfort is as comfortable

As of yet, I am able to sit upright, facing my monitor, for many hours at a stretch in a day and also maintain a healthy back. But since my passion and job involves surfing internet, I need to focus on getting an ergonomically designed work station that will keep all the posture related probs at bay. Theoretically, on the mention of the Surf Chair, your mind with drift to relaxing lazing chairs on the promenades and beach fronts. But in a geek’s dictionary, it’s not the same. A true geek can immediately conjure up an image of a chair used to surf the net at ease. Like the one designed by Kenneth Lylover! Intended for the ‘Internet Collection’ competition at the Scandinavian Furniture Fair, this rocking chair also managed to bag the price of Winner of “Best Product” there. This chair seems to be very comfortable, as you can see from this picture that it is fitted with numerous pillows to support every part of body.

Czeers MK1 Solar-Powered Boat with Semi Custom Electrical Motor Can Hit 30 Knots

Three main things about Czeers MK1 are solar power, high-performance, and not to forget glamor design. Yes, Czeers MK1 is eco friendly boat with semi custom electric motor that it is claimed can hit till 30 knots. The control panel is of course an LCD touch-screen system, it has 10 meters in length and 14 square meters of solar panels. Czeers MK1 is not just offering you technology for better environment, but also the luxury boat by designing the interior with the highest quality materials.





Source: http://www.tuvie.com/czeers-mk1-solar-powered-boat-with-semi-custom-electrical-motor-can-hit-30-knots

Futuristic Cybertecture Egg, Architecture with High-Tech Solutions

Hi-tech building from James Law Cybertecture International brings you excitement and great imagination of what will futuristic building will look like. Cybertecture Egg is the latest design of this firm, the egg-shaped high-tech building will be the iconic architecture, environmental design, intelligent systems, and an awe-inspiring landmark in the city.

Cybertecture integrates technology, multimedia, intelligent systems and user interactivity to create customizable living and working spaces that focus on experience. The Cybertecture Egg takes this principle working theme a step further with ‘cybertecture health’ - interactive features that monitor occupant’s vital health statistics, like blood pressure and weight. In keeping with the focus on health and wellness, users can customize their views with real time virtual scenery.

The oblong office building incorporates passive solar design to decrease heat gain and lower energy loads. An elevated garden also moderates temperate by using natural vegetation to assist with cooling the building envelope. The Cybertecture Egg will use solar photovoltaic panels and rooftop wind turbines to generate onsite electricity. Water conservation will be managed with a greywater recycling system that will harvest water for irrigation and landscaping.

It is also said that we can see this futuristic “Cybertecture Egg” building by the end of 2010. So, let’s wait and see…

Source: http://www.tuvie.com/futuristic-cybertecture-egg-architecture-with-high-tech-solutions

Sony Brings Out 5.1 Home Theater Sound System With Golf Ball-Sized Speakers

Demonstrating that fab things come in small packages is this Sony lay-dee, who's proffering one of the five golf ball-sized speakers of the HT-IS100 home theater sound system for your loving eyes to inspect. It's a 5.1-channel, three-HDMI input system and will be released in Japan on July 15 at a cost of around $870. Full details and a couple more pics below.



The small-fry speakers come with a subwoofer/amp with built-in 32-bit S-Master digital amplifier. Total output is 45W x 5 channels, with 100W x 2 from the sub. Supported audio formats include Dolby Digital and DTS, Dolby Pro Logic II, MPEG-2 AAC and linear PCM, as well as Standard, Multi, and various movie and sounds modes.



And if any of you are itching to make a joke about ping pong balls, JUST DON'T, okay?


Source: http://gizmodo.com/392325/sony-brings-out-51-home-theater-sound-system-with-golf-ball+sized-speakers

Samsung's 82-inch QuadHD LCD: Now with 120Hz

Samsung's stream of 82-inch monsters packing the company's latest technology continues unabated, this time a minor update to the QuadHD behemoth we saw at CES brings so-outdated 120Hz motion processing and LED backlighting to keep blur and judder far, far away. We know what you're thinking, its 3840x2160 resolution is no good unless you can write on it, luckily Samsung also has an 82-inch ultra high definition e-Board in its SID 2008 booth. OLED fans take heart, Samsung has reached economies of scale, hopefully meaning reasonably priced (and longer lasting) thin screens are due sooner instead of later. The Korea Times notes LG's at the show as well, showcasing LCD roll-printing technology to replace the photolithography process that currently births the flat panels on our walls, but we simply can't be bothered with a company that's only the number two LCD manufacturer in the world.


Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/18/samsungs-82-inch-quadhd-lcd-now-with-120hz/

Fisker responds to Tesla lawsuit

Fisker Automotive has responded to the lawsuit filed against it by Tesla by asking a California court to arbitrate over the matter. Tesla filed a lawsuit last month claiming design and trade secrets for a future electric sedan were stolen by Fisker when the coachbuilder was originally commissioned to complete the design. If the arbitration proves successful it will allow both companies to avoid going to court.

The original lawsuit contends Fisker founder Henrik Fisker and its chief operating officer Bernhard Koehler fraudulently agreed to take on a $875,000 design contract from Tesla to gain access to confidential design information and trade secrets, only to release a competing vehicle – the upcoming Karma sedan (pictured).

The new request was filed at the San Mateo Superior Court on Tuesday and the hearing is now scheduled for mid-June. Speaking with Automotive News, Henrik Fisker said the allegations against him are false and that he wants the case arbitrated in Orange County. “For us, it’s simply a ridiculous suit,” he said.

In another twist, auto parts giant Magna International is suing Tesla over an unpaid bill for design work of new transmission systems for the electric roadster.

Source: http://www.motorauthority.com/news/news/fisker-responds-to-tesla-lawsuit/

Ford Fiesta S performance hatch

Ford has taken the wraps off its latest model in the growing Fiesta family of compact cars with the unveiling of the all-new ‘S’ performance model at the Beijing Motor Show this weekend. The new car is expected to join the regular three-door hatch and five-door models - revealed at the last month’s Geneva Motor Show – towards the end of the year in both Europe and China.

North America will still have to wait until 2010 for its version of the car, which will also be available in a sedan bodystyle, and the Fiesta is also tipped to start production in Australia around the same time. Other models in the pipeline include a higher performance ST model as well as a rumored RS range topper. Like the upcoming Focus RS, this latter version would feature a series of weight saving and power mods for ultimate performance.

The Fiesta will initially be available with a range of petrol and diesel engines. Entry-level models will come with a 60hp 1.4L petrol engine and will be followed by a 115hp 1.6L unit. Diesel fans will get two 1.25L units developing 60hp and 80hp respectively. Transmission choices include a six-speed manual or a new Durashift automatic. The cars also come with Ford’s new EPAS electronic steering to help save fuel.

Source: http://www.motorauthority.com/news/hatchbacks/ford-fiesta-s-performance-hatch/

http://gizmodo.com/381949/auto-healther-does-complete-body-massage-robotically

Remember the massage pants? Well, automated massage seems to have taken a step further on from those with the Dainichi Auto Healther Reiz DZ-270: it's a robo-table that can massage you from your head to to toe. You just select your program from the touchscreen, lie back, pull the hood over, switch on some music on the built-in audio system and let its robot kneaders wiggle around under the bed surface. It's even clever enough to adjust its speed and pressure to suit which bit of you its dealing with, and has heating too. If you prefer your relaxation delivered with robotic precision rather than the fingers of a trained person, then you'll have to fork out around $13,500 for this.


Source: http://gizmodo.com/381949/auto-healther-does-complete-body-massage-robotically