Let’s begin with the usual disclaimer: Apple patent applications do not mean the outlandish technology will be arriving in the next iPhone, just that someone in a
Cupertino basement cooked it up during a marathon “imagining” session (possibly while enjoying a cool glass of purple stuff). The company’s latest drawings-and-charts masterpiece concerns the construction and placement of photovoltaic cells and, more importantly, using the sun’s energy to illuminate a display. By using a mirror pointed at the sky, you could reflect some rays toward your screen to supplement an LED backlight, or by turning the top lid of your
Macbook into a solar panel. Although we can see one minor drawback in using solar powered backlighting — if you have to point your display toward the sun, you’re gonna need some
powerful shades.
Continue reading Apple solar patent wants a sunny display light for your Sunny (De)light
Apple solar patent wants a sunny display light for your Sunny (De)light originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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A baby book for our cosmos? That’d be a happy by-product of the massive insight star-gazing scientists are set to glean from Alma — the telescope responsible for ushering in a “new golden age of astronomy.” The Atacama large millimeter/submillimeter array (as it’s known in long form), located 3,000 meters above sea level on a Chilean plateau, goes beyond the voyeuristic powers of current optical telescopes, delivering detailed imagery of the dense gas clouds that birth baby stars. Why is this significant? Well, using the complex 20-antenna strong array (a total of 66 are planned), astronomers from North America, Europe and Japan will get a first-hand glimpse of the gaseous mix that was our universe a few hundred million years post-Big Bang. Consider the research a time-traveling peek back into the formative years of existence. Heady stuff, yes, but the array won’t have its multiple, celestial-focused eyes trained solely on star nurseries; scientists from around the globe already plan on getting an up close look at the Sagittarius A black hole. When these “Pyramids of the 21st Century” finish construction in 2013, we’ll be just one step closer to viewing the limits of our cosmic fishbowl.
Alma observatory captures stars being born, reports back on universe’s awkward teenage years originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Oct 2011 19:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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IT specialists in Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong better start polishing their resumes, because Google is rolling into town. Yesterday, Big G announced plans to build a brand new data center in each of the three Asian locales, as part of an expansion slated to cost at least $200 million. When completed, these complexes will represent the company’s first fully owned and operated data centers in the burgeoning Asia-Pacific region — where, according to Asia policy communications manager Taj Meadows, Google is “seeing large numbers of new users coming online every day”. The facilities in Hong Kong and Taiwan are expected to cost around $100 million each, though the price tag for the Singapore branch remains a mystery. Big G hopes to finish construction in one to two years, though it didn’t say when it would begin — nor, for that matter, whether seawater tunnels would be involved.
Google to build a trio of data centers in Asia, earmarks $200 million for expansion originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Sep 2011 11:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The green flag just waved on pre-orders for Fanatec’s line of
Forza Motorsport accessories, including the CSR Wheel ($250), CSR Elite Pedal Set ($150) and CSR Shifter Set ($60). To refresh your memory: all feature metal construction that,
as we noted, gives them a solid, rugged feel. The wheel’s force feedback is powered by a Mabuchi RS550 motor, with two additional actuators simulating motor and ABS vibration. The pedals are fully adjustable; a pressure-sensitive brake pedal can be tuned to mimic any car. Finally, the shifter set features a six-speed H-pattern design and can be mounted on either side of the steering wheel. There’s no word on when these will actually ship, and sadly for you big spenders, the CSR Wheel Elite isn’t yet available. But don’t let that keep you from getting revved up over the PR below.
Continue reading Start your engines, open your wallets: Fanatec Forza Motorsport CSRs available for pre-ordering
Start your engines, open your wallets: Fanatec Forza Motorsport CSRs available for pre-ordering originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It appears that Apple is about to expand its manufacturing operations to Brazil, where a new Foxconn factory is already in place and ready to churn out iPads, according to a report from national media outlet UOL. Aolizio Mercadante, the country’s minister of science and technology, confirmed the news this week during a hearing held by the Commission of Economic Affairs. “At first many doubted, but it will be the first time that [Apple] will produce iPads outside Chinese territory,” Mercadente said. “We are taking a big step for digital inclusion in the country.” Located in Jundia
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Just last week, we got our paws on Samsung’s Series 7 Slate, and it’s already making its second debut. This time around, however, it’s sporting a much more mouthwatering setup. No, it’s not dawning Lady Gaga’s edible leftovers; this new look comes courtesy of Microsoft’s much teased and hotly anticipated touch-friendly OS, Windows 8. As you’ve likely already heard, the latest incarnation of the operating system is something entirely new for Redmond, and, as it turns out, the world. It’s unlike anything we’ve seen before, but that won’t stop us from making comparisons.
Like Apple’s latest attempt at a desktop OS, Windows 8 borrows largely from its mobile kin, Window Phone 7, bringing its signature live tiles to tablets and PCs, and from what we’ve seen it does so effortlessly. Before we go ruining a good thing, however, we have to point out that this isn’t everything Windows has to offer — it’s still a developers preview (and in turn, an OS under construction), and the device it’s running on hasn’t been approved as an official Windows 8 slate. Got all that? Good. Read on for our first impressions!
Continue reading Windows 8 for tablets hands-on preview (video)
Windows 8 for tablets hands-on preview (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Sep 2011 12:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We’ve seen ‘em as sketches and we’ve seen ‘em having fun on the snow, but now, after getting a few upgrades, they’re parked on the stage at Frankfurt. BMW rolled out its new i3 and i8 electric cars, part of a new sub-brand focused on efficiency and responsive driving — though it’ll ultimately be up to the driver to determine just how responsively these behave on the road.
The i3 is a pure electric, 150km range (about 100 miles) and a very lightweight construction of both aluminum and carbon fiber. The i8, meanwhile, is a plug-in hybrid that is said to deliver about 87MPG and yet still get from 0 – 60MPH in under five seconds. Spunky, then. It also sports those funky laser headlights that are both far more efficient and far more awesome sounding than current LED models. This is what they look like in the flesh, and if all goes according to plan you’ll be seeing them for yourselves when they enter production in 2013.
BMW i3 electric and i8 plug-in cars on display at Frankfurt originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Sep 2011 09:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Welcome to Growing Up Geek, an ongoing feature where we take a look back at our youth and tell stories of growing up to be the nerds that we are. Today, we have our very own Associate Editor, Sean Buckley.
The hardest question I was ever asked as a kid was “what do you want to be when you grow up?” When the boys all cried “Fireman!,” and the girls unanimously pledged their life to marine biology, I came up short. Growing up? I hadn’t planned on that.
Peter Pan complex (and book collection) aside, I had it as good as any boy during the 80s / 90s split. I grew-up in the pre-internet stone-age, when the world was still a mystery that couldn’t be Wiki’d away. Playground rumors went without debunk, and wild stories ran amok across the schoolyard — pixies in England, aliens in New Mexico, and magical robot cars in Japan. The world was a fantastic, impossible place. It still is, but I’d be lying if I said the finality of reality isn’t a small disappointment compared to the lies I loved as a child. With the information superhighway still under construction, I had to find other ways to spend my summers. Sure, countless hours were wasted well spent saving 8-bit princesses (and the world of course), but the best weeks of summer were had at Boy Scout camp, the County Fair, and trudging across the country on family road trips.
Continue reading Growing Up Geek: Sean Buckley
Growing Up Geek: Sean Buckley originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Between the
leaked ads,
blurry photos and
walkthrough videos, it seems that we’ve seen Motorola’s
reworked Droid Bionic pretty much everywhere but in the hands of consumers. Looks like the company is ready to take one more baby step toward that eventuality, with what appears to be an official Bionic Twitter account (we’re working to get confirmation) indicating a September 8th release date, while a product page with some new shots of the device has also gone live. The page is still sadly lacking in-depth specs, but the handful of photos should keep eager customers happy at least until our friend
in the leather blouse slices the head off another robot.
Droid Bionic pops up on Motorola site, looks set for September 8 release originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Aug 2011 07:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It’s been a long, long while since Nikon’s full-frame stable saw a refresh, but the company’s been keeping it clicking down at the low and mid-range. Take the D5100, for example — for $900, it offers up a fairly stout set of specifications, but as with everything else, we’re certain those that bought in have a thing or two to say after a summer’s worth of shooting. So, let’s have it! Are you satisfied with the quality of the 1080p movie mode? How’s that low-light performance? Is the construction solid enough for your clumsy hands? Are you feeling the burn with no built-in AF motor? Go on and nitpick in comments below — mama always said her kids deserved to be heard.
How would you change Nikon’s D5100? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Aug 2011 22:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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